Don't Let a Cynical Fox Get You Down

It's been a while since I last posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't continued my journey. But, it doesn't mean I ate up the miles like Gandalf racing to Minas Tirith, either. No, I meandered at about the same pace an Ent conducts a conversation with the neighboring Huorn, managing around 10 miles.

Back in November my husband grew tired of stumping his toe on my unused treadmill and gave it away. The weather, while mild for January, has still been chilly and wet, so I have had to find more creative ways to walk. After an online battle with an incompetent eBay seller (my feedback was fierce, I tell you!) I managed to purchase Leslie Sansone's DVD The Walk Diet. I had heard great things about Sansone's workouts, so I was pretty confident this DVD would give me what I needed. Wrong! My first clue should have been the mocking look on the token hard bodied chick's face as she smirked her way through Sansone's wimpy workout.  This DVD is all I had, though, so I stuck through it. Is it worth risking another $5 on one of Sansone's more challenging work outs?

To add some spice to this otherwise lackluster workout I followed The Walk Diet with the Pick Your Level Weight Loss Pilates DVD. I've never done Pilates before, so this workout was perfect for me. I simply followed chick #1 through most of the simpler movements, though I did manage to match chick #2 in a few of the yoga-inspired poses. I definitely recommend Pick Your Level Weight Loss Pilates. (I can see my brother chuckling now at the thought that I am plugging *any* fitness product, but hey! I am not claiming to be an expert. I am just sharing experiences that work for me, an admittedly un-physically fit fat chick.)

Any way, after 10 miles of Sansone's The Walk Diet, I find myself on the outskirts of Hobbiton, traveling east along the Stock Road. Before long I come upon a stand of fir trees whose roots would make a cozy nest for a sleepy hobbit. Stooping to rest a moment on a gnarled tree root, I notice small paw prints. Dog? I wonder. No, fox! I remember the cynical fox that came upon Frodo and friends one night as they camped under these same trees. Spying their sleeping forms among the tree roots, his thoughts were this

"Well, what next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something mighty queer behind this." 

The fox was right, of course, that something strange was going on, but I can't help but resent his reaction to the scene. (Or maybe I'm stretching to fit an analogy from this passage into my post.) Why shouldn't a group of friends, of a people known for their love of long walking tours, decide to camp out at night? Maybe Frodo decided to avoid the middle aged hobbit paunch by getting in a little more exercise. Who was Mr. Fox to criticize?

 

Do you have cynical foxes in your life? People who say things like, "Exactly how many miles have you put on that treadmill since I bought it for you in 2008?" (Don't tell my husband I think he's a fox.) If you are a fox, don't let anyone sense your negativity. Go ahead and think it all you want, just keep your trap shut.

Well, that's all for now. Next on Walking to Rivendell, I confront a Black Rider!

Farewell to Hobbiton

Just before Christmas I passed through Tookland (without stopping to pass the time with the Old Took, thank goodness) and turned southeastward toward the Green Hill Country. Like Frodo before me, I stopped atop the first hill and gazed back toward the lights of Hobbiton. Unlike Frodo, my desire is not to return to my point of origin. I don't want to return to sloth and weakness. I want to push myself to greater strength and endurance, increase my energy and see just what this body is capable of. Like Merry and Pippin, I want to look back at the end of my journey and discover that I have grown in wonderful and surprising ways. Farewell Hobbiton!

The image above is from the web site of the amazing artist Ted Nasmith. http://www.tednasmith.com/lotr1/TN-Green_Hill_Country.html 

Limping Toward Tookland

Okay, so I have to be the lamest Hobbit ever, in both senses of the word "lame". Only I would overextend a calf muscle before I even left Hobbiton. It's not going to stop me though! Today I managed two miles, and I have now followed the hedgerows south to The Water, which I crossed on the plank bridge. Only two more miles to Tookland!

I hope not to spend much time with the Tooks. To be honest, they aren't my favorite Hobbit family. I couldn't abide living in a place like the Great Smials, surrounded by hordes of meddling family members.

Anyway, I hope to put the lights of Hobbiton behind me soon!

Every Journey Begins with a Single Step . . . Mile One

So begins my first day of my trek to Rivendell. Bilbo would not be pleased with my progress, but I am satisfied.

Where in Hobbiton did my travels take me today? According to the route Frodo took, I walked west from Bag End, jumped a hedge, passed through a gate, and trotted down the lane. And that lane is where my walk resumes the next time I'm ready for exercise.

Following in Frodo's Footsteps . . .

Today marks the beginning of my journey from Bag End to Rivendell. Okay, so I live in Wilkes County, and Bag End is in Middle Earth, and yeah, okay, so it doesn't exist. Don't you wish it did, though? Don't you wish you could follow Bilbo and Frodo's steps along The Road, to travel through the rich farmlands of Hobbiton, and maybe even to stop in for a pint at the Green Dragon? 

Of course, it isn't possible for me to do those things, but I have learned something from the Hobbits: walking can be one of the most effective and enjoyable forms of exercise. And, even though I won't be pursued by Black Riders (I hope!) nothing could motivate me to exercise more than to connect it somehow to Middle Earth. So, I am setting a goal of walking from Bag End to Rivendell, a total of 458 miles, by December 14, 2012. 

I can't claim this terrific idea as my own. The creative folks at the Eowyn Challenge (http://home.insightbb.com/~eowynchallenge/) started this back in 2003. They have even charted the journey, so you can trace your steps past the familiar milestones described in The Fellowship of the Ring. You can also track your miles on their mileage chart, but I thought blogging about it on my own might be more fun. 

Thus begins my shadowing of the journey Frodo began 23 September 3018. Dear Frodo managed the first 18 miles of his journey on the first day (night, actually), but I am no fit young hobbit of 50, so I'll probably just walk a mile or so. 

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."

“But in the meantime what course am I to take?” said Frodo. “Towards danger; but not too rashly, nor too straight,” answered the wizard [Gandalf]. “If you want my advice, make for Rivendell. That journey should not prove too perilous, though the Road is less easy than it was, and it will grow worse as the year fails.”    

“Rivendell!” said Frodo. ”Very good: I will go east, and I will make for Rivendell. I will take Sam to visit the elves; he will be delighted.” He spoke lightly; but his heart was moved suddenly with a desire to see the house of Elrond Halfelven, and breathe the air of that deep valley where many of the Fair  Folk still dwelt in peace. --The Fellowship of the Ring