Walking Through the Year: Miles Walked in 2012

Evergreen garland draped over the top of a china cabinet.  Love this idea!

I love the way the shutter is turned on its side, and lays on the mantel as a backdrop 

for Christmas decorations!

I took this picture because I LOVE the way the sunlight shows the green glass off.

I am drawn to painted pieces, and loved this white china cabinet.

IF ONLY my husband would let me paint some of our pieces! 

He thinks it's a travesty!

This many cubby-holed piece had me in love.

I love the stool collection underneath it as well.

I cannot start another collection, but I enjoy looking!

Jamie bought Audrey some of this set for 

her first REAL tea set, beautiful and matches her 

bedroom colors.

Now that I am back home, 

and I hung my new calendar...

I finally got my miles for 2012 added up.

I record them on my wall calendar, daily.

I do this now each year as a motivation, 

logging miles each time I walk.

I then total each month.

I keep a running total.

Then, at year's end, I look at my grand total.

Then, I try to compare something geographical 

to the number of miles walked.

This year's grand total was 488.

The Mississippi River is about 500 miles long.

This method, for me, has worked as a great motivator, 

and that is why I am sharing it with you!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

PS:  Photos from an antique jaunt I took with my iPhone when I was visiting my daughter's family.

I Walk.

I am someone without much athletic ability.


I never played sports as a kid.  Not even in the yard.  The most we might have done was bat a ball.  


With nine kids, I imagine if we'd played sports, my mom might have never been home, driving to and from practices and events might've been impossible to coordinate.  


Anyway, even so...I'm just not naturally athletic.  


Strong, yes.  
Coordinated, no.

SO I WALK.




That's my exercise.  I seem to find my escape that way.  I seem to look forward to that little block of time every other day to walk so fast my heart rate elevates and I sweat like a pig.  I've walked for years, but last year I discovered what works best for me.


Earphones in, Pandora on the "disco" station most of the time.  Disco has the energetic beat to keep me at a very fast, steady pace.


I also discovered that for me, it's best to do indoor walking.  That way I never have to worry with ice, snow, rain, sleet, fog, or about dogs, mud puddles, stopping to cross a street or a road, cars splattering me, the boogie man kidnapping me, heh!  Or the biggest issue of all: what the weather MIGHT do or IS DOING.  


That can be a big mess in Michigan and when I walked outdoors, it was almost impossible to keep a consistent schedule.  Consistency is what helps me keep going.


So then the next thing I conquered is finding the right shoes.  


Then, I began to journal miles. 


WHAT FUN!

From January first to the end of April, I walked 212 miles.  That is like leaving my house and walking clear to the Mackinac Bridge!  


I think it's fun to put into perspective "where" I might have walked.  If I'd walked south, it would be like me leaving my house and walking almost to Gary, Indiana, on the way to Chicago.


So now, I'm excited to see where I might have walked to by the end of summer, then fall, and then the end of the year!


This is getting to be fun!  


Have you tried logging your miles?

PS:  My next thing to "conquer" is my book.  I have to set out to and accomplish my book!

Walking Through the Year

I've been a walker for years now.

And I've been adjusting where, and when I walk to make the most of the time I am out. 

I've finally found the routine that will work for me.  It took me several years.  

I have found that first thing in the morning is the only time that makes sense for me because if I get started working around the house, then I never do get my walk done.

I love walking outside, but the weather is too much of an issue to keep a regular schedule, so now I walk indoors.  It works in any kind of weather.  My favorite walking shoe is the Puma.  It took me time to find that out, too.  It's all a process.

Puma, well, all I can say is it's like walking on AIR.  

Once I got them broken in, that is.  I found mine for an excellent price at TJ MAXX.  I should have bought two pair, and next time I will.  Because I never want to be without a pair.

My favorite schedule is three days, walking 4-6 miles every other day with weekends off.  Some weeks, I may only get to walk Tuesday and Thursday.  That's fine, too.  


Next week, I start Jury Duty, so I'll have to adjust again.  

This year, I began the year by taking time to log the miles and in January, to my surprise, I logged ...

58 miles!

I was shocked!

Now I will be looking forward to the last day of each month so I can total my numbers.

I finally kicked my one-can-a-day,  Coca-Cola-on-ice-at-noon habit, too!  

I still have a pop every week or two...but not every day.

So far, so good!

So, do you walk, too?