Step Out in Red "A-Long"

Remember this? We Knit Red to raise awareness of women's heart disease, of noting that half of us will die of heart disease, and that there are some things we can all do to reduce the threat. Some very basic things.

Well, one of the most basic is to move your body every day, in some way - I'm not the sort to tell people HOW they should move, just that they should. But I'm also pretty bad at following my own advice :(

I had a heart attack 6 years ago this month. In July, I'll celebrate not only my 50th birthday, but 2 days after my birthday I'll celebrate my 6th year since my by-pass surgery (a kind of second re-birth!).

As we all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I always think I'm going to start exercising, I'm going to eat right, I'm going to stress less. But it's a lot easier said that done.

So...as I was thinking about how badly I need to be moving the other day I decided to add something to our Knit Red group. Over there ---> you'll see the wonderful button co-owner of the Knit Red KAL, Jane created for this: STEP OUT in Red (and a red Keds tennis shoe!). (You don't have to really wear red tennis shoes, but you can if you want! I think I will!)

The goal? To walk as much as you can, and if you don't want to walk, would rather run, or swim, or step-aerobicize or bike - please do! (While I won't tell you that yoga doesn't fit - because it does in it's own way and if you do the right kind - try to make what you do for this A-Long a cardiovascular workout?)

I walk very little. I have a sedentary job and then when I come home I either knit, sew, or work on the computer, all of which are sit-down activities. My fingers are in great shape! Unfortunately that doesn't do much for my heart. So I'm going to be aiming to get to 10,000 steps a day. And I won't do it all at once (nope, I have to be realistic, I have to start where I am...and increase my activity slowly or I end up in a Lupus flare from H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks and that's NO FUN).

So I'm going to try to do 10 minutes starting this weekend, every single day. When I can do that comfortably, I'll add 5 minutes. And so on. Do you know how many steps 10,000 is? Well...it's about 5 miles.

How will I know when I've gotten there? I'll wear a pedometer. Every day. From the minute I get dressed in the a.m. till I get undressed as I hit the hay every night. They're about $3-$5 at most sporting goods counters of Target and Walmart and Kmart...you won't spend a fortune for them.

Join us? Oh...and my multi-tasking self suggests that you see about joining up for the Trek Along with Me and knit a pair of Trekking XXL socks, too while you're at it...hmmm let's see...colors 28, 36, 125, and 127 all have red in them! *wink* And you'll knit something RED in the process, too!
(((hugs)))