Walking
In November 2009 I moved to a small apartment in central-ish Austin. Part of the purpose was to start walking more, and stop driving everywhere. My goal is to walk 15 miles 20 miles a week. Update: I hate wimping out, but I’d rather continue walking than give up because I feel like I never succeed.
I thought it would be interesting to see how far I would get if I were walking in one direction rather than just round trips to places. I’ll start my journey at the Texas Capitol, and then each week or 2 weeks I will post the new dates and distance, a map of how far I would have traveled and a link to the walking Google map. I don’t have a destination in mind, we’ll just see where I get to!
Tuesday, 2/16/2010 – Monday, 3/29/2010 (6 weeks): 99.5 miles, 301.35 total
6 weeks (42 days) = 2.36/day or 16.58/week. Better! I’ve learned to walk every day, no matter what, and that is what makes the difference. It seems slightly surreal that I’ve walked nearly 100 miles in 6 weeks, and that in 5 months I’ve walked 300 miles. Maybe it’s time for new walking shoes! If I’d been doing something besides walking around my neighborhood and to work, my walking route might have taken me to Amistad National Recreation Area (no relation to the ship or movie), as the map suggests, just beyond Del Rio and the Mexican border. This is a pretty area. I haven’t been there in years but there are some great canyons and a nice lake area down there.
Tuesday, 1/26/2010 – Monday, 2/15/2010 (3 weeks): 42.35 miles, 201.85 total
3 weeks = 14.11/week, 2.01/day. Maybe my goal should be 15 miles per week so as to have an achievable goal. What got in the way this time? Buckets of rain and cold. ::sigh:: So progress on the route: I walked through Lost Maples State Park, wandered through towns like Utopia and Second Crossing, and visited Garner State Park. Lots of parks, one supposes I might be camping? Swimming? Learning about local birds? I am however apparently moving toward Uvalde and probably Del Rio and into desert country.
Monday, 12/28/2009 – Monday, 1/25/2010 (4 weeks): 61 miles, 159.50 total
4 weeks of walking, 61 miles = 15.25 or 2.17 per day. Not too shabby, really, for an overall number for a month of walking. I still need to walk another mile a day if I can. The month isn’t quite over, but overall I think I will be around 57 miles a month since I began. This time I walked to Kerrville and then south, and I’m almost to the town of Vanderpool, from which I will head south and visit Lost Maples State Park. After that? Hm. Should I head back to Fredericksburg or south toward Del Rio?
12/8/2009 – 12/27/2009: 37 miles, 98.5 total
This is 20 days of walking, nearly three weeks. This last week I did almost no walking, but I think I cooked so much it counted as exercise! Courtesy of the holiday and travel I’m well short of my goals but if you just count the first two weeks I wasn’t so far off. It’s the holidays, what can I say? Progress: I’ve walked to Comfort, got out of traffic for the first time on some back roads, and am in the process of heading out past Kerrville to Lost Maples. I may yet make it to Fredericksburg.
11/30/2009 – 12/7/2009: 17.5 miles, 61.5 total
I did better this last week with walking, though I’m still 2.5 miles short. A party, in-town guests and the weather caused that – it’s been pretty cold and even froze, but it’s more the wet part. Going for a 2 mile walk in the pouring rain is not optimal. I don’t mind rain really, or walking in it, but I don’t have a waterproof jacket for Wesley, and I’m afraid freezing rain wouldn’t be great for him, even if he is a sturdy dog. This week I made it to Blanco and beyond, walking down a favorite driving road toward Luckenbach. If this were really me, I’d stop for a nice beer under the trees once I’d gotten ther. 
11/21/2009 – 11/29/2009: 14 miles, 44 total
Well, my total this past week or so was pa-the-tic. I did 14, but the goal for a week + 2 days = 26 miles. I’d hoped to make it to Blanco, but just made it a few miles down 281. Thanksgiving is my excuse. Ate too much, walked too little. I should do better this week now that I’m back on my normal schedule and not out of town for five days! I’ve even threatened to jog some. We’ll see.
11/1/2009 – 11/20/2009: 30 miles
I forgot to record week 2, so my numberes for that week were a guesstimation on the low side. In three weeks I’m only at half my 20 mpw goal. Need to start taking the dog on longer walks, walking to restaurants and making sure to get out on the weekends. Still, in three weeks I managed to get past Dripping Springs, which is about an hour from here by car.
