Mills Milers Mall Walkers

Make walking a part of your personal health and wellness journey!  This FREE program offers a safe, temperature-controlled environment to get daily exercise, meet fellow walkers, and window shop!  The Mills Milers heave exclusive access to the 2/3 of a mile loop throughout the Pittsburgh Mills.  Sign up today at Destination Wellness

and receive an AKMC lanyard, a log book, a schedule of upcoming events, and special discounts from participating Mills retailers.  Each month, a lecture is held designed specifically for the Mills Milers including nutrition tips, proper footwear selection, stretching techniques, and injury prevention tips from our physical therapist. 

Keep track of your steps to become eligible for a variety of incentives in '07.  All levels of walking participation are welcome!  Sign up today and be on your way to better health and wellness!

"Coffee Talks"

All Mills Milers are welcome to free coffee and a blood pressure check the first Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m..  The first session will begin January 2007.  

Mileage

To walk the loop around the mall is 2/3 of a mile.  If you walk on the outside edges past the entrances, the distance is 1.1 miles.

To convert steps to miles

On average, there are approximately 2000 steps per mile, but this is a very general figure.  It is different for every person and should be calculated individually for the greatest accuracy.  It is fairly easy to do though.

 

How far have I been walking?

If you want to know not just the number of steps you’ve taken, but the distance as well, you can calibrate a pedometer.   The simplest way is to wear it while walking a known distance, such as once around a quarter-mile track, at your normal walking speed.  Then multiply that number of steps by 4, and you know your typical number of steps per mile.  (For greater accuracy, you should walk a full mile-4 times around the track.)  Now, anytime you want to estimate the distance you’ve walked, just divide the total number of steps you’ve taken by your “steps per mile” calibration.  Keep in mind it’s just an estimate, because the length of your stride increases as you walk faster.  So, on faster walks you’ll be underestimating the distance somewhat, and on slower walks you’ll overestimate a bit.

 

Some pedometers allow you to enter your step length (based on a calibration walk) and they will calculate your walking distance automatically.  Fancier models will even estimate the calories you burn if you enter your body weight as well.  But don’t count on these calories estimates to be particularly accurate, given the wide variation of fitness levels and personal physiology of individuals.

 

Example:

Jan wears her pedometer for a walk around the quarter-mile school track-it counts 473 steps.  She multiplies by 4, to estimate that she takes about 1,892 steps a mile.  (For easier math, she calls it 1900 steps.)  Another day she takes a walk and covers 6,685 steps.  Jan divides 6,685 by 1900, and gets 3.52, or about 3½ miles walked.

 

To calculate a step length, divide the known distance you’ve walked in feet by the number of steps you’ve taken.  A quarter mile walk is 1,320 feet long (a mile is 5,280 feet.)  So Jan divides 1,320 feet by her 473 steps, and learns each step is 2.79 feet long.  Now she can enter that in the pedometer.