Photography by Megan Tsang Hand

On January 1 I vowed to walk for exercise every day for 366 days in 2020.

Then on January 24, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I must confess that when I got the news one of my first thoughts was, “Crap! Is this going to mess up my plans to walk for exercise every day for 366 days?”

I hope to boast this badge soon!

At the start of the year I announced on this blog, on all my social media channels and even on WBHM 90.3 FM that I plan to exercise every day for 365 days. I haven't missed a day yet. But in May I started to get a bit bored. Exercising daily was no longer difficult because it had become a regular part of my day, as normal and as necessary as taking a shower or brushing my teeth.

I needed a new challenge and I found what I needed in GirlTrek.

GirlTrek is a national nonprofit organization striving to inspire black women and girls to live healthy lives simply by walking. GirlTrek launched three years ago and through social media campaigns has grown to include over 20,000 women who are lacing up and logging their walks online. (Last year I wrote a story for WBHM on the Birmingham chapter of GirlTrek. You can read it here.) 

GirlTrek recently challenged participants to walk 100 miles in the month of June. I knew taking on this challenge would keep me motivated for the rest of this month. I've been going for a 3 to 6-mile walk/run most days of the week. And if I do walk/run 100 miles this month I'm going to reward myself with some GirlTrek gear!

I recently learned, however, that this challenge could make me a better writer too.

Earlier this month USA Today reported that a new study from researchers at Stanford University suggests that taking a walk could boost creativity.

From USAToday.com:

"Walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goal of increasing creativity," write authors Marily Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz in their paper, published in this month's Journal of Experimental Psychology.

To test the influence of walking on creative thinking, Oppezzo and Schwartz divided study participants into four groups: Those who walked then sat; those who sat then walked; those who only sat; and those who walked indoors vs. outdoors. Participants were given two different tests, both widely accepted by the psychological community as valid measures of various aspects of creativity: Guilford's Alternate Uses test, or GAU (people were asked to come up with alternate uses for everyday objects in a short period of time), and the Compound Remote Association test, or CRA (people were given three unrelated words and asked to come up with a fourth word that connects with all of them. For example, upon hearing "cottage, Swiss and cake," a correct response would be "cheese.").

Overall, Oppezzo and Schwartz found, walking enhanced the performance on these creative tests, particularly the GAU: 81% of participants showed an improvement in test scores while taking a walk, regardless of whether they sat before or after. The researchers also noted that the effects of walking lingered: Even after returning to their seats, people who had taken a stroll showed a residual boost in test scores. "When there is a premium on generating new ideas in the workday, it should be beneficial to incorporate walks," they wrote.

I've blogged before about how GirlTrek helped me approach my writing goals in a new way. When I wanted to run my second half-marathon but my body objected to the high impact training I decided I would walk the 13.1 miles instead. This new approach to one of my fitness goals urged me to think outside the box about my creative aspirations as well. 

I've also blogged about how completing challenging fitness pursuits can encourage a person in her writing pursuits as well. If you can finish that marathon, you can finish writing that book. If you can stick with that Insanity DVD for 60 days, you can stick with your blog. If you can bench press all that weight, you can press send on that pitch letter to your favorite magazine. 

But now this study makes the connection between my writing and my workouts even stronger. 

So talk a walk, writers. Of course, you should check with your doctor before starting any exercise program, but even as little as 10 or 15 minutes a day, two or three days a week can be a good start. If you need motivation to get started join a group like GirlTrek. 

Now excuse me I need to go walking.

On Feb. 12, 2012 I ran a half-marathon. And I ran 13.1 miles mostly because so many people had told me I couldn't. 

I have a connective tissue disease that causes my joints to be in a great deal of pain most days, even from just walking or sitting. So imagine how tough running can be on my body. Nonetheless, I refused to take no for an answer. I found a new doctor, one who's also a runner and thus understood my obsession and could offer helpful advice. I wasn't going to let this disease or the naysayers in my life tell me I couldn't check off this item on my bucket list. And in February of 2012 I did. 

Then I wanted to do it again. 

But as I tried to train for Birmingham's 2013 Mercedes Half-Marathon it wasn't just family members and friends objecting. My body was objecting too. The pain that I'd learned to live with became more intense and some days nearly unbearable. 

I didn't let this keep me from being active. I still exercised daily, but running was just too much. I put my running shoes on the shelf for a few months and recently tried to get back into the swing of things. My knees, my ankles, and my hips just weren't having it. I began to wonder if this meant I'd never cross a finish line again. 

Then I discovered GirlTrek. 

GirlTrek is a national nonprofit organization striving to inspire black women and girls to live healthy lives simply by walking. GirlTrek launched two years ago and through social media campaigns has grown to include over 17,200 women who are logging their walks online. 

There's a chapter of GirlTrek here in my hometown of Birmingham and I started attending some of their walking sessions for my mom -- I want her to be more active for the sake of her health. Little did I know GirlTrek would end up being an even bigger help for me. 

First, GirlTrek inspired my latest story for WBHM, Birmingham's NPR station. 

But GirlTrek also inspired me to reconsider my goal of completing another half-marathon. What if, I asked myself while on a solo trek at my favorite walking trail, I walked a half-marathon? This certainly isn't unheard of, but for some reason it had never crossed my mind. 

And so I decided that I will complete another half-marathon, even if I have to walk the entire race. 

One of the things I find so empowering about GirlTrek is its mantra: “When black women walk, things change.”

As the GirlTrek website declares, “Things changed when Harriet Tubman walked. Things changed when boycotters in Montgomery walked. When we walk, things WILL change.”

Now that I'm taking this new approach to one of my goals I've been wondering if I need to do the same with other aspirations as well. What would happen if I, if we, thought outside the box more and got more creative about how we will achieve our dreams?

I think I know what would happen: things would change; we would change and then we'd change the world.