I'm a walker and a former runner, but I swear I'm not writing from a prejudicial nature. That's right, and I'm sure the Hogs are gonna whip up on Alabama this fall. Okay? So now let me give you a little background on a walker and runner exercise routine. Back in the dark ages when we were living in Texas, I started just by running around the block on sidewalks very early in the morning when it was still dark. I quit that little bit of running after I ran into a big pile of trash. I got a few cuts and bruises, and I hit the road where I dodged cars instead of trash on the sidewalk. I quickly learned a few key things about road jogging. Always jog, run, or walk facing traffic. Very simply, you can see the car that is about to hit you and step off the pavement. The number two item is to either have a light on your body or an orange reflective garment. I see folks running every day and night wearing black and running on the wrong side of the road when it is totally dark. They must have a death wish.
When we moved back to Arkansas, I was a very sporadic runner, but a budding tennis player. I was playing Dr. Myron Shoffner one afternoon, and he was beating the socks off me. I casually asked him about another player in town, Bill Noland, who was also regularly beating me.
"Bill is a runner, Richard. He's in great shape for tennis because singles tennis is basically a running game."
I started running the next day, and that did help my tennis immensely. However, running is not without its risks, and pulled muscles will happen to even the fittest. However, my running stopped a couple of years back when I was working in the yard and slipped down landing against a piece of concrete that severely bruised the calf of my left leg. The surface cut wasn't that bad, so I didn't need any stitches. However, even though the superficial cut seemed to be healing, the deeper bruise wasn't. Finally, after several weeks where I still had an open wound, I went to the doctor.
Dr. Watson took one look and said, "Richard I'm going to make you an appointment with the Wound Center."
Well, I didn't know there was a Wound Center, but I headed down there the next day, and after an examination the Wound Center doctor commented, "Richard, you have a deep bruise." I'm not a doc, so I can't tell you what he called it, but basically he said the wound had to heal from the inside out instead of just the surface cut. That meant the wound had to be left open and re-bandaged every week. It took several weeks to heal, but now it's as good as new. Naturally, that stopped running and tennis for over a month. Finally, I started back walking and after a few weeks I added a few hundred yards of jogging. As I have gotten older the walking is now around 90%. However, as I continued to walk, I kept up with reasons I'm a confirmed walker.
According to several studies, your goal should be to walk 10,000 steps a day. There are plenty of devices that will give you a count. I have converted my 3 miles of walking from my house on Calion Road in El Dorado to my downtown office. It figures about 7000 steps. Since I work in our yard and adjacent small pond, I can easily add those 3000 steps by trimming and picking up limbs. The front yard of where we live is heavily forested, and walking to pick up fallen limbs, and trimming bushes easily gives me the 10,000 steps in good weather. I'm a skinny guy and I can't stand to be cold, so winter weather sometimes gets me behind.
Studies have shown walking contributes to cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness, reduced risk of heart disease, and stroke. improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or stiffness, and diabetes.
While we're writing about getting those 10,000 steps a day, we need to realize these steps can be almost anything. When I realized that, I started looking at the front of our property along with the trashy roadways around town. Just think of how much we could improve the looks of Arkansas roads if we walked those roads picking up trash. If you are a walker, take a close look at cleaning up some of the trashy roadways you walk down.
10,000 steps is roughly equivalent to walking five-miles or eight kilometers depending on your stride length, cadence, and height. If you are looking to get your 10,000 steps done all in one go, you'll be walking for around an hour and forty minutes. Of course, a lot of other benefits are posted but overall wellness is the key. Walking is a great benefit to good health. Getting those 10,000 steps a day is certainly worth the time and effort. But to me, it's not all health and wellness. I just feel better after a three-mile walk, and as I look at the front yard and around the pond where I have walked, trimmed, and picked up sticks... that's the bonus.
I noted in last Sunday's Voices section of the paper a writer who had traveled through multiple state deemed Arkansas has the trashiest roadways. I agree! Let's do something about all that trash and get healthy doing it by walked 10,000 steps while picking up trash.