In late spring I went to my Doc thinking I was dying. I'm not usually a dramatic person but my symptoms were very similar to my husband's when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and I know I didn't want that trouble. It turned out to be borderline high blood pressure and I breathed a great big sigh of relief. On the down side I needed meds and I AM paranoid when it comes to the pharmaceutical companies. I hate pills. I told my doctor, as I clutched my prescription, that I was definitely getting off these pills. He looked skeptical. I guess he has a right since I expect most people ignore his advice, but I knew that I'd gone off-track lately and was ignoring my health, so I left his office with a determined "I'll show him" attitude in my head.
My first, and best, change was to make friends with our local high school track. I'm kind of lucky because I have the summer off from work. As a school cook I was able to peel out of the parking lot (just kidding) on 6/22 and not look back for over 2 months. I get unemployment, which is less than my already low pay, but it's better than getting nothing, and I know that so I don't kevetch. So, I was off to the track, just about every day. I started at a modest 3/4 of a mile and by August I was doing 2 miles a day, and sometimes more, like 2 1/2 or even 3 miles. There were some regulars there that started to say "hi" as we passed and I found that I really enjoyed getting up and spending my morning at the track. I felt like I was really doing something positive. My blood pressure is way down and I just plain feel better.
It's getting into Fall now and it's verboten for people to use the track during school hours, but I have to work anyway, so I go at night. Even in the dark people are still walking. I feel really proud of myself because I walked on the hot days and even on the rainy days. Most people didn't show up unless it was nice but a few of us pressed on no matter what the weather. I wonder what it will be like when it snows...
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