God bless Joe Biden.

Hit the pavement at 0520 this morning. Yesterday and today, I've kind of imagined I was walking with trekking poles, like "Nordic walking," just to see what that felt like.

My morning walks have evolved a bit as I've tried to get more caloric and cardiovascular benefits. I started out with the camera, which was great for getting early morning shots of birds and sunrises, but kind of limited the amount of speed or exertion I could achieve.

So I ditched the camera, which allowed me to pick up the pace. I let my arms swing at my side, but kept them kind of naturally straight. When it was cool out, I could get a good pace going and more caloric "burn," and a little heart rate elevation. But as it got warmer and more humid, that pace declined a bit. It was most evident on the walk by the location I found myself at when my watch announced "Exercise ring closed."

At my best pace, I would find myself past the clubhouse entrance, while a more typical pace would find me behind the clubhouse somewhere, and a slow pace might find me completing the exercise ring just after making the turn onto the path behind the clubhouse.

Well, "imaginary" Nordic walking had me raising my hands and bending my elbows, where my arm swing resembles more of a "pumping" action than a "swinging" one. While I haven't replicated my best pace on cool days, yesterday and today had me coming around the corner of the clubhouse, approaching the entrance when the exercise ring closed.

My pace suffered a bit this morning, because I paused to take this shot with my phone, but it was still faster than yesterday's. It was 77°F this morning, and 94% humidity. My shirt was drenched when I finished, and it felt like I'd probably have been better off wearing running shorts. I normally wear a ball cap, but I took it off and stuck it in my belt behind my back because it was pretty damn warm and I wanted my head to cool.

Tomorrow I'll try it with the poles. I go early so I encounter fewer people (and flies). If this feels good, I'll try and add a backpack with a little bit of weight. (If nothing else, it'll empty my pockets, which I occasionally strike with my hands.)

While I was fairly pleased with how we did hiking the gorges in New York this summer, I think I can do better and I want to be able to do it for as long as I can. I recall walking up the stairs at my condo not much more than a decade ago, when I was still running half-marathons, and I was carrying a 40 pound bag of dog food. I had lost about that much weight running, and it made me realize how much extra effort it takes to carry that much weight around. Granted, it's distributed differently, but it's a lot. Knowing we're going to be going back to the hills around the Finger Lakes more regularly and for longer periods of time is something to look forward to, and an added incentive to get fit.

We'll see how it goes.

Originally posted at Nice Marmot 08:24 Thursday, 25 July 2024