Maryland Heights reveal New Lows in Physical Fitness

I've been working for a few weeks at trying to lose some weight and get more exercise. It's been going okay, and since I've been walking almost every day the weight has started to come off. I was motivated Saturday to do something a little different, so I drove to Harpers Ferry where I had seen the beginnings of a trail before.

It's called Maryland Heights and it was steep. S-T-E-E-P Steep. Right off the bat it's like walking up stairs for a couple hundred yards and that's just to get to the sign that marks the beginning of the trail and has a map of the area. Being winded already, I welcomed the opportunity to stop and read all the signs thoroughly. Then it continued uphill for a really, really long time. I didn't make it all the way to the top, but got more than my fair share of exercise just going straight uphill for about forty minutes.

By the time I turned around I was really sucking wind.

Then I run into this jackass JOGGING up the hill! Okay he wasn't a jackass, he was quite friendly when we had brief exchanges both times he passed me. What a freak though. Jogging up this trail, that's like Lance Armstrong territory. Anyway, it made me realize -- as if I needed to be reminded -- how truly out of shape I am.

But I think if I work on my stamina and legs throughout the week, maybe I will try the Maryland Heights trail every weekend and use that to measure my progress. I'll never jog up that damn thing, but maybe by the end of summer I can get to the top without stopping to "read."