Miles and Miles of Walking and Riding

Old age has been knocking at our door and desperately wants to get in. Steve and I are doing everything in our power to keep the invader out and do our best to stay healthy and wise (wealthy we will never be as it has NEVER knocked on our door). So we have established a nightly routine that looks something like this.

I come home from school and try to do my best to get my walk in. I purchased a treadmill last autumn and have dedicated a room upstairs to its use. I don my walking apparel, grab my latest book, decide what routine I want to work on that evening, and get on the treadmill for my workout. Usually it's a good 60-90 minutes, if I can get that much in before I have to begin supper. When the winds were howling this winter and I was still able to walk, I thanked the heavens above for the treadmill. Now that spring is showing itself a little around here, I will make more treks on the outside.

As I started my walking tonight, I noticed that I have walked 207.41 miles since I got the treadmill. I have spent 83 hours on it and have lost a total of about 15 pounds. I feel great, energetic, sleep well at night, and have a positive attitude about most things. One of the biggest advantages is that I now have over 83 hours of books read. I'm progressing in more ways than one.

Steve, on the other hand, walks almost all day so has bought himself a stationary bike. Although I think he gets more exercise than most people half his age, he eats supper and then religiously rides his bike for 30 minutes most nights. Sometimes I'm on the treadmill in the same room and we chat about the day, but usually it's his solitary time. He doesn't read a book, listen to my iPod, or chat much. I think he just enjoys the lack of stimuli that otherwise surrounds him throughout the day.

I can't tell you how far or how long he has ridden, but I imagine that we are well on our way to a nice visit with our children if we were walking/riding to DC. We have become conscious of the foods we are eating and are so grateful that most of what we put on our table is from our farm or is non-processed food. We rarely eat out, but enjoy it when we do.

We'll keep on keepin' on. Who knows. Maybe there will be a Marathon for us to participate in soon or, who knows........we may show up on your doorstep having walked/ridden all the way there.