Walking is good too

Hello, Monday.  You are simultaneously one of my favorite and least favorite days of the week, and today was no different.  I have a total love/hate relationships with Mondays.  I love them because it’s a day my son is in preschool and I get the chance to enjoy some one-on-one time with my baby girl.  And after preschool, my daughter naps and I get special time with my favorite little man.  Monday is also my day to catch up on my favorite TV shows that I missed throughout the week.  I tackle a week’s worth of laundry and watch my shows on my Macbook.  This is the bit about Mondays that I love.

Monday is usually a pretty chill and enjoyable day, but it’s almost always a miserable start.  I work most Sunday nights.  If I’m lucky, I’m home and in bed Monday morning by 73o.  Somedays it’s after 8 before I get to crawl in bed.  If all goes well, I get a solid four hours of sleep before I have to wake up so my husband can drop my son off at preschool and head into work. Sadly, these days my daughter is seldom ready for a nap before 3pm.  So, after working a 12 hour shift, I get a four hour stretch of sleep before it’s time to switch back to my dayshift life.  The first 3o minutes are miserable, but my daughter is so stinking cute when she comes into my room to wake me up.  “Hi!  Hi!  Hi!  Hi!  Hi, mommy!  Hi!  Hi!”

Today, my daughter and I braved the heat and went for just over a four mile walk.  My little bitty loves, loves, loves walks.  We arm ourselves with snacks, water bottles, sunscreen and mace (gotta be safe) and hit the pavement.  This was the first walk  in a while that we’ve done more than a mile or so together.  I really wanted to go four to five miles, but I wasn’t sure how well she’d do.  I figured she’d get bored and start fussing.  Nope.  She made it very clear at the end of our walk she wanted to keep going.  Not that she’s necessarily going to understand, but I promised her another walk tomorrow.

Since I got into running, I kind of forgot how much I like walking.  Or maybe it was more of the mindset that if I was going to lace up my running shoes, I needed to be running.  If I walked, I think some part of my brain thought I was slacking.  But let’s be honest, a brisk walk does your body good too.

Check out what just 3o minutes most days of the week walking can do for you.

1. It deflects/manages type 2 diabetes
2. Walking slows mental decline.
3. Lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol)
4. Raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol)
5. Lower your blood pressure
6. Manage your weight
7. Improve your mood
8. Walking lowers Alzheimer’s risk. 
9. Walking improves sleep
10. It reduces your risk of dying from heart disease or stroke.

And these are but a few of what I found.  The lists go on and on.  I’ll be honest; I enjoyed my walk just as much as my runs.  I think long walks might just have to become a part of my routine again.