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| Towards home |
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| Towards relaxation |
Once upon a time, in a time continuum that was considered to be yesteryear, I was not much of an exercise geek. I really didn't do anything in the way of heavy walking and bicycling was pretty much a no-go. But in 2018, I acquired and discovered two things that radically changed my life. I acquired two smartie phones, one for play (that was the summer) and one for talk/text (that was in the winter); and I discovered podcasts.
Three platforms later, I have regular rotation of 23+, along with one to three limited run series, that I listen to a daily/weekly basis. Since I'm one of those kind of people who simply can't listen to anything (and I mean anything) audio while stationary, I decided to start walking.
Fast forward to 2021. I have walked roughly 1700+ miles and I'm currently sitting at 355 consecutive days of hitting my daily goal target (6k steps). And I'm bet you're asking yourself, what does this have to do with the pictures being shown.
To state it simply: those two pics represent two points of view that I see on almost a daily basis when I walk. What you're seeing is two viewpoints of the same road that I live next to in my hometown. The photos themselves were taken at the concrete barrier that divides the drive-able open part of the road with the closed off portion of the road (which reopens again some 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile further up).
In the summer, I'm walking in a literal canopy of trees, much like you see in the second pick. It's so quiet in the canopy that you can literally hear conversations from the front yards of the houses that are hundreds of yards away from you. Added bonus is that during a rain storm (of any kind), you're pretty much protected from about 90% of whatever is dropping down on you.
Because of my current medical maladies (which I won't rehash here for the sake of time), this street is one of the few gradual inclines that I can walk up and down w/o getting terribly winded.
In a nutshell, this is the kind of summer I'm looking forward to. A sort of brief mental health respite before I begin part time job hunting in the fall (yes, gotta supplement that pension with some extra income). Hope your upcoming week starts off with the kind of peace of mind that only a quiet mountain can give you.
Looks like a nice place to walk. Glad you found something that prompts you to get out for a stroll.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Been slowly working the kinks out and building up leg strength as well as lung strength so that I can start to properly attack the bigger hiking trails in the mountain with the same kind of gusto that I had last year.
DeleteNice spot to walk!
ReplyDeleteMy work week is almost over , one more day. Step tracker says I do 18 miles per shift (in circles) . Treds wear off 1 month.
Folks at work ticked me off so bad today! Normal.
I can believe the 18 miles per shift at work. Ex co-worker back in '19 took her step counter to the Big E and she walked about 10 miles that day.
DeleteWow, I'm so impressed by your walking routine! And to think it was all inspired by listening to podcasts! It gives me some food for thought, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bummer that you have to find some part-time work. I hope you can find something that isn't too demanding or stressful so that you can still continue to enjoy your retirement.
It's only a slight bummer. This was my actual plan when I wanted to retire in the 1st place. I was very much tired and stressed from working FT, and I decided I was too old to learn a new payroll system that less than a dozen agencies use.
DeleteNot so much inspired as it was that my general health was starting to decline with my MD, so in order to keep the status quo, I needed to do some walking. Now couple that with the fact that I decided to get a smart phone to use as my personal play toy, and the rest they say is history.