a good walking day

I did a lot of walking while I was in England visiting Kate and family, and it was mostly just part of Kate's daily routine. I felt really good, both physically and mentally - after all, exercise is good for us. So now I'm home, where a car is essential for getting to most places and walking has to be planned and scheduled. But, I'm off to a good start. Yesterday I walked about 5 miles total in two different walks. I went early to the ceramics class that I teach and walked a nature trail at the rec center. It's a lovely trail through the woods along a stream. A little less than a mile. Then last night, Patty (my neighbor and friend) and I took a long walk through a new housing development up the road from our neighborhood. Patty has just acquired a pedometer, and she was trying to walk at least 10,000 steps a day. She had about 5000 on there when we started out and we finished up with over 12,000. I figure that our walk was 3 1/2 to 4 miles, based on her pedometer and knowing how long it takes me to walk a mile. (We are fast walkers.) Both of us had aching knees and feet by the time we got home, but we felt very virtuous! We are scheduled to walk again tonight, but probably won't go quite that far. However, I plan to walk after lunch today as well. I will be in Columbia (a nearby city) where I take a ceramic class, and after class, will eat a picnic lunch and then walk around one of the lakes. Columbia has many walking and biking trails. People are out on them all during the day, but especially at noon, so I feel comfortable walking alone. And sometimes I see interesting birds and reptiles around the lake.

One of these days I'll get a pedometer and check out my own mileage. Yeah, right! Have you ever noticed how seldom 'one of these days' arrives? Still, I might actually follow through on this idea.