While I was recovering from Covid Pneumonia and two hospital stays in a matter of months, I had no energy. There was no working out, no golfing, no anything. However, a physician friend of mine challenged me to maintain movement regularly. I didn’t feel like doing anything nor did I really have the energy to do anything. Other than when I was immediately released from the hospital, I didn’t put his recommendation into practice.
I felt weak. I felt sorry for myself. To be honest, I was a little frightened by my first brush with mortality. I needed to rest and pamper myself. Since I lost 20 pounds during the ordeal, I reasoned that I could eat whatever I wanted and felt my body needed the calories to get better. I spent a year in this mental space, and looking back it was a year that I wasted.
After a year of the pamper Brian protocol, I realized that I was no better off than when I was released from the hospital the second time. That year wasn’t completely wasted because I began researching and reading and learning more about how our body works than I ever knew before. I learned about how our immune system works, how sleep is the foundation of health and well-being, I learned that walking is the single best activity for health and longevity, I learned that just being in nature has healing properties (the Japanese call it forest bathing), I learned how our gut biome regulates all of the other systems including sleep and immune function. I intend to cover each of these topics in future posts, but for today let’s focus on walking.
I have been walking since I was two. As an aside, I was so adorable as a baby that everyone carried me, and I was slow to walk. I started slowly at first, just walking around the house a couple of times. I did not have the energy for anything more, and I was a little concerned that if I used my energy for short walks, then I wouldn’t have any left for work or just living. As my body became acclimated to these short walks, I added distance to them, but not even a mile. This was also at a time when I would get winded walking up a flight of stairs. I would often have to rest halfway up the stairs at my office just to get to work. I was pathetic.
Once I was diagnosed with stage three adrenal fatigue and had a treatment plan, I felt like there was something to work towards. The doctor reminded me that it was a marathon and not a sprint and to be patient. I became committed to movement and started walking every day. In a short time, I walked a couple of miles. I learned that the more I used my energy for movement, the more energy I had. It was completely counterintuitive but who was I to question that reality. Before long I would be walking for a half hour and then an hour at a time.
I enjoyed my walks. I enjoyed being outdoors (regardless of weather conditions) and seeing the change of seasons at a slower more intentional pace. I focused on time and distance with my walks and not on pace. As I got into it a little more, I decided to invest in some good walking/hiking shoes. I was accumulating miles on my Garmin device and setting new personal bests for steps per month and streaks of days walking.
A person has a lot of time to think on walks, presuming that you are not constantly bombarding the brain with music or podcasts. While walking, I remembered my interest in walking the 500-mile Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage in Spain to the tomb of the apostle St. James. I had read several books about it and had been interested in making the pilgrimage for about fifteen years. It was an itch that I needed to scratch, and my time walking reminded me of just how itchy it was. More on the Camino in a future blog.
I added miles to my shoes and eventually learned that you can wear them out. For me, it was after about 400 to 500 miles that I needed to replace them. I wore through the hard rubber soles. Currently, I am on my fourth or fifth pair of hiking shoes. By the time the snow is gone, I will need yet another pair.
Recently, on my regular walk around the village of Leland, I ran into the father of my kid’s classmates. We recognized each other, even though we had never really had a conversation before. I told him about my daily walks (and cold plunges) and he seemed interested. We set a time the next day to walk together, and we have now probably walked a hundred miles or so together. We coordinate our schedules and make our plans for the next day.
One of the things I have noticed by walking with him is that he challenges my pace. Gone are the days of a casual stroll and we hit a fairly aggressive pace (especially for the winter). We both wear spikes on our shoes for traction and manage a 15-minute-per-mile pace. This is my normal pace for good conditions, like in the summer, but it requires a little more oomph this time of year. I track our walks on my Garmin device and share the data with him when we set a personal best.
I am finding that over 90% of the time we are walking, I am split about equally between Zone 2 and 3 for my heart rate. Having a friend to walk with is a great idea. We hold each other accountable and force ourselves to go even if it is raining or there are subzero wind chills. We both have a stubborn pride that we will not allow to be broken, so it’s a good combination. Because we have eight children between us and we are close to the same age, there is never a lack of conversation. In addition, we could walk several miles in silence as well without it being a big deal.
We are planning some longer walks for the spring, which may include walking around North Lake Leelanau in addition to long stretches of the Heritage Trail. There have been some days when one or both of us may be tired from a workout or late night and we agree to what we call a casual Friday pace. This pace resembles more of a normal walking pace versus the “I’m late for my flight and need to get to my gate” pace that is the norm. Either way, it is nice to have a walking buddy for company.
What started out as simply an exercise in survival by my slow walks around the house 4 years ago has developed into a regular diet of daily walks, logging dozens of miles per week. The notion of using more energy to get energy is one of the biggest takeaways for me. The unintended side effect has been much improved sleep quality as well. But that is a topic for a future blog.