Tips for training for endurance event? 60km fundraiser walk

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tayla78
tayla78 Posts: 25 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
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!

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  • tayla78
    tayla78 Posts: 25 Member
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    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
    tayla78 Posts: 25 Member
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  • gdyment
    gdyment Posts: 299 Member
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    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
    tayla78 Posts: 25 Member
    edited November 2015
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    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
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    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.

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