Cool stuff you can find online

So I've been surfing the 'net, just kind of exploring various walk-related stuff. You know, just filling time. Avoiding housework, that kind of thing. ;-)

Here are some cool things that I've found:

East Coast Greenway

The East Coast Greenway (ECG) is a project underway (apparently for more than 10 years!) to link the entire East Coast of the US with safe, paved, off-road trails for non-motorists. So far about 20% of the trail

is complete, and a big chunk more is under development. The idea is to link up hundreds of local trails into an inter-connected trail, providing recreational and commuter options for hundreds of thousands of people.

Here in Maryland, the B&A Trail is part of the ECG, as is the BWI Airport trail. There are other trail sections that are included too. Somehow I've not heard of the ECG before tonight, but I'm excited about exploring the Maryland, DC , PA and DE sections of the trail as possible training walks over the coming months.

MapMyWalk.com

MapMyWalk.com is

a pretty cool site. You can create maps of walking routes anywhere in the US or Canada (maybe even beyond - I haven't tried). You can save the routes, mark them with various landmarks such as restrooms, restaurants, or pay phones. You can have it keep track of elevation changes if you like. Of course it tracks mileage. You can also save notes with the route, indicating directional turn-by-turn instructions for following the route.

So far, most or all of these things are also offered by Google Maps Pedometer, another really cool app upon which MapMyWalk seems to be based. The benefit of using MapMyWalk, though, is that you can also keep track of training sessions, you can share your route info with a friends list. You can connect to Facebook or Twitter. You can get the HTML code to publish your routes on your blog. I'm sure there are other great features too, I just haven't explored them fully.

All in all, pretty cool stuff!

What have you found recently that will help with your walking goals?

These shoes are made for walkin'...

...and that's just what I'll do!

Sorry. Had to do it. :-)

Tonight after work I stopped by our local Road Runner store to look into proper shoes for training for the 3-day. They were having a 3-day Walk Clinic 6:30-7:30pm. Great! I called Lori C and Lori D (walking team mates) and we met over there to see what's up. I'd heard they have this cool machine that they use to analyze your feet - your arches, your pressure points, etc. And they analyze your gait as you walk on a treadmill. All this goes into recommending the perfect shoe type for you. Sounded like a plan!

I walked into the store and discovered that they also were having a local High School Cross-Country Team night. There were 25 or so teenagers and their parents there, also interested in being fitted for new shoes. I was a bit frustrated, thinking that I was going to have to wait in line forEVER! But no, the nice manager guy set me and Lori C and Lori D up right away with Mike the Friendly Salesman.

Mike the Friendly Salesman was a jokester - which suited us just fine, as it is a bit odd to stand foot-naked on a pressure mat, then walk foot-naked on a treadmill while a video on a giant screen shows your ankle wobble for all to see! We appreciated the comic relief in this strange environment. We had a lot of fun with Mike the Friendly Salesman. He assured me I was not duck-footed, he assured Lori C that she could still join the army, and he assured Lori D that she had the most expensive feet of all of us!

Lori D had the honor of being fitted for custom insoles. This involved putting a flat insole into a toaster/CD-drive/Blu-ray player type thing, where it got heated up until it was pliable. Then the pliable, toasted insole was placed on a cushioned mat, and Lori D stood on top of it, while Mike the Friendly Salesman massaged the insole onto Lori D's foot. It sounds quite absurd. It kind of looked absurd too - I'll post the photos when Lori C sends them to me. :-)

Lori C and I left Lori D standing on the cushion getting her foot massaged, because for us it was on to actually choosing the shoes. This was less of a fun adventure, since after helping Lori D, Mike the Friendly Salesman had to take care of other customers on the magic foot pressure mat, video humiliation treadmill and insole toaster/DVD player, and we had to find another salesman to help us. After patiently waiting for a few minutes by the moisture-wicking sock display (who knew there could be so many kinds of running socks?), Mike the Friendly Salesman proudly announced that he'd found us a New Man. (I told Lori C she could have the New Man, since I already have my own man).

Lori C's New Man (whose name escapes me) squatted at our feet, as Lori and I sat on a bench together. He meditated for quite some time, with his hand on his chin and a perplexed look on his face. Apparently it was quite a puzzle to determine just exactly which shoe would best fit my low arch, right foot dominant, uneven peak pressure, outward foot position, wiht semi-flex ankles. Very perplexing indeed. Finally Lori C's New Man stood and walked away without a word. Lori C and I looked at each other and shrugged. Was this a good sign? Meanwhile, Lori D had already been passed off to her New Man and was already trying on shoes.

After a few moments, Lori C's New Man returned carrying six pairs of shoes - three for each of us to try on. We tried and tried and tried again. We walked, we stood, we traded, we tried again, we went back and forth. Which one looks better? Which one feels better? Which one is better for our unique arch support problems? Which one has less silver metallic trim? Is there one that comes with a cup holder? Decisions, decisions.

After much debate, all three of us found our new shoe.

For me, the winner was the New Balance Women's R1225 Stability.

Isn't it purty?

I asked if it came in Breast Cancer Awareness Pink, but alas, it was not to be.

I also ended up with Blue Super Feet insoles. Yep, Super Feet. Yay! There's something empowering in the idea of having Super Feet insoles in your shoes. Sorta makes you feel like a 3-day Super Hero, doesn't it?

I should mention that there was an extensive sock decision process, but that's not nearly as exciting as the tale I've already told. No, this is quite enough for one day's adventure.

:-)