Walking

Not to self, never take an evening nap. You will be up writing a blog post at 12:30 in the morning.

When I first moved to Brooklyn, I was too afraid to drive our car anywhere. Therefore, I never left my apartment. Joey was 6 months when we moved here. The only stroller I had was this huge walking stroller. You know. The one with monstrous wheels that you could actually go off road with. For those of us who live in a city like Brooklyn, we know that it's not the ideal stroller to have in the city. I would go for walks in my neighborhood, looking at the tiny .99 cent shops and realizing my stroller would never fit into those tiny aisles. Thank goodness I never attempted to take it on the subway. Can you imagine?

Anyway, we live close to Marine Park, which is a large park with a walking/running track. The track is approximately .84 miles around. I remember the first time I walked to that park. I was pushing Joey in the monster truck of strollers. I only went one lap and I considered myself finished. We sat at a bench and enjoyed the nice summer day. I began walking almost every day after that. I started off slow. I did one lap. Soon, I realized I could do 2 laps. I continued to walk most days until Joey turned one and learned to walk. By then, our routine was, I would do my 2 laps, and then we would head to the playground and I would let Joey run around. As he got older, he would see us pass the playground as I walked, and he would squirm and cry. He didn't want to sit in the stroller anymore. Soon, my daily walks became sporadic, and soon, nonexistent.

Fast forward to now,  I started walking again. This time around, I have no reason not do it. With Joey in school and nothing to do, my mornings are free. I drop off Joey at school, put on my headphones and set my playlist, and I go to one of the best Apps on my phone. MapmyWalk is a GPS enabled app that tracks the distance that you walk. It records your time, how many miles, and configures how many calories you burned. I love it. It's only been a few weeks, but I am a little shocked at my progress, considering it's been a few years since I did a walking routine. The first day, I decided to take it slow. I was only walking for 30 minutes. I ended up walking 40 minutes and covering exactly 2 miles. From then, I have been gradually increasing my time. Today, I walked 1 hour and 25 minutes and recorded 4 miles. I even jogged a little today! Do you realize how long it's been since I jogged? I'm not telling you, because it's been that long. One thing I am trying to work on, is my pace. I try not to be discouraged, when I see my fellow walkers pass me at speeds I am not capable of, just yet.  I know I just started, and I should not be comparing myself to the other walkers, who have obviously been at it longer than I have. I have to keep reminding myself of this. I plan to keep walking. I have set in place a few goals this school year. I hope towards the end, I will have accomplished them. For now, I enjoy these morning walks. The fresh air is wonderful.

Found this on Pinterest. It's exactly what I needed to see.

This is my walking playlist. It's a list of some of my favorite songs. Some songs are cheesier than others, but hey, it gets my bum moving.

A Punk- Vampire Weekend
Oxford Comma- Vampire Weekend
Bizarre Love Triangle- New Order
Another One Bites the Dust- Queen
Body Movin (Fatboy Slim remix)- Beastie Boys
Clint Eastwood- Gorillaz
Stylo- Gorrillaz
Dancing with Myself- Billy Idol
Don't Stop Me Now- Queen
Dynamite- Taio Cruz
Fame- David Bowie
I Believe in a Think Called Love- The Darkness
Icky Thump- The White Stripes
Seven Nation Army- The White Stripes
Intergalactic- The Beastie Boys
Island in the Sun- Weezer
Pork and Beans- Weezer
Last Nite- The Strokes
Let's Dance- David Bowie
Moves Like Jagger- Maroon 5
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked- Cage the Elephant
The KKK took my Baby Away- The Ramones
What I Got- Sublime
Santeria- Sublime
White Sky- Vampire Weekend
A Million Ways- Ok Go
Amber- 311
Cannonball- the Breeders
Hey Ya- OutKast
Hurricane- Bob Dylan
Blitzkrieb Bop- The Ramones
Don't Fear the Reaper- Blue Oyster Cult
Australia- The Shins
Band on the Run- Paul McCartney
Come and Get Your Love- Redbone
Zero- Smashing Pumpkins
D'er Mak'er- Led Zeppelin
Dancing Queen- Abba
Waterloo- Abba
Howlin for You- The Black Keys
Short Skirt/Long Jacket- Cake
Garden Grove- Sublime
Every Morning- Sugar Ray
Fortunate Son- CCR
Hot in the City- Billy Idol
Killer Quuen- Queen
Man in Me- Bob Dylan
Jammin- Bob Marley
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem- Kenny Chesney
Renegades of Funk- Rage Against the Machine
Stir It Up- Bob Marley
The Tide is High- Blondie
Where It's At- Beck