Bittersweet Farm

Why I Like Walking

Walking gives me time to think and listen and pray. I prefer to walk in a beautiful place where my soul can drink in the world around me. Walking is the right pace to listen to bird songs and smell the scent of the forest. When I walk I can think and I can enjoy flowers and trees and growing things. I like having a chunk of my day away from pressing responsibilities and the ubiquitous electronic devices that I have grown to love and depend on. I like to take my phone with me in case of emergency and turn it off so I will have uninterrupted time with the Lord and with my thoughts.

Walking is remarkably good for my health. At the end of this piece I have embedded an interesting video that shocked me when I watched it. Walking is much better for you than I ever realized. Watch the video. It’s engaging and I think you will be surprised at the amazing benefits of just walking for thirty-minutes a day.

Walking seems like what Jesus would have done. Last spring Lois and I rode a comfortable, air-conditioned bus all over Israel. To get to some of the sites required some pretty serious walking. The whole time I admired Jesus for walking all those places. The Bible never says Jesus jogged or ran. I think he just walked. He walked with his disciples and he talked with them in the way. He’s my hero and He walked everywhere he went.

O, and Hazard loves it when we walk.

What do you think? Would you rather walk or run?

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Day I Became A Runner

I will always remember the day I became a runner. I started running in about 1983. At first I ran just twenty minutes a day. I ran in a pair of high-tip basketball shoes. I couldn’t run a quarter-mile to the stop sign at the end of the road without having to stop and catch my breath.

After a few weeks I was running a couple miles a day, six days a week. Within a month or two I set out on a run on a sunny Saturday morning and just kept going. I ran my normal out-and-back route, but instead of turning back I just kept going on around our big country block. When I came back around to the house I jumped in the car and drove the route I had just ran. I had run over six miles! I was a runner.

Since then I have run a number of races from 3 to 10 miles and a half-marathon. I have trained two summers for a marathon getting up to 20 miles in my training runs. I have never completed a marathon. For some reason I just start to lose my motivation after I get into the 15 plus-mile training runs.

That Was Then. This is Now.

When I past fifty something happened inside me. I know many people run into their old age, but lately I’ve noticed even fast running isn’t that fast anymore and what is the point, anyway. I just don’t like pushing myself anymore. A couple summers ago I unjured by ankle and distance running just doesn’t seem like a good idea. I haven’t fully recovered, but I can walk in good shoes as far as I want.

This may change in the future but for now I have down-shifted to walking and I’m glad. If you are still a runner, hat’s off to you, don’t take this as an insult. I admire you.

At the gym I will still do my sprint-eight workout on the treadmill when I can, but as much as I envy my runner friends and admire their achievements, I am now a walker. In my next post I will tell you some reasons I have converted to walking.

In my next post I will tell you some reasons for walking and share a powerful video on the incredible benefits of walking just thirty-minutes a day.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net