State of the Fitness, October Walks

Fit To Ride

Awareness of the outside world. Raising Our Voices LIVE STREAM. Friday & Saturday nights. My ballet teacher is performing in this. About the show, ASC: Raising Our Voices: Stories of Cancer told through Movement, Music + Voice.
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A conversation with a member of my online walking group (waves hi!) got me thinking about my choice of parks. I have a pasture right out my back door. No need to go anywhere. So why do I?

I’ll spare you the pontificating. Result. I have decided to stick with new parks and the pasture.

New parks. I am loving this project. Parks are interesting as both civic amenities and as land use exercises. What was available. What was done with it. Research turns up parks tucked into places I never suspected had the space. The exploration is fun, even if I never walk on what I look at by satellite imagery. As an example, a suburban high school has a nature park behind it. I had no idea. I may check it out to see that it exists but probably won’t do more than look. I prefer to stick with paved. Walking rather than hiking.

If I ever travel anywhere again, I will definitely to see what that area has done with the concept of walking trails.

So, new parks as I find them.

At the other end is laps of the pasture. [My Two Horses]

This is the green option. Both in terms of not driving anywhere, and of being surrounded on three sides by trees. Yes, the path is dirt and there is some hill. Technically it would be hiking. Easy and familiar hiking. Since part of the goal of walking is to clear my mind, repetition works in my favor.

The mushy middle is going back to walk in places that I’m not that fond of while I’m out. This offers neither novelty nor simplicity.

The exception would be when the ground itself is mushy. My knees are good with back & forth. Side to side, not so much. However, I need to return to walking the pasture and not fall into habit of inventing errands to leave the house because I am bored.

There is boredom in walking the pasture, but more in anticipation than in execution. It is a dislike of the idea of doing the same thing more than actually being bored once I get out there.

So, pasture when possible.

That’s the plan. I’ll see how it works.

In case you are wondering how an online walking group works. Anything live required doing things while walking. We decided against that. We walk at our own place at our own time. Then we report back to the group by text message. The effect is sharing and support more than accountability by stern taskmasters. As I said elsewhere, it helps keep the subject of walking at the forefront of my mind.

Yay for digital cheers! 🎉

New Places

Vandiver Park. During barn tour. [Looking For Lessons]
1 October 2021
1.03 miles
27 minutes

Stepping Stone Farm, Sorta. New area for walk. Went over to help load. Got there early for walk. Headed up the driveway. I figured we made the horses do it; I should do it. Previous SSF walk was around the rings and barn. [Whatever Happened To Saddlebred Wednesdays?]

4 October 2021
1.2 miles
30 minutes

Unnamed Elementary School. Track open to public (I checked) but on school property. Kids came out for recess in upper right area. Teacher said walking around the track was okay. I chose not to. I don’t understand the rules around kids – even the non-Covid ones, so I err on the side of radioactivity. Probably wouldn’t go back. Track has access to cross-country track, also open to public.

12 October 2021
1.02 miles
26 minutes

No media, since I am being mean.

Prejudices Confirmed. Driving through exurban development. Rows of large houses cheek by jowl. Not big enough to qualify as McMansions, but in the same taxonomic category. Why drive this far out and have to look into your neighbor’s window?

Stop judging. People are are people. I’m sure the houses are nice to live in. There are probably people here I could be friends with. I have no idea what their stories are or why they live here.

Cute little meadow connected to lake.

Lovely lake. Scenic. Shaded. Perfect size for my walk.

Sign.

Private Lake
NO TRESPASSING
RESIDENTS ONLY

Finished walk around the micro meadow & got out of dodge. I hate Big Suburbia. [Walk 6.5]

7 October 2021
1.12 miles
27 minutes

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Downtown Birmingham. Got into town early for appointment. Parked in order to have leisurely half-mile walk. Severely underestimated distance. Hustled to make appointment. Note the pace on the first walk! Afterward, walked back to truck. Slowly. Interesting how different the walks felt. Second walk was easy-peasey despite being the same distance. I’ve often felt that I could walk a marathon, if they would give me 10 hours to do it in.

October 26, 2021
2.29 miles
45 minutes

Georgetown Lake Park [Wandering Around The Water, Walk Report, Baltimore Running Festival Virtual 5K]

Birmingham Zoo. Not a new place. Included here with walk posts. [Run for the Koalas, Walk Report, Kansas City Zoo Run Virtual 1K]

GPS Map My Walk. Walk mileage to ongoing projects where not otherwise attributed. [Biking and Walking Virtually, Mississippi River, Part One, Minnesota] & [Walking Virtually, Mount Fuji]

Other Activities

Dance. Went every week except once when conflicted with blacksmith appointment. One week went twice, then decided not to do Tuesday classes,

Biking. Bikes were dusted off and ridden! Twice in two days, during surge of weekend warriorness. Must remember biking as an option. When the pasture is still muddy, the roads are dry. [Great Ocean Road II]

Stretching. Cardio. Weights. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Data Dump

Total by calendar – 23 motion days out of 34 days, September 24 (previous post) to October 26 (yesterday), inclusive. 67%

Total by effort – 25 activities in of 34 days. 17 walks. 5 dance. 2 biking. 74%

Feeling pretty good about the effort, even with 11 days off. Missed days were either weekends or had a reason, i.e flu shot, sick horse, Hunter Barn lesson, etc. Two extra walks on days when it was too nice a day not to go for a walk after dance/lesson.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine