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RWETHEREYET is Living Well in Arizona
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Approximately two to three times each year, Mayo Clinic employees are given the opportunity to participate in "Walk to Wellness," a walking campaign designed to encourage employees to dedicate time to fitness walking and to improve their overall health.
This past spring, I decided to join the Arizona Employment Team’s walking group, RWETHEREYET, to put my walking to the test. I am proud to say that I met my goal of 400 minutes in just seven days and by May 4, I'd logged 1,020 minutes of walking! Who knew I had 1,020 minutes in four weeks to dedicate to walking? I sure didn’t.
I know what you are thinking, “I definitely don’t have 1,020 minutes in four weeks to walk … she’s crazy!” but it really is fairly easy. Our group leader, Yvette Martin, sent us fitness/walking tips each day. Yvette’s tips were so simple to follow that they made walking easy and fun. For example, “walk your dog and if you don’t have one, rescue one from a local shelter” or “take the stairs to your next meeting instead of the elevator.”
Yvette also organized a scavenger hunt for our group. The scavenger hunt included items such as, “how many tables are on the patio outside the cafeteria” and “what is the license plate number of the red Mercedes in the employee parking lot.” Many of our group members completed the entire scavenger hunt by using their lunch and break times to find each item. By simply walking on one 10-minute break each weekday for a month, you can walk a total of 200 minutes per month! It really is that simple.
Our group’s goal was 400,000 steps in a month, but we were able to log 597,974 steps! If we can do it, you can do it. I challenge you to see how many minutes, or steps, you can walk in a month. Good luck!
Bethany M. Rattray works in Human Resources on the Phoenix campus in Arizona
