Saturday, June 30, 2007

Beautiful Day!

What a great day to go walking!

My husband and I went to a small wedding reception Friday night and stayed out later than I should have. So I slept in and went out to walk after 11 a.m. I thought it would be too hot, but it was beautiful! I was scheduled to do 6 easy miles and it was great!

I ended up going to the local park with a lake and a 1.2-mile loop around it. Though this is usually one of my favorite places to walk, I haven't been here in a while. It can get pretty crowded when the weather is nice, but the real reason is that a young woman was nearly attacked by a creep with a knife a couple of weeks ago. (She fought back and was unharmed.) Over the years there have been occasional incidents in isolated areas along the bike trail. I try to be careful, especially when I'm on the trail rather than looping the lake. If I feel the least bit uncomfortable, I head back home.

The bad thing is, I like walking when there are no people around. One of my favorite walks in that area was a few years back in a steady warm rain in July. There were fewer than 6 people out that day, and we bonded under the bridge waiting for the thunder and lightening to stop. Because the rain was warm, it was a great walk until the lightening started.

I also have a creepy memory from that area, which also involved rain oddly enough. One early Sunday morning, right after it had stopped raining, I went out to do my long slow distance. It started out just being a nice walk on a tree-lined trail. I went south on the trail for about 4 miles and never saw another person. There are several blind turns and the trees can be pretty thick in places. After awhile I started to feel uncomfortable. It was the first time I had ever been out there and didn't see a single person! I was debating whether to head home the way I came, when a few bikers rode by. As time went on there were a few joggers, too.

Anyway, I will go back to the lake and walk the loop, but I doubt I will walk on the trail unless they are crowded or I have someone to walk with.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

4 Miles Today

I was a little bit sore today and had iced my knees earlier, so decided to really take the "easy 4 miles" on the schedule seriously. I was able to head out about 6 p.m. The temps were toasty, but I wasn't worried - I was walking an "easy" 4. I walked to the library, did two laps at the park and came home - just about 4.4 miles according to Google. The last half mile I started to really feel tired. I slowed considerably and even walked with my arms straight down. Because my legs and knees had been sore and it was hot, I probably would have been better off sticking with 4 miles exactly. I'm sure I would have felt fine.

The worst part is, I took so long to walk, the CD was over! I'm in the middle of a great book, and had to walk several minutes wondering what would happen next.

(I iced my knees this evening and will again tomorrow. This happens every Spring and Summer because I don't do knee strengthening exercises year round. Once I build up some mileage and endurance I'll be fine.)

Walking at Night

Because of a busy day, I didn't get out until after 9 p.m. on Monday. It was hot and humid and not much of a breeze, but because it was dark it wasn't unbearable. I haven't been out with it this dark in a long time. I wore my reflective vest and headlamp to be sure I could be seen. The headlamp definitely helps with uneven sidewalks and other potential hazards - like skunks.

It was supposed to be an easy 3 miles. I walked harder than the schedule called for, and though my Google pedometer route said it was only 3 miles I was out for 56 min., and I walked faster than that. I have to figure that Google map doesn't take into consideration the loop at the end of each cul de sac. (The map picture doesn't show a loop.)

Fitting in Walking

Sunday my son had a game at 12:30 p.m., or so we thought. We arrived at the school around 12:15 to discover the game was actually at 1:30! The game was at a school with a large amount of property and the baseball field was as far from the parking lot as you could get. I took this opportunity to walk as much as I could in about 50+ min. I ended up having no other time to walk that day, so I was glad to have had it. I was wearing Croc sandals, so I probably did not get in 3 miles, but I'm sure I covered more than 2. (I was a slug. I was supposed to get in 5 on Saturday and just didn't fit it in.)

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Google Maps

Today I discovered Google pedometer! I love it! All you do is zoom to your walking location, click at your starting point, and then add your route. I discovered that in my neighborhood, if I hit every single cul de sac, the distance is 3.47 miles. When I drove the route I came up with just 3 miles.

I get a little obsessive about measuring things so it will be nice to be more accurate about the distances I walk. I'm very excited.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

4 Miles Tonight

I was able to squeeze in my 4 miles shortly after I got home this evening. It stopped raining just after I got in the house from my car (after I was soaked). So I changed and went out walking as quickly as possible just in case the rain came back. I didn't take sunglasses, thinking I wouldn't need them - it had been raining afterall. The sun was pretty bright for about 30 mins. which made it pretty humid. I walked to the library, did two laps at the park and walked back, it should be closer to 4.4 miles.

This was weird. The soles of my shoes were slick when wet. I tried to stay on the dry parts of the walking path, but when the soles were wet, the pavement was slick. There are a couple of tiny steep hills on the path, and I had to walk int he grass going down them to keep from slipping.

Oh, the best part! My family waited to eat dinner with me! They even fixed dinner.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Things I Hate When Walking in the Summer

1) Motorcycles without mufflers
2) Cars without mufflers
3) Dogs in parks that are not on leashes
4) The invisible fence (at least at the house down the street where the dog charges me every time I walk by)
5) Not seeing a sprinkler and getting unexpectedly soaked (it happened tonight)
6) Wet shoes or socks
7) Sweat in my eyes
8) Dead batteries
9) Shoelaces that won't stay tied
10) Water splashing out of my water bottle (in my fanny pack) and down my back

Training for Crim 10 Miler

I wasn't able to walk on a measured track today, so I walked for over 45 min. to be sure I walked an entire 3 miles. The temps were in the mid 90s here, and my son had a baseball game at 6:30 p.m., so I was worried about when I'd be able to fit in the distance. I got home about 8:30 and was out the door before 9. It was a great time to walk. It had cooled off a little, the wind was blowing like it wanted to rain, and traffic in the neighborhood was light. I have a headlamp I don't wear often, but I did tonight. It really is not bright enough to light up the sidewalk, other than pointing out major sidewalk shifts, but at least I knew the few cars I encountered could see me when I crossed the street.

At some baseball games I'll be able to walk around the field. I thought I would do that tonight, but this field was fenced. Actually, it worked out better this way.

The other cool thing is, when training for my first fall marathon, I ended up doing a lot of my summer miles in my neighborhood, late at night. As I was walking tonight, it felt just like when I was walking all those years ago. It felt great!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Because I'm finishing up the Summer issue of the magazine today, I didn't get a chance to really walk like I wanted. Instead, I made a special trip to the library tonight, and walked as quickly as I could carrying a cinch sack full of books on tape. It was nice just to get out!

I'll send files to the printer tomorrow and be able to walk for real - at least for a little while.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Update - Bonnie and my Walking

Bonnie was great tonight - just like I knew she would be. About 40 people came to the seminar. I did not bring enough sample copies of the magazine with me, because they all went fast. Unfortunately, when I stepped away from the table people walked off with two of my "sample" techncial shirts. Now, I personally would have asked before I left with someone's shirts, and I did say the magazines were free, (nothing else) but I think I'll live.

Also, I FINALLY got in a good walk today! Woo hoo! Since I was not able to get in a full 3 miles yesterday bbefore dinner with Bonnie, I was determined to get in a walk tonight. At 4:30 I was at the designated park. I walked for 40 min. (5 more for cool down), rushed home, jumped in the shower and ran off to see Bonnie. Unfortunately, there was a huge wreck on 270 and I got there late. The good news is, there is no other group who would understand like this group.

I got to talk at the end, and that was nice.

A special thank you to Bonnie for doing the extra talk!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

WALK! Magazine Columnist, Bonnie Stein, Coming to Columbus

Rev Up Your Walk and Get More Bang for Your Walking BuckThursday, June 7 (7-8 PM) at New Albany High School, Jefferson Room (Fodor Rd. & 161)

Free one hour seminar with Bonnie Stein, M.Ed. Learn how to rev up your walk to get more benefits whether you want to walk faster, lose some weight or be more fit.

Bonnie is a Certified Personal Training Specialist, a former National Masters Racewalk Award Winner, columnist for WALK! Mgazine, an author, and walking consultant. Bonnie has been featured on CNN, Good Day Atlanta, The Tampa Tribune, St. Pete Times, Atlanta Journal/Constitution, Channel 11 News (Atlanta), Tampa Bay’s Channel 10, Prevention Magazine, Self Magazine, Women’s Sports and Fitness Magazine, and others.

Bonnie is a recipient of the National Masters Award in the Presidential Sports Award Program, and a writer for Running Journal Magazine. She has published more than 200 articles on walking and fitness. Bonnie is a racewalk coach for beginners through advanced levels in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and presents walking seminars all around the country.

Don’t miss this free opportunity to get your walking questions answered and learn how you can turn your walk into a workout!

Please RSVP to Dr. Phil Heit

More Team Members

We have 4 more Walking Team members! A couple of weeks ago I had a request for a "Generic" option. That person wanted to be on the Walking Team, but was not able to make it to the races we had chosen. So we now have a couple of people signed up for each race and several generic members! At least 4 members are planning to enter more than one event. It will be nice to meet them in Flint, MI in August and see them again at the New Albany 10K Walk in September.

Each race has been very supportive of the Walking Team, even though we had no idea what the interest would be like when we created it. The Appleton PowerWalk and Crim Festival are providing us with a booth at their expos. New Albany purchased an 8-page insert in the Summer issue of the magazine! Each participant in that event will also receive a copy of the magazine. Last year the crowds were large and there were so many great things handed out after the race they just did not have enough hands to hold everything, too. We thought about providing bags this year instead of magazines, but Phil has that covered.

Next weekend starts our official training. I'm ready!