First, I want to mention that I tried the tapenade hummus I posted about recently yesterday, and it's AMAZING. Like I said, I adore olive tapenade, and I can't believe I never thought to combine it with hummus before. I ate it with pretzels and it's my new favorite appetizer/snack during my intermittent fasting window.
As I have mentioned a trillion times lately, I have loved listening to audiobooks when I do my morning walks. Ever since I finished 75 Hard, I have been doing a longer walk in the morning (5 miles) instead of 45 minutes twice a day. The five mile walk typically takes me about an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and 25 minutes.
I've been doing a specific five mile route--the perimeter of all four neighborhoods on the peninsula--because it's mindless, simple, and I get to see a good variety. Today, however, I accidentally skipped the street I was supposed to turn on, and I made a last-minute decision to go into my favorite neighborhood try to walk every single street.
It's not just a block system; there are several blocks separated by a triangular park in the center. I had no idea how long it would take me, but based on my previous walks, I guessed it would take roughly an hour.
As usual, Joey was bouncing to go out the door at 6:30 AM, but I've been waiting until it gets light out at around 7:45, so I read a book for a little bit.
I used to only really listen to memoirs on audio, but I listened to a thriller and then I wanted to keep listening to them.
I'm currently listening to a psychological thriller called 'An Anonymous Girl' by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. (FYI, the books I mention in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you buy them through the link, I may get a small commission. But I encourage you to check your library--that's where I borrowed them for free!)

I can't explain what the book is about without a ton of spoilers (everything you think is happening is probably wrong--I was so sure I had it figured out immediately). I had previously read 'The Wife Between Us' and then listened to the audiobook of 'You Are Not Alone', by the same authors.
I listened to 'You Are Not Alone' while walking and was obsessed with that one as well (I looked forward to my walks so much!), and when I was finished, I was thrilled to see my library offered 'An Anonymous Girl' .
Anyway, I am super engrossed in 'An Anonymous Girl' and was excited to head out for a walk this morning. As I turned into the neighborhood, I mentally tried to plot out a general route in my head to be able to walk every single street. There were some streets I had to walk on twice to be able to round corners onto others; it was kind of fun to have this goal in mind!
I always have my watch covered with my sleeve, so I had no idea how far I'd gone or how much time had elapsed. I just concentrated on my book and on walking all the streets. Every so often I'd hear a beep from my watch, alerting me that I'd just hit another mile.
When I was nearing the end of the neighborhood, I heard a beep that I thought was mile five. I knew that I'd have roughly another half mile to get home, so I figured the timing worked out pretty well. It wasn't until I sat down to write this blog post that I noticed I'd walked much farther (and longer) than I'd thought!
I was super bummed to see that I missed two sections of one of the streets in the neighborhood (where the yellow arrows are pointing).

I had covered 6.45 miles in 1:49:41 (a 17:01/mile pace). That's the longest walk I've done in... well, I can't even tell you how long. Years!

The transition from 75 Hard to my Cookies Fall Challenge has been pretty seamless. I've not checked off everything on my list every single day, but I haven't skipped a workout (walking) and I haven't forgotten to do a progress photo. My progress photos haven't really "progressed", unfortunately, but I know the things I need to change in order to make more progress--which is what I'm working on now. Here is today's photo (in my new favorite tights):

I'm trying to keep posting full-length photos so that I don't get too embarrassed to post them again. I still have to work on not feeling so self-conscious of the weight I've gained, and posting pictures is a good start. I hate posting them, but I hope that I'll get more comfortable with it if I keep doing it.
When I got home, I immediately got to work on the landscaping. I've been using a shovel to pull up the grass that was next to it, so that the entire area from the edge of the sidewalk to the house will be landscaping (next year--I'm not going to plant anything now). It was a ton of work! Now, it's just pure dirt along the front of the house. (I will try to get some pictures together soon, honest.)
I am 100% wiped out from all the walking plus the yard work. I'm going to try to find a movie for Jerry and I to watch tonight :) Have a great weekend!
I'll try reading that. I loved The Wife Between Us. Unfortunately though, my name is Vanessa and so I figured the entire thing out almost right away. I was so annoyed 😂
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