Mon/Tues Update - Terrell & Shiela

A couple of miles on the levee and downtown each day. 74.2 miles for the month.

Whoopee!

Great to hear from you, Brandy! Sheila and I have been lucky in great weather in March and the encouragement of each other. Also I made my ridiculous goals at the first of the month and tend to get kinda obsessive about such things!

We logged over 17 miles on the pedometer on Friday and Saturday at Cypress Gardens. I'm not sure how much of that to count. We did very little walking on Thursday and Sunday since we spent a total of twenty hours in the car.

I think I'll just arbitrarily count half of the Florida miles. That gives us 70.2 miles for March! I have whupped my "March Starry-eyed Pie-in-the-Sky Idealist Goal - 62 miles (Whoopee, I'm Mr. Buff!! I might even run a ways, come April!)"

Checking In

Hi Folks, I've been somewhat remiss for this month. I haven't logged my miles and I know I'm short for this month as the dogs and I did quite a few shorter walks due to the puppy having had his little surgery. Sounds like everyone who has been posting has been going above and beyond the call of duty, that's really great! I'd guess my mileage for the month is around 16 or 17. I go on vacation on Wednesday and won't have a car so I'm hoping to maybe get off to a better start for April. Love all the photos you've all been posting.
Brandy
(walkmydogs).

Mon/Tues/Weds Report - Terrell & Sheila

We've been busy and bad: rain Monday; 3.6 miles Tuesday (between the rivers); getting ready for Cypress Gardens tonight. Total for March: 61.7 miles. I'll post again on Sunday if a gator don't get me. I hope we get some good walking done in the Sunshine State.

Sat/Sun Update - Terrell & Sheila

A River Walk

3.5 miles around downtown last night and 5.6 miles today down the levee (above) to the confluence then up First Ave to the Silver Creek trail. 58.1 miles for the month. Here are a few more pics I took along the way:

Our courthouse reflected in the Oostanaula



The confluence of the Oostanaula (left) and Etowah (right) rivers to form the Coosa River. The bridge at the right is the Robert Redden Footbridge, a former railroad bridge that rotated on the center column so steamboats could continue up the Oostanaula. The bridge at the right takes Broad Street across the Etowah to the foot of Myrtle Hill.




The Silver Creek Trail crosses the Etowah on another railroad bridge turned footbridge (above) then follows little Silver Creek for three-quarters of a mile as it cascades down to the river.


I've lived in Rome since 1962, but I was completely ignorant of these picturesque downtown views until last week!



Notice the nearly vertical sandstone and shale layers, evidence of the crumpling of the former sea floor here in the Ridge and Valley province between the Blue Ridge and the Cumberland Plateau. At our school I can take my kids out to the driveway cut and pull shell fossils and crinoid stems from the crumbly sandstone.



The creek flattens a little as it nears the river.




The 1913 postcard (above) shows a mill on Silver Creek. I suspect the foreground is a bridge over the Etowah and the mill was at the mouth of Silver Creek. Or else it is high water on some other section of the creek. If anyone knows where this picture was taken, please let me know.

Joan's Update

Hello All! We just returned to the good ol' US of A after 10 days in the Mediterranean. (I wanted to post a pic here, but I can't get Blogger to accept any of my photos right now. I'll figure it out later.)

I clipped on the pedometer when we started each morning and took it off when we finished touring for the day. All together I logged 43.5 miles while we were gone. This was wonderful walking! We walked around Athens, Greece; Valetta, Malta; Naples, Pompeii, and Rome, Italy; Taormina, Sicily; and Nice, France! Wow, what an opportunity, huh!? Of course a good portion of it was also through airports - Atlanta, JFK and LaGuardia in New York, Athens, and Nice.

This touring milage brings my March total to 52.6 - a little over my goal of a double marathon for the month!!! And I still have 12 days to add more!

Sounds like some of you are doing great without as much incentive as I have had this month. Congratulations!

Weds/Thurs/Fri Report - Terrell & Shiela

It's been a real treat to have Sheila with me for my walks this month. She's helped to keep me on target. Wow! We've put in more miles than I thought we could. For three nights in a row we've done a late walk down what has become our "usual" after dark stroll down Broad. Tonight Lillian joined us and with her encouragement we altered the route slightly and climbed all the way up to the clock tower up 2nd Street from Second Avenue. Beautiful views, but a strenuous walk.
Sheila and I are up to 49 miles flat for March. We've gone a little crazy, I know.

I hope all the other marathoners are plugging along. How about some reports?

Mon/Tues Report - Terrell & Sheila

Monday:
We drove over to First Avenue to explore the Silver Creek walk. We parked by an ancient warehouse, and started the short trail. The old railroad bridge over the Etowah has been reworked to hold the walking/bike trail. Just across the river the trail follows the surprisingly scenic Silver Creek. The stream cascades across rocks and below a steep cliff. There was once a grist mill here - no sign of it now. The trail ends near East 12th and we retraced our steps to the car while we talked with Brannon at Cypress Gardens on the cell phone. Multitasking. 1.5 miles. We dropped the car off at the house and went back out for our now usual nighttime walk of 3.2 miles to the foot of Broad Street and back.

Tuesday:
We started just at dusk down the levee to the confluence as the full moon rose over the spires and towers of downtown. I took a few pics but they didn't turn that great. Maybe I can fix a couple to post. We walked up Broad tonight all the way to Eighth and back for a total of 3.2 for today.

So far in March: 39.1 miles.

Update for Sunday - Carol

I walked for 40 minutes (2 miles) out on the land. (16.5 total so far) Ron had already left for a business trip. So I had to walk by myself. It was a beautiful day and beautiful scenery along the way! I took some pictures. Here is one. The flower is not quite in focus, but I thought it was pretty there among the dead leaves from winters, the purple and white flowers and green plants beginning to grow.

Sunday Update - Terrell & Sheila

2.4 miles today along the Levee and Broad Street. 31.2 miles for the month.

It does feel good to be keeping up with our big goal for the month, Carol. I hope we can keep the pace. We've been lucky in fantastic weather... global warming gives us good walking weather in Rome, I guess. :-) We were considering turning on the A/C today. It's hot!

Let's hear from everybody... keep going for the marathon!

Saturday Addition - Carol

I just got back from an EXHAUSTING 2 hours of hiking and biking on the land. It wasn't continuous walking and biking. In between I was hauling logs, cutting small trees and helping to clear a road. I will conservatively add the equivalent of 5 miles to my total for a grand total of 14.5 miles so far for March.

Terry - although your feet hurt, my guess is that it's a good hurt. Congratulations on walking so much with Sheila this month - and it's only the 11th day of the month! WOW!

My feet hurt!

We skipped Thursday because of rain and Friday because Lillian's literary meet, a resulting shopping trip and laziness. So we decided to have a nice long walk in the springlike weather of early afternoon today. First we took Daisy for a one mile stroll. Then we walked down the levee to Fifth, across and over to Ridge Ferry Park via the Riverwalk. We discovered the walk has been extended behind Chieftains Museum so we explored it all the way to State Mutual Stadium - 3 miles out and 3 back, for a grand total of seven miles for the afternoon, and sore feet. Gorgeous walk among the mamas and daddys and kids, elderly couples, young lovers, friends, and individuals on foot, on bikes and in kayaks.

21.8 plus seven miles today put us past the old marathon mark for this month, already. 28.8!
And all of it together! It's been great spending this time with Sheila - though we've put off some other things so we can walk. Maybe we'll make one of those outlandish goals I set for this month.

My feet hurt.

Saturday Update, March 11, From Carol

I just got back from an invigorating 45-minute hike on our land. Whew! It went from winter last weekend to spring this weekend. No jacket, and it was still very warm. I'd guesstimate that we walked about two miles. Added to the other miles from this month, that puts my total at 9.5 miles so far for March. Yea! I LOVE this kind of weather.

I hope everyone else is doing well. I'll bet Joan is getting some miles in on her trip. If anyone reads this and hasn't joined the Monthly Marathon - remember that you can join at any time.

March, Week 1 report for Carol

March is going a little better than February. Ron and I walked for about 30 minutes this evening right before dark -- up and down hills on the land he bought. It's rugged walking. I will count it as 1 1/2 miles. Since March 1st, I've logged approx. 5.5 miles (including today's walk). Got to get moving and get more miles in!

Tues/Wed Report - Terrell & Sheila

2.5 miles on Broad St & environs on Tuesday. Sheila wasn't feeling well - she stayed out of work - so I was glad we got in as much as we did. Tonight we took the levee to Heritage Park, the footbridge to Broad St. Up First Ave. three blocks, over to Second Ave, back to Broad, dinner at the Harvest Moon Cafe, then back our usual path - 3.2 miles.

Total for the month: 21.8 miles.

Sunday/Monday report - Terrell & Sheila

I think Sheila may be committed to the Monthly Marathon now. She has accompanied me on every step of the MM this month so far. Yesterday afternoon we covered 2.5 miles on the levees. This evening we had a very nice brisk walk along Avenue A, Fifth Ave, First Street, across to Broad from the fire station, down Broad to the Etowah and back by the same route. That's 3.2 miles more.
We're up to 16.1 miles for March.

I hope the rest of the MM folks are getting out in this beautiful early Spring -- well, Spring has come to Georgia in flower and fancy if not by the calendar. The daffodils, pears, quince and forsythia are bursting out all over and some of the riverbank trees and shrubs have a fringe of tiny leaves or blooms.

Come, Spring, come!

Saturday update - Terrell

Sheila and I took a midday walk in gorgeous weather today. Daisy kept us company for a mile of it, then we walked the full leghth of the levee and back. Total for today 4 miles. That's 10.4 miles fot the month.

A good Start on March - Terrell

Sheila and I enjoyed the gorgeous bit of spring that is visiting late winter this week by taking long walks yesterday and today. Last night, after the Ash Wednesday service, we walked down to the courthouse, up First Av to the Library then down Broad Street all the way to the Etowah and back to Fifth Ave. where we stopped for supper at El Zarape and then back down Broad and up Third St to First Methodist and back again and home. A Total of 3.2 miles.
Tonight we walked the same route with a small adjustment but the same mileage. No dinner break this time.
So March is off to a good start: 6.4 miles so far. At this rate I'd make 99.2 miles this month. Doable, right? (Ha!)

March 1st Report

January - 27 miles (approx)
February - 29.5 miles
Two-month Total - 56.5

March Minimum Goal - 31 miles (At least I didn't quit!)
March Improvement Goal - 39 miles (By Gum, I improved a little!)
March Mr. Optimist Goal - 47 miles (Not too shabby!)
March Keepin'-up-with-Joan Goal - 52.4 miles (I think Ican, I think I can...)
March Starry-eyed Pie-in-the-Sky Idealist Goal - 62 miles (Whoopee, I'm Mr. Buff!! I might even run a ways, come April!)

End of February Report - Joan

I finished February, a month of only 28 days, with a total of 45.1 miles. Since I am retired, I had set my goal for a double marathon, which I missed by 7.3 miles. However, I am satisfied with my total given the fact that I had the flu for 4 or 5 days, am continuing to have back problems that limit my activity, and there were only 28 days this month. January = 34.4. February = 45.1. Total for the year = 79.5.