2011 Summer Solstice

This evening we participated in the Summer Solstice 6-mile walk.  It was amazingly warm and sunny at 6:00 p.m. and we were looking for the shade!  (We're never happy, are we?!)  I started this walk out still feeling a bit tired from the 26.2 mile marathon Linda and I just competed in six days ago but soon got "the fever" and started to move!  I always say I don't care about the time but as soon as I cross that starting line, something shifts into gear in my mind and off I go!  My training walks are about comfort and ease - it's the distance I'm most concerned about - but I can't seem to relax and "just walk" during an event in which we are being timed no matter how many times I plan to do just that... relax and walk.  I have never been competitive in my life but with walking, I am ALWAYS competing against my own previous times.  I think that's what I enjoy the most about walking - it's a very personal sport and I always challenge myself to do better, go faster, go further.  Tonight's walk was enjoyable and we didn't push ourselves to the point of jogging more than a block or two but we were certainly "walking with a purpose!" It was Patti's very first event and she did fantastic!  We finished our six miles in 1 hour and 25 minutes and 50 seconds (14:18 minute miles). Not bad at all for a Saturday evening stroll.  ;)


Patti, Linda and me