The 45 minute “Toss and Turn”

Last night, I was working on the computer, giving out points for those who had succeeded in losing weight over the last month-plus of a weight-loss competition I had initiated on Walker Tracker. (See my sidebar.) At the same time, my internet connection was poor, and kept conking out on me, so it took longer than I had expected. So I went to sleep a bit late.
However, I had planned to get up at about five AM, in order to get out by 5:15 for an early morning (cooler) walk. In the end, I decided to do so anyway, and to plan to take a nap at about 1 or 2 in the afternoon.
So this morning I was out with the early morning birds (I hear a cackle of them in a certain tree which I pass each morning….), and returned in time to get Ricki ready for school. [On my return, my husband, for once realizing that I had been out walking for over an hour (usually he sleeps at this time), asked if I am trying out for the Olympics next.] After getting Ricki out to her bus, it was 7:20, and I sat down to say my morning prayers. Suddenly tiredness swept over me like a steamroller.
At this point, I had two choices (at least). Either I could continue the day as planned, fighting that urge to eat or drink something sweet in order to get that “energy high” that I am so used to, OR… I could listen to my body, and take a nap RIGHT AWAY. I opted for the second. And while I lay down for only 45 minutes, and not an hour, and it was more of a “toss and turn” than a nap, I DID have my feet up and my eyes closed. And what about all those things I needed to get done? Well, after those 45 minutes, I was rested enough to tackle them much more energetically and efficiently.

Walking Notes…..

Wednesday night I succumbed to eating a VERY fattening piece of cake, so I decided that I would “walk it off” today. And I did, walking over 18,000 steps (11,000 of them aerobic). In addition, on walker tracker I had joined a “competition” where I was challenged to walk 60,000 steps in 5 days. Knowing that I would not walk that amount on Saturday, I decided to “pre-empt”, so I had a second reason to “hit the pavement”. (Though now my veins hurt and I don’t think I will manage the 60,000…..)
But walking back from the park I had gone to walk in, I suddenly thought: “60,000 steps in 5 days is a lot. At 10,000 steps daily, how long would it take to reach six million? The answer is a whopping 600 days!
Today I walked half an hour to a park, walked an hour there, and half an hour back. I did my housework, and I walked Ricki to her swim class and back. I walked and walked and walked. If I walked that same huge amount daily for 11 months, I would reach six million. All those 11 months of long walking equals the number of Jews killed in the holocaust. Suddenly the staggering enormity of the number hit me. Before, it was just a number, and one that I really did not comprehend.

That “Knowing Smile” – type Two

For years I’ve known that special smile: the smile shared by those traveling a similar journey. In my case this was always the smile a fellow parent of a child with Down syndrome would flash me when noticing Ricki next to me. Once as I was exiting the dental clinic of a hospital, I noticed a mother sitting with her older son with Down syndrome. I saw her glance at Ricki, and suddenly she looked up at me with a smile. I returned the grin, and went on my way. Not a word was spoken, but the connection , the fellowship, was there.
Suddenly, I have a second type of “knowing smile” in my life: that of fellow walkers. If I am out walking in the early AM, carrying only a bottle of water and a key, it takes no big brains on the part of a fellow pavement-hitting woman to figure out what I am doing in the local park at that hour. So, more often then not, she’ll slip me a smile as she wizzes past. And one morning I even met a friend of mine, who I had no idea was working on her health. BOKER TOV! (“Good morning!”)

For more of "31 for 21" (blogging in October for Down syndrome awareness)go HERE

The Little (well, not so little....) Engine That Could

Those of us who are trying to lose weight are likely to measure their journey towards a healthier life by daily or weekly weighing, steps counted, and/or body measurements. I would like to mention a fourth mode of noting progress: endurance.
I have several “walking paths” which I like, all pre-step counted. Most are arranged so that the more strenuous uphill parts are at the start, or middle, allowing me an easier downhill or flat stretch as I possibly become a bit tired. Two of them have a good long uphill stretch, the rest are more gradual. Up until this week, going up either of the uphill stretches meant pausing on the way up.
When I first started walking, these sections were definitely difficult for me. I had to pause two or three times to catch my breath. Gradually, the pauses became smaller and less frequent.
One day this past week, I did BOTH of these paths (merging the paths, which overlap). As I reached the top of the first hill, I was pleased to have made it up without a pause. Several minutes later I was halfway up the next one. It started getting a BIT difficult, so I looked at the pavement (rather than how far I had yet to go....), and chanted inside my brain (like the “little engine that could”) "I--think--I--can, I--think--I--can.".

Suddenly, more quickly than expected, I discovered that I was at the hill’s crest, and mentally marked up one more sign of progress.

Addictions and Walking

In “12-step program” terminology, I would need to confess to being a chronic, compulsive overeater (who is currently not overeating, due to personal choice). However, like most addicts, I have substituted something different. Presently that is walking.
Walking is becoming a necessary part of my day. It is not something I HAVE to do. I WANT to walk. For starters, I feel better, both physically, and mentally, if I get out and stretch my legs. The blood pooled in my varicose veins starts moving, and I feel much more energized as a result of getting “out and about”. And, I swear, the other day as I went downstairs, and stepped briskly out towards the sidewalk, I felt a rush of adrenalin, endomorphins, or something. It felt good. Really good. (I’m glad it’s HEALTHY!)