“I am in Eugene, Oregon. Yes!!!” wrote Missoula's Linda Juneau, who began her walk four weeks ago with Native Griz team members.
Actually, more than 2,000 teams and 41,000 walkers are participating in the WOMAN Challenge - Women and Girls Out Moving Across the Nation - a national walking event that ends July 7.
I first wrote about the challenge on Mother's Day, after learning about the Sistergirls team in New Mexico and Arizona, whose captain is Brenda Manuelito. Last year, two of its walkers logged more than 1 million steps, including Manuelito's now 75-year-old mother.
That averages out to some 500 miles in eight weeks. The Navajo elder inspired me to walk.
I was invited to join the Sistergirls this year. But interest grew among friends and acquaintances in Missoula, so we created the Native Griz. We grew to 18 members in three states. I've been keeping up with the team via e-mail from Oregon, where I'm on assignment.
We all started the walk at different fitness levels.
Amy Sings In The Timber chalked up some 57 miles, or about 114,000 steps the first week. And she has averaged some 45 miles a week, or about 90,000 weekly steps.
“My motivation is total fitness - mind, body and soul,” she said.
Linda Osler said after four weeks she is “beginning to relax and enjoy the walking more than in the beginning, when it was all work. I actually sleep better when I walk more.”
During the first week, Iris Pretty Paint, Juneau and I met on the Clark Fork River walking trail in Missoula. Pretty Paint told us her husband dropped her off at the store so she could buy shoes. She's also been making him drop her off blocks from her office so she can walk.
“I have become much more aware of walking across campus, to lunch and doing housework,” she said in an e-mail. “I convinced my husband to join and we are both benefiting from this virtual walking group.”
The challenge allows participants to build up steps through activities such as biking or housecleaning. So if you clean house for 30 minutes, that's worth 1,530 steps, or about 1.5 miles.
One of the biggest surprises for me has been the realization that I was previously working out like a wimp. Even though I was going to the gym about four times a week, my typical two-mile treadmill workout is considered “sedentary,” according to the U.S. Department of Health Web site at www.womenshealth.org.
I'd have to walk between 2.4 and 3.74 daily miles - or do 30 to 44 minutes of exercise - to kick up my routine a notch, which even then would be considered “low activity.”
“Somewhat active” exercise amounts to 3.75 to 4.99 miles a day. And an “active” lifestyle means completing 60 minutes or more of daily exercise.
The challenge encourages walkers to shoot for 10,000 steps a day. It takes about 2,000 steps to walk a mile, so that means charting five miles a day. A pedometer helps track the steps.
Several of our team members, including me, have reached and maintained an active daily activity level. I've easily quadrupled my old walking routine. The WOMAN challenge Web site lets all walkers chart their individual progress. So now, after four weeks, most of us are somewhere along the West Coast.
As for team success, the Native Griz is still in Alaska, because each member must meet her goal before the whole team advances.
The good news is we're all walking more than we used to. We're enjoying the health benefits, and it doesn't cost anything to put on shoes and hit a trail. And we are enjoying the outdoors.
Juneau reminded me of this in one of her last e-mails from Missoula. She's enjoying “the sweet smells of spring and summer here, as well as the intricacies of flowers, weeds and grasses along my route with the clear view of Lolo Peak. Aaahh. How awesome our Creator is with all these extra treats for the day.”
Jodi Rave covers Native issues for the Missoulian. Reach her at 1-800-366-7186 or at jodi.rave@lee.net
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