Walking

So, lately I've been walking more.  It's not always a whole lot, but I've been trying to be active as much as possible. Walking seemed easiest...

Anyways, Mom, Tracy, my friend Amy, and I walked the "Turkey Trot" at the zoo/Washington Park on Thanksgiving.  It was a 4 mile walk through Washington Park, and it ended inside the zoo.  Talk about cool!  It was a gorgeous area to walk through.  It was hilly (I was not expecting that!), there were so many trees that had colorful leaves, and then (the best part!) we got to see some animals at the end.  LOVE it!

Amy is extremely encouraging.  She motivates me to push myself harder than I would, even without saying anything.  She naturally walks faster than I do, and I tend to try to keep up with her when we walk together.  It keeps me moving quickly, and maybe it's a bit of a competitive streak that keeps me trying to pass her (even though it's not easy for me to do!). She also got me to run little bits of it.  She was so great about not pressuring me to do it, but I actually enjoyed it. We even ran at the very end of the "race".  I started running, faster than before, and she said, "Are you going to beat me?" I responded, "YES!", but of course she passed me right at the last second. I should have known.

Thursday I spent the night out in Dundee at Mom's house, and when we got up on Friday we went walking at the neighborhood park. We walked at least 2 loops before it started raining and Mom wanted to head home.  I'm not exactly sure how long each loop is, but I think it's about a mile? Whatever.  We walked at least two miles from the house to the park and then back.  Not absolutely sure.

This morning I went walking on the Clackamas River Trail here in Oregon City.  I think I walked approximately 3 miles, because the trail length is 1.3 miles, and then I walked beyond the trail's end to the nearby bridge.  The sign said it was .2 miles from the trail to the bridge.  So...1.3+.2=1.5*2=3.  Anyways, 3-ish miles.  I even ran a few little spurts. It's going to take me a long time, but I want to be ready to run with Amy for next year's "Turkey Trot".

I need to find some new trails, though. I'm getting a little bit tired of walking the same trail. I also don't particularly want to walk around the hospital, either...

Anyone in California up for some walking when I'm down in December? :)