Gonna Go For A Walk Now

Gonna go for a little walk tomorrow morning about 6. My anti-LA marathon...the day before since I didn't want to pay the $100 or whatever entry fee.

Though I've walked 26.2 miles once before, I want to see how far I can go again. After the last endurance test, I swore to myself never again. But, for now, I don't regret the thought. But tomorrow will likely be a different story.

Walking, especially distance walking, is a very solitary activity. I remember on an 8 mile training walk a few weeks ago, I was powering past stalled early morning traffic and total strangers in a car yelled, "Looking good". I was surprised how two words lifted me with a new burst of energy to make it the last mile.

Though I've told family and a few others and posted here and there my intentions and route link to the marathon site, I fully expect that no one will find me on the route, drive by and honk or yell an encouraging word. Hell, I can't even get anyone to drop me off at the starting point 20 minutes away. So, I'll catch the metro train and an hour later the challenge begins.
Oh well. Like I said. Solitary.

I'm walking to honor my family...my wife and kids who I put through a kinda hell via my heart attack. I'm walking to honor my Dad and late Mom for being great parents! I'm walking to honor my late brother, David. No finer brother and friend will there be. I'm walking to honor my family...brothers and sister who support me in all I do. I'm walking for the children of the world who are powerless over their dire circumstances be it famine, war, disease, abuse, poverty...and the list doesn't end.

Hoooo...Hoo Hoo...Hoooo

I've gotten back on track with eating properly and exercising. I hike 4-5 miles up and down
hills at Kenny Hahn Recreation Area every morning starting about 6 a.m.

Since it's usually still dark, I can enjoy the quiet hush of the city which is just rising from slumber.
The owls are at their grandest with a long hoooooo two short hoos and then one more long hoooo.

Sometimes the fog blankets the ground and smothers any noise, except the owls. At the bottom of gullies where the go is thickest, the temperature drops about 10 degrees until I climb out.

In addition to the distance, my main goal is a heavy duty cardio workout....getting the heart pumping hard and sustained for a few minutes and then leveling out a bit so it can recover.
Repeat.

I hike various routes but always get three big hills in...Kick Butt Hill, The Executioner, Killer Hill,
or Grand Pain Grade. My goal is always to try and do each hill without stopping.

The wildflowers are so profuse and the trails often so narrow that the 6 foot tall growth creates a corridor for parts of my walk.

Everyone is pretty friendly thought there aren't many folks I come across before sunrise. But those I do all say hi. Not so much as a greeting but rather a kind of warning radar letting the person you pass know you are harmless.

I've come across Bob and Paul, two older guys 60 and 66. Nice guys who stop and chat a bit.
Willis is an 80 year man who shuffles along with his cane. And on the highest trail I once came across three old ladies 82, 84 and the 85 year old walking her little poodle and using her cane.

More later.

New Year Plans

As I approach the start of 2009, a couple of aimless thoughts wander through my mind.

I always overdue the food preparation for New Year's Eve and Day, especially since no one ever shows up to eat it. Everyone is out doing their own thing. And that is fine. Yes, I will make my late Mom's chili with fresh rolls and maybe some chicken to nibble on.

But, this year I am starting a new tradition. Since I always go to the Manhattan Beach Pier early Christmas morning, and since I've now thrived for just over a year since my attack, I will do what has gotten me back into shape...walking. And so, on New Year's Eve/Morn, I will be distance power-walking along the ocean-front Strand in Manhattan Beach when midnight strikes...maybe even walking on the pier as the new year starts.

You are welcome to join me.

Walking A Mile (or 26.2) In My Shoes

Don't know that I can accomplish it, but this Saturday I'm setting off at 4:30 a.m. to see how far I can quick walk.

I've gone as far as 15 miles non-stop. But, I feel I need to try to go further. Though I've been doing 30 miles on the exercycle and/or walking 5-8 miles daily, I just feel my walking stamina has diminished a bit in the last couple of months. I don't want to take any steps back toward where I've come.

And so, I've mapped out a route from my house to Santa Monica that totals 27 miles. I need to walk at least 16 and hope to go further, 10.2 miles further.