Having "closed out" the subject of the leg injuries (as far as writing about them goes), I want to just comment on the aspect of having to get generally get used to walking long distances again. Really, it was last Autumn/early Winter when I had gotten a) mostly over the leg injuries, and b) pretty used to walking good distances (as long as the only weight involved was my own and whatever reasonable weight I may have had in a shoulder bag. Winter through everything (me) all off, however, because of how bad the Winter was.
The "exhaustion thing" is something I'll write about separately. For now, I'll just say that I don't exhaust easily. Also, while the different contributing factors to the "exhaustion thing" have changed, or at least changed in degrees/extent; the fact is that I went into "the leg injury thing" already dealing with/managing "the exhaustion thing" that I'd been living with for quite some time. In some ways, maybe the first leg injury was a weird kind of blessing in disguise; but, believe me, those first several months sure didn't feel like any form of blessing at all. Before then I had gotten to where I felt like I'd reached a saturation point with "the walking thing" (combined with whatever else had gone on, was going on, or I was worried about) in my life. So, while the saturation point with regard to walking long distances was traded in for the long sage of the the leg injury thing; many of the other contributing factors to "the exhaustion thing" were still there (and in some instances, were getting worse for one reason or another).
In any case, I went into "the leg injury thing" with "the exhaustion thing" but came out of last Winter with a whole new level/type of "exhaustion thing". So, once I got "the injuries thing" i ironed out (after mainly having been ironed out at the end of Fall/early Winter); I had to not only once again get the injury-related/associated muscles back used to walking long distances but all the unrelated ones back in shape, and used to longer distance walking again (I know I've said this before on this blog, but since trying (if only for just myself) to get my head around the whole picture of what I was dealing with, and what I need to sort out in order to be able to "close out" the variety of subjects involved in the whole "Winter saga" requires a certain amount of repeating some things - there you have it.)
I've covered the thing about having to get used to different shoes because of the cooler temperatures of Spring, as well as any number of other things, in other posts. The problem was that I came out last Winter with the exhaustion thing having reached a whole new level of "challenging", which meant that anything that at all resembled a large-muscle work-out was more demanding on my system than it otherwise would have been. Then, too, once the heat of June and July kicked in they turned my efforts into more of a "thing" than they would have been under cooler and less demanding circumstances. As it was, even when it was only fifty degree out (as in April or May) there were times when I would start out kind of chilly, walk down the street, and find myself working up a sweat. That "phase" passed, but then the temperatures turned to hot and/or humid ones. (We've been in a humid/ninety kind of range in recent days, but seventies and humid isn't all that comfortable for walking either.)
Long story made a little less long, before the leg injuries I could carry huge loads of groceries (and things like umbrellas) in my shoulder bag) without any issues that weren't related directly to the what I was carrying (rather than which muscles were used to carrying which types of weight for how long, etc. - even with "the exhaustion thing" as it was at the time. As of about the third week in July, and even with the injury-related muscles (and whatever) all ironed out; the combination of still not being used to carrying pre-injury loads in the heat (with regard to the leg/back muscles required) wasn't ironed out.
The increased heat/humidity, combined with that fact, made me realize that what I needed was to forget about even trying to get used to walking "pre-injuries" and "pre-Winter" for a few days. instead, I figured what I needed to do was to take some time (particularly since I knew the progress I'd made) to just try to stay home, make sure I had what I needed to deal with "the exhaustion thing", and - for once and for all (after the Winter) just rest.
What I'd noticed was that the combination of increased heat and humidity with the fact that the demands being made on things like back and leg muscles WITH, as well, whatever weight I had to carry in my bag; just felt like I was putting too many demands on my system. Of course, there was only so much staying in and resting that I wanted to do. I didn't need to get "whatever" not used to walking long distances again. I just thought that as long as I was satisfied to have reached the point I had, it might be time to stay in for x number of consecutive days in order to just rest. I did that, and I did get to where I felt as if I'd made a big improvement over the exhaustion thing. It was (and remains) clear to me, however, that it was/is still a factor.
Once I'd done my little "rest thing" (around the end of July) I decided to try walking again. Not only did I not want to stay in on nice days, but there were days when I needed things from the store. By then, however, the temperatures were pretty hot and humid. Today is August 20. There has only been one day when I felt "safe" enough not to carry one of my umbrellas in my bag. I figured out that if I was going to walk I should take out my standard "ladies' wallet, which meant carrying money and any debit cards somewhere "loose-ish" in my bag (first in a little palstic bag in one of the lighter weight cases I have; more recently, in a nylon eyeglass case that bought just for carrying money/cards when I walk). I also took out most make-up from my make-up case. Then, too, I took out of my bag all kinds of things that I really do need when I go walking, but I decided they weigh too much.
What removing so much stuff has meant, however, has been that when I'm out and on foot and hot and/or otherwise frazzled by the walk, it doesn't help that I do without things I need and have my otherwise well organized bag turned into something that has no system.
Changing my bag from "walking mode" to "going in someone else's car mode" is, in itself, frazzling to someone like me, for whom "a system" is important.
I'm going to take a break from the whole subject of post-Winter walking here. As I've said, I'm not only trying to lay foundations and sort things out for myself and for any future writing; but I'm trying to work my way toward writing posts that are better organized.
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