A Journey of 10,000 Steps Begins With One

Rather than knee surgery, I’m trying to walk it out to the count of 10,000 steps per day (approximately 5 miles). Isn’t pain, after all, just another four letter word? Do I want to live through six months or more of rehab at this time? Probably not, so, I’m going to call on my reserve of Finnish “sisu”. I’m not sure that there are medical studies to support it but there are widely circulated recommendations to get a pedometer and walk 10M steps a day for better health and weight control.

This article on Science Daily isn’t quite so optimistic about using step counting for weight control but I’m going to find out for myself. I’d rather walk outside than train in a gym but I will if that’s the way to lose 25 ugly pounds and reduce the strain on my knees.

I now have my Silver Sneakers membership card at Harbor Fitness Center. What a valuable (and sensible) benefit of my new MediBlue health care plan. I walked there (about a 25 minute walk) for an orientation session with a trainer last Monday.

Instead of going into Manhattan for the Easter Parade today, I decided to walk locally. It was down to the pier, along the shore to the Verrazano Bridge at 4th Avenue over to 3rd Avenue and back home. It took about an hour and 40 minutes with a pedometer step count of 10,822. I iced my knees, took a nap and feel fine. There’s no more pain than from a trip to the EFMS to water plants.

Incidentally, it was amusing to pass so many women along the way with red hair. What’s up with that? Was red the trendy hair color for Easter this year? If you wanted photographic evidence you’ll just have to wait until I get an SLR with a telephoto. In your face with a point and shoot? I don’t think so

I’ve been carrying my point and shoot and have uploaded many of the photos to Flickr. You can see them in a 10,000 steps collection I’ve started. I’m still in the process of editing them. I find it much more interesting to look at photos when people include comments, so that’s what I’m trying to do.

Have you heard about the Flip camera? I read about it in a David Pogue review on the NY Times site. I need simple. I’m overloaded with tutorials accumulated in the transition from PC to Mac. The Flip looks like a video equivalent for my Canon point and shoot. I’ll use it to produce some indoor plant education videos for my new blog InsideUrbanGreen.org and also use it for street photography.

Stay tuned! Hopefully this is a start on breaking my “blogging block” or is it burnout?