Darker evenings ....

[FastFreddy2]

Seems that here in the UK, summer (ha ha ha) is on the wane. The evenings are already drawing in, and on overcast nights it seems Autumn must be here already.

For most of my life, this has been a sad time for me. I like long days (useful since I struggle to start mine), so shorter days mean I get even less done than usual...

In early 2008, short days were useful as it meant I was out most nights of the week in heels. This got me fit, and it helped me lose some blubber around my waist. I had hoped that Autumn 2008 would let me do the same, but the wet weather came early, and I didn't get out much through Autumn/Winter 2008.

This year has been fairly wet too. I didn't get to walk out much during the early months of 2009. Summer (ha ha ha) doesn't present many opportunities locally, and without trips to Oxford Street or larger shopping malls, I doubt I would have been out at all.

I'm trying to convince myself the 'silver lining' to seeing Summer end, has a new benefit; early-evening darkness "cover" for me to wear stilettos out while walking......

The pessimist in me thinks. me wanting to walk out during Autumn, almost guarantees it'll continue to rain most days as we move toward the end of 2009...... Sorry guys. ;-)

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[FastFreddy2]

Warmest day of the year in the UK today. Just about dark at 9pm, and I failed to resist the allure of the warm evening....

Expecting quite a few people out, I went to the next town only about 4 miles away, to avoid possible recognition. Walked around a park with a friend for about half an hour, having arrived at 9.15pm. Saw very few other people there. Not too surprsing given the time ....

Backs of my ankles ached. My hot feet, from wearing PU stiletto ankle boots, were all but cooked by the time I'd walked back to the car .... Covered a little more than a mile I suppose, but seemed twice that distance. Felt like I was walking like a HH novice too. :oops: Very disappointed with my performance.

I is obviously in need of more practice, and lots of it! :roll: :cool:

Oxford Street tomorrow evening .... :roll:

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[FastFreddy2]

Worked in the garden too late to travel far tonight, but out again anyway, this time with the 'better' half.

Walked for about 45 minutes (so couple of miles) on paths so poorly made and uneven, it was safer for me to walk in the roads when the traffic had disappeared. :roll:

Ankles less of a problem. Walk/gait improved .... But acorns on one of the paths nearly had me on my back. I'm reminded why girls don't wear heels outside very often. It's just too dangerous! :roll:

I suppose in the 1940's 50's and 60's, most urban pathways wouldn't have been lowered for a driveway every 20 feet, nor would great lengths of tarmac pavement have been carved up by Sky/NTL. I can't imagine how young parents with children in 'pushers' cope, nor those with impaired eyesight.....

No wonder people like shopping malls so much. :oops: :cool:

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[FastFreddy2]

Out for an hour last night between 9 and 10pm, walking around my local town. (Too late to drive elsewhere.) Went out with my (heel) walking friend, as she too prefers to avoid spending the whole evening watching TV.

Wore some PU ankle boots (from New Look) with 4" heel. Had these for about 18 months and currently on my 7th or 8th set of tips. Soles are getting thin, but they're still comfortable to walk miles in. Tarmac pavement means I only get a couple of lengthy walks from one set of nylon tips, but the upside is the heels are pretty quiet. The metal tips I've tried last waay longer, but are waaay noisier.

Being something of a social animal, I'm drawn toward groups, and this meant the busy town centre. While I chose not to walk past two mature ladies sitting at a bus stop, we walked around the outskirts of the town centre where people were going to/leaving a an all night supermarket, and going to/leaving bars and pubs. We weren't the only people taking advantage of the dry windless night.

The walk included going through two pedestrian underpasses. [To those who don't know, these would include two opposing direction entrances to each of the four pedestrian walkways which meet under a vehicle roundabout that circles the pedestrian crossover point.] Once commited to walking through these, there's no-where else to go if you meet oncoming pedestrian traffic. Our timing was almost perfect, only meeting one person as we left the first of these crossings....

These walks really are exercise. Sure I wouldn't be taking them if I wasn't wearing heels, but they help keep me trim and give me some much needed practice.

I wonder how much I would wear heels, if I had complete freedom to wear them whenever I wanted? I have recently (twice) passed up the chance to wear heels while out, because I needed to be able to move about in a hurry. I suppose a bit like regular heel wearers? [aka women.]

I suspect like a lot of women, who at my age might have feet in poor shape from a lifetime of wearing unsuitable footwear, my choices might be few. From my experience of >> these << I'd expect >> these << might be a good start. Well padded footbed, and soft leather uppers. Like walking in heeled slippers! ;-)

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[shyguy]

Walking in 4" heels for any length of time is something to be applauded, wearing them enough to wear out tips is certainly an acheivement. As for the exercise thing, anything that gets me off my lazy butt has got to be good, and dog walking in my own heels has knocked a few pounds off me so far and been a good incentive.

Glad to hear you're enjoying your walks Freddy keep those tales coming.