Off to a slow start

Did you get your pedometer? Did you check out the 10,000 Steps website? I hope you did both. I was so excited about getting out and walking. But as usual, when I set a course a wave will crash into my plans. The Monday after my last post we began getting rain... and rain... and more rain. It rained pretty much for seven days straight, leaving us 17" of rain. For three days we couldn't even get out our road. Needless to say, I wasn't walking anywhere.

Treadmill might have been an option. However, everything from the living room was stripped out and piled in front of the treadmill in preparation for a complete room remodel. LOL I told you it crashes!

I did walk a lot today. It was finally a beautifully sunny, dry day in the Ozarks. I have two writer friends visiting from central IL. I treated them to a surprise field trip to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and homestead in Mansfield MO. We walked through the gift shop, the museum and both of the houses Almonso and Laura lived in after they made the move from DeSmet S. Dakota to Mansfield MO.

After leaving there, we went in search of lunch. Not a lot of great options but we ate light in anticipation of our dinner later. Then we went back uptown to a used book store where we wondered and shopped.

Then we made the 2-hr drive back East to West Plains MO where we walked the entire Town Square going into shops that were still open (it was after 5) and just window peeking in others.

Dinner was at Kings Garden Buffet where I enjoyed Mongolian stir fry while my friends ate their fill of fresh-made Sushi. I don't care for sushi rice but doing the Mongolian stir fry was a healthy alternative to the normal buffet stuff drenched in sauces.

We then walked our dinner off in the WalMart SuperCenter while Cheri (one of my friends) shopped for the ingredients she needed for the Cuban dinner she is making for us tomorrow. I LOVE her black bean soup. YUM! And she drove down here special to make it for me. What a friend!

The only thing detrimental to my journey this weekend is the alcohol. I don't drink a bunch but I have had 1 Cowgirl Quencher each night they've been here. After they leave, I'll be lucky if I have more than one over the course of the next 3-4 months.

I guess the moral is here that everything in moderation and it's okay to treat yourself once in awhile as long as you keep that 'moderation' thing in mind.

Enjoy the Journey!

Stepping it Up!

So are you curious about today's topic? I suggested you go shopping for a pedometer. I know it was short notice, so I'm going to give you the rest of the week to purchase one. But come Monday morning I'd love to see all of you joining me on this challenge. It really is a lot of FUN!

One of the things about exercise is for the most part it's BORING! I mean, who wants to do the same routine over and over again? When we get the living room remodeled (within the next two weeks- Yeah!), I'll have a bit more floor space for putting my many work out tapes/ dvds to use. But one thing I really enjoy is WALKING! And it's the best exercise you can get.

Running and jogging are hard on your heels, knees and hips. Why anyone would promote them as healthy is beyond me. I think it's all in that 'he who runs the fastest wins' thing. I like competition but not at the expense of damaging my body.

Walking is a smooth, easy pace that gets your heart rate up as your walking speed increases without doing damage to the body you're trying so hard to make BETTER!

Almost three years ago, right after we moved down here to the Ozarks, I set the course to get in better shape. I loved the Jorge Cruise thought process of eating the right foods in specific portions. I'll talk more about Cruise later in the blog. As part of the program I joined a Yahoo group of ladies also using the Cruise program. Our big exercise push was to WALK. Not just walk but to strap on the pedometer and strive to walk 10,000 Steps in a day. 10,000 Steps is equivalent to 5 miles and is one of the best things you can do towards having a healthy heart when it comes to exercise.

Last week, the choke cable went out on my riding lawn mower. I discovered this when I went out to mow a BADLY needed lawn. I let it go another week and finally couldn't stand it anymore and decided to get out the push mower. How bad can it be to push mow, right? And it's good exercise. So out of curiosity I clipped on the pedometer and hit the turf.

2.5 hours and 5 miles later, the lawn looked good. Surprisingly I was not as sore the next day as I thought I'd be. Might have had something to do with the 2 analgesics I took before I went to bed. hehe But it got me to thinking. Why haven't I been wearing my pedometer and keeping track of my steps/ miles? It was motivating me when I did it before? Well, it all went back to my daughter/ granddaughter moving in and my routine falling apart.

At first I couldn't remember how many miles the 10,000 steps equaled so I went searching the net and found a terrific sight called. 10,000 steps.org It's a great site put together by a group from Australia who started the 10,000 steps phenomenon.

On this site you create an account (which requires your email and a password - super easy). This gives you access to log your daily step count PLUS you can enter the number of minutes you spent doing every day activities (either moderate or easy) and it will calculate it into steps for you! Next to each day there's a notepad. Clicking on it will give you a pop-up to enter any notes about your day. Maybe keep track of what location you walked that day (if you used a specific walking track) or what you did to gain that many steps (like my mowing the yard). It all helps to give you a visual! I'm a visual person so this really helps me a ton!

I recommend looking at their LIBRARY tab. Some Great information there! Don't try to absorb it all at once though. You don't want to get overwhelmed. You want to be MOTIVATED. So just click on the links that apply to you now and know the other information is always there when you need it.

You can even request a buddy or join a challenge to help motivate you. Right now I have my own personal challenge. As you'll see to the right, I want to walk the miles equivalent to walking the Ozark Hiking Trail. I figure if I do it a couple of times in bits and pieces, I'll be in the condition I need to make the journey for real.

Maybe you'd like to climb Mt. Everest. Or walk across America from coast to coast. What about walk across your state? Find out how many miles your destination requires and divide by 5. That will tell you how many 10,000 step increments you need to walk to meet your goal. Or you can cheat like I did and just go to tickerfactory.com and set up your own goal chart. hehe.

So as I look out the window at a cloudy sky and storms threaten, I'm clipping on the pedometer and heading into town to walk for a bit. I love walking out here in the country but don't do it so much when Bob's gone. Safety first and being out on back roads alone really isn't safe - even in broad daylight. And right now with people's yards starting to show signs of spring, It seems like a good way to spend the morning before the storms arrive.

So come on! Leave a COMMENT and let me know you'll join me on this quest. I CHALLENGE you!

Enjoy the Journey!