What Would You Walk a Mile for?

What would you walk a mile for? I grew up in a time when cigarette commercials were acceptable and common on television, long before the Surgeon General required “harmful to your health” warnings on tobacco products. The Marlboro Man was handsome and rode a horse, but more impressive to me was the ad for Camel cigarettes.  “I’d walk a mile for a Camel,” claimed the tired cowboy as he leaned back in a chair, smoked his Camel, and rested his dusty boot clad feet on a fence pole.  In my young mind, a mile must have been a very long way to have worn a hole in the sole of those boots!

In retrospect, it would have been a good idea for that cowboy to walk a mile for every Camel cigarette he smoked. We now know how detrimental to one’s health smoking truly is. We also know how beneficial it is to log a few miles on foot. Unfortunately, some of us are still convinced that a mile is a very long way and we might wear out our shoes, knees, lungs, hearts, or other body parts if we run or walk too many miles. While it is true about the shoes (See this post) most of those other things will benefit from the activity, especially our hearts!

I would walk a mile for these:

·         My heart

·         Better blood pressure readings

·         Lower risk of Type II Diabetes and Stroke

·         To manage my weight

·         Endurance

·         Sense of well-being

·         My husband, children, and grandchildren

Question: What would you walk a mile for? 

Visit A Milefor My Heart on Facebook to tell me what you did for your heart today!


Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

Carol - aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Will's Hill tempo run

Today’s workout was supposed to be a Tempo Run.  I’ve complained about those before.  My Smart Coach training plan said, “Tempo run including warm up, three miles at 10:06, cool down.” That adds up to 5 miles. Since I had an awesome race on Saturday at the Old Fort Boise Fun Run, I thought, “Forget about the tempo.  I did speed work on Saturday.  I will just do an easy hill workout on Will’s Hill.”  Right.

Will’s Hill is a 5 mile out and back.  Out - into a head wind.  Back – downhill most of the way! If you can do the first 2.5 miles, the next 2.5 are rewarding.  Here is how I fared.

Mile 1  – 11:00 minutes.  I was sticking with the “easy hill workout.”

Mile 2.5 – 26:23 minutes.  I had picked up the pace, uphill with a headwind no less!

Mile 4 – 40:10 minutes. That downhill-wind-at-your-back stuff is pretty nice!

Mile 5 – 50:36 minutes.  That’s a 10:07/mile average!  Five miles at 10:07 is better than three miles at 10:06 in my book. That’s pretty good for this old granny!

What have I learned?

·         Training plans really can help improve your speed.

·         If I wear a watch (and start it), I push harder.

·         My first mile is always slow.

Visit Runner’s World and try out a Smart Coach plan for yourself.  You may be glad you did!

It's a Rest/XT day!

It’s a Rest/XT (Cross Training) day so I mowed the lawn.  I am not sure that qualifies as rest.  It’s a big lawn and I don’t have a riding mower.  Someday I am going to wear a pedometer while I mow.  Then I will know how many steps I have taken and can calculate how many miles it I walked.  I am guessing, given the time it takes to mow, that it is around 2 -2.5 miles.  It’s just a guess.  Someday I will find out for sure. 

We have a few hills and I always think that difficulty should be factored into any workout.  For instance, if you go for a run in the wind, rain, or heat you should get extra points.  Not that it matters, because I haven’t ever figured out a point system – but if there was one, those things would surely count for more!

The trees are always fun to maneuver around, too.  We get lots of compliments on our green lawn.  There are a few tricks to keeping it lush.

§  Bluegrass.  It isn’t hardy, but it is beautiful grass.

§  Fertilizer.  Yes!

§  Water.

§  Pest  defense.

§  Alternate mowing directions.

§  Frequent manicuring every 4 -5 days.

 

That’s pretty much what it takes.  It helps to have an on site crop specialist (Hubby) as well!

That’s what I did for my heart today.  How about you? Tell me about it HERE.

 https://www.facebook.com/AMileForMyHeart

You are a runner if ...

“I am a runner.” When can one who runs confidently make this claim?  I believe it is different for everyone. This morning I ran eight miles to stay on track for half marathon training. My legs are pretty tired. Actually, all of me is quite tired! I think I can say, “I am a runner.”

I heard others refer to me as a runner long before I thought I was legit. I ran, sometimes, and not especially fast – but I did run. When I participated in my first 5K I was hysterical afterwards, laughing to keep from crying. It was hard! It rained that day and there was the added difficulty of being cold and wet. I didn’t do much of anything the rest of the day. I was busy recovering! Did that make me a runner?

I ran for four years before I could break a ten minute mile and it still doesn’t happen every day. Did clearing that hurdle make me a runner? I ran and walked a half marathon last year. Does that qualify me? I have run in the rain, the wind, and a blizzard. Runner yet?

This is what I have determined. It’s just the opinion of a granny who runs. 

• You are a runner if you run. It matters not how fast or how far. 
• Racing doesn't matter. Some runners love to race and some do not, so racing doesn’t matter. (Well, it does for those of us who enjoy it!) 
• You are a runner if you continue to run. Obstacles such as illness and injury, scheduling, and really bad weather might get in the way, but a runner will resume his sport as soon as the obstacle has been cleared. 
• Some days will be easier than others.  Some runs will be longer or faster than others, it matters not. 
• You are a runner if you run.

Run on, you runner, you!

Question: Do you have an opinion about what makes a runner?  Feel free to sound off in a comment below.

Running Granny Green encourages women, especially grandmothers, to gain greater fitness by providing tips and inspiration to insure long years of joyful grand-parenting. The cookie recipes are a bonus!

Happy Running!

Carol - aka Running Granny Green

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.