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 |  I've maxed out. Closed this blog. |
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This is a way of making myself write something coherent and grammatically correct almost every day. I'm opinionated and need an outlet. I'm also prone to flights of fancy. Thanks for stopping by. |
| During the winter, my walks have been on town streets, some minor hills, but always on pavement. I now find myself with free time and the weather is good. So I went to the park today. Only one ball field was occupied, but many people lolled about or lay on the grass or sat by the river. One group was having a picnic. I don't count steps, and I've never been able to set a pedometer. So I just go by the time on my cell phone. I had brought ear plugs, and thought I would listen to my free I-book, but couldn't locate it. It's disappeared. I was only a few chapters into it. So I had to walk with my own thoughts. I tried to lengthen my steps to make it more vigorous, but the park itself helps with that. There are hills and grass and ditches to negotiate. I went down the long set of steps to the lower ball fields as I have done before. Even going down takes different muscles from level or track walking. I meandered around and stopped by the river myself to sit on the bench and look once more for my I-book. I deducted that time from my total. I made the big loop around, cutting across a different field, and could feel muscles working in my legs that haven't worked much for a few months. I came to the road I had already walked and turned into it again. This went back up to the pond by other ball fields. I turned back towards the steps and determined I needed to do this. They looked formidable, but I took a deep breath and proceeded. I couldn't let anyone see me slow down or pause. Each set was separated by a platform. I'd breathe in on the platform and breathe out on the steps. After about 4 sets or so, I was not breathing so smoothly. I kept going. My knees started to feel a little weak. I kept climbing and concentrating on breathing. My hip joints started to feel the wear. Finally, I thought as I looked only at the set of stairs before me, I must be near the top; I'm done for. I looked up and there were three more sets! I took a bigger breath and went on with the routine. By the time I made it to the top, my breathing was ragged and I was ready to lie down. I kept going. I was on the asphalt of the parking lot. I got to my car and circled around it. I pulled out the phone and determined that it was not as long as I had intended, but maybe that was enough for now. I counted leaning over for my water jar in the car as a stretch. I drank water and did side steps by the car, trying not to look overly stupid (just a little was okay). I finally did some lunges just to stretch the legs before scrunching into the car. I went home feeling like I had made a first step, but planning to do some stretches and moves later. Now tonight, my lower back is hurting, the backs of my knees are hurting, and my ankles ache.I fear it's going to be a while before I get a spring back into my step. I'm not throwing in the towel. I'm leaving winter behind. |
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