Needed: SMART Planning

Although it is almost 11 months till my walk, I find myself dismayed at my lax schedule. I walk 3 miles a day most days-- but not if it's raining. And I haven't increased my distance yet. The good news is that I'm finally feeling good at the end of my walks. Mmm, exercise buzz!

Luckily, I've pulled in an ally -- or, rather, a support group full. My workplace has started a wellness group focused on improving nutrition and exercise behavior. One of the first things the group reminded me of is the necessity of setting SMART goals:
S = specific
M = measurable
A = attainable
R = relevant
T = time oriented.

Another thing I was reminded of in the first session is that I need to plan for how to deal with obstacles --like rainy or busy days. For this week, the goal is a consistent 5 days of 3-mile days regardless of weather. If it rains, I will either do the indoor track at the fitness center or a treadmill. Next week, I will go for 3.5 miles and increase to four miles the week after, then maintain for a couple weeks.
-- Post From My iPhone

Training and other news

I have been walking to work and back when there hasn't been pressing reasons not to (thunderstorms, out-of-town conferences). But there have been some other developments to cheer me along:

1) My father donated $200. Woot!
2) I am currently doing some research consulting for a colleague, who will donate $500 to my walk in payment. Woot woot!
3) My husband suggested that we do Spring Break in March walking for four days on the western half of the Illinois-Michigan Canal trail. This will be done as follows: About six miles on Day 1 (Seneca-Marseilles IL), 8 on Day 2 (Marseilles-Ottawa), 9 on Day 3 (Ottawa-Utica), 5 or so on Day 4 (Utica-Lasalle). Great training walks!

True Confessions

I have to admit, I only got 1.5 miles on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday's meetings ran rather long, and I begged a ride home from my husband. Thursday brought severe thunderstorm watches in the afternoon, so I begged a ride home from a colleague. I'm not scared of a little rain, but I walk with Nordic walking poles, which are the next best thing to two lightning rods in a thunderstorm. I won't be doing the cause much good by getting electrocuted.

I did, however, walk both directions (a total of 3 miles) today, and next week I will be ramping that up by about a half-mile a day. The guideline for safe exercise increase is to add about 10% a week. Half a mile more is just over that.

Today, meanwhile, I was musing over some of the albums I listen to on my iPhone while walking. Yesterday, I listened to Stevie Nicks' "Belladonna". I used to love that album unreservedly when I was younger, but now (I'm 44, the album is 28), either my tastes have changed or it hasn't aged well. On one hand, the song "Edge of Seventeen" will always be one of my favorites for its impressionistic melancholy. On the other hand, there's the opening lines of "Highwayman", which hit my ear these days with a dull thud:

"Alas he was the highwayman/The one that comes and goes/And only the highway-woman/Keeps up with the likes of those..."

The highway-woman? Revisionist history, anyone? The only places I've seen highway-women are romance novels and Renaissance faires. I'll confess that I read a few select romance novels (current favorite: Mary Jo Putney) and go to the KC Renaissance Festival yearly, but somehow my suspension of disbelief won't extend to lyrics whose music doesn't signal "This is serious filk".

Contrast this dissatisfaction with the pleasant discovery I made today that I still, after over 20 years, love Stealin' Horses' eponymous first album. They were a one-hit wonder in 1985 with their song Turnaround, but this very well may be because they were years ahead of their time. A female-driven band, they could easily join the ranks of female country-crossover that have flourished over the past 10 years (think Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks). Stealin' Horses' music is a blend of Southern Gothic, rockabilly, and folk-rock with a distinct feminist sensibility and a touch of folksy mysticism. The lead singer, Kiya Heartwood, now fronts a folk duo named Wishing Chair, for those who are interested (it's more reminiscent of Indigo Girls, and very good mellow listening).

My daily walk

To start my training, I have been walking to and from work steadily this week (steadily meaning two days in a row so far!) I have an iPhone 3G which serves as my music source and, at times, my pedometer. One program, Path Tracker, allows me to share my path with others, and I plan to use it to map the 3-day walk next August in the Chicago area. For now, it's just mapping shorter paths, such as my walk from work this afternoon here.

Starting a good habit again

This morning, my first day of fall classes, I walked to work. Work is 1 1/2 miles in each direction, and is a slow but steady start for my training. The trick with walking to work on the first day of classes is that I usually wear a suit that day to give me the feeling of being ready. (Even professors need to psych themselves up!)

Wearing a suit is not compatible with walking 1.5 miles in each direction with a 10 pound backpack and Nordic walking poles. On the other hand, making excuses like "I can't walk today because I have to dress up" is not conducive to making good habits to last the rest of my life.

My solution: I packed my suit and hosiery in the computer backpack and wore shorts and t-shirt to work. This actually worked very well, and will give me the advantage of having a suit ready at work in case I don't feel like packing my work wardrobe in the backpack one day. I felt a little strange dressing out at work, but I've fixed up my office so I can do precisely that. I even have facial wipes and makeup so I can freshen up. Now I'm ready to teach classes, and can change back into my shorts when it's time to walk home.

A single step?

I started training for the 3-Day walk this morning in a small way -- by walking to work, 1.5 miles, with my Nordic walking poles. I used to do this every day, but then my mother died in December and then all the excuses to not walk started popping up: "It's too cold", followed by "It's too hot", and the ever famous "I need five more minutes of sleep". All the excuses to eat the wrong foods followed -- actually, there's only two of those: "I deserve this ice cream bar", and "I'm stressed".

I suspect that anyone reading this (with the exception of those three blessed individuals in the world who can eat everything and not gain weight) can identify with this situation. Welcome to life as an overweight American in the 21st century. But it doesn't matter how understandable my rationalizations are, nor how easy it is to follow my all-too-human biology and choose leisure, sugars, and fats -- the result is that I have gained weight and lost physical fitness.

To be truthful, I have always been overweight, except for the times (like now) where I am obese. I will probably always be overweight. But there was a time in my life when, as one of my students put it, I could "walk up a wall and not get tired". And that was the first time I started training for a 3-Day Breast Cancer walk.

For anyone not familiar with this event, a 3-Day Breast Cancer walk is a fundraising event where individuals raise over $2000 for the privilege of walking 20 miles in a day, and then turn around and do it again for two more days.

Why, in Heaven's name, would anyone do this? I can think of many reasons: As a rite of passage -- I turn 45 next month, and I want to do something phenomenal to celebrate the fact that I made it this far. As a testimony to the power of a dream -- the dream of pushing oneself past one's comfort zone. As sacrificing oneself for a good cause -- I know many women my age and younger who are surviving breast cancer, and some who have not survived it. If I can do something audacious like raise $2300 (this year's goal), then I'll do it. And, selfishly, as a way of getting back to that level of wellness I never thought I could achieve.

I took my first step this morning -- actually, about 3000 steps according to my pedometer.