Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Pushing forward with power....walk


I'm really bummed because for some reason Google emailed me and said that I can no longer have ads on my blog--they said there was a violation of the click rules or something. Anyhow, I am going to continue with this blog despite that loss. But let's be serious it's not like I made huge bucks from the ads, it was just a little extra change that I could put toward rewarding myself. Many things have been testing my patience lately, but such is life: things happen. If I can pull through with all of the recent "downs," I will for sure make this healthy-living thing a life habit, Knee or no knee, running or no running, ads or no ads. The best reward from this blog is your feedback and no money could replace that, so I will not stop because I need you guys.

You may have been wondering what I am doing instead of running--remember in an earlier post when I was making fun of those speed-walkers in the 5K--well Karma decided that I needed to walk a few miles in their shoes---and I have. I am a power walker, although I do not know how to dislocate my hip so I can propel my legs forward. You need to look at a YouTube video to understand what I am talking about. Here it is, look at the girl at about 28 seconds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efIy19eCAiM&feature=related

The benefits of walking include: no pressure on my joints, keeps a nice, low, but fat-burning heart rate, and I don't feel like I am going to die (this is my favorite benefit). But of course no form of exercise is perfect and here are the downsides: First, I have to focus. If any of you know me well, you know that focusing on ANYTHING is not my strong suit. I really have to think "Ok, walk, now, walk, walk, walk, don't slow down to look at that bird pooping on the red car, it is time to walk girl!" But you might say that the slower pace is a benefit because I can enjoy nature with a clearer mind, but for me, the pretty little birds and mother nature are both very distracting. Second, I have to listen to a very specific kind of music to keep my legs motivated. Sarah Brightman and Enya were fine when I was running, it was great to have anything distract me from the PAIN, but now the soft sounds make me want to dawdle in the street and stare in the distance awkwardly until some stranger walks by and thinks, "What is she doing, is she ok?" And lastly, I MUST wake up at 6:00 am in order to make the workout worthwhile. While running I could get away with 6:20 or even 6:30, but try WALKING a 5K in 30 minutes, not going to happen. Overall I am very excited, and I can't wait until I get that little hip-gyrate down-pat, then people will pass and say, "Wow that girl would be a great hula dancer." Isn't that what we all hope for when we exercise? 

6 comments:

  1. Bina - glad to see you are back online! I liked the power walking video - don't forget to walk with your thumbs up. :) I am so sorry about your knee - I was worried something like that might happen. After it heals a little you can ease back into running slowly. Injuries like that happen when you start off too much at once or if you increase your speed/intensity/mileage per week too fast. You can still loose weight without running, but the frustrating thing is that it takes more time to burn the same amount of calories.
    Have you thought of starting a food journal? It may sound too psycho, but I had one last year when I was loosing my baby weight - and I think it really helped. It is amazing how much it helps you make good choices when you know that you have to write everything down on paper. (Even better if you have someone look at it - then it feels like a homework project.) Just an idea.
    PS. I loved the picture of Ally in your last post - she is such a cutie!

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  2. O.K....men should NOT wear tight, stretchy pants!

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  3. It's almost like that girl on the video is not only walking but also:

    a.) hoola hooping with an invisible hoop like you mentioned

    and

    b.)belly dancing her heart out.

    Now, I've seen you do both a and b fabulously and so surely you're an amazing speed walker!!

    So tell Bina, what CAN'T you do because as far as I can tell, you are a jack of all trades and so, you win! YAY BINA!!!

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  4. Go Bina Go! You will have to power walk your heart out to "Hot and Cold" ha! I love the picture! Oh yeah, my new favorite song is Black Eyed Peas - "I Gotta Feeling"

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  5. glad to see you are still at it!

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  6. Hey Bina--I hurt my hip last Spring and haven't been able to exercise at all until about a month ago. I am a walker too, now. It is hard because I miss running, but It feels good to be active again. I sometimes listen to books on tape.

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