Over 10 Miles In Eight Hours

Earlier I was closing in on 300 miles since 01/01/08 and I blasted through and am now nearing 310 miles. Some days you can get inspired. Keep doing what you're doing every day and then all of a sudden you get a burst of energy or inspiration or encouragement - you get the idea. You don't need to break personal records every day, but keep going and some days you will. My body's buzzing. I'm feeling good and my feet are only a touch sore thanks to my shoes. You can do it. 50 or 100 yards or five or ten miles. Remember, you are competing with YOU.

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

---

Click on the title of this post to see Ooma.com's blog about me and the other winners. We haven't had a phone bill at our house since December because of Ooma. No, I don't work for them, but they did send me a nice T-shirt and blanket(!) today.

Help the hungry and increase your vocabulary for free at FreeRice.com.

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.

---

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.

My Sister Got A Pedometer

We just spoke on the phone right now. After catching up about our family activities, I asked if she had read Big Man Walking and she reminded me that I sent a link through email. [Hey, would you do a friend a favor and send them this link through email?] After reading my blog they bought pedometers and my niece walked 8000 steps in one day in addition to all her other activities. My sister is walking more, too! This is really cool.

If you need to get more exercise and you've been putting it off because it's too much effort or takes too much time, start with walking. Even 30 extra steps an hour makes a difference. If you're really stubborn, start with three extra steps an hour. You can do that by getting up and sitting back down. I hope that you will feel encouraged to walk or exercise by reading Big Man Walking. I hope you'll keep coming back and that my progress is inspiring or motivating for you.

As for me, knowing that I have already encouraged my sister and her kids to walk more will have ME walking with a smile on my face for the rest of the 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.

Probiotics Pancreatitis Connection?

Faithful readers will remember that my brother was going to the hospital on New Year's Eve 2007 while I was making my resolution to walk and lose weight. My brother suffered from pancreatitis and weeks later a friend from church did, too.

Lime.com just alerted me to a New York Times article about a possible connection between probiotics and the severity of pancreatitis. That's my take on what I read. You can read it here.

Celebrating In Line At Panera

While waiting for bagels at Panera I started talking with the tall, slender lady with the big "rock" on her left hand and I got around to mentioning how far I've walked since the turn of the new year. Are you ready? I have now walked 250 miles!

She asked me how I knew and I told her that I used a pedometer to keep track and that I record my progress online at my Big Man Walking blog. I want to take a moment to remind you how important it is to keep track if you want to stay motivated. Because I can visit this blog and my "mileage" on my Lime.com Walkout page, I can check back if I ever have doubts like "Did I really do it?" or "Did I really walk that much?" Because I'm using a pedometer I know I am about as close to completely accurate as I can get. I find the milestones like 250 miles are very motivating. Some might say that it's only a number, but I know I'm a quarter of the way to ONE THOUSAND MILES! If I simply keep up the current pace (and I expect to pick up the pace), I will cross the THOUSAND mile mark sometime in late June. Unless you're quite an athlete, these numbers are at least a little bit exciting.

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

(Use a pedometer. Record your results.)


---

Starting today I'll include motivational, inspirational and encouraging quotes in this space...

“Correction does much, but encouragement does more.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe quote from ThinkExist.com


Feed the hungry by increasing your vocabulary at FreeRice.com

Brain Fitness

Amazing what you can find through Google. I was checking on fitness sites and found one on Brain Fitness called SharpBrains.com. Experts are finding that walking helps your brain. Below are the first bits of a couple articles and the links to those articles. Walking is good for your brain. I guess there's hope for me yet!

--

Guess what?! There is this amazing therapy that is free for everyone. All you need is two feet (and many very accomplished practitioners don't even have that!). ... It's called exercise!
Two Feet Of Free Therapy

In people age 65 and older, simply walking regularly or engaging in other moderate exercise can reduce dementia risk, a new Italian study finds.
Regular Walking Protects The Aging Brain

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.

Did I Miss Valentine's Day?

Our weather turned uncharacteristically cold again. So Valentine's Day was cold, rainy, and windy and we escaped to the movies. Today was tough for walking. We enjoyed the movie a bunch. I just can't quite remember the name right now. It's the one with the dad explaining the story of his relationship with his daughter's mom and the other relationships that led up to that one. You know, the little girl is the same one from that oddly funny movie about the family that goes across country so she can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant...Hey, that's the name of the other movie. The girl does a really good job but nobody will win an Oscar. It's not that type of movie, but we both cried a little. I was surprised. Ok. So I'm tired, but it was a good day. A good Valentine's Day and we got the paperwork turned in for the National Honor Society so the deadline pressure is over. I think I'll take a walk.

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

Walkstation

Yesterday I was listening to KPBS and my ears perked up when I heard a report on the Walkstation. I've been looking for a truly sweatproof earpiece for my mobile phone so I can take the really big walks and still have a productive conversation while I exercise. I understand that Plantronics is coming out with one in April. So I was ready to hear this report which will be a solution for some people (as long as they remember to use the technology for good and not evil).

You can walk while you work. I've already seen a report putting this down at Crave as a threat to their "stated pursuit of laziness". If you are looking to be otherwise productive while you walk as I do, the mobile phone sweatproof earpiece seems like a good idea. If you want to get more exercise while you're being productive at work, the Walkstation might be for you if you have the budget. I would hate to see any businesses force this on people, but if you choose it, more power to ya.

The rain has let up. Time to walk the dog.

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

---

Click on the title of this post to see the Walkstation presentation. Here for FreeRice.com

--

Proud Papa department-

The son received invitations from Fordham and Seattle Universities yesterday. Yes!