Tips for training for endurance event? 60km fundraiser walk

tayla78

I have recently committed to participating in a 60km wall next April. The fundraiser is held over the weekend, we will walk approx. 30km each day. I have been back on MFP (after the birth of my 4th child) for approx 3 months, eating 1700 calories per day, walking 10-20km per week and losing 0.5kg per week.
According to the 24wk training guidelines supplied for this event, I am already up to week 9 just with the walking I have been doing recently.
I don't have a lot of experience with training for events so I'm looking for any training tips experienced walkers have, particularly around nutrition requirements while training. As I am starting to walk 20-30km each week now, should I be increasing my calories for the day by much?
TIA!

tayla78

I should mention I am 161cm tall, currently 71kg and my goal weight is ~58kg. I am still b/feeding my last baby which I assume I need to consume a few extra calories for but she is 8 months old now so not too much.

tayla78

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gdyment

30km a day sounds like a lot but you're talking maybe 1000-1400 extra calories. You can eat a big meal before and a good breakfast and just snack on some granola or other bars while walking. Your biggest problem will be blisters/sore feet. That's a lot of walking even on good shoes if you're not used to it. Practice and keep track of the miles you use up on your shoes.

tayla78

Thanks for the good advice. I've just bought some decent shoes and they were comfortable so I bought another pair, the organisers of the walk suggested alternating days with 2 pairs of shoes so I hope this helps prevent sore feet

MeanderingMammal

tayla78 wrote: »

I should mention I am 161cm tall, currently 71kg and my goal weight is ~58kg. I am still b/feeding my last baby which I assume I need to consume a few extra calories for but she is 8 months old now so not too much.

I'm a little heavier than you are, and generally account for about 50cals per mile walking. Adding a daysac with some mandatory kit will add a little bit of expenditure, but not a huge amount.

Assuming that you're progressing comfortably with the training plan it's really a question of getting used to what you're using as fuel, to make sure that it doesn't disagree with you.

When I'm running long distances I use Honey Stinger chews, and gels. If I'm cycling I can have flapjacks, granola, dried fruit. In terms of edibility the latter don't work for running as I've got to slow to a walk to eat them. When I go hillwalking they're appropriate.

What I find is that little and often is more effective for endurance work than a larger feed less frequently. So again when long distance running I'll eat about 70 calories every half hour.

I'd agree with the point about rotating the shoes. A bit of vaseline will help to minimise blisters.