A Long Talk About A Short Walk

Mailbox in the hedge, Avenue A, Melbourne Beach

Norfolk Island Pine and tall palm tree, Atlantic Avenue, Melbourne Beach

Atlantic Avenue Beach access, Melbourne Beach

After weeks and weeks of being sedentary due to the severe neck, back, shoulder and arm pain I've had (pinched nerve related to the arthritis in my neck) I finally got off my butt, literally, and took a walk.  The temperatures have dropped about 10 degrees since the beginning of last month, making the outdoors more tolerable for people like me; people who, given the choice, prefer the orderly ambiance of a tidy home to the messy disarray of Mother Nature.  I made up mind to dig out my old sneakers, the ones I use for walking in the sand, and go up the beach a couple of miles.  Well to be honest I had no intention of going two miles up the beach, seeing as how that would entail having to walk back two miles, and I knew that wasn't going to happen my first day out after two months of sitting.  I would have been happy with a two-mile total walk today.

As it happened I didn't get but a half mile or so when a rogue wave (it was high tide with an unusually rough surf due to recent high winds) took me by surprise, and try as I might I could not outrun it. The thigh deep surf followed me into the edge of the dunes before receding.  I took refuge there, watching the water seep out of my sneakers, and assessed the situation.  Waterlogged socks and shoes aren't fun and I was slightly afraid of more big waves, so my decision to turn around and head home seemed smart.

I sloshed back to the neighborhood via the first access I came to, walking home down Atlantic Avenue to Avenue A, the very picture of a hot and wet, soggy, sandy sloth.  According to my Pacer app, I took 4980 steps, a little more than half of what I normally aim for but hey, this was my first attempt, so I feel pretty good about it.

Beach walking's more fun with music.  When I lived in the condo last summer I walked my four miles up and down the beach without music, but I was being a snotty little purist, wanting to take in the whole ocean-side experience with no distractions.  I'm done with that now.  The ocean's there, it's wet and it's loud.  I can admire the ocean's beauty as I trudge along listening to all my favorite tracks.  My current playlist is below.  As you can see, they're mostly oldies.  What do you like to listen to when you walk/run/work out?

This Week's Phone Playlist

Air Force Ones - Nelly

All Down the Line - The Rolling Stones

B. O. B. (Bombs Over Bagdad) - Outkast

Carabina 30/30 - El Poder Del Norte

Chloe - Grouplove

Daylight - Matt & Kim

Down With The Trumpets - Rizzle Kicks

El Conejo - Los Cojolines

Fat Man in the Bathtub - Little Feat

Fire It Up - Modest Mouse

Float On - Modest Mouse

Fire - Jimi Hendrix

Friday I'm In Love - The Cure

Funkytown - Lipps Inc.

Get Back - The Beatles

Gold on the Ceiling - The Black Keys

Hey Ya - Outkast

Hip Hop Hooray - Naughty By Nature

Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani

I Will Survive (Club Remix) - Gloria Gaynor

Don't Think Twice - Indigo Girls

Just Like Heaven (Dizzy Mix) - The Cure

Knights of Shame - AWOL Nation

Last Friday (TGIF) - Katy Perry

Let It Roll - Little Feat

Lose Control (feat. Ciara & Fat Man) - Missy Elliott

Lose Yourself - Eminem

Man in the Mirror - Michael Jackson

Milkshake - Kelis

Minority - Green Day

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Nothin But a G Thang - Dr. Dre & Snoop

Oh My God - Ida Maria

Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend

Planetary (GO!) - My Chemical Romance

The Power's Out - Flogging Molly

Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

Ride Wit Me (feat. City Spud) - Nelly

Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson

Roadhouse Blues - The Doors

Run Around - Blues Traveler

Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind

So Fresh, So Clean - Outkast

So Pissed Off - The Nips

Stuck Like Glue - Sugarland

Tear the Roof Off - George Clinton & Parliament

TiK ToK - Ke$ha

Tootsie Roll - 69 Boys

Tubthumping - Chumbawamba

Tumbling Dice - The Rolling Stones

Walk - Foo Fighters

What A Swell Party - Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby

Where is the Love (feat. Justin Timberlake) - Black Eyed Peas

Where it's At - Beck

Who Let The Dogs Out - Baja Boys

99 Problems - Jay-Z

1234 - Feist