8 things you recognize when you suddenly go for a walk

Now that I walk, remarkable things happen. I know who lives where, who walks and who doesn't, and which dog belongs to whom. When I didn't walk, I only recognized my own front door and car. But besides all that neighborhood knowledge, there's more going on.

1. Kilometers per hour

I'm googling how many kilometers you can average walk in an hour. At this moment I'm at about six per hour, which the worldwide web sees as the pace of an advanced walker. That made me a bit proud.

2. More on Strava than on Insta

Strava turns out not to be exclusive to runners and cyclists, but is also suitable for walkers. I do this obsessively, because oh dear if I meet someone and that chit-chat brings my average time down.

3. I exhibit different shopping behavior

I googled hiking leggings and which brand is a bit trendy. Uuh, Fjällräven. It could also be that I looked on the Falke site for hiking socks with an L and R on them to avoid confusion.

4. An obsessive relationship with my step counter

I interact unnaturally with my step counter. This morning I had walked my six-kilometer loop and then came home and according to my Fitbit I hadn't even reached my 8000 steps, while it really felt like 8000 steps and then I walked back and forth through the garden on the phone, so I would still reach my 8000 steps.

5. Bored of my route

Uhm, I'm also looking for alternative walking routes that aren't overcrowded and where I can make about six to seven kilometers. To drive to on the weekend or something.

6. It’s raining cats and dogs

I also walk in the rain. Not that I'm jumping for joy, but I do go. Suddenly I heard the words of that one man sailing who laughed hard and shouted: just pretend it’s not raining. And that works, so I now walk in the rain too.

7. In the early hours

Other remarkable behavior: I also leave home earlier to walk, because I can really appreciate the charm of the morning. As in: how the sun rises. God, what a dreamy nonsense.

8. Halfway drying off

It's even such that after I've showered, I put my Fitbit back on halfway through drying off, because what if I take one step that it doesn't count. The horror is also the charging, because I only want to do that when I'm behind my laptop and not at night, because at night it measures my sleep, so I can see in the morning if I slept well and nicely and peacefully.

A tad obsessive. Right?