Category Archives: Walking

Wednesday, Deciding what to do and when to do it


Posted by katiebird

WALK

I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds AND I’m going to walk at least 3 miles, take my fiber supplement & drink two liters of water.

Getting this blog going again has been a wildly successful experience – at least so far.  I’ve gone from just idly thinking about things I should do to actually doing them.  Yesterday I was busy from 6am when I got up to do the post until 11pm when I realized I was crazy to keep editing webpages and should go to bed.

It seems like there is an endless amount of stuff to do. And I feel really good about all the stuff I got done yesterday.

But, the day was a failure in a way:  I didn’t manage to fit in my walk. And I didn’t fit in time to check in here (I suspect a connection between those facts.) Maybe it’s not a big deal that life pushed my personal goals out of the way — just once.  But, it IS a big deal if I let that happen too often.

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The thing is, walking 3+ miles doesn’t HAVE to mean slicing a whole hour out of your day.  It can be done (if you walk briskly) by walking 3 times for 15 minutes each time.

And THAT’s how I’m going to do it today.  3 Walks/15 minutes.

How about you?


The Interconnectedness of All Things (Ghost-Mall Walking, Day 5)


Posted by katiebird

So I walked my 3.85 miles

It sounds a little dramatic sitting there in the heading but, it’s really just one piece to my routine.  And it may surprise you to learn that it isn’t the exercise aspect (calories burned :: ~400) that makes it important. No.

The important thing (for me) with mall walking is:

  1. The time to meditate on what I’m doing.
    • What is important?
    • What are my goals?
    • Am I keeping my back upright as I walk?
  2. What will I write about this afternoon?
  3. What do my parents need today?
  4. When will I do the laundry
  5. What will we have for dinner?
  6. etc.

Walking is the glue of my life.  If I’m not walking, I’m probably not thinking very clearly. I’m less likely to get stuff done (like laundry.) And WAAAY too likely to lie around on the couch (just today) reading.

So it’s not necessarily the walking

Is it?


Friday – Affirmations and Goals


Posted by katiebird

Just 4 Today, I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds.  I will walk 3 miles, drink 2 liters of water and take my fiber supplement.

This post starts with an affirmation.

Drifting is all to easy for me.  I’ve lost whole decades without making progress on my goals. That’s sad but, the lesson I learned from the experience is powerful: Wake up this morning and do something.  Right now (I told myself), decide what it is and write it down.  So I did.

Your list could (and surely will) be quite different. It’s not my purpose to convert you to accepting my goals. But, if there is something you want to do –  something that hasn’t been working in your life then, the only hope you have of getting it done is to do something today.

I’m not going to let the obstacles/challenges/complexities standing (pushing against) me succeed in delaying my progress one more day.  So what if it’s snowing – and probably going to snow for the rest of the week?  I let that stop me in January but, it’s not going to stop me in February!

I’m going mall-walking.

What about you?

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I was told that new readers are confused by this method – my affirmation on top of a thought-piece.  And over the last few years, I’ve experimented with a number of different formats for my affirmation and contemplation posts.  Those experiments just didn’t work for me – for this blog – and I’m going back to this format. And I apologize in advance for any confusion for new readers.


Idle thoughts before walking


Posted by katiebird

cimg0038-e4t First of all, I want to walk 3 times today.  Secondly, I’m wearing the charm bracelet that reminds me not to eat between meals.

And finally, while I walk I’m going to imagine that I’ve stopped drifting.  I’ve GOT to invent routines and stick to them.  It’s understandable that I’m struggling with it.  For over 30 years my schedule has involved the work week.  But, now it’s time for me to grow up and create my own destiny.

If only Just 4 Today.

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Trial and error


Posted by katiebird

I’ve given a lot more thought to walking since I retired than I would have thought possible.  The problem is a clash-of-intent.  Mister likes to walk with me (and I with him) but, he doesn’t like to walk as OFTEN as I do.  He likes us to take the dog (and I do too) but, we don’t want the poor little guy to collapse from exhaustion. Mister’s goal is to walk aerobically for 30 minutes but mine is to walk 5-8 miles a day.

Combine all those goals with the fact that I’m spending hours and hours everyday at my parent’s house and I’m trying to spend as much hanging out & helping Mister at our own house and finding a workable routine has had me stumped.

It’s really had me worried.  But, I’ve been trying a new routine this week and I think it’s going to work perfectly:

When I get to my parent’s house in the morning I say a quick hello and take off for a walk.  When I get back I work on their housework for an hour or two.  Then I take another walk.  When I get back, I work on Dad’s project for 3 or 4 hours.  Go home (eat lunch) and whenever Mister wants, we take another walk with the dog.  Then in the summer we can add an evening walk.

So far the morning walks have been a mile each and the afternoon walk is a little over 2.  But, if I tinker with my route, I can make them all in the 2 mile range.  And with a little commitment, even a lunkhead like me can figure out a simple problem….