Inspirational

Since January 2008, I have been walking my way back into being healthy.  I decided to see if I could "throw away" all the excuses and "just do it."  Well, it has been a long, slow road (at 4.5mph – my typical walking speed) back to a place where I can feel comfortable without my shirt on, but here I am, 18 months later, feeling good.

I have 2 preferred walking routes around my area.  Route 1 is a 2.3 mile trek (one way) to the nearest train station and back.  Route 2 is a 4.8 mile loop that takes me through a lot of different areas.  I take Route 1 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I walk Route 2 on Tuesday and Thursday.

Two weeks ago, on my "Thursday route," a woman in a minivan was waiting at a traffic signal.  She lowered her passenger side window and yelled to me as I was walking past her, so I stopped and went over to her.  She proceeded to tell me that she has seen me walking around the neighborhood for the past year and that she finds me "inspirational" in my dedication to the walking and getting healthy.  She said that she was trying to get motivated to do the same thing, because of me.  I thanked her for sharing her thoughts and told her that I was glad that I could be some kind of motivation for her.  The light turned green, and she drove off.

Wow.  That was totally unexpected.  I couldn’t stop smiling for a few minutes afterwards.  The experience added to the good things that are coming out of this new walking routine.  Other people are noticing me.  LOL  Cool!