Kickin' Up My Heels

Since my clothes are getting a bit snug and I'm definitely getting fat, I decided to turn over a new leaf today - May Day/Lei Day. Starting today, I vowed to myself that I'd do some sort of exercise at least every other day. So, to begin my new exercise regimen I decided to take a walk 'round Kapiolani Park after work.

Now, it's been a while since I've been to Kapiolani Park. I used to frequent it in high school for soccer games and tournaments or just to hang out at Walls with my friends. Since then, however, I haven't really been back. Today I was shocked to see how busy it was. As I circled the park toward the smaller mauka lot that I always park at, I noticed that it was pretty busy. Continuing to the larger mauka lot, I discovered it to be completely full! Wow, who knew people used the park this much on a weekday? In the end, I had to swing around and park at the lot in front of the Shell.

After doing a bit of stretching, I started on my walk. I didn't realize either a) how out of shape I've become, or b) how damn big the park actually was . . . probably a bit of both. Before I knew it, my calves were killing me, but I kept going. You gotta start somewhere so May 1st is that somewhere for me. It took me about 45 minutes to go around the entire park - with some stopping to stretch more and to watch some soccer players. Not bad, I suppose, for the first day. Hopefully I can pick up the pace after a couple days of this.

The bad part was that because I started at around 6 p.m. the sun was already going down. By the time I was hitting the home stretch, it was actually pretty cool and breezy, almost chilly. Guess this means I need to leave directly from work instead of stopping at home first. I was tempted to go across the street to see the bodyboarders and surfers making good use of the south swell, but I decided against it. Maybe next time.

As far as first days of exercise go, this went pretty well. I don't want to over do it, thus giving myself a reason to "rest" a few days, which normally develops into a few months. It was good to be outdoors again rather than at a gym that reeks of sweat.

One highlight was that I saw two Brits walking and talking as they made their way toward Walls. Love their accents, and they were talking soccer . . . ahem, I mean futbol.

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