These boots...

...aren't the only thing for walking.  And this information is too good to keep to myself!

I recently received this video link from a friend:  The Gift of Walking It's a 6+ minute video that is WELL WORTH your time today!

A couple of years ago my niece (Beth) and her husband (Matt) took up walking...serious walking.  They began supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and participating in their Team in Training program.  And they began training...

I think the first big test was in June 2010 when they came to Seattle to participate in the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon.  Beth finished walking the half-marathon course in ~ 4 hrs. 20 min! Gerry & I cheered them on from a couple of vantage points throughout the race course and were there at the finish line to celebrate their success (and help them get ice!)  While watching them, it occurred to me that I could probably do that...walk...even 13.1 miles.  I mean, seriously, walking doesn't take any special equipment or training or even a gym membership.  It just requires practice...a lot of practice.

So the following year, Gerry & I entered the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and I began to practice - gradually increasing my times and distances from 15 min and 1/2 mile to one hour/3.5 miles to two hours/6 miles and finally to 3 hours/10 miles!

When June came, we had quite a "team" - Beth and Matt returned for their second go-round, my sister (Margo) and her daughter (Tessa) and son-in-law (Sean) - both runners - also joined in (of course, Sean actually finished the race before us pokey walkers even started!)  Gerry could have probably gone a lot faster than our pace but he was on "sherpa" duty - carrying everything the successful walker might need (water bottles, sunscreen, energy bars, salt packets, towels for drying off).

Gerry, Margo & I were the last of our bunch to cross the line at 4 hours, 19 minutes!  Walking is easy - even for someone not in incredible shape otherwise.  It's amazing how much better I feel when I get that walk in (even if it's just that daily 30 minutes of aerobic "walking" on my Wii), how much more clear-headed I become, how much more I'm able to do, just plain how energetic feel, and most importantly, how much more easily I can keep up on vacation!

I won't say "never" but I'm thinking my marathoning days are most likely behind me (I'm sure I could go the distance - well, at least "half" the distance) but the courses tend to be on city streets and that's a lot of pounding the pavement at a pretty good clip (not great on these old knees - and especially not great on the old knees of my "sherpa" partner).  Beth & Matt though continue to participate in Team in Training, having gone to San Francisco, San Diego and Ireland last year.

So go lace up your sneakers and get out there and walk!

~later, tw