Tag: hiking

Walking update weeks 28-30

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Evening walk with local walking club

As my personal challenge to walk 1050 miles in 2018 is now complete I’m going to up the ante and aim for 2050 miles! I love walking and pushing myself and having a goal is motivating.

This is an update for the last 3 weeks:

Total miles walked so far in 2018 at the end of week 27: 1045

Miles walked in week 28: 45

Miles walked in week 29: 41

Miles walked in week 30: 56

Running total in 2018: (1045 + 45 + 41 + 56) = 1,187

 

South West coast path

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It is July already and with such a busy 2018 I don’t think I’m going to get to the west coast of Wales this year. I therefore changed this challenge from the Pembrokeshire coast path to the South West coast path.

OK, so I did only a tiny fraction a couple of months ago and had just a taster of this amazing 630 mile walk. I would love to do the entire South West coast path at some point and I’ll try and get to Pembrokeshire next year…

Details of my short experience of a section near Weymouth and Lulworth Cove of the South West coast path can be found on frombluetogreen.com

 

 

 

Weeks 26 – 27 walking progress

Week 26 walking progress:

  • Total miles walked in week 26 = 52
  • Average per day for this week (52 / 7) = 7.43
  • Running total = 981 + 52 = 1033
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 1033) = 17

Nearly there… I did quite a bit of evening walking this week… the lovely warm summer evenings continue in the UK which makes it a real pleasure to spend them walking!

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Jurassic Park scenery on Cuba hike

Week 27 walking progress:

  • Total miles walked in week 27 = 12
  • Average per day for this week (12 / 7) = 1.71
  • Running total = 1033 + 12 = 1045
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 1045) = 5

So close to reaching my target but only around 12 miles walked for the duration of this week… I was on a relaxing holiday in Cuba! A couple of these miles were walked during a short guided hike from the hotel (above pic) and another couple were walked in the gorgeous Havana… I did a local walk on the Sunday evening when I returned but the rest of the time my walking consisted of to the pool; to the beach and to one of the numerous dotted bars around the hotel!

 

 

Smashed 1000 miles!

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Local river

A short mid week update as today I passed the 1000th mile walked so far in 2018 🙂

The weather in the UK has been awesome this week… temperatures up to 30 degrees C and endless blue skies… perfect for clocking up several miles in these gorgeous evenings.

I walked a total 16 miles today:

  • Walking to the stations and back (5 miles)
  • Gym cross trainer and tread mill (5 miles)
  • Evening local walk (6 miles)

These miles don’t include miles when I am milling around the office or popping out to get some lunch or wandering around at home. They are miles walked over and above what is necessary to conduct my day to day life. I wasn’t originally going to include gym miles but as I work so hard to achieve them I felt they should be included. I estimate that around 25% (or 250 miles) would have been gym miles.

As of today I’ve walked a total of 1,007 miles so only 43 off my personal target of walking 1050 extra miles this year and in only 6 months rather than 12!

I’m doing more and more miles each week and its getting easier and easier to walk around 15 miles some days… I haven’t been this fit in years, if not decades! Previously, after a 10 mile hike I would collapse on the sofa for the rest of the evening. Now, after 15 miles I feel I could keep going on and on and with no aching muscles in the mornings. (Although this would be a different story if my hikes included hills or mountains… the area in which I live is very flat…)

 

 

 

Week 25 walking progress

Week 25 walking progress:

  • Total miles walked in week 25 = 71
  • Average per day for this week (71 / 7) = 10.14
  • Running total = 910 + 71 = 981
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 981) = 69

Under 100 miles to go! Yay! And I completed the most miles this week so far this year 🙂

To achieve a total of 71 miles walked in one week:

  • Mon 18th June: walk to the local swimming pool and back at lunchtime and evening walk = 8 miles
  • Tue 19th: walk to and from stations to work and back; gym; lunchtime walk and evening walk = 17 miles
  • Wed 20th: walk to and from stations to work and back and gym = 9 miles
  • Thu 21st: walk to local retail park and back = 3.5 miles
  • Fri 22nd: work + gym + lunchtime = 11 miles
  • Sat 23rd: retail park = 4 miles
  • Sun 24th: local walk with my friend (9.23 miles) and an additional impromptu local walk later the same day (9.21 miles) = 18.5 miles

The weather has been cracking this week… beautiful and sunny and during this time of the year, it doesn’t get dark until around 10 pm. I’ve therefore been making the most of being outside and increasing my walking mileage! Today, I had made plans to continue decluttering and tidying up around my home this afternoon but instead decided to go for a second lengthy walk of over 9 miles in the sun! Decluttering can wait for a rainy day 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Weeks 23 and 24 walking progress

Week 23 walking progress:

  • Total for week 23 = 45
  • Average per day for this week (45 / 7) = 6.43
  • Running total = 818 + 45 = 863
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 863) = 187

Week 24 walking progress:

  • Total for week 24 = 47
  • Average per day for this week (47 / 7) = 6.71
  • Running total = 863 + 47 = 910
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 910) = 140

I’m very pleased with my walking progress and only have 140 miles left to walk in 2018 until I reach my target! Woohoo 🙂

The weather in the UK has been really pleasant throughout the last couple of weeks and several of these miles were walked near to my home… making an extra effort to walk extra miles and make the most of the lovely weather. The wild flower photos below were all taken on recent local wanders…

 

 

 

Weeks 21 and 22 walking progress

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Alaska hiking

Week 21 walking progress:

  • Total for week 21 = 40
  • Average per day for this week (40 / 7) = 5.71
  • Running total = 711 + 40 = 751
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 751) = 299

Week 22 walking progress:

  • Total for week 22 = 67
  • Average per day for this week (67 / 7) = 9.57
  • Running total = 751 + 67 = 818
  • Miles left to walk in 2018 (1050 – 818) = 232

What an amazing couple of walking weeks! I did this during a fantastic Seattle break (week 21) followed by an Alaskan cruise (weeks 21 and 22). As well as several hours of wandering around exploring Seattle I decided to focus on the hiking excursions on offer while on the cruise.

And 67 miles in week 22! Wow… what an effort and the best walking week so far of 2018… and while on the cruise for the whole of this week! I must say I did push myself in the gym, walking around the ship and walking around at all of the ports of call mostly because I wanted to eat a bit more than usual and enjoy the delicious food and desserts without increasing my weight! (My big post-cruise weigh-in is tomorrow…)

 

 

 

 

 

Snowshoeing!

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I had the opportunity to try snowshoeing while on a day trip to Mount Rainier National Park while visiting Seattle recently.

Wikipedia explains the purpose of snowshoes is to distribute the weight over a larger area so the person doesn’t sink into the snow while hiking…

May is nearing the end of the snow season in this part of the national park which meant the snow was slushy and watery in places. However, they did ensure more grip was had on the snow and I was far more confident coming down the steep slope than I would usually be…