A new love- Hiking beats Running

Forty miles a week, running. That’s what I used to do 12 years ago. At first, I hated every step of it, but I was determined to stick with it and lose weight. I did stick with it, and I did lose weight. The shocking thing to me was the fact that I started to really enjoy it. I would look forward to my 13 mile runs on Saturdays. Was I crazy?!
Then life happened. We bought a new house and moved. We adopted Madison so MacKenzie could have that little sister she longed for. I switched jobs. Before I knew it, I had all but quit running, and you guessed it, I put the weight back on. Over the last 10 years I have stopped and started running again many times. I’ve even done several half marathons and shorter races and done ok, but I’ve never gotten back to “really enjoying running”. In fact, I just hate it; the boring, pounding over and over for miles, the knee pain and back pain that I probably wouldn’t feel if I weren’t over-weight. It works for losing weight, but it’s just not fun to me.
So, with that in mind, I set out to find a form of exercise that would be more enjoyable. I lift some at the gym, do the elliptical machines, etc., but I wanted something to do outdoors. I found it, Hiking! I have done some trails over the years in Percy Warner and Edwin Warner parks, and really enjoyed it. Last weekend I went to Radnor Lake and hiked Garnier Ridge Trail. What a beautiful place and a great workout. I’ve since hit the Warner Parks trails 3 times, and I love hiking. This may become my new obsession, at least until my daughters are finished with softball for this year. When that happens, I’ll be back to eating, sleeping, and dreaming about fishing and going fishing every Saturday I can.

Paul