Walking the Walk

I don't want to let too many days pass without posting.  I have been reading blogs and commenting, but nothing has brilliant has been brewing in moi's cabesa (did you know I speak French AND Spanish?) so I've been on the down low in blogville.  It's Sunday morning and I just walked 5 miles with a couple of friends, with breakfast at a deli in the middle.  Yesterday I walked a little over 7, so 12 miles+  so far for Saturday and Sunday.  And when I do my usual 2 mile walk with a friend and our hounds this afternoon, it will be up to 14 miles!  Not too shabby.  And because of the holiday tomorrow, hopefully (God willing and the knees hold up) I'll get a good long one in again.

Yesterday morning I got out by myself and walked to and back from my morning AA meeting.  It was pretty hot and muggy (MUCH better today), but with my ipod it was fantastic.  I felt like I could have gone on for hours, but in the interest of my knees and awareness of my tendency to get expansive and overdo when I feel good, I cut it off at the 5 miles.  Today, as I said, I walked with friends so the pace was a lot slower.  The conversation was great, but the intensity of the workout was definitely diminished.  Yesterday I set my ipod on a playlist I made last year called "MOVE", with about 50 energetic songs that keep me going at a brisk pace.  I honestly enjoyed that more than the walk today because of the music.

Walking is just my favorite form of exercise.  Back in the day when I was leaner and younger, I was a runner.  The farthest race I ever did was a 10 K (6.2 miles) by I ran 3-4 miles most days.  I'd love to think I could get back to at least jogging someday, but Dr. Oz told me (and the other zillion folks watching that day) that brisk walking is the best cardio exercise if you do it often and far enough, because it's low impact and less likely to cause injuries.  I love biking (the kind you do on a road bike, not the stationary ones) but don't have a bike and am not going to invest in one until I trust that I'll use it all the time.  The gym is fine, and I do use the pool there a couple times a week, but being outdoors totally floats my boat.  I'm eagerly awaiting genuinely crisp fall air where I don't come home feeling like a dishrag from sweating out quarts of water.

The goals I set for myself in my Wednesday post to follow until next Friday have been mostly accomplished, but I've gotten lazy about the writing everything down.  I did it perfectly for 2 1/2 days, and since then have not.  I know it's a useful tool but I need to come up with a way to remember to do it when I'm not in my usual routine of work and home.  The 3 day weekend has wreaked havoc on my routine in a very good way except for the tracking.  But my eating has been good.  No binges which is very good.


Speaking of food, I'm off to the Farmer's Market and the grocery store.  I hope all of you are having a good weekend long weekend.  If you're into tennis, the US Open provides endless hours of great tv!  And since I've gotten the exercise in, I won't feel guilty holding down the couch for a few hours.