Does Gardening Count as Exercise?

Clearing brush in hopes of turning the backyard into a giant vegetable patch is a lot of work.  Over the past 3 weeks I have cleared about 1/4th of the land I need to.

I’m suppose to be training to participate in the Tacoma City Marathon on May 6th.  Since I haven’t actually done any running or fast walking yet to get in shape {I mean c’mon it is 76 days away for Pete’s sake} I’d like to think pulling weeds and hacking away at brush could be considered an alternative method of training… right?

I mean look at everything I’ve cleared so far.

This area is next. I figure I should be able to get my heart rate up clearing this 40′ x 40′ patch of land this week. Right?