A New walk

 Life is a series of stops and starts. Things got busy and complicated and I ended up stopping my previous walks… and then I started again… and stopped… and started again. I, honestly, had forgotten this blogger spot existed until I was looking for a place to log my latest start. I was so much fun going back through these old posts to see the places I have been. Now, I am super excited to start again because I can see what I am capable of. 

This time, I am wanting to do a virtual walk to Disneyland in California starting from my hometown of Freeport, IL. According to Google, walking at a pace of 2.5 miles and hour, it would take me 29 days 11 hours or 707 hours of straight walking to get there. (A total distance of 1949 miles)

My plan is to do a walk everyday and pick way points along the Google route that would show how far along the virtual route I have gone. I am going to use Instagram to track my virtual route. I love taking picture of things I see on my real life walks though and this blog is a perfect place to catalog my real walks!

Today, I took to a portion of the Jane Addams trail. I love walking the trail in the spring and fall before the bugs get too bad. There is a lot of marsh and swamp area along the trail, so in the summer you are practically eaten alive by mosquitos.

The entire trail is 17 miles long starting at Tutty Crossing in Freeport, and finally connecting with the Badger Trail and the Illinois-Wisconsin line. There are multiple trail heads along the trail so you have options where to stop and start. Today we started from the Jane Addams Trail Head and walked out and back crossing under Bus. 20. There’s always artwork on the cement supports so I got a picture today of some of the latest.

Today’s stats:

Distance today: 2.81 miles 

Pace: about 21 min/mile

Total distance left till Disneyland: 1944.6 (including the 1.6 miles I walked yesterday)

A long way to Disney

My 30 days of walking experiment ended on Day 15. Sometimes you just hit a day that walking 10,000 steps is not feasible. I had a pile of work that day and a few meetings during my normal walking times. Then, when I got home and still had 7,000 steps to go. I had a choice, build paper dogs with my daughter or spend an hour and change walking laps. There was no way the 7 year old was going to be able to walk for an hour with me.

The 7 year old won.

Things I learned from this experiement.

* Walking will not solve all my problems. There is a release of endorphins when I walk that makes me feel great, but it is not the magic cure-all for everything going on.

* I learned that there is comfort in routine. That doing a little bit multiple times during the day adds up to one big goal. That knowing many different ways to do something will help you when roadblocks come up because you can easily do some creative problem solving. I learned I have more determination than I thought I did.

* I did lose a few pounds and stopped the steadily upward weight trend that I was having before I started the experiment. I just don't feel as hungry when I am walking like that. I also do a little less stress eating because my stress is getting burned off while walking.

* Distance adds up over time. 5 miles a day doesn't seem like much, but as of today, I have gone a total of 89.5 miles since starting this experiment. Only 1186.5 miles to go before I get to Disney. I need to be patient with myself. Little by little I will get there.

Summary:

I am not going to stop walking. It is totally worth it, but some days, I just won't hit 10,000. Doesn't mean I'm not going to try! I think I should start focusing on some other factors of a healthy lifestyle though. Much as I wish it was, walking is not the solution to everything. I also need to think about what's on the end of my fork. (ie. eating a plate of bacon from the work cafeteria for breakfast may not be the best idea.)

So, I'm going to try to start carrying my lunch more. Best part is, I have a blog. So, I have somewhere to plan and take pictures. Who doesn't like pictures of food or ideas for lunch at work?

Today's Motivation:

This was not a failed experiment. This was an experiment.

I tried something. I learned what worked and what didn't.  If nothing else, I learned that sometimes, I need to take a step back and give myself a break. And, I learned where I want to focus next. I love science! Failure is always an option!

Day 10 ... and walking

Setting a goal is kind of easy and fun. It's exciting to have a new project to work on. It's exciting to imagine meeting the goal and feeling fabulous and maybe getting a prize.

Meeting a goal is also exciting. You feel accomplished and successful and maybe you have something to show for what you did. Plus, bragging rights!

The middle of goal... the bit that requires the actual work. Let's be honest. That bit is not that fun. It's work! And really, it can be hard to stay motivated. I have managed staying motivated though and I am hitting my 10 day mark!! Woooo!!! I'm a third of the way through.

The thing that has helped me the most the last few days has been routine. I am getting used to thinking about how to get 10,000 steps a day, so no matter what I am doing I am planning my next walk. If I have to drive to work, I already have a plan of how I am going to fit little walks in during the day. If I walk to work and have to get a ride home, I know where to add steps in so I can still reach my goal. Making the 10,000 steps a part of my day instead of something that I just added on to my to-do list has helped keep my walking the last 3 days when life gets busy!

Stats!:

Distance: Monday was 6 miles, Tuesday was 6.5, and Wednesday was 6.5. Not bad distances really. That brings my total mileage to 53.5. I am on I-39 now just passing Lindenwood, IL. Not bad for 10 days.

Mood: Dragging a bit. After writing this entry and looking at my totals and seeing how far I have come makes me feel a lot better. I think I need to look at my map more often. I am tired. I have a lot of life going on right now. My feet are sore from walking, but I need to remember, I am getting somewhere. If nothing else, I am participating in science by experimenting and documenting my results and that just makes the geek in me smile!

Sleep: I am sleeping better. Still stress dreaming, but I am pretty sure that is not related to the walking. I may just need to add mediation to my bedtime routine. Also, some stretchy band exercises would be good. I sleep better when I have some core muscles, as strange as that sounds. We'll see how ambitious I get.

Today's Motivation:

If I want to make changes and I want them to stick, then I need to change my routine.

There's enough surprises that come up everyday that any plans I have to change my life will be derailed in 2-3 days if I the changes I make aren't just part of my daily routine. So, walking is part of my routine now. I can live with that.

Day 7 - Still Walking

I wonder how many of these days are going to start out with, "I almost gave up yesterday." So, I almost gave up yesterday. I woke up feeling even worse and thinking that walking was NOT, in fact, the best medicine. I decided not to push it. If I got 10,000 steps great. If not, that was OK too and I would just start over.

Well, after church I was feeling better so the family and I went for a walk. By the evening I was feeling quite a bit better and my husband was willing to play a video game for me and I got the last 4,000 steps in while walking in place to the soothing sounds of Paper Mario Color Splash.

So, I am still going. I think the biggest thing I am learning as I do this is to not beat myself up. I am more likely to keep going if I give myself some guilt free down time. I have also found that the time I need to put into walking 10,000 steps is really not that much. If I walked for 2 hrs straight and then did nothing else the rest of the day, I would hit 10,000 steps. Broken into small chunks throughout the day makes getting 10,000 steps a doable thing.

Stats:
Distance: 5 miles on Saturday and 5.5 miles on Sunday brings that total to 34.5 miles. I think I am passing Winnebago now and headed to Rockford.

Mood: Content. I am pleased with myself for making it this far. I feel kind of ready for week two.

Sleep: No stressful dreams last night. That may be because some of the things I was worrying about are getting done, or it's because I am walking. We'll see.

Today's Motivation:

Paper Mario Color Splash.

Because a little distraction can go a long way when I am trying to stay motivated. We all have those things that we are willing to do as long as we are being entertained. I am willing to walk for quite a while as long I have something to amuse me. Be it audiobook or television or a friend. Here's to distraction.

Day 5 - The Inevitable

I woke up this morning after a restless night. My soft palate hurt and my nose was stuffed. Well, that explains why I was feeling so crappy yesterday. I'm not sure why, but usually within a week of starting an exercise routine, I come down with something. I have a theory on why this happens. Exercise stresses your body and lowers your ability to fight infection. Plus, any additional stress you already have in your life is going to be taking a toll as well. I'm sure there's actual scientific documentation to back this up, but I'll leave that to you guys to look up. Either way, I am 5 days into this and I am catching a cold.

This brought me to an interesting crossroad this morning. Do I call the 30 day experiment on account of catching a cold and spend the day laying on the couch or do I walk to work like I normally would and just push through it? I opted for somewhere in the middle.

I am just dealing with the start of a cold, so it reallyis not bad enough for me to stay home from work. And if I am well enough to go to work, I am probably well enough to do some walking. Walking a mile and a half in 44 degree weather with a wind chill just did not sound appealing though. So I drove to work. With some easy math though, I figured out I can still get 10,000 steps today, I just need to do it gently.

500 steps is not bad. It's a short walk. It takes five minutes. It gets your blood moving. It's not long enough for me to get out of breath, but I feel like I've done something. I figure that if I do 500 steps 20 times today I am good. That's like a little 5 minute walk every half an hour. That's doable and easy and I still have plenty of time to work and drink my Gypsy Cold Remedy tea with honey, take Emergen-C and cover myself in Thieves Oil. I am totally going to fight this cold!

I also found this article from WebMD. It's about the benefits of walking on your immune system and also, exercising when you have a cold - because I did do a little bit of research.

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/exercise-when-you-have-cold#1

And, since I am continuing the experiment, that means I still get to tally up my stats!

Stats:

Distance: Just 5 miles yesterday, but I have now gone a total of 24 miles.

Mood: Optimistic. I have cold, but I am working through it. I would like to think that all this walking is boosting my immune system so the cold won't be as bad as it could be.

Sleep: Restless last night, but a Mountain Dew Kickstart this morning help with that.

Today's Motivation:

It sounds silly, but I am grateful to have 10,000 steps to walk today. It gives me something to do other than to sit and feel sorry for myself because I am catching a cold. That's a vicious cycle when it gets started. I feel sorry for myself and don't do anything and then I start beating myself up because I am not doing anything and then I feel more sorry for myself. Not a good place. Hippocrates was right. "Walking is man's best medicine."

Day 4 - Ugh

I am feeling a bit like death today. I woke up with a headache. My eyes feel dry and swollen. My nose is stuffed and I am just sore. I can't tell if this is a side effect of trying to get healthy or if I am just catching a cold. Since I can't tell, I'm going to keep walking till I figure it out. :)

That's actually pretty much how this morning went. I seriously debated just taking the car to work, but I couldn't figure out how I was going to get the 10,000 steps in today without a lot of extra work. Walking to work was much easier, plus I got a little bit of time to myself which was lovely. I am actually looking forward to walking home for the same reason.

Stats so far:
Distance: I went 6 miles yesterday taking my total to 19 miles. I think I might have gotten out of Freeport by now and I am on my way to Winnebago.

Mood: Crabby. My energy level is low. I am up a couple pounds and I am NOT having a good hair day. Most of this is probably completely unrelated to walking, but it's not helping.

Sleep: According to my Fitbit, I was restless like 16 times and slept for like 7 1/2 hours. I had some crap dreams last night too. You know the kind. An endless series of stressful situations. This my also be more related to my currently work/social life than walking, but also not helping.

Huh, so far, this is not saying much about this experiment, but I also need to remember that I have only been doing this for 3 days. Today is day 4 and I am only halfway through it. It may also be that walking is actually helping me cope better with life than if I wasn't. If that's the case, then I should walk on!

Based on the data. I can't tell if 10,000 steps a day is good or bad yet, so I'm going to keep walking till I figure it out!

Today's Motivation:

I am going to keep walking because I love having a little time to myself.

Day 3 - Still going!

It is really hard to hit 10,000 steps when you spend at least 9 hours of your day traveling in the car. It's probably a good thing that I spent 3 hours walking at the City Museum, because that was the most walking I got. I did hit 10,000 steps, but I really had to work for it. When we stopped for food our gas, I did a lap around the building. I walked up and down the aisles at the gas station. And then I got my last 700 steps by walking in place while my husband played a video game.

Total distance yesterday 5.08 miles. I am 13 miles closer to Disney now and a lot less sore than I thought I would be. I did a lot of climbing yesterday and I really thought I would have sore muscles. I definitely slept well last night though! I was even able to get out of bed this morning without hitting the snooze alarm, so that's a plus.

I even had the energy and desire to walk to work this morning. Note to self. Check weather forecast before leaving. The last few days, I have been able to comfortably walk without a jacket. This morning it was raining, which is fine because I love to walk in the rain. I didn't even think to check the temperature. Apparently it was about 38 degrees F this morning with a real feel of 24. Good thing I have a sweater at work I can wear home.

Today's Motivation:

So technically it's a two day streak now, but that in itself is motivating. I have made it through 2 of 30 days. I can't stop now! Only 1263 miles till Disney!!