Great Start to the Year!

I honored my new way of thinking today by putting fun before work.  I had a traditional New Year's meal complete with greens, black-eyed peas and more. That was the most I'd cooked in ages. After lunch, I left dishes piled in the sink and took off for an adventure.  I purposely got lost on the trails just for the fun of finding my way back.  The spots I walked were mostly abandoned today.  I suppose many people were hung over or home watching footballs games, or maybe both.  The trails belonged to me!  It was fairly fabulous.

I logged in 11+ miles today! I only stopped because the sun was going down.  I would have liked to have done more.  This step number is my highest to date and the day isn't over yet.    I'm home now and feel great.  Not even tired.

Looking at my weekly step chart is interesting.  It's funny that on the chart, Saturday's 16,665 looks paltry.  That's really a good number.

The numbers make getting fit fun, but, for me, there's much more to it than numbers.  I highly recommend sports/exercise/fitness to anyone working through grief.  I'm finding it does as much for your mind as your body.

Was I Walking or Swimming?

Rain again.  The ground is saturated. But since I'm clearly obsessed dedicated to to getting fit, I got in my morning walk.  I started out convinced that my outfit would hold up to the drizzle.  A few minutes into the walk, the heavens poured a waterfall on top of my head.  I was COMPLETELY soaked.  I had to go in and change.  I admit, at this point, there was a bit of potty language going on and maybe some mumbling to myself about joining a gym.

The second time out, I carried an umbrella.  It was a hassle to carry, but I quickly got over that.  I found my happy place and the rest of the walk was fun.  I felt the kid in me coming out.  In my younger days, before cute shoes were a concern, I loved stepping in puddles.  Today, I was wearing rainboots, which are surprisingly comfortable, so puddles were no problem.  At first I acted like an adult and dodged them, but soon found myself going right for them and possibly acting a bit silly. Acting silly is so much more fun than being sensible.

Walking was slow.  There were many slick muddy spots, so I had to be extra careful.  This walk was way more strenuous than dry weather workouts.  I'm thinking about complaining to Fitbit.  I think there should be a way to earn bonus step points for hazardous walks.  I didn't get nearly as many steps today as I would have liked, yet the workout was very good!  Surely, my extra efforts were worth a 1000 step bonus, right?

One more funny bit - I was getting close to the end of my walk and it started to thunder.  I will walk through rain or snow, but I have a healthy respect for thunder and lightning.  Naturally I was at the far end of the property and had to make a run for it.

George: Why are we doing this again?

We now, apparently, have a creek on the property.

The pond is overflowing... again.

This spot was a muddy, slippery mess.

The water was rushing through this spot.  I had fun walking right through it.

By the way, I am planning to get a rainy weather walking outfit asap.  It's great to have a good excuse for buying a new outfit!