Active In Retirement

Hike #15 at Moss Rock Preserve on October 14, 2017. 2.75 miles,  2 hours 16 minutes. Today’s hike began at 7am on a cool morning. I traveled the white trail beside a stream then uphill for a mile. I turned off the white trail onto a cut through to the green trail, also called the power line trail. The green trail is a slim path through tall grass underneath very high power lines.  I took the green trail to avoid the rocky stream beds of the blue trail. Little did I know the green trail had two ravines of rock covered streams. After hiking the green trail for ½ mile the path ahead seem to drop straight down out of site. It dropped down about 10 feet to several big rocks with a small stream running through. I slowly made my way down the hill and stepped onto the first rock, then stepped on the second 4x4 foot rock only to lose my balance and fall backwards onto the rock. I struggled to get my feet back on the ground. Then I continued by crawling across the remaining rocks. Safel

I am a 58 year old single woman, who is looking forward to an active retirement. However, I have become a couch potato. I was spending hours watching Big Bang Theory, news channels, and HGTV. Mowing the yard was my only exercise. I have watched my 87 year old mother’s health decline as she spends hours sitting in her recliner. I want a different future for myself. The change began when my company offered $50 to any employee willing to buy a fit bit and begin tracking steps. I accepted, soon realizing how sedentary my life was. Days I work from home I walked around 3,000 steps. Not even close to the recommended 10,000 steps a day. So I joined Planet Fitness and began walking on the treadmill 2 days a week. At first it was slow and exhausting. But slowly I increase my time and speed. Currently I am walking 45 minutes at 3.0 to get a comfortable 10,000+ steps 2 days a week.    But I needed more. Not more Planet Fitness, but another goal, something to get my physical juices flowing.