Outside Versus Inside

I am off today. Yay!! I say yay because I haven't been to the track since I started working last week. It took a week for me to get comfortable with my new schedule so when I woke up today I decided that today was going to be the day that I get back. Get back to where I once belonged.

I have been getting all of my exercise inside lately. Inside the gym at work, inside the yoga studio and inside my home. I had forgotten how much I love my walks at "the track".

It isn't really a track in the traditional sense. It's more of a walking park. It is one mile in length with each tenth of a mile marked off. This makes it easy if you want to incorporate some jogging into your workout. You can walk a tenth or two and then jog a tenth or two. That's what I usually do.

It is a gravel track which has allowed me to power walk consistently for over 15 years. My left knee is screwed from a motorcycle accident many years ago and power walking 4 miles every day would have been impossible if not for the gravel track. The pain would have been too great but the gravel makes the surface much more pliable and I don't feel much pain after walking.

It really is a beautiful place. It is a little piece of the country hidden in the hustle and bustle of Coral Springs. There are trees and plants growing all over. There is also a canal along the back of the park with turtles, ducks and fish living there. We even have 6 resident cats. They are always on the prowl for a lizard or stalking the ducks. We make sure the cats are very well fed. We don't want the ducks don't become sitting ducks for the cats.

It was cool this morning with clear skies. The air was crisp and clear. The birds were singing and the cats were waiting for Rose to come with their breakfast. As I was walking the sun was rising and the sky was turning from black to pink and orange and then blue. My music of choice for today was the soundtrack from The Beatles Love show. I suddenly realized that I had really missed this place that I call "the track" which is really named Ralph Diaz Memorial Park. I missed my outside exercise. I had decided that on working days I would skip the track as I don't want to burn myself out. I am rethinking that decision. I'm thinking that even if I am getting my exercise at work I should still be going to this place that helps my spirit fly. OK, outside wins.