RiverBender Blog: Walking Out the Stress

I returned to my roots this weekend in the form of a nice, long walk.

I used to be quite the walker. I never kicked it into high gear and became a runner (at least, not yet; part of me still believes it’ll happen), but I would walk for hours every day, logging several miles around the circular park path in my hometown or exploring new neighborhoods and getting my steps in.

This hobby started during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Like a lot of people, I was aching for outside time. Walking became my escape. I’d walk and take pictures of the nature scenes and just generally use it as a way to not totally lose my mind.

It’s a little hard to remember now, but you’ve got to recall how wild that pandemic really was. It was terrifying.

And in the meantime, as we dodged the sickness as well as we could, it was also a time of a lot of existential angst. What was important to you? Would we ever return to normal life? What would you do? Like a lot of people, these questions ate at me. Walking was a way to burn some of that nervous energy.

Summer 2020: one day, keyed up from a late-afternoon latte and filled with that angst, I managed to accidentally pull an all-nighter. I’m not usually an insomniac, but that night did me in. Around 4:30 a.m., I decided this was an acceptable time to go for a walk, like all the other early birds. I walked six miles before 9 a.m. and then collapsed into bed and zonked out.

Or there were the late evening walks when, past 8 p.m., I would lace up my tennis shoes and explore the nighttime scene. This is a real nod to my small hometown, where it’s safe enough to do that. I’d walk for an hour or so and enjoy the stars, the cool air, the streetlamps.

I’m a little off-topic, but my point is, 2020 was a wild time. And the way I survived it was by walking.

Six years later, luckily, the existential angst is a lot more manageable. The pandemic is behind us, and so I no longer require daily four-mile walks to stay sane. (Nor do I have the time! It was a very specific point in my life.)

But this weekend, I once again laced up my tennis shoes and hit the road. It was gorgeous outside, if a little warm for spring. I absolutely couldn’t stay inside all day. I decided to head out for “a little walk” and managed to do a little over three miles in an hour and a half.

And it was glorious! A solo walk, but I had my phone with me and chatted with an old college friend the entire time, so I wasn’t alone. The buds on the trees and the heat on my skin hinted of summertime. The breeze tangled my hair.

I moved to Edwardsville about a year ago, so the scenery was completely different from my past walks. I admired the nature trails and the neighborhoods as I walked around and around my new town. I don’t know what else to say except that it was just nice. It made me happy.

And it reminded me that I need to get out more. Like a lot of people, I’m guilty of going to work, then straight home, where I then sit on the couch until bedtime. I spend a lot of my day looking at a screen.

The walk was a bit of a wakeup call. I felt better — more energized, refreshed, ready to tackle the week — and eager for spring. I had a great conversation with an old buddy. It was generally just a good time.

So I recommend it to you, Riverbend. Get outside this week. Take a walk! I’ll meet you on the open path.

More like this:

RiverBender Blog: I Mastered the Art of Painting Walls

Apr 20, 2026

RiverBender Blog: I Finished My Training at Precision Point Armory with a Bullseye

Apr 13, 2026

Illinois Accountability Commission's Fourth Hearing Reveals Never-Before-Seen Footage and New Eyewitness Testimony

Yesterday

Noah Sconce Gives 110% at East Alton-Wood River High School

Apr 12, 2026

RiverBender Blog: Precision Point Armory Taught Me How to Shoot

Mar 30, 2026