Walking for Life

Six months after my back fusion surgery, I am walking about 1.2 miles each day in our community which puts me in a position of gradually walking up hill and gradually walking down hill, while walking flat between those two extremes.

The temps are still in the upper 50s low 60s so it is not too cold to walk.  My time, although I am not paying attention to the time, just the walking is between 20-24 minutes per mile which is not as fast as I used to walk or about 15 minutes per mile.

In order to keep my back from worsening and to keep it flexible after having 5 disks fused, I will need to keep walking for the rest of my life...  and again,

 it's not to see if I can get faster and faster, it is to see if I can just keep walking.  Walking is better for me than going to a gym and using those exercise machines, as they will now hurt more than help.

When it gets too cold to walk, I will go to the community center which is only one mile from the house and walk inside on the second floor walking path.  It will cost me $1/day to gain entry which does not seem like too high a price to pay to remain healthy and active.

If the weather stays this year like it has stayed in previous years, then I will only be walking inside for three months - Jan, Feb, Mar.

An interesting note:  I walk in both New Balance tennis shoes and Sketchers tennis shoes.  Sketchers are more comfortable and I can buy two pairs of Sketchers for what it costs me to buy one pair of New Balance...