What's Your Inspiration?

Guest Post by Dee

Hi all, it's Crabby McSlacker, and yes, I'm still alive. Doing great actually!  Just a bit too dithery and preoccupied to do much on the blog lately. So I'm thrilled to bring you another great guest post from Dee over at Break out the Skinny Girl.  Remember not that long ago, she'd just started her blog, and was taking baby steps back into fitness? Well, I guess I'm not the only one who thinks she's hilarious and inspiring, because she's already made it as a finalist in the UK Blog Awards. Yay! Anyway, please welcome Dee back, and don't forget to stop over at her place too on your blog ramblings if you get the chance. --Crabby

In October 2016 I will be trekking 90km across the Escambray mountain range in Cuba to honour the memory of my Dad. Given that just six short months ago I would have struggled to trek from my armchair to my refrigerator, this is going to be a personal challenge for me on a whole other level.

You may remember we first got acquainted way back in September last year, when I’d been blogging for just a matter of weeks. Crabby very kindly let me loose with a guest post, and offered me a moment in the Cranky Fitness spotlight, which was awesome.

I’d been dieting for a couple of months by that point, and whilst my diet was going really well, my thoughts on exercise were kind of still kind of…well, thoughts really. I’d taken a few baby steps but it seemed such a mammoth task you know? I still weighed over 300lbs, and everything hurt when I hauled it around.

But I’d gone and done it…on this very site I opened my big mouth and told the world that I was going to get fit. Fortunately for me, the one thing bigger than my arse is my pride, which point blank refused to let me off the hook.

Walking for Weight Loss? Some Possibly Sucky News

image: pixabay

By Crabby McSlacker

First off, let me just make clear that I think walking is a very healthy activity.Walking a lot is an awesome idea.

However, if you are hoping to rely on walking craploads of miles as a primary strategy for weight loss, I may have some bad news for you. I came across some research a few weeks ago that was kinda depressing.

Note: this research is not bad news for everyone, just some of us!

Free Online Workouts and Other Gym Alternatives

Guest Post By Dave Smith

It's true, you don't have to be a gym rat to get in great shape! For gym alternatives that don't cost a penny, please welcome back Dave Smith who has some awesome suggestions. --Crabby

Gym Memberships Are Overrated: How You Can Get In Great Shape Without One

Last week I received an email from a woman who desperately “needed” to lose weight and had only a few weeks to reach her goal. She explained that while she was willing to do whatever it takes, she realized that her situation might be hopeless because she doesn’t have a gym membership.

A gym membership is a prerequisite for getting in shape? Really?

I know this woman is not alone because I’ve heard sentiments like this from many others in the past.

“I’d like to get in shape but I have no time for the gym.”

“If I didn’t hate going to the gym, I’d exercise all the time.”

For some reason going to the gym has become synonymous with fitness. I’d like to offer a few reasons why this notion is far from reality.

Crankified

Cranky Cat via Reb

By Crabby McSlacker

I thought it was time to bring a little Cranky back to Cranky Fitness.

Recently our pal Shelley at My Journey to Fit  posted a great grievance list, and I suspect you all may have some annoyances to report as well.

Studies have shown that griping is an exceptionally healthy behavior, boosting endorphins, lowering blood pressure, providing neuroprotective effects and clearing clogged nasal passages.

OK, so that last paragraph was a lie. But I still maintain that occasional bitching is therapeutic.

Note: some attempt has been made to keep these at least remotely related to health and fitness.

Altra Shoe Giveaway! And Torin and Intuition 3 "Zero Drop" Walking Shoe Review

By Crabby McSlacker

So I scored some Altra Torin and Intuition 3 shoes to review, yay! (And, in the interests of full disclosure, got to keep them).  And, better yet: one lucky Cranky Fitness reader can win a pair of Altra's of their choice. Cool, no?

But those of you who are already hip to Altra's are probably going: WTF, Crabby?  The Torin's and Intuitions are running shoes, not walking shoes, you misinformed nincompoop!

A Walk in the Park

By Crabby McSlacker

Fear not, this is not gonna be a long post or another massive camera phone dump.  Just a couple brief thoughts vaguely related to health and fitness inspired by a walk in the park yesterday morning.

Ramblin' Again

By Crabby McSlacker

Regular readers may be familiar with the Cranky Fitness Camera-Phone Dump by now, but if you are new here and confused, here's the deal:

1. Lazy Fitness Blogger goes on the road to vacation somewhere or visit relatives;

2. Instead of doing research on breaking health news or rounding up useful tips, said blogger wanders around her environs and occasionally remembers to take out the phone and aim it at something random;

3. Lazy Fitness Blogger then publishes the photos in lieu of a real post and tries to fabricate some connection between the random shots and heath and fitness and...

Secret Holiday Weight Loss Trick

So yeah, while this is actually a handy weight loss tip if you can take advantage of it, the post could be more accurately be titled: Warning, Fitness Blogger With Shitty Camera Phone Ahead.

Anyway, what's the Secret Trick?

Danger, Holidays Fast Approaching!

This guest post is by Terrie Farley Moran, who blogs over at Women of Mystery. She is also a contributor to the new anthology Dying in a Winter Wonderland, which she'll tell you more about soon!




Take a look around. The Halloween decorations are gone. A cardboard turkey with a pop out tummy is overwhelmed by the Christmas decorations in shop windows. Red and green mini lights and white icicle lights are beginning to show up on front porches, ready to be plugged in as soon as the last piece of pumpkin pie is gobbled on Thanksgiving night.

Last year around this time, Merry, who has her own entertaining blog, Sheesh, posted a holiday survival quiz here at Cranky Fitness.

I warn you, the test is not for the faint of will power. The accompanying picture of a plate of brownies was enough to get me drooling.

If it wasn’t for the fruitcake question, I would have scored a perfect twelve, which far exceeds the perfect four that would indicate I have my holiday eating under control. So, thanks to Merry (and my personal history) I already know that I will taste, and perhaps eat too much of the brownies, the homemade fudge, the pies and every home made cookie in sight. I will avoid only the fruitcake.

Since I am sure I’m going to overeat, I can accept, enjoy, and risk rolling back all the progress I have made this year or I can devise a plan, a strategy to minimize the damage. I see you shaking your head. A plan? A strategy? Come on, Ter, we know all that stuff. Avoid alcohol. Eat the raw veggies instead of the chips.

Yep, we do know all those ideas and I have followed them faithfully and still come up on the wrong side of the scale on New Year’s Day. So my strategy this year involves two basics.

First, I will plan and execute Perfect Days. I have already printed out blank calendar pages for the weeks beginning with Sunday, November 23rd and ending on Saturday, January 3rd. I filled in the dates I know will be a problem for me: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day. I called two friends who throw holiday parties I usually attend and, hooray, they already know the dates of their parties. On the calendar they go. Then I looked at my paydays and plugged in my shopping days accordingly. There are still plenty of empty boxes. I picked two each week and labeled them Perfect Days. On those days I will do my maximum exercise and my food will be high quality protein with lots of vegetables and a small portion of fruit. I do this not to give myself permission to pig out on party days, but to ward off any damage I might do while trying to be on my best behavior during social occasions.

Second, I will increase my exercise every day. Yes, every single day of the holiday season. I will keep moving. My efforts will be as simple as playing assistant hostess at every gathering. “Can I get you a refill?” “May I clear away your plate?” and as joyful as touring a different neighborhood (on foot) to take pleasure in the holiday lights. On shopping days I will have a large mug of veggie soup right before I leave the house. Then I will take a brisk half hour walk around the outside of the mall before I set one foot inside. I am counting on that combo to energize me to get in, get what I need and get out without needing a rest stop at the food court.

As part of my keep moving line of attack, I am enlisting your help. Those of you who visit us over at Women of Mystery know that I am proud as can be to have a story in this year’s Toys For Tots anthology, Dying In A Winter Wonderland published by Wolfmont Press. The anthology is written for adults and every story is light, festive and touches on one or more of the winter holidays: Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and the Winter Solstice.

Each of the stories, the editing service and the publishing service have been donated, so all of the proceeds garnered from sales of Dying In A Winter Wonderland will go directly to the Toys For Tots Foundation sponsored by the US Marine Corps Reserve.


Dying in A Winter Wonderland makes a perfect holiday gift for everyone on your list, friends and family alike. With all the proceeds going to provide holiday gifts for children in need, every purchase is a win-win. You can order from the publisher, (see above link) your local bookstore, or from Amazon.

For every copy of Dying In A Winter Wonderland you purchase, I will walk one mile between now and the New Year. Just contact me over at Women of Mystery and I will give you the date and time of your walk, so you can cheer me on, or better yet, join me.

So, please help me keep on my holiday exercise track, help Toys For Tots provide the gifts that will make the holiday season special for so many girls and boys, and help yourself by stocking up on a present that will be sure to delight.

Many thanks to Crabby and Merry for sharing their space with me and the Toys For Tots kids.

Terrie

Advice for Grumpy Home Workers

This is a guest post by Ali from The Office Diet. She also blogs at Diet Blog and has an ebook on dieting basics you might want to check out! She's helped us out here before and we always appreciate her contributions very much.





A few months back, I wrote an article for Grumpy Office Workers, explaining how even the grouchiest of us can stay (just about) healthy and sane in the office. Since then, I’ve escaped the office world (hurrah!) to live my dream of being a freelance writer & website creator (hurrah!) and graduate student (hurrah!) Yes, I get bored fast. Unfortunately, working from home has a whole new set of ways to make me grumpy (boo!)

The main problem with working from home is the 24/7 availability of food. And the thoughts that run “Grr, stress, clients, writing, procrastination, brain-mush, grr … mmm, chocolate.” And the complete lack of nosy colleagues to ask “Ali, don’t you run a blog called The Office Diet? Should you really be eating that giant chocolate cookie?”

But, somehow, I have managed to survive an office-free month without putting on weight… I’ve even been a bit less grumpy than normal. Really. (My boyfriend might disagree. But that’s only cos he sees more of me now.)


So here is some advice:

Walk, walk and walk some more

Ever get that cooped-up, stir-crazy feeling? It’s because you’ve been stuck inside the same four walls all day. Even prisoners get an exercise break. Step outside. Walk. This is a particularly good idea when the Most Annoying Client In The World has phoned you for the fifth time in two hours, your internet connection is playing hide-and-seek, and you’ve barely blinked, let alone taken a break from your monitor, in three hours.

Walking is good for getting some perspective. You’re never too busy to take 30 minutes to get your head screwed back on. And you might even get a killer idea for your latest project.


Eat proper meals (with another human being if possible)

Work never quite goes away when you’re a freelancer. Maybe you switch on your laptop before the kettle every morning. Maybe you forget about breakfast until your stomach rumbles at 10am, you realise you have no milk, and you scoff down a few handfuls of trail mix. Maybe “lunch” is whatever you can easily eat with one hand whilst typing emails with the other. You’re stressed. You’re busy. You don’t want to stop for a meal – but you can manage a snack.

Proper meals, though, tend to be a tad healthier than snacks (most of which can be described as “sugar or salt, plus fat”). And ploughing on with work when your Grumpiness and Hungriness Levels are rising is going to lead to snarky emails, a grouchy phone manner and less-than-chipper clients. Take a break. Eat. With another human being, if you can. (Those “spouse and kids” people, maybe? Seen much of them recently?)


Ban any “evil” foods from the house

Some foods are evil. They taunt you from the cupboard/fridge/deep freeze. They say “Eat me. EAT ME. You know you want to. I’m so yummy. I’m so delicious. Just open me. Just have a little teeny tiny taste. Go on…” Their aim is to wear down your will, over the course of the day, until you give in. Sometimes they’re really sneaky and they wait until you’re tired, stressed, and up stupidly late and/or horrifically early to meet a deadline … and THEN they start to whisper their insidious little words.

These foods are the enemy.

It is a tactical error of the highest order to allow them into your home. Ban them. Treat anyone bringing them in through your door as the despicable traitors that they are. Check all grocery bags for any cunning attempts at infiltration. You may even need to provide your spouse/kids/flatmates with a handy check-sheet of the Evil Ones, to help them identify and destroy them.


How do you cope when you’re stuck in the house, feeling fed up, and facing the Food Demons? Got any great advice for grumpy homeworkers like me?

30 Reasons to Walk (MBT Giveaway)

[By Crabby]




We are big fans of walking here at Cranky Fitness. What's not to like about walking? It's cheap, relatively easy, entertaining, and very healthy.

In fact, even though I'm generally a cranky ol' crab, I seem to get unusually cheerful when blogging about walking--whether it's my favorite place to walk in the whole world, or my strange summer night-time ramblings. (OK, so maybe not so cheerful when discussing how to pee outdoors when taking a walk in the woods. I can always find something to whine about.) But generally: we're huge fans of walking here.

So when I heard MBT was doing a campaign celebrating 30 Reasons to Walk, naturally my first thought was: "Give us some free shoes!" "What a great idea!"

But rather than go on again about why I like to walk, I thought I'd let you folks share some good reasons you have for walking. And give you a chance to maybe win some free shoes.


About The Giveaway

Yes, MBT did generously offer to donate a pair of shoes for us to give away. If you are a U.S. resident (or have a U.S. friend you want to play for) just leave a comment telling us a reason you walk. Winner will receive a pair of MBT shoes of their choosing (assuming the style/size is available; if not, we'll find something from MBT you like).

The winner will be chosen by the Random Number Generator. However, the "best" 20 entries will be given triple credit and will be assigned 3 numbers instead of one. ("Best" can mean funniest, most creative, most motivational--whatever.)

Want some inspiration? The 30 Reasons to Walk site has 30 ideas you can swipe for your comment. And they've also got a daily shoe giveaway contest of their own. (It's not clear about residency requirements, but I didn't see anything about nationality in the entry form). Plus, they've got 30 walking songs that are free to download. (And lots of them are actually really good ones; I was surprised!)

Note: If you are not a U.S. resident and are feeling grumpy about all these darn U.S. only giveaways, feel free to leave an aggrieved comment about the situation, or tell us why walking sucks, just to be contrary. Whatever. We love comments, and I can totally relate: because of our contract with Blogher, we can't get free MBT's either. And I'd love some).

Contest deadline: Tuesday, midnight EST, September 23rd;
Winner Announced: Wednesday, September 24th:
Winner needs to email Cranky Fitness by: Friday, Sept 26th, midnight EST in order to claim the prize; otherwise we'll redraw.

About the Shoes:

Check out the coolness of these shoes over at the anti-shoe site. A lot of technology has gone into them: according to the MBT folks, the shoes are "designed to limit harmful impact to joints, improve posture and tone muscles—including saving the back, lifting the butt, toning the thighs, and flattening abs. Wearing MBTs mimics walking barefoot in sand and engages core muscles... just by standing."



(However, we promise they won't turn you skin blue in the process).

Rhymes & Randomimity

[By Merry]

Where'd everybody go?

Note: because it amused the muse, part of this post is expressed in poetical form. However, for those who are not especially fond of poetry, a prose translation has been included at no extra charge.

'Twas the Thursday before Labor Day
And all through the blog
Not a commenter in sight
All were lost in the smog

I know, it's the day before the start of a holiday weekend, and the last one of the summer at that. That means the reading population of this blog has been cut in half (i.e. only 1 person is reading this). It's pretty lonely in here.

They were all stuck in traffic
On the road, not the 'Net,
Seeking vacation,
To get away and forget.

I mean, even Crabby's joined the Witness Protection program gone on holiday.


In which case, Merry thought,
Why bother with genius?
There's no one to read
Or react, e'en with meanness.

It wouldn't hurt to amuse myself. (You won't tell Crabby, will you?)


Screw it! thought she
(but poetically so)
It's Random Link time
And no one need know.

Relevant Health-related stuff

MizFit had the brilliant idea of doing lunges while cleaning the kitchen floor... and, even more brilliant, the idea of getting other people to clean the kitchen under the guise of their "getting a workout." Sheer genius, that woman.

Sure, she can do Windows, but could she handle a Mac?

This idea is being implemented on a larger scale at a gym in Portland

In this gym, you can ride an exercise bike (or use the treadmill, etc.) and the energy gets converted into electricity. As they put it "reduce your waistline and your carbon footprint."

If you're feeling more in the pedestrian mode, Dr. Mirkin has an article on how to increase walking speed.


Cows and humans have more in common than you thought

You've probably seen or heard of the new finding that, even without being herded, cattle align on a north/south orientation.


Apparently, humans do something similar:
Some studies suggest humans who sleep in an East-West position have far shorter rapid eye movement or REM sleep cycles, in which dreams occur, compared with North-South sleepers who got more REM sleep.

What's that doing in a random lineup? It strikes me as amusing, bizarre, and probably an indication that we've all been planted here for the aliens to pick up at a later date.

For some reason this reminds me of that classic early Cranky Fitness link:
Cow abduction site

Have you seen the Mothership?

CFLs are good for you!

In fact, here's a list of three of the best (in my view) early Cranky Fitness links:
- Complaint Choirs
- Cow abduction
- Free rice

Please feel free to disagree with me on this list! Send in your own favorites of erstwhile CFLs (Cranky Fitness Links).


And yes, in keeping with tradition, a cat video.


On bloggers! On readers!
On commenters off-the-wall!
Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!

One more day until the weekend!

Crabby's Shocking Night Life Revealed

[By Crabby]


It is rare that I write a blog post that is 100% enthusiastic about something.

And don't worry, it's only temporary--still no plans to change the blog's title to "Cheerful Fitness!" anytime soon. Nor do we plan to decorate our blog home with cute kittens, unicorns, or fairy princesses.

(This is more Crabby's style).

But it occurred to me that I have a favorite fitness activity that I've rediscovered, and I've been enjoying it immensely for the past couple months. Remarkably, this activity is (a) healthy and (b) fun and (c) free, so I have to talk about it!

(And no, this is not the healthy, fun, free activity that takes place in the bedroom. You all know about that one already.)

So what is this curious pastime that has me all cheerful and gushy all of a sudden?

Summer Evening After-Dinner Walks.

I LOVE them!!!



Oops, sorry--not sure how that happened! No perky cuteness is allowed at Cranky Fitness.

Anyway, part of my enthusiasm is probably due to the novelty of East Coast summers. Most of my summers had been spent in the San Francisco Bay Area--which means no yucky heat and humidity during the day (hooray!) but also: no warm nights to stroll around in. You can stroll, but, well, you better take a jacket and you're probably not going to have much company.

But now that I'm back east again, how can I justify sitting my ass on the couch and watching t.v. after dinner? It's so lovely outside!

(Damn! How the heck did that thing sneak in? There must be some kind of security breach!)

What was I saying?

Oh right. Summer walks.

As it happens, I'm lucky enough to live in a neighborhood perfectly suited for evening strolls. We're living in a resort town which is (a) scenic; (b) safe; (c) walkable; and (d) full of other enthusiastic evening walkers. Many of them are on vacation and so they're totally drunk off their asses in a very good mood.

Even better--well, this is Provincetown. Mixed among the eccentric evening parade of tourists and locals (we get ALL kinds here) are the paid entertainers, who must circulate energetically in order to sell tickets or earn tips. So we have a multitude of elaborately costumed drag queens; scantily clad male strippers; witty and/or loud-mouthed stand up comedians; earnest folk singers, and even circus burlesque performers, all out showing off and brightening things up.

(And we saw Martina Navratilova the other night, being all smiley and friendly! Tacky hicks that we are, we gawked. I'm not good at the pretend-you-don't notice-the-Famous-Person game. When the Lobster points one out (because I never see them first) I get ridiculously excited).

However, even when I've lived in other East Coast locations with no drag queens or strippers or lesbian tennis icons, I still enjoyed our warm summer evening strolls.

Why do I like them so much?

Well, some reasons are boring and practical: I don't crave dessert like I do when I'm sitting at home, wishing dinner weren't over already. I sleep better. And I burn a few extra calories without it feeling the least bit like a chore.

But I think what really motivates me is that I feel more a part of the physical world, and less like a passive consumer of manufactured, electronic entertainment. And perhaps it's weird, but there's something that feels vaguely transgressive about being outside at night. Maybe because as a kid, I was allowed to run free on summer days, but it was understood that all children had to be home by dark. Or else, unnamed bad things might happen.

So to be outside roaming around at night, even as a grown up? I feel like I'm getting away with something.

Does anyone else like to take after-dinner walks when the weather is good? Seems like there are a million reasons why they might not work for everyone. Kids, jobs, weather, chores, safety concerns...

(Varla Jean)

Oh crap. I give up.

Anyone have any comments for our new blog, Cheerful Fitness?

The Annual Cranky Fitness Exercise Review

[By Merry]

It's spring, people are starting to think less about shoveling snow and more about exercising for fun. It's time for the first annual exercise review.

Not sure which exercise is for you? The experts at Cranky Fitness have reviewed some of the most popular forms of exercise. But their answers were boring and informative, so I gave them the boot and did the review myself.

Swimming
Pro: Good for people who have joint problems.
Con: People will see you wearing a bathing suit.
Tip: When purchasing swim goggles, find a pair that comes with thick black frames and a false nose, so no one will recognize you.

Did you spot the one person in this flickr photo NOT wearing the glasses?

Kick boxing
Pro: Supposed to get you into shape quickly.
Con: Requires good shoes and a box.
Tip: Before you kick the box, make sure it has not been filled with books, big heavy rocks, or nitroglycerin.

Outdoor bicycling
Pro: Good for people who have weight-bearing issues.
Con: Lack of front and side airbags is a real drawback.
Tip: Wearing a helmet is very, very smart.

See? Wearing a helmet makes people happy.

Indoor (stationary) bicycling
Pro: You don’t have to worry about cars.
Con: You do have to worry about going insane from boredom, plus the stationary bicycle design was lifted from an old idea first developed by the Spanish Inquisition.
Tip: Wearing a helmet will scare people off, so you won’t have to bother with making conversation.

Walking
Pro: So easy, even a toddler can do it!
Con: There are a lot of toddlers out there; you might trip over one. Watch out.
Tip: If walking is too non-strenuous, try race-walking. You get more exercise, plus you will provide innocent merriment for passersby.


Running
Pro: Great aerobic conditioning.
Con: Who cares? You’re puffing like a steam engine and some little old lady in a walker is passing you!
Tip: If new to running, make sure to avoid running near nursing homes, day care centers, and other places where being passed would prove especially humiliating.

They both look ready to kick my butt...

It doesn’t matter which form of exercise you choose so long as you keep moving. You know that. I know that. I know you know that… I’d better stop before I get even more confused. All this terrific* advice notwithstanding**, what is your favorite form of exercise?

(Um... that you can talk about in public.)

* Oh, humor me, would ya?

** I try to throw in the occasional polysyllabic word in a post; I like to think it adds a bit of class and culture to the blog, and maybe even impresses Crabby.

The Rock Walk

[By Crabby]



A Little Obsessed

Do any of you have a particular walk or hike that you love so much that you'd move over 3,000 miles just to get to enjoy it whenever you wanted?

Well, I don't either, I swear. There are LOTS of reasons we moved to P-town, not just for the Rock Walk. (And "the Rock Walk" is just our name for it, I have no idea what the locals call it).

But for me the Rock Walk is one of those rare experiences, like a massage or a cup of coffee in the morning, that I pretty much always enjoy. It's not exercise, because exercise is a pain in the ass, and this is fun. We've been coming here for years, yet I never seem to get tired of it, no matter how many times I've gone back and forth over the same damn rocks. Each time feels unique, with variations in tides and weather and seasons and wildlife and such.

Still, I worry that now that we're going to be here at least half the year, I'll just do it too many dang times and wear it out. Should I consider rationing it? Just once a week or something? But then I have coffee every morning and I haven't worn that out yet...

This is a terrible time of year to take a picture of the rock walk, because the sea-grass (or whatever that stuff that pokes out of the water is) is a dowdy brown color. The walk is much prettier when the grass is lush and green, or even better, when it's dressed in autumn reds and golds.

It also doesn't help that I'm crap at taking pictures. Hey Hilary, could you please pop on over to Provincetown and give me a hand here?



As Close as I get to Meditation

Oddly enough, doing the Rock Walk involves walking on rocks. They are mostly big wide flat rocks, but there is enough un-evenness to require a certain sort of subtle attention, most of which is not even conscious. A few jumps, a little scrambling here and there--there's just enough maneuvering to keep a good part of the body and brain pleasantly engaged. If one is prone to trances, it is a great little trance-inducer.

(However, I have a particularly obstinate brain that can keep up the mind-chatter even on the Rock Walk. But I believe it's quieter chatter).

The scenery gets more beautiful the further out you get (better pictures this summer, I promise) but all along the way there are birds and shells and pretty ripples in the sand and weird washed-up things to check out. And if there is anything more calming than the sound of the tides gurgling and whooshing through the rocks, I sure as hell don't know what it is.




At The End

I usually just turn around and go back. Round trip from town, it's about 90 minutes, and, well, there are no bathrooms out there and given my morning coffee consumption I'm usually pretty ready to head for home. But for those with bigger bladders or who don't mind peeing behind a rock or in the water, there are uncrowded beaches to frolic on and a lighthouse to go take a look at.

(Also, as we discovered one summer afternoon a few years ago, there's apparently other fun to be had. An unusually long walk took us by a remote section of beach where the boys in the dunes were not very inhibited! Fortunately, if you've got little ones in tow, they'll tucker out long before you'd happen by this rather X-rated display of natural wildlife. And it wasn't just nude sunbathing, either, if ya know what I mean. The activity was strangely un-furtive though, we got a cheerful wave from a couple of guys as we passed by on our hike).

Does anyone else have a walk that you just love, or that has unusual scenery of any sort? Cranky Fitness would love to hear about it!

And Note: Do not adjust your computers--I will not be this mellow and boring indefinitely. Crabbiness will soon reappear... in fact, faced with a mountain of moving boxes to deal with, I can feel some coming along nicely already!