LJ Idol Season 11, Week 6: Solvitur ambulando
Walking did wonders the first time I needed to lose weight and start getting my body healthy. It opened up new worlds, and the weight began to fall off. Now that I am on medical leave from most outdoor exercise, I miss it, like an ache. I can’t wait to get back outside. I’m doing my walking inside for now.
Five years ago, I would have suggested you needed to be committed for mental observation if you suggested that I would enjoy walking - even, for a brief period, running. I used to loathe when we’d do running in gym class at school. The only walking I ever really enjoyed was a slow nature walk, or in 6th grade when my teacher, who was determined to get her own exercise in, took us out walking with striding poles for a few times a week as a class.
What changed five years ago? My doctor told me I needed to do something immediately to get some of the weight off. He suggested virtual running, and I signed up for my first race through Yes Fit. My race, my pace, so I could walk it, and get a cool medal. broken up into small bits, it didn’t seem like much.
But it all added up and by the following spring I was walking 5 miles a day. Then I discovered a new online club that was doing SO MUCH. And it was Harry Potter themed. I joined on to what was then Hogwarts Running Club. I hate the new name with a deep loathing, google if you want to know. But the people, oh, god, the PEOPLE.
There are tons of subgroups - the Great Hall for all of us, each house (I’m a Ravenclaw) has a common room, geographic groups, groups for pen pals, botany, cooking, crafting…anything. Charity projects, challenges, group meetups…even a ball. I found people like me and have made some fast friendships. For an introvert that is a BIG deal.
In 2016 my mother died, and I nursed her for the last few months. I went from walking miles a day to not at all except around the sickroom or hospital. I gained back the almost 100 lbs I had lost and then some.
Then I started having some major health problems myself. A bout of bronchitis turned into pneumonia, which triggered asthma, tests for which uncovered both sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension. I still wasn’t getting better, so they sent me to an allergist - I tested allergic to 27 of the 48 allergens they tested. So I just started allergy shots and redoing my entire house and lifestyle.
Walking is going to be the solution again. It is one of the only forms of exercise I’m allowed right now, and I’m starting slow, like I did the last time. I’ve already lost 44 lbs since June, and am going to slowly keep going and building my pace. And maybe, just maybe, add a few more medals to my wall.