Why I'm "Going" For Pokemon Go!

Today my husband Graham and I drove to Gawler to Dead Man's Pass. We went there to have a nice walk on a pleasant winters day, and to do some more Pokemon Go-ing. It was certainly a pleasant way to spend some time, and follow a game we both enjoy! I'm new to this Pokemon Go craze, while my husband Graham has been playing it almost from the beginning.

This is good because he can help me learn how to work it all out. But possibly it may be a little bit frustrating for him, I'm not sure. C'est la vie, you learn by making mistakes, and trying things out is all a part of the learning experience ...

Pokemon Go began on July 6 2016, and is being changed all of the time, with new Pokemon coming into the Pokemon world. There are also other changes going on, but to a newbie like me, I'm content to simply play, and collect as many Pokemon as I can! For anyone who knows nothing about this phenomenon, Pokemon are creatures with various skills, and the whole idea is to catch as many different ones as you can. There is so much more to it all than that though.

The Pokemon Go craze is currently undergoing a bit of a resurgence apparently, and if you're interested in knowing more than I know about it, this is a good website to take a look at.

https://www.vox.com/2016/7/11/12129162/pokemon-go-android-ios-game

I suspect I'd do well to have a longer look at it too, I may learn some more tips and tricks to help me catch more Pokemon! I'm not comepletely obsessed with this game, but I am certainly spending time almost every day playing it, and it is occupying my mind sometimes when I should or could be doing more 'grown up' things.

But doing silly things, that are harmless fun, what's wrong with that? As long as the bills get paid, and the dog gets fed, there's not a single thing wrong with it. It's healthier than obsessing over politics, for instance - that's a crazy stupid thing to let yourself get to obsessed about, unless it's what you do for a living ...

Pokemon Go is my current fun thing to do when I could actually be writing my novel, or doing my homework for my next writing group meeting. And it's a fun way to get my extra walking steps done, because there's a reasonable amount of walking to do, to get the most benefit from playing the game, walking from Pokemon spot to Pokemon spot ...

The Next Day

There is a Pokestop up the road from my place and my husband and I, or just one of us, will walk up the road to check in at that Pokestop, which is actually an unused hall, that was given to the community of Redbanks, the township I live in. After all of the Pokemon walking I did yesterday (which wasn’t that effective as exercise, even if it was effective from a ‘Pokemoning’ point of view), I wasn’t going to do the walk, but remembering my weigh in result this morning, I felt I’d better get some brisk walking happening.

While Pokemon Go is effective for getting people up and outside, there isn’t necessarily going to be much in the way of brisk walking happening. Brisk walking is the kind of walking that is best for weight loss, if that’s what you want. Of course jogging would be even more effective for weight loss, but for many people, walking briskly is much more likely to happen, rather than jogging, and I’m one of those people.

So the bathroom scales told me I’d put on a little bit of weight, and they’d told me the same thing yesterday morning, and the day before as well … So cutting back on my intake, and making better food choices will have to start, and walking briskly will have to happen as well. So this morning, after breakfast, I got the dog lead, put it on our dog Missy, and headed off for the Redbanks Pokestop! I got there, did the required Pokespin, and I’m happy I did that! Missy was a bit puffed by the time we’d walked briskly home again, and I was feeling good, and even a bit proud of myself!

I have one knee that has given me troubles over the past, how long? Twenty years perhaps. It’s my right knee, and sometimes if I overdo things, my knee might ‘blow up’ and be painful. Walking briskly though, this doesn’t hurt at all, if I get tired from walking but haven’t got to where I want to be, I can simply slow down …

Jogging though, that can easily be too much for me, and as I have some issues with my balance as well, falling over at speed may happen, and I HATE falling over! So I walk, briskly. But yesterday, there were a good few Pokestops and a few gyms around the place too, as well as the lovely Nature things to see, so there was much more strolling and stopping, and zero brisk walking …

So today, that walk down to the Pokestop in my township was a good bit of brisk walking, then spinning the stop, and walk briskly home again. Missy and I enjoyed ourselves, ignoring the neighbourhood dogs that barked at us, as we walked past their homes. Walking briskly, as we were, the barking stopped quite soon, and we were back home again, and I was happy with that bit of proper exercise, and happy with the Pokeballs I collected!

And anything that makes getting fitter fun has got to be a good thing, doesn't it?