A Renewed Agenda

She huffs and she puffs and she tries with all of her might, but it’s certainly not to be able to blow a house down. Its day 3 of the Walking challenge and although it might seem like nothing to some, I never realized that when one counts the steps or rather when one has their steps counted then it’s harder than what it seems. It has to be noted that among the 6 walkers on our “Walking Challenge Team” I am the oldest so therefore I have something to prove to myself. One of our walkers spends 1 hour at the gym everyday, 3 other walkers are young Parks and Recreation employees and are constantly flitting around town every day of the week and one other walker uses her elliptical machine every morning. I’m the oddball out. I gave up my stationary bike years ago and opted to just be myself but included in “when and what I eat.” Well thanks to this walking challenge I had to dust of that old stationary bike and with a few modern “homemade comfortable alterations” I have been doing a daily 1 hour ride first thing in the morning. The first morning I felt like I needed to crawl up the stairs and slither into the bathroom since my legs felt like they didn’t have any bones or muscles in them at all. During the day for some odd reason my butt cheeks decided to protest by having every muscle there clench up and hold tight making it very difficult to walk let alone sit! By the end of the first day the pedometer registered 9,007 steps. Only 5 weeks and 6 days to go! The second day I awoke to screaming muscles but I forced myself to get back up on that bike and crank out another hour of stationary riding. I took Bentley on a walk and then turned around and took Abby for a walk. I don’t know whose tongue was hanging out the furthest by the time Abby and I returned. I had to work last night and since the upstairs was the area in use I manage to do 7 laps around the gym. One of the members of the rental group last night is a good friend of mine. When the group broke for a break my friend came down to chat a bit with me. I told them about the challenge that I was taking part in and this friend accompanied me on a few laps. They suggested that maybe, to make it easier, to set a goal for myself. They suggested that I should try and exceed each daily total making this challenge easier and more fun. I took this into serious consideration. It turns out that my friend was just elected Vice President of this rental group so we celebrated by walking a few laps! By the time I got home and got myself ready for bed I had exceeded my last day’s pedometer reading. My total for last night was 10,583 steps. I awoke this morning still very stiff and sore but with a renewed agenda on my plate. I decided that my friends suggestion was a good one so that’s what I intend to do. Each day I will find different things to do to keep my feet in action. I intend to exceed each daily total. It’s funny but this morning’s bike ride was still painful, but not as bad as the 2 previous mornings. I just glanced at my pedometer and broke into a smile. It’s just past the middle of the afternoon and I’m already close to equalling my last night’s total! I maybe the oldest but don’t count me out just yet!