D e s e r t E x p o s u r e 
January
2008
Diary of a Streetwalker
Page: 3
Fall
The mercury and the leaves begin to drop. I get a new warm-up suit, a full size smaller than my last one, I note.
It's time for another new pair of walking shoes, too. The last ones didn't hold up so well, especially with my increasing mileage. Having recently joined the "Members' Buying Club" of some major outdoor clothing company, I also spring for some pricey walking socks. They're really cushy! I can't believe the difference they make! I also get a new long-sleeve top, something made out of some space-age material that wicks and breathes and feels like heaven itself against my skin. I figure if it lasts half as long as the "space alien" shirt, it'll be worth it.
Most weekdays, I find a way to incorporate errands into my morning walk. The route from my house to the post office and back is a 2.5-mile round trip. I also like walking to Albertson's grocery store, a three-mile loop — not counting up and down the aisles — with weight in my backpack on my way home, adding to the workout factor. (Note to self: This is a good way to discipline how much I buy; my purchases simply have to fit into the backpack.)
Adding a purposeful destination, I find, helps me commit to building my walk into even the busiest day. The workout can get lost in the shuffle, say, if I start thinking about the writing I have to accomplish, tell myself I'll take a walking break "later" between interviews or phone calls, and then wind up running out of time and/or energy. But, heck, I need to go to the post office anyway, right? And if I just loop over through town on my way back. . .
Between my own aspirations toward living a "green" lifestyle and the current price of a gallon of gas, I certainly don't mind leaving the car parked at home.
Winter Again
I've come full-circle, back to winter. This morning the sky is what I call a "snow sky." Whether or not we'll get any actual precipitation, the feeling is definitely wintry. The horizon, the color of a deep purple bruise, is filled with heavy clouds. I meet up and chat briefly with one of my neighbors. She's walking back home, having been to the gym this morning. Walking to and from adds cardio to her upper-body weight training session, she says. Another neighbor walks by with her dog.
After our goodbyes, I decide to walk up Swan Street to the high school track, admiring the Sidewalk Solar System along the way. I take in the cozy feel of the neighborhood, and I feel my shoulders relax as I contemplate the heavenly bodies depicted in the bronze replicas set into the pavement. All that space, I think.
I arrive at the track and decide to walk four laps. This adds a mile to my trip and gives me plenty of time to think. Or to not think.
By the time I head back home, the clouds have darkened and intensified. The sight of the sky thrills me, and I feel giddy at my core like a little girl hoping for a snow day.
I acknowledge that winter has really arrived in southwest New Mexico. How great, I think to myself, that I can still get outside and walk. And walk.
For information on the Sun Country Striders and Volksmarching in Las Cruces, see www.zianet.com/dpiland/SunCountry, or contact the American Volkssport Association, (800) 830-WALK, www.ava.org For information on Active & Alive, contact Mary Ann Finn in Silver City, 538-5318, ext. 112. For information on "Great Places to Walk in Grant County," contact the Grant County Health Council, 388-1198, or download a copy of the map at www.gcchc.org For information and instructions on the Sidewalk Solar System, see nfo.edu/solar
Donna Clayton Lawder is the increasingly fit senior editor of Desert Exposure.