Lesson Learnt

When I am in a crap mood walking/running makes me feel good. Without fail it works. The only problem being that when you are in a shit mood and you go walking in 39 degree (centigrade) heat (about 102 Fahrenheit). I started out OK but then stupidly decided to start running. Yes hindsight is a wonderful thing and if I were to think about it again I would not go out but I did and it was a dumb thing to do.

Trent was going to meet me along the way at various places to give me some water (we were going to visit my parents) but at about 2km I started getting dizzy, blurred vision and feeling like I needed to vomit. Not a good sign! Once Trent met me I had only walked 2.63km and it had taken me 32mins which shows how the heat was affecting me (I can do about double that distance in the same time frame).

After drinking 2 Gatorade drinks and litres of water I started to eventually feel better. Massive headache though, so I believe that I had heatstroke or something. So after all of that yes I did get a walk in but no I didn't feel any better, if anything I felt worse. My lesson has been learnt so from now on no walking/running in anything over 34 degrees and walk at night!

Distance travelled today: 2.63km
Distance travelled so far: 203.5km
Distance left to travel: 25,550.5km

200km!

Yesterday my parents came home from visiting my sister in Sydney. They catch the bus from the airport, so I had to drop the car off at the bus stop for them to get home. I decided that I would walk from the bus stop home in the hopes of reaching 200km before the end of the year.

I had Nic join me on my walk. It was quite a slow walk by our normal standards but any walk is better than no walk. Our slowest km took us 13.17 mins which is a very slow time and even our quickest km wasn't that fast at 10.29mins.

After 1hr 17mins we finished our walk which turned out to be 6.68km making me pass the 200km mark! I have to say that 4mths ago I didn't imagine that I would still be walking let alone running (to be honest I think there are other people that probably thought the same). I plan on reaching various goals in the new year and hopefully Nic will continue to walk with me to motivate me and push me when I need pushing etc... I hope to walk 600km in 2011 (bring my total to 800km), I also hope to walk a 50km challenge walk in September with Nic, so I will have to start training for bigger walks. So heres hoping the motivation stays and I can reach these goals and more I set along the way.


Distance travelled today: 6.68km
Distance travelled so far: 200.87km
Distance left to travel: 25,553.13km

Christmas Eve

We have traveled to Trent's Mum's place for Christmas and I decided it was a good opportunity to take Trent out for a walk. I went a different way to where I walked when I came up here a couple of months ago, but because Trent was with me he was fine with me running along the river.

Trent is not a fan of running so I wasn't sure he would overly enjoy himself. He still doesn't understand why I enjoy it so much. I started off running and as it was down hill I thought it would make it a little easier for Trent. He still didn't enjoy it though. I think I went out a bit hard too early though. I ran the first 1km in 8.51mins (I am sure the hill helped though).

After the first km it went down hill. I blame the bugs, the copious amounts of bugs. It was horrible. Mosquitoes, moths, and any other flying sort of bug. There were so many bugs. There were places on the run that I felt like I couldn't inhale for fear of inhaling my weight in bugs. If it wasn't the bugs it was the revolting stench the lingered around the river. It seriously smelt like we were running around in a dirty old service station toilet. It was truly disgusting.

After the first 2.5km my leg started to hurt a bit, I am not sure if it was because I went hard early or just my leg flaring up a bit again. I then decided to slow down a bit in the hopes of not making it worse.

As we were heading home I decided to do a bit of sprint (so much for saving my leg). There is me sprinting whilst Trent just jogs along side of me. Damn him for having longer legs than me! My leg was hurting even more after the sprint, so the walk wasn't as long as I had hoped.

I have been icing my leg since we got home and hopefully I will be good for my next run. Not far off 200km, so I have decided that I have to do that before the end of the year. Shouldn't be too hard hopefully.

Distance travelled today: 4.16km
Distance travelled so far: 194.19km
Distance left to travel: 25,559.81km

Laps

Today Nic & I went back to running laps. I met him after work to run at the oval near his place whilst Robyn & Trent took the kids to play in the playground. The oval was a little overgrown, I guess the school gardener is on holidays til school goes back. It was a little annoying due to the long weeds and it was making my legs itch.

I have been in the mood to do some proper running all week but today was the first chance we had to get out. We would walk a lap and then run a lap. I was using my phone again to track how far I was going and it counts 1km as a lap. We ended up doing 7km. My slowest lap was 12.03min and my fastest was 9.43min. It is weird the more I run the easier I find it, so at the start I get puffed quite quickly but at the end I could keep going. I assume I have passed th 'pain barrier' so it gets easier from there? I have no idea.

Was an awesome run tonight and I am glad I went out, I love it wen my legs and hips hurt afterwards (odd I know) but it is a good pain not a bad pain.

Distance travelled today: 7.02km
Distance travelled so far: 190.03km
Distance left to travel: 25,563.97km

Sunday Stroll

This afternoon I went for a walk with Nic. I am still a little wary of over doing it with my leg, so I decided that we would not do any running today. We just walked in a random direction until we had had enough or arrived back home. It turned out to be quite a nice walk.

I had never walked the area we went before and we ended up walking past a creek, it was almost like we were walking in the bush. Nice and quiet and no exhaust fumes it was good. Surprisingly we ended up walking 6.31km. We were out over an hour but like I said I was taking it easy for the sake of my leg. I don't know if it will help or not but time will tell I guess.

The app I use on my phone (Endomondo, I highly recommend it) maps out where you have walked and after our walk today it looked like we had walked around the border of South Australia. It wasn't planned that way it just turned out like that. I didn't push myself overly hard but it was a good walk all the same.

Distance travelled today: 6.31km
Distance travelled so far: 183.01km
Distance left to travel: 25,570.99km

Sunlight

I had organised to go out for a run with Nic tonight and surprise, surprise he turned up before it was dark! We actually started and finished the run in daylight hours!

I have been doing so much housework this week that I think I have walked a million km but not actually gone anywhere. It has however put extra strain on my leg. It was a bit tight before we started out so I took the first couple of km a bit slow, so I could warm my leg up a bit. I did do some running but definitely not as much as on Monday night. My legs started to get quite tight but I decided to keep going. Probably not wise but I have been icing it ever since and it seems to be helping.

Nic also made me do 50 sit ups at the end of our walk/run, pity I can't add those to my tally. I ended up walking just over 6km, which is better than I thought I would do but now I will rest my leg til at least Saturday.

Distance travelled today: 6.04km
Distance travelled so far: 176.7km
Distance left to travel: 25,577.3km


Here is a question for you masses of readers out there (yep all 5 of you). I am going to start swimming in the new year, am I allowed to add my swimming distance to my walking distance?

I'm Back Baby!

I have been doing major housework all day and had been tossing up whether to go out walking tonight or not. One minute I would want to, then next I would think nah I will go out tomorrow. In the end I chose to go out.

I had planned on doing laps of the oval at the end of our street but ended up getting a phone call from Nic asking if I had made a decision or not (I had messaged him to see if he would help me make a decision). I ended up meeting Nic at the oval I found last week. I decided to start doing some running and it felt so good. My GPS tells me when I have done 1km and how long it took. My fastest 1km was 8.56 mins, I was very pleased with this. This shows I am getting fitter which is great to know, especially with two weeks of not much exercise.

My thighs are sore from the running but in a good way. I am starting to do more running than walking. It feels so good to be feeling good pain again and I look forward to going out again on Wednesday.

I'm back baby and it feels good!

Distance travelled today: 6.86km
Distance travelled so far: 170.66km
Distance left to travel: 25,583.34km

Leg Check

I have been waiting for today for the past week. I never realised how much I enjoy all this walking/running, considering I went through a 2 week period of not really wanting to go out anymore.

It has been absolutely pissing down today and I decided early on that considering I was only going out for a 2km walk to see how my leg was I would go out no matter how much it was raining. I was actually kind of looking forward to going out in the rain (maybe the child side of me coming through).

When I went out it had stopped raining and was nice and cool. I had to resist the urge to start jogging as I knew I needed to build up to it again. I did jog to get across one rd and it still pulled on my leg quite a bit, so that kept me to walking. I really want to get back out there properly so I am not going to over do it.

On my walk I passed yet another oval and playground that looked like it would be good to go to with the kids, I didn't check the oval out properly as I was just walking past but will definitely have to go back there.

I am loving having a GPS tracker in my phone as it means I don't have to work out where I am walking with Google maps before or after my walk, I can walk where ever and I will know how far I have gone. Today I ended up walking 2.46km. I know I won't be going out again until probably the weekend but it was good to know walking wise my leg is good, a few days extra rest can only be a good thing.

Distance travelled today: 2.46km
Distance travelled so far: 163.8km
Distance left to travel: 25,590.2km

Struggling

It has almost been a week since the fun run and I am still waiting out my week of no running/walking due to the shin splints. I have been on pain killers/anti-inflammatories since Monday.

I am struggling to deal with the pain. The pain isn't that bad, I am just struggling with the fact that it is still there. Some days are worse than others. I am starting to dream about going running! That is not something I thought would ever happen. I am missing going out. It is weird I feel a little lost on the nights I would go out running as I feel I have nothing to do.

I am hoping that by Tuesday my leg will be ok and will be able to go out for a short walk to see how my leg is. Three days and hopefully all will be good again.

Fun Run & Dr Visit

Yesterday was the Santa Fun Run that I signed up for with Trent, Nic & Robyn. Trent and Robyn walked the route, where as Nic and I ran it.

It looked great as we went along with all these people in Santa suits (everyone registered for the fun run was given a santa suit), would have been weird for people to see it if they had no idea it was on.

Now I bet you are wondering if we were right with the route we had been training on. You probably aren't but I will tell you anyway. The Tuesday run was closer to being right than the Thursday one was, just the opposite direction to what we had be running.

As you are probably aware my general time for 4km is 35ish minutes. I made it my aim yesterday to beat that. I jogged the last 1km and made it in 31min 50 sec. I have to say I am pretty chuffed with that. Mind you, now that Nic knows I can do that he will probably make me run 1km before I can go back to a walk. I do think the periods of walking are getting smaller though, which can only be a good thing as it means I am getting a lot fitter. Trent & Robyn walked it in about 50mins.

After the run my leg was so painful, just so tight and sore. As the day went on it slowly got worse, to the point that not even I could touch it without it hurting. Trent wanted to rub it to help it but the idea just made me cringe. I decided that if it wasn't better by today I would see the dr.

This morning when I stood up it seriously felt like my leg was going to snap in half. Shit it hurt. I got Trent to book me in to see the dr but he couldn't see me til tomorrow. I ended up taking myself to a walk in clinic the pain was that bad.

Turns out I have shin splints. I have to rest and no running or unnecessary walking for a week. I know it is only a week which is good, as it could have been worse if it was a stress fracture. I have a feeling that by the end of the week I will be going a little stir crazy though. Hopefully I will get straight back into it all next week.


Distance travelled today: 4km
Distance travelled so far: 161.34km
Distance left to travel: 25,592.66km

Test Run part 2

This evening I met Nic after work again to do another trial run for Sundays Fun Run. We altered the route slightly to what we ran on Tuesday as we both thought we had parts of it wrong.

Nic ran off ahead of me in the attempt to lap me. The track we used today was quite odd as part of it was a small dirt/grass path right next along the edge of the city golf course. I am not 100% convinced that this was the path we were supposed to be on as prams and wheelchairs are included in the fun run and I don't see how this path would be suitable for them.

I did do some running but I really need to put some music on my new phone so that I can have some motivation when I am on my own. It is funny, you don't realise how motivating a person is until you don't have them there next to you making you run that bit sooner or that bit further. I did slow up a lot towards the end as I was looking for Nic on the opposite side of the river. I knew he had done one lap and was expecting to see him on the other side, so it ended up taking 40mins to do the 4km. Nic ended up doing 1.5 laps rather than 2 laps. One thing I noticed today on my run is the number of women that wear little or no breast support whilst they are running. Seriously ladies a good bra is all part of good breast maintenance. I don't know how they can do it, it would be painful. Stupid ladies will end up with nanna boobs.

I do have a sore leg (calf to be precise) now though and it was hurting after Tuesday. The muscle is quite tight but I now have two days of rest before the fun run, so it should be good by then.

Distance travelled today: 4km
Distance travelled so far: 157.34km
Distance left to travel: 25,596.66km

Test Run

I am doing a fun run on Sunday with Trent, Nic & Robyn. Nic & I are going to run it, Trent & Robyn will walk it. The run is 4km and I want to attempt to run most, if not all, of it. I decided last week that I would do a couple of test runs this week in the lead up to the fun run. The first test run was today.

I met Nic after work to go for a run round the fun run track. It was 36 degrees (about 96 for those of you in America) when we started out the run. Now as you all know I am not a runner at the best of times but running with Nic is even harder than normal. I feel bed if I go too slow as he is used to running faster but at the same time I get completely knackered running too fast. I am getting better though (well I think I am anyway).

I didn't manage to run the whole thing but again I blame the heat. We did the 4km in 35mins. If I can do that in the heat I am pretty certain I can manage 30mins when it is cooler (that is my aim anyway). next trial run is Thursday after work so lets see how I go then as it is supposed to be raining then.


Distance travelled today: 4km
Distance travelled so far: 153.34km
Distance left to travel: 25,600.66km

It's Getting Hot

I bought myself some new sneakers yesterday and have been hanging to go for a walk/jog ever since.

Earlier this evening I went for a walk/jog to Nic & Robyn's, it has actually been awhile since I went to their place on one of my jaunts. I took a gps with me this time to double check the distance I was travelling. In the past I have said it was 5.9km, the gps today said it was 6.51km. Personally I think the GPS went a bit funny and I am going to stick with it being 5.9km.

I think I pushed myself a little hard because at one stage I felt like I was going to chuck, so I just slowed down a bit. I made it in 58mins I think, a little slow but I am going to blame the heat. When I got to Nic & Robyn's I drank about 3L of water, so it was hot.

I think as summer kicks in I am going to have to start doing the walks later to accommodate for the heat.


Distance travelled today: 5.9km
Distance travelled so far: 149.34km
Distance left to travel: 25,604.66km

Walk & Talk

If you hadn't noticed I have been having a bit of a hard time getting motivated to go walking this has slowly getting worse. I hate feeling the way I have been feeling and it sucks when I have been enjoying what I have been doing for so long. I know it has made me fitter as well as losing a little bit of weight. Why have I been feeling this way? I have no idea. I have a few ideas. Trent being away, me being stressed about Trent being away and stressed about being home on my own with the kids. When Trent came home and I relaxed I realised just how worried/stressed I had been. I think this the resulted in me having the worst headache I have ever had.

Now what has all of this got to do with walking? Not a lot really but had I not emailed Nic to say I was going to go on a walking hiatus for a week or so I wouldn't have ended up going for a walk tonight. Yes I know that makes no sense, I say I am not going to go walking but end up going out the very next day? After I emailed Nic he knew things weren't good and I let him know how I have been feeling. He suggested we catch up one night this week to chat. I knew that if I didn't stick to my walking every other day routine I would get pissed off at myself, so I thought why not go for a walk and a talk.

Talking to Nic about nothing and everything always makes me feel better. Talking to Nic whilst walking makes me lose track of what I am doing and made me walk 4.94km. I felt good about going for the walk (even if it was kind of forced) as it has made me gather perspective again and I think it will get me back on track again. I have to now see if I can jog for more than 2.32 mins in preparation for the fun run in a few weeks.

I greatly appreciate Nic listening to my ramblings as it helps me sort the shit out in my head. I think any one would be lucky to have a friend like Nic but I am lucky enough to have three people in my life that are there to listen and help me when I get a bit overwhelmed with life. I just don't always remember that they are happy to listen and help.

Trent, Nic & Robyn I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the help you have all given me over the past few days. You have all helped me more than you know and I am eternally grateful. Friends like you are rare and I feel honoured to be able to call you my friends (and husband). I love you all and thank you xxx

Distance travelled today: 4.94km
Distance travelled so far: 143.44km
Distance left to travel: 25,610.56km

Had Enough!

I have really had enough of walking/jogging/running. Why am I doing this? I have no motivation, no incentive, no reason.

Todays walk on it's own is enough to realise I have no motivation 30mins to walk 3km. PATHETIC!

If it wasn't for a fun run I have coming up in a few weeks I would seriously consider stopping. I hate that I am feeling this way after feeling so motivated and enjoying it for as long as I have. Maybe after the fun run I will have motivation back.


Distance travelled today: 3km
Distance travelled so far: 138.5km
Distance left to travel: 25,615.5km

Feeling Rubbish

I was feeling a bit rubbish this afternoon. Massive headache and generally just feeling crap.

Trent came home yesterday so I was able to go for a small walk before dinner in the hope it would make me feel better. I was glad I went for the walk so that I am keeping to 3 walks a week but my headache was worse after the walk. It felt like my head was going to explode. I possibly shouldn't have gone for the walk but I am sure I would have been annoyed at myself if I didn't go out.

I do prefer evening walks to morning walks that is for sure, so now that Trent is home I can get back to the evening walks.


Distance travelled today: 4.3km
Distance travelled so far: 135.5km
Distance left to travel: 25,618.5km

Short Walk

I planned a short walk today due to my lack of motivation in the hope that a shorter walk would give me some form of enjoyment.

After dropping the kids at school I walked to my Mum & dad's place. It is only 2.1km away but a bit hilly. It took me 20mins to walk to their place. Once I got there I just wanted to go to sleep (I haven't been sleeping well lately). I had 90mins before I had to turn around and walk back to the school.

I left at 11:10am to go back to the school leaving myself exactly 20mins to get there. Torin & Siobhan finish Kindy at 11:30am. I made it in 15mins! I guess I do have some motivation hidden away somewhere as I jogged most of the distance. I was knackered by the time I got to the school but for the first time since Trent went away I felt good about what I had done.

My legs are sore now and I am exhausted but I am thinking once I get some decent sleep I will be motivated to do bigger distances again.


Distance travelled today: 4.2km
Distance travelled so far: 131.2km
Distance left to travel: 25,622.8km

Morning Walk

This morning I went for a walk round the block. It was a 4.3km block. I had planned on walking 6.45km but part way on my walk I really needed the toilet so had to cut my walk short. Again 4.3km is better than nothing.

I am lacking motivation at the moment, not sure why. I am not sure if it is due to lack of sleep, not having Trent at home or just loosing enthusiasm I have no idea. I hope it changes soon though as it is making it hard for me to actually get out and walk.

Distance travelled today: 4.3km
Distance travelled so far: 127km
Distance left to travel: 25,627km

Friday Night Walk

Last night I went for a walk with Nic. Trent is still away and I don't have a lot of motivation to get out and walk, so catching up with Nic is good.

We went to do laps at the school like we normally do but they had stuff going on there. We went to another school near their place instead. I think the oval at this other school was nicer but one side was quite prickly. Not fun when you are walking/running barefoot. I really need to look into new sneakers so I don't have to go barefoot.

I did some walking and running but my legs were really tight so I didn't do as much as I would have liked too. Lets hope they are better before my next walk.

I went 4.1km today, not far but it is better than nothing.

Distance travelled today: 4.1km
Distance travelled so far: 122.7km
Distance left to travel: 25,631.3km

Goodbye Walk

This morning Trent left for his 10 day motorbike ride, so I got him drop me at the kids school when he took them and i started to walk home. This way I knew I would get at least one walk in.

As Trent was meeting at his mate Ben's house I decided to see him off on his ride from there. They wanted to leave at 9:30am so I knew what time I had to be there by. I realised on the way to school that I had left my Ipod at home (not happy) so wasn't too sure how i would keep my pace as without the music it is easy to walk slowly.

I left the school and started walking. When i got to the first side street i had to cross I made the decision to jog to the next side street. From that side street I walked and continued to alternate like that all the way to Ben's house. I made it there in 35mins (it was 4.2km). I actually beat Trent there and Ben wasn't even home!

When they eventually left it was 10am and I no longer had as much motivation to walk. Trent even bought me my Ipod and that wasn't even motivating me. I think if I had money in my pocket I would have caught the bus home but as I didn't I had no choice but to walk home, which was 4.4km. I didn't think I would walk it overly fast but got home in 40mins, despite being rained on.

In total I walked 8.6km in 1hr 15mins (which is 5mins faster than my 8.4km walk). My legs are dead but I am glad that I went and did my walk.

Distance travelled today: 8.6km
Distance travelled so far: 118.6km
Distance left to travel: 25,635.4km

Walk/Run

Yesterday I went for an afternoon walk at the school near Nic & Robyn's. Trent and the kids came with me and they played on the equipment whilst I walked. Nic eventually joined me about 30-45mins after I got there, so I was already 10 laps ahead of him. I had managed to jog a couple of those laps as well.

When Nic joined me we walked a couple of laps before he started making me jog every other lap. It is good to have someone come out with me that will push me that bit harder than I would push myself. I did sprint half of one lap and after that every lap of jogging was really hard on my legs but in a good way.

I ended up doing 24 laps! When I say it is only 6kms it sounds a bit rubbish, 22 laps sounds so much better. My legs are like jelly today, so we obviously did a good job with the walking & running.

I am going to have to do my next few walks during the day while the kids are at school as Trent is going away for 10 days. This means no evening/afternoon walks til he is back. At least while they are at school I am not having to rely on others to watch the kids for me. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with the walking while he is away. My aim is to do Tuesday & Thursday morning walks this week. Let's see how the weather and my legs hold up to see if I can actually do that. Fingers crossed.

Distance travelled today: 6km
Distance travelled so far: 110km
Distance left to travel: 25,644km

100km!!!

I HAVE CRACKED 100KM!!!!

I know I am tooting my own horn but I am pretty proud of myself for keeping up with my walking, especially now that I have reached 100km. YAY me! Today, as a present to myself for reaching this milestone I bought some shorts (I haven't owned any in about 5 years) and a new sports bra. Who knew that a sports bra didn't have to have underwire to be supportive, I didn't that's for sure!

I had Trent drop me at my friend Ebony's house and I walked home from her place. Now her house is only 4.45km away but the hillest rd ever!. I swear the rd is vertical, it is horrid. My legs are so dead now. It was worse than running, never thought I would say that.

I aimed to walk it in 45mins but it took 50mins. Not too bad really but I could have jogged the last bit to get home 5mins quicker.

Distance travelled today: 4.45km
Distance travelled so far: 104km
Distance left to travel: 25,650km

BTW incase you were wondering sports bras without underwire ARE very supportive

Walk

Today I walked to a friends house. I was going to walk this morning but sleeping in prevented that.

I wasn't overly happy with the time it took to walk today. 55mins, pretty crap really. Just wasn't really in the mood today.


Distance travelled today: 5.9km
Distance travelled so far: 99.55km
Distance left to travel: 25,654.45km

Sprinting!

What is wrong with me? I have always hated running and tonight I was sprinting, by choice!

If anyone had said to me when I decided to start walking back in September that I would now be doing random sprints I would have laughed at them. In typing that I realise I only started all this walking 5.5 weeks ago! I have to say I have surprised myself in how much of an obsession this is becoming. I plan my week around my walks.

I met up with Nic to go walking again tonight. I had planned to go out earlier than we did but Nic had to finish his gardening. We went to the school near his place to do laps of the oval. Trent took the kids to play in the playground whilst we walked. Robyn bought down some dinner for everyone as well as it was past 7pm.

I had already walked 5 laps by the time the food arrived but decided I wouldn't stop until I had done 10 laps. I would chuck in some random half lap sprints as well. Some of the sprints would completely take it out of me but they are getting faster and I can pretty much jog a full lap now too.

Once I had done 10 laps it was getting too cold for the kids so Trent and Robyn took the kids home while Nic & I finished our laps. As I entered into lap 13 I told Nic it was my last lap. He said I had to do 15 laps. I told him to be fair he had to do 15 as well. I had two laps to go, he had 9. I slowed down my walking so not to finish to far ahead of him. As I finished I decided to do one more lap and finish with a sprint race against Nic. This did mean I got to sit at one end of the oval for a lap and a half waiting for Nic. Maybe not fair going into a sprint after resting and he had just run all his laps, but Nic is the one who runs more than I do so in the scheme of things I think it was fair. I slowed down during the sprint as I couldn't see the oval properly as it was getting dark. I do think that I ran faster than Nic had anticipated though. I think it may have been a bad idea to show Nic that I don't mind running as I am sure he is going to make me do more of it. Good thing I am enjoying it at the moment.

In the end tonight I did 16 laps which works out to 4km but I now have very itchy feet from running barefoot on the grass. I feel good from tonights running, I think I will head out for a day time walk (no run) on Tuesday though, will see how I go though.

Distance travelled today: 4km
Distance travelled so far: 93.65km
Distance left to travel: 25,660.35km

Kindy Pick Up

I decided yesterday that I would walk to pick Torin & Siobhan up from Kindy. Now if I were to walk the most direct rout it would be 6km but I decided to make it longer. I decided on an 8.2km route.

I gave myself 90mins to walk in the hope it would take 75mins. It ended up taking 80mins. Still 20mins quicker than Google maps had predicted it would take. I am quite happy with the time I made it in but would have liked to have made it in the 5 mins quicker. Guess I will have to pick up my pace a bit.

It is not easy to walk 4.1km on one straight rd. You can see where you need to get to but it never seems to get any closer. I am so glad I walk with my headphones in for a couple of reasons: 1. To keep me going as it is boring just listening to traffic & 2. It helps set the pace of my walk. I have actually been listening to Adam Lambert's album 'For Your Entertainment'. It is brilliant music to walk to.

My legs started to seize up during the last 1.5km, like they had, had enough. They are so tight and sore now, my calves won't relax. Hopefully I will start to feel better by the time I have to pick Shayla up later.

Distance travelled today: 8.2km
Distance travelled so far: 89.65km
Distance left to travel: 25,664.35km

Change of Scenery

I decided to walk to Mum and Dad's today to test out my ankle. Yes I probably should have given it more rest but it felt really good this morning so I decided to go out to make up for the lack of 'proper' walking last night.

I decided to alter my route to Mum and Dad's slightly as it can be a bit boring going the same direction all the time, by changing the direction it was a 7km walk with lots of hills. I was prepared to call Trent to come and get me if my ankle decided it wasn't up for walking today. Thankfully it decided it would co-operate for a change. I impressed myself by making it to their place in 1hr 5mins which isn't bad as that is what it took last time I went there but on the shorter distance. I must be getting faster!

Once I got to Mum & Dad's I then decided to use their rowing machine and rowed 2km. Now I am going to add that 2km as part of my tally as it is still distance travelled so I think it should count. If you as readers think otherwise please let me know.

I am so knackered now though, will definitely take tomorrow off and let my foot rest properly.

Distance travelled today: 9km
Distance travelled so far: 81.45km
Distance left to travel: 25,672.55km

No More Moontanning

I currently sitting here with ice (well a bottle of Jagermeister actually) on my foot. That's right I have a new injury!

I went out for a walk/run with Nic tonight and was very much looking forward to it. I wasn't in the best of moods and generally after walking I feel a lot better. I had been waiting all day for Nic to be able to go out and I was ready at 6pm. Nic didn't get here til 7:30pm when it was almost dark. I really wasn't happy about that as I was concerned that if I can't see where I am walking properly I could injure myself.

Anyway, we decided to check out a different oval. There was more light on this oval than the one we went to the other day but the grass was quite thick and not very flat. After walking a couple of laps Nic started his run, I put my headphones in (music helps me set my pace, lately I listen to Adam Lambert) and started walking.

It started to drizzle a bit but nothing major, I actually prefer to walk in the rain than in the heat. On my second lap I decided I wanted to run, took my jumper off so I wouldn't get too hot and started running. Went round the bend at the end of the oval and ...crunch... I rolled my ankle. I felt it tear/stretch and went to take another step but couldn't do it. I sat on the oval and cried. I was worried that I had done major damage and would end up on crutches not able to do any walking for a week or more. I was devastated, more so as I made sure tonight I had my brace on, which probably turned out to be a wise decision.

When Nic came round and saw me sitting on the oval he asked if I was ok, I tried to sound ok but I don't think I did. I didn't want to stand up as I was sure I wouldn't be able to put any more weight on my foot but it turns out I could. I finished walking the lap I had started, which unfortunately stopped Nic with his running, and felt fine.

We decided to try out another oval but that one wasn't much better. We then went walking to check out a few more ovals in the area (I think there are 6 ovals within walking distance of my house). We were more strolling than my normal walking but we got to find some other ovals and it made me realise my ankle may not be as bad as I thought it would be.

Due to me rolling my ankle I have decided no more night walking (or moontanning) unless it is extremely well lit and flat.

Thankfully Nic had his GPS on his phone on so after walking I could work out how far I had walked. Turns out it was 4.5km which wasn't too bad considering. Will now finish resting up my foot in the hope I can go walking in a couple of days time.

Distance travelled today: 4.5km
Distance travelled so far: 72.45km
Distance left to travel: 25,681.55km

Final Physio

I had my final physio appointment today. I had absolutely no pain in my foot and I am happy to say that the dude told me I no longer needed to go. Fingers crossed this means no more issues for the rest of the year!

No walking today as I still have blisters that are quite painful.

Walking in the dark

Tonight I went walking with Nic again. It was quite late by the time Nic arrived at our place but we went out anyway. We went to the oval at the end of our street, which I found out has running tracks cut into it. This makes it easier to get a definite measurement of the oval.

This oval had no lights at all but you could see the tracks quite well, so Nic and I stayed. Nic ran his 4.5km, whilst I did walking. This oval seemed much bigger than the oval near Nic & Robyn's house but apparently it was smaller. I walked 12 laps which only worked out to 4.5km.

Probably a good thing I didn't walk further as my feet are quite sore. This is not due to the fact that I didn't wear my ankle brace but more because I have blisters on blisters. I think I may need to go back to wearing 2 pairs of socks or invest in blister bandaids. Maybe I should just do both? I think another factor was doing walks two days in a row. I am sure it was sand from the beach that caused the blisters.

I am going to have a couple of days break of walking to get these blisters to heal a bit and get back into it on Thursday hopefully.

Distance travelled today: 4.5km
Distance travelled so far: 67.95km
Distance left to travel: 25,686.05km

A walk to Mum & Dad's

Having not walked since Wednesday I decided I needed to walk today. Trent & I went with the kids to Meet Nic & Robyn and their son at the beach. The plan (I thought) was for Nic and I to go for a walk/jog/run, whilst Trent & Robyn watched the kids. This never eventuated, which to be honest bothered me a bit as 1. I am not a huge fan of the beach and 2. I would have worn different clothes. Anyway, we stayed at the beach until after dinner and then headed home.

When we got home I still wanted to go for a walk, so I headed off to Mum & Dad's place. All well and good until I got there and realised I had forgotten the house key! I knew Mum and Dad wouldn't be there but just didn't think about the house key. Trent had to come and collect me as I had no other way of getting home, he didn't want me to walk back again as he thought it would take too long and it would be quite late.

I am glad I ended up going walking as I always feel good about it afterwards. I should be going for another walk tomorrow, may need to get Trent to give me a massage tonight so my calves aren't too tight for walking.


Distance travelled today: 6.7km
Distance travelled so far: 63.45km
Distance left to travel: 25,690.55km

Cracking 50km

Tonight I went for a walk with Nic at a park that is about halfway between our houses. Nic runs, I walk. It is nice having someone that is interested in going walking with me. He is a great encouragement to me. After my crappy day yesterday it was good to know that I had someone to go walking with today. If I didn't I doubt I would have gone out walking today.

When I got there Nic hadn't arrived so I just started walking the path around the park. Nic had his goal of 4.5km (starting from his place) so he kept running til he reached his distance. Once he stopped running he joined me with my walking.

Whilst walking and chatting Nic mentioned about me reaching 50km tonight. It took me a moment to realise what he was talking about. Clearly other people take more notice of what I am writing here than I do. In less than a month I have walked over 50km, not a bad effort.

I ended up walking 15 laps at the park which works out to about 7km, not bad for 75mins.

Distance travelled today: 7km
Distance travelled so far: 56.75km
Distance left to travel: 25,697.25km

Lazy

Get off your fat lazy arse and go walking!

There is no reason you haven't been out since Sunday.

You had better walk tomorrow or will turn into a bigger blimp than you already are!

Scenery Change

After my couple of days away my knees have been hurting so I have decided to have a go at walking on grass as I think it could be the jarring from the footpaths/roads that is causing me grief. So, today Trent, I and the kids met up with Nic & Robyn at the school at the back of their house to walk laps of the oval.

As I was ready to go before Trent and the kids I decided to start walking to the school and told Trent to pick me up on the way. The school was exactly 6km away from our house and I managed to walk 4.8km before Trent got to me. I tried jogging part of the way but it hurt my knee too much. so I literally just walked.

Once at the school I walked 1 lap on my own, 1 lap with Robyn and then about 6 with Nic. Trent and Robyn ended up watching the kids in the playground and not walking. I think Nic and I worked out that it is about 4 laps for 1km so with me doing the 8 laps I walked another 2km.

I walked the whole time with no shoes on and I loved it. It didn't hurt my feet, ankles or my knees. I think barefoot might be the way to go in the future however, it may be a problem for some fun runs I am thinking of doing in the near future.

It is nice to have someone to talk to whilst walking but at the same time I do feel I was slowing Nic down as he runs, not like my stupid jog a proper run. Hopefully if I go walking/running with him again he will set his own pace and not feel like he has to walk and talk to me.

Distance travelled today: 6.8km
Distance travelled so far: 49.75km
Distance left to travel: 25,704.25km

Hicksville continued

Today I changed the walk a bit as I felt it was too short last night.

Trent suggested I walk out to the high school and back as that is what he did every day when he went to school. The total distance walked was 6.15km and I think it took just over an hour, I didn't time myself today. I could just check my messages though as I sent Trent a message as I left the house and then when I got home.

This town has something strange going on though. It doesn't matter which direction I walk/run I always seem to be going up hill! How does this work? Is this town in some magical vortex that when people go walking it puts hills everywhere? Stupid hick town!

I did run, I don't know why I say run. It is a jog and even then I am sure some people walk faster than my jog. Anyway, I jogged the last 1.2 km, pretty much all uphill. My legs are stuffed and my knees are starting to hurt. I think I may have to move onto grass for my next walk.

I forgot to mention yesterday the awesome new headphones I have bought myself. They sit around my ear so no matter if I am walking or running they stay in my ears. They are awesome. They are the dearest headphones I have ever bought ($50) but well worth it (I think so anyway).


Distance travelled today: 6.15km
Distance travelled so far: 42.95km
Distance left to travel: 25,711.05km

Country Walk

I have come away for two nights with the kids to stay with my Mother in Law. Not something I would normally do but as it is school holidays I thought it would be fun for the kids to see their Grandma.

I decided that I would still do my walks whilst I am away as I don't see being away as an excuse not to do my walking. As I don't know the area very well I mapped out my route with Google maps before I left. Trent told me which I should go as this Hillbilly town doesn't have a lot of street lights. A slight necessity when walking at night.

This town is not as flat as I thought it was but then I have only ever driven there, not walked.

I walked 5.1km in 45mins but it felt like a hell of a lot longer, stupid hills!

Distance travelled today: 5.1km
Distance travelled so far: 36.8km
Distance left to travel: 25,717.2km

Physio follow up

Today I had a follow up appointment from last weeks physio appointment.

My foot has been feeling really good the past week, so I had no concerns prior to going in. However the physio found a new sore spot near my heel. As he was rubbing it he asked if I felt something pop, not something you want to hear. Mind you I didn't feel anything. It was a bit sore but nothing major, if he left it alone it would be fine.

After some acupuncture (not convinced that two needles will actually do anything) he told me I didn't need to see him for two weeks and all was looking good. Yay!

No walking today.

Need to stay awake!

I was so tired today that I decided to go for another 6km walk to Nic and Robyn's place. I know I spend a lot of time with these two but they are awesome people and it gives me somewhere to walk to. If they weren't going to be home I would find somewhere else to walk to, where I don't know but I would work it out.

I am starting to jog a lot more during my walks and considering some of the hills and my aversion to running it is a surprise to myself that I even want to run/jog.

Today I managed to get to their place in 50 mins which fits in with getting to Mum and Dad's as they are a bit further up the hill which would add 10 mins.

Trent came to pick me up but I think in future I wait 30-60 mins and turn around and come home or get Nic or Robyn to take me home as we didn't leave until after midnight. I walked to keep myself awake and now I can't sleep.

The other option is not to walk to Nic and Robyn's and just map out a 6km loop from home back home again. I will look into that tomorrow I think.

Distance travelled today: 6.0km
Distance travelled so far: 31.7km
Distance left to travel: 25,722.3km

Booze Recovery Walk

After a boozy night with Nic & Robyn I needed a recovery walk. They left some stuff behind so I thought i would go for a walk to take it back to them.

I messaged during my walk to check that someone was home and awake but got no reply so walked to Mum and Dad's instead.

It took me an hour to walk to Mum and Dad's. Their place is 6.7km from our place so I am obviously getting quicker in my walks. Considering I have had nearly 5 days of no walking I was happy that I was still getting quicker.

I can't believe how much I am enjoying this walking, will probably go for another walk tomorrow.

Distance travelled today: 6.7km
Distance travelled so far: 25.7km
Distance left to travel: 25,728.3km

Short Walk

I went on a small walk today to test out my foot. I have done no walking since the City to Bay as AI wanted my foot properly rested.

I just did a short, slow walk around the block. It was a boring walk but at least I know that my foot is ok. I think some bigger walks are on the cards over the next few days.

Distance travelled today: 1.5km
Distance travelled so far: 19km
Distance left to travel: 25,735km

Physio

I was nearly in tears last night thinking the worst about my foot. Stress fractures, broken toes or something. I really don't want to stop my walking.

The physio massaged my foot and found the painful area. It was near my little toe. Turns out it is just an inflammed toe joint. Part of me was disappointed but majority of me was relieved. I kind of wanted him to tell me I needed to stay off my foot for a week to rest it. This would show my foot was injured but was glad that he didn't as I am actually allowed to still walk.

He told me I need to reduce my distances for a few days to let my foot heal but other than that it is fine.

I have decided I will massage and look after my foot until at least Thursday so it can heal properly as the pain after the City to Bay was excruciating and do not want to go through that again.

No walking today

City to Bay

I did it!

That's right peeps. I did the City to Bay, the 6km option anyway.

I put my I-pod in and started my walk at 9:22am. With the aim to reach the finish within an hour (less if possible). Geeze the people that walk are slow and irritating, especially the ones pushing prams. They seem to have a group of Mums together who walk in a row and take up the whole friggen road, so you can't get past. So annoying!

I got to the 4km to go mark and my foot was killing me. The pain was radiating up my shin to my knee. I slowed up for a bit in the hope that the pain would go. It subsided a little but didn't go altogether. I kept walking and had phone calls from both Robyn and Nic checking up on me. I told them I was fine and that I would make it but to be honest I wasn't sure I would. I decided to wait until I saw the next distance to go sign to see how I was going.

When I got to the 2km to go mark I thought, what the hell, I have already walked 4km on a bung foot what is another 2km? Not only did I think that I then thought why not jog the rest of the way? So I did. Weirdly my foot hurt less when I jogged so it gave me more incentive to continue jogging. My goodness 2km felt a long way though!

When I reached the finish line the clock read 10:19am so I had done my walk/jog in under an hour 57mins to be precise. I was very impressed with myself.

I rang Trent and then Mum to let them know how I had gone both were quite impressed with me doing it in under an hour. While I was talking to Mum my foot started to seize up and I could barely walk. It hurt so much I wanted to cry. I had to find Nic and Robyn (Robyn met Nic at the end of his run) so I had to walk through the pain. When I found them I down played my foot a bit, why I don't know. I guess I didn't want people to worry or fuss over me.

We had to then walk to friends of Nic & Robyn's as that is where the car etc... was. I had to walk the whole way on my toes as it was the least painful way to walk. I borrowed a wheat bag for my foot once I was at the friends house which helped a lot.

Now I am home I have been resting my foot as much as I can but I can barely walk. I think I will be off to the Physio tomorrow.

Distance travelled today: 6.0km
Distance travelled so far: 23.5km
Distance left to travel: 25,736.5km

Forgot to add. Congratulations on your run Nic. 12km in 1hr 4mins is a very good time. Mind you if you stay off your phone you could easily do it in under an hour ;)

All Registered

I registered for the City to Bay yesterday. My foot is still not 100% but if I didn't register and it is ok by Sunday I will be kicking myself for not registering.

Yesterday, I thought that since I wasn't going to be doing any walking I would use the Wii. Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped. I was doing the stretches etc... on the Wii fit but it is a bit hard to do it when you struggle to balance on one of your feet. I was on there for about 30mins before I decided to stop as I didn't want to hurt my foot more.

Even though I only did 30mins of work I was told off when Nic and Robyn came round for tea as Robyn doesn't think I should do anything until my foot is better. She is probably right but I am scared of the spiral downfall that will occur if I suddenly can't do the walking I am enjoying.

Today instead of walking I caught up with friends for lunch and bought myself some skins to wear tomorrow under my track pants. My foot is feeling good today so I am doing the walk. I have slathered my foot with deep heat and I am off to bed for an early night so I am rested for tomorrow.

Foot Hurdle

Turns out when you do lots of walking it can injure your foot. I am not a happy person right now.

I woke up this morning with a pain in my right foot and it hurts quite a bit to walk on it. I have been massaging and using heat to help it in the hopes it will get better soon, preferably by Sunday. Why Sunday I hear you ask? Well, I am now doing the City to Bay. Robyn told me last night that Nic had a complimentary pass to do the fun run.

I picked up the pass this morning and have to take it into town to register, I will do that tomorrow as I want to see how my foot goes. No point in registering if I can't walk on my foot. I have bought an ankle brace in the hopes that will help, fingers crossed it will be ok.

No walking done today.

School Walk

Today I continue my virtual walk around Australia.

Trent is home today with a possible slipped disc so I took the opportunity of having someone at home to watch Torin and Siobhan and walked to pick Shayla up from school.

The school is 6km from our place and it is quite hilly. I left myself 1hr 15mins to get there and got there in an hour. Again quite happy with how quickly I got there considering the number of hills there are.

I was quite hot and tired once I got to school but happy that I had challenged myself and made it there unscathed. I wasn't going to make Shayla walk home with me, I thought we could catch the bus home, something different. In the end one of the parents from school bought us home as we only live around the corner from them. We managed to get home a lot quicker that way.

I have decided today to give the City to Bay a miss this weekend as I think that I need to do a bit more training and the cost is a bit high ($40ish I think). Hopefully next year.

Distance travelled today: 6.0km
Distance travelled so far: 17.5km
Distance left to travel: 25,742.5km

Back to the Gym

Today I went back to the gym after a 5mth absence. What made me go back? I have no idea. I have been feeling quite good about myself lately and suddenly have a lot of motivation, so while that is happening I will make the most of it. I have also been talking to my friend Nic about the City to Bay fun run which is this Sunday. He is running the 12km but I would only do the 6km as it would be better as I haven't done any training as such.

I decided I would only use the treadmill and not push myself too hard as it had been a while. I had 90mins before I would have to go pick Torin & Siobhan up from Kindy so I thought I would walk for an hour. In that hour I walked 5.5km. I was quite happy with that considering I only went back to the gym today.

This evening, after dinner, I decided to walk round to Nic & Robyn's house. Their place is exactly 6km from our house (according to Google Maps). They left some stuff at our place on the weekend so I decided to take it back but walk there. I gave myself an hour, yet google maps said 1hr 18mins. I made it there in exactly 1 hr. Robyn told me off for walking to their place in the dark but I felt ok doing it.

After 1 day of walking I am feeling really good about it and can see I am going to enjoy getting back to it tomorrow.

I have also decided to blog my walking as another source of motivation. If I give myself a distance to walk and see how long it takes me to walk it. I thought of different distances I could measure the amount of walking I do against, walking to the moon, around the world but I settled on Australia as it seemed a more realistic goal.

I am not going to give myself a timeline at this time but maybe as I get into it more I will start giving myself daily/weekly goals. I am hoping to actually achieve this goal and I invite any one that reads this to encourage me when it looks like I am starting to falter.

Distance travelled so far: 11.5km
Distance left to travel: 25,748.5km