Run/Shred/Walk (My Sunday)

You know when you have one of those really productive days? The kind that leaves your body tired, counting down the hours til you hit the pillow, yet filled with a very pleasing sense of accomplishment? I had one of those days. And it was well overdue.

For the past 8 years or so, my weekends have been a combination of work and fun (thankfully the latter outweighs the former), and when the direction starts turning towards fun, and not looking back, the mundane chores which are so easy to put off get... well...
put off. (Who wants to dust when another murder movie is on Lifetime? Who needs to file papers when there's YouTube to surf? Who really wants to wash the dark clothes when there's FIVE moves waiting in the queue on Words With Friends?!?!?!)

You get the point. Today was different though. I seized the opportunity and blocked out all distractions, and finally got down to business on that bag of papers/check stubs/bill receipts/CRAP that's been sitting in a closet since...wait for it... Spring 2010. *gasp*

A nice, hot 3.5mi run at 8am started off the morning right. What I was saying as I trudged up the hills of Conshy in 80deg wasn't exactly motivational, but the work got done, (thank you PG for the company and inspiring words to drown out my gasping for air heavy breathing) and I was determined to go home and do something productive. Running- done.

After getting a little distracted by Rafa v. Djoko in the French Open, I grabbed the paper shredder, dragged the filing cabinet out of my room, yanked that dreaded bag filled with 2yrs of junk out of the closet, and got to work. 3 hours later, I filled one of those big black 33gal trash bags. So many shredded bits, I think I could dump it from the ceiling at the next televised celebration event! 5yrs worth of old bills and bank statements! HOORAH! I wanted to throw it in the air and celebrate for finally ending my procrastination and getting this done. It sounds small and like an over-hyped accomplishment, but equate it to finally getting that one corner of the basement cleaned up, or that certain closet organized. When it's done it's like someone filled the house with a huge burst of fresh air, if just for a moment. Shredding- done.

Spending the afternoon as a busy bee made me realize it was dinner time! Slim pickings in the house, so I was going out for something... wasn't sure what. Starting the day off with a run, then shredding/filing/cleaning for hours had me a little wired. There was no way I could just get in the car and hit up my trusty Wendy's for a snack. I also had a really nice parking spot out front... and then it hit me... I'm going to Whole Foods. And I'm going to WALK there. (ooooh ahhh).

It's 1.2miles round trip. I'm an able-bodied person, it's a nice day out, and there are sidewalks for 80% of the walk. I wasn't pressured for time, so why not? That Whole Foods has been there for 3 years, and I've never walked there once. Shame on me.
So off I went. The entire trip door to door took 50min; 15min each way and 20min inside the store. It was still pretty hot out. While walking there I immediately thought back to the fall, and my solo trip to Dublin. I spent the entire week walking everywhere, and when not walking, taking the train or a bus. I loved it! I felt freedom, and the feeling of not being tethered to a car every minute of the day (sorry Jeep, still love ya) was somewhat liberating. I came home and was mad I actually had to drive 12mi to work the next day. I'm not a city gal, but I could get used to the idea of relying on myself for transportation for small, everyday things. Take a look around the next time you're in a major European city (Dublin, Paris, Rome)- everyone is fit and active. You know where I'm going with this...
One of many articles about Americans getting off their butt!

Someone needs to start the movement to get us moving. I know it's not feasible for everyone to walk to work, or to the store, but the solution lies in recognizing what things you can change and acting on them! Baby steps like wanting to ban the sales of jumbo soft drinks are a start, but it's a lot easier to convince someone to take a 20min walk than to threaten their freedom of choice and eliminate the 60oz Sprite option. So the walk to Whole Foods ended my productive Sunday. Believe it or not, I had a greater appreciation for the food having gone to more effort to obtain it. Just take my example and think of the big picture results. It's really what this county needs. Walking- done!

On the way home