Walking with Nordic Walking Sticks...

Hmm... I feel like I'm kinda/sorta on a get-in-shape kick this week.

Sorry.

I'm not really obsessed.

I just think about losing weight and getting in shape about 23 hours a day. But I don't think that, technically, classifies as an obsession.

Do you?

But as part of my non-obsessive losing weight regimen, I've been walking almost every single day.

And when I walk I use Nordic Walking Sticks. I use them so that someday I may actually look vaguely like this picture, AND I use them to walk so that I use good posture and have zero hip or knee pain.

I highly recommend them.

If you try them, though, I think it is only fair that I warn you about some of the things you may encounter while using them.

People will fairly often make this hilarious remark..."Hey, you lost your skis!"
Oh. Yea. Ha. Ha.

Dogs may try to attack the poles. I'm not sure why, but little dogs often get ticked off with them and bark and growl quite a bit. The good thing, though, is that you at least have a weapon to hit the little pole-hating dog with. Last week there was actually a dog that got off his leash and after it finished snapping at the poles a few times I thought it was going to try and rip my ankle off. The owner was doing nothing and I thought I was actually going to have to hit the dog so it wouldn't bite me. (I don't want to hear ... awww, poor dog here. It was a schnauzer. It looked really vicious!) The owner finally got the dog under control and then got quite annoyed with me. He told me, "You should be ashamed scaring my dog with your poles like that." Ummm. OK. Yea. I actually briefly toyed with the idea of hitting him with one of them.

AND...

My personal favorite. And this one has only happened twice in the past eighteen months.

People may think you are blind.

Because obviously blind people walk down the side of the road with two bright-blue poles while listening to a lime green i-pod.

One incident involved a lady telling the guy she was walking with..."awww...look at the blind person."

The other incident involved someone tapping my arm while we were waiting for the light to change and saying, quite loudly, while distinctly enunciating each syllable, "God bless you for your bravery." At first I thought they meant bravery for walking in Arizona in the summer but then I realized they thought I was blind. Geez.

Sometimes I think it would just be easier to not bother to try and get in shape.

But I'm thinking if I stick with it, at least I will look like a blind, FIT ski-less, viscious dog magnet.

And that might be a good thing.

I think.

Sigh.