RISE AND MOVE
The Steps to a Mile
April 4 th 2022
By Yulia S.
Last week, I did something I hadn’t done in 18 years: walk a mile, or 3,600 steps. Yup, I counted every step. They were spread out over ninety minutes through the course of a day, to be clear, but the time on my feet was over twice what I had previously managed with trekking poles and 25% more than I’d ever managed with a rollator. I’ve had aggressive MS for 26 years and needed a wheelchair outdoors for 18 years, so any improvement was from swimming against a strong current.
I’m still in disbelief, not that I met this milestone, but that I hadn’t been planning it and my body wasn’t suffering the day after from muscle cramps and spasms, signs of compensation and poor form. And the next day, before I’d released any kinks from sleep, I did my timed walking trial at record speed (without my glasses even) and walked before noon as many minutes (40) as I’d managed in a full day just days before. Just now, I...