May

May

May was a tough month. On May first, I walked over 10,000 steps as usual. On the second, I was hit by a van in a crosswalk, hit pretty hard in the face, and knocked to the ground in the street. My most significant injury, the one that affected my walking most, was a huge bruise/hematoma on my right hip, where I must have landed when I fell (I do not remember that moment at all.)

So, from the second to the 14th, I only walked more than 10,000 steps one day, and in fact walked 8,100 steps or fewer -sometimes a lot fewer - every day other than that one. I kept walking, taking the dog out twice a day as usual, but I walked short distances until I got more comfortable with my hip. During those first two weeks, I lost about 55,000 steps, or five days, off my pace.

Nevertheless, my average steps in May were not the worst of any month so far, which is an indicator of how far I have come, so to speak. I walked over 9,000 steps per day average, slightly better than the first two months of my journey, which were way back in October and November of 2021, before I convinced Arlo to go walking with me.

I am currently in between towns in Florida, past the city of Belle Glade near the south end of Lake Okeechobee, traveling along Brown's Farm Road. I am on my way to Parkland, a suburb of Boca Raton, which is on the Atlantic Coast and straight north of Miami. This is an extremely flat and low-lying area: the elevation of Belle Glade is 16 feet, and Parkland is at 9 feet. In between, I will be walking through an area of everglades, which means close to sea level.

My counter says that I have just over 14 days to go, but unless things change dramatically, I will make it within fourteen days, and likely in thirteen. In either case, two more Sunday posts, then a last post to celebrate.