First good walk in a long time

I hope, someday, to go back over the last nine months and write down all the challenges my family and I faced over that time. One of the consequences of all that was that I either wasn't in a place I could walk or I didn't have the time to walk. I'd go for short strolls but I didn't have a good long (more than a mile) walk in all that time.

Well, today at lunch I finally went for a nice 30 minute walk and it felt wonderful. It was cold but not too cold. There had been a little snow last night but only a dusting. And, in a way, the slippery conditions from the snow gave me more exercise than normal as I worked to catch my sliding and needed to balance better. The path was just as I remembered it. I stopped using the main path over a year ago because it was overused and getting too muddy and the bare dirt was getting ditches dug into it by running water. So, I found a path that looks like it had been blazed by deer. It pretty much parallels the main path but is about 20 yards into the woods so it is prettier, more isolated and quieter. The dirt bikes never use this path so I don't need to side step when they come roaring by.

When I say it felt wonderful, I have to say it was more tiring than I remembered. I really am out of shape and really need to walk. So, I'm hoping, along with my more frequent entries in this blog, I will be walking more frequently now. During the nine months of not walking, I broke all the rules I specified in "My thoughts on walking" post three years ago. Here is the list of things I thought were important - without the explanations you can find in the original post:

1. Get out even if it is only for a few minutes
2. It's better to walk on uneven paths and up and down hills
3. It's better to walk on a schedule
4. It's better to walk with a dog (or another person, but a dog is better)
5. It's a good idea to take a cell phone with you
6. Take a small notebook and something to write with
7. Keep track of how long you walk
8. Take a camera with you
9. Walking a shorter distance more times is better than walking one longer distance - and then canceling

I still think those are pretty good ideas. Now, if I can just stick to them every day.