Monday, January 1, 2007

Walk the Line

Wow...a whole month without blogging? What was I thinking? Oh, yes, I recall now...trying to get all that Christmas shopping done. It was a nice holiday, though. Couldn't have asked for more...good friends, good food, and family.
So this morning, January 1, 2007, I entered upon the third calendar year of exercise walking. I thought it might behoove me to check out downtown Alpharetta, since that is my official mailing address, and even though I've lived here twenty-odd years, I still don't know all of Alpharetta's nooks and crannies. I think I found many of them in just an hour or so, but I probably have more looking to do.
Since June of 2005, I've been walking regularly for exercise. I try to do two 5K (3.1 miles) walks per week. This may sound fairly easy, but when it's 98 degrees by 10:00 on an August morning, even walking can present its own challenges. You just have to remember to stretch, hydrate, and take it at your own pace, which may vary depending on the weather, your general health (or state of mind), and your personal schedule.
If you're looking for an easy way to exercise in the new year, walking is certainly a contender. You see your own neighborhood, and many new ones, from an entirely different point of view when you're "at street level", outside the confines of your automobile. I have found cafes, historic homes, discarded trinkets, freebies, and shortcuts. You can't beat walking -- and it's free!