When I first moved here, I was so excited to be walking distance to the beach, as well as the grocery store, and some great little places to eat. After all, I had been walking on a regular basis around the neighborhood I used to live in. Well, maybe not as regularly as I had been. Or maybe I had hardly been walking at all. But when I had walked, it was a walk with inclines. So, of course I was in great shape for walking here.
So, one day early on, I was working on getting settled (and figuring out how to make 300 sq.ft. of stuff fit into a 250 sq.ft. studio), and decided I'd walk down to the store to get a few things to stock my giant pantry. No problem - walk down, get a few things and then walk back up to my place. Huh, hill seems steeper than on the way down. Oh, well.
After a while, I decide to treat myself to lunch at The Stand - a great little hole in the wall vegan place just a couple blocks away. Walk over, grab an avocado sandwich (which I highly recommend, by the way), and start back to my place. Huh, the hill keeps getting steeper on the way home, my legs are starting to talk to me, and my breathing is a little harder. I can't be this out of shape, can I??
Next day I reward myself with a morning visit to the beach, so down the hill I go again. Beautiful day - nice brisk walk down the hill, and down the stairs to the sand. Aaahhhh....
After a while of enjoying myself, it's time to get back home to get back to work. Walking back to the stairs, I think they must have multiplied while I wasn't looking. Were there really that many? Oh well, up I go. And my legs start talking to me. Really?? Stop at the first landing to, you know, just take another look at the waves. Go up a little farther, and stop at the next landing, yup, to take another look at the waves - and catch my breath. Really?? Crap I'm out of shape. Finally make it to the top of the stairs - yay!
Oh, joy, what's at the top of the stairs? A hill. Yay. Struggle to the top. Whew.
Woohoo! A flat area! About a half a block long, and then.....another nice gentle upward slope.
And then...turn the corner, aaaannnndd another hill....I think I'm gonna die....
And a the top of that hill is my street! Woohoo....which is another upward slope...
So I finally drag my ass up the last part of my street, huffing and puffing to the entrance where my building is...and even the frickin' driveway is an upward slope!! What cruel person designs things this way???
Make it to my unit, my lungs and legs telling me all about it, and I figure living here I'm either going to get my butt in shape, or I'm gonna die.
Well, I didn't die, but it did take a few weeks to get to the point where I could walk pretty much anywhere and not have my body telling me about it. So, why am I writing this now? The past couple months have been extremely busy, and with the days getting shorter, I was getting home too late from work to take my daily walk down to the beach to let go of my day before it got too dark. And, I was stopping by the store on my way home in the car to pick up what I needed. Last weekend I needed to return some library books, so walked downtown. Then I started walking back at the rapid pace I thought I should be able to do. Of course it's uphill all the way home....Huh, my legs and lungs are talking to me again?? Sheesh.
The lesson? Your body needs love and attention - on a consistent basis. If I can't walk to the beach after work, then I need to find a new way to get my body moving. Part of the "cherish" lesson I wrote about in the previous blog is learning to pay attention to what my body is telling me, and then make changes/adjustments. Our bodies are constantly sending us messages, we just need to get better at listening and understanding, and then taking action.
Enjoy taking care of yourself!
Light Love Laughter
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