I stopped doing my walks on the bike path near me because it is a relatively popular path that people use for biking, running, or walking. I come across people not wearing a mask. I’m sure they feel safe because they’re outside, but I don’t want to find myself downwind of anyone breathing heavily. I’d rather err on the side of caution and not take any chances with this pandemic.

However, I feel really unhealthy not doing any exercise whatsoever, so I have decided to give it another go by walking around the neighborhood streets instead of strictly on the bike path. Every time I start these attempts, I end up giving another app a try. All of these apps were ones I used in the past when I was logging all those miles. This time, I decided to give it a fresh start and use the built-in Apple fitness trackers on my watch.

There will be no posting on social media about my workouts: only a personal record of my progress. I don’t need the commentary to posts that follow the same template of; first it wasn’t easy motivating myself to start this workout or how I dreaded starting this by myself; then I had an epiphany or ran into someone in the middle of my workout; and finally how grateful I am for challenging myself despite my earlier lack of motivation. To be fair, this prescribed way of posting about workouts probably got me the validation I needed at the time. Now I’m in a different stage of my life and find myself craving the spiritual mindfulness that walking or running can bring. It is quite liberating when you can simply do something for yourself without feeling obligated to let the world know.