While my trek is getting seriously close I've started to increase the number of walks, fully packaged, round my home town, Zurich-Höngg. On working days it's usually late at night; on Saturdays I extend the range from 2 hours to 4 hours and walk all across the canton of Zurich - including places like Unterengstrigen, Oberengstrigen, Weiningen, Schlieren, Dietikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Zollikon ... you name them. The training has been a great opportunity to experience the greater Zurich area. 

If you've been out on a running trail recently you might have noticed one or the other person wearing what appear to be fancy-looking post-op socks. They apply graduated compression and are tighter at the bottom and gradually looser as they go up the leg.  Similar to muscles they compress the veins and help return the blood to heart and lungs. After my last trek form Zurich to Basel I was rather surprised to see what the first 6 hours did to my calf's blood vessels. One or the other reminded me more of a hire hose than anything human; not exactly what I need on my daily 12 hour hikes.