Sunday, October 16, 2011

These Boots Are Made For Walking- Week 8 Wrap-Up



Truth be told I had been waiting for this particular challenge ever since I started the blog.  I know that sounds silly, if I wanted to take a walk I could just talk a walk right?  Well, true and false.  See the thing is, it is ungodly hot here in the summer (and by summer I mean until October).  People who visit are always asking me how you get used to the Florida heat, and the answer to that is that you don’t.  You learn how to deal with it.  And NOT taking hour long walks in the afternoon sun is one of the ways you deal with it.  I know there are people who do, but I am not one of them.  Those people are crazy.  And better than me.

Anyway, so October hit and with it came a cool down.  It was glorious.  And let me tell you, when we get that first wave of cool air it is like all Floridians have been locked inside their attics all summer (I was going to say basements, but we don’t have basements here…  Swamps and all that).  As I recall it is very similar to the first time you get that blast of warm air in the north.  Everyone rushes outside to drink it in and make sure its real.

So the challenge was to walk an hour outside every day.  There are a number of reasons I wanted to do this, not the least of which is that several years ago when I lost a bunch of weight I did it by walking.  I started off with the mantra that if nothing else, if absolutely nothing else, I would walk 15 minutes a day.  No matter what else was going on in my life, whatever happened, I had 15 minutes.  Even if that meant I got home from work at 11pm and did 15 minutes around my block still in my work clothes, that’s what I did.  And 15 minutes turned into 30 and then 45 and then an hour.  Soon I was walking everyday and then I was starting to run.  Just little bits at first but I became quite the serious walk/runner.  And sometimes, several times a week, I would do it for hours at a time.

Which, sounds like a great thing.  And in many ways it was.  But one of my biggest issues with everything is moderation.  I can’t do anything just enough, it’s always all or nothing.  And so I was in all-mode.  And it sort of consumed my life.  I didn’t do anything else.  I didn’t hang out with people.  I didn’t call people.  I walked.  And I lost a ton of weight doing it.  But that was my whole life.

So I think this is why it has been hard for me to pick back up where I left off.  I like it, I really do.  But I also like that I have become social again.  It took a long time for me to be social again.  After the walking and weight loss I had a relationship that ended very badly (a story for another day) and I and my broken heart didn’t want to be around anyone, mostly because I knew I was Debbie Downer and couldn’t pull myself out of it.  I spent a long, long time like that.  Years.  I threw myself entirely into my job and didn’t come up for air until about a year ago.  And it feels really good to breathe again.  And I think somewhere in the back of my mind I am subconsciously afraid of starting the cycle all over again.

Which is, well, just stupid.

And of course, the benefits of walking are pretty obvious.  It’s easy on your joints, helps you lose weight, lowers blood pressure, lowers levels of depression, helps you focus, lowers your stress, etc etc etc.  And if you want to know more about the benefits of walking, or find resources for walkers check out some of these websites:







And so the walking challenge.

Sunday I stepped out, IPod in hand, and started.  I’m kind of weird.  I like listening to podcasts when I walk.  I mean, I like music too, but if given the choice I will listen to a podcast.  I know music helps you keep a pace and propel you, but podcasts keep my mind off how long I’m going.  I could listen to hours of This American Life and wander and have no concept that I spent 6 hours walking.  So armed with my pal Ira Glass I set out.

I live in a really beautiful place and I am crazy lucky to have miles and miles of walking paths to enjoy.  It makes me feel a little guilty for not getting out to enjoy them more often.  It was cool outside, breezy.  Just awesome.  I felt really really good.





Yes, these are two actual pictures I took during this walk.  I am so lucky to live here.  For real.

Monday was a repeat.

Tuesday I was feeling a bit annoyed with life.  It was the kind of day that normally I would come home and throw on my PJ’s and watch some TV to zone out and forget about the things that were annoying me.  But I knew I had to walk.  And so I called Whitney to see if she wanted to walk to.  We had already had a plan to get some ice cream sundaes that night.  Which, yes I know, totally defeat the purpose of the walk.  Or does it?  I mean, that was sort of my issue in the past.  I would never do fun things with my friends because I didn’t want to defeat the purpose of my walking.  Which sort of defeated the purpose of my life.  So I waited for Whitney, we did the walk and then we enjoyed a night of ice cream sundaes and quality time sitting by the lake downtown.  And you know what?  It was awesome.

Wednesday I had to go to my friends Joe and Kelly’s house.  They decorate their street for Halloween and I am an honorary member of the block.  Everyone gets a scarecrow for the front yard and being that I am an honorary member I get one to.  But I ended up having to work later than I planned and getting a walk in before I went over there became out of the question, I was already going to be late.  So instead I walked to their house.  It’s about a 45 minute walk from my place which meant I got there late but was able to get my walk in.  I will say that when I left at almost 11pm it would have been nice to be able to drive.  I was tired.  And there were a number of offers from people on the street who were afraid that, what?  I was going to get raped and pillaged on the way home?  Lol…  This is funny if you know where I live.  It’s one of the safest places I know.  And while I’m not stupid about it, I stick to main roads with lots of traffic that are well lit rather than the dim and secluded walking paths once the sun goes down, I feel perfectly safe.  So I walked the 45 minutes home as well, giving me an extra ½ hour in my walk that day.

This is the kind of thing I need to do more often, finding ways to work walking into what I am already doing.  Or at the very least riding my bike.  It takes just minutes for me to ride my bike to Joe and Kelley’s but the convenience of driving is often so attractive, especially when it is hot or cold or rainy or whatever.  But it’s really pretty much a no brainer, or at least it should be.  And I think I will be doing that more often.

Thursday.  Thursday I had plans to meet someone, but the plans were loose and unsettled (something that drives me just an eensy bit crazy…  By day of, I want to know what we are doing.  I need to plan my life not be at someone’s beck and call).  So when I got home from work the thought hit me that perhaps I would forgo the walk that day.  What if I wasn’t ready when this person called?  I thought I knew what time we were meeting.  I had barely enough time to get a walk and a shower in and be ready then.  But then it occurred to me…  No, if you’re not going to make definite plans with me, I am going to make definite plans with myself.  I should not have to wait for you; your ass can wait for me.  And man, if that wasn’t the best damn walk ever.  And I was especially glad I had made that decision when this person called me and pushed back the time.  (And when another friend had an emergency I wouldn’t have been around to help with had I been able to jump when the other person said jump).  And you know what?  That person did have to wait for me.  And it was fine.  And I did what I needed to do and still spent time with them.  Not compromising my needs for someone else’s…  What a concept…

Friday.  Friday was a kink in the plans.  The week before this we had had this amazingly beautiful weather.  I mean, it was so perfectly clear…  And then Friday the rain started.  I had to work that night and had planned to walk in the afternoon.  But the weather kept hitting us on and off and I kept watching the radar hoping for it to clear.  It didn’t.  And for hours it looked like it was going to pour at any second and then of course it never did.  It was dark and gloomy and ominous and I thought for SURE at any minute it was going to open up on us.  And all afternoon it never did.  And I was so mad at myself for not just going.  I mean, I could have gone without my cell phone or IPod and what would have been the worst that would have happened?  I would have gotten wet.  (There wasn’t any lightning; I wouldn’t consider it in lightning).  So I missed it.  I missed my window of opportunity.  That night at work there was a good bit of walking involved.  I was managing a band who were playing a little bit of distance away from the office I was working in.  Their first set got completely rained out.  So now I had wet shoes, wet pants, wet everything.  I felt disgusting.  And I wanted nothing less in life than to try to get some walking in.  But I did because that was the challenge.  So between their other sets I would walk all the way to the end of the area and then back around.  Took about 10 minutes and I was able to do it 4 times.  So there you go.  40 minutes.  And I would have felt bad about not making the full hour.  But the thought had occurred to me that I did get that extra half hour in on Wednesday, so really I was still ahead of the game.

And Saturday it rained.  It rained and rained and rained.  We don’t often have days like that in Florida.  Generally if it’s going to rain it’s going to do so in the afternoon for a few minutes, or MAYBE a few hours.  But Saturday (and the rest of that weekend into the next week) it raaaaaaained.  It was so gloomy and terrible.  I just kept waiting for a sneak peak of the sun and it never came.  So I knew that I was going to have to forgo the outside walk and do something else.  Luckily I have a selection of indoor walking DVD’s, mostly by the indoor walking guru Leslie Sansone.  If you are not familiar, I kind of love her.  She’s a little bit peppy and sometimes it’s just a little much but that’s true for most work out gurus.  There was a time when I was following these DVD’s religiously, but I found them difficult to stick with for the long term because I need to get outside sometimes.  But they are really good if you are looking for a low impact workout.  I did the 4 mile super challenge which takes about an hour.  And I will say this, I know I get more of a workout with her hour long DVD than I do with an hour long walk outside.  I’m good about keeping up a good pace (yes even without a beat and with my man Ira) but I’ve got nothing on Leslie pushing pushing pushing.  So it’s not a bad deal to supplement with her.  If you are interested in learning more about Leslie check these links out:



(This is the video I did that day, however you can find some package DVD's which I highly recommend rather than just buying the DVD with the one walk on it.)

And there you have it.  Really the only fail moment was Friday, but I learned my lesson (and in fact there was another day Whitney and I were supposed to go for a walk since that looked like the skies were going to open up and pour down on us, but we went anyway and you know what?  We made it home dry).  I haven’t walked every day since, but I have done so a majority of the days.  And I like it.  And I feel good about it.  And I’m hoping it sticks.  And I’ll tell you want, it helped me clear my head a lot too.  It helps knowing I have people like Whit who will go with me from time to time.  It’s just a matter of making sure it fits into my life and doesn’t impede it.  Which is why I need to start thinking about trying to do this first thing in the morning.  But that is another blog for another day.  In the meantime…  I think I will go take a walk.

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