(With apologies to Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler) been taking the car less and less often and walking more and more frequently the past month or so. The beauty of working and living within the Makati area is that most of everything is walk-able. Last night was no different. after a slight drizzle, there was considerably less smog, and with the air refreshed, the ground cleansed, the trees along Dela Rosa washed, it was enjoyable to walk. I logged in like 16 minutes of walking to get home after leaving the office at 11pm-something. That's on top of my revamped chest workout.
I'm blessed and fortunate to have a walking buddy, si Christian, who's a fellow-trainer, who doesn't mind all the walking I do.I think I take after my mom who just walks and walks and walks. There are not a lot of people out there who would really relish the idea of walking. but I guess, I'm lucky. There's something about walking that helps clear my mind. Even walking after badminton games, at 12midnight some Tuesdays or Thursdays give me precious time to pray, talk to myself, internalize, or practice Groban songs. It's just unfortunate that not a lot of people take walking seriously, not realizing it's free exercise. Well, maybe, some think the streets ain't as safe as they used to be, and they maybe right.
Some walking ideas: park a bit farther and walk the extra distance to the supermarket or office; leave the car in the garage and walk to the neighborhood whatever and back; go into the mall and use it as an oval - Glorietta is a great example, take the stairs instead of the escalators/elevators; if you live in a condo, use the stairs to build up your endurance (one day, board off 2-4 floors from your floor, then walk up; increase number of floors gradually);
If you're in the Greenbelt area, the park is a super-nice place to walk and walk, with great greens, the serene koi pond around the chapel, and magnificently-landscaped garden make for healthy hiking. One thing I'm yearning to do again is walk along Roxas Boulevard; the well-lit, rehabilitated strip along the seawall looks like it's worth taking a trip to. I just pass along it every Sunday driving from my mom's place after brunch. Anyway, happy walking!
P.S. Stepped out in a slight drizzle, it's really the rainy season. time to shake up my grey matter and rattle off "rain" songs from memory: "Rainy Days & Mondays" (Carpenters), "Rhythm of the Falling Rain" (Cascades), "Here Comes the Rain Again" (Eurthymics), "The Rain" (Orange Juice Jones), "It's Raining Men" (The Weather Girls), "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" (various), "Making Love in the Rain" (Herb Alpert, Liza Keith & Janet Jackson), "Rain" (Madonna), "It's Raining Again" (anonymous), "Come In from the Rain" (Diana Ross), "I Wish It would Rain Down" (Phil Collins), "No Rain" (Blind Melon), "Blame it on the Rain" (Milli Vanilli), "Purple Rain" (Prince), "Fire and Rain" (James Taylor) _c")_
