Because Mall Walking is Not An Option

I joined a gym this year in Connecticut (near my work). It's cheap and has exactly what I need right now. And honestly, I can't afford anything else. The only kicker is that I can only go to that one location. Which leaves me with no gym to go to when I don't drive to work. Oh, and it's the middle of January and has been snowing a lot and it hasn't been out of the 30s in days. I love walking and getting outside, but everything I just mentioned requires me to have a bit motivation to get out and move my butt around on the weekends. I considered mall walking, but my ex is a manager at a dept store in the mall...and...well...I just don't feel like running into my ex while I'm mall walking. Not the sexiest thing.

But, I have to keep moving when I can't go to the gym. And this week I have been pretty good at doing that. On Wednesday we had a mini snow storm which meant working from home. I thought I wasn't going to get in a workout that day, but just before the sun went down I talked myself into going outside and walking. I had to find a new route because most of the sidewalks were not shoveled yet and I didn't want to walk out on the streets where there was heavy traffic. So I went on a bit of journey to places I haven't been before and it was fun.

Today I did one of my usual walks. It's about a 4.3 mile walk and I recently added a killer hill right in the beginning to get my heart pumpin. 6th Avenue in Nyack is one of the STEEPEST roads I have ever seen in my life. It actually makes me a little nervous to drive down it and I have no idea how people drive on it when it's snowing and slippery. I'm pretty sure they probably don't.

Anyway, here is the route I take:

The arrow points to the steep hill.

Gmap Pedometer is a great little tool to have. This is the first time I recorded this route and I was surprised how long of a walk it was. I thought I was only walking about 3 miles.

Point to all this is I have to remember how much I love being outside and how great I feel after a good walk. Even if it's freezing outside and I have to be careful not to slip on the ice. I don't get outside nearly enough these days. Which is hard for me. I use to spend my entire summers living outdoors. Now I rarely get a chance to relax in the sunshine. I need to use my weekends to be outside. Because, really, the opportunities are endless.