I am registered for a 5k on St. Patrick’s Day. I will be walking with my Weight Watchers friends and most importantly will be there to support my friend who is walking her very first 5k and celebrated a 100 pound weight loss this morning at our meeting. I am very excited about this.
I keep having to remind myself not to do anything stupid like trying to run a 5k. We all know that my running days are over. There are times that I run a little while out for my walks and that is fine. When I write a little, I mean very little. If I walk 2 miles, then I probably run about a quarter of it. I just know that the amount of pain that can occur in my hips and it just isn’t worth it.
I have fallen in love with walking again. For a long time after realizing that my running days were over, I frowned upon walking. Not for others, but for myself because I knew that I was capable of so much more and capable of going long distances and going much faster.
It has become apparent to me that walking is very beneficial mentally and it has also assisted in my weight loss. I am beginning to see a major difference in my belly and I know that is attributed not only to my ab workouts and yoga, but it’s from the cardio.
When I get out and walk, I love the sound of birds and if I’m lucky enough to be walking in some of my favorite places, the sound and visual of streams and creeks makes me feel very alive and very happy.
I guess what I’m trying to state here is that things may have changed for me, but no one should ever dismiss the value and payoffs of walking.
