Destination not distance

Keeping with the focus-on-the-destination goal instead of the how-far-have-I-gone goal, Josh and I went on a walk last night to get some errands done. We waited until about 8:30 to on our our walk because it was too warm earlier in the day so it was a beautiful evening walk with a sunset.

We walked to check our mail, then walked to AT&T to do some account updating and then to Albertson's to get a few things. And the whole time I didn't pay attention at all to how far it was. BUT, to my surprised and delight, I only had to sit and rest ONCE each way! It had to be a half mile each way, maybe? But that's not the point so I'm not going to look it up. :)

I was so proud of myself for walking so far with so few breaks, but I think a lot of it was the fact that I had Josh to distract me and help me when I got so tired I needed to hold onto him for support.

So thanks Joshua, for supporting me!

First Presbyterian Church Or Bust!

Drum roll please..... I made it! I accomplished my goal of walking to my meeting at church. And then some! It wasn't as far as I thought -- only .35 of a mile as opposed to 1 mile (apparently I'm bad at estimating). It was a great walk. I gave myself waaaay too much time to walk there - about 50 minutes when all I really needed was 20! I was so confident and happy about how easy it was that I walked home too! In all, I walked about .65 of a mile (if my app is accurate).

Walking with a specific destination was a new thing for me. All summer I have been focusing on the distance while basically walking in circles around a track. I was focused on how far I walked and it often took the joy out of it. But walking to church gave me a new goal, and I think one that I need to have more often -- getting myself some place and focusing on that, rather than how far it is. Sure, my challenge is technically about distance. But I realized today that it's about more than that. It's about doing something productive, something good for myself and proving to myself at the same time that I can do it. So I say, who cares how far it is to church? I still walked there and back, and I proved to myself that I can do it. 

I'd also like to note another cool thing about walking somewhere that wasn't a track. For those of you who know the area, I walked up Davis street from College Street to First Street. And oh what I saw! I have never walked on that street, only driven it. And while I notice the basics as I drove, I never see it from a walker's perspective. So to compare, here's what I normally notice on my drive to and from work. I pass two fraternity houses, a Linfield residence hall/Education building, a creek, the cutest house ever, an apartment complex and an empty rental house.

Now, here's what I noticed on my walk tonight: two fraternity houses, a Linfield residence hall/Education building, three dogs, two with four legs and one with three, a beautiful garden full of sunflowers, a creek, a bed and breakfast, a broken speaker laying in the dirt, Jim & Olive's house (or so their shutters said), some green beans growing over a fence, the cutest house ever, an apartment complex, the most perfectly manicured front lawn I have ever seen, some pretty trees and an empty rental house.

What a fun walk! I can't wait to to it again. I think my next challenge will be to walk to work one of these days. It's along the same route and probably makes it half a mile each way. I'll let you know when I am going to attempt that, mostly so it keeps me accountable. :)

Campus Walk

Lately I have been so busy I have been putting my challenge on the back burner. But I decided this week if I ever want to make my goal, I need to make it a priority. So tonight I decided to go on a walk around campus despite needing to do lots of other things around the apartment.

I was going to walk around campus but decided to walk around the track instead. I felt pretty good and walked three laps until some soccer kids came and I got self-conscious. I really hate how even though there's nothing to be embarrassed about, I am still so embarrassed about how I walk. I wish I could walk past anyone and no matter how funny I look, be confident. But I just can't get over it. So I left the track and decided to walk around campus instead.

In all, I walked about .79 of a mile. I'm not sure how accurate it was, but no matter how far I really walked, it was a great one. I listened to a really cool This American Life podcast about summer camp stories and it really helped pass the time. I also forgot about my huge to do list, which was nice.

Tomorrow though, is the real challenge of my challenge. One advantage to living on campus is that we live just a mile from Third Street. I've never tried to walk downtown before, but my church is just at the end of Davis. So I'm going to walk to my meeting at church tomorrow night. It's a full mile and while Josh will be on standby to pick me up and drive me the rest of the way, I am determined to walk it all. If I'm not passed out with exhaustion after my meeting I'll post all about it!

short & sweet

Went on a walk with my former roomie Janna today! It wasn't a very long one because I was tired from a long day at work but figured it would be good to get out anyway, and it had been a long time since Janna and I walked together. We probably only walked 1/4 of a mile, but boy, it was enough!

Then we capped the night off by watching the Bachelorette with Nicole, eating cheesy puffs from Trader Joe's and looking at photos from Nicole and Timothy's honeymoon to Hawaii.

Not such a bad evening if I do say so myself!

A Stroll Through Campus

Josh and I went on a walk last night and I must say, I have really missed walking regularly. Things have just been so crazy with our wedding, our friends' weddings and then just getting used to being married and living together. But last night we needed to check our mail on the other side of campus and decided to get me back to my challenge and walk there.

I love the Linfield campus. I guess that is evident in the fact that Josh and I got married there this summer, but nevertheless, it's a lovely campus. It is full of gorgeous oak trees, flower beds with vibrant flowers, and beautiful brick buildings with white trim. It is so peaceful this time of the year and the perfect place for a walk. I guess I better enjoy it while it lasts though. Students come back in about a month!

So while I've taken a month and a half long hiatus from posting, that doesn't mean I haven't been walking. I've taken some walks around downtown during my lunch breaks, Josh and I went on some hikes in Bend during our honeymoon and I've kept up with my daily Exercise TV routine.

I'm not sure how easy it will be to reach my challenge goal now that I haven't been as diligent as I should, but I am definitely not giving up!