Walking

Remember The Proclaimers? Probably not. They were a Scottish duo from the '80s, a one-hit-wonder, who had a catchy tune called "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)." Their infectious chors went something like this:

I would walk 500 miles,
And I would walk 500 more,
Just to be the man who
walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door.

Great stuff!

I like walking, which is good because it's my chief cardio exercise. Most of the time I walk near my house, at small but beautiful Willow Springs Park. Sometimes I drive over to Erwin and walk on the nice track they've built along interstate and the river between exits 18 and 15. When it's raining, I go to ETSU's Center for Physical Activity ("the CPA"). When I'm at my mom's in North Carolina, I walk through Walnut and around Sandy Bottoms Road to the end and back or on the track on the island in Marshall.

Regardless of where I'm walking, I go for five miles (not 500, much less 1000). Well, I probably walk 3-3.5 miles and run (jog) 1.5-2. And I do it all to music. The scenery is wonderful in most places where I walk, but if I didn't have tunes to walk and run in rhythm with, I don't think I'd stick to it. Running especially isn't easy for one whose body is built more for football or wrestling. So, I've gotta have music to inspire and push me. Here's the set list on my mp3 player:

"With or Without You" by U2--a good walking pace for warming up

"Give Blood" by Pete Townshend--a long piece for a fast walk, featuring the wonderful lyric, "Give love, and keep blood between brothers"

"No Surrender" by Bruce Springsteen--a slower run

"I Don't Wanna" by The Call--a fast walk

"Every Breath You Take" by the Police--a slower walk

"Across the River" by Bruce Hornsby--a longer and faster run

"Downbound Train" by Bruce Springsteen--a slower walk to recover from the faster run

"More Than This" by Roxy Music--a fastish walk to one of the greatest grooves ever

"Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen--a strong running song

"Where the Streets Have No Name" by U2--a strong walking song

"Do It Again" by Steely Dan--a long, medium-speed walk

"We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel--another strong running song to finish that part of the exercise

"Lonesome Day" by Bruce Springsteen--a medium-speed walk to cool down

I've tried walking without music, and it didn't work for me. I tend to walk too slowly. I've also tried just general music--without considering the rhythmic qualities--and liked that better but still didn't push myself like I need to.

So, my morning so far has been waking, getting Raleigh ready and off to school, a five-mile jaunt at Willow Springs and writing this. A good day so far! (10:31 a.m.)


244.8/240.6 NWT