12 Minute Walk

You can walk a few extra minutes when you get the mail or go out to find something in the car or when you knock on a neighbor's door. Stay outside and walk 10 or 12 more minutes or even 5 or 6. I saw that I had a little time before the phone call to my honey in Florida and took the dog out for about 12 minutes. I walked about half a mile. Even a quarter of a mile extra per day adds up over 365 or 366 days. If you walk just a little bit over a quarter of a mile extra per day, during the course of a year, you will have walked an extra 100 miles.

My trainer friend, Christine Burke, tells me that 1 mile burns 100 calories on average and 3500 calories burned is what it takes to lose one pound. So, for a little effort beyond whatever you're currently doing, you can lose approximately three EXTRA pounds per year. Doesn't seem like much, you say? Well, if you think of it the opposite way...that you UNDERexercised that much per year. That would mean you GAINED an extra three pounds per year and that's how you can put on an extra 30 pounds over 10 years. Plus, if you actually lost the extra weight instead of gaining it, the difference between what you could have gained and what you actually lost over 10 years adds up to 60 pounds!

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

I Feel Better

There's a buzz in my body. My guess is that I'm feeling improved circulation. Whatever it is, I definitely feel better. It seems like my mind is clearer. You can benefit, too.

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Click on Health Benefits of Walking or the title of this post to see the About.com article.

Health Benefits of Walking

OK, I'm Up

I have a bunch of stuff to do the first few hours this morning, but I'm up. I just have to let the dog find a defenseless stationary object. I WILL walk in a few hours.

I will walk. I will.

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In the meantime, click on the title of this post to visit Walkable.org, the website of Walkable Communities, a non-profit corporation helping North America develop walkable communities.

Full Moon Record

This is one of the coldest Januaries (does the plural of January look funny or is it just me? It's right. I looked it up at Dictionary.com.) I can remember in North County. I'm sure my friend Gordon near Salem, Massachusetts (Yes. That Salem.) wouldn't really think of this as cold, but for this part of California it is really and truly cold.

Last night and tonight the full moon has been beautiful during my walks with the dog. I was reminded of nearly 30 years ago waiting in line with my brother and my dad in the middle of the night at the Salton Sea. We went hunting there a couple times. My dad and older brothers went a lot more than I did - especially my oldest brother, Mike. He's the one who had pancreatitis recently. I've never really thought of the Grateful Dead and my family before now. But I can honestly say "What a long, strange trip it's been." I'm not going to get maudlin here. I just touched a happy memory when I was taking a walk is all.

I'm happy to say that today is a new high on the long (strange?) walking trip I'm taking - over 8 1/2 miles. Visit my stats at Lime.com.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

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I saw this amazing story about a father who found out he had a daughter, Tran Thi Kham, who had been looking for him and didn't realize that she had found him. It might make you believe in miracles. Click on the title of this post to read the BBC story.

Six Miles By 1 (Almost)

First, I want to remind you that each of us, you and I, are competing against ourselves. I'm competing against my past performance (no guarantee of future results?). So, when I get home from completing a 2 1/2 mile walk and today's total so far of six miles, I must remember that I'm not competing against Tommy Daly.

Who's Tommy Daly? I was thinking the same thing when I saw the giant poster on his garage. Apparently, a guy in the neighborhood ran in the H.U.R.T. 100 mile trail race over the weekend and did 100 miles in 35 hours and 18 minutes. I did my 100 miles in 21 days...

H.U.R.T. stands for Hawaii Ultra Running Team. I don't think I even qualify for the Ultra WALKING team yet. You just can't compare yourself to the super athletes if you're not part of that group. And everyone is different, so stick with comparing you to you.

As for me, I was walking at Palomar College while my son, Stuart, was in Calculus class. I got a nice surprise. I walked the track five times and found that my quarter mile is around 498 steps now as opposed to 575 when I measured last summer. If I have improved, that's great. If the shoes make a difference, if I walked the middle of the track this time, if I was overly careful in the steps I took last summer, whatever...I don't really mind the reason. It's good to know that only 498 steps are a quarter mile for me, which means a mile is 1992 steps. I guess I'll keep measuring to stay on top of it in the future.

That brings me to my six miles before 1 pm (almost). My pedometer said 12063 steps when I got inside the door, so the six miles is correct because 11952 (less than 12063!) steps is 6 times 1992. But, it was a couple minutes past 1. Still a great achievement for me, Charlie Hicks-Moore.

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Click on the title of this post to see the H.U.R.T. blog.

100 Miles In 21 Days

From January 1, 2008 through 9:00 pm January 21, 2008 my pedometer has counted over 230,000 steps which for me translates into 100 miles! Yes!

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

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Click on the title of this post to see my daily numbers recorded at Lime.com.

Walking As A Value

I arrived at Rubio's in Mira Mesa a little early and while I was waiting I walked up and down the food court. I used to be bugged a little (or more than a little) when I had to wait. I remember when I was in life insurance almost ten years ago I told a coworker that I almost left for an appointment without him when he was eight minutes late. While he did have a tendency to overschedule so as to value his time over the client's, I did not realize then how out of balance I was.

I was meeting a church friend for noon lunch to introduce him to the Fiesta Salad because it's such a good fit for the South Beach diet that he's on to improve his triglycerides. Because I am paying attention to when and where I can walk (almost anywhere) I noticed that I could simply get some walking in while I waited. I value walking. I hope you do, too. Even those of you who get so much other exercise can benefit by walking while you wait. A fair skinned animated beauty once sang "Whistle while you work," but I say "Walk while you wait". My pedometer said I walked 1/2 mile right before lunch at Rubio's. When you value walking, you won't see all the waiting time as wasted and maybe, like me, you'll find yourself in a good enough mood that you'll be more gracious than I was when I was in life insurance.

Now the dog is waiting...

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

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I googled Big Man Walking and found that my recent post came up in 13th position. Click on the title of this post to see that search result for Big Man Walking.

Make Hay While The Sun Shines

While the Packers were struggling in the snow Sunday, the sun was shining in North San Diego County. If you read my post from yesterday, you'll see that as far as walking goes, I didn't take advantage of the good weather. This morning it was raining steadily when I woke up and I decided to wait 10 minutes or so to see if the rain eased up. The dog was very happy to see me when I went to get him and we ventured out in the light rain enthusiastically. He was simply happy to get out and find a tree and I was glad it wasn't raining so hard. I wore a cap to keep my glasses from getting rained on and off we went.

Just a little tip for walking in the rain. Remember the joke about the guy who tells his friend he's gonna walk ten miles a day? His friend calls him up ten days later and asks how he's holding up with all the walking. He replies, "Great, but now I'm a hundred miles from home." I like to stay closer to home in the rain just in case it starts to come down hard. I definitely do not want to be a mile away from home and get caught in a serious downpour. I walked what I think of as our inner neighborhood this morning and Mellow and I still got in over two miles while staying close to home. It's just that I would have preferred the weather we had yesterday. Oh...almost forgot. The scale says 121.9 kilos which means I lost .7 kilos this week which converts to 1.54 pounds! This result is due to walking. I haven't started South Beach yet.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

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If you read the previous post, you may wonder what they heck I'm talking about. Mistakes happen. I accidentally posted information intended for another blog because I had so many windows open. C'est la vie. (Our son starts French this week.)

Click on the title of this post to visit The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy at Bartleby.com for the meaning of "make hay while the suns shines".

Let's Start With Wiley

I am amazed by companies that have been around 200 years or more - even 100. Wiley publishes For Dummies (as in, Poker For Dummies, Green Living For Dummies, Calculus For Dummies) as well as Cliffs Notes and books like The Work of Writing. Did you know many Cliffs Notes like we used in school are free online now?

Cliff's Notes

Wiley

Green Living For Dummies

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The Work of Writing

Move These Refrigerators

Today we moved a couple refrigerators at my brother's house. (Remember that Dire Straits lyric? "We gotta move these refrigerators. We gotta move these color TVs... I shoulda learned to play the guitar. I shoulda learned to play them drums.") We moved one out and we went and got another and moved it in. That, combined with the Chargers and the Packers both losing and a couple more errands here and there meant I didn't walk as much as I have been averaging recently. However, 67 minutes is considerably more than 27 minutes. My off day is getting better just like my top days - a good sign. When this happens to you, just get back to it the very next day, which is what I plan to do tomorrow. I'm [STILL] walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

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Click to visit Dire Straits. That "Move These Refrigerators" song is titled Money For Nothing and it's on the Brothers In Arms album. When I looked this up I remembered a great site where you enter your favorite artist and they play music that's similar. Click on the title of this post to visit that site - Last.FM. I entered Dire Straits there a few minutes ago and Last.FM played The Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Women and Eric Clapton's Crossroads along with another Dire Straits tune - Lion and the Eagles' Peaceful, Easy Feeling.

Are You Keeping Track?

Tomorrow is the start of the third week of the Big Man Walking blog. If you haven't done so yet, start writing down/keeping track of the distance you walk. Don't estimate. Get a pedometer that works and wear it. My pedometer is electronic and counts steps. I know that 2300 of my steps is a mile. I happen to have a Sportline, but I'll bet most electronic step counter pedometers will work. I wear it on my belt or clip it on my shorts or sweatpants above my right leg.

You don't even have to buy a notebook if you would rather type in your information. You don't have to start a blog but you can use Lime.com's Live the Change and Walk Out program for free. Check out my information and sign up here or by clicking on the title of this post. After you join, let a friend know you're walking. Then post a message to my blog and let me know. You might find others who are doing the same and that can be encouraging. My hope is that you're encouraged and that you're taking action to achieve your desired weight and fitness level.

I am walking. You can walk. Please walk today. No matter what.

Don't Overdo It

I took the dog for a walk after a late lunch and we did just under three miles. When you've been walking for a couple weeks, you start to get used to the distances and you can push yourself a little bit more. Now that I've done more than three miles a few times, I decided to push for an extra half mile or so this afternoon. I know I can do it because I've done it recently.

I remember running when I was in my twenties and I definitely wasn't careful. I might do nothing for months and then decide to run on the beach from Encinitas to Del Mar (several miles) and back and that would wipe me out for a few days, even walking the last bit back to Moonlight Beach. The only things I had going for me were my youth and the soft surface I was running on and youth can't always make up for being out of shape.

You know what you've been doing lately so you know if you're pushing yourself to do something you've done in the last week or so or if you're pushing yourself a little beyond what you've done recently or [danger] WAY beyond. Stick with the first two if you want to minimize potential injury that could set you back days or weeks depending on the shape you're in.

A buddy that I haven't spoken with for a while told me he stopped walking as much from the time the fires hit San Diego in late 2007 and he walked even less during the holidays and today he twisted his ankle. Now he's out for a day or so, but we'll get together and walk this week. Sometimes you just twist your ankle, but other times you can avoid problems if you simply don't over do it. Still, use that pedometer and...Please walk today. No matter what. I am walking. You can walk.