It's NOT a fanny pack! (aka WALKING GEAR)

Last Saturday I went to a shoe clinic at Marathon Sports in Edina, and it was fantastic. I'd bought running shoes from them before, so I knew they'd do a good job, and they did not disappoint. The owner, John, ran the clinic and was super-nice and very helpful. Because I sat in the front (like a good little student), he ended up being the one to fit me for a pair of shoes. He didn't rush me, had me try on about 4 or 5 pairs, offered advice along the way, and made sure I was totally comfortable with the ones I liked best.

I plan on alternating between the new pair and my old running shoes, which he looked at and said are still perfectly viable. (I wouldn't have believed him otherwise, b/c I retired them as running shoes and have been doing my walks in them for awhile now with no trouble at all).

Here's what I ended up with, and no, I didn't pick them b/c they have pink in them!


Almost (or just?) as important as the shoes are the socks. Again, I've worn their socks for running and loved them, so I bought another pack (even after they gave us each a free pair).


Now, when I first registered for the walk, I said to myself, Self, we're NOT getting a fanny pack. We will find another way to transport water and food on long walks, because we'll be darned if we're going to walk around looking like we came out of the 1980s.

I thought maybe a mini-sling bag would do. Ha. One short walk on a hot day and I knew that wasn't going to fly. I'm not going to chafe for fashion! So at Marathon Sports I picked up a great hydration waist pack and tested it out (w/my own water bottle) on my 10 mile walk. I loved how comfortably it wore, but unfortunately, it didn't have pockets large enough to hold anything but my keys. I know I'll want to take my camera on some walks, and especially on the 3-Day Walk itself. So it must go back.

I bought this to replace it and will test it out this Saturday (again w/my own water bottle). Please note that as it's seated on my back, it is NOT a fanny pack. Thank you.


As lovely as the weather has been thus far this spring (that's highly sarcastic for the non-MN folk), I thought it best to be prepared in the event of rain. I haven't been able to bring myself to wear these yet, but if it's pouring on a long walk day then I surely will.

My rain pants:


But anyone who's lived in MN knows how out of whack our seasons are these days, so I need to be prepared for hot weather too.

With that in mind, I bought this:


But wait! you cry. What kind of sense does it make to wear a skirt on long walks? Has she no sense of practicality?!

Ah, but look again:


I wore this skort on my long walk last Saturday, and LOVED it.

As I may have mentioned once or twice, last Saturday I walked 10 miles. This was my longest walk yet, and I anticipated being utterly useless afterwards. However, I felt great the whole way, and wasn't even particularly tired afterwards! The next day's 6-mile walk was another story. I hated every minute of it. My energy was low, and I was exhausted and crabby during and after the walk. Besides the fact that my legs were sore to begin with on Sunday, the other difference was that on Saturday I drank water throughout the walk, and also had some Jelly Belly Sports Beans when I felt myself getting a little tired. On Sunday I did neither of these things. Turns out that even 6 miles is long enough to warrant water and/or food! Lesson learned!

Here are some sports snacks I bought to try:


Hopefully now I'm all set with the basics! Bring on the long walks...