Waiting For That Warmer Weather

This horse ate some freshly tossed alfalfa on the ground.

Someone told me that some animal saw its shadow and it is suppose to be warm now. By the way Groundhog day was my Grandmother's 110^th birthday. Happy birthday Granny Tanner.

With the Super Bowl over and winter still much in effect for much of the country the only thing to do is to walk to entertain each other until some real sports begin. Like say, baseball. All you cricket and soccer and tennis people may say that your sport is worthy to be enjoyed but that is just because you have never enjoyed a good baseball season. But through the magic of time and some other magic, the gr4eenskeepers are transforming the white snow into green grass all across the country. So that on March 31^st real sports can begin again.

OK enough about that. I walked more than 11 miles Today which is the furthers I have gone on Grant's Trail. I went all the way to Watson Road. I think Tomorrow I will try to make it all the way to I-44. That would be the whole length of the trail. That would mark the first time I had done that, even on a bike. Plus it would be a good path to get on. That would make my walk about 13 miles. I just hope it warms up soon.

I have almost walked the distance from St. Louis to the Oklahoma State line following I-44. I should reach the total distance by the end of the week. I hope by Wednesday. I am at 271 miles as of right now. I figured the number of steps that is about 3.5 million to reach my goal distance of 1750 miles. It is odd to think that there are so many steps to that distance when we can drive it in just a few days or fly it in just a few hours.

It takes a lot of feed to feed these big bodies.

I wonder how long it would take me if I was using a Clydesdale to reach the distance. Maybe I should ask the people at Grant's Farm to see if they would let me ride one of their horses.

Oh this was a interesting tidbit. My Army uniform top is much closer to fitting that it has been in a long time. I still can't get it on but I am glad that I kept it all these years because when I can fir into that I know that I am on my way to my weight when I was in the service. I haven't tried the pants yet. I figure the shirt would fit before the pants will.

I found a tape measure and found out my chest is 48 inches and my fat waist is 52 inches and my neck is 18 ½ inches. Being that I have no prior measurements to compare this with I will have to use this as a comparison moving forward.

That's all for Today, Folks.

Thomas

No Horsing Around, Back on Track

A world famous Budweiser Clydesdale at Grant's Farm.

After my return trip and a walk in the mall I am back to the trail. This time due to the distance I was walking in Chicago I am going a longer path on Grant's Trail. Now I am turning left on Gravois and walk toward Grant's Farm and the National Park. I got to see some of the world Famous Budweiser Clydesdale there as well. They have on their winter coat of hair too. It was nice that a few of the horse came to the fence and I even got to pet them on the nose. I saw how their hoofs make the snow fly up as they walk like in the TV ads. They were pretty friendly but still a bit skiddish.

The distance was over ten miles the way I walked. Most of that is on level ground or at least at a very slight incline. I also extended the walk to the Moose lodge at the end of Grant's Trail. On that last section there is some construction work being done and it looks like there might be some sort of bike park or trail there.

Without a doubt there is a need for some warmer temperatures soon. It wouldn't be bad to have about a week or longer of temperatures in the 30's or more. That should get rid of the ice and snow. But of course with the warmer weather will come rain and storms.

From the famous Grant's Farm bread package.

I am almost at 250 miles of the 1750 mile goal I am shooting for. I am looking forward to the next 60 days as that should really make a bigger difference in my gut and such. If I can lose about 40 to 50 pounds by then I will be most happy with the results. With Today's walk I did ten miles and even though that is the longest one for in St. Louis I still have several that are longer when I was in Chicago. I understand that due to Chicago being so flat that it is much more easy to walk further. That is why so many people are able to start and finish the Chicago marathon.

Look for a run near you.

I would say by April or May I should be jogging again and maybe by then I can consider looking at doing some actual runs for a charity or something like that. There is a website that has these events listed called “GO! St. Louis.” There are lists of many running and walking events.

My blood pressure is good so far for the month but do to the snow and travel I got only Today listed but I am glad that it is staying low going into the short month.

Making Goals, Reaching Goals

Will I get an acoustic guitar kit?

I decided on this last walk that other than all the good reasons that I am walking that it might be good to set smaller more tangible goals as well along the way. What I was thinking is that maybe every successful month I stick to the plan I reward myself with something special. While I haven't taken the time to work out all the details yet I think the first reward I want to get is a guitar. I have been wanting one for quite awhile and think that this would be a suitable accomplishment to get one. Nothing fancy just a six string acoustic one would be fine. Something like you can get at Target or used at a pawn shop.

Or will it be an electric guitar?

I figure that would be a good plan. I will work on what steps on levels I should reach for any reward. I think reaching 250 pounds should be at least the first one. That would be 40 pounds from when I began. The main issue with losing weight is that it is hard to see the results yourself. That is one reason why I am using the BP tracker to help me see what progress I am making. Tomorrow I will reach the second pound of calories used up. I am currently at 6914 so just 86 more steps to break 7000 which is equal to the second pound of work done.

I tried to take a picture of the Trailnet office but for some reason it didn't take. Of course I was using gloves so I might not have hit the button right. It is hard to operate the camera phone with gloves on. But I did get a picture of the KMOV transmitter. Plus I took a picture of a little seating area near the Trailnet. It is near the office. I think they might use that for educational programs. Another thing I saw on the walk Today was several cardinals and blue jays. They must be getting ready for Spring training.

KMOV transmitter in South County.

I saw 18 people on the trail Today. In two groups I saw 10 people so without a group there were 8 people. Still the trail users are skewing toward older men. I rarely see anyone under 30 on the trail. Maybe later in the day is when they run or walk. I don't count the St. Louis County Parks employees I see on the trail. I figure they are working so they don't have a choice to be there. I have been seeing a county truck about every other day. They always have been near Clydesdale Park on the trail when I have seen them.

That reminds me. If and or when I begin going further on the trail I will be going past the Clydesdale at Grant's Farm. They are really cool to see. They are well taken care off too. I am not sure if they are out at this time of year but they sure are in the spring, summer and fall.

Take care and keep on truckin'.

Thomas