We’ve had a lovely fall weekend here in Missouri, so I decided to walk outside. Turns out, I’ve been leading a rather pampered existence indoors on my treadmill. Somehow walking outside around my neighborhood was twice as exhausting as inside on the treadmill!
I think several factors come into play here. One, I generally walk indoors in a sports bra and shorts. Going out in public required actual clothing. And I felt like it was suffocating me. I actually wore a jacket Saturday, then ended up taking it off and tying it around my waist. Which seemed to suffocate me more.
Inside, I walk with not one, but two fans blowing on me. I hate being hot. I just can’t stand it. I’d rather be cold than hot any day. So, being outside in 75 degrees today was hard. I also realized today that my neighborhood being rather young (Like 15 years young) means there are no big trees. Thus, no shade. So I walked in the blazing sun the whole way. Which, ugh.
I also had to actually carry my water and my phone and my keys. I realize, these are first world problems, especially compared to carrying a 70 pound backpack. But when you’re this out of shape, an extra couple pounds makes a difference.
Another thing is, my ankles were hurting so bad today! They didn’t really bother me so much yesterday. I haven’t really walked much since I twisted my ankle really badly this past winter. That was the ankle that bothered me the most, my right one. My neighborhood has a nice sidewalk, and I’d been told that if you walk all around the neighborhood it’s 1.5 miles. Turns out it’s more like 1.6 according to my pedometer (which if anything I’ve found reads low). And the thing is, it’s all slanted the same way. Like every driveway, and I suspect a good portion of the actual sidewalk, slants toward the road. So, if you walk the same direction around, you’re constantly stretching your ankles the same awkward way.
Again, piddly problem compared to hiking a mountain on the PCT. But man, the pain in my ankles! Today I decided at one point that it might be a good idea to walk the other direction and thus bend my ankles the opposite way. Guess what? Pain stopped. And then it started on the opposite side. Whatever.
Anyhow, these are my lame excuses for not walking as far this weekend as I did last. I only did that 1.6 miles yesterday and I was DONE. Today, once I turned and started walking the opposite direction, I was able to do a bit more. I ended up with 2.8 miles today. My grand total so far is 21.4 miles. Not too bad for two weeks of walking after a year of not.
However, I reached a point last night in Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail