PRACTICAL WALKING

Sadly, it's really not practical for me to walk to the work, grocery store, or other errands. St. Louis is comprised of a fairly small urban area surrounded by huge suburbs and what has come to be called exurbia. We have very little mass transit and our streets are not bike-friendly.

My office is a 7 minute drive from my home. You'd think I could walk or, at the very least, take a bus to work. Despite the fact that there is a 4-lane divided 'highway' that leads almost from my front door to the door of my office, there's no bus that runs on that route! And, because it's built like an interstate with a few traffic signals, one can't walk on it or ride a bike.

To make matters worse, the other routes to my office are truly two-lane country roads on which it is hazardous to walk or bike. I'm not brave enough to queue up with cars, trucks, and school buses on these black-top roads. They also take circuitous routes to my office, thus increasing the 'commute' by as much as 100%.

Crazy, isn't it.

There are a couple grocery stores within walking distance - IF i can cross an interstate or walk up The Hill (see my previous post about The Hill) carrying groceries. It can be done but I'm really not inclined. I can even walk to a library - but, again, there's that highway to cross. Quite a hazard. Not for me.

So, where can you walk? Can you walk to work? How about the grocery store? Your other errands? I'm envious of those who have mass transit for these chores. I'd much prefer the commute if I didn't have to drive.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

WALK ON

Despite the often rainy weather, I have been walking almost every day. As I've written about here, Spring has definitely sprung in the St. Louis area. This is the year of the redbuds and dogwoods - both of which are lasting longer than usual because they haven't lost their beautiful flowers to heavy rains and winds that we usually have in the Spring.

Today, even tho' the weather is fair, I ended up mall-walking. Why? Because that's the only good location where a certain friend and I can meet. I'd much prefer to walk outside, but geography doesn't always work out that way. I cherish the times I can walk with good friends, so I make that trade-off - mall rather than trail - to get to walk and talk with a buddy.

I've gotten my longtime friend Betsey back to walking. She's a real outdoorsy type so walking with me is an easy job for her. She breaks and trains thoroughbred horses, raises dogs, and tends to a 5 acre homeplace in addition to having a job outside the home. Whew! Makes my life look like a breeze -and I'm ALWAYS busy.

Usually, Betsey and I walk with another friend. But, that friend is walking in Peru as I write - trudging up the path to Machu Pichu! She's in very good physical shape and she and her husband, also very fit, often have the opportunity to take trips where they hike and climb. If it weren't for our frequent walks, she'd definitely not be in as good shape for her treks ;-). At least, I'd like to take credit for some of that. LOL. She's one of the reasons I got interested in walking 10+ years ago, so I really can't take credit.




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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO GEOCACHING

It has come to my attention that the 'official' geocaching website I wrote about require a GPS, a relatively expensive device that may not be within the financial reach of all. I know I don't have one!

A great alternative to geocaching is letterboxing. The idea is the same. The fun remains. It's just less involved and cheaper to participate in. Visit one of these sites for more information:


http://www.letterboxing.org/ and http://www.atlasquest.com/



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

ONE MORE IDEA FOR YOU

Did you like scavenger hunts when you were a kid? I did.

Here's a thought for you. You don't have to actually hide anything from yourself or create a long list of items to find. But, you can create your own scavenger hunt in several different ways.

First, pick an object to look for on your walk - red cars, dogs, flower-laden mail boxes. Keep your eyes peeled for these items.

Or, when you walk, count how many sweet gum trees you find. You have to avoid those dratted sweet gum balls or you'll break an ankle. So, they're easy to identify and count.

Find something that you'll be eager to see and go looking for it. You might be surprised how much you'll look forward to your walk.

An even better idea is to take a child walking with you, in a stroller or beside you, and try to see the world of your walk through the child's eyes. That's a wonderful way to look at the world.

Please don't count your steps. That's a job for a pedometer if you want one. Remember that 6,000 steps are recommended each day for all of us.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

ANOTHER IDEA

http://www.geocaching.com/about/

Have you heard of geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing)? It's a neat concept that might intrigue you. Go to the website above for more information. It's totally free and might be something you would like to participate in alone or with other members of family or friends.

I became familiar with this activity when I was still homeschooling my kids. Now, I just consider myself being 'homeschooled' as I'm a lifelong learner but I don't attend school. So, I won't discuss it at length here because the website above is quite thorough.

Today, despite the beautiful weather, I chose to walk in the mall since it's the only practical location I can meet up with two particular friends. We have such a good time walking our hour together that it's worth it to walk on that hard mall floor.

If you live where it's Spring now, get outside and check out the beautiful blooming trees!


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

SOME NEW IDEAS??

How about keeping a walking journal? You know how we try to entice kids to perform and continue good behaviors by placing stickers or stars on the calendar? Well, we can give ourselves some of the same encouragement. We can keep some sort of record of our walks so that we can track where started and how far we've come - not just today but over the course of weeks, months, and years.

You can use a simple notebook, use the calendar you have hanging on the pantry or refrigerator door, buy a fancier planner or journal, or go to a website like www.pocketmod.com to create your own for cheap.

However you make one, it's nice to have the record of your progress. Set yourself some goals. When you meet the goal, reward yourself! No, not with a hot fudge sundae. Maybe with a nice new pair of walking socks. Maybe with a nice bubblebath packet. Maybe with a $5 bill in the piggy bank, saving up for something better.

I have a few other ideas for enticing ourselves to walk. Stay tuned for those ideas.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

IT'S NOT ALL UPHILL

From my last post, a couple readers seemed to get the idea that I'm not used to walking hills.

That's not the case! I walk hills often. Steep hills. Just not the Nemesis Hill that I walked on Easter Sunday!

I encourage everyone to try hills - slowly at first - and not the steep ones. Walking up hills is more taxing than walking on a level surface. Even placing a treadmill on an uphill grade is not the same as walking them outdoors.

Do Not Try To Overdo the hills. You may well get discouraged if you find your first few hills to be challenging, if not downright unpleasant. Hills are good for you. And, they can be fun.

Remember, once you get to the top, it's all downhill from there.

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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.