If the shoe fits, it's probably worn out by now
Walking outside compared to indoors on the treadmill has so many advantages, I can't even begin to think about the upcoming final days of this year, when walking will consist of staring at a blank wall as the miles trudge by.
But for now, we dance!
Or at least walk with a quick lilt in our step and a spring in our shoes.
October saw me fly past my initial goal of 1,000 miles, and it was delicious.
No, literally, it was delicious, since we celebrated with cake and ice cream at the office.
However, it was somewhat subdued, since from the very beginning, or at least since I got going with some sort of rhythm into this whole WalK thing, I realized that 1,000 was going to bite the dust in a hurry, so I zeroed in on 1,207, the number of miles to Denver, Colorado.
I believe my words to my wife as I walked past the 1,000 marker were, "Woohoo, that's 1,000 miles," or something along that line.
So, we are now where the rubber meets the road, literally and figuratively, as we try to cash in on these glorious days that have been granted to us, before we are forced to go indoors.
Nov. 6 finds myself at 1,085.0 miles, while my wife Ann is perched at 1,743.6 miles, her secondary goal of walking to Phoenix, Arizona now a thing of the past, since she went blowing by there several days earlier.
I pulled into Burlington, Colorado — at least I am in the right state now — left with just more than one hundred miles, and I have nearly two months to do it.
Maybe I best beware though, because the thin Colorado air may make it tough to get oxygen!
As for Ann, she is in Buckeye, Arizona — hey, from one Buckeye to another — and stands a mere 90 miles from that great West Coast state of California. With a total of 247 miles to go to reach San Diego, she now must average 4.57 miles per day to achieve her goal. Can she do it? Considering that a normal day for her is about eight miles, I think she has a real good shot at doing something that we both thought was insanely out of reach when we started this thing.
OK, as a rookie walker, I found out something recently that I did not know — which was good for my wallet, perhaps not so good for my back and feet.
We recently spoke with avid runner Allan Zinck about how long shoes should last before you invest in another pair.
Much to our shock and horror, he said that although it varies, on average, about every 500 miles you should get a new pair of shoes, in order to treat your feet the way they deserve to be treated.
Yoiks!
Five hundred miles went by 500 miles ago for me, and Ann theoretically should be on pair of shoes number four at this moment. Alas, both of us are currently on pair of shoes number one.
Aaarrrrgghhhhh!
Sometimes I think I may be better off just being completely ignorant.
So, it may be off to the shoe store for a couple of new pairs of shoes. Or hey, maybe a shoe place wants to sponsor us here at WalK!
Yeah, I know, keep dreaming...
OK, pop quiz time. Which one of us — Ann or myself — listens to NFL Thursday Night Football Theme Song while they walk?
If you guessed me... wrong!
Who would have ever thunk that the little school teacher who hates being in front of crowds would jam to the bone-crushing tunes of the NFL.
'Til next time, keep on walking.