My "Something New"

I've been blogging with three fabulous women for over a year and a half now and have been enjoying all the fun topics we come up with week after week. If you want to see what we've discussed in the past, check out our posts here.

This week, Moma Rock has a task for us: Do something you've never done before. Something new and/or different. Tell us about your experience. It can be a new restaurant/venue/location/class/etc. Sky is the limit!

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

Having recently read Something New by Janis Thomas, I was excited to try this idea out. So thank you, Moma Rock, for giving me an excuse. :)

I need to preface this post by backtracking a little. I want to say that my "something new" is totally brand new, but it's not. However, it's something I haven't done in a long time so it does have a new feel to me. There's also an element of difference this time.

When I lived in Illinois, I would go for walks all the time. I'd walk around the neighborhood by myself, with my husband, or with my older son. I'd go all over the place. Sometimes my husband and I would walk all the way from our townhouse to a shopping center down the road. Once we went all the way to the library, which was an even longer walk. I belonged to a health club, but I still found walking outside to be invigorating.

After we moved to NJ, I'd take walks down the main street we lived on for the time being. Since I didn't want to schlep to the health club every day, I took advantage of the nice weather whenever possible. When we moved to a house a little ways down from where we had first moved, I would walk around the various blocks by that house. I even kept it up in the winter. When my older son was approaching the age of four, I'd take him along with me. He'd ride his toddler sized tricycle.

Upon our move to Maryland, we found a listing for a treadmill. It was a really good deal and we snapped it up. That put an end to our outdoor walks for the next few years, aside from Shabbat (those were more leisurely, even though they involved pushing a stroller). Then our treadmill broke. My husband decided to go out for early morning walks (whenever he could get out of bed on time) while I used the exercise bike we got from Freecycle. I use exercise as an excuse to read, so this was fine for me. In the meantime, Froggie was telling me I needed to change up my exercise routine if I wanted to see any results.

Motivated by the task in this post, I got up early in the morning, put on a sweater, sweatpants, jacket, hat, scarf and gloves. (And sneakers, of course.) I put my favorite Alanis cassette into my "Walkman" (it's a version of one, but that's the best way to explain it...I am so "Old School" that it's not even funny) and set out in the dark and cold. I walked a path that went uphill twice, in order to feel the "burn." I timed my walk for 20 minutes, which is a lot for me starting out and usually the amount of time I do on the treadmill or exercise bike. I was so hesitant to do this for so long and I don't know why. It felt great!!! I felt energized afterward and ready to take on the world! I was even motivated to be more productive. I told my husband that I'm making it part of my regular exercise routine, but just every other day for now, switching it up with the bike. (I don't want to overdo it yet.)

So while I know this is not something entirely "new," it feels new to me again, especially since I never go out walking in the dark or even that early in the morning. (I wouldn't mind if it started getting lighter out when I start my walk, but this will have to do.) I don't expect to see results right away, but I hope that if I stay on this path and combine it with healthier eating, I'll be in a good place soon....