I’ve been participating regularly in the “10,000 Steps” community over the past couple of months. They have some fun and motivating ways to keep you walking, one if which is the “Million Steps Challenge”. Every Time you log 1,000,000 steps they send you a certificate. I got mine on the 16th. My next one is due in December.

It’s kind of fun! Check them out :”10,000 Steps“

Darlene

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Jenolan Caves to Hill End
Your Blue Mountains journey begins in Jenolan Caves. Jenolan Caves is home to the oldest discovered open caves in the world, approximately discovered in 1835-49, featuring numerous Silurian marine fossils and calcite formations. From Jenolan Caves walk to Gulgong a gold rush town which was founded in the 1870s and then on to Mudgee in the Cudgegong River valley, which is now a wine producing region. From Mudgee continue on to Hill End which was established in the 1850s as a gold rush town. Hill End is also classified as a historical site by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The GREAT NEWS is that you can join me, because I’m only walking “virtually” using this very cool website:

You just create an account (choose to join the step log on the bottom left), then go to the “I-challenge” link, and sign up at whatever level you’re comfortable at.  With the training I’m currently doing, I’m going for the second level.  I should be able to accomplish that.  Then get yourself a pedometer and get walking.  Every day log your steps and the rest is done for you.

Pretty cool, eh?

So sign up, find me as a friend on there, and we can walk together.

Happy Walking, Happy Canada Day!

Darlene

PS: I’m still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of June – can you help? Just click the badge below and you’ll go right to my page

Time to share another cool tool for keeping track of your fitness/weight loss. Today’s tool is the Omron HJ-720ITC Pocket Pedometer with Advanced Omron Health Management Software!

This is SUCH a cool pedometer, as it not only is one of the most accurate pedometers on the market, it also has cools software for tracking your daily goals and achievements. The PraiseWalking system (especially the first level) is all about being able to accurately count your steps, and keep track of your progress. You don’t want some cheap, inaccurate pedometer to track something as important as your improving health! Having said that, the Omron is really not that expensive, and if you’re lucky, Amazon will give you a deal on getting both the pedometer and the hear rate monitor, which is a key tool for level 4 of PraiseWalker.

Here are the things I like:

• you can wear this in a pocket, on your waistband, in a purse, or anywhere else as long as it’s perpendicular to the ground – in other words, it can’t be on its face or back
• it shows you all your steps, and it keeps track of which ones are actually aerobic steps which are considered as steps walked more than 10 minutes continuously
• large display, clock, detachable belt holder and security strap, so it’s hard to actually have it fall off and get lost
• it re-sets itself every morning
• the software is incredibly easy to use
• it’s robust – it would be pretty hard to break this sucker!

I’ve been using this for almost a year now, and I’ve been delighted with the ease of use and its many features. This is my number one choice for a pedometer.

Ok, this is too cool to miss, so I’m sneaking in another extra post this week!

Take a virtual walk through Europe in the month of December! Go to 10,000 steps and register for an “Active Lifestyle” membership (it’s free) and then select the “Join an I-Challenge” link from the left hand menu, scroll to the bottom for December’s goals.

I’m still at the beginning of my walking program (following my own advice in the Primer) so I chose the shortest choice, the “Germany and Austria” one.

Come join me, and become a walking partner!

Darlene

One of the main purposes of “PraiseWalking” is to bring your spirit, soul, and body together in a place of growing. One way to do this is to practice spiritual exercises while walking, and one of the easiest exercises to do is a “Gratitude Walk”.  If you think of the 4 definitions of a noun “Person, Place, Thing or Idea” and use them as your guide, you can spend your whole walk thinking of things you’re thankful for. First you think of all the people, but instead of just listing names, be specific. For example, I might pray: I’m thankful for my husband who is, to me, an incarnation of Christ; He loves me unconditionally and shows me through that, the heart of God.

I am thankful for my son who has a serving, compassionate heart and a dry wit that makes me laugh out loud.

I am thankful for my daughter, the muse, who always brings a deep question to a light conversation, and makes us think. Then you move on to places, and in those places, experiences. Then things you’re thankful for, and why. Finally, think of things like love, joy, beauty, sorrow, pain, and anything else that is a part of your life. You might want to write yours down and share them below.  Or put them on your own blog, and link to it here. I’d love to create a HUGE collection of these, and start a gratitude revolution.  Wanna join me?

Darlene

Don’t forget to pick up your FREE COPY of the PraiseWalker Primer! And also, please check out my Christmas challenge here!

I’ve been in a bad place recently. I have an area of my life that was immersed in hurt and confusion and I didn’t know how to resolve things.

I asked a friend involved to tell me the truth about that part of my life. I hate asking for truth – you end up hearing really hurtful, shameful things about yourself – but it’s so much more freeing than wallowing in ignorance.

He spoke truth to me, faithfully, painfully, and with healing. It was hard to hear, but it was also very freeing.

As I took what he said to God, God showed me that I am seeking significance in things outside of Him:

Significance:

1. importance; consequence: the significance of the new treaty.

2. meaning; import: The familiar place had a new significance for her.

3. the quality of being significant or having a meaning: to give significance to dull chores.

When I seek significance outside of God I create dark, shameful things in my life.

The truth is, there is no significance outside of God. That’s easy to say. Not so sure how to live it out as fallen man. I’m going to begin, however, by rehearsing truth (something else we talked about), so I’ve turned to Neil Anderson’s “Who I Am in Christ” to begin with, starting specifically with “I Am Significant”:

I am significant… (click the links below for the verse)

• I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
• I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
• I am God’s temple.
• I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
• I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
• I am God’s workmanship.
• I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
• I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

Amen

With that kind of significance behind me, I can hardly feel small.

Darlene

Don’t forget to pick up your FREE COPY of the PraiseWalker Primer!

I apologize that I missed Monday’s post – things are always a little awkward when you aren’t at home.  However, let me make sure I don’t miss TWO days.

As I cleaned out my inbox today I found some very interesting information about music and exercise from Dr. Mercola’s site, and thought I’d share it with you.

Listening to Music While Exercising Boosts Brain Power

Research has shown that listening to music while exercising not only improves mood, but may also boost cognitive levels. An example of this was seen in higher scores among cardiac rehabilitation patients on verbal fluency tests. The study looked at the effects of music combined with short-term exercise and found that people diagnosed with coronary artery disease had enhanced brainpower after listening to music while exercising.

Participants of the study included 33 men and women who had undergone bypass surgery, angioplasty or cardiac catherization and were in the final weeks of their cardiac rehabilitation. Each of the participants were required to take a verbal fluency test before and after two separate sessions of working out on a treadmill for 30 minutes at a time. The workouts were scheduled one week apart and one took place with classical music playing in the background.

The study also had the participants fill out a 30-item checklist, which included adjectives to describe the patient’s current mood, before and after exercising as a way to assess their anxiety and depression levels. The study concluded that participants claimed they felt better both emotionally and mentally after exercising regardless if they listened to music or not.

However, signs of improvement in the verbal fluency areas were more than doubled after listening to music compared to that of the non-music session.

Dr. Mercola also had a second article that was very interesting as well:

How Can Your Workout Benefit From Music?

As stated earlier, exercising to music has more benefits than just making your workout more fun. As sport psychologist Costas Karageorghis explained, listening to music while working out can:

1. Reduce your perception of how hard you are working by about 10 percent during low-to-moderate intensity activity.
2. Profoundly influence your mood; elevating the positive aspects, such as vigor, excitement and happiness, and reducing depression, tension, fatigue, anger and confusion.
3. Be used to set an appropriate warm-up, workout, and cool-down pace.
4. Be used to overcome fatigue, and control your emotions if you’re in a competition.

According to Karageorghis’ research, music is most effective when you are losing steam and need some motivation to keep going — not as a constant stimulus. He recommends doing two workouts with music to every one without, so the effect of the music is not dulled.

Committing yourself to a regular exercise routine is just as important as following a nutritious eating program. Taking into consideration these positive benefits from music and exercising, I would encourage those working out at their local gyms to add a little music to their workout routine.

So, go get your iPod, and head outside for some great, all-’round health and wellness therapy!

Happy Walking!

Darlene

Don’t forget to pick up your FREE COPY of the PraiseWalker Primer!

The truth is, I absolutely hate Halloween. Except for adorable little children in fluffy costumes, I don’t see that the holiday has a single redeeming feature. Blood, guts, decomposing bodies, horrifying monsters all decorating our kids and our streets, nasty kids out there wanting to create damage and havoc, and then weeks of sugar crashes. No siree. Not for me. I wish someone would ban it.

However, I don’t want to be a humbug, so to make up for my bad feelings about Halloween, I’m giving anyone and everyone a gift.

It’s taken a lot of hours of writing and research, not to mention years of trial and error, but it’s finally done! The PraiseWalker Primer is ready and available for anyone who wants to have a simple, stress-free, pain-free way to get physically, mentally, and spiritually fit.

Here’s what it is:

• It’s a 126- page, nicely illustrated, step-by-step program for people who neither have the time nor the energy to work on wellness
• The program starts from total couch potato and eases you into a regular walking program over a period of 8 weeks
• You get small steps, working on only one area at a time for a two week period so there’s no overwhelm
• You get a specially designed journal that uses the latest research in accelerated learning to actually program your mind for success
• You learn creative prayer techniques that you can eventually apply to your walking program
• You master each of the pieces of PraiseWalking so you’re ready for level one which will train you to walk 5k
• and there’s are some simple nutritional tricks and suggestions that will help you lose weight without being hungry.

Better than that, I giving it away. For Free. No strings attached.

For those of you wanting to join me in Florida in January 2010, this is your first step, and it starts on Monday, Nov 1 if you want to keep up with the whole program.

Get the e-book here:

Happy Halloween!

Darlene

So, the marathon is behind me. A New Year is on the horizon, and I’m looking for a new challenge – you know me, can’t sit around on old laurels.

I decided that I need to do a new Marathon, to try and meet my original goals, now that I know what it’s REALLY like! I want something fun, though, and inspiring. So, here’s what I’ve picked:

WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon Weekend

Now, the info at that link is for the upcoming one this January – obviously WAY too soon. I’m going to do it a year from now. Yep, I’ve learned my lesson! Don’t train too quickly for a Marathon!

So, here’s my plan for SLOOOOOW but steady training:

From November 1 – December 31: I’m going to just get back to minimum basics in nutrition, active lifestyle, and creative prayer (which is a tool that got me through much of my Marathon!)

From January 1 – March 16: Improving on all of the above, I will begin more serious training culminating in the St. Patricks Day Run 2009, in Edmonton.  (note: Just so you get an idea of how slowly I’m training for this and the following events, note that most people can walk out their front door and do a 5k without training and without difficulty.  I am taking just under 3 months to train for it.  This means that this whole program – start to finish – is within anyone’s grasp.)

From March 23 – June 7: Still improving on basics, I will then train for a 10k walk on June 7. Don’t have a final choice yet (not all races are listed at this point) though there’s an interesting on on June 7 called the LSLBO Bird 5 K or 10K Fun Trail in Slave Lake, Alberta.

From June 8 – September 7: I will now increase my training to prepare for a half marathon. Not sure where, as I can’t find any listings yet for September.

From Sept 14 – January 4: I’ll train for the WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon, and turn it into a cool family vacation afterwards, as a celebration.

The timing seems perfect, it keeps me in training all year with easier races to add smaller goals. It also means that I’m not outside for too long during the cold Alberta winters! I’ve done a LOT of research, and have put together a very slow moving plan that should get me to the final finish line without injury or overtraining. I hope. Not only have I prepared the plan, but I’m making the first part of it (November 1 – December 31 above) available to anyone who wants it. The other levels will follow as I complete them. More details will be available on Friday.

So, now the question is, who wants to train with me? (and yes, you can do it in your own hometown, too – just find the appropriate races, and join in!)

With hopeful anticipation,

Darlene

I am a driven, type-A, hyper-focused sort of person – you probably hadn’t guessed that yet!

As I prepared for the last marathon I was so focused on the goals of each individual session, that I forgot to savour the journey.  I didn’t hear birds sing, or spend much time admiring the scenery.  I usually listened to a morning devotional on my iPod, but often found that I had tuned out, to focus more on my walking form or speed.

Dumb.

I live life that way, too.  I end up spending so much time focused on where I’m heading, that I miss much of what’s along the way, living most of my life in the future.

Really dumb.

But I do learn (thankfully) and so as I embark on this next phase, I’m going to be spending a good deal of my time learning to live mindfully, to train mindfully, to spend time focused on the here and now, and what God is doing in, through, and around me.

I’m also learning – again and again – that God doesn’t speak in “sound bites” as much has he speaks in slow communion. If I’m going to hear God’ voice, I have to take time – good time – to listen, be with Him, read His word, ponder my life’s messages, and so on. Life with God doesn’t work well in the fast lane. I need to pull over and take time to breathe, listen with my heart, snuggle into His presence.

Jesus, slow me down!

Darlene