On The Run
On Oct. 19 my colleague Kevin Avery will be walking the Toronto half marathon.
Kevin has never run or walked a marathon. In fact until a year ago Kevin had no desire to walk or run anywhere. His thinking changed on Oct. 19, 2007, exactly a year to the date of this year’s race. That was the day he was diagnosed with type two diabetes, a disease that is a national concern. Kevin made the decision to change his lifestyle and so began his journey to the Toronto half marathon.
Each day we walk around the property our offices are situated on, a distance of about 400 metres. Last October our first walk consisted of one lap and an exhausted Kevin. It was not too many days before we began to talk about setting a goal to walk the half marathon.
With 12 months to train and get ready, Kevin committed to doing it for his own health and fitness. Since that day Kevin has changed his eating habits, along with taking up walking and swimming.
Walking is an injury free low impact aerobic activity that helps condition your heart, in addition to helping to prevent or reverse the effects of type two diabetes. Walking is also weight bearing, so it will help slow muscle loss and maintain bone density. Walking can be done anywhere, in any weather and comes naturally to us all.
To gain a benefit from any exercise it should feel somewhat hard but sustainable, so walking is the ideal sport for those who after years of sitting decide to take their health seriously. Kevin started the diabetic diet in addition to his walking, an excellent eating plan even for non-diabetics if you are looking for a weight loss plan. Recently I asked Kevin how he was doing after a year on this diet.
While he admitted that he has included some coffee and the occasional pizza in his diet again, he no longer takes sugar in his coffee and drinks far less than he did a year ago. In addition he now drinks four to six 500 ml glasses of water a day, a feat he didn’t think possible back in October of 2007. Small changes make huge differences over time.
It’s at about this point that many of you are starting to tell yourselves this all sounds good but work and family life leaves you with little time, you have back problems, bad knees and high blood pressure. The list is endless of reasons, all valid and true, for why we are not taking care of our health.
The truth is it’s not easy or simple. It isn’t easy or simple for Kevin either. Kevin is blind.
In life it is not the abilities or disabilities we are given that define who we are but the attitude with which we embrace them.
I am walking as well… as Kevin’s guide.
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