Grab A Friend and Go For A Walk

There are many ways to get your body moving and one of my favorites is to walk. You can walk fast, slow or even a slight jog (hmmm guess that is not considered walking) but you get my drift. You can walk around the mall, walk around your job or walk on a treadmill (I call that walking nowhere). According to the Mayo Clinic, "walking can trim your waistline and improve your health." You can read more of the article from the Mayo Clinic by clicking on this link. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612.

In 2009 my friend Candice and I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in New York City. This was an opportunity for us to support a worthy cause, exercise and have girl talk. It is truly amazing how many topics can be discussed in two hours. After a two hour (3.1 miles) walk, most novice walkers would head home to soak in a tub of Epsom salt; but not me and my sister/friend. We hopped in the car and headed to another area of New York to window shop and people watch and somehow found ourselves in midst of Little Italy’s Feast of San Gennaro. Would you believe that we walked an additional three hours? (Sidebar: Always remember, if you walk an hour away from where you parked your vehicle that you have to walk an hour back to it eventually).

Although we were not able to participate in the 2010 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, we were able to walk for the cause in September 18, 2011. This year we encouraged others to join us for the walk and our friends, Ivette and Julie, took on the challenge. We were four women on a mission and our mission was to complete the walk and have a great time. We completed our mission (and then some) and were thoroughly exhausted. However, we were all in agreement that it was a great day with our sister/friends because we walked (exercised) for a worthy cause and had lots of laughs. After completing the walk, Candice and realized that in 2009 we completed the walk in 2 hours and 4 minutes. This year we completed the walk in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Perhaps having our sister/friends there to provide support encouraged us to walk a little faster (or perhaps it was the reward at the end of the journey).

Perhaps you are not ready to challenge yourself in a walk like your fellow sister/friends; however, there are other ways to get your body moving in preparation for a 3 mile (or longer) walk. The next time your sister/friend wants to talk, ask her to meet you in the park to get in 30 minutes of walking and talking. I can guarantee you that it will probably be longer than 30 minutes. At the end of the day it is all about moving your body.
I will close with this quote from Carrie Latet, “Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.”

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