Friend of Julie: Walking, Walking, Walking

While in Rome, I became painfully aware of just how much I've slacked off from the walking and jogging routine I had established. Last Thanksgiving I injured my shoulder and after two months of physical therapy, I never resumed the exercise routine I had maintained for over a year. That lack of exercise ended this week. I'm back in the gym and I have renewed my focus to keep active. My European friends have active lifestyles and they were a great role model for me.

Theresa walking in France (I couldn't find one of me walking in Italy)

I walked, and walked, and walked, all over Rome during the week visiting my friend Mary. I've known Mary since I was six years old and we've stayed in touch all these years. I visit her in Long Beach almost every year and we've done a lot of traveling over the years. I was disappointed to hear her tell me she thought I was in better shape in Dec. 2011 when we traveled to Washington, DC., but she was right. The week before we caught a train from RI to DC, I had run a 5k. This past December, I turned down the 5k race for medical reasons. But I've been done with PT since Feb., so I've no more excuses.

This was the first part of the steps up to Mary's apartment

My legs ached every night when I was in Rome and at the end of each day, we climbed some 50 plus steps to her apartment. Then I got up again and did it all again the next day. My pain motivated me to return home and resume my workouts and to make my life more active than ever before.

ancient ruins of Ostia Antica

We walked fast and for hours, as we saw the highlights of Rome: Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navarone, Villa Borghese, Napoleon Museum, St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, and after walking for hours through the ancient ruins of Ostia Antica, we did some beach combing along the shores of the Mediterranean.

This castle is outside the Ostia Antica ancient ruins

Mary and I took a 2-hour fast train to Assisi, which is a preserved Renaissance town on a hill in the middle of the country. At Assisi, we took a side trip: a 3 mile walk in the woods, which was so relaxing - the cool breeze, the dappled sunlight, the birdsong, the bells in the distance, and a new vista around every corner.

Mary and Theresa at Assisi

While trekking through the woods (shown below), we passed by a small group of "mature" hikers from Holland who were hiking from Rome to Florence. They were 50-70 years old and not a one of them looked a bit out of breath, even though they were walking up a steep hill as we passed them. They were inspirational!

This part of the 3-mile walk we dubbed "drunken woods." 

Mary and I had some great laughs during our visit. For some reason my limited Spanish vocabulary started surfacing and I made up my own international language: "Parlez-vous English? Buena!" Mary tells me that because I was so sincere and good-natured in my efforts to communicate that people took to me kindly. Throughout all our treks in Italy, Mary would turn and smile at me and say, "So who would have imagined when we were teenagers back in Rhode Island that we'd ever be seeing Rome together? Just goes to show, you never know where life will lead you."

At the bottom of the hill, we were rewarded by a beautiful scene (see below), looking back up to where we started. This of course meant we would be walking up hill all the way back. We knew this before we started the hike and it was worth every step, knowing we would reach the town and walk for a few more hours before catching the train back to Rome.

Look how beautiful - oh - and how much further we have to walk!

We don't know where life if going to take us, but I do know I want be as active and healthy as my European friends. Now that I'm home, I'm looking online at Meetup for a people in my area (including RI and CT) who have an established walking group. I may even start my own meetup group! I'll let you know how this works out for me.  Meanwhile, it feels good to be back in the gym!

BTW, if you click on one of the photos, you'll see the images larger and you'll have the option to view each of the photos that size at the bottom of the page.