Walking Before 6 AM

Today I got a good start. I got a good night's sleep after visiting Dr. Tarighati yesterday who filled three cavities. I was really impressed with how smoothly it went and I was surprised when he told me it was all done. I was expecting the same amount of time for each tooth. I told him that he's impressive. One Motrin was all I took after the anesthetic wore off and I slept right throught from a little after 10 until a little after 5. Today that area seems normal except there's no pain like before. No wonder I was in a good mood so early!

My dog, Mellow, and I got 1.5 miles in and I came back and made breakfast. Mama was happy.

Secret Message Under This Message

I got back from Dr. Tarighati's office a few hours ago. The second phase of my root canal went so well that I don't feel any pain right now. This guy's good - great, even. He even noticed how much weight I lost. What a guy. And my neighbor, Kim, said that I inspired her to exercise more. Guess I'll really and truly have to get back on the horse and stop with these sub-five mile days. I got a good start today. More tomorrow.

Records & Milestones

This past Sunday I walked through the 500 mile mark in 2008. Yesterday was the end of the first quarter of the year. Today was the start of the month and this is no April Fool's joke: I walked my longest single walk this morning before 10 am - six miles! Today's total is over 10 miles, which makes it one of my top five. Now it's time for a good night's sleep.

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

Almost 5 Miles And Many Hours Left

This morning I started off with a four mile walk and I haven't done a lot of walking since, but I'm close to five miles. That's the goal that a lot of people set for their entire day - 10,000 steps.

If you have been walking or exercising a little less than a month ago, today is a good day to get back to your more ambitious pace. It doesn't matter what that number is, because you're not competing with me and vice-versa. If you were doing a mile a day and now you're down to a fraction of it, today's the day to get back "up there". If you were doing ten miles a day and have slipped to six, you can choose to be right back at your more challenging pace.

Today is the day!

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

His Dog And Him

"His dog and him" were the lyrics I heard in my head the other day while walking with my dog (see previous post). I sometimes hum or sing while I'm walking. Mr. Bojangles was the song in my head a couple days ago, but my long walk down Alga today really gave me the feeling of "my dog and me". Lots of cars and not enough sidewalk and NOBODY else walking, though we did see the occasional cyclist. I haven't gotten to the point where I need an IPod or Zune when I walk. Today is the second time I've walked over 10 miles in 8 hours, so that's saying something. I am looking forward to April when a truly sweat-resistant earpiece is scheduled to debut from Plantronics. I can see myself on the phone sometimes when I walk. I can also see myself passing the 400 mile mark sometime this weekend or early next week.

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

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Click to listen to Mr. Bojangles by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at Last.FM or here to read the lyrics.

Sometimes I Get Really Busy

This week has been so much busier than normal. I got home last night after 11 and someone else was using my computer! My hope is that I can give more detail later today. Just got done baking a cake for my son's party and now the last minute preparations and then picking up some pies and then it's the climbing wall (for the kids at least). Through all the busyness I have been walking and encourage you to do so, too. Feels like a lot more than just a few days since I set my record of 14 miles in a single day. And I am STILL walking, just no new record. Keep it up. Send this the URL for Big Man Walking to a friend who might need it more than you.

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

On The Verge Of 300 Miles

If you check my "mileage" at Lime.com, you will see this:

I have walked 549 miles so far, over 10,996 minutes, taken 1,099,600 steps, burned 54,980 calories and reduced CO2 emissions from car use by 458 pounds.

Lime.com's Walkout breaks it down into not just miles, but steps taken, calories, minutes, etc...

When the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2007, I had walked 251.75 miles since my start last summer. That was just the "shakedown cruise" while I was getting used to the pedometer and before I made my New Year's resolution to lose 50 pounds (of fat) and gain 10 pounds of muscle by December 31, 2008. Some time today I will pass through 551.75 miles total, which means 300 miles since January 1, 2008.

I am still going. Are you still attacking your resolutions? How are your goals? If you are not happy with your progress, start again right now, February 25th, or whatever day you find this. If you never made a resolution, you can make one right now.

Return to Big Man Walking for encouragement. You can see that I'm still at it. Be encouraged. Get motivated. Get inspired. I'm going for a good walk as soon as I finish typing. When you walk and keep track of your progress, you will be inspired to reach your other goals.

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

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FreeRice.com

Help the hungry while you increase your vocabulary. It's free and it can be fun if you let it be.

12 Miles In One Day

Yesterday! My new record for walking is 12 miles in one day. I'm glad I talked to my sister. When I heard that she and her kids were walking because of reading my blog, our conversation gave me a shot in the arm and helped me turn a great day into a record-setting day.

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

Birthday Reminder For Me

Our son turned 17 today. Wow! We watched his soccer playoff and his team is now done for the year. Disappointing, but not truly heartbreaking. One year from now he'll turn 18, and years after that he'll turn 21, then 27, 37, 47 and so on. I want to be here for all of those birthdays. Not being here, now THAT would be truly heartbreaking.

I realize that this sounds a little like a pitch for life insurance, but for me, it's the truth. I am walking more to increase my chances of being here later. Bottom line.

Yes, I feel better than I did on January 1, 2008. Yes, I have been told by people that they can see the difference. But me? I want to be here as an old, old man when my son is an old man who has kids and maybe grandkids.

What's a good reason for you to walk (or exercise)? Figure out that reason and remember it (better yet - write it down) and you will find it's easier to get started and to keep going when the going ultimately gets tough.

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

700 Steps In Less Than 10 Minutes

There are multiple strategies to help you keep walking. I just walked 700 steps or about one third of a mile before I leave to pick up my son. Not much, but it took me less than 10 minutes and I got the dog a little exercise. How many seven, eight, or nine minute walks can you take in a day? Keep your focus on walking and you will find time to walk more when there is space in your schedule. Don't take the stance that "it doesn't count unless it's aerobic." All that walking burns calories. Burn 3500 calories to burn "off" one pound. One mile walking burns 100 calories. 35 miles burns 3500 calories and therefore, one pound.

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

A Funny Thing Happened While Walking The Dog

A funny thing did happen. Mellow, our Lab/Golden Retriever/Chow mix, waited until we were about half a mile from home way beyond the convenient receptacles, to do his thing. Being a dog walking veteran, I had a bag with me. I guess I was penitent while carrying it home. I was at least a little bit sorry! Somehow I ended up thinking about a friend from Toastmasters and a disagreement we had this afternoon. Then I realized that it didn't matter who was right.

What matters is that he matters and I matter. In fact, every single one of us matters. It's not who is right that matters when we disagree. What matters is how we treat each other when we disagree. I'll say it again - EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US MATTERS!

A song from over 30 years ago comes to mind. Some of the lyrics go like this:

There ain't no good guy
There ain't no bad guy
There's only you and me
And we just disagree

Click here to watch Dave Mason's We Just Disagree.

A funny thing happened while I was walking the dog.

Google Big Man Walking

Two days in a row I've googled Big Man Walking and two days in a row this blog comes up number one! That took just a little over a month from the start of this blog. You might be thinking, "Who's googling Big Man Walking?" and you might have a point there. But, if YOU google Big Man Walking and tell a friend...anyway, it's a neat little milestone for this blog.

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

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Click on the title of this post to visit FreeRice.com. Have a little fun, expand your vocabulary and while you do that you'll be helping to feed some hungry people.

Another mile before you know it

Here I am a couple hours later after running a couple errands and walking across the Palomar College campus and I've added another mile to my total. I took some extra steps to get into the shaded area because it has started to warm up. I'm reminded how nice it is to live in Southern Cal and I'm just shy of four miles today.

Crunched My Back

No cause for alarm, but, apparently 15 crunches two days in a row is too much for me right now. I walked over 200 miles in a little over a month and no problem. After 30 crunches in two days I walked a little funny. So I'll lay off crunches and I'll keep walking. I still believe it's better to not push quite as hard and keep yourself healthy so that there is no recovery time. I simply didn't pay as close attention as I should have. Maybe there's a lesson here?

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

Super Bowl Party Price

My extra really good friend who I mentioned in my last post has a wife who can really cook. She made really yummy stuff for the Super Bowl Party at their house and I ate a lot of it. She made some pretty healthy fare like turkey meatball soup as well as chocolate cake. I ate a lot of both. I went into the situation with my eyes wide open. I knew there would be consequences on the scale at Tuesday morning weigh-in.

Good news. I still lost weight. I think my buddy was a little concerned about whether I would burst or something, but I never reached the "ouch" phase of overeating that some of you might be familiar with. (Probably best to stay away from all-you-can-eat buffets...) I admit that there have been occasional times in my life when I have eaten to the point that my stomach hurts from the volume of food that I put away. Those of you who have never done this might be recoiling in horror or something close to it right now. On this Super Bowl Sunday I did not do that and I haven't done that for quite a while. Why am I telling you this? For those of you who have done what I just described, I want you to know that someone else who has done that, someone like you, can walk to lose weight and to get on a more healthy path. It can be done and you can do it.

This morning I weighed 120.8 kilos. That means I lost .4 kilos this week, which is .88 pounds. So the price of the Super Bowl Party was about three quarters of a pound when I compare the last couple weeks with this one. I can live with that. Can you?

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

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Visit FreeRice.com and help the hungry by clicking on the title of this post. Click here to view Big Man Walking January posts. Scroll down to January 29th to see my previous weigh-in.

Force Strategies Versus Personal Growth

Earlier this morning I was waiting for my son to finish his shower so I could drive him to church. I knew I had about three minutes so I went to FreeRice.com and played their vocabulary game which is sort of like SAT preparation. You pick (or guess) which answer is correct our of four options. I could describe more, but you can click the link and simply go there and see it and play it within seconds. You score points with correct answers and rice is donated to feed the hungry. Each correct answer is worth 20 grains of rice. My top level was 47 and I ended up on level 41. (You automatically level down when you give a wrong answer.) I won/helped donate 840 grains of rice and over 100 MILLION grains were donated yesterday. One day. That's really good. People are having fun. Learning. Maybe humbling themselves. And hungry people are receiving food. A survival need is being met. Check it out!

When I got back just a bit ago, I read Ian Ayres's editorial, You Bet Your Life, in the Sunday L.A. Times Opinion section. He wrote about people making commitment contracts to keep themselves on track toward their goals. He had $500 on the line every week if he failed to reach his goals and he never had to write a check on his way to losing 25 pounds. Ayres teaches law at Yale University and if he had missed a goal, he would have written a check for $500 that week to a charity chosen by his colleague, Dean Karlan, who teaches economics at Yale. They co-founded stickK.com, which you can visit by clicking on the title of this post. Their method is simply one strategy for reaching a goal, meeting a need.

In my opinion, the reasons for you or I not reaching a goal are part of what personal growth or self-development are about. I believe that dealing with the underlying issues in your life and your unhelpful and unhealthful belief systems is the better way to go in the long run. Forcing yourself to pay money can definitely work in forcing yourself to reach your goals. I'm sure you can find ample evidence on their website or in their writings. I'm suggesting that it's not the only strategy that works. The threat of paying money may force you to take certain actions, but it doesn't necessarily tell you WHY that threat is necessary. Self-development can take away the need for using that strategy. We'll see if FreeRice.com's educate and entertain yourself strategy (what I might call elementary personal growth or self-development) works in the long run. But it's working now and I expect that if you visit FreeRice.com and tell others about it, soon they will be donating 1 BILLION grains of rice per day and maybe, soon after than 100 Billion or even 1 TRILLION.

Now I'm going to go for a walk.

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Visit FreeRice.com and then visit Lime.com and register (use a pseudonym if you like - I'm Dr. Network there AND Leftcoastman here) and keep tracking of your steps and your minutes and your miles.

Every Step You Take

Every step you take.

Increases fitness. Increases bone density. Increases quality of life.

This is the slogan of Optimal Health Products. I'm not vouching for their products nor am I taking a stance against their products. I do like their slogan very much. Every Step You Take...

I encourage you to walk. Always. Every waking hour. Before I sat down to this laptop I walked, on purpose, 101 steps inside our home. You might be surprised how many steps you walk in an hour. (Although it's possible you'll be surprised at how few you are walking, too. A friend from Toastmasters said she was sure she was walking 10,000 steps a day, which is what her friend told her to do. She got a pedometer and found out it was 900! She walks more now.) I urge you to walk at least 33 steps an hour extra, which is in the neighborhood of an extra quarter mile a day. My 101 steps repeated every hour is in the neighborhood of three quarters of a mile a day. Slightly more than 1/4 of a mile extra a day is 100 extra miles a year and three quarters of a mile extra a day is three times that or 300 extra miles a year. My 101 extra steps took me about a minute. I keep mentioning extra because we need to do MORE than we are currently doing.

One of our needs is for exercise. Almost anyone can walk, which is a strategy to get exercise (and to increase bone density and quality of life). 101 steps an hour is a strategy to make the exercise/task doable and memorable for you. My hope is that over time, you will do more. Or you can walk a half marathon or full marathon today - IF you're prepared. I'm not prepared for that today. One of these days I will be. A little bit more and then a little bit more and pretty soon I'm there. Or you're there.

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

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Visit an awesome website - FreeRice.com - to help feed people while teaching you by clicking on the title of this post. Did you notice the Free in front of rice?

Walking By The Pool

National Weather Service confirms that technically speaking, it's C-O-L-D here. I was walking the dog a little bit ago and saw two guys in the pool area. One was walking in the pool and it's not the first time. The other was in our complex's jacuzzi. I got to talking with guy in the pool who said he's 67 and a couple years ago he couldn't walk 40 yards. Now he walks in the pool for exercise on a regular basis and can walk a mile at a time. I hope you can walk more than 40 yards, but if you can't right now our "pool guy" is a hopeful sign for you. I told him that I've walked around 120 miles since January 1 and he told me to keep it up. That's how he started to tell me his story. Walking can open up conversations with people you haven't met before, if you let it. There's a little bit of a feeling that we're all in this (struggle?) together. Join us.

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

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Click on the title of this post to read about water or pool walking.