The walk of life

My legs are stiff today.

It's not really a surprise. I haven't done any serious exercise beyond walking for far too long. I've been using the excuse of my legs hurting from the operation, and before that the varicose vein itself, to put off doing anything. I've got to be realistic about it though – I'm starting by increasing the pace I'm walking when I'm out with Barney and extending the distance to take in the field on the far side of the woods which includes a bit of a hill and adds perhaps another kilometer or so to the distance. This might not be practical on mornings when I'm running late, but at least in the evenings and at weekends I am going to be walking at a pace that should leave me mildly breathless for 20 – 25 minutes which is supposedly the recommended goal.

When the kids are back at school next week I am going to check the times for the swimming pool down in Chapeltown and aim to go one lunchtime when I am working at home. When I worked in an office in Sheffield I used to go swimming most days at Ponds Forge, but since I have been travelling to Leeds and Birmingham I've let that slide. Perhaps the public statement of intent will be enough to overcome my natural inertia and let me get into a new routine? Vamos a ver ...

Anyway, the walk in the field this afternoon took me through the middle of the herd of cows that alternate between the fields that surround the woods on two sides. I got the top and turned to look back down on the woods and the houses beyond for a minute or two to catch my breath and watch the young heifers head butting their mothers for milk. I really am fantastically lucky to live in a place where such sights are literally ten minutes walk from my back door ...