Friday, May 16, 2008

Friday Five - Walking

A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good
for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult
than all the medicine and psychology in the world.
~Paul Dudley White


Lookie what I got! Yep, I bought my new walking shoes, and aren’t they a thing of beauty? It's purely coincidence that green is my favorite color.

They're made by Mizuno, a brand I'd not heard of before. I told the helpful man at the store that they put me in Brooks last time I bought good shoes, but that I wanted a little more cushion. After watching me walk and listening to my foot issues (I have a neuroma in both feet and wear orthotic inserts) he brought out these for me to try - and it was love at first toe-wiggle! The whole thing was a very positive experience, which I was glad for. Last time I bought good shoes, I was walking an hour a day, up hills and down. This time, not so much - and it shows. But the salesman treated me with respect and acted as if I am a competitive runner. It was a pleasant change from how us overweight folks can sometimes be treated.

So, in honor of my new shoes, and to bolster my motivation for actually using them, I present today's Friday Five:

Pattie's Top Five Reasons for Walking!


1. Increased energy. Man, I feel like such a slug these days! I want to regain the energy I had when I was more active: to be able to do anything I want and know that I'll have the stamina to see it through.



2. It's good for my emotional state. There's nothing better for lifting depression and helping me see the bright side of life. If I could bottle and sell the emotional benefits of walking, I'd be a rich woman!



3. Being outside. I love quilting. In fact, as you may have guessed, I've become rather passionate about it. But one sits inside when one quilts, and I've allowed myself to do more and more of that this past year. I want the feel of sun on my body! Besides, it's fun to check out the yards in the neighborhood!




4. Increased flexibility. All that sitting has not done good things for my muscles. It's hard for me to bend and reach and do the simplest things these days. I believe in the mantra of "use it or lose it." It's time to put my belief into action.



5. And finally, weight loss. When I led Weight Watchers meetings, I always used to tell my members that weight loss should be at the bottom of the list of reasons we exercise. And it's true. It's usually what motivates most of us to be more active. But there are SO many good reasons to be active. Weight loss is just an added benefit.


So there you have it: my reasons for buying new shoes and implementing a walking program. I feel a bit overwhelmed about it all because I know I'm starting from scratch - and that's a hard thing to do, physically and emotionally. But it's time. Change is in the wind.

How about you? Why do you like to walk/run?

Hubby and I are going away for a four-day weekend starting tomorrow, up the coast to Carmel and Monterey. I can hardly wait! We'll do plenty of walking, I know. It won't be quite the power-walking I enjoy doing, but every little bit counts!



Until next time...

18 comments:

RunningNan said...

Omigosh. You are a crazy shoe stalker! LOL. I'm just kidding about you being a crazy shoe stalker. But those are the same exact shoes I just bought for walking on Sunday! Those are the ones that my co-worker runs in. She hates the green, and I think it's pretty cool. I'll have to take a picture of my shoe closet now!

Grumpy Chair said...

Great looking kicks lady.

Reasons I like walking:

1. Walking outside brings me peace and I love the outdoor smells.

2. When I have an awesome, pushed myself to the limit and sweat buckets on the treadmill walk - I love the way I feel after I have showered and in clean clothes. Like I have accomplished something.

3. I have been walking around the block with my daughter while she rides her training wheeled bike, so I would say - bonding with daughter.

4. When I walk four or more times on the treadmill for 60 minutes or more, the weight just falls off. I don't understand why I don't want to do it anymore.

5. Because I'm fortunate to be able to walk.


Hope you and the hubby have a wonderful long weekend.

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

Love the new shoes! May they bring you miles of walking pleasure!

Loved all of your reasons for walking. One of my favorite reasons is that it gives me time to "write in my head". Whether it's a short story idea, a blog post, or even rewriting the ending of a book or movie, I love the escapism of that time. (It's less so on the bicycle, for some reason.)

Happy weekend! Enjoy what sounds like a divine trip!

Manuela said...

Oh, I love the shoes and have never heard of them either--will have to check them out.

The leg is still sore (I think it's a muscle)so running will have to go on hold and I'll replace it with walking.

Enjoy the weekend--take some pics for us (I'd love to go there one day :) )

RunningNan said...

It's funny, because I always thought Asics and Mizuno were off brand shoes. I never know they were specialty shoes for runners and walkers. Sounds like you and I have the same pronating problem! I even blogged about them the other day and linked up to it! That is so funny! I don't know if I would run in them, but I wanted something that I could run in if my dog decided she was going to take off! It was totally worth the money! Check out roadrunnersports.com. They have reviews and tons of information!

Kathy said...

Those are some snazzy shoes!

Susie said...

Thanks for visiting me today! I love meeting new friends :)

Good shoes are so important for walking or running. My husband and I try to walk every day.
Have fun in Monterey and Carmel. We're blazing hot up here in the SF Bay Area!

Nicole said...

Hey! My new shoes are Mizuno's, too. I LOVE them!! Yours are gorgeous. Mine are white, yellow and blue. Nice but not yummy like yours. :D

Reasons I like walking:

1. It calms me down. Instantly.
2. It gives me some precious time to myself.
3. It makes me feel that I'm doing something wonderful for my body.
4. I feel fit and healthy when I walk regularly.
5. I can justify spending a crapload of money on awesome walking shoes! :)

Anonymous said...

Great shoes! Green is my favorite color too! I'd like to be more active than I am as well. I have neuropathy and tend to shun a lot of walking. Maybe that's why my butt has gotten so wide?

Lora said...

Yay for you and the new shoes!!! I love green too!

I love walking because:

It let's me be outside and I love nature!

It puts me in a better mood!

It makes me feel like I've accomplished something!

It's good for my heart!

It's a great tool for weight management!

Wish we all lived closer and could go on a group walk together! What fun that would be!

Needled Mom said...

Great looking new walking shoes. Like you, I have to wear those crazy orthotics in my shoes too. I always have such funky looking shoes because of them, but it beats the pain of plantar faciitis that I developed from walking the hills. Is there no happy medium???? Ha.

I've got a great idea -- let's move the sewing machine outside and you can enjoy the sunshine. ;)

Hope you have a great trip and avoid the Strawberry Festival traffic.

Diana Swallow said...

The right shoe makes all the difference! I'm so happy for you, that you are doing things to meet your emotional needs, meeting new quilting friends and getting out and making the body move and work for you. This is what life is all about my friend! So happy you are embracing it!

Ready Maid said...

GREAT looking shoes, Pattie-boo! Thanks for all the times you've stopped by Ready Maid while I was babysitting and traveling. I'm beginning to catch up before I hit the road again Thursday.

Why do I walk? Hmmm, because I've learned that losing weight is a mathematical formula: For effective weight management, you must burn more calories than you eat at a rate that allows you to lose 1-2 pounds a week.

When I track calorie intake, I know how much cardio I have to do to meet my weekly weight-loss goal. All the side benefits have made it totally worthwhile: hiking a mountain for the first time in my life; being able to hear my son say, "Mom, you look AWESOME! I'm SO proud of you!"; having enough energy to outlast my grandson, etc.

This is truly the BESTLIFE!

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Sunflower said...

The new shoes are wonderful, I love the color green too, what a wonderful relaxed way to get in some walking and breaking in those new shoes

Midlife Mom said...

Hi Patti, I just hopped over from Needled Mom's place. She and I have been friends for a number of years and we met at a convention where our husbands go each year. Someone at our table asked what we like to do and we both said quilting and that was all she wrote, we just bonded immediately! Now we keep in touch all the time and look forward to seeing each other at the yearly convention. She is one great gal, smart, funny, talented and a dear friend. I'm so glad you two met up!!!
Oh how I hear you when it comes to the weight department. Three years ago I lost almost 30 pounds and I have gained it all back.....plus! It's so discouraging especially now as they tell me I have a sluggish thyroid. Great. I have been walking twice a day for the last month with my Dad and really enjoying it. He pushes me to get out and not slack off which I need or I would slack off. It's been a fun thing for us to do together, sometimes we talk a mile a minute and sometimes we don't talk at all, it doesn't matter to us.

Anywho, I just wanted to stop by and say howdy and invite you over to my place any time you get a chance!!

Anonymous said...

My favorite reason to walk is that it gives me dedicated time to day dream!!!

Reason #2 is new. Walking with Rufus is helping me get over my fear of stray dogs.

jillytacy said...

Ok I need to keep coming back and reading this. Better yet I should write my own list of 5 reasons I should get walking. I got a wonderful new treadmill for Christmas but haven't climbed on it for almost two months! I need to stop creating excuses and get walking!