How many steps in a mile....

I've been doing this math quite a bit lately, as I've decided to save my sanity (and maybe my soul and health) by walking over the lunch hour... The office building in which I work is located next to a lovely first ring suburb... lots of gardens, parks and stuff to look at during my walking!

My stride is about 30 inches per step (yes, I measured it)... So, if a mile is 5,280 feet, which equals 63,360 inches... then I guess for short little me, it's about 2,112 steps. Good thing I have a nifty pedometer to track my steps... I've actually tried to do this in my head, and well, let's just say I get distracted by things like cars, birds, green grass, pretty much anything.

Each day, I've been trying to put in at least 3,000 steps over lunch, some days reaching 5,000. I've found that the days that I need the most stress relief are the days that I put in more steps, I guess that means my body has discovered the therapeutic nature of the endorphins that are released in the process. Did you know that the chemical structure of endorphins is similar to Morphine and other opiates?

So, if you ever see me walking around the southern part of richfield, with a look of joy on my face, you'll know that I'm past 4,000 steps for the walk... a little happier, a little less stressed... and don't stop me - help me keep that wonderful feeling!