Before you Tri, you must learn to walk.

Habit #1 of healthy people: They walk about.

This picture has been sent around the world several times in the series of tubes that is the internets.  And yet, it is so true.  We take the escalator when there are stairs right next to them.  We take the elevator to go up (or-gasp-down) one floor.  We drive around and around the parking lot looking for THE CLOSEST spot to the department store entrance. We get in our car to drive from one end of the strip mall to the other.

I am a triathlete, and I do these things.  I routinely run over ten miles, ride my bike over 50 miles, but I get in my car to drive 2.1 miles to work every day to avoid getting wet in the rain.  And to top it off, I have water-proof cycling gear!

So, let's think about this a second.  Handy alibis: Stairs can be hard.  And sometimes we have to look nice at work.  And sometimes we want to run errands after work that are far away or require picking up the kids, going to the grocery store, or wearing high heels (more on this in a later post, ladies).

Okay, those are the excuses.  Stairs, just like running, swimming, speaking a foreign language, and playing the guitar, get easier with practice.  There is a way to go up and down them without profuse sweating and knees pain...practice.  And looking nice for a meeting or the boss is important, but I bet there is a shower and a dressing room at work, or a gym close by.  You can put all those toiletries, make-up, and clothes in a saddle bag on a commuter bike.  Or, plan better and take these things to work the day before.  That way, at least one day you ride (or run or walk).  As for the errands, there are ways around this... get creative.

Is this starting to make sense?  All of these are choices you and I make every day without thinking.  And so I started thinking about... and walking more.... choosing to park at the first spot I came to and walking from there.  And you know what?  I beat people that were driving around looking for closer spots almost every time.  Then I started taking the stairs... and the same thing happened, I would arrive at the office before others who spent time waiting for the elevator.  Then I started getting folks to take the stairs with me.  And now, I unconsciously take the stairs, not even considering waiting for the SLOW elevator.  And I started biking to work a few days a week, and you know what.  I like it, and it is faster, because I don't have to drive around looking for a parking space!

It IS that easy.

So, try this.  Pick a distance.  It could be 0.5 miles, 1.22 miles, 2 miles (like me, now), or further.  Or it could be a day.  Like Wednesday.  And say, if I am going somewhere and it is closer to where I am than 2 miles or it is Wednesday, I either walk or ride my bike. I did not come up with this idea (I stole it... just like you should steal it).  It's called the 2-mile challenge, and it's sweeping the nation.  Let it sweep you.