Walk. Just Walk - COVID-19 edition

An expression that has often come to mind as we weather this pandemic is “the cure is worse than the disease.” Trying to be a good citizen, I am not leaving home any more than absolutely necessary. It's tough.

Luckily, we Minnesotans have some experience with “sheltering in place” given our winter weather. One sure bet to mitigate cabin fever is getting outside to take a walk each day. The experts tell us that walking (or biking or running) outside does not increase the likelihood of spreading the virus so long as we keep our distance from others on the trails. Anxiety and depression lower one’s immune system too and walking is a good antidote for mental stress. 

Here is a little update of my advice about walking…

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All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Walking is man's best medicine.

Hippocrates

And they discovered something very interesting: when it comes to walking, most of the ant's thinking and decision-making is not in its brain at all. It's distributed. It's in its legs.

Kevin Kelly

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

Steven Wright

I've been either walking or jogging for 45-90 minutes at least four to five times a week since 1978. It's no great sacrifice - just a long cherished habit - one of the few that I have that are actually healthy. When once asked for "secrets of success," my number one secret was to "take a walk."

Walking seems to be the one universally recommended activity for better health. Eggs, butter, red meat, fasting, running, etc. all are recommended or not-recommended depending on which way the medicinal wind is blowin on a particular day, but walking never gets dissed. (23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?)

These are some ways I make the most of my walking time. YMMV.

1. Walk during the day. I had the opportunity to walk at lunch time during much of my career. I've often wondered whether my time might have been better spent socializing with teachers in the district in a lunchroom, but I've decided that my time spent alone with my own thoughts was as or more beneficial. A midday break cleared the mind and loosened up problems somehow. In retirement, a mid-morning or early afternoon walk works best for me. 

2. Walk alone. On occasion I walk with others and enjoy the experience*, but 99% of the time I walk by myself, at my own pace and where I want to go. It's hard to think when you are either talking or listening to somebody else. My sense is that the world would greatly improve were everyone to spend 30 minutes a day simply reflecting. 

* I have discovered some good hiking MeetUp groups in which I participate. The major advantage of walking with these informal clubs is that you are often pushed to walk a little farther or faster than you might alone - and you learn some new places to hike.

3. Walk outdoors, preferably in a natural setting. Treadmills don't do it for me. Avoiding traffic and exhaust fumes isn't much fun either. Look for a park or nature area to take your walk. (I wear a blaze orange vest when walking through a city nature area that allows bow hunting of deer during the fall.)

4. Walk in every weather. A warm coat, a fleece layer, a hat (with earflaps), and gloves are all you need even here in Minnesota to walk all winter long. Oh, be sure to add ice grips to your shoes in the winter too. A rain jacket in the office works the rest of the year. 

5. Walk, don't stroll. I don't speed walk. I don't walk with weights. I don't stop every five minutes to do jumping jacks. My regular walk looks odd enough as it is. But I do walk purposely fast enough to get the heart rate and breathing going a little faster. Throw in a few hills if you have them. Walk like you mean it. I use the MapMyWalk app on my phone to track how far and how long I walk. I find it motivational. 

6. Walk without a sound track. I can't concentrate when listening to music and I can't focus at all if there is a narrative playing. It's nice to hear the birds, the wind, and the horns of vehicles bearing down you anyway. And just how do people keep those damn earbuds in?

7. Walk a variety of routes. I had four circuits, each of about three to four miles mapped out from my office back in the day. (If you are used to walking a circuit in a certain direction, try reversing course sometime - it's a whole new world.) If I had a meeting I could walk to and back from, I did. 

8. Walk on the weekends and walk on vacation. Make your days off work as pleasurable as possible by walking. Weekends are a good time to head to a park to walk - or snowshoe, cross-country ski or bicycle for a little variety. Books of walking tours are available for most cities and walking (or hiking) vacations are the best. You'll never want to see a country from the windows of a tour bus again once you've seen it while walking or biking.

9. Walk for your mental health as much as your physical health. No matter how busy, no matter how uninspired, no matter how lousy the weather, I am always glad when I get back that I walked. My problems are often solved, new ideas hatched, and my mood improved. Or maybe I should say, walk for your family's and co-workers' sakes.

10. Walk how you want to walk. Ignore any of this advice. Just walk.

Original post January 1, 2012
Revision February 26, 2017

Comments

[Kenn Gorman]

I'll be right back after my walk...