The Wall Street Journal today reports that more people are running marathons and, surprisingly, the overall finish times are getting faster. Usually, the more people who enter a race, the slower it is. But the speculation is that more people have extra time to train, and as a result, they perform better in the race.

Has the recession given you more time to walk and exercise? It is one way to turn lemons into lemonade. Using idle time to improve your fitness is a great way to invest in your future, even when you are short on cash. State agencies in my area, and other businesses are giving their employees furlough days. But at many workplaces, this means that those not laid off are working harder, and may have less time to put into their fitness routine.
Tell us how the recession has affected your walking fitness
Hat tip to: Portland Your Money Examiner

Many walkers use a topical pain relief ointment such as Bengay or Aspercream to relieve muscle aches before and after exercise. The BBC News reports on results of a systematic review of controlled trials of muscle relief ointments (rubefacients) containing salicylates (aspirin). The lead author, Dr. Andrew Moore, is quoted by the BBC as saying that for acute pain rather than chronic conditions, "When it comes to rubefacients, they do not work well enough to take any notice of them."

Other analgesic gels containing ibuprofen or may perform better. ""What we know does work is topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory gels like ibuprofen. There is pretty good evidence that they work well and are pretty safe," Dr. Moore said to the BBC News.

The review is listed in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, but the results have not yet been published.

Do you have smelly walking shoes? The stink comes from bacteria and fungus that grow happily where it is warm and damp. There are two tactics to keeping your shoes odor-free. First, you can inhibit the bacteria and fungus from growing by using socks woven with metal fibers, such as silver or copper. I received a review pair of Aetrex Copper Sole Athletic Socks this week and I really like them for their fit and sweat-wicking ability. The copper fibers prevent most bacteria and fungus from growing, which should prevent foot odor.

Review of Aetrex Copper Sole Socks

The second tactic is to dry out your shoes thoroughly between wearings. Stuffits Shoe Savers use cedar shavings in a foot-shaped insert to put in your shoes to dry them out quickly after wearing them. They should work for dress shoes as well as athletic shoes. I haven't personally tried this product. Photo © Stuffits

I generally don't have foot odor as long as I wear sweat-wicking socks. I've only had problems with the Nike Free 5.0 shoes that I wore barefoot. They would get so smelly after four hours that I could smell my feet while sitting in an office chair. I solved that with a sprinkle of medicated foot powder in the shoes before and after wearing them. The powder helped keep the shoes dry and inhibit the bacterial growth.
What is Your Tip to Prevent Shoe and Foot Odor?

Heat illness can strike any walker. We just had a long, hot weekend and my friend Krista was feeling bad after a tough eight-mile hike. She was sweating profusely on the walk, although she had a Camelbak and was drinking. "When we finished, we hadn't even made it back to the main road off the trialhead before I told Steve to pull over - I had to get out and try not to puke. As we started to drive back towards town, I realized that although I had the A/C on, I was in a cold sweat, dizzy, ready to puke and my heart was fluttering."

Rather than driving home, they detoured to the nearest hospital. She spent four hours in the Emergency Room with heat exhaustion, getting three bags of fluids.

Take signs of heat exhaustion seriously. The best medicine is to get to a cool area and drink salt-replacing sports drink such as Gatorade or Powerade at the first signs of dizziness, light-headedness, headache or nausea. But if your symptoms continue, get to a hospital as heat stroke can develop and it can be fatal.
How to Treat Heat Emergencies
I walk earlier in the morning on hot days and I'm not afraid to cut it short.
Before You Walk in Hot Weather