Sunday, March 30, 2008

StartWalking v4

I got a new battery in my pedometer as the new walking program starts tomorrow and I, for one, am glad. The programs provide a good incentive to get in some additional exercise and for me, it has really helped. When the first StartWalking program began, I was able to do about 2000 steps on a good day. And I set a goal of achieving the 10k step recommended minimum It took several months to reach that goal. Over the course of the three programs, I've lost almost 50 pounds and can now run (or at least doing something I call running). When this started, it would have been a challenge to run 100 yards and on Friday, I ran over 5 miles. A couple of times last summer, I walked the equivalent of a marathon so I'm looking forward to see what this this summer brings besides motorcycle riding!

I think I figured out what was wrong with me yesterday. I think I was severly dehydrated. After drinking a ton of water, I felt a hundred times better. Maybe it was some sort of 24 hour bug but on Sunday morning, no trace of anything. I remember this happening before when I used to ride my bike a lot in California. And it is much easier to carry water while cycling than when running. What do most people do? Use a fanny pack or something? Not wanting to be discouraged by a little setback, I went for several short walks outside the longest only being about 3 miles. This time I took plenty of water.

My comment about cycling made me think of several rides way back including a couple of century (100 mile) rides from the L.A. area into the upper desert. We rode at night because it was cooler but I still remember going through about three gallons of water on each trip. Another was San Diego to Cabo and I carried over a gallon with me on the bike and must gone through over four gallons on some of the 100 mile 100 degree days. I guess I have always needed lots of fluids. The moral of this post is drink plenty of water.

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