A 3-Month Challenge
Three months. 100 miles. And as many friends as you can find.
My sister Teresa loves a good challenge. Actually, my whole family is pretty competitive. But, it’s usually Teresa who comes up with these “games” for us. She read an article about this walking challenge, encouraged us all to do it and now here we are going into year four of the 100-mile challenge. We have all ages and abilities from 20s to 80s participating. (Have I mentioned that I have a large family?)
Regardless of where you are on your wellness journey, I am confident that you can participate, if you want to.
I want you to, but that’s not what matters. You have to want to. I sincerely hope you do want to because as far as I can tell, it can only lead to good things.
Whether you are a get-up-early go-getter or couch-potato princess or somewhere in the middle, you can benefit from walking.
Three good reasons to walk.
For the mind.
Walking can give you the opportunity to clear head space. It’s one of the few opportunities during the day when you can control the inputs. Listen to a podcast. Listen to music. Listen to nothing and let your mind wander.
Reducing the inputs gives your brain a chance to sort through what’s already there and wowza that’s when some real magic can happen.
For the body.
No matter what speed you are walking, the movement boosts your mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are often called the “powerhouse of the cell” because they produce most of the energy that cells need to function. Powerhouse is no joke, these littles babies are small but mighty busy bees.
Mitochondria power the energy that your body needs to move in anything from walking to more intense activities like HiIT or weight training. Mitochondria power your brain’s cognitive abilities like thinking, learning and memory function. Mitochondria even generate heat that helps maintain body temperature in cold environments. And baby, it’s about to get cold outside.
On the flip side, feelings of fatigue, muscle weakness, obesity and severe neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons’ can come from mitochondria dysfunction.
Suffice it to say, you want your mitochondria happy and healthy.
Side note: if you want to learn more about mitochondrial function, Dr. Casey Means is a great resource and has a book out on the topic. I just love the title.
For the joy.
Speaking of happy, walking can take you to a happy place.
Taking a walk can be an opportunity to catch up with a friend or partner. I love a good walk and talk with my work bestie. Or, taking a walk with my husband after dinner. There’s something about moving and being outside that inspires a different kind of conversation.
A quiet walk by yourself can also be a great stress reliever, a moment to get you back to center.
Let’s take it outside.
If you’re walking outside, there are even more benefits.
Getting outside gives you exposure to natural sunlight, the original multivitamin.
Sunlight can have a positive effect on every area of your health and wellbeing.
I say more about this in
The Magical Pause of the Great Outdoors.
Most likely, if you’re outside you’re away from your screens, which provides benefits to another body part that we often don’t consider – your eyes. Like any other muscle, your eyes need a rest. Looking at screens is the opposite of rest and can cause eye strain, which can lead to symptoms like sore, tired or burning eyes, dry eyes and blurred vision. Gross, sounds uncomfortable.
And hello, October!
The timing of this challenge is really quite brilliant. October is getting to that time of year when there are more reasons to be inside than we’re outside. It’s getting dark earlier. It’s getting colder. Cold. All the time.
A little challenge to encourage yourself to get outside and move can be helpful.
Feeling like you want to do this?
Yay!
You can! I believe in you!
Here are the rules (or general guidelines).
The goal is to walk a total of 100 miles from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
That translates to 1 mile (~20 minutes) of walking per day. That’s pretty loose and open to interpretation. Here are some ways my family has interpreted it:
*Only track outdoor walking
*Only track a full mile (i.e. if I walk 1.25 miles, I’ll only record 1 mile)
*Any kind of intentional movement (i.e. hiking, biking) counts
*Only track running miles (this is great if you’re already doing a lot of walking and want to push yourself a little more)
*Whatever would be meaningful to you.
Some tips to consider:
*Decide what your rules are. If this is your first time doing it, I’d say go with the standard rules of tracking outdoor walking miles.
*Think about a time of day where you know you can fit this in. After lunch is a great time because it helps to fight off that afternoon slump. After dinner can be a great way to decompress from the day. Plus there are benefits to moving after a meal. Mitochondria love a little after meal movement.
*Track your miles.
It’s great to keep a tracker of your miles. It’s amazing how quickly the miles add up if you walk at least once a day. Or how quickly you can get behind if you miss a day and then a few more.
*Create a group chat.
We have a GroupMe chat in my family where people share their rules and progress. I have a brother-in-law who is notorious for getting to 100 miles before the end of October. He’s a bit of an overachiever so you don’t have to invite him to your group.
Like anything else, being in a community of people with similar goals helps you to continue to move toward your goals.
And finally, remember that the spirit of this challenge is to encourage you to move more. Because we all know that moving is winning (and your mitochondria will thank you).
Be well, my lovelies.
p.s. If you need help with a tracker, send me a message (margaret@b-vive.co) and I’ll be happy to share my template with you.
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