Day 78:shapin' up

I have developed a pattern of not really exercising over the weekends. Which is okay. According to the television screens in the fitness center, one should work out 3 to 5 times a week. My every-day craze was probably a bit excessive. One of my summer goals is to do something active every day - and even if I'm not hardcore cardio-ing it up every day, this doesn't necessarily mean I'm not being active. In fact, I did have a fairly active weekend and spent much time outside, so I'm okay with it.

Anyway. It being Monday, I got back into the swing of things by convincing Retha to go for a walk with me. Now, I stumbled into this loop by accident a few months ago when Olivia and I left campus in search of a lengthy route. If you go all the around (down Old Westport, up Lucy Little, down Chase, up Old Westport), we're probably talking 8 miles here.

Retha had just invested in the Dr. Scholl's version of Shape-Up sneakers and we decided: what better way to test them out than to go for a walk?

Originally, I had intended to go to the gym today, but it was WAY too nice of a day to waste it indoors. We're talking summer-perfect. So I convinced Retha to take her new Shape-Ups for a spin.

Now, I have mixed feelings about these shoes. They claim to:
* Promote weight loss
* Strengthen the back, firm calf muscles, reduce cellulite & firm your thighs
* Improve posture
* Reduce stress on knee and ankle joints

I'm just not sold on the whole idea. It seems that middle aged, overweight women are flocking to them, and my feeling is: DUH. If you go for long walks when you didn't walk before, obviously all of the above are going to happen. But walking on its own can pretty much cover all of those bases. I mean, in my nasty little heart I'm thinking "If you bitches want to lose weight, stop throwing $100 into ugly sneakers with two inch heels and just get off the damn couch." But I guess if they're motivating people TO actually do such a thing, they can't be all that bad.

Anyway, Retha bought the Dr. Scholl's version and they were only $30, so kudos to her on a good buy. She wore them during the day and I was curious as to whether or not they made her feel differently. By the time we were nearing the end of our walk, she mentioned that her calves and upper thighs were burning, which I suppose is a good thing. One thing about these shoes is that because they are shaped much like a rocking chair, they are rolling your muscles back and forth more than they would if you were just wearing flat sneakers, like myself. I must admit that I am somewhat curious about these sneakers. But you will not find me spending any amount of money on them when I am already in love with my current sneakers, which are far more versatile than Shape-Ups, which you can use only for walking.

So yes. We walked. And talked. And walked some more. I haven't been on a long walk like that in a long time. And the backs of my knees/calves felt very tight and sore for the rest of the evening. They are still sore today. It puzzles me a bit to think that I go to the gym nearly every day and proceed to vigorously exercise various parts of my body without feeling any soreness on my part, but one measly 6 mile walk would make my legs sore? How does that work?

According to "Walking Excuse Busters" , sore muscles merely means that you're getting a good workout and engaging new muscles.

So what does this mean for my other routines? Are they not good workouts if I don't feel sore? Or are my muscles already strengthened enough that they are used to their abuse, hence the lack of soreness?