By this time in the summer, with the heat and school looming right around the corner, walking/ running can sometimes feel boring and easy to move to the back burner. Try these 7 Suggestions to keep it interesting and fun:
1. Walk/run in a new location. Around Wells County, try the paved path behind Ossian Elementary School or the big rectangle around the Bluffton Schools. Want a fun shady option? Try the Operation Wellness path at the 4H park. If you find yourself at Jefferson Point in FW, they have 2 marked loops around their property (an inside loop and an outside loop) that are fun and really feel kind of exotic since it weaves through all of their beautiful landscaping.
2. Walk/run on a different surface. Always walking on a road? Try a path or a trail. Oubache state park has many trails to help you spice up your stroll and make it not only more fun, but interesting. Try around the bison pin or trail 5 or keep it simple with just walking around the lake.
3. Take your walk/run with a friend or change up your striding buddy. The change in conversation can feel like a breath of fresh air.
4. Challenge yourself to change up the pace. Interval training is all the rage to increases metabolism and burn calories, but it can also take away the boredom from the same ol' walk/run. Add short to medium length intervals of faster walking (take more steps per minute rather than making the strides longer) or add a jog or spring burst every few minutes depending on your fitness level.
5. Walk/run at a different time of the day. If you're always a morning walker/runner - try a later afternoon or evening walk. It's not a huge change, but can really feel like a completely different thing.
6. Move your striding indoors. With this week's heat dome it's really dangerous to be outside! Combined with some potential monotony, moving your striding session indoors just may be what is needed to re-invigorate you. Using a dreadmill (ehr, I mean treadmill) can be a welcomed break - try one of the preset courses and/or programmed workouts to add spice and challenge. Also, you may find yourself being a "mall walker" at Glenbrook - ain't no shame in the game. Come this fall, the Parks Dept opens their gym for daily walking.
7. Walk/run an event. I used to do a couple races each month not so much because I love racing, bur races and charity walks offer many added benefits. First, there are tons of people to talk to, look at, support, and be cheered on by. Second, they are often for a good cause. Third, there are water stations throughout the event and snacks at the finish line (I mean that alone makes it worth it). And finally, they challenge you to push yourself to move out of your comfort zone. I'm a BIG fan of races and charity walks and strongly encourage you to make the commitment, register, and experience the sense of accomplishment that comes with crossing the finish line (where, sometimes there are medals and t-shirts ....woot woot).
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