take a walk everyday

Week 4 of counting/logging my walking time, which seems to be helping. This week’s goal: 2 70min days, 4 or 5 45min days.
70: 2
45: 4
So, met the goal. This week I’m going to try the same thing but counting off line to see if I really need the crutch of an audience to keep going.

Week 3 of keeping a log, but I think I’m getting into the habit enough now that I can just keep a count. The goal for this week, 2 days of 70 mins and 4 or 5 days of 45 mins.
70: 2
45: 5
Update: I did it! but it was a struggle, so I’m going to keep the same goal for this week.

Last week went pretty well, so I’m going to keep my goal of walking 45 minutes each day—but try to push a couple of those days up to 60 minutes.
Sunday: 10 minute walk to the beach and back, 35 minute walk to Rainbow Hill and back.
Monday: Beach Walk, 10 min; Dam Hill Walk, 70 min; Rainbow Hill walk (slow): 45 min. Vacation Days are good for walking.
Tuesday: Beach Walk, 10 min; Rainbow Hill Walk, 45 min; Beach Walk, 10 min. So I got my two 60 minute days in on my Vacation Days.
Wednesday: Walk on campus, mostly through the engineering buildings since it was hot even at 9:00am, 30 min. 15 min at lunch.
Thursday: Before work: 25, at lunch: 20
Friday: Before work: 45 min—the humidity has dropped low enough that walking is actually pleasant!
Saturday: 20 min. Oh, well, the only day I missed.

...but I’ve fallen off on the time recently. I was walking 90 minutes a day, usually in three separate walks, in the spring and it helped me lose some weight. Now, I’ve fallen back.

So, this week, I want to walk at least 45 minutes every day. I’ll work my way back up to 90 when it gets cooler again in the fall.

Sunday: 45-minute walk in what will be our new neighborhood
Monday: walked around the local community college—the grounds crew are busy cleaning up tree branches that fell during last week’s storm
Tuesday: I worked 11:30 to 8 today, so I should have walked in the morning, but I didn’t. I pulled it off by walking 30min during my supper hour and 15min with my husband after work.
Wednesday: 35 min at lunch, 15 min in the evening=50 min!
Thursday: 45 min at lunch
Friday: 30 min before work, 15 min at lunch
Saturday: didn’t walk—but I suspect that walking is what gave me energy to spend two hours cleaning out the cabin closet and eliminating all evidence of mice.

Walking at a conference is no great trick. But “taking a walk” (for fun, health, and peace of mind) rather than merely walking for transportation can take some doing.

The convention center in Chicago doesn’t make it obvious, but if you’re diligent enough, you can make your way out to a marvelous bike/pedestrian path along Lake Michigan. I highly recommend that as a place to walk during a Chicago convention. I did it twice.

My last day at the conference had no free time. I intended to walk when I got home, but my flight was delayed so that it would be after dark before I got home. So, I walked the airport—all three concourses of Midway (Concourse C is short, Concourse A has the coolest stores).

This was a challenge today. I had a great plan—go to the three daytime Chautauqua sessions and then take a late afternoon walk before the evening program. That plan got washed away when a thunderstorm roared through during the afternoon session and lingered. Hard to complain, though, because we need the rain.

The evening program was moved inside. We were there early, so out of desperation, I started my walk as laps around the room. When I realized that the rain had slowed to a drizzle, I took my walk outdoors and made three laps around the fairgrounds. Not a long walk, but definitely a walk!

My husband measured our normal long walk with the truck’s odometer this morning and it’s 1.8 miles to the hill where we turn around, a 3.6 mile round-trip walk. Since we often take a slight short cut on the way back, I’m going to think of it as 3.5 miles. So I walked 7 miles in the last two days!

I don’t know how, or if, I want to track the progress of taking a walk everyday here. 365 entries that say “I walked today” will be pretty boring. I guess I won’t write about walking unless I have something new to say. Otherwise, it’s really a matter of just doing it.

A breeze rustles spring

leaves, cools my cheek

Hope’s kiss