Update

So I haven't been streaking. With the walking that is. (Or any other kind of streaking either. :p) However, I HAVE been getting in the occasional 3-miles of walking, probably only about once a week, but still. I haven't given up on this walking streaking thing yet.

I just got back from a brisk 15-minute after dinner walk. Together with walking to work, from work to campus (got a ride back to work from campus), and walking back home, that should add up to at least an hour of walking or about 3 miles. Woot! I've decided that I'm going to break my streak this time, starting today. Yes, yes, my current streak is only 3 days. That just means this is totally doable!

Check back in on Monday to see if I actually break the streak this time.

3 miles

Well it hasn't quite been a year since I last posted...

This evening I went for a 3-mile walk. A bit more than 3 miles, even. It was definitely over an hour of walking, and I was trying to keep up a brisk pace, although there was stopping and waiting for street lights and cars interleaved with the walking.

Once upon a time, when I lived in the land of castles and lochs and a pretty canal complete with towpath 5 minutes from my flat, a 3-mile walk was...well...a stroll in the park. Most days I walked to and from work. I went on frequent walks with a walking group. I loved walking around Edinburgh. An 8 or 9 mile walk through the Scottish countryside was one of my favorite things.

I'm in a different city now, back in the US. This past year, my walking and general physical activity has shrunk to almost nothing. It's a short walk to work -- a bit shorter even than when I lived in Edinburgh. I haven't been walking. I live close to a park and a pretty campus with lots of trees and brick sidewalks. I've gone walking over there maybe twice. There are multiple hiking groups that I've signed up for. I went on one organized hike back in the spring. Sigh.

So what prompted tonight's walk? Yesterday was a Very Bad Day. Nothing horrible happened, it was just a bad day with my mood somewhere in the vicinity of the bottom of a horrible sludgy pool of muck. I desperately wanted to make today a bit better, and it has been better, at least a little bit. Knowing that getting some fresh air and exercise would help, and since I was already wearing my sneakers, I spontaneously decided to go for a walk after I'd finished my dinner. I intentionally picked 3 miles because, darn it, I should be able to walk 3 miles!

As I was walking, I decided I was going to make that my new goal: to walk or run 3 miles every day. Three miles is a decent amount of exercise, enough to feel like I've done something. To add a bit more challenge, I'm going to keep a count of how many days in a row I can keep it going. When I inevitably miss a day, I'll reset the count and see if I can beat my record. A couple months ago, I joined a gym, so I can't use bad weather as an excuse. I will allow myself to substitute spinning or using the elliptical in place of brisk walking (10 min walking = 10 min spinning = 10 minutes elliptical).

So that's the plan: walk 3 miles everyday. Let's see how long I can keep this going.

An excellent day for a walk

It was cloudy to start, with a bit of chill in the air, but eventually the sun emerged making yesterday a very fine day for a long walk. The walking group headed over to East Linton for a walk to Hailes Castle and Traprain Law.

We started off walking along the River Tyne, making our way to Hailes Castle. The birds were singing madly, and the wild garlic and few-flowered leeks were rampant, scenting the air with the smell the garlic. The gorse was also in full vibrant yellow bloom, giving off its coconut fragrance as we walked past.





At Hailes Castle, we stopped for a wee break. The castle overlooks the River Tyne. As with most castles left in Scotland, it's a bit of a fixer-upper. Presumably it was in a better shape when Mary, Queen of Scots, stayed there with her kidnapper/soon-to-be-husband, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell.

Leaving Hailes Castle, we made our way via country roads to Traprain Law, where we stopped for lunch. Afterward, about 1/2 the group decided to climb to the top. It's not a big hill as far as hills go, but it looked intimidating from a distance. I was mentally dithering about whether to climb up, but finally just told myself to stuff it, and went. It got my heart rate up, that's for sure, but I only had to stop once or twice for a quick breather. And the views, of course, were spectacular. By now the sun decided to join the party, and we could see the coast and Bass Rock and North Berwick Law, which I'd climbed with Little Sis last summer. (And I just now realized that I'd brought my binoculars and forgot to use them. Drat.)



The climb down is always much quicker than going up, and before long we were on our way back to East Linton via country roads and the path along the Tyne River. Our last stop was the beer garden at The Crown.



A terrific walk with great company made for an excellent, excellent day.

I survived The Coffin Route diversion

Warning: This post contains a heck of a lot of whining.

I'm writing this post from my room at the Kames Hotel, near Tighnabruaich, on the Cowal Penninsula in Argyll. A hotel which has three small bar rooms in the floor below. Joy.

What am I doing here? Well, this is my big walking weekend at Cowalfest, the Cowal Walking and Arts festival! More about the walking festival in another post. This post is reserved for complaining.

The walk I'd signed up for today was The Coffin Route. In the festival program(me), the was is described as follows:

Imagine you are a pall bearer carrying a coffin. From Glenkin we take the Coffin Route over the saddle to the graveyard at Inverchaolin church and explore the history of the area. Forest roads and some rough open ground at maximum hight of 400m.

I admit that I was a bit nervous about this walk because it was rated as an E on a scale from A to E with E being the most strenuous. But I was looking for something a bit more challenging, and this seemed the best possibility for Saturday. And it didn't look impossible. "Some rough open ground at maximum high of 400m" seemed doable.

Well perhaps it would have been doable. The only problem was that thanks to some folks who wanted to go shooting, we had to divert from the usual route (which would have taken us within range of the shooters) to higher, rougher ground. A lot higher and a lot more rough ground. It's funny. Those hills seem so nice and smooth looking at them from far below. You'd never know that they were full of ankle-twisting ground, knee-high grasses and bracken, and moss so deep and spongy it swallows your whole boot when you step on it. I fell several times, and I'm still amazed that I didn't break an ankle.

Oh, and that first time I fell -- yeah, that's whem I'm pretty sure I lost my camera. (And trust me, there was NO POSSIBLE way I could have gone back to try to find it. I could have dropped it 5 feet away, and I probably couldn't have found it. Such was the terrain. It's what they call heather moorland.)

I lost my camera!!!

I'm really upset about this, in part, because it was my camera. My parents gave it to me. But what I'm really, really upset about is losing my pictures of this somewhat horrible day. Plus, in theory I have one more walk tomorrow, and I won't have my camera for that walk either! (Ok, I did stop to buy a disposable camera on my way out of Dunoon, but it's not the same.)

Sigh. In spite of the struggling through bracken and twisted ankles, the scenery both macro and micro was beautiful. I was trying so very hard to capture as much as I could so that I could remember and share. Even the darn twisty grasses and mosses of the moorland were beautiful. Golds and greens and even some reds. The heather was mostly done blooming, but here and there a few small, purple buds were mixed in to add little dots of color. The top of the hill was in clouds, which made for chilly walking, but also whispy views. Argh!!!! I want the pictures on my camera!!!

I guess, it kind of feels like I did that walk all for nothing. Just about every muscle in my legs is aching. I am grouchy and tired. I really wish I had stayed in Dunoon for another night or two rather than comming out to the other side of the penninsula. Because the buses don't run on Sunday and now I'm basically stuck here until Monday. Whine, whine, whine.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to go on one more walk, but I don't know. As I said, my legs hurt, and I'm really feeling like wallowing in my misery. I think I'm going to leave it to fate. Will I wake up in time, or won't I?

Hill Work Saturday

Today was the day for hills! It was also the nicest day we've had for about two weeks. It hasn't rained (yet), and we actually have had sunshine and blue skies!

*CUE ANGELS SINGING*

This morning, I ran the Horrible Hill Route. Just like last week, I was able to run all the way up the hills, although I had to drop down to a walk at the top of the Horrible Hill to get a handle on the gasping and wheezing. But I didn't stop! That might be a first. And I shaved about a minute off my time from last week. Woohoo!

But that is not all! I also spent a couple hours rambling up and around Arthur's Seat. It's a regular walking club walk, but I somehow found myself running just a bit late, and then I had the worst bus karma, and then I had to stop at the loo and there was a queue. Yes a queue for the loo. In short, I was about 20 minutes late. But this weather was not to be missed, so I started rambling around on my own on some of the less well traveled paths, and lo and behold I actually ran into the group from the walking club about an hour later. Woot!

A bit more walking, a pint of cider, and a small ice cream (dipped in Belgium chocolate) later, and I am back home, writing this. Unfortunately, in my rush I forgot my camera, so I shall leave you with this picture taken back in July, when I walked up Arthur's Seat with Little Sis. The picture is looking down the back of Arthur's Seat toward Dunsapie Loch.

Walkabout Scotland: Kirkcaldy to Aberdour

As previously mentioned, on Saturday I conquered went for a really long walk up in Fife. With a bunch of strangers. Fife is fairly close to Edinburgh, being just across the Firth of Forth to the north. The 9-mile walk was part of the Fife Outdoor Access Festival and led by some folks from the Kirkcaldy Ramblers.

It was a very enjoyable day, and I had a fun time chatting and meeting the people on the walk. I have to say, though, going on these walks is not necessarily the way to meet guys my age, if that were my goal (which it is not). I was easily the youngest person on this walk by 15 20 years.

Anywho. The walk started at Seafield near Kirkcaldy (Kur-caw-dee) and ended in Aberdour (Abber-dower). The beginning and end of the walk was spent along the Fife Coastal Path. For the middle bit, we detoured inland at Kinghorn to the Fife Ecology Center, where we stopped for lunch, and then onto Binn Hill above Burntisland for some terrific views.

If you like maps and/or care where I actually walked, here's the approximate route. If you're only here for the pictures, skip below. It was a beautiful day, and there was some beautiful scenery to view along the way.

View out over the Firth of Forth near the start of the walk. Far, far in the distance on the very left you can see Berwick Law.

Seafield Tower, dating from the early 16th century.

Seals! No really, there are seals out on the rocks! Click the picture to make it bigger.

Thistles gone to seed. I really like thistles, especially when they are all fluffy and soft like this. I think the ones that are gone to seed but not yet fluffed out look like they could be used as paintbrushes.

Daisies. Yes, I like flowers. You will just have to put up with it, just like the other folks on the walk did.

I think this is a cormorant out on the rock. I'm also thinking I need a pair of binoculars.

Cool tree!

Just a picture from along the Fife Coastal Path. Far in the distance you can see the Pentland Hills. And on the very far left, you can see Arthur's Seat (the saddle-shaped hill).

Pretty, pretty flowers. Anyone know what kind they are? I think this is my favorite picture of the day.

Boats along the beach in Kinghorn.

View from the beach in Kinghorn.

Kinghorn Loch.

Lunchtime view at the Ecology Center.

Thistles on the hill.

View from Binn Hill.

View from Binn Hill, looking south toward Edinburgh and Arthur's Seat.

Looking east towards the Forth Rail Bridge.

Looking back toward Binn Hill.

An unexpected waterfall along the Fife Coastal path, heading toward Aberdour.

The end of the walk for me, Aberdour Station, the absolute cutest, railway station I've ever encountered, almost crossing the border into twee. It apparently has won awards.

Next post: Aberdour Castle and Modern Scottish Wedding Attire!

I conquered Fife!

Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration. Unless you define conquer as walking 9 miles from Kirkcaldy (pronounced Kur-caw-dee) to Aberdour (pronounced Abber-dower). And because my legs hadn't yet fallen off, I decided to spend another hour or so rambling around Aberdour and Aberdour Castle. Because who knows when I'll get back to Aberdour.

For the record, my legs do now feel like they could fall off.

Aberdour Castle was fairly small, and the price to get in seemed a bit steep for what you get. But what made it worthwhile was the wedding they were having there! The wedding was in pre-reception mode, a.k.a. drinks out on the terraced gardens. So I entertained myself mocking in my head the hats some of the ladies were wearing. (Oh to have had my little sis there to mock the hats with!) And taking stealth pictures from inside the castle ruins of the crazy hats and the men-in-kilts. Heh, heh, heh.

Pictures to come of both the walk and the crazy hats!

Williamcraigs Wander

On Sunday, I went on a walking club walk starting from the nearby town of Linlithgow. The walk was a really nice one, perfect for a Sunday afternoon. The weather even decided to cooperate. And I got to pet a few dogs who were along for the walk!

Linlithgow, by the way, was the location of the first petrol pump in Scotland.


The walk started and ended along the Union Canal towpath.


Yes, this is the same Union Canal that runs about 5 minutes walk from my flat. In theory, if I wanted to go for a reeeaally long walk, I could walk all the way to Linlithgow along the canal towpath.

After a mile or two, we ventured off the towpath to loop up along some country lanes. I saw a bunny as well as some not-so-wild life.

This guy was the most curious cow that I've ever met. Not that I've met that many, but still. He was very intrigued by us, or maybe it was the dogs. Once we passed him, he ran up ahead along the fence until he could see us again. He did this three times, until he couldn't follow us any farther!

There were also some very pretty views of the Ochil Hills to the north.

After a while, we met back up with the towpath and made our way back to Linlithgow, stopping in a small park for a nice view over the town. The building in this picture with the pointy-roof tower is Linlithgow Palace.


Back in Linlithgow, we passed an old doocot, known as a dovecote in places other than Scotland. This one is from the 16th century, and yes it was once used to raise pigeons and doves. You know, for food.


I've been wanting to go to Linlithgow for a while, and this walk gave only the smallest taste. Definitely must make plans to go back and explore the rest of the town. I have my eye on a 10k race there toward the end of September as well. We shall see.

Muddy

This is the result of a 2 1/2 hour walk around and up the Braid Hills, second highest of the Seven Hills of Edinburgh. Five hills down; two more to go.

4 of 7 Hills

Edinburgh like most of Scotland is not flat. I know, shocking. In fact, there are seven hills in Edinburgh. The most well known are Castle Rock (on which Edinburgh Castle is perched), Calton Hill, and Arthur's Seat. There's also Blackford Hill (home of the Royal Observatory), Braid Hills, Craiglockhart Hill, and Corstorphine Hill.

If you're crazy and so inclined, there's even the 7 Hills of Edinburgh race every year. There were 330 finishers this year, with the winner finnishing in 01:43:06.

Today I went on a walk of four of the seven hills with 5 other walkers. It took us 4 hours, 5 hours if you count the walk down the last hill to the pub at the end. Of course we stopped to admire the view at the top of each hill, so maybe it was only about 4 hours or so of walking and climbing.

Whatever. It works out to be over 8 1/2 miles of walking.

If you're interested, here is the map.



The 8.69 miles were on top of a 4.71 mile run this morning. I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea. The question now is whether I'm going to be able to walk to work tomorrow.

Even though it was feeling like my legs were going to fall off towards the end, it was a great day out! Pleasant walking company. A beautiful day after a brief but heavy downpour at the start. And a pint of cider at the end.

Here are some pictures of some of the views.

Castle Rock - This is a picture taken from the Esplanade. The blue stadium seating is for the Tatoo.

Scott Monument and the Princes Street Gardens, walking from Edinburgh Castle to Calton Hill

Looking back toward Edinburgh Castle from Calton Hill

Top of Calton Hill

Walking toward Arthur's Seat from Calton Hill

Looking back toward Calton Hill from Arthur's Seat

Top of Arthur's Seat

View from Arthur's Seat

View from from Arthur's Seat

Looking back toward Arthur's Seat from Blackford Hill

Toward the top of Blackford Hill

Braid Hills from the top of Blackford Hill. Farther away in the distance are the Pentand Hills.

Craiglockhart Hill from the top of Blackford Hill

Corstorphine Hill from the top of Blackford Hill