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Comment by jermaustin1 | Hacker News Reader

I'm a big fan of walking. I had to quit running because of my knees, so walking and hiking became my new exercise, when I lived in NYC, I would average 100 miles per week, when I moved up state, a lot less, but still 50-60 miles per week, and then I moved to back to Texas last week and now I feel like it will be closer to 20 miles a week if that. I live on a major road, there aren't many places to walk around me, so might end up in the Apartment gym on a treadmill staring at the wall for my morning, lunch, and dinner walks.

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This article and your comment are inspiring me to walk more. I do walk some, maybe 10 miles a week or so. I almost always feel better mentally and physically when I walk.

It's such an ancient activity for humans. It's interesting to look at the Bible and see how often it records people walking, or to think about how much hunter-gatherers walked. Humans have been walking for many thousands of years.

Walking also seems integral to the high heat dissipation and endurance that humans have compared to other animals. We can walk for insane distances. A cheetah might be able to out sprint us, but can it cover more distance at a slow and steady pace? I doubt it.

I have a few "transcendental" books about walking. They are great, but it is basically that second paragraph. It is an ancient activity that basically transcends time, humans have been doing it since before humans. It is the "original activity".

There are also good studies of the impact of walking on cognition.

Re: cheetahs, I thought the consensus was that they can sprint long enough to wind a slower animal in a pack, but a human can track basically forever, so it doesn't matter how fast we go - we can sweat to shed heat from aerobic exertion, and so on.

It's posited as the reason humans "took off" the unique physiology of infants and not being able to walk due to our cranial size at birth - because longer gestation to facilitate walking ability means our heads would not fit for natural childbirth - means that cunning and determination are what matters. To anthropomorphize a bit.

I think we are saying the same thing- we can shed way more heat than just about any other land mammal. This results in more endurance, because other animals have to take a break to cool down. I imagine that cunning and endurance would go a long way towards a primitive hunter catching their dinner.

Interestingly, dogs and probably other animals have evolved strategies to keep the brain cooler than the rest of the body. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/836587/

Now I'm thinking about other animals that travel long distances. Butterflies and birds sometimes travel ridiculous distances. Do they have to deal with heat dissipation issues? Maybe having smaller brains help here, since cooking the brain seems to be the main issue.

from https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=217044

> The team discovered that the insects use their wings to sense the direction and intensity of sunlight—the main source of warmth or overheating—and to respond with specialized behaviors to prevent overheating or overcooling of their wings. For example, all species studied exhibited a relatively constant “trigger” temperature of approximately 40oC (104oF), turning within a few seconds to avoid overheating of wings from a small light spot shone upon them.

Nature is mind-blowing!

That's kind of sad. We've created, as Kunstler calls it, The Geography of nowhere. So whereas in NYC there are lots of things to walk to, walking in a suburban area of TX is kind of a nightmare because it's scaled for cars not humans which makes walking unpleasant and sometimes dangerous.

I live in a very walkable suburban area (not in TX), but just to the east is a freeway. I'd like to cross that freeway to access some walking trails that go along a creek, but it's just so unpleasant walking over the freeway overpass (and dangerous as drivers don't seem to be expecting people walking there even though there are walk signals) that I find I never walk in that direction anymore.

I live in a very nice surburban walkable area. We have a very substantial freeway about a mile from us that I routinely cross; there is a bike/pedestrian footbridge that goes over on one point, and a sidewalk that goes over about a mile further south. This is totally doable so perhaps work with the city to build one.

I start each day with 4miles and then try to get to 8-10 miles a day. It's hard to do 10, but 8 is pretty routine. All in maybe 3H a day, where I do meetings, etc. and listen to audiobooks.

>> walking in a suburban area of TX is kind of a nightmare because it's scaled for cars not humans which makes walking unpleasant and sometimes dangerous

I'm more of a suburb guy, so this is sort of arguing against my position, but...

So back when software developers used to travel, like 3 years ago, I went to Texas for a conference, and I stayed at a hotel in some exurban area. Walking back from the grocery store that was maybe a quarter mile from the hotel not one but two cars stopped and people asked me if I needed a ride.

Think I'm fine, thank you!

> I had to quit running because of my knees

I'm just now in this boat, so perhaps you can offer some advice. I have a bunch of running shoes, some brand new even. I'd hate for those to go to waste. Did you start walking in running shoes when you first transitioned? If so, were there any cons, where you wish you'd have just invested in walking shoes from the start?

(of course, I would donate the running shoes if I weren't going to use them, so they wouldn't truly go to waste, but I'd rather not have to shell out for new shoes if I don't have to)

I still walk in all kinds of shoes. From boots to boat shoes to trail runners. If I know I'm going to be walking long distance on paved paths, I will stick to a regular running shoe. I wear Brooks almost exclusively after a lifetime of Asics. If I know there will be softness to the ground (dirt paths/meadows) I will wear something like my Merrell Trail gloves. If there is any amount of ankle articulation, I will likely wear a high top of some sort, be it a street shoe or a hiking boot, either will work for 90% of my walking now days.

When I hike, its almost exclusively with my trail gloves, they just provide so much flexibility, they are also super light weigh and quick to dry.

I'm a bit of a shoe lover though, so walk with what you have, when you NEED something different only buy it then, but you can get 500-1000 of miles out of your running shoes when you are just walking.

Awesome feedback. Thanks! I've read that "running" shoes are built a bit differently than "walking" shoes, with regard to fit and function, so I was worried about doing further damage by walking in running shoes.

And funny enough, I recently switched to Asics from a lifetime of Brooks! But I still have both, and like both.

I've never had much issue. Some of my softer ground shoes give me shin pains on pavement, but anything that is meant for a paved surface has never phased me. That said, I used to walk five or six miles in oxfords when I lived in NYC, so maybe my feet can just take the pain

Shin pain can seem to be the death knell for taking even one more step.

I experienced it once I started walking again, and learned quickly to rest it a couple of days before walking again. If you start out too eager and quickly, it's likely to happen - I was eager and walked too briskly and let me tell you that shit hurts. Even walking, I learned, is a physical activity to ease into.

Not the OP, but depending on the type of shoe you're talking about, zero drop trail runners like altras (lone peak, etc.) are probably my single favorite distance walking shoe. They allow your toes to spread a lot and don't tend to have a lever effect if you've got bad ankles and step wrong.

I had trouble running and a friend who runs all the time recommended custom orthotics. I haven't tried this yet - I also do walking. My merrell vapor glove 4 shoes are my favorite.

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