Thoughts come clearly while one walks. ~Thomas Mann

Today my sister Megan and I participated in a 5K with Jake. One of his cross country teammates planned the invitational for his Sr project. The money he raised is going to two different charities. It was a nice day for a run/walk. It rained lightly for a brief time and was nice and cool. So the run/walk was only 3.1 miles, and I was thinking that was no big deal, I must walk about that far when I go out on my own. But instead of warming up as Megan suggested and walking the first bit, we got caught up with the runners and started out running. I did not pace myself and so catching up from that took a while. Megan was so patient, she probably could have run more, and I encouraged her to go ahead if she wanted to, but she walked with me and we had fun chatting! We walked and ran small bursts and walked and walked and it seemed like far longer than 3.1 miles. But we did it, we finished and are feeling inspired to keep up our training and perhaps participate in a 10K this summer. And maybe even try to run the majority of it! Though I am not sure about running in the heat, but we shall see!! So I have been using MapMyRun.com to help me find good walking routes here in my neighborhood. The good news is I managed to put together a fairly straightforward route that is exactly 3.1 miles. That will be nice for trying to improve my time!

So I was thinking about walking and how much I enjoy it when I have the time to get out there. There is something very true about the quote I used for my blog title. When I am walking and my heart rate is elevated and I am huffing and puffing along, I am able to work out in my mind whatever issues have been bothering me. I am able to come up with plans and goals and stick with them. Walking/running is so great for our bodies, but it is also fabulous for the mind.