"Welcome" E-mail

Did you receive an e-mail welcoming you to our mailing list?

While creating an e-mail to let readers know about the January/February issue of WALK! Magazine, I inadvertently hit the send button too early.

Sorry about that!

So, What is Going on with Walk?

I’m sad to announce that after four years of publishing WALK! Magazine, we will no longer be publishing as a magazine. The combination of high printing costs, postage and a lack of advertising has combined to make it difficult for us to continue in the printed format. Though we originally planned to continue publishing entirely electronically, the decision was made too late.

The good news is, even though we will no longer publish a magazine per se, we will continue with an electronic newsletter that will incorporate many of the features of the magazine. The WALK! Magazine Walking Team will still train for races and travel to some great walking events. We will continue to do product reviews and event reviews. We will also continue our new column I am a Walker. We will still present the Best City and Best Event for Walkers awards.

Finally, we do not want to leave you, our loyal subscribers in a lurch. We are working with other publishers to make arrangements to offer you a replacement publication. (It will probably be electronic.) We will keep you posted either via e-mail, on our web site at www.walk-magazine.com or here.

Walking in 6 Inches

Yesterday I couldn't wait to get outside while the big fluffy snowflakes were falling. I LOVE this type of snow! I like it even more when I'm not driving.

I was bundled up in layers in my winter coat with heavy boots because the temps were in the single digits. It looked as if many people in our neighborhood bought new snow blowers this year. There was lots of noise and several cleared sidewalks.

In one section the snow on the sidewalk was pretty deep, so I walked in the street in tire tracks. I went about 6 feet when I my feet went out from under me and I ended up on my butt in the middle of the street. As I was about to hit the ground I thought "This is really going to hurt." Luckily, I was somewhat jarred, but not harmed. Then again, I did land where I have the most padding!

I walked for about half an hour, which was plenty. The cold was starting to seep through my pants. If my legs weren't cold I probably would have stayed out a little longer.

Due to stressors, I have not been as diligent about walking as I had hoped this year. (Already!) But this beautiful winter walk was great for the mental health!

Granola Bars and Water -- New Fad Diet?

I recently saw part of an infomercial for a weight loss product I found pretty surprising. Created by a bariatric surgeon, the product is a type of weight loss bar.

Each bar has 180 calories or less. According to the web site:

Simply eat FullBar with an 8-ounce glass of water 30 min. before your 2 biggest meals of the day. The upper part of your stomach is stretched out and tells your brain: "Stop! I'm full!" That's because FullBar uses the same principles as weight-loss surgery. By meal time, you'll eat less and your hunger will be completely satisfied.

The plan is for 12 bars a week -- participants eat two bars a day 5 days a week. On weekends they have the choice of 1 bar each day, or two bars one day.

I'm not a dietitian or nutritionist, so I can't evaluate the ingredients or the nutritional value of the bars. However, the first ingredients are brown rice syrup and "puffed rice cereal." Comparing that to the Kashi bars I like, the first ingredient is a blend of whole grains.

It doesn't take a PhD to figure out how this plan works. The puffed rice cereal absorbs the water, expands and you feel full.

It takes about 30 min for your brain to realize you have eaten, so if you eat anything and drink water 30 minutes before a meal, you will feel less hungry and are less likely to overeat. Remember the apple diet from a couple of years ago? Participants ate an apple 30 min. before each meal. That worked, too. (Shoot, I've eaten a couple of saltines before a meal and been less hungry.)

Comparing prices -- On sale right now, a three-month supply of FullBar is $175 or about $1.22 for each bar. The regular price is $2.50 per bar. A box of six Kashi bars range from $3.67 to $5.00 per box -- 61 cents to 83 cents each. Even at the highest price I've paid, that is at least $55 less than this special diet bar.

I am skeptical of any fad diet. They just do not work for long-term healthy weight loss. But when I see something like this I just hope people anxious to lose weight don't get sucked in.

If you are interested in trying this type of eating plan, buy some high-quality granola bars (such as Kashi brands) from Walmart and save some money.

Walking Cancelled Due to Fiesta Bowl -- Biked Instead

It's amazing how time can get away from you -- especially when the bowl games are aired during the week!

Lots of distractions and delays caused me to postpone walking until I finally realized the Fiesta Bowl was minutes away. Darn! I've been following the Buckeyes for years. I was not going to miss this bowl game.

At the beginning of the second half I went to the basement, dragged out my old exercise bike and rode for 20 min. I pedaled harder during the commercials and waved my arms in the air for a few minutes. My legs felt like lead!

This bike is OLD! I bought it from the Athletic Club of Columbus back when they upgraded their bikes 20 years ago. (I worked there then.) It's a pretty basic Schwinn that features a timer, speed, and a knob that turns manually to affect how hard you have to pedal. It works. (Though it could use some new batteries.)

OK, so I didn't walk -- riding my antique bike counts. To be honest, it was a lot harder.
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PS: For as severe as my cold was yesterday, I'm feeling remarkably good now! I can't believe the difference from this morning!

Today, I Stopped Eating

That is probably a little melodramatic. I have not stopped eating completely -- at lunch today I just stopped eating when I was full.

Like many people my age, I was taught to eat everything on my plate. When I'm at home, cooking and serving my own food, I'm pretty good about serving up an appropriate amount of food -- unless it is something extremely delicious like my homemade lasagna.

Frequently when I dine out the portions are out of control. And forget Mexican restaurants with the continuous chips and salsa. I can't stop. In addition, I think about the cost. I paid for the food, I want to eat all of it to be sure I got my money's worth. It makes for a bad combination.

So, I'm proud to say that today for the first time in a long time, I stopped eating when I was full instead of finishing every single bite. It's a start. (Yeah, it's a New Year's Resolution.)

Killer Cold

I don't get sick very often. In fact, I have a great "pre-cold cure*" that has kept me from catching a cold for quite a while. I probably get one cold a year, but they don't feel very severe.

This time my cure didn't work and I have a killer cold! This is by far the worst cold I've had in a long, long time. I hate to break a New Year's resolution so early in the year, but I am today.

Because of this cold and because it is raining, I won't be walking today. I don't think walking in rain will help with my recovery. Let's see how I feel tomorrow.

Rule of thumb for deciding if you are too sick to walk. If your symptoms are above the neck, you are OK to exercise. If your symptoms are below the neck, you will have to play it by ear. If the illness has settled in the lungs, if you have a fever or anything intestinal, it's best if you rest.
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Cindi's pre-cold cure: The first day you have any symptoms of a cold, as you go to bed, take about 1 Tablespoon of hot sauce (like cayenne, Red Hot, etc.) then immediately climb under the covers. Do this for a couple nights in a row until the symptoms go away. I RARELY develop a full cold!

3rd Day of Year -- 3rd Day Walking

Walked a little over 4 miles at Sharon Woods today. Though it was in the 20s, the sun was shining and there was no wind. I was slightly over-dressed with two technical shirts a fleece vest AND and windproof jacket, but that was OK. I HATE being cold.

I really like this park. There are several distinct terrains: the plains at the beginning, the hills in the woods, then there is the flat section in the woods, more plains, the pine forest and you are done.

It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful location! And the people weren't bad either.
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I am keeping to one of my resoutions: walking at least five days a week. This is day three of three!

The Benefits of a Walking Club -- Meet the Buckeye Striders

One of my "unpublished" resolutions is to walk more often with the Buckeye Striders -- the walking club I belong to. The club meets every Saturday at 8 a.m. at various parks around the city. When it is too nasty out, we meet at an indoor track.

There are a couple reasons why I like to walk with this group:
1) They are all positive happy people! I feel good whenever I see them.
2) They know a lot. We offer each other advice on everything from training to eating and what to wear. New shoes are ALWAYS a major discussion!
3) They are so supportive! When a group of us is planning a major event such as a marathon or half marathon, we schedule our long training walks together. We encourage each other to keep going.
4) They make me laugh! This morning, the amount of laughter coming from our group was amazing.
5) We meet at local races, or travel together to events out of town, and it makes these events so much more fun.
6) Just knowing they are at a park ready to walk encourages me to get out of bed earlier on a Saturday to meet them.

It's not the largest walking club in Central Ohio, but it is a close knit group. Still we welcome newcomers as if we've known them forever! We are a diverse group of people. Our professions include engineers, lawyers, teachers, nurses, Realtors, doctors, speech pathologist, and me the editor. Some of us are married, some are not. Some of us have kids, some don't, some have grandkids. Some have dogs, others cats. It gives us a wide variety of things to talk about while walking.

But the absolute best thing about this group is, as a whole, they all are genuinely happy to see which ever members of our group show up. What more can you ask for on a Saturday morning!

Breaking Bad Eating Habits

A lot of the foods we like to eat are foods our parents introduced us to. My parents were not overly adventurous, unless you count the wild game my Dad and brothers supplied in season.

We were a basic meat and potatoes family. Dinners included a canned or frozen vegetable and an iceberg lettuce salad. Lunches were usually some type of a white bread sandwich with lunch meat, processed cheese, an apple and potato chips. Sometimes we would get a Little Debbie.

A lot of our "treats" or special occasion foods were along the line of potato chips and dip, cheese and crackers, chicken wings and other junk food.

Because of my upbringing, I crave all of those foods. I've made a few changes in our family's menu, such as more fresh veggies instead of frozen, no iceberg lettuce and brown rice instead of white, but I really love chips and dip and other very tasty junk foods.

Part of why I'm suddenly analyzing why I want to each junk is because I watched several shows on TLC last night: Half-Ton Dad, Half-Ton Teen and Half-Ton Mom. These people were in the super morbidly obese category and some could not even get out of bed. And yet, their loved ones continued to feed them garbage because that is what they knew. One guy was bedridden and while his family talked about how hard it was for him, they kept showing the family eating fast food, milk shakes, French fries and foods covered in cheese and grease. An infant was eating a French fry!

The heavy 19-year-old did nothing but sit all day and his "momma" brought him food! (Sidebar: Why do people refer to themselves in the third person? "Do you want Momma to bring you something?" ARGH!) This woman was loving her son to death. And the hospital staff said his ability to lose weight and be healthy was being hindered by her!

January 1 was the perfect day to watch these shows. I've made some health and fitness resolutions including eating more healthy foods and less junk. The thing is, like the morbidly obese people, I crave the junk! I like the healthy stuff OK, but I don't WANT the healthy stuff.

So, my challenge for the month of January is: teach my body to want healthy foods. If any of you have ideas, I'm open to suggestion!
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I walked today. Second day of the year, second day walking!

My New Year's Resolutions

I didn't used to be big on New Year's Resolutions. But I discovered that once goals were written down, I was much more successful.

In no particular order, here are a few of my New Year's Resolutions:

1) Walk five days a week most weeks of the year.
2) Enter some judged racewalks.
3) Walk faster.
4) Teach some old dogs new tricks. They all need to bark less, one needs to be outside more.
5) Eat more fruits and vegetables.
6) Reduce stress.
7) Work less.
8) Be more decisive.
9) Sleep more.
10) Spend more time with friends.
11) Manage my time better. (Less time on Twitter?)

Anyone else writing resolutions?

It's New Year's Day -- Have you Walked Yet?

Happy New Year!

After a fun and relaxing evening celebrating with friends, I was awake at the crack of 10 a.m. As I laid in bed I decided not to do the First on the First 5K race in Westerville, but walk at Antrim Park instead. I could see the sun through my windows and knew it would be beautiful at the lake.

Antrim is one of my favorite local places to walk and I often go there when I feel the need to walk someplace special. New Year's seemed like the perfect time to go someplace special.

There were not many cars in the parking lot and fewer than 20 people on the trail. It made me feel even more that I was doing something special. I was out walking in the cold and only a few other people were out there sharing the moment with me. Plus, I always prefer this park more when there are fewer people.

At first I planned to walk just two laps for about 2.4 miles. The wind was blowing and when it was in my face on one side of the lake, I froze. After I changed direction so the wind was at my back in the exposed areas, I felt great and decided to do three laps instead.

My initial plan was to take it easy today. I have not walked consistently over the holidays and just wanted to enjoy being outside. After about 5 min. I was in full racewalking mode and pushing! OK, so I can't take it easy. The adrenaline and endorphins felt great!

So I returned home feeling great. I walked because I wanted to, not because of pressure to do a race. The weather was beautiful. The location was perfect! I cannot think of a better start to the New Year!

So, have you walked today!

Surprisingly Dark Tonight

I finally got out for a short walk about 7 p.m. tonight. (It's been a few days.) I don't mind walking in my neighborhood at night for two reasons: It normally feels safe and most people keep their porch lights on.

Though there are houses in our neighborhood with holiday lights, there are fewer than in previous years. And today, there were a lot fewer houses with their porch lights on. It seemed dark!

Unfortunately, my headlamp is going dim, so I didn't feel well lit. I did wear a reflective vest, but I didn't feel as comfortable out there today.

Though I needed to walk longer, I cut it a little short due to dark.

9 Tips to Help you Keep your Fitness Resolutions

Traditionally, the New Year is a time of self-evaluation, goal-setting and change. And after more than a month of overeating (Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day), most of us have gained a few pounds and are thinking about health and fitness. If you are like the average American, your last year’s resolutions were out the window by March! March!

To help all of us be successful beyond March, I’d like to offer a little advice for your 2009 Resolutions. These 9 tips are in no particular order, but needless to say, they have a "walking" focus.

1) Be realistic. Set goals you have a chance of meeting. If your goal is to enter and finish Last Chance for Boston in early February in record time, and you haven’t walked in a month -- not likely! But you could enter and train for the Cincinnati Flying Pig in May or the Columbus Marathon in October. Or you could enter some local 5Ks all year long.

2) Don’t overdo it. Don’t set so many goals that you become burned out quickly. If you add spin classes and weightlifting along with walking all on the same days and changing your entire diet, within two weeks you won’t be doing anything.

3) Don’t beat yourself up if you have a minor setback. Pick a day and start over. When “restarting” my resolutions, I usually pick a Monday or the first day of a month. There is something about a fresh week or month that is helpful.

4) Start a new resolution each month throughout the year. Maybe in January you resolve to walk 4 to 5 days a week. February you eat one extra serving of fruit each day. In March you add push ups to your workout routine. In April you eat a healthy breakfast each day, in May you give up caffeine (Just kidding. I love caffeine.) In June you stretch after each workout …. You’ll have something new to focus on each month that can spark your enthusiasm. Studies show it takes 21 to 30 days for a new behavior to become a habit, so if these new behaviors build on each other, you’ll have achieved a lot by the end of the year.

5) Write it down. Many of us use mileage logs to keep our walking in check. Make your mileage log a health and fitness log, keeping track of all your fitness goals. Seeing what you have accomplished can help keep you going.

6) Seek out a support group. Whether it is a walking club or Weight Watchers, it is helpful to have others who are working toward a similar goal. Online groups like the WALK! Magazine Walking Team or a Yahoo discussion group will also help. Plus, if you know a group is dependent on you, you are much more likely to show up. (Insert Deb’s hysterical laughter here.)

7) If your goal is to enter a race or walking event, pay your entry fee early. Once you put money toward the entry fee, hotel or airfare, you are less likely to back out. In addition, tell people you are going to do it. Tell your walking buddies, post on discussion groups and they will be your support group. Tell your other friends and family. The more people who know, the more embarrassing it will be if you back out and fear of embarrassment is a great motivator!

8) The opposite of number 1 -- Do something bold! Pick something you have always wanted to do, but accomplishing it will be a BIG deal -- something that will keep you excited and working hard for a long time. Maybe instead of doing a local race, you do the Disney Marathon, or an event in Hawaii or Barbados! Would you like to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail or the Grand Canyon? A walking vacation in Europe would be fun! You don't even have to accomplish it this year, but start planning for something that will be exciting or life-altering for you.

9) Reward yourself. When you have accomplished a goal, you deserve a reward. After you have walked 5 days a week for a month, buy a great pair of new socks. When you complete your first 20-mile walk, maybe you deserve a cute new technical shirt. When you finish a great race, buy a charm or race shirt to commemorate it! (What would I have to do to earn a Garmin?)

So, with these tips in mind, let’s all have the best and healthiest year possible in 2009! And I’ll see you at the starting line of the Cincinnati Flying Pig (Half) Marathon in May.

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

My family had a very nice, low-key Christmas celebration yesterday. Tomorrow we will have a chaotic, crazy, young-kid filled holiday with nieces and nephews like I remember from being a kid. Both options are great and lots of fun!

I hope that all of you have had the opportunity to do what you wanted this holiday season!

Views on Twitter

The main reason I got on Twitter was so I could communicate with readers of WALK! Magazine and they could reach me fairly easily. I thought it would be fun to have short 140-character chats with other walkers and fitness fanatics. I could post things that happen throughout the day. It would be fun.

I've been on Twitter for a little while and I have a couple of observations:

1) Most people using Twitter are PR people. I don't have anything against PR people -- I used to be one. It just seems to be a really high percentage.

2) There are not many walkers. @bethwatkins, @BigManWalking, @LarryWalksFast, @TimSeaman and a couple of others are about all I've found. @hiwendee runs and walks, but that's OK, I still talk to her.

3) You follow people and people follow you. But not everyone you follow has to follow you and vice versa.

4) Related to number 3 -- sometimes I feel like I did in high school. All of the cool kids are having a conversation and I'm not included. It could just be that I follow people who don't follow me, so they don't even "hear" me. Regardless it feels weird.

5) Some people tweet too often! Maybe when the novelty wears off it will slow down. I've quit following some people because there are way TOO many messages from them and it makes it hard to see what other people are saying. Sometimes enough is enough!

6) You can waste a LOT of time on Twitter. It is fun! I like getting breaking news stories. It's interesting hearing that Lance Armstrong rode for 6 hours yesterday. Wendee is either cooking or stuck in traffic and Larry posts about his training or going to see AC/DC. Some of the local news anchors tweet during newscasts! It's like a private joke people not on Twitter never know about.

7) I don't know how to use Twitter effectively. I started out just posting about the magazine, but that seemed a little uninteresting. I added posts about training and races I've entered. Sometimes the posts are more personal than professional. Not quite sure how to handle that. There have also been some general complaints about people who use corporate names as opposed to personal ones. I picked @WALK_Magazine so readers could find me easily, but people who don't know that I am WALK! Magazine might be turned off by that.

In conclusion, I really like Twitter. At the same time, I think it wastes time. I don't have a lot of free time as it is, do I really need to spend a couple hours watching people chat? Still, I know it has the potential to be a great marketing and PR tool (hence all of the PR people on there), I'm not sure how it will help me yet.

In the meantime, follow me @WALK_Magazine. You'll find out all kinds of things like when the next issue will be out, what I had for breakfast and how many miles I walked. :-)OK, I just posted a notice promoting the WALK! Magazine Walking Team. Maybe I will get the hang of using it!

Only 2 More Days!

Only 2 more days until the shortest day of the year. That means that starting Tuesday, each day gets a little bit brighter!

Many of you know my moods are affected by the amount of sunshine and daylight I get to see. The longer the day, the more likely I am to actually see daylight!

I'm happier just thinking about it!

No Excuses

Most walkers I know have had at least one training day or race where they get so discouraged they just want to quit. I had a couple moments like that during an especially hilly long-distance race earlier this year.

Today I came across this photo from a posting on Twitter. (Click the link to see it larger.) These three athletes were near the finish line of the 2008 White Rock Marathon in Dallas earlier this month. (This photo is from http://runningmandave.blogspot.com/.)

I think I'll be complaining less.
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Follow me on Twitter @WALK_Magazine.

Going Green in 2009!

I've been hinting about changes coming to WALK! Magazine, but I haven't gone into much detail. Here are some of the exciting things going on.

WALK! Magazine is going green! We will begin publishing only electronically beginning with the next issue. There are many benefits to publishing electronically. Not only will we be saving trees, but delivery will no longer be delayed due to printers and the postal service! We have a lot of exciting ideas to take advantage of this new format and we will share those with you as they develop.

Second, WALK! will start publishing six times a year in 2009! I have wanted to take this step since our first year of publishing. To better accommodate this new bi-monthly production schedule, we are postponing the Winter issue, traditionally published in December, to January 2009 to make it the January/February issue. This change will cause a delay of only a couple of weeks, but will make the transition to a bi-monthly magazine much easier in the long run.

In this current economy, paper and postage costs are taking their toll on many publishers -- even long-established magazines with large readerships are hurting! (Check out news on PC Magazine.) We had a lot of difficult decisions to make and finally decided it is better for our readers to keep publishing, even if it is strictly electronically.

I have to admit -- I'm pretty old school when it comes to publishing. I like paper -- I like the feel of paper and I like the portability of taking a magazine or a book with me wherever I go.

But by going electronic, we are able to do some things we can't do otherwise -- like include links to other walking websites, build an online walking community or embed video into the magazine. Wouldn't it be great if, when Dave McGovern explains a new technique, we can see a video of him demonstrating that technique? Not all of those extras will take place immediately, but we are working on it. It will be a very exciting time for us!

For some people, going electronic will be a difficult transition. To make that transition a little easier, we are offering some great subscription deals. All current subscribers will be receiving that information soon. I sincerely hope you will give it a chance.

To see what an electronic edition is like, check out the Summer issue. Just click on the pdf cover to open it. The password is "walkingmag". (Future issues will have more features.)

Holiday Run - 4 Miler

The Holiday Run has historically been one of my favorite local races -- partly because it has a festive feel and partly because it is usually a pretty race, especially in snow. It is held at Sharon Woods, which is scenic and one of my favorite places to walk.

About 10 members of the Buckeye Striders and my son had entered.

When we first arrived, the temp on my car said 38 degrees. It felt relatively warm and I was positive I had over-dressed. As we picked up our race chips and walked around, the temps dropped. By race start it felt A LOT colder and I was glad I left the layers on.

At about mile 1 it started to sprinkle. (You've heard it from me a million times -- I HATE rain when it is cold!) I didn't have a hood or any type of hat to keep my hair dry, either. When it stopped I was relieved, but it sprinkled on and off the rest of the race. Luckily it was never heavy enough to soak through my water-resistant jacket, but I did feel bad that my son had to stand in the rain and wait for me. (He ran.) As it turned out, he had to wait nearly 20 min.

Despite the rain, it was a fun race! The Buckeye Striders are always fun! It was fun having my son at the finish line cheering me on. And it was nice having hot chocolate and holiday cookies at the finish line.

My finish time was 56:38, averaging a 14:08 mile. I placed 162 out of 199 women total and about 26th out of 47 women walkers. Not bad. The first 300 finishers received coffee mugs, but I was number 303 overall. Darn!

My son had a good race. He was 59th overall and third in his age group with a time of 29:48. (He got a mug!)

If you are looking for a winter race, this is a good one! It will be my last race of 2008. I'm still deciding if I will enter the First on the First 5K.