A Good Walk Spoiled -- Try Golf

Jan. 7, 2013

Today I am still a solid 194.0 pounds of rolling thunder, which means my body mass index has not moved one lick.

Golf they say is a good walk spoiled. Most people attribute this to Mark Twain but a simple Internet search quickly puts that information in doubt.

Regardless, there was no ruining my good walk today. After two days on the spin bike I was ready to hit the road. While a part of me really wanted to take off and run, it took a mere two jogging steps for me to realize that it wasn't time to test my back just yet.

Sure, I could have suffered through the pain of the weight bouncing on my already inflamed back muscles and nerves, but why not take it slow and go for a walk -- sans golf clubs, of course.

So I headed out on my normal running route. First it was up a half-mile long hill. This was a good test for my back and I could feel my muscles stretching out and my pulse quicken.

I always feel like I'm cheating a bit when I go for a walk because I never get that out-of-breath feeling that I get when I run. Buckets of sweat don't pour off of me, and I don't feel overall drained of energy.

But I know it's good for me to get out and go, so I got up and went for about an hour and a half non-stop. It was a good day for walking, a little warmer than it had been and most of the snow was gone.

I made a point of finding as many hills to climb as I could so as to avoid cheating the fitness gods. Interestingly, the uphills were probably lest arduous on my back than the downs. Perhaps it's all the bouncing one does as their foot strikes the ground with greater force.

Anyway, I ditched the bike, braved the cold and made my loop. Hopefully at some point this week I'll get back on my horse and be able to run for real. Until then, I'm still the world's slowest human hitting the streets and making a difference.