Walk Streak

Walking is underrated, but I’ll get back to that in a moment.  First let me document my fall from running grace.

First there was the physical therapy, then the bronchitis, and in between lots of snow and cold.  I’ve had virtually no quality running this year, and now I’m ready to ramp things back up just in time for hot and humid weather.

There something else I must confess.  Even at my peak of fitness a year ago, it was very difficult for me to do an “easy” run.  A slow shuffle on a cool day would put my heart rate in the middle of the “vigorous physical activity” range.  (note: beware the age-based formula for determining maximum heart rate, it’s a statistical average of multiple people and doesn’t work for individuals).

Any attempt to run what feels like a natural pace gets my heart rate well above the vigorous range after a couple miles.  I got very good at running with a super high heart rate, but the reality is that if the heart rate is that high, it means the body is producing a lot of adrenaline and probably cortisol.  This might explain why I never became particularly fast and tend to break down when attempting to train for a marathon.

Thus, I’m starting a walk streak.  I intend to walk and/or run at least one mile every day until the end of August, and then decide if it’s worth continuing.  It’s like starting a running streak, only there’s no shame in walking if the body isn’t ready for a run on a particular day.  And of course, if there are running breaks in the middle of a walk, it still counts as a walk.

Doing this will require checking my ego at the door.  I really enjoy running.  I also enjoy being seen by others as a runner.  But my ego has a tendency to make me push too hard.  To try to keep up with other runners who are either more genetically gifted, or in the process of forming their own chronic injuries.

The real goal here is to establish a habit that can be maintained for decades, and not just for a few years.  Walking is much lower impact than running, but still serves the purpose of elevating the heart rate and getting the bodily fluids circulating (fun fact: there’s twice as much lymph as blood in the human body).

And so I am on day 5 of my walk streak.  Who wants to join me?