Starting Out

A friend of mine decided last year to take a photo every day of 2009. She posts them on Facebook, and I have really enjoyed looking at them each day. This, along with the need to exercise, gave me the idea that I would take a walk every day of 2010.  Six months ago I received a total knee replacement on my right leg, which now allows me the freedom to walk all I want pretty much pain free right now, and I'm sure more so over the next six months. Doctors say it takes a full year to recover from a total knee replacement. Add to this that I'd like to lose another 40 pounds, and this seems like a good challenge.

Because I am a geek, I have several "technologies" to help me: my Omron pocket pedometer, a program from Trimble for my Blackberry phone called AllSport GPS that keeps track of how far I walk, my pace, time, elevation--more data than I really need. I also have a new pair of Salomon XA Comp 4 GTX Trail-Running Shoes for wet, cold weather, new gloves that are wind and water proof, and pretty much every sort of clothing necessary.

I travel a lot, so it could be that some of my walks will be on a treadmill in a hotel, and if we get snow, some of my walks might be indoors at a local mall;  some might be in a city just walking around the blocks exploring neighborhoods, but when I am home, I am going to try hard to vary my route and take use of the myriad of trails we have in the Pacific Northwest.  Since I am somewhat retired, I have the luxury of driving places to try out new trails.

So here we go.