5,062 miles...

I've bee very unmotivated and frustrated in my exercise life lately. Maybe even a little depressed. It's something I've really tried hard to ignore, however, this week I decided to face the facts. For my whole life, up to about a year ago, I was a very dedicated gym goer. I would wake up at 5am every morning and lift weights and run for about 45 minutes to an hour. And I LOVED it!!! I loved the way it made me feel. Like I was sweating all the bad stuff out of my body and breathing all the good stuff in. I loved the way it gave me extra energy for the day. I loved that it was MY TIME every day...without cell phones, without computers, without laundry and cooking...just me and the treadmill and my thoughts. Free to think and feel whatever I wanted or needed to feel that day...in private...just me. Well, a little less than a year ago I had a MAJOR knee surgery. I have rheumatoid arthritis which is basically a failure of my immune system to recognize my body as my body. Instead, my immune system thinks I am foreign and attacks my joints. Due to this disease and my constant running my right knee resembled that of a sixty year old when the MRI came back. A wonderful orthopaedic surgeon fixed me up, repairing four meniscus tears, five bone spurs, two cysts and a bunch of tissue that did not belong in my knee. However, along with the surgery came an ultimatum..."no more running or you won't be able to walk in five years." I was basically warned that I only get two knee replacements in my life time and I didn't want to use them up by age 40. YIKES!!! So no more running...hence the frustration! Since my knee surgery I've become less active and have probably gained about 10 pounds...nothing MAJOR...just ANNOYING! So, I've decided to do something about it! I can't run, but I can bike, I can lift weights, I can walk, I can hike, I can snowboard, I can do the elliptical trainer, I can golf, I can do everything but run. So I found a motivator...not the scale (although I did buy a pair of "goal pants" yesterday)...I found a virtual walking program. Basically you log your miles or minutes or whatever you want and keep track of where you're walking to. I decided to walk the American Discovery Trail from Delaware to California...coast to coast. It is 5,062 miles and may take me forever, but it's getting me moving again and changing my focus. Plus I'm going to try to learn something about the landmarks as I hit them. So...the trail starts at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. It is located at the mouth of the Delaware Bay and is considered a safe harbor for boats during rough seas. It also boasts to be the home to Fort Miles which was a key piece of National Defense during World War II. It is 5,193 acres and promotes activities such as camping, fishing, hiking and soaking up the sun. Kind of sounds like a cool place to visit...I might just add it to my bucket list. Last week I logged 15 miles on the spinning bike, walking track and elliptical trainer. It's not a lot, but it's a start. Next stop is in 44 miles...the Delaware/Maryland state line. Stay tuned...

Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware