Since I've been feeling a little anxious about jobs, money and being bored, my workouts have been inconsistent and half hearted. Every now and again I will get all motivated and pull a 45 minute workout but let me tell you, they are usually far from hard. When I do them it's usually out of guilt. Sad...I know. The husband is working all day and then playing basketball or his petanque with some new guys so that has been taking him away from our evening workouts. This leaves me sitting at home doing everything but working out. So when he suggests a workout I'm usually up for it.
Today he decided we needed to go back to doing our 6 miles. The summer reduced our walks down to three or four due to the extreme heat. Good thing too because in that heat, two miles felt like five. But with cooler temps comes his motivation and I just follow right along. He came home and asked me if I wanted to walk. I said yes without even thinking about it. I think I mentioned before that I rarely say no when he suggests any sort of workout. Sometimes I can just kick myself for answering without thinking. Actually I was thinking but it had little to do with the workout. I hadn't seen him all day and just wanted to spend time with him. This turned into a grueling type of togetherness.
This walk started out harder for me than I care to admit. You know how it is when you just really aren't into it and have to force it? That was me. I kept thinking things like, 'I wonder how long this will take?' or 'Am I really this far out of shape?' and even 'I think I feel my butt giggling more than ever...I've gained a ton of non-working-weight.' With each new thought the distance ahead seemed to stretch further out of reach. I did not want to be doing this. We got about 2 miles into it when he said, 'Let's stop by to see Kathy.' Kathy is the friend who's dog and rabbit I've been tending. She came back last night. Since it was on the trail, we stopped and chatted with her. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I only wanted to stop to take a break. Fifteen minutes later we were back on it. He wanted to continue on the path that we never take. I said yes only because my mind was not calculating the distance correctly. I thought it would be shorter than retracing our steps.
Seems he must have misjudged his fitness level because by the time we hit four miles, he was just as silent as me and I could hear his exhale with every step. Just when I thought it couldn't get any harder, we hit freshly laid gravel. Thick and loose and ridiculous. We trudged ahead and all I could think was, 'My feet are going to fall off. I wonder what I would look like with no feet.' Yeah...this mind of mine gets weird when I'm tired. The thing about an outdoor walk-out is you always have to keep going. There really is no turning back so you've got no choice but to keep going. By the time we hit the park, we were at 6 miles and had a decision to make. Earlier we'd agreed that if it was dark by the time we got there, we would take the sidewalk along the main road as it had the streetlights. It was out of the way and would add probably a half mile to the trip. We were so wiped we just looked at each other and pointed to the opposite direction (pointing because we were too tired to talk). This meant we would have to walk the trail lit only by those pitiful little guide lights.
This is off subject but I just want to say that I don't understand how parents allow their eleven or twelve year old kids to be on this trail at night. We saw three of them and apparently weren't the only ones commenting. This couple stopped and told them it was not safe to be on this trail at night and maybe they should be heading home. Bravo for them!
Back to the walk. We finally made it home and I'd say the last half mile we picked up our pace and felt pretty good by the time we made it inside. Surprisingly we completed 7.5 miles. I claimed the shower first and it didn't want to get out. When I finally did, my skin felt wonderful having gotten rid of the sweat and trail dust. But one thing I've learned is the water washes away the sweat and dirt but it is quickly replaced by achy feet, sore calves and stiff back. I'm sure I'll feel the relief of having done it tomorrow.
It's a terrible thing to finish up a walk and not feel that refreshing energy. Or maybe it's just my negative mind overriding the high. Probably. I see now I need to get back on a schedule quick, fast and in a hurry. I know another desk job is on it's way so I had better learn how to hit the gym at 5am again or else the desk chair will again add a spread I never asked for.
It's off to bed for me. Bed at ten o'clock on a Saturday night never sounded so good.
Quote of the Day: “You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in.” ~Dr. Seuss
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