Week 9 distance walk 6.5 hours – 19 miles
“Remember, no obstacles, only challenges.” Ernie, Groove
5th March
The challenge this week was to get to 30km, which left me a little nervous, until I reviewed some of my previous walks and realised that this was only a couple of miles longer than the walk on the 19th Feb.
It’s odd the tricks your mind plays on you. Because I had changed the target metric from miles to kilometers it seemed so much more in my head. It turned out to be a great exercise as I had planned / been forced to rest last Saturday. Planned to get some normal life stuff done, been forced to take it easy through a very mild dose of Covid.
It was a very mild dose. This virus has cut a swathe through the entire globe, devastating families and our normal approach to life and I managed to get through a couple of days of lethargy and a sore throat.
I count myself as being really lucky.
The walk started off at Old Sodbury, where the other half dropped me off at 9 in the morning, with a plan to walk back home over the course of the day. It turned out that the day was a little chilly, but dry (thankfully), so I was able to get a good clip going.
I noticed the improvement in my stamina and general ability to tackle these lengths of walks when I clambered ungracefully to the top of my second hill. Rather than panting, sweating and generally berating myself for letting things get so out of hand, I was able to get to the top of an ancient bronze age fort and actually take in the surrounding view.
I passed so many people out on the walk, it was great to see the camaraderie of walkers. Everyone was really cheerful.
Lunch was taken at the 3 hour mark, simple, quick and then onto the third big hill of the day. There were five climbs to get through during the day, none of them over 200 meters, but some of the slopes were pretty steep, the last one, onto Stinchcombe hill, was bloody torture.
I got home at about 3:30 in the afternoon, (setting off at 9) with only a few stops for water and a bite to eat. The recorded distance was 29.35 km, but I am chalking this one up to a win, I can allow myself the 650 meters. I trekked at a pretty steady 13 minutes per km and burned through a whopping 2,932 calories. So that evening I really enjoyed some mac and cheese. I think I earned it. 🙂
“Fish are friends, not food.” Bruce the shark, Finding Nemo
