Well, signing up for the #walk1000Miles certainly seems to have gotten me motivated, as after today, I’m on track to hit my weekly target of completing three walks and three runs.
That’s pretty much three more walks than I would usually do! Maybe not special for some of our fabulous daily walkers, but pretty awesome for me.
After spending a lovely Sat morning on abs workouts ( healthunlocked.com/strength... ), family breakfast, and a couple of quick board games, hubby finally went off on his 9k walk, and I was left contemplating: would I finally catch up on a bit of office work for work, as I’m coming back from leave next week? Or would I give in to the temptation of following the blue patches of the sky outside? The outside won! I donned my trail running shoes, not to run. I also grabbed my Nordic Walking Poles. I headed out for a walk!
So what were my takeaways?
1) It was good to know I was motivated to walk, and I appreciated that hubby gave me that role model example of heading out first, giving me that extra little nudge to get out there.
2) And I chose my 3k summer running route over fields and stream-side trails, towards but not aiming to reach a farm and coffee shop at 5k and… it was muddy! Which felt just right! Because I wouldn’t have been able to run through these muddy puddles, the waterlogged stretch with only side verges offered some slippery but less wet paths. But with my 4 points on the ground, my two Nordic Walking Poles and my trail-running-shoe-donned feet, any slippery slopes beside the stream slope, or thin brambles wedges on the path’s sides, both were easily and safely navigated with the poles. They could keep the thorns away and ensure that I wouldn’t slip. With that, I recognised I could connect with my summer route in winter. Even though I might not be able to run this route in the mud season, I could walk it.
3) And this was finally my chance to listen to the audio-guided walks by Coach Bennett on the NRC app. The audio-coached NRC walk I was listening to was the “3k WALK BACKS”, and the music I was listening to was a J.S. Bach playlist. I love listening to classical music but do not often get the chance nowadays. This was another revelation. I need that beat from rock music and pop music for running, but I can finally choose classical music for walking. And that is lovely, as was hearing our Coach Bennett’s thoughtful nudges to “walk back” in your memory to walking inspirations.
4) All in all, it was a tiny, little walking adventure; I left in the afternoon, and by half point, the gorgeous sun was disappearing behind some fat, heavy and brooding clouds, and it seemed to get quite dark this early in the day. That made me think I should have packed a flashlight, just in case. But I could head down the hill, cross under the rail track and return home by a route on the road network alongside the outer edges of my town, right? Wrong! Reaching this point, I realised my path back underneath the rail track was in knee-deep water, so my choices were a) get my running-shoes-donned-feet completely wet by walking through the watery passage or b) cross the panic-inducing train tracks willy-nilly or c) head back over the hills and riverside path I came from. So I stamped down those poles and started walking back the way I came.
5) And my final and glorious takeaway was this: My back held up. Over 3k. (And yes, by now, I can run again 5k regularly without any back ache in sight, but walking had always been my weak spot, with my back letting me often know 5 minutes into a walk. But not this time!
Yes, the Nordic-style walking with poles gives you a whole-body workout, but it also distributes all sorts of strains. And by the time I turned into our yard, I was all worked out and sweaty.
Entering the kitchen, I saw hubby was back just now, cheering me as he now realised I had been out on a walk as well. Walking separately but simultaneously, we had something to chat about over a hot cup of tea and buttered toast (gluten-free) with a couple of scrambled eggs. Simple but so satisfying.
A great day that didn’t end there. But this was the walking part and a big part of my happy day it was.
So how was your walking in the first week of 2023?
Picture:
BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT: my muddy walking route today
TOP LEFT: My #Walk1000Miles tracker app (there were some first-day technical glitches, so various walks were counted as runs, and the indoor running should not be there at all, but I could not find a way to delete it. But close enough. )
TOP RIGHT: My Apple Fitness circles, which are strangely satisfying to monitor.
First walk in 5 days - bliss!
How to start walking. - help sheet