what a lovely day for a walk!

I decided to walk to work this morning. It was not as bad as I had expected it to be. It was actually quite invigorating.

The distance I walked was about 7.6km (I was walking on autopilot at one point and went down Spadina by accident and had to go across Cecil, but Cecil ends too early! So I had to go around a little bit, which I'm sure didn't make a huge difference.

My route: Keele to Bloor. Across Bloor to Bathurst. Bathurst to College. College to Spadina. Spadina to Cecil. A bit of manoevering to get onto McCaul then to behind Mount Sinai. This is 7.6km according to Google Maps (not including my slight detour). And according to Google Maps it should take me 1h32m, which it did! There is, however, a slightly shorter route of 7.1km which I will try next time. I started to feel it around Lansdowne and Bloor, which I know isn't that far! Then started to flag around College and Bathurst. I briefly considered the College streetcar, but figured since I'd come so far I might as well keep going!

Lessons Learned:

1. There are no Tim Horton's on the south side of bloor between Keele and Bathurst.
2. There are, however, 2 Gentlemen's Clubs along this stretch of Bloor.
3. Walking makes everything seem closer. Who knew it only took about 17mins to walk to Dundas St. W. and Bloor. And that it took under an hour to walk to Christie and Bloor.
4. Walking really gives the cold air time to seep into your bones. Three hours later I'm still freezing from the inside!
5. It is surprisingly less boring than running. Maybe because I actually have the energy to think and reflect and have conversations with myself that consist of more than: "Just suck it up and keep running!"
6. It is also surprisingly invigorating. I thought I would be tired and cranky by the time I got to work, but I felt a surge of energy. Although I'm not sure if most of my happy feelings were simply due to pride in my accomplishment versus the actual physical benefits of the exercise. Either way works, I suppose!

Addendum for #2: It's interesting and rather freeing that I now know I could walk to work if I ever needed to. For instance if the TTC were on strike or broken. It's really a good feeling to not feel so dependent on public transit. I was talking to Will about this and it would also be interesting to see how far I could go in any other direction. What places are within my 7.6km radius?

I don't think I'll be walking home as regularly as I plan to walk to work, but doing it a few times a week should increase my speed and provide me with some exercise - of which I've been sorely lacking lately! Although tonight after work I will be walking to Pape/Danforth (6.5ish km). Then playing a double header of dodgeball! Good times.

Unfortunately, I have yet to make it to the boxing class since I have to get there for 6pm and that would mean actually being able to leave work on time! Maybe next week.

As for tomorrow, you will find me walking to work again!