A Day Off

I’m thinking that I might not walk this morning and give my foot a rest. It went well yesterday, with just a few minor pains. But they were beginning to grow in intensity when I finished. I’m starting my mornings with ibuprofen for my left foot, but I would like to be able to get back to using aspirin only. Aspirin is also good for your heart and I had been taking one a day. I know my cardiac health is good… (Why do I say that? I don’t really know that; I am only assuming that because of the weekly walking routines.) Walking is the perfect exercise and good cardiac health usually goes hand in hand with a regular walking regimen.

I read a story yesterday about a 350 (was 400) pound man who is walking across the country. He is determined to lose weight and that is certainly happening as he is walking through Arizona right now. With temperatures over 110 every day, he doesn’t get very far. He walks for a few hours in the morning and then again in the evening. He usually sits under a freeway overpass or a bridge during the worst part of the day. The story is not about good planning, (why July?) it’s about determination. I worry about him but I also applaud him.

I see a lot of people in the park that could be kinder to their bodies if they would just stop running and start walking. They are overweight and they have no form, so you can see their feet coming down with a crash at each stride as they attempt to emulate the form of a long distance runner. I can’t even imagine what that’s doing to the joints in their knees and ankles. It takes longer to obtain weight loss results with walking, but it’s much safer than running.

I read a story in the Bee about an experiment in how to stay fit while working and it was accomplished by turning the office into a modified gym. Work stations had modified treadmills instead of desks and magnetic work surfaces replaced horizontal surfaces, so you could be standing all day. The goal was to keep moving at all times. Treadmill speeds averaged about 1 mph, quite slow, but effective. Most workers were burning an additional 1,100 calories a day simply by being vertical.

I can see the difference in my own body as the weeks of walking have firmed up some flab. I have only lost about 8 pounds and I’m down to 205. It’s slow progress, but it’s progress!