Walk, Don't Run

It's almost 2012. It might not seem like it if you just started something new, like the school year, but I'm about to end something big and for me, as the street doomsday men like to say, "The end is nigh."
On January 1, 2012, I will no longer be a runner. I'm giving it up for the sake of still being able to walk, bike, play tennis (gently) and do yoga 10 or 15 years from now. Maybe cord blood stem cells will return the knees and ankles of my teens to me one day, but for now, I'm preparing for the worst.
And for all who know me, yes I have wondered what I'll do with my blog; what will I do to stay fit; how will I work out my inner demons and excess energy. And yes, I am worried I'll gain a lot of weight.
As I go through the 7 stages of mourning (I'm a preemptive mourner - when I was a kid, I would cry for hours about my grandparents death even though they all were very alive in Colorado), I keep getting sucked into bargaining. I think, maybe I'll just ease up, only run once a week, only run a mile or two, only run slowly. A friend who is a physical therapist offered to look at my stride. I'm taking her up on it because hope is another stage. Maybe she'll see something I can change that will allow me to continue...
The reality is, in fewer than 4 months, while I may still sometimes run, I will no longer be a runner and, despite getting a jump on the mourning, I'm still going to be shocked.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go lay out my gear for tomorrow's run. 

Running with a heart rate monitor

I have a new bad habit: checking my heart rate.
I never used to do this. I thought it was because I didn't care. It turns out it's just because I didn't have the gear.
When I wear it, nothing else matters. Distance? Who knows. Temperature? Not sure. Heart rate? Ranged from 111 to 165 over 45 minutes.

Does it work? Yes. Wearing the monitor keeps me going until it says I've accomplished the goal that it had in mind. Forget what I had planned on doing; it has a will of its own and it is greater than mine. It beeps if my heart rate is too slow or too fast ("Get going!" "Ease up!") and logs how long I have my heart rate at the desired level. When I have had done enough, in its mind, it beeps again ("Great workout!"). It doesn't matter where I am or that I had planned on taking a long, strenous walk, the monitor says I'm done, so I mosey home.
I love it. Which is why, for my next run/walk (still recovering from Achilles tendonitis), I'm leaving my new toy at home.