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Over the last few days, I’ve started wearing a pedometer again. It’s my first step to getting ready for the half marathon.

July 1: 10500 steps

July 2: 7500 steps

July 3: 7800 steps

And today, I forgot to put the darn thing on!

Buying a pedometer

I own about a half dozen pedometers: different brands, various prices. However, the best one I own is one my husband found online that has no brand name on it. However, it does have a sensitivy setting, and that’s the key to its being so good.

I’ve bought pedometers that were much too sensitive or not sensitive enough. Others work fine when worn with loose fitting clothes, others work better with tighter clothes. Some make a noticeable ticking noise when you walk, which is quite annoying.

It would be nice if you could try a pedometer first before buying it, but that isn’t possible. So, my advice is simply to make sure your model has a way to adjust its sensitivity.

Testing your pedometer

How do you know how accurate your pedometer is? First off, you should be concerned with its accuracy in counting steps not counting miles.

Put on the pedometer by clipping it to your waistband two or three inches away from center. Make sure it’s set to 0 and walk, counting your steps as you go. Be sure to walk normally. After one or two hundred steps, look at the pedometer reading. It’s okay if it’s a few steps off, but if it’s more than a few, change the sensitivity and try again.

Converting steps to miles (or kilometers)

Many pedometers don’t convert to miles or kilometers (mine doesn’t). But even if yours does, you’ll need to know the length of your stride to convert steps to miles. Here’s an easy trick to measure your stride.

Put on your shoes and go out onto your patio, porch or deck. It should be a solid surface (no grass) and large enough so that you can take several steps at a natural pace.

Wet the bottoms of your shoes and take a few steps, making sure to walk naturally. Measure your wet footprints from back of heel to back of heel (or toe to toe). Repeat this a couple of times and average your measurements to be sure you’re accurate.

Some simple math

There are 5280 feet in a mile. Let’s say your stride is 2.5 feet.  Take 5280 and divide it by your stride length (in this case 2.5). The resulting number is the number of STEPS IN A MILE for you. For me, it’s about 2112.

Many people skip the measurement and math altogether and just guessimate 2000 steps per mile.

I’ve been looking at some marathon walking sites on the internet, trying to find a training schedule and tips for getting from 0-13 miles.

Walk the Half Marathon includes a training schedule that’s pretty light through the week with a long walk day on the weekend. That would work with my schedule. It starts at only 30 minutes a day, but the total training time is just 12 weeks.

Half Marathon Training Schedules for Walkers includes longer walks through the week as well as cross-training. Total time to get ready is 14 weeks. My concern with this one is that 3 miles to start might be a little tough for me.

12 Week Beginner Walking Schedule isn’t a marathon training plan. It’s a plan for beginners to work up to 60 minutes per day. After that, you can begin the marathon training. This might be where I need to start.

Training to Walk a Marathon is for a full marathon (26.2 miles) if you’re feeling really ambitious.

At the Marathon Calendar, you can find marathons and half-marathons where walkers are welcome. I’m not going to think about this yet.

Next step for me? Get some walking shoes and a battery for my pedometer!