But there’s something I love just as much: walking. Whereas with running part of the appeal is the challenge—the work of it—walking is the slowed-down, relaxed version, where I feel stress unfurl. It dissipates the soreness and stiffness that linger from sitting too long or running too hard, giving both my body and my mind space to meander.

During the pandemic, walking became a habit I craved: a chance to move, leave the house (!!), and be alone (!!!). I sought out leisurely evening walks, brisk strolls to the mailbox, laps around the block with my kids, gently curving uphill hikes. At peak lockdown I found myself going for walks as many as three times a day.

What is it about walking that’s so appealing, and how can walking benefit runners? I asked these questions of Jonathan Hook, physical therapist and Whitworth University’s Director of Clinical Education.

First, it’s akin to running, but gentler. With its very similar movement patterns but overall less impact, “running is very much an extension of walking,” Hook says. Compared to jogging, which exerts as much as 1.6 times the force on the body at the same speed (Hook cites Lohman, 2011), running is easier on the body, making it ideal for recovery. “In walking you still get the dynamic rhythmic activity involving the major muscle groups without the same level of pounding and risk of training error that lead to injury.”

 “Prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise can…lead to overuse injury,” Hook says. “Beyond that, overtraining can negatively impact the immune system or cause chronic inflammation” (Mikkelsen, 2017). And including low-impact activities helps with general health.

When we think of our overall health, it’s important to consider more than physical strength or endurance. “Walking can be a great low risk or ‘recovery’ form of exercise that can also positively affect mood states such as anxiety, stress, and depression,” Hook says. “The body of literature continues to grow showing how many forms of exercise have positive effects on multiple systems, including decreased risk for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, and increased mood, life-satisfaction, and cognitive performance” (Bailey, 2018).

There’s also plenty of anecdotal evidence to support a regular walking habit. “I think there is a reason that many of the most brilliant minds were walkers,” says Hook, listing among them Thoreau, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche.

That mind-body connection reminds me of the novels formative to my youth (Austen, the Brontës, L.M. Montgomery), where scene after scene took place during long walks on tree-lined lanes and windswept moors. More recently I’ve been intrigued by the walking habits of David Sedaris and poet Mary Oliver, both of whom built hours of it into their everyday lives (which essayist Sedaris has written about to hilarious effect).

Hook, a runner, likes the counterbalance of walking for reasons similar to mine. “For me, walking puts me in a completely different mindset. I find myself more likely to be present, aware, prayerful, reflective, etc… As a physical therapist or movement system expert, there is something beautiful and rhythmic about walking that is restorative.”

Running and walking feel to me like two sides of a coin: pushing on the gas vs. coasting, the clenched muscle vs. the active release, a free and creative mind vs. a burst of conscious effort. I wouldn’t want one without the other.

Sarah Hauge writes Out There’s “Run Wild” column. She wrote about strategies for loving winter running in the last issue.

The post The Rhythmic Restoration of Walking appeared first on Out There Venture.

1. Little Spokane River Natural Area (North Spokane): A couple of different trailheads offer hilly and not-as-hilly options.  
2. Kit Carson Loop (Mt. Spokane State Park): Different distances can be managed by traversing just sections of the loop or taking side trails that eventually come back into the loop (bring snowshoes for early spring hikes).  
3. Centennial Trail: It’s not a dirt trail, but it’s great for practicing pace because most of the trail in Washington and North Idaho is invitingly flat. I especially like the stretch between the East Maringo Drive and Barker Road trailheads.  
4. Mineral Ridge (North Idaho): At the far end of Lake Coeur d’Alene, this trail is brilliant on snowshoes or in hiking boots. A switchback at the beginning of the trail provides great hill training.  
5. Neighborhood roads: Local walking is a great way to get new landscaping ideas and fit in a workout without adding the travel time to and from the trails.

Read Jill Wagner’s story “Walking a Half Marathon.”

The post 5 Great Spots for Hiking & Training appeared first on Out There Venture.

Runners pass me on the neighborhood sidewalk or local hiking trails, and I wonder, what do they think about for all those miles? How do they control their emotions when grinding away stride by stride? I find running hard on my body and my mind. But when walking and hiking, I revel in the movement and the freedom to gawk at flower gardens, soaring Ponderosa pines, and swampy fields of wild yellow iris along the Little Spokane River.  

I walk as part of my work commute and to do errands, but in the past eight years or so, walking and urban hiking have become an integral part of my workout routine, and my go-to wellness practice.  

Exercise routines have always been more manageable for me if I have an end goal. When I am building up to an event, the daily or weekly workouts are filled with a certain thrilling anticipation. Over the years, I have pursued that thrill by aiming for half marathons. Most recently, I joined lifelong friends in our native Southern California for the Pasadena Half Marathon.  

Preparations took me through the fall and into early winter, and it was mid-December when I noticed that walking, hiking, and snowshoe training to walk a race isn’t all that different from being a runner. Most organized races require walkers of half marathons to complete the course in four hours. For me, to be safe, that means maintaining a pace of about 16:30/mile. The mental training to manage that pace becomes as much a part of my workouts as the physical will to move so quickly along the roads and trails. Striking a balance between being a gawker (relaxed and peaceful) and being an athlete (constantly vigilant about time and physical execution) is a tricky prospect.  

Getting onto a trail, where distractions like car noise or traffic signals are absent, can focus my attention on the moment. It’s a nice addition to training on the city streets. Rather than think blocks down the road and wish I were at the next mile marker, I center on what’s just four or five steps ahead. I can practice pacing while also seeing more clearly what’s around me.  

Generally, I train by adding a mile per week to the long walks or hikes, usually done on a Saturday or Sunday. During the work week, I will walk 2-4 miles a couple of times, and include at least one bike ride. Snowshoeing makes training doable during the winter months, and a stationary bike, or indoor trainer for your own bike, works great when it’s icy and cold or when it’s too hot and smoky outside.

Jill Wagner is an academic advisor at a local university, writer and blogger, and intrepid believer in self-propulsion. She has been known to walk to dinner, kayak to breakfast, and trek the Grand Canyon from the North Rim to the South Rim.  

See Jill’s recommendations: “5 Great Spots for Hiking & Training.”

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