River walk #4

Date: May 2, 2011

Weather: Warm, about 60 degrees, sun shining through the slight overcast

Wearing: Fleece sweatshirt (for a little bit), tennis shoes

Music: Britney

So I'm an idiot and totally spaced both my camera and my sunglasses for my walk today, which was unfortunate because both were sorely needed! God it was nice out today. People were out in full force enjoying the weather; high school gym classes were playing ultimate frisbee and running the track on the small football field close to the Madison Street bridge, couples were holding hands walking along the trail, individuals were lying on blankets reading and doing homework in the grassy areas, families out with their dogs and small children, and bikers were constantly wizzing by me and weaving through others taking advantage the trail. It was spectacular!

I hadn't realized that it was as warm as it was when I left my building for my walk, or else I would have left my sweater at the office. I brought my carrots with me to munch on, since I didn't have time to eat them with the rest of my lunch at my desk beforehand. About ten minutes into my walk, after consuming my crunchy, orange snack, I had to peel off my grey fleece outer layer, as I was practically sweating at a leisurely pace.

I picked up my pace shortly after tying my sweater around my waist and taking a look at my watch. I decided to focus on making my strides longer to make up for a bit of lost time during my carrot-consumption beginning. This was a great idea, as it really helped me stretch out my hamstrings, which have been sore for the past few days after doing an intense at-home tae bo session. (Man, Billy Blanks sure is good at keeping you motivated when you want to quit, I'll give him that much.)

Longer strides also helped me walk the two miles in just under 45 minutes, which is my record time so far! I almost felt like picking up the pace more and jogging, but my clothes and the fact that I still had a couple hours of work left prohibited me from doing so. The urge got me thinking about how, once I'm in better cardiovascular shape and before mid-July when the sun turns Montana into an oven, I should bring shorts and a tee and ramp up my walks a bit. We'll see how things go, though.

Other notable images from my walk:

I saw a blue heron fly five feet above the water along side me. They sure are pretty birds! I look forward to seeing more of them. I also saw my first butterfly of the season! Well, I think it was more of the moth variety, but still. It was one of the butterfly/moth species with white wings and black specks. As I seem to recall, they like to eat lettuce and cabbage out of gardens. They're pretty common around here.

I also saw Shane again. This time it was when I was back on campus about fifty feet from my building. He was on his bike again, of course, but this time his hair wasn't flopping around. I was disappointed.

I still feel silly for forgetting my camera, but what I wanted to take photos of to post today will still be there tomorrow or whenever I'm able to get back onto the trail, so I guess that will just have to wait!