Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wednesday Workout Update - Take a Walk With Me

Last Thursday I needed to drop by the library to pick up a book that I'd requested (recommended by Laurie - thanks!). I got to thinking...why not walk there? I mean really? I've run 13.1 miles - surely I can walk to the library and back.

I laid out my supplies:

Not pictured is my camera, which was busy taking this picture. Everything either fit into the zippered pouch on my water bottle, or in the side pockets of my running - er, walking skirt. And yes, the phone was in case I needed to call someone to come pick me up. Hedging my bets and all that. ;)

Put on some sunscreen (not enough, as it turned out), drove to the park where I usually start my walks, and set off.
Good bye, Wolf Pen Park - I'll see you in a couple of hours!
Walked by the place I used to work - still happy with my decision to leave that job. :)

I discovered one thing as soon as I turned onto the first major, busy street - holy moly, traffic is LOUD! And except for the tire-screeching-near-accident that I witnessed (and nearly had heart failure watching) in the first big intersection, I felt pretty safe.

I took a detour through the cemetery. I turned off my music and walked through...it was really quiet, considering the busy street that it faced.
I left the cemetery and continued my walk. Here's a pretty water area of an arboretum that was on my way:I came to the side street I had to take to stay on a sidewalk - and looky here - a lighthouse!
It's in front of a scuba store - eye catching, for sure!

I made my way over to the busy four-lane road that the library (and post office, and high school) is on. The city has just put in a walkway - about time, as for years, many high school students had to walk on the busy road...not safe.

See the dirt? This section was just finished about a week ago!
Here's the high school that my kids attended - I had to walk past it, to the intersection, so I could cross over to the library - almost there at this point!

In the parking lot, I spotted a sweet classic car:
At last! My destination - the public library:
Ricky Bobby read 3.3 miles, which was a little more than I expected...but I did take that detour through the cemetery.
Can you believe the clerk at the library wouldn't pose with my book as I checked it out? How could he pass up the chance to be featured on my blog?!? LOL. He looked at me like I was crazy for asking. Anyway, I refilled my water bottle and set off. It was getting pretty hot, and in the parking lot of the Exxon station that I had to walk through to get back to the intersection to cross the street (no sidewalks on that side), I was sorely tempted to get a refreshing treat:
But no...I had Red Mango on my mind. I chose to wait.

Since I was so close, I decided to pop over to the post office and buy stamps for my son Sam's graduation announcements. Walked up about half a mile, crossed the street again (please read in Forrest Gump voice) and tada - post office!

Obviously built during the ugly, austere, government-buildings-shall-not-be-pretty era.

I was shocked to find no line - that was a first for me at this post office! Bought my stamps and set off. The only hinky part of the walk came here - I crossed back and thought, oh, I'll stay on this street for a while. Guess what? It was a dead end - too bad I didn't notice the sign until I was backtracking. But I digress...once I realized it dead ended into an apartment complex, I saw a bridge, and baseball fields in the distance, so I figured I could make my way through the park and get back on the street.

Bridge to the baseball fields, I thought...

Nope...the bridge led to a dirt area, and the only way I could see to get to the baseball fields was through this "path":
See that path in the dirt, through the brush and trees? I'm sure some people have used that it, but this area was deserted and my Spidey-sense said no, so I turned around and walked quickly back to a more populated area, where I THEN noticed the dead end sign. Oops.

It was all fine. Only problem was that I was getting hot. I'd just about gone through the water in my bottle, and I started to imagine I was in the desert...that was confirmed when I came upon this cactus:
OK, it's a little green to be in the desert, but it was getting hot!

I finally made it back to my car. Whew! It was 76 degrees when I started off, and 82 when I returned. My sunscreen didn't last through over two hours in the sun. But you know what? I walked 6.7 miles, all by myself! I'm quite proud of that. Not something I would have ever considered doing a few years ago - heck, even a few months ago! I'm getting brave, and I like this feeling.

Ricky Bobby showing how far I walked!

And then, I drove to Red Mango:
Did I mention that I was stomach-growling hungry about 45 minutes before I finished my walk? Might have overdone it on the yogurt and toppings, but oh well. I enjoyed every bite!

What I picked up while on my walk:

And what I did once I got home - iced that ankle! It wasn't "sharp pain" hurting, but it did burn a bit.
Propped up on my stability ball while sitting at my computer.

If you've made it this far, thanks for going on my walk with me!

36 comments:

  1. That was great!!! I loved taking that walk with you! Inspired me to go beyond my normal places and take new turns!!!

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  2. Wow! I loved to walk with you. What a fun and pleasant post this is. You've got some beautiful spots in your area. Love, love, love this!

    About a phone: I never go out for a run or a walk without my phone (hub won't allow it too) because you never know what can happen. And where I usually run there aren't many houses nor much traffic so if something happens to me, it's unlikely I can get help soon and it's good to know I can call the hub or my friend then.

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  3. Good for you for getting out there! I'm a crazy one, I always walk through the cemetery or run through them in my town. The town is so old you'll see graves from the 1800's with familiar names from locals. And boo on the clerk at the library!

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  4. This is a really nice post. Now I feel like I know what it looks like where you live! I know you were hot but I say hurray for cactus! I'd like to be seeing some cactus instead of the frost on my car like this morning...

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  5. See, now this is the life. One that incorporates being active and such by just going about everyday activities. Sure, you could have driven to the library, and in 1/2 hour, you would have completely forgotten about the experience. Instead, you were out there walking, taking pictures, getting some exercise and totally being in the moment! Awesome.

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  6. Hi Shelley. Thank you for taking us on your walk with you!!!! I think I earned an activity point just reading this post. :) Have a great day, hope your ankle feels better in NO time!!!

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  7. What a fun walk. Hope the ankle feels A-ok.

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  8. Sounds like a fun walk. If you have been at my library, I would have taken a picture with you :)

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  9. 6.7 miles! Dang, Shelley, you continually challenge me! I've done that walking for a purpose and I really really like it. Of course I love the froyo incident at the end.

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  10. That was great! And nostalgic for me - I used to live in the duplexes behind the library. I was actually walking my first dog (Cole, the world's loviest-but-scariest-looking 90lb black lab) all along those woodsier parts. The first time I ever went on a more-than-2-mile run was with him in that neighborhood. Oh the nostalgia.

    Congrats on the long walk while the weather is still friendly!

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  11. Hi Shelley,

    I read your blog on RSS faithfully but I have never commented before. I just want to say: Thanks for being such an inspiration!

    Megan

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  12. Wow, great way to get in such a great walk! In our old town, it was easy to walk to everything - a grocery store was 3 blocks away, restaurants 4 blocks away.

    Then we moved to the "sticks" and just driving to the store and back takes about 30 minutes.

    Love Megan's comment! :D

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  13. I love this too!
    I can't wait for the time of year
    to be better for riding my little criagslist bike
    to and fro for errands.
    Half the work-out is just getting it
    up and down the stairs!

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  14. Fun post. Wow, it's hot down there. We might hit 58 today, I thought that was warm.

    I guess you've retired the blue capri skirt for the season?

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  15. Now that was fun. I went on a big walk with you, but I am really not even that tired. haha. (I am headed to workout with Jillian, no worries..)

    I WAS a little disappointed that Paco's nose wasn't on your stability ball.

    Good job, "new" Shelley! Yahoooo
    Chrissy

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  16. Thanks for taking us along on such a nice walk!

    You will be running that distance soon enough :D

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  17. I'm sure as hell glad you missed the crazy rapist attack path. I got shaky just looking at the photo.
    Great post. I cracked up. Nothing like some dead ends to add to life's obstacles.

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  18. What great fun, walking to a destination! Thanks for sharing your journey. Makes me want to walk to the store, but getting all the groceries home from 5 miles away would be a pain - literally. But you have me thinking about other places to walk around town

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  19. Love the pics and that you followed your spidey sense. Never ever ignore it. Maybe I'll try the walk to the store thing sometime. I love walks and I have no idea how far I can go. Maybe that's a goal to find out. I know I can do 3 miles with not much trouble. BTW your ricky bobby makes me want one.

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  20. What do you think about the book? I haven't read that one.
    I wish you were here, we are taking a whopper of a walk on Friday..you would have so much fun with us.

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  21. Felt like I was there with you. :)

    I like that ice pack! Where did you get that? Must have.

    Good for you getting out there and walking all over the place. You got in a nice 10K.

    OK, you've inspired me to get out there and walk. Thanks.

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  22. Loved the walk, I'm tired now and ready for some yogli mogli LOL. Wish I could count the points :)

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  23. I NEVER walk far distances...I'm so lazy. Go Shelley!

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  24. A great walk - and a book that is totally worth the effort. I love all of her books!

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  25. I need to do this. I am totally into driving everywhere these days and it's not helping my serenity at all. I foresee an adventure coming my way.

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  26. Thanks for taking me on your walk BUT I didn't get a bite of your treat. It looked so good!
    I hope your ankle is feeling better :) !

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  27. Great post Shelley! Good for you for walking instead of driving on your errands. I can't wait till the weather gets a bit nicer here (we still have snow, although it's starting to melt now) so I can get out and walk!

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  28. what a great thing to do and I am really glad for you that you are getting braver with age. Most people seem to go in the opposite direction.

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  29. maybe we DO live in the same hood?
    my librarian wouldnt take a pic with the child and her pink gloves for my blog either.
    nary a sense of humor in the librarian bunch :)

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  30. Loved the walk, Shelley! You are my hero...I would have definitely taken the...um, car route...to get to the library! You know, because I'd have to carry the books and all... ;) LOL!

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  31. Awesome post Shelley and congrats on your big walk! How do I get a cute ice pack like that? (you know you are either getting old or athletic when you desire a cute ice pack)

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  32. Shelley, I really enjoyed going on your walk with you - you'll be back into running in no time (well, you already are, really, with your recent race and all).

    I think of you often - you are such an inspiration to me...you may not realize it, but you are helping me train for my upcoming marathon! I appreciate all of the supportive comments you've left for me on my blog.

    I noticed you like Will Farrell. Did you know he's supposed to replace Steve Carrell on "The Office"? He will be AWESOME in that character.

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  33. I loved tagging along with you on your walk, even though I'm way up here in the land of ice and snow (may see some flakes tonight). What a great way to incorporate activity and exercise into your daily routine. The visuals were great!

    I also walk in the cemetery sometimes. I live in a hilly area, and the steep inclines are too hard on my bum, arthritic knee. Cemeteries are usually pretty flat, and reading some of the tombstones can be entertaining. I guess they show that some people can have an "enduring" sense of humor. I'm really impressed with your mileage, and I have to admit--impressed with your frozen yogurt. Wish we had one up here!

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  34. Thanks for letting us come with you on your walk. And good for you for going so far!

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