As I said before Back in August 2012 when first joined My Fitness Pal I could hardly walk a mile round the block without building up a sweat. After years of walking round a classroom all day I had lost it completely. I would limit my trips to the Village and always drive a mile to the Supermarket. I had a couple of online friends who were dog walkers and I could quickly see how they earned calories from their daily exercise with their pets. This changed my whole mindset- walking became a challenge though I could never match the distances one of my friends walks.
In the last few months she introduced me to The Leslie Sansone challenges and yes I have been upping my distance covered to 60 miles plus for 3 months now. This month however she told about about another one The Move Your @ss Challenge or MYAC on which you can walk, run, jog, cycle or do whatever you like long as you make those miles. There is a totally committed and wonderful guy called Dave who with his helpers reads your total every night and updates a spread sheet so you can see if you are on target.
I was determined that on Boxing day I would do a long walk for me (over 4 miles) and got my OH to drop me at Tidemills as dawn broke on his way to Coastwatch duty. Nature was kind to me. The storms and wind had gone and I was treated to a wonderful sunrise over Seaford Head as I walked back along the Vanguard Way and up over the cliff across the golf course.
The sound of gentle waves and Redshanks from the pools
I was a bit dubious about this challenge as I thought with all these long distance runners and cyclists I would soon fall over. To my amazement I have been on track nearly the whole month despite my knee injury and today I went out in the rain and hail to make sure I finished my 65 miles I pledged at the end of November. With a few more December days I might even log a personal best of 70 miles – need some waterproof boots though.
So from being difficult, walking has become a challenge and fun. Never thought I would hear myself say that. Thank you Jean.
Related articles
- Eat less Move more- Walking for Health (christinebrett21.wordpress.com)
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