Hair

If you are new to walking or running, you may be asking, “Should I have my hair done on race day?”

No.

Running/walking is one of those sports that totally screws up the best hairdo. The only people who look the same before and after are the ones with crewcuts, ponytails or hats, or their name is Rosie Ruiz.

Running with my pal Kim has taught me to let go of my inner fashionista (actually I didn’t have one, so it was easy). Your running/walking partner is the one who sees you before you’ve had shower, with no makeup, with your hair all greasy or covered by a hat. They’re the one who knows that your butt looks gross in spandex, that you blow your nose every half mile, and that you develop a stink while exercising that could clear out entire stadiums. But they love you anyway. And if not that, they run with you anyway. And sometimes there’s no difference.

And no matter what you look like at the start of the run, you’ll probably look pretty yucky at the end. But you will be proud of that sweat. You’ll know that those un-sweaty people at the Stop and Shop (where you go after your awesome run/walk because errands still have to get done) are jealous of your fabulous bod! (BTW, endorphins help create hallucinations.)

Just One More Step

Did you know that the average American walks somewhere between 1.25 and 1.5 miles per day? If you add up all the steps you take walking the kids to the bus stop, zipping through Target, shopping for groceries, getting the mail, and so on, you'll realize that you're more active than you thought. So it shouldn't be too hard to had just one more step and then another and so on. Before you know it, you will have significantly increased your daily mileage. The next step is to put it all together and walk 3.4 miles at one time. That will be easier when you recognize that you have already been doing that distance, just spread across the day.

Shoes

If you are new to walking or running, you may be asking “What kind of shoe should I wear?”

If you are a walker, I recommend either a walking or running shoe. I find that my shins sometimes hurt when I power walk in my running shoes, but that my runners are okay for less vigorous walks. The key is to wear a shoe that is comfortable for 45 minutes or so along with a good pair of socks.

If you are new to running, I recommend a running shoe (duh). These come in various styles, flavors, colors, and price ranges. When you try on a shoe, walk around the store a lot. Make sure your arch feels supported, your ankle bones and your heel feel good, and your toes don’t feel either squooshed or too airy. And make sure your wallet feels okay. Most of the time you’ll do fine choosing a shoe that feels comfortable in the store, but sometimes you will go wrong. Very wrong. It’s like a bad relationship—cut it short and move on.

But if you’re already a runner, you probably have a pair of shoes you swear by (Asics Kayano for me) and the perfect pair of socks (Balega for my tootsies).

You’ll know you are a real runner or walker when you have accumulated several pairs of shoes in various stages of wear. You will designate some of them to be rain shoes, some to be mud shoes, some to be rotated in, and some fit only for Halloween costumes. And some will be called “losers."

If you need help with shoes or socks, I highly recommend my pals at DB Sports. IMHO, there is no better running shoe store in Southeastern Mass. Of course, it helps that it’s only 1.87 miles from my house, according to MapMyRun.

How Can I Get Started?

Some people have contacted me, wondering how they can get started. They are worried about equipment, clothes, routes, training schedules, hair styles, and so on. Don't worry about all those things. First get yourself MOVING.

Silly as it is, that's my basic advice. Use every excuse to MOVE. And count every MOVE.

Did you walk to the mailbox today? Woohoo! That counts. Did you park one extra spot further away from the door to the store? Yep, that counts. Now start calculating how many ways during the day you can add a MOVE in. Drop the kids off for soccer practice or dance rehearsal then take a walk. Cleaning the house? That's MOVING, baby. Count it! Stairs instead of escalator. Double MOVE, if you ask me. Did you wash the dishes while on the phone organizing a fund raiser for the school? You're a MOVER!

Once you see yourself as physically active, it becomes that much easier to add more physical activity to the day. Check out the Choose to Move program for more inspiration and help.

What's It All About?

Last May I was out running with my dear friend, Kim, when I went into cardiac arrest. If not for her quick reactions and the fact that I was one block from the fire station, I would not be here to write this today. For that I am extremely grateful, as well as for the many firemen, paramedics, doctors, nurses, friends, acquaintances, and family who saved me and got me through the experience.

The doctors didn't quite figure out what happened to me--they suggested that it was a freak electrical occurrence. Or maybe it was a celestial storm. Whatever. They declared my heart to be fit as a fiddle. After implanting an Implantable Cadioverter Defibrillator, they sent me home and said I could go back to my normal activities. And for me, that meant running. (You can read more about it here.)

Since my event (as we euphemistically call it), I have educated myself much more on the heart and heart disease, which is the #1 killer of women. So I've been trying to encourage all the women (and men) that I know to take care of their hearts. A significant step on this path includes increasing physical activity.


So, to celebrate my survival and give people an excuse to add more physical activity to their lives, I am inviting everyone to join me on May 10 at 9:00 a.m. at the Taylor School. The route for this run/walk is my regular route, the one I was on when I went down. It's 3.4 miles long (just slightly longer than a 5K). A map of the route is at the bottom of this page. I can't provide water or prizes or timers or t-shirts, but I won't charge you an entry fee either. Instead I'll give you a hug and thank you for helping me celebrate and for doing something good for yourself.

There's no official registration, but email me at pjbishop @ comcast.net if you want to join us or need more information. You're also welcome to join us the day of the run/walk. And stop by here often for encouraging words.