You know, I think I do pretty good with my little half hour walks 2 or 3 times a week, but usually Martin, and sometimes Karin, goes with me and I know I must subconsciously reduce my pace to fit his substantially shorter legs. He’s game for the walk and he keeps up just fine, since I don’t dawdle, but I know I’m not REALLY pushing myself.
Because today? After power-walking for FIVE KILOMETERS with 9,300 other women through beautiful Pildamms Park in central Malmö (and another 2K from the parking lot and back again) I know exactly which muscles in my body I have not been using on my normal weekday walks.
Ow.
I walked with my friend Debbie the whole way and we also talked the whole way, heads up, arms swinging, as we moved with the herd crowd under the flowering trees and around the big pond. The fountain was spraying away out in the center, a fine mist making rainbows against the blue sky. The sun was shining and so, it seemed, was the entire town. Women chattered and laughed and ran and jogged and walked all around us, moving in a steady stream toward the “goal” where we were handed heavy medals on bright pink lanyards and a bag of goodies. Then we collected our picnic dinners (which were much better this year than I remember from previous events) and found a spot on the grass to sit down and eat.
We sat in a sort of loose figure-eighty circle and passed around packages of tortillas and lettuce and sunflower seeds and cream cheese and sliced turkey and fat tubes of liver paté to make sandwiches with. 2 bottles of carbonated apple cider were opened and poured sparkling golden into white plastic cups. Half of us were American and half of us were English-speakers from other countries: England, Canada, South Africa. Some of these women I’ve known for years, a few I’ve met only a couple of times, but we were all glad to be sitting there, feeling accomplished and achey in a productive sort of way.
After sitting on the cool grass for the time it took us to eat, however, it was very hard to get up, and there were several groans and moans from around the circle as people lurched to their feet and began to say their farewells. We hobbled back to the car, stiff and sore. I’ll be feeling this tomorrow even more, but it was worth it.
Springalingy Flower Swingy Birthday Wishes to albatrossity and Meg’s Mom!