Wellness Wednesday - Walking

Walking. Even if I still had a car I would do a considerable amount of walking. Ruffalo likes to take long and meandering walks and so does Sampson. 

However, now that I find myself without a car (and for longer than I had anticipated) I am learning just how "walkable" my neighborhood is (or in reality is not). Wegmans is 2.3 miles from my home. Tops is slightly closer (2.1 miles) but I find their selection not good. There is a Price Rite even closer (1.4 miles) but again I dislike their selection and am not satisfied with their quality of meats. The Public Market is the closest at 1.3 miles, and when ALL the vendors are there I can do a vast majority of my shopping there. Yesterday (Tuesday) I walked up to find there were maybe a dozen vendors and NONE of the vendors I like to shop from. The produce was not looking great. There is talk about building an Aldi's which hopefully will be like the Aldi's in Webster (which I love but cannot walk to and from). Once built it will be my closest and hopefully BEST option. Hart's is 2.5 miles and the Co-op is roughly 3 miles. The Co-op is moving farther from me (not sure when) and that is a long distance to walk back with groceries. 

I do enjoy walking (except when the weather is not cooperating). I don't mind a little cold or even a slight rain, but temps below 20 and/or heavy rains make for an unpleasant experience. Walking however is GREAT for everyone. The human body was designed to walk long distances in bare feet. It was only designed to run for short distances if our lives where in danger. 

I used to be a runner. I loved to lace up my shoes, put the dog on his lead and run until my head was clear and I could barely move. I am now paying the price for that with creaking ankles, hips and knees. Running is no longer an option for me. 

Being WELL is not about a number on the scale (and I couldn't tell you my number because I intentionally don't have a scale), it is about feeling good, being easily mobile and generally having energy.  I know I am not at a healthy weight because movement is not as easy as it should be, I do tire AND most importantly I don't like what I see when I look in a mirror. 

I am going to take advantage of being car less and get more walking in. I thought about using the bus system, and Sampson and I will try to make that work for us, but it is going to require a lot of walking. If the walking route is within 15-20 minutes of the "bus" route then Sampson and I will just walk. To even take a bus Sampson and I have to walk to the bus station downtown (roughly a 3 mile walk from here) and then catch a bus to outlying areas. Most places we want to go are withing 3 ish miles from us so it makes sense to just build up our tolerance and walk. 

I also plan to get our bikes up and running and then figure out panniers or baskets. 

Walking is incredibly healthy and for me a side effect of not currently having a car.