RACEWALKING

A couple years ago, there was an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about Racewalking. This is a competitive sport that is a different technique than regular walking. I've tried it in the past. In gym class in about 9th grade, we were actually taught the technique. I didn't master it!

When the article was published, there was contact information for a local club, so I emailed. I got no reply and quickly forgot about it. Imagine my surprise when I received a warm email a few days ago from a woman who has taken over the local groups website and has responded to a backlog of emails that included mine.

Although I had forgotten about the club, I immediately recalled the article when I read the email. This groups meets at a local high school track on Monday evenings for practice. They're willing to teach the technique, and, although they do have competitions and enforce the organization's rules, they are happy to have people join in the events who are not 'legal'. That would be me - at least initially.

So, I'm thinking of giving it a whirl. The high school is not terribly close to me, but to go even a few times to learn the technique properly would be a plus. They sponsor events at other locations for a small fee. This does sound like fun.

For more information on the technique and possible groups in your location, check out this tutorial:


http://www.eracewalk.com/Tuto01/Tuto0101.htm

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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

After the pleasant, but sometimes soggy Memorial Day weekend, I thought our St. Louis weather would become both dryer and hotter. Not so. Yesterday, I had the difficult task of driving through monsoon-like sheets of sideways rain, wind rocking my car to and fro on the highway! Not fun.

Fortunately, I had absconded from the office earlier in the day for a late 'lunch' (er, walk) with Kathy who kindly accommodates my meandering work schedule when she can. It's best for me to have someone to walk and talk with. We were fortunate to squeeze in a nice walk amidst the overcast and sometimes sunny early afternoon before the monsoon-like weather struck.

Otherwise, I've been walking in the malls when I must. At least it's a place to walk and chat with a friend. I'm not much of a shopper, so I only do a bit of window-browsing on my walks. I walk at three different malls, all about the same distance from my home. I'm lucky in that regard.

Did you know that the malls in the St. Louis area actually host walking clubs? Did you know that they actually open their doors early enough to accommodate seniors and others who wish to walk before work? This is a nice 'perk' of living in a major metropolitan area. If I didn't have walking buddies but wanted to make some, I'd definitely head for a mall to look for an organized (albeit usually casually) walking group.



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

FEET HURT??

I visited my favorite orthopedist this past week because I have a number of 'issues' about which I was seeking his input. My right wrist pain isn't terribly pertinent to my walking, but it is pertinent to my blogging (and my crochet) among other things. But, the pain on the outside of my right knee (at the top of the tibia) and the corn on my right foot are both deterrents to walking.

My orthopedist knows me well - after two knee replacements, one broken wrist, and a variety of other arthritis related complaints. But, he also knows that I'm not a complainer and I'm going to remain active at all cost. He's with me on that. He's also not eager to jump in with a scalpel to solve all my problems. No, scalpels and pills just don't solve the vast majority of health issues. What does? Lifestyle changes. No kidding. No magic pill - just hard work at changing bad habits, of which I have plenty.

I had already switched to my orthpedist's preferred brand of athletic shoes (New Balance) and use the orthotic inserts he prescribes (also NB). Now, I've got to ratchet things up a bit to solve my ongoing problems. I need the densest orthotic NB makes or will have to pop for a custom made one. I don't even want to research the prices on those. But, the orthotic will solve both the corn and the tendon attachment problem that is bugging me below my right (and newest) knee.

Also, I'm the proud owner of a vecro-laden, rigid 'cock-up' (No kidding. That's the official name of this particular one.) wrist brace that I need to wear at night. He also informed me that I can, and indeed am well advised to, begin using the computer mouse with my left hand. No need for anything special here - except the presence of a human being under age 40 to program the computer so that the existing mouse can be adapted for left-hand use. Who knew such things were possible? Well, I guess my orthopedist and Bill Gates are in on this secret.

But, back to my walking 'issues'. Here's the deal. I'm optimistic that the relatively easy and certainly non-invasive 'prescriptions' will bring me pain relief. But, whether the do or not, I'm still gonna walk. Here's the thing about pain - once you've clearly determined that the pain you're experiencing will not be made worse with exercise or use - you're gonna have it whether you exercise or not - so get walking!

As I've stated before on this blog (possibly ad nauseum), our bodies are designed for walking. In my case, my well-designed walking body would work a great deal better with the absence of some 20 or so pounds I've added to it over the past year, what with knee surgery and thyroid issues. Neither of those is an excuse. I gotta do the work to get back where I was before my knee surgery last June.

So, work with me here. Keep me walking. Keep me motivated. I'm writing to help all of us with those issues. But, reader suggestions are always welcome - encouraged, in fact. Motivation 101 - Just Do It.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

WAYS TO REMAIN ACTIVE

If you're new to an area or new to walking or other activities, how do you discover what's going on with this particular activity in your locale? Try this site for lots of help:


http://www.active.com/

There's a simple search engine/questionnaire that will prompt you to look for activities - team or solo. Walking wasn't one of the choices, so I entered it myself and still found lots of upcoming events and events that had occurred in the recent past. If you're interested in walking for a 'cause', this site is perfect for you.

If you'd like to get your kids involved in team sports or find an adult league for yourself, the info is here. Check it out!
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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

GOING DOWN

If you have bad knees, you may well find climbing hills or stairs easier than going down them!

I have a short, very steep stretch of pavement near my house. I mean steep! I don't enjoy climbing it - but I positively hate walking down it. Not only do I feel like I might fall off and roll down it, I find that it's harder on my knees to descend it than to ascend it.

Having had both knees replaced, this hill is not the challenge it once was. But, if you have any knee problems - or maybe other joint issues - you may find that walking down steep inclines is hazardous to your health.

Take it slow. Hold onto something if you can - like a handrail. Pay attention to your footing so that you don't take a misstep.

Then, don't worry about it. There's not much aerobic benefit to walking DOWN hill! Much more beneficial to trudge up that hill. Read my article on Hilly Strategies for getting up those hills.

Of course, if you walk outside, you're likely to have to walk down hills if you walk up them. I actually have found a regular walk in my neighborhood which is almost all uphill. Really! Look around your area and see if you can find such a trail. If you're able to walk in a circle rather than 'there and back', you'll likely find a course that'll work to your aerobic advantage by keeping you on the uphill. Work up to that cuz it's really good for your heart - and your head. Imagine the sense of accomplishment you'll get going up and down hill if all you've ever walked is level pavement!



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

HILLY STRATEGIES

Have you tackled hills yet? Lots of walkers stick to the track, mall, or other level areas. Nothing wrong with that. But, you'll get more bang for your buck - more aerobic and endurance benefits if you walk some hills. These hills needn't be like THE HILL that I've written about earlier. There are strategies for any incline. Try some of these if you want to take to the hills.

Get warmed up first on the level surfaces. Walk at a pace where you can talk comfortably without getting out of breath. Start with a slight incline and one that's not too long.

To walk from my house the approximately 1/2 mile to the park I frequent, I must toddle uphill about 2/3 of the way. It's not a steep incline. But, it's steady. Driving it, you'd never think that it's much of an incline at all. Different when you're on foot. This is the first stretch of my walk, if I head in that direction, so I'm not warmed up when I start out. In fact, to get out of my street to walk anywhere else, I must walk past 6 houses, each on a 1/2 acre lot. That's not so far, but can be a challenge if you're not used to it.

Further, although the track at the park looks flat, it's not. There's a steady incline on it's northern 'leg'. You notice that when it's 98 degrees outside and you're on you're third mile!! Otherwise it's not of much notice.

If you're new to walking hills, keep it simple. Once you're warmed up, head for the hill and take it slow. Also, be sure you don't lean too far forward to compensate for the incline. I find myself doing this too often. It's a mistake. It feels easier at first - but over time, you realize that it's easier to remain upright and use your thigh muscles to get up that hill. Kinda like climbing stairs only you don't have to step quite so high.

If you find yourself getting winded - just slow down and take it easy. Stop talking and concentrate on your breathing. One way to get your breath back easily is to practice 'pursed mouth breathing'. This is an old trick used by asthmatics who have impaired oxygen exchange. The idea is to blow out kinda like you're blowing up a balloon - only not so hard. That expels the spent air from your lungs and allows more oxygen in. This is sound science. Just try it. You'll find your 'second wind' comes much more easily.

Continue walking if you can. To obtain the best aerobic advantage, you shouldn't stop and stand still once you've raised your heart rate. Just slow down. Disclaimer - IF YOU HAVE CHEST PAIN OR FEEL FAINT, CALL FOR HELP IMMEDIATELY. I'm not a doctor. Trust your own judgment.

Once you can comfortably climb a slight incline while talking, go for a longer incline and then a steeper incline. If you feel stranded on a steep incline, turn around and walk back down or zig zag up to diminish the steepness. You have seen trails up the side of a mountain - they always zig zag or go around the mountain since going straight up is just too steep for foot or auto traffic.

Of course, you can receive these same aerobic benefits on a treadmill by increasing the slope. Most treadmills have a way to select the incline. Build up to a fairly steep incline over time. It takes work. It won't come easily to many of us. That's why we start slow.

But, keep at it. Even if you only increase the incline a tiny bit each week, if you persist, you'll be climbing mountains before you know it. The gym has the advantage of climate control - not something available to those of us who trudge around outside. But, however you get to that 'hill', you'll appreciate the way you feel once you've climbed it.

Now that you've climbed up, I have some ideas for descending from the summit. Stay tuned.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

MAKING LISTS

I have a bunch of friends who are really well organized, have tidy homes, run errands in proper order, cook according to menus they prepare with food they purchase at the grocery store from the lists they've written. I envy them. This sense of organization eludes me.

But, I have gotten a handle on one thing. Making lists when I need to get things done. I don't do it on a daily basis for things like errands and the grocery store. But, when I get especially busy, like around the holidays, I make lists of everything I have to do and use those lists.

Lists are magical! Really! If I write something on a piece of paper, like a list, I'm far more likely to get it done than if I just make a mental note.

You, like me, probably here all the TV gurus like Dr. Phil talk about 'putting yourself on the list'. I usually find that amusing. Yeah, right. I'm going to write my name at the top of the list of all the things I have to do. What? Am I a chore?

No, not a chore - but I have things I want to get done and things I 'need' to get done. Those lists need to be merged and prioritized. Now, I get it.

Here's what works for me. If I write down something, I'm likely to do it. It's kind of like a promise to myself. So, if I write that I'm going for a walk at 5 PM today, then it's far more likely that I'll actually go for that walk than if I just have a plan that after work, and after I get home, and after I empty the dishwasher, and after I get dinner started, and........

Well, you get the idea. If I wait til all those things get done, I'll never have time to go for a walk.
So, I have to PUT MYSELF on the list. I write down that I'll take a walk - and I will! Try it. See if it works for you.

Later, I'll tell you another story about writing promises to yourself.



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.