Lordy it’s been awhile since I last posted. I wonder if it’s too early to make a New Year’s resolution to sit down at least once a week and post something. Maybe if I start making that resolution now when New Years actually rolls around the resolution will stick. Let’s see how many posts I can make between now and Jan 1, 2009.
So stacks walking. This summer I had a little health hiccup that parlayed into some minor surgery. Nothing serious but it was a wake-up call in the health column so I put myself on a regime of eating healthy and exercise. I’ve started walking daily, as recommended by my doctor, and have found I enjoy it. We have a lovely cemetery here in Taunton called Mayflower Hill and it has become the place to walk for many people at all times of the day. One loop around the outer perimeter is 1.4 miles but there are many zig zaggy roadways so you don’t get bored. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place, and on top of the waking benefit it had a spectacular fall.
Now that the fall colors are gone I get to concentrate on the tech podcasts I listen to on my Zune as I walk. Now there is a school of thought about the dangers of plugging oneself in while walking or jogging and I agree with it so when I started walking I didn’t. However, after walking there for a few weeks, and seeing the same friendly faces, and it being an enclosed area away from street traffic, I felt safe enough to give it a chance. My only slightly scary moment so far had nothing to do with being plugged in, it was an encounter with a flock of wild turkeys. Have you ever seen those things up close and personal, they are huge! It wasn’t a serious encounter, it was easy enough to back away and take another roadway leaving that area of the cemetery in the possession of those giant birds for the day.
What does any of this have to do with libraries you ask? Well, at my last doctor’s visit we got to talking about what I was going to do when the bad weather started. Join the Y? Get a treadmill? Walk the mall? I hadn’t really decided, I really don’t want to give up on outdoor walking, but then this cold snap hit. Well, it’s not so much the cold as the wind. I hate wind! Don’t like walking in it on balmy days, walking on frigid days is a double whammy. So I got to thinking about utilizing the library stacks. What got me thinking this way was an article in the Shifted Librarian awhile back about how the Dartmouth library turned itself in to a miniature golf course for a fundraiser. Hey, if a library could utilize its space as a miniature golf course why couldn’t the aisles of stacks be used for a little exercise? After all people mall walk, it’s kind of the same principle but without the window shopping.
The last Saturday I walked it rained, actually It poured, I’ve walked in regular old rain. So I undertook an experiment, I walked the stacks. I discovered that our three floors of stacks equal out to .6 miles and about 1,327 steps. I know this because I wear two pedometers at all times. There are three flights of stairs, aka extra exercise points, and it’s dry and warm back there. People ask about running into patrons. Well, if they mean literally I’ve developed a whole formula of row shifting in my head to avoid a collisions and still keep my momentum and mileage. On the other hand if they mean “what the heck is that crazy librarian doing walking up and down the aisles?” If any patrons are thinking that they haven’t verbalized it, and I have had a couple of nice little chats with people perusing the shelves. I keep walking, they keep talking. OK, so I’m in the early days of this and I suppose the honeymoon could go south soon but so far so good.
I’ve walked 35 minutes, just about 2 miles, every day for the last week and I’m please I haven’t let the rain or cold weather separate me from my exercise routine. My ultimate goal is 5 miles or 10,000 steps, and of course I’m not giving up the cemetery. However, I must say it’s convenient to be able to walk out of my office and into a 2 mile walk on my lunch hour without leaving the shelter of this building when the weather is rough out. The only drawback is I can’t listen to my podcasts but I think I might just use those 35 minutes to think up more blog posts.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And yes, I do plan to walk on Thanksgiving but not in the stacks.
Hey Daisy!
I started an early-morning walking kick last spring, but found I had to move it indoors when the sun started rising later in the morning. I try to finish up before the kids wake up in the morning, and I don’t like walking in the dark.
I wasn’t happy about using treadmills, but the nice thing is that my Y got new equipment that lets me plug my iPod directly into the treadmill. The battery charges while I’m listening to the iPod, which is great since I’m always running it on a low battery, especially on the weekends. It also has a USB port, so your Zune may work too, but you would probably need a cable.
It’s the little things in life that make me happy!
Kathy
I am giving serious consideration to joining our Y. Just waiting for after the holidays to investigate about membership fees.
I do have a USB cable for my Zune so I would be good to go in that area if our Y has comparable equipment. Since they just did some big time remodeling of our Y I’m thinking their equipment should be state of the art.
Excellent post and excellent practice, Daisy! I’m sure that, to any patrons who may see you in the stacks, you simply appear to be a woman on a mission… which you are!