Good Advice from a Veteran Walker

My friend Katherine and I had coffee this morning over at Starbuck's (crammed with moms and little kids), to discuss my upcoming hike. She'd done the Hadrian's Wall hike, had a pleasant experience, and had good advice about how I should prepare my tired, old body for the rigors of a 17-day walk. Best advice: get prepared for uphill climbing, 'cause there will be a lot of it. The easiest thing for us city types would be to climb up the escalators at Metro stops. Pretty convenient, because they are usually broken or stuck. The Tenleytown metro (my usual stop) and the DuPont Circle metro stop have nice long inclines -- the kind that tourists have to stop for, gawk, and take pictures (Ah, tourists).

Second piece of advice: stretch, stretch, stretch. Not just the usual Achilles heel, thighs, but also the foot muscles. Nothing worse that twisting you foot and coming up with a bum ankle. So, I'll go on the Web and look for the appropriate exercises.

We had a good talk, and I was somewhat reassured that, yes, I could do this afterall.

Summer's heat is bursting upon us in Washington, so I am going to try to be careful with my exercise regimen. I'll go out very early in the morning or (as is the case today) very late in the afternoon. Right after this blog entry, I'll go for maybe a 10-mile walk, and stop halfway in between for dinner. Dress codes being what they are today, no one should mind if I'm sweaty and somewhat disheveled. But to be on the safe side, I'll perhaps take along a bow tie.