By Liz, happy that summer seems to (mostly) have arrived here in New England
I’ve been trying to find ways to change up my exercise routine (on those days when I actually exercise) in this strange new environment. I love being able to do my normal workout classes here at home thanks to live online classes my gym has been providing while they’re closed, but sometimes I need to, well, leave the house, get outside, get some fresh air. As a work-from-homer even before this happened, sometimes it’s hard to remember to leave my desk. Especially these days.
But lately, I’ve been trying to get out and walk more. I love my neighborhood – I’m right near the water, there’s a lot of different routes to take with all kinds of different water views, and honestly, the quarantine fifteen (or some version of weight gain) is no joke.
You might think that daily walks would be a no-brainer given that I have two doggies who go out at least four or five times a day. This is true, but my dogs don’t always love walking in our neighborhood. Even with the quarantine in effect, it’s busier here than my two southern dogs really like, and sometimes a walk around the block can come with a bit more stress than any of us care to have in our lives.
So I’ve had to get a big more creative. I’ve been taking the dogs out for their first walk of the day early so the noise level is low enough that Molly doesn’t get upset. (She’s afraid of loud noises and our neighborhood is urban enough that there are a lot of them.) Then at some point during the day, or after dinner, I’ve been taking longer walks on my own and trying to vary my typical routes.
For instance, the other day I walked through an old cemetery I’d always seen on my walks, but never found the time to check out. I love cemeteries anyway, but this was historical and interesting and a cool place to just linger. I even found a rock to take home with me. (Yeah, you know me and my rocks.)
On the weekends, weather accommodating, I’ve been trying to find new places to hike, where dogs are allowed of course. As long as there aren’t too many people around (Molly is also not a fan of crowds, even before the virus), they love parks.
This past weekend, we checked out Sleeping Giants State park in Hamden – which was really cool. We are trying to find new places as much as possible, get out more, see new things.
And getting some extra exercise in is never a bad thing.
Readers, what are you doing to alter your routines these days?