Whew! We Went for a 3 Mile Walk Today!

I probably should have done that yesterday, when it actually hit 50 degrees here in mid-Minnesota, but it was quite nice out today with sunshine and a high of 43ish, so I decided to go for a walk. Since Ray is still not working, I asked him if he wanted to tag along...I also wanted him to protect me from any ferocious dogs I might meet along the way...

Anyway, we live out in the boonies now, on a lovely dirt road and I wasn't sure how muddy/slushy (mudshy?) they might be this time of year, so we were a bit cautious. First of all, we had to cross the pond at the end of our driveway, but we made it to the road. We took a left out of the driveway and walked a little less than half a mile (uphill) to the intersection. From there, we looked to see what we could see to our right. Okay, the road goes downhill and then up again...so either way, we'll end up going back uphill if we decide to go down it...but we decide to venture on. We had looked at a county map to plan our route, but were not sure of the terrain or the condition of the roads, but they didn't turn out to be too bad. We only encountered 3 barking dogs...fortunately, none of them came out to eat us or anything.

We ended up making a loop of approximately 3 miles. That's probably farther than I would have gone, if I'd gone on my own...but it felt pretty good to have walked that far...for me. My doctor told me a couple of years ago that I should do that EVERY day if I wanted to lose weight. I'm not sure about EVERY day, but I guess I could try to do it 2 or 3 times a week. Every little bit helps,, right? It's actually a very pretty walk, or at least it will be once Spring officially arrives. We were basically making a circle around a large pond, so we could see the farm from across the pond. I'll have to take my camera with next time, and see what I can find to take pictures of. We saw an eagle soaring in the sky on our way back, and lots of deer tracks...and even some COW tracks on the road. I'm glad we didn't run into some cow (or worse yet, a bull) that had gotten out of the fence!

I Walked TWO MILES Today!

Well, not all at once, but I did. I decided to take the dog for a walk this morning, just around the neighborhood. He's gotten kinda fat over the winter months too, so I figured we could keep each other company. Besides, tomorrow is pet day at Molly's school, and I thought I'd try to teach him a few manners before then. Our little development is kind of in the shape of a capital E. There are 3 roads coming into it that meet another road, if that makes any sense. If I completely trace the "E", from my house and back to it, it is exactly 1 mile. Jake and I did that this morning, and decided to do it again tonight.

Believe it or not, I can feel it in my shins already. I have been walking on the treadmill a mile at a time, 2 or 3 time a week lately, but that's about it. My doctor told me I should work up to walking 3 miles at a time. Maybe. I don't mind walking outside, but I don't like the other dogs that come out to defend their territory, (which to them is the entire street in front of their houses). I've figured out though, that if we walk on the opposite side of the street, they think they scared us away, and leave us alone. That's okay, they can be the alpha dog...we'll let them.

The good thing about walking outside this time of year, is that almost every yard around here has got some kind of lilacs or other flowering shrubs. Beautiful to look at and even more pleasant to inhale the sweet fragrance of. Tonight's walk had the extra added aroma of freshly mown grass. It was almost worth the effort of the walk right there. I'm bound and determined to have at least my first 20 pounds off by next Monday's weigh-in. Maybe I'll even venture out of the neighborhood one of these days. Who knows? What?? It could happen.