More Miles Further

Once a week I have been challenging myself to walk a little further than my previous longest walk.  To date that distance is 1.53 miles. Saturday has been the day I have set aside to give it a try.

This Saturday I was sick. Not important, I just didn’t feel well all day. Sunday rolls around I was compelled to get out on the street even though I didn’t feel well.

In short my little further turned out to be the most distance walked in a single week. And Sunday I walked my fastest mile. It has been a good week on the street. I am consistently walking a mile five days a week. One day I am taking off and one day I am doing a light combination of stationary bike and walk.

The only thing I did wrong on Sunday was thinking I could jog some of the route. “It is not where you start, but where you finish”. Don’t get too excited that I jogged a bunch. I just took off for very short jogs of maybe 200 feet. Return to walking while I sucked air. When I made the final turn and could see my house I thought if I jogged the rest of the way I could turn in my fastest time for a mile. So with great enthusiasm and very little common sense I took off jogging.

Oops! I almost didn’t make it home. The wheels came off the cart. The only reason I made it home was I didn’t want to collapse in my neighbor’s yard. He takes a lot of pride in his yard and I don’t think he would consider me acceptable yard art. Not to mention the impression my body was going to leave in his grass. I made it to the front porch where I was greeted by my concerned wife and a glass of water. Sucking air is an understatement. I can only imagine what I must have looked like. Off came my shirt as I desperately tried to cool down and learn to breathe.

I am building stamina and consistency. The goofy idea that I could jog came from a positive feeling that I was getting better, maybe a bit premature.  But what the hell, I have fallen on my butt before. The next time probably won’t be the last.