I Love Walks

Having some really cute new workout clothes doesn't hurt, either. :-P

I woke up Saturday morning at 8:30 am, waaaaay earlier than I do normally, but as I mentioned I have been having bone pain at night that has been waking me up. Saturday was no different.

I got up, groaned, made coffee, drank it, surfed Facebook on my phone, and then *DOIH*, decided this glorious first fall-feeling day of the season was designed to be out and about in, so I changed into my cool walking pants, matching tank, trainers, and my now giant on me USC hoodie--there was an actual chill in the air, and headed out. I had no particular direction I was going, I just wanted to be out.

It was awesome.


I actually found a red fall leaf, I think it was a maple of some kind. Gorgeous.

 

I walked and walked and walked and it felt SO good. I brought only my cell phone and a KIND nut bar (gawd are those good and good for you--recommended by my DS surgeon, so talk to him about it if you don't agree.); but I knew there were several places along the way to get a drink or, I dunno, a coffee *grin*

I walked until I hit a T-intersection, so I whipped out my phone and opened the Google maps app and discovered that if I went south about three blocks, I would run across an organic store I liked in a strip mall with...a coffee cafe!

So I headed over there.

I found the coffee place, ordered a coffee, all their coffee was organic and "for here" orders are served in a large cup with a saucer--nice--too bad the coffee was just "meh." I ate my KIND bar, not because I was hungry, but because I needed the fuel.

I took off my jacket and just sat for a while and enjoyed being out and by myself.

After about 30 minutes, I bussed my table and made use of the bathroom where I took these photos. Like a lot of WLS / DS patients, I take a lot of selfies because I'm still trying to translate what I look like now versus seven months ago. It's not quite there, yet, and my image frequently catches me off guard.

Also? I want more workout clothes. :-)

 

A lot of my "gut" is actually hernia. Oh well.

My exercise and otherwise "Go To" bra these days is the Genie bra--it's like a short tank top that's super tight and stretchy. I love it. The new bras I bought in June area already too big and uncomfortable to wear as they ride up in the back no matter how many times I tug on them. So that's on the agenda soon.

After this, I put my USC hoodie back on, headed over to the organic grocery store, bought a handful of things including a bouquet of fall flowers, and headed back. According to my GPS/Google maps, it was 1.8 miles from the grocery store and then 1.8 back, but I got lost by several blocks, so I'm going to go ahead and round this out to 4 miles. Awesome. Unbelievable. I would never have been able to do this seven months ago even if Zombies were chasing me. Seriously.

On the down side, my poor ankle couldn't handle it and it started giving me quite a bit of pain before I made it all the way back.  I iced it, took some Advil, neither of which helped, so I got an ankle brace which helps quite a bit. I took yesterday off walking to give it a chance to rest, but I'm ready to get back out there tomorrow. We shall see. I may need to stay around 2 miles until it feels better.

But man...that was a lot of fun.

I'm still undecided as to how I feel about all the male attention I am receiving out in public. It's weird to have this happening in my life again (like in my teens and 20s). I'm not looking for attention, I'm just trying to feel good and enjoy myself.

If you read my other blog, head on over there for some great pics of a walk I took at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. Cheers.

Oh, as a comparison? Here is a picture of me taken in July 2009 at Arches National Park in Utah at 325 lbs. I really wanted to walk up that hill to the arch, but couldn't. I hope I get another opportunity to go there.