walk 30 days in a row

I’ve been having a hard time getting my walking frequency back up to 5-6 days a week. Instead it’s been about 3 days a week. The longer walks mean I have to make time for those in the evening. I’m no longer willing to trade walks for sleep (as in walking hallways after 10pm) so the challenge is to get home earlier. And that means managing my day better. Once I can get back to 5+ days a week I will start counting my days again with the goal of getting to day 90.

Well I didn’t do so well this week. I only got in 2 or 3 short walks. I had a sore muscle bothering me plus my bad habits (staying late at the office and staying up too late) have gotten in the way.

I’m going for a walk this evening and I think I will set my count back to day 70 and go from there.

Yesterday I took my new watch with the timer on a walk downtown. I usually use my timer for longer walks that I do in my neighborhood at home. Downtown I walk a couple set routes that I’ve previously clocked at 15 or 20 minutes.

I set out on the 20 minute walk and set the timer. I did the whole walk and returned to my building and checked the watch. Hey that didn’t take 20 minutes, I did that in 14 minutes!! Well that means two things:

1. I’m walking faster (well duh, Carm, you’ve been doing this a few months now, you SHOULD be faster); and
2. I need to add some more blocks to my downtown routes (dang!)

• Day 74: June 18 – neighborhood walk to college and back + hill work
• Day 75: June 19 – shorter neighborhood walk + hill work
• Day 76: June 20 – neighborhood walk to college and back
• Day 77: June 22 – neighborhood walk around college and back – felt really good after

Earlier in the week I was “eating hills for breakfast” as Bee would say. But then I think one of the hills had me for breakfast. A few days ago I noticed a red spot on the back of my calf below the large muscle. It’s apparently a muscle that I don’t normally notice, but it was a little red, swollen and tender. I think I overdid it on one of the hills and my body is actually building out that muscle. It’s like a new muscle is there where there wasn’t one before. And it’s not on the left leg, just the right.

When I first noticed it I was a little freaked out and I felt a bit like the Hulk. New muscles popping up out of nowhere? Yikes, where will the next one be?? My big calf muscle is already big and hard as a rock so it makes sense to me that new muscle might have to grow elsewhere on the leg. It just surprised me.

I’ve been staying off the hills for a few days while the soreness goes down and should be back to them in a couple days. But this time with a bigger set of muscles to help me climb.

Day 26 – neighborhood
Day 27 – neighborhood
Day 28 – work
Day 29 – work
Day 30 – softball walk

Thanks Carm and lob for the pleasant company on the journey! Keep up the great work Carm! Thanks to all you 43T encouragers of movin’ and shakin’!!! You helped me to keep going!

Next walking goal will be featured under my be healthy goal

• Day 69: June 11 – neighborhood walk to college and back
• Day 70: June 12 – neighborhood walk + core exercises + hill work
• Day 71: June 13 – downtown lunch hour walk + hill work
• Day 72: June 14 – neighborhood walk to college and back
• Day 73: June 15 – neighborhood walk around college and back – weather was perfect for my long walk – 65 degrees, sunny and a nice breeze

This week my walking program has me starting to do some core strengthening exercises a couple times a week. I managed to do it once so far but maybe can do them again tomorrow. A couple of the exercises are pretty hard for me because of my extra weight – I’m talking about the ones that use your body’s weight as resistance. Oh well, I’ll keep trying them at the very beginning level until it’s not as hard then progress from there.

another walk at the regional zoo…

I lost an entry! Hmmm…to reconstruct,...okay …it’s coming back…
Day 16 work walk
Day 17 work walk
Day 18 walked at the softball game
Day 19 neighborhood walk
Day 20 neighborhood walk
Day 21 through Day 24 work walk
Day 25 lovely long walk at softball tonight!

day 27…a little walk in Eslöv
day 28…everyday walking, like the grocery store, library, jujustu hall
day 29… walking around Lund

• Day 64: June 3 – downtown walk to group birthday lunch and back – steep hills involved
• Day 65: June 4 – neighborhood walk to college and back
• Day 66: June 6 – neighborhood walk to college and back
• Day 67: June 7 – apartment hallway walk
• Day 68: June 8 – long neighborhood walk past college and back

Well I’m on my way to Day 90. The Day 64 walk above is part of why I do this and I was reminded that I still have a long ways to go. When I go out to lunch with my friends I don’t like that I have a hard time keeping up with everyone else, especially on hills and stairs. My coworker friends are all long legged and thin types who barely break a sweat climbing a steep hill or staircase. I on the other hand have a lot of trouble.

I suppose I’m in somewhat better shape for all the walking I’ve been doing, but I’m a long ways from where I would like to be. I should do more hill work on my lunch hours.