Getting Back into Walking

I've been able to get in a fair amount of walking in the last couple of days. I walked just about everywhere I needed to go. The weather turned out fairly nice so I added in a few detours. Enough to get in over 10 miles per day. This is a huge improvement from the last couple of weeks while travelling. The battery ran down in the Nike+ sensor so it lasted about 8 months. During this time, I logged about 750 miles using it. Since the iPod needs to be on to log, it pretty much only gets used for actual exercise sessions and not for all the other walking. For example, I didn't use it at all yesterday since all of my "walks" were only about a mile or two and no "exercise session" or other long walks. I haven't tried running yet unless you want to count running to the bus stop this morning. I wasn't running too late but I'm the type that always prefers to arrive early or right on time. With the bus, early is better than on time since they don't follow the schedule rigorously.

I really wish I was out riding the Beemer right now. The weather report said rain turning to snow this afternoon so I didn't ride in . I want to find a parking lot and practice slow turns. I'm still not used to the weight of the bike and could use a lot of practice. The full fuel tank also adds a lot of weight up high.

Friday afternoon - 10k steps in and it's just a bit after noon. Went to lower campus for a free barbecue but it was pretty crowded. Made an appointment for a haircut later today so another walk down the hill. Did I mention that I still really enjoy walking? It fits me well. It burns calories at a reasonable rate (100 Cal/mile) and it doesn't require my full concentration. I used to tour on my bicycle and if I was away from towns and heavy traffic, it was about as relaxing as walking. A little more work going uphill but much faster going down. (But requires MUCH more concentration) I still want to start running again but I'm still at the point where I need to talk myself into it every time. I don't feel the joy let alone the euphoria that some runners talk about.

Friday Evening - Walked on the treadmill this evening to finish off the day strong. 29k steps so far today. Now it's time to lie down and relax. I guess one advantage of short legs is more steps per mile since this is only about 12 miles. Then again, it's not raining. Maybe it's time for a ride. If this were last summer, I would be out walking trying to get over 40k steps but I'm feeling lazy today.

Later - Just got back from a ride out to Fox. Absolutely wonderful. My right hand still gets sore from holding the throttle. I still need more slow speed practice.