My Favorite New Ice Pack

I'm pretty low tech about a lot of health and fitness stuff. (That's why I like walking!) In fact, when it comes to treating my temperamental knees, I usually just use a bag of frozen peas.

Recently I purchased an ice pack aptly called WRAPZ. The reusable ice pack goes into a purple fabric wrap that can be attached to the knee with elastic straps and Velcro.

What a great idea! I don't like ice packs that require you to sit still or prop your leg to keep the ice on. With the WRAPZ, not only can I sit however I want, I can even get up and walk around!

There is a strap at both the top and the bottom of the pouch that wrap in opposite directions across the top of the pack to keep it attached securely. The elastic also keeps the pack at just the right compression. The Velcro is strong enough to hold everything in place, even when moving.

It takes about 2 hours for the ice pack to freeze all the way through. That seems like a long time when I forgot to put it back in the freezer. But once it was frozen, I was able to ice each knee a couple of times for 15 min. each before it was too thawed.

Though I don't ever use heat on my knees, this pack can be used hot or cold.

For more info, go to www.wrapz.biz. I bought mine at CVS, but I don't recall the price.

Time to ice my knees!

Warm Day in Columbus

What a beautiful early evening for a 3-mile walk! Temps in the 70s, though it was windy. Again I was overdressed in light leggings and a very lightweight long-sleeved technical shirt. Last night when I packed my gym bag, I thought it would be cooler out today.

I had also forgotten to pack a pair of athletic socks and ended up wearing my dress socks. Can you say "blisters"? Yep! I'm getting a blister on the inside edge of both heels. Good thing we walked just 3 miles.

It was fun to get back to walking with Deb again!

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My knees felt great until I sat down in this desk chair tonight. I wonder if the chair is the wrong height. It always feels as if my knees are more strained in this chair. I'll try lowering it.

I'm not overly worried about the swollen knees. This happens every year in the spring when I increase my training for the first half marathon of the year. As the muscles around my knee strengthen, it will go away.

In the meantime, I need to get out either my icepack or the frozen peas.

3 Miles Easy

To get in my 3-mile walk today, I again head off to the library. Because my knees are still a little swollen from Saturday's workout, I wanted to get in the miles without increasing the stress. Walking to the library is always a little less intense than a racewalk workout.

So, I walked the mile to the library, returned some books, did the 1-mile lap around the park, went back inside to pick out new books, and walked home. Though I walked briskly, it was not intense.

The temps were in the 60s and because of the time change, it was light late enough for me to feel comfortable doing the loop around the park.

Though I don't like the Spring time change (I hate having to get up any earlier in the morning than necessary), it is nice that it is light out longer in the evening. I'm much more likely to find the time to get out and walk.

Have You E-mailed WALK! Magazine Recently?

If you have e-mailed WALK! Magazine recently, you might have noticed you did not yet get a response. I'm working on it.

For a variety of reasons, e-mail have not been answered in a timely manner. In addition, I recently, I was unable to even access the admin@walk-magazine.com account!

I now have access to the account, have deleted all SPAM, and have started to answer all of your e-mails. I will get through all of them as quickly as possible.

To Buy Organic or Not

We all like to make the healthiest choices when buying food. Though I know organic foods can be the better choice, I don't always see the benefit compared to spending the extra money. I recently found these two lists on The Daily Green which clears up how we should make our organic-buying decisions.

According to the web site, the following are 10 foods that you do not have to eat organic:
- Asparagas
- Avocado
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Onion
- Papaya
- Pineapple

Also from that web site are the 12 foods that you should eat organic:
- Meat
- Milk
- Coffee
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Strawberries
- Leafy Greens
- Grapes
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes

Will it affect your buying decisions?

This Morning's Walk

I ended up at Antrim Park about 9:30 this morning. Though slightly overcast, the morning was beautiful! It was about 62 degrees, slight breeze and perfect for walking.

The strange thing is, the park wasn't crowded!

Since training for my first marathon years ago, there are a couple things I have learned about Ohio athletes.
1) Most people do not train outside year round.
2) Runners and walkers go nuts in the Spring and Fall.
3) These same people avoid parks in the Winter and Summer.

I usually try to avoid popular parks like Antrim the first few warm days in the Spring. On days like today, they are usually packed with people who have not been outside since the last warm Fall day. And these people are not just runners, walkers and bikers, they usually include families pushing strollers and tons of people with dogs. (I don't have anything against dogs--we have three. But I prefer other people's dogs to be on leashes within inches of their owners. That doesn't happen a lot in parks.)

So, I was surprised when I arrived this morning and found a parking spot right away. I did three laps around the lake and rarely had to pass anyone. There was only one unleashed dog. There were a few bikes, but not too many.

Not quite sure what to make of it. Did everyone else work out early? Did the clouds that looked like rain scare people off? Were they all at the Arnold Expo?

Regardless, it was a great morning for walking and most of Columbus seems to have missed out.
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Because of a few bad Winter walks where I literally froze, I have this horrible habit of over-dressing. (I hate being cold.) Though in the 60s, I still took a windbreaker with me. After one lap I was so hot I took the jacket off. After the second lap, I regretted wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt.

I think I'm just going to have to accept that in the Winter I wear too many layers. But I cannot continue to over-dress in the Spring. Somehow, I have to deal with this fear of being cold.

Training for the Pig

As I have reported before, my training for the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon has been a little bit off due to other commitments and the fact there are only 24 hours in a day. In fact, I haven't even looked at a training schedule until later today.

I did 3.6 miles this morning thinking that about 4 miles would be right. Wrong! On one training schedule I should have been up to 8 miles this week! Oh no! The good news, I have plenty of training programs for various difficulties, and a beginner's schedule indicated 6 miles today. Whew! I think with a little bit of tweaking and consistent walking, I should be able to do the Pig no problem. It won't be my fastest half, but I should be OK.

Walks this Week

I keep thinking that just blogging when I walk is pretty boring. (To you the readers, not me.) But here I go again with another walking update.

Wednesday was a beautiful late winter day! It was sunny, temps were in the 50s and Deb and I walked for about 3 miles along the river. We didn't walk too hard, but we were using good racewalking form. Because of other commitments, it has been very difficult to get out walking enough. In fact, it may have been two months since I walked with Deb. Walking with a good friend just makes my day and since we had not seen each other in a while we had PLENTY to talk about!

I didn't get out to "walk" again until today. (I wasn't able to meet with the Buckeye Striders yesterday. Darn!) Weekends get busy and I had errands to run as well as the need to walk. So I reverted to my old habit of walking to the library. Haven't done it in a while and it felt good! I dropped off a bunch of books and picked up some new ones. I tried to hurry, so I have no idea if the new books will even be any good. The only bad part was the wind had picked up and it was in my face for most of the way home. I did bring my gator just in case, and I definitely needed it. It was sunny and much warmer on my way there.

I can't believe I have to keep reminding myself of this. I ALWAYS feel better--mentally and physically--when I'm walking regularly. I don't know what more I can say!
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I gave up Diet Coke for Lent. I can't believe I did it again considering how hard it was last year! I'm not sure if it is my addiction to the caffeine that is the problem, or just the taste of DC. Other beverages are just not cutting it! The good news is, since I do drink so much of it, and other pops don't do much for me, I should save a ton of money by drinking more water. (I know, I know. I should do it anyway.)

Walk Around the Lake

In an effort to make my lifestyle more healthy again, I rushed home and made it to a great park while the sun was still shining. When you work in an office without windows, sun exposure, especially in the winter, can be very important to mental health.

The park was great! The temps were in the mid 30s, there was no wind and as I said, the sun was shining. What more can a person affected by grey skies ask for!

So I did a comfortable two laps for about 2.5 miles. I'll have a chance to get out walking tomorrow, too. The week is looking good already!

Maintaining Stress Relief

I'm not sure that "maintaining stress relief" is even a valid concept. But, I felt so good after yesterday's walk, I decided I need to walk at least a little most days to help burn off some of my stress.

So shortly after arriving home and popping dinner into the oven, I went for a short walk. It was crisp outside, so I wore my jeans and a winter coat. I had not planned to walk fast or even athletically, so the attire was appropriate.

Regardless, the short walk of about 25-min was just what I needed. I came home feeling good, less stressed and a little less hungry.

Yeah, I think I'll try it again.
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PS: I FINALLY registered for the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon today! I can't believe I forgot. I was worried that it might have been sold out. If you have not yet registered, there is still time.

Training for Cincinnati a Little Late!

It just dawned on me this week that I have a little over eight weeks until the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon! That's what happens when job and life stress take over -- you forget all about your health and fitness responsibilities.

Well, today is Monday and for me, starting something new on Mondays seems to help with the success rate. I got up early on my day off and took a one-hour walk through the neighborhood. Part of this walk was to get me started training for the half marathon -- part was to evaluate how much muscle and endurance I have lost.

Though not a speed demon, I walked the entire hour at a reasonable pace and did a two-minute cool down. I tried to maintain good racewalking form, though I could feel in my back that I lost it in the middle.

I feel good. I could have easily walked farther. Though I'm a little worried about entering that very hilly half marathon under trained, after today's walk I feel pretty good about my chances.

Blogging as Inspiration

It's funny how just blogging inspired me.

I walked today! It was just around the big block in our neighborhood. It was a little too dark and felt a little creepy, but I carried a bright flashlight.

It helped reduce the stress (slightly) and I feel better.

I think I need to blog more frequently. I KNOW I need to walk more.

PS: I swear, in the next two weeks when things calm down I will return all of the e-mails and phone calls that have been temporarily ignored.

The Stress Diet

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted anything here. It certainly was not my intention -- life is just extremely busy and stressful right now.

All of you know I published WALK! Magazine for the last 4 years. What many of you did not know is that I have also had a paying job all this time. So I've been working a regular 9-5 job, then working on the magazine evenings and weekends.

Recently that job has required a lot of extra time and has greatly increased my stress levels. Since graduating from college, stress has caused me to gain weight. This time has been a little different -- I lost over 7 lbs in two weeks! It's not that I haven't been hungry, I've been unable to swallow food. I don't recall ever having that happen before. (Though I did lose weight my freshman year in college I don't recall having trouble eating.)

Since my sudden and unexpected weight loss, I've been working harder to eat. On days when nothing sounds good, I've taken to eating high-calorie foods! I even had a very tasty, high-calorie, multi-layer fast food burger (with special sauce). The funny thing was, I felt sick the rest of the day. Since then, I have focused on eating healthier foods, such as my homemade vegetable soup, which sits better. (Delicious!)

So, yes, I'm still around. No, I haven't been walking or blogging or anything remotely good for me.

The good news is, within the next couple of weeks, things will calm down, I'll be able to eat, I'll find the time to walk, and I'll probably gain that 7 lbs back. At least I hope I don't gain it back.

"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.
_________________________

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.

Arnold Likes WALK!

I just had a chance to see the Arnold 5K Racewalk flyer for the first time. There is a huge picture of Arnold's face and to the left are pictures of people walking. (Most of them are racewalking.) Three of those people are wearing WALK Magazine shirts!

So, how cool is that?

OK, it is a little like looking for Waldo, so I'll help you out.

In the largest group near the bottom, George is wearing a green WALK! Magazine Walking Team shirt. In the center the gentleman in the red shorts is wearing our white short-sleeved man's T-shirt. In the group at the top, the man farthest left is Joe from Cincinnati wearing our man's tank.

Thanks everyone for wearing our shirts at races!

Yes, it is Metatarsalgia

I finally had my doctor check out a small nagging pain in the ball of my right foot. I've had it for months and I even quit wearing high heels to try to heal it. The switch in shoes has helped somewhat, but racewalking still aggravates the condition. At least now the pain doesn't commence until racewalking for more than 50 minutes.

The good news is it is not a stress fracture. It's metatarsalgia! A few of the causes include wearing high heels, intense training, wearing shoes with little padding, and aging. Hmmm -- I wonder which of these apply to me?

Additional good news: treatment includes wearing metatarsal pads in my shoes to relieve pressure off those bones. I think I can do that.

Teaching Through Example

Subtitle: Parents - Get off the bleachers and move.
I had the opportunity to walk at an indoor track Saturday. While there, a couple soccer teams had practice in the area in the middle of the track. It was fun watching young girls (5 or 6?) and pre-teen boys being active and healthy while we walked!

Here comes the gripe. The ONLY people using the track were members of the Buckeye Striders walking club! There were 40 or so parents sitting in the bleachers watching their kids run around and be healthy.

I'm sure some of these parents are active in sports, too. Active parents tend to encourage their kids to be active. However, a LOT of the observers looked as if they could really use the exercise! What would have been the harm in walking or running around the track a few times while waiting?

I applaud these parents for taking their kids to sports practice early on a Saturday morning! But why not we go the extra step. Why not show your kids that it is just as important for adults to get exercise as it is kids.

Maybe I AM a Racewalker

My walking club met at the Capital University indoor track today. (It's cold outside!) I decided to take advantage of being on an indoor track and work strictly on racewalking form and not worry about speed. My focus was on planting my heels, rolling through to my toes, keeping my knees straight, etc.

For those who have never attempted to racewalk, it feels weird when you do it wrong. It feels stiff, unnatural, choppy and as if you are very slow. But suddenly you will get a smooth, "floaty" feeling and it is almost effortless. That's how you know you have it right!

After several laps of "thinking" about racewalking and waiting for my shins to warm up, I achieved that smooth, floaty feeling. It felt great! I kept the pace consistent and just worked on maintaining that smooth feeling. I'd get distracted when talking to other walkers and notice my steps felt choppy, but was easily able to get that smooth feeling back.

After 57 min I had no idea how many laps I did, but could feel the blood pumping through my legs (I love that feeling!) and was sweating. This suprised me because when I anticipated working on form, I expected to be slow.

Now here is the cool part. Other members of the Buckeye Striders said my form looked great! A couple mentioned that I was fast! Woo hoo!

Maybe I really AM a racewalker! I need to find some judged races to find out for sure. Later today I'll start looking for some local indoor races.

Advertising Rep Needed

WALK! Magazine is looking for an advertising representative. Anyone interested should contact me at admin@walk-magazine.com.

It's a great opportunity for the right person!

Late Night Walk

After getting a bunch of mail out (which took forever, by the way), I was finally able to head out for a walk after 9 this evening. Luckily it had warmed to 33 degrees. (Sarcasm intended.)

I really just needed to get out and walk. I didn't want to work on speed or form or anything -- I just needed to walk. Though I was cold, I did two laps around the big block of our neighborhood -- I could have quit after one, but I kept going.

The night was crisp, cold and beautiful. There were thin patches of snow on the sidewalks. There weren't many Christmas lights, but the houses that were decorated were pretty.

I'm glad I made the time to get out!
_________________

I discovered that carrying a flashlight has good points and bad points. It was carried more so cars could see me than any other reason. However, I found I kept staring at the beam, which affected my night vision, and actually caused me to trip a couple times. Regardless, I felt safer being seen!

Where Oh Where Did the Fall Issues Go?

The Fall issue of WALK! Magazine was mailed way back at the end of October. Despite the initial delays at the mailing house, every subscriber should have received that issue a long time ago. Unfortunately, I am still hearing from a few subscribers who have not yet received it.

I don't know why there are so many more people who did not receive this issue. It's a much larger number than for previous issues. As I've posted before, I'm assuming it has something to do with the massive quantity of political mailings from late October. Still, I can understand a delay, I cannot understand people simply not getting their issue.

So, if you have not received your Fall issue, please let us know. We will get one out to you as quickly as we can.

What About Larry?

Earlier this week, I received an e-mail from a reader who has the goal to walk a marathon in under 5 hours. He followed Larry Smith's training for the Columbus Marathon in the Fall issue and couldn't wait to find out how Larry did.

Of course I'm not going to give it away -- you need to read the next issue to find out!

Another Cold Rain

About 10 a.m. I head out the door for a walk. The original plan was to leave around 9, focus on form and walk for 45 min, but I kept finding a reason to delay.

As I left, it started to sprinkle. Argh! At least it was just a sprinkle, my jacket is water resistant and I wore a baseball hat. The farther I walked the rain got just a little harder. I was pretty close to the house but had walked barely 30 min., so I decided to do a loop around a cul de sac to add a little more distance. My luck, I got to the farthest end when it started to rain pretty hard. At that point I quit working on form and walked as fast as possible to the house. (I still didn't run.)

I made it home after only 36 min. Though my jacket is water "resistant," the seams are not. My arms and legs were pretty much soaked.

Though I hate cold temps and rain together, it was really my own fault. If I had walked with my club yesterday or earlier this morning before the rain, I would have been dry!

Rookie Mistakes

Am I a rookie or what? You would think that the way I approached yesterday's Flying Feather, I had never entered a race before!

Mistake #1: My race clothes were not ready in advance. I only air dry my technical fabric clothes. Tuesday evening I put my race clothes in the washer, but completely forgot to get them out to dry. So, Wednesday night (late) it dawned on me that everything I planned to wear was wet - really wet. I put the clothes on hangers and set up a fan. Because they are wicking fabrics, everything was dry. Whew!

Mistake #2: I arrived at the race without my number or my chip! OK, I know you pin your number to your clothes and put your chip on your shoes the night before the race. Because my clothes were still wet, I forgot. Luckily for me, the race staff gave me a new number.

Mistake #3: I left my gym bag at home. Usually, my gym bag is in the car for all local races. I keep Clif Shots, granola bars, an extra shirt, pins, hats and gloves, etc., in my bag at all times. Because my bag was at home, my Spibelt was at home. I LOVE my Spibelt, but especially for cold-weather races. Because it has hooks to hold the race number, you don't have to put pin holes in your cold-weather jackets. I now have pin holes in my water- and wind-resistant jacket.

Mistake #4: I didn't go far enough to the back of the starting line. Because of the way the start was set up, people were really spread out and it felt as if we were farther back than we were. We did move up at the last minute to get ahead of a couple families we thought would be slower than us. There ended up being tons of runners behind us! I felt bad. We tried to get over to the side and even walked single file, but it just didn't help much. We were in the way. (Sorry runners!)

Mistake #5: Tied to number 3, because my gym bag was at home, I had no food in my car for after the race. A granola bar would have been great and the trip to Tim Horton's on the way home would not have been necessary.

The good news is, I wasn't wearing a WALK! Magazine jacket (we don't have them), so no one could tell that rookie was me!

My First Thanksgiving Day Race

Yesterday's Flying Feather 4-mile race in Westerville, OH was a lot of fun! There were nearly 2,000 people entered in the event. With two other turkey day races in the Central Ohio area, I can't believe this one attracted that many entrants!

But then again, the shirts are great (though too big), the medals are very nice, and I got a bottle of white wine. I think that beats out a grey sweatshirt and pumpkin pie for the first 200 finishers. (Even fast walkers never end up with a pie.)

The race started in an exclusive neighborhood with beautiful homes, then wound through one of the prettiest metro parks in the area. It was designed well so that we were on wide streets when we were packed together, and didn't get into the park and the narrower bike path until everyone had spread out.

There was only one ding for this event -- no food at the end! I know, I know -- it is a problem for many race directors. But I saw people walking around with bunches of bananas (almost hoarding them), and the bagels and bananas were sitting out before the race. Anyone could have walked over and grabbed food before the race.

Still, this event had a very nice family atmosphere. Many of my walking friends were there with kids, spouses and siblings. Despite no food, it was fun.

So after this race, I drank some water, grabbed my wine and head off to the Tim Horton's drive thru with a ton of other entrants. (The 12-grain bagel with cream cheese and a steaming hot cup of coffee really hit the spot!)

Cold or Rain - But Not Both

I know! I know! I am ocassionally a hypocrite.

I am a big proponent of walking outside in all types of weather. If you walk outside regularly, you get acclimated and then it doesn't feel so cold or hot. Then you can be out walking year round.

I draw the line when it comes to rain.

Rain in July or August is great! It can be refreshing to walk in the rain when you are used to heat and humidity.

Rain when the temps are below 40 stops me from walking outside. So, while it is about 33 degrees out there, and has been raining all day, I'm nice and cozy in my warm living room looking out the window at the cold.

If you need to, feel free to call me a hypocrite -- a warm, dry hypocrite.

It's COLD Out There!

At 8 this morning I was out in my neighborhood walking at a brisk pace. It was about 16 degrees, much colder than typical this time of year. I have not had a chance to get acclimated because the cold snap was sudden and I haven't been out as much as I'd like.

Wearing thick walking pants, a long-sleeved shirt, fleece vest, gator and windproof jacket, I went out in the bright sun. It was cold! I anticipated that I would warm up as I picked up speed. For the most part, I was fine, but my arms just would not get warm.

I walked up and down the cul de sacs and in and out of every little side street. Finally, I just walked on the sunniest side of the street, which helped a little.

I arrived home after 55 min. feeling fantastic! The brisk cold air, sunshine and the exercise did a great job of putting me in a great mood!

Despite the cold it was a good walk and it has already been a really good morning.

Afternoon Walk Cut Short

I knew time would be short today, and it was sunny and beautiful about noon. So I decided to take a walk at lunch to get in some movement and improve my mood.

Granted, I was not dressed for walking outside. The temps were in the low 30s and I wore dress clothes and low-heeled shoes. I didn't think it would be a problem though because the sun was so bright.

Once outside I realized the wind was blowing harder than anticipated. I walked for a couple of minutes and decided I just could not take it. By the time I got back inside I had been out for only about 15 min.

The good news is the brisk air was refreshing, I felt energized for the rest of the day and the sunshine did help my mood. I just wish I had thought to bring a hat and scarf so I could have been outside longer.

I Hate the Postal Service!

OK, that statement is probably a little bit extreme. The truth is, I have had more than my fair share of bad luck with the United States and Canadian postal services. With every issue of WALK! Magazine we mail, there are a certain number of subscribers who do not receive their issue. It averages to be about the same number each issue, but there are a few subscribers who have a problem receiving every single issue. I just cannot figure out why.

The Fall issue was the worst! Not only did we have problems getting the magazine in the mail to begin with, but there seem to be a higher number of subscribers than normal who didn't get the issue.

I don't know why this issue is worse, but my thought is that the extreme amount of political mail that caused the initial delay somehow contributed to everything else.

So, as we find out about people who have not received the Fall issue, we're mailing out individual copies.

Please be patient, we are doing the best we can to get caught up!

Great Dinner in Charleston

While in Charleston, I had dinner with Julien Smith, race director of the popular Cooper River Bridge Run. He does a million other things, but I met him through the Bridge Run, the biggest race he directs.

It was really nice to be able to talk to a race director when he actually has time to talk. Most of the time, we're in the middle of race week or the race expo, and we are all ridiculously busy.

After a great dinner at Fleet Landing, he acted as tour guide and showed me the highlights of Charleston. What a great city! I miss so much when I'm visiting a city for a race.

It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I decided to contact Julien. I think I'll try to meet other race directors when I have the chance. If they are half as friendly as Julien it could be a lot of fun!

Uninspired Walk

I had intended to get up early and walk. It didn't work. I had a few minor things to get done, but the amount of time needed filled the amount of time I had. Funny how that works.

All of my meetings were finished by 3:30 this afternoon, and I immediately put on comfy clothes and went outside. Granted, I didn't do any serious walking like I had intended, but I did walk all the way to the Walmart! It was probably no more than 1.5 miles round trip, but it felt great to be outside and away from a hotel.

Also tonight I made plans to have dinner in Charleston. (The hotel I'm at is pretty far from town.) Dinner was at 6:30 and I had not seen any of the city yet, so I took the hotel shuttle at 5 and arrived right outside the restaurant by about 5:20. Before it got too dark, I walked along Market Street and some of the cross streets with really cute shops. So, I probably got another mile in then.

When I travel I really do need to make a better effort to get in some walking.

Heading home tomorrow. I need to get up early, so I really should have been in bed over an hour ago! (If I didn't have Internet access tonight, I would have been in bed by now!)

Sunday's Walk and Blisters

Yesterday, shortly after checking into the hotel, a friend and I went for a short walk. We were waiting for someone else to join us and were just killing time. There is a sidewalk in front of the hotel and I was wearing my comfortable flat dress shoes that are already broken in.

We walked down one side until the sidewalk ended then turned around and went past the hotel in the other direction.

Compared to the distances I normally walk, it was not far. However, I don't normally walk that far in dress shoes. Needless to say, I ended up with blisters on the back of both heels and one of them burst! Ouch! Luckily I had a pair of backless shoes with me, but they had a 2-inch heel. So, what is my choice? Aggravate my blisters or my throbbing toes? I opted for the higher heels and aggravated my toes.

I'm glad I was able to get outside and walk after being stuck on a plane for a couple of hours. Despite the blisters, it was great to be in Charleston with the milder temperatures and the palm trees! (Palm trees always make me smile.) Next time I'll be sure to change my shoes first.
____________

I'm sure the rest of you have had encounters like this.

I asked the concierge if there were restaurants within walking distance of the hotel. She said that it depends and asked how far can I walk. I came "this close" to giving a smart-aleck response, but decided it would be rude. (She was very nice.) Oh, pretty far, I said, how far is the restaurant? She said about half a mile!

I almost laughed, but again, she was nice and I didn't want to be rude. "No problem," I said.

A couple of reactions: 1) Isn't it sad that for many people half a mile is a long way to walk? 2) Your perception of what is a long distance changes after you have walked a real "long distance" -- like 26.2 miles, for example.

Heading to Charleston

I have an opportunity to visit Charleston, SC this week! I'm pretty excited -- I haven't been there since the Cooper River Bridge Run over a year ago.

Unfortunately, I'll be in meetings most of the time. But I'm hoping I'll get the chance to get some walking in. It's supposed to be in the high 60s low 70s, so that should be good. Rain when I return on Thursday shouldn't be a problem.

Though it won't be much different from Ohio weather-wise, sometimes just being someplace different is all that is necessary to inspire walking.

Fighting Temptation (OK, NOT Fighting Temptation)

I knew it was a mistake. I wasn't even hungry. But there is something about seeing chocolate cake looking all delicious under that clear plastic lid that made it irresistible. In my defense, it wasn't just plain old chocolate cake. It was a Buckeye cake with peanut butter frosting in between the chocolate layers and chocolate chips embedded into the frosting on the sides. The top had 8 chocolate-fudge Buckeyes as decoration.

The slice was HUGE -- way too big for one person, but I ate the entire thing anyway.

Immediately after the last bite, I regretted my decision to eat it. It was just so tasty, I couldn't stop.

For the rest of the afternoon I had what can best be described as a sugar hangover! I had the queasy stomach, headache and overall yucky feeling. I definitely need a healthy dinner to counteract the sugar.

OK, I learned my lesson (again). Don't keep tempting foods in plain sight. And just because cake is cut into huge slices doesn't mean you need to eat the entire thing.

I had planned to skip walking tonight, but I may have to take one because of the cake.

Toes

I have my new low-heeled dress shoes that I have been wearing for over a week. (OK, on Halloween I wore high heels all evening, but they went with my costume.) And I've been wearing low-heeled shoes over 50% of the time for several weeks.

Yet today, after walking about 2.5 miles and trying to use proper racewalking form, I'm getting throbbing pain in the big toe of my right foot again.

It hasn't been very long -- I probably just need to keep wearing low-heeled shoes for a few weeks more before deciding if I need to see my doctor.
_____________________

NOTE: Just noticed that I sit at my desk with my feet bent at the toes and pushed hard against the floor. Hmmm... Might nullify wearing flat shoes!
_____________________

Had a great walk today! My friend Deb and I went to Antrim Park and were able to do two laps around the small lake. It was beautiful and the weather perfect!

Great Walk Tonight

Though I didn't get home until 5 tonight, I was able to get in a 3-mile walk before dark. I just could not walk in the neighborhood today -- I desperately needed a change of venue.

So, I changed as quickly as possible and head out the door. I walked the mile to the library at a quick pace and luckily it was still light enough I felt comfortable doing a loop around the park. Partway around the loop I ran into an old friend, but told her I couldn't slow to chat so I could start home before dark. I picked up the pace. There were enough street lights that I felt safe during the mile home, but it was good to have a headlight so cars could see me better.

The weather was perfect for a walk today! It felt great!

Best Thing About Time Change

OK, The best thing about this time change is I have no trouble getting up in the morning. It's lighter out and I just function better if I can wake later. Even setting my alarm extra early to make it to the polls wasn't a problem.

For my friend Deb, the best part of this time change is that her sports watch finally has the correct time!

Christmas -- Already?

This morning while out walking, enjoying the crisp fall air, the beautiful leaves and the remnants of Friday night's Halloween festivities, I was suprised to come across one neighbor putting up Christmas lights!

I couldn't decide if he was taking advantage of the great weather, or if he was a freak. (I hope he is not a freak!)

I Walked!

The first thing I did this morning was put on walking clothes and get ready to head outside. It was an absolutely beautiful morning! Because I've been lacking motivation lately, I opted to take it easy in the neighborhood.

One of the things I let slide when I'm training for distance is form. I've taken a couple of racewalking clinics, yet I still do not feel as if I racewalk. Today I was not going to worry about speed or distance, just focus on planting my heel and rolling my foot all the way through.

It's been a while since I've worked on form, and my left shin insisted on reminding me for about 20 of the 30 min. I was out. After the shin finally loosened I felt great!

I have had a lot of energy all day and I know it was from the morning walk. I will do my best to keep it up!

Walking Inspires Walking

If you have read WALK! Magazine or this blog for any length of time, you know that I firmly believe that the more you walk, the more you will want to walk.

The past two weeks I have officially proven the opposite premise. The less you walk, the less you will want to walk.

I decided to take a couple of days off after the Detroit Half Marathon for recovery. I wasn't really sore -- in fact, I felt great! But it was so nice not "having" to walk to maintain a training schedule, I decided to take a few more days off. I loved having all of that extra time! And that following weekend, I decided to find out what it was like to sleep in for a change.

Once I passed that first full week after the race, I began losing my desire and drive to walk. I had planned to walk every night this week and today, but something always got in the way. (Last night we went to a great Halloween party. I was not getting up early today for anything!)

Well, the day was beautiful, and I spent the entire day indoors! What is wrong with me!

No more excuses. I have promised myself that tomorrow will be my first official day back walking. I'll get up early and head out the door. I even have an extra hour tomorrow -- no excuses. So, what will you be doing with your extra hour?

Tons of Mail!

I was working on mail for most of the day today! It is one of my least favorite things to do, by the way. That and bookkeeping. It can be so tedious addressing and stuffing envelopes. Then going to the P.O. and standing in front of one of those new postage computers. (I got there after the staff left.)

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact the computers allow me to mail things any time of day. I hate the fact that I can buy only 5 stamps for $1.70 at a time. When you are sending out over 100 envelopes, it seems to take forever. It never fails, I start getting a rhythm going -- buying stamps, sticking them on packages, buying more stamps -- when a person will walk in with one little envelope and wait in line behind me. How can I make that person wait forever behind me?

The good thing is, a lot of people have been buying sample copies! And most of the people who sample WALK tend to subscribe. I'm very fortunate that last two races we attended were VERY good for us!

So, though I don't like how time-consuming and tedious handling mail can be, I love the fact that this many new people want the magazine!

So, if you have been waiting for your copy of the Fall issue, I think they are all officially in the mail! And if you get in line behind me at the PO, let me just apologize in advance.

New Shoes

It's taken a little while, but I finally found a pair of black flats that will look OK with dress slacks. I liked a different pair a little better, but the only color they had left was brown.

After I brought them home I thought they might be a little young for me, but what the heck! They are black, they are cute, they are comfortable and they are flat. What more could I ask for! (A 3-inch heel would be great, but that might defeat the purpose. Repeat after me: flat shoes = healthy feet, flat shoes = healthy feet... )

Online Store Repaired

I discovered the other day that there were problems with our online store: http://store.walk-magazine.com/index.html. Apparently, once customers got to checkout, the order didn't go through noting that a shipping method was not selected.

I have no idea how the store was affected, but it has been corrected.

Thank you for your patience!

I Slept In

True confessions here: I am not a morning person. I am more of a morning person now than I was years ago, but that isn't saying much. The thing I hate most about training for a long-distance race and actually entering races is that they all happen so early in the morning!

The walking club I belong to meets at 8 a.m. every Saturday. When we are doing long-mileage days, we frequently meet at 7 or 7:30! (Ouch!)

At the Detroit Marathon last week, my two roomies were up by 4:30! (OK, the good thing is they were ready by the time I rolled out of bed so we didn't have to fight for the bathroom. Also, because they are alert and happy morning people, I never have to rely on my alarm clock when I travel with them. Did I mention they are pleasant in the morning? How great is that!)

For about 13 weeks now, I have been up bright and early every Saturday morning to walk. The Detroit Half Marathon is over -- today I slept in. (It felt great!)

I'll be back walking with my walking club at 8 a.m. next week.

Columbus Marathon Offers Women's Shirts

In case you don't read the posts by other blog readers, I want everyone to know that the Columbus Marathon does offer women's shirts!

I can be pretty harsh on race directors, so I want to be fair and let people know when they do something right, too.

Thank you Columbus!

Any others out there?

When Will Races Give us Clothes that fit Women?

I've been walking in races for over 8 years. In that time, I've seen the number of women in races grow tremendously! In fact, one race I entered last month had 75% female participants and the Detroit Marathon just had about 55% female participants.

When there are more women than men in these races, when will we get race clothes that fit!

It has been a couple years since I entered any of the Columbus Marathon races. But that year women received women's shirts. I still wear that shirt -- it is one of my favorites.

The funny thing is, when all races gave out cotton T-shirts, they fit! Now that races are giving great technical shirts and fleece jackets, things I really want to wear, they are huge!

For a marathoner, I'm an average-sized woman. I wear either a woman's medium or small. In cotton T-shirts, a man's small fits just fine. In technical fabrics, I'm not even sure a man's XS will fit.

I know from talking to other marathoners that at the other end of the spectrum people end up with shirts that don't fit either -- they are always too small.

OK, I don't know what the solution is. There will always be people whose race shirt does not fit. But is it too much to ask that when a race has more women than men that we have the option to order a woman's shirt?

Watch Detroit Race Finishers

How cool is this! I got to watch myself finish the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon at this website: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881020020.

The clocks were a little off. I finished in 3:21:33, but I found myself on the section from 3:25-3:35.

Typical of me -- my first thought was that this was a very cool thing! When do we ever get to see ourselves in a race?

My second thought was that I don't look like I'm racewalking. My arms are wrong, my feet aren't rolling...

Regardless, it is pretty cool to see myself finishing the race with my friends!

"I am a walker!"

We are starting a new feature in WALK! Magazine called "I am a walker." It will be a one-page "highlights" style story that will feature one walker per issue.

I hope to feature all types of walkers from casual neighborhood walkers and hikers to marathoners and Olympic-style racewalkers.

If you would like to nominate someone to be featured, please send an e-mail to me.

Detroit was ...

fantastic! The weather was beautiful, the people were very friendly, the course was great! The friends I traveled with were so much fun. I am amazed at how beautiful Detroit has become. And the Expo was very good for us!

There were only two minor glitches: 1) I stood so much during the Expo, my feet were killing me and made it difficult to walk any faster during the event. 2) In order to meet as a group before the race, we didn't go to the start line in the most efficient manner, and ended up stuck behind some intense fencing. It was pretty tough to get to the walkers' start corral.

I don't think I could have planned a more perfect weekend. (OK, if there was a way I could work a booth at the Expo without exhausting my feet and legs and still be able to walk fast during the half, and if I had won a million dollars at the casino, then that would have been perfect.)

Thanks to the members of the WALK! Magazine Walking Team for making the weekend so much fun! NOTE: Tom's wife Peggy took several pictures of us before the start, but we were in two groups. I'll post the other photo as soon as I receive it. From left to right: Tom, Chris, Me and Deb.

Good Luck Larry!

Good luck to Larry Smith as he walks the Columbus Marathon this weekend! (And attempts to break the 5-hour barrier.) We've been enjoying following your training exploits this year. I can't believe it is here already.

We'll be thinking about you!

Detroit - Here we Come!

The members of the WALK! Magazine Walking Team will be heading to the Detroit FreePress Half Marathon this Sunday. A group of us are going to meet tomorrow night for dinner.

I'm having a little trouble getting internet access on my laptop right now, but if I can keep you up to date, I will! Maybe I'll even try to figure out how to Twitter from my phone... OK, I'm dreaming with that one.

Procrastination

Yes, I am frequently guilty of procrastination. That is why I was at the post office tonight at 10. I had a couple of things that absolutely had to be postmarked with today's date. Luckily, a friend of mine recently told me about a post office near the airport that is open until 11 p.m. during the week. It is also open on Sundays!

I couldn't figure out why this particular post office smelled like the airport. (How does an airport smell?)

I wasn't alone tonight -- there were A LOT of people in line with me! Hmm. Maybe that is why there is a local post office open until 11 p.m.?

In a situation like this, most people tend to take it in stride. We all know it is our own fault that we are there. I could tell many were on the same deadline I was.

The good news is, I made the deadline and I know I will sleep a little better tonight.

Ike, Obama & McCain

Sometimes the printing/mailing gods are working against you. I feel that way right now.

It all started when Hurricane Ike hit the United States. For the first time ever, a hurricane that hit Texas also took out the power in Central Ohio -- in many places for over a week. The printer I use was fine, I was fine, the mailing house was without power for 4-5 days.

Unfortunately, at this same time, all of the local mailing houses have been inundated with political mailings! It seems that Obama and McCain got in line before me. The mailing house was going to be swamped even if there was power -- then add 5 days of the stuff piling up. Ouch!

My printer is nagging the mailing facility daily on my behalf. It is out of my hands!

So, over the next couple days when you are digging through all of the political postcards filling your mailbox, realize that if it weren't for them you would have your Fall issue! I think I'll write my congressman.
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Any subscriber who would like to receive the electronic version of WALK! Magazine while we are waiting for the mail, please send me an e-mail and I'll give you the access code. (I'm in Detroit this weekend, so I don't know how quick it will be.)

Speedo Man Update

I saw Speedo Man today! As I was leaving the park where I eat lunch, I spotted him climbing out of his car. It took all my self control to keep from waving like a maniac.

So today answered a couple questions:
1) He parks his car at the end of the park and runs from one end to the other.
2) He has started running a half hour later than he used to.
3) He now wears a purple Speedo.

It's really nice to know that he is OK.

High Heels and Walking

For years I wore high heels and loved them! I had dress heels for business and high heeled boots for my jeans. I could wear heels anywhere for any length of time, and I was fine. I wore a pair of high-heeled boots while sight seeing and walking over 6 miles in Las Vegas with no pain!

Earlier this year I started having pain in my feet right where they bend when I racewalk. Then my big toes started aching and eventually the entire front of each foot (where the toes meet the ball of the foot) began aching, even when wearing flats!

To give my feet a chance to heal, I wore flats every day since June, even when it looked ridiculous. The pain went away and I even learned how to racewalk for real! I was under the impression my problem was over. Yea!

I'm only 5' 5", so wearing heels makes me feel tall. And I hate the look of dress pants and jeans with flat shoes! So I gave in and started wearing heels again.

First, the pain in my toes came back, but only while wearing heels. Next, I started having some new and different pains when I racewalk. And finally, I have lost my tolerance for wearing heels! I wore my favorite pair of high-heeled boots today, and my feet are killing me. (Aren't they cute? They are perfect with jeans.)

Sometimes it takes me a while, but I am finally taking the hint. I just am not meant to wear high heels.

I'll go out shopping this weekend to find a great pair of low-heeled boots to wear with my new jeans. Oh, and I'll start shortening my pants.

Detroit is Coming Soon!

The Detroit FreePress Marathon (Half) is less than 2 weeks away and I'm getting pretty excited! It actually makes me laugh. If you had told me 10 years ago that I'd be excited about a trip to Detroit, I would not have believed you.

But when I look at the course and think about crossing the bridge into Canada and entering back into the U.S. through the tunnel, I'm excited. Walking along the river on the Canadian side looks pretty cool.

I've been to Detroit only 2 times before this. Once over 12 years ago (unpleasant), and again about 3 years ago. I was VERY impressed with how much cleaner and attractive it was on my second trip. The public art reminded me of Indianapolis (a city I really enjoy). There's also a bus into Canada if we want to visit Windsor after the race! (Can you say casinos?) If we don't want to bother crossing the border again, Detroit has a couple casinos of its own.

Anyway, when the Walking Team members first suggested we go to Detroit, I was a little leery. But the closer we get to the race, the more excited I am! I'm glad we chose it!

Electronic Edition of WALK! is Out

The electronic edition of WALK! Magazine was delivered to subscribers yesterday. If you subscribed and have not received the links and password for the Fall 2008 issue, please let me know.

PS: Two e-mails bounced. They were re-sent about 5 min ago.

The Walk That Almost Didn't Happen

A miscommunication caused Deb and I to almost miss each other tonight. Though on Saturday we agreed to walk tonight, I didn't confirm yesterday. I did take my gym bag with me today, but I got caught up in preparing a report, and lost a little track of time.

About 5 p.m. Deb called to see where I was. Oh no! I rushed to my car, changed from my dress pants to my walking shorts while I drove. (Not safe and somewhat tricky.) I was able to throw an athletic shirt on over my work tank top, put on my shoes and I was ready to go.

Because I was late, we walked for only 30 min instead of doing our scheduled speed workout. It was probably the best decision -- my muscles were very tight and I had a hard time picking up any speed.

It felt great to get out today and I'm glad Deb waited!

10K Race - No Limits

I entered a local race today that was different from anything I've ever entered -- it included climbing a huge staircase up the Alum Creek Dam! It was Run Wild Racing's No Limits 10K. I've avoided this race in the past because of the stairs, but because of positive comments from friends who have done it before, I decided to try it.

This was one of the prettiest local courses I've ever seen. You actually take a short hill up to the top of the dam, walk along the top, then you are back on roads. The view from the dam was beautiful! The lake on one side had a few fisherman and the water was as smooth as glass. As the athletes ahead of us crossed the dam, they were silhouetted against the early fog.

When we were on the main road we were surprised at how early traffic was allowed to resume. There were no sidewalks and the berm was pretty small. One car zoomed by us so fast, I was surprised we weren't hit!

Shortly after mile 4 we had to climb the stairs back to the top of the dam. Though imposing looking it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! About 2/3 of the way up, I started to really feel the stairs. (There were two women on the stairs running up and down them for training! The one said she usually climbs the dam 20 times per training session. Wow!) What was funny was our legs felt worse at the top, and it was pretty hard to get moving with any speed.

Deb and I were the last to finish. It was OK though because we weren't that slow, and all of the Buckeye Striders who entered the race waited for us and cheered us on. I finished in 1:33 and averaged a 15-min mile -- not fast, but not slow. (Deb was 1 second behind me. She let me win.)

It was really fun, and it was great to see a beautiful local park I've never been to before.

Part of what makes local races so fun is the fact that the members of the Buckeye Striders support so many of them! In fact, all but two of the walkers were members of our club. For those of you who lose motivation to walk, joining an active walking club really helps!