(Today’s Weight: 212, Total Miles Walked: 320.5)

Welcome to another installment of the Office Walker’s Virtual Walk To Chicago! The past several weeks, I’ve been continuing to consume large quantities of cookies and post-holiday snacks, so my weight loss has slowed (virtually stalled, in fact), but I’ve continued to walk 3-4 days per week on the treadmill desk. My travels have taken me past a number of small towns in Indiana, including Veedersburg and Attica, but the largest of these cities has been Terre Haute, Indiana. So, you’ll be learning a fair amount about Terre Haute in today’s episode.

View Larger Map

But first, let’s discuss a few other things that I’ve been meaning to write up but haven’t gotten around to doing so until now.

Best Shoes For Walking On A Treadmill Desk

Back in late November, I purchased a pair of Reebok RealFlex “barefoot/natural” running shoes to use while walking. To be fair, I don’t know that I can call these “the best shoes” for walking on a treadmill desk since I haven’t tried everything yet, but these are certainly quite good. The interesting thing about these shoes is that they flex a lot if you take them off, but they still have a very padded sole to keep your feet comfortable.

I mentioned early on in my treadmill desk blog that I was starting to feel some arch pain in my feet from walking so much. I then tried to go barefoot, but that also didn’t feel that great over a long period of time. So, I decided to give the Reebok RealFlex model a try, and I’ve been extremely pleased with them ever since.

The cushion is great, and I haven’t felt any foot pain since switching to them. They are extremely lightweight, and they are very form fitting, so my feet don’t get cramped or sore during the day. If anyone else out there is considering using a treadmill desk, I highly recommend giving these babies a try (by the way, if you purchase anything through my Amazon link, I get a small percentage as a referral fee – HINT HINT).

Cats And Treadmills

This is Simba, obviously not very happy about his new Christmas decoration

We have two cats, and I was really excited about seeing their reaction to the treadmill. I had hoped they wouldn’t mind walking on it so that I could upload some awesome videos, but alas, they are both deathly afraid of the thing while it’s running. So, it’s a shame, but my cats and treadmills don’t seem to mix very well.

Simba (the one in the picture) doesn’t mind lying down on it when it’s not running, but as soon as that tread starts to move, he runs away and cowers under the couch. Unless he’s hungry, of course, then he stands right next to me and meows pitifully until I jump off and fill up his food bowl. Kiki, our other cat, doesn’t appear to like it very much either.

I tried holding them in place while the tread was moving, and Kiki will somewhat walk with her front paws, but her back feet just drag behind her, so she’s obviously not cut out for having her own treadmill desk yet. Simba hates it even more, and he’ll actively try to bite me until I let him go. Unfortunate, but it appears these cats are not wise to the world of physical training just yet. Maybe in time…

All About Terre Haute, Indiana

The Lovely City of Terre Haute

Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Let’s discuss Terre Haute, Indiana, and all of the wonderous joys that this city holds.

With a city population of nearly 61,000, Terre Haute is the county seat of Virgo County, one of the westernmost counties in Indiana. The federal death row sits in the correctional complex in this city, so not everything is sunny and happy here, but for the most part, it’s a wonderful mid-size town.

Sitting right next to the Wabash River, Terre Haute has a little bit of everything for a midwestern city. In fact, the official “Crossroads of America” is considered to be the intersection of 7th Street and Wabash Street. It’s centrally located between a number of metropolitan cities, including Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and my first major walking destination, Chicago.

History Of Terre Haute

William Henry Harrison founded Fort Harrison just outside of the city now known as Terre Haute

(Note, most of this information exists on Wikipedia, so I’m relying on the “truthiness” of the Internet masses for accuracy…) Terre Haute was founded shortly after the construction of Fort Harrison, the famous fort constructed by then-future-President William Henry Harrison. In 1812, the fort was defended from a Native American raid which was fueled by the British, who were apparently still upset that their little colony had rebelled a few decades prior.

As the colonists continued to venture westward, the area previously occupied by Native Americans became settled more and more, resulting in fairly rapid growth in the Terre Haute area. Steamboats and riverboats navigated the Wabash River, making Terre Haute a commercial hub for the growing midwest. The Wabash and Erie Canal grew to become the largest man-made canal in this half of the globe, further fueling expansion and commercialization.

In 1852, a railroad line connected Terre Haute to Indianapolis, making rail traffic the largest source of travelers to the city instead of the canal. The ease of transportation to and from the city brought further prosperity and commercial traffic.

However, with the easy river access, the city’s “red light district” grew and developed a bad reputation (or good, depending on the point of view of the visitor). The 1950s saw the city described as “Sin City” by a major magazine at the time. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Terre Haute made a serious effort to clean up its image and revitalize the waterfront area.

Today, Terre Haute is home to a number of large industrial and commercial operations, including the first factory in the United States to manufacture CDs, owned by Sony. Malls, airports, art museums, music venues, and major highways now dot the landscape once roamed by the Wea Native Americans.

Wow, That Was A Long Post

I hope you’ve enjoyed the virtual treadmill desk walk through Terre Haute and its past, as well as the ridiculous picture of Simba. At this point, I’m getting fairly close to Chicago and should be there within a couple of weeks. From there, I’ll continue the route that Forrest Gump took on his criss-crossing run across America, so I’ll be heading west.

If any cities or businesses would like to be featured along the way, I’ll be happy to sell advertising space take a virtual journey there. Just let me know below in the comments or shoot me an email. Until then, Happy Walking!