7 million steps Blog #51
Walking in Shopping Malls
Some of you may wonder why I walk in shopping malls when the rain is heavy. (Fortunately in all the days I have walked I have only been rained out about 7 times.)
It’s mainly for safety reasons and I have a limited time I can stay in the USA due to my visa.
I am on what’s called a B1/B2 visa which allows me to stay in the USA for up to 180 days, I am actually staying about 16 days over, so I have had to apply for an extension, failure to do this, could put me in a position that I would not be able to return. Out of interest the cost for the extension was $370.00… As hard as it was to shell out the money, it was worth it, cos to not be able to return to the USA would be devastating.
Being on such a limited timeframe necessitates me to have to walk 6 days a week @ 22 miles a day, so under a lot of pressure not to take days off as everything has to be made up. I know no one really cares how far I walk, but I do, and so does my family, there are no shortcuts in spinal cord injury recovery therefore there are no shortcuts for me with this walk. I committed to walk 3085 miles and I will!
So yes when it’s pouring with rain it would be lovely to stay in bed and chillax but no can do – so Kelly finds me a mall to walk in. I usually can get in early with all the other walkers, but you have to realise I am walking in the mall for up to 6 hours, with breaks 7 ½ hours, so it gets pretty boring – where possible, if there is cover, I walk the parking lots as well, especially the tiered ones.
Walking across the USA you can’t walk on interstates or roads that don’t have shoulders.
The highways without shoulders are far too dangerous for not only me walking, but for the drivers, they don’t expect to see a crazy woman walking on a narrow road in the middle of nowhere!
Initially in California walking out of Temecula towards Arizona I was on several roads without shoulders the reality is you are 6 inches from death!
It was never my intention to die walking the Warrior Momz Walk.
I hope this goes a way to explain the Mall “thing” – worse part is I don’t even have time to look in the shops I just have to keep walking!!
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