During the last month none of my activities have had any resemblance to the pastime that we Americans consider exercise. In Korea I ate, sat, ate more, and sat more. Prior to that time I spent 35 plus hours behind the wheel of my car attempting and then succeeding at making it safely from Texas to Seattle. This past week I’ve been to several malls, however never with the sole purpose of walking. Today I laced up my running shoes, pulled on the track pants, and embarked on what many over the age of 60 typically do on a weekday morning-mall walk.
At first I was a bit apprehensive about this venture. But I figured I needed to move and since it’s been raining/snowing, and I haven’t gotten around to getting a gym membership, I had no choice, it was the mall or…begin to loose my mental sanity and become overweight. I wanted neither.
My dad is in his early 60s. I think he is a mall walker. Once he mentioned to me that he felt a bit out of place due to the fact that most other mall walkers are say 70 plus. “They go to the mall in groups and meet others there too. Then they sit around and drink Seattle’s Best Coffee.” I could tell he had issues with this, being that he does not want to consider himself part of this “crowd.” I told him that there are worse things in life to be associated with.
If I am going to do something I don’t make a half-ass attempt. Therefore I felt it a must that I bring along the ipod to listen to my tunes. (I can’t exercise without music, it’s just too boring). With the white earbuds everybody knew what I was doing. Seriously, there was no question. I did the upper level first, then the lower level. Took less than 15 minutes. I passed grandma and grandpa as well. They were in their sweats, looking a bit like they had just rolled out of bed. I had showered and even had makeup on, which if I had truly been exercising to my standards both would have been forgone.
After one round I was tired of passing by stores where the workers gaze out at you due to the lack of true shoppers in the hours before noon. Plus I needed to kick it up a notch to burn a few calories and get a mental boost. I decided to move it outside to the 40 degree weather. Luckily it had stopped raining so I made my way around the mall 3 times, feeling about 10 times healthier due to uneven pavement, small inclines, and the roar of passing traffic.
I feel as though this was a very geriatrical, but proactive activity. I have no shame, after all I am choosing to share my experience with other, probably non-geriatric people. I’ve been doing a lot of sitting lately, and it’s starting to take it’s toll. I’m not use to the inactivity. Even at work I spend half my shift in the vertical position so today I could not resist the urge to migrate a distance that is further than the kitchen.
