I've been wanting to hike more, so I decided to set myself a mini goal of 12 miles each week this spring. I started it on Sunday the 12th because that's close enough to spring for me. I really just need the later sunlight to get me going. Monday, Karen and I walked 12 miles on the Richard Martin Trail. Done! hahaha
We walked it fast-3 hours and 31 minutes. I have done it in 3, but that's hard. This time we were both REALLY worn out by the hike. I came home with a knot in my calf and she had aching hips. I told the kids I was skipping the rest of my 40's and going straight to 70. They started calling me Memom and Mommaw.
Tuesday I tried walking off that sore calf while Ben was at music and put in nearly 3 miles on the bike trails at the lake. They are surprisingly steep trails and it was a good workout on such a COLD day.
I tried a new thing with the bike trail hike. I put earplugs between my toes. And I wore shoes, not sandals (because it was COLD). I was hoping that by keeping those bones away from one another, the nerve would not be pinched and my toes would not go numb. It worked fairly well. Even when it did start going numb, it wasn't AS numb and it actually faded within a couple of hours. Not so lucky with that calf knot. I think I can modify the earplug idea and have it work, which would change EVERYTHING about my hikes. The Oboz worked okay during off-trail hiking, but my toes were burning by the time I got to the car because of the flat road walk at the end the one time I tried them hiking. The next time I put them on, my toes were numb before I left the house. :/ (Update, it has not worked)
Wednesday, the calf was mostly back to normal and I ended up heading to swim after lunch with Matt and forgot my swimsuit, though I did bring two towels (one with a sock stuck to it), which is something I guess. I went to the new library instead, then got drawing supplies. I walked a couple miles on the greenway, but it was REALLY windy and I didn't enjoy it much. My ears hate wind.
Thursday, I planned a big hike. Ben and Chan were with friends and I had the whole day open. It was warm and sunny and perfect. Then I woke up hours later than I have slept in MONTHS (9!). I felt both really groggy and wonderfully rested. Jake was up minutes later and chatty like a magpie. He sat on my bed and talked for nearly 2 hours. Hiking plans flew out the window as we talked and talked and talked. He got a promotion at work and a very nice raise! He told me about a friend who is homeless and we started looking for information to get him sorted and sent him all we found and offered a shower and laundry if he needed it. Another friend, a VERY sweet kid who has been over here dozens of times, lost his Nana unexpectedly. We talked about that a while, too.
After he left for work, I laid in outside the sun with bare legs (sun on my long bones!) until Matt came home and we walked 3 miles, so it wasn't a totally lazy day. In between, I set up a desk with drawing stuff and worked on learning how to draw wildflowers. I'm rubbish at drawing, but that just means there's room for improvement.
