My Project This Week

Work has been insane the last few weeks. Short-staffed, long hours, more long hours, you get the picture. While I made peace with this as my way of life for the time being, it does have side-effects that I am less than crazy about. 

When I was in Ecuador, climbing high, eating well and spending time doing what I love, I felt like a million bucks. I came home feeling strong, healthy and ready to take on the world. Then, work got crazy and I got lazy. I stopped going to the gym and started finding reasons to grab a bite to eat while out and about rather than packing a sensible lunch. I hate when this happens. For as strong as I felt just a few short weeks ago, I can now almost hear muscle melting into the couch each time I sit down. So, I decided to make a change.

While training for my mountaineering trip, I often walked the 3.1 miles to work with a loaded pack. This, combined with the stair climber (also with a pack) made for an amazing workout. Now, although I've scaled down the load, I've opted to walk to and from work every day this week. Stepping out my door in the morning, almost a full hour before I need to, I am discovering that I do my best thinking while walking. Yesterday, as I walked home in 97 degree temperatures, it occurred to me that I was completely oblivious to the world around me. It was just me, my thoughts and the pavement. 

Of course, in my quest to be more eco-minded each day, this new routine has me feeling better about my negative contributions to the world. And now it has become my project this week to move more miles by foot (walking, running or biking) than I do by car. To my Chicago friends, this is no easy task in the giant sprawling suburb called Omaha. So far, I'm on target, having walked 24 miles and only having driven 20 thus far. 16 of those could have been eliminated if I'd have skipped softball tonight...but we won. Tomorrow is day 5 and I'll keep you posted.