I found a web site called Race at Your Pace, which lets you challenge yourself to cover a specified distance per month on foot - they have 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 miles (there are also other shorter distances for children and longer ones for cyclists). This can be done either walking or running or a mixture of both. For £14, you get a pretty medal if you succeed and you also get a compression vest top whether you succeed or not. The medal appealed to my inner child and searching for compression vests elsewhere, I realised that £14 is not that excessive a price.
So, I challenged myself to cover 150 miles on foot in July. This will obviously include my C25K sessions as well as any walks I record with the connected GPS facility on my Fitbit. I'm finding this is having an amazing effect on my fitness. After weeks of plateau, I had a tiny shift in weight a week after starting. I also seem to have toned up a bit, as I've managed to reclaim a blouse that no longer shows gaping holes between the buttons. I think it's also making me more resilient for C25K.
The logistics of averaging 5 miles a day have been quite tough. I did a couple of longer walks (7.5-9 miles) to get some miles in the bank. I find myself incorporating various diversions as I go round my daily errands and am getting intimately familiar with local side streets. It's also proving physically challenging. It's tough having to stay up late if work requires it and I am succumbing to daytime naps some days to my utter disgust as I do not consider myself to be that elderly. After 15 days, I am on at total 77.78 miles so still surviving and with 2.78 miles still in the bank. I know I will get the compression top whatever happens, but dammit I want that medal too!