Another good effort this week! Using MapMyWalk has been really helpful throughout the last week… I’ve now found that I’ve actually been under-estimating some of the distances! For example, each time I walk to our local swimming pool and back I am doing nearly 2 miles, not the one mile I had estimated! Never mind… the purpose behind all of this is to make a conscious effort to walk more, drive less and generally increase my fitness levels. Underestimating the odd mile here and there doesn’t really matter 🙂
In addition, one of the best forms of exercise is stair climbing! When I am in work, my office is on the 9th Floor. I have made a conscious effort to use the stairs rather than the lift and also to ensure I get away from my desk and go out each lunchtime. Climbing 9 flights of stairs on average 3 times a day is hard work, but getting easier the more I do it.
A couple of decent weeks of walking progress… the most exciting 16 of these miles were racked up in Switzerland on a last weeks’ hiking weekend! It was fantastic to hike in soft powdery pure white snow.
Little did I know that I would come back to snow in the UK… and have just completed a 9 mile hike in local snow this morning! It was melting so was muddy and slushy and I managed to fall over twice…
I’ve now actually started to use Map My Walk too rather than estimating my mileage using Google Maps… I downloaded this app to my phone a couple of years ago but have never bothered to use it… until now…
In addition, a quick check on annual progress towards target:
Monthly average for January and February 2018 (240 / 2) = 120 miles per month
Daily average for January and February (240 / 60) = 4 miles a day
Monthly average left for the next 10 months (810 / 10) = 81
Daily average left for the next 10 months (81 / 30) = 2.7
So if I keep up this rate of mileage (around 120 miles per month) I should reach my target to walk 1050 miles in 2018 some time in September! It will be interesting to see what happens and if I achieve this…
Another 50@50 activity for my half century celebration year was to have a snowy weekend away!
My husband Chris and I returned yesterday from a weekend of snow hiking in Switzerland… and little did we know that we would arrive home to a week of snow and freezing temperatures in the UK thanks to a weather system known as ‘the beast from the east‘ which has seen temperatures plummet across Europe. Even the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Capri have seen snow!
A massive effort this week where I managed to walk an extra 50 miles… As always, these miles are in addition to the normal day-to-day steps one takes by walking around the house or office.
Significantly this week, yesterday I did a 17 mile walk through the scenic Goyt Valley in the Peak District. The link shows several short walks… a group of friends and I combined some of them into a big circular trek and spent 7 hours walking to and past some of these features.
Today I completed a 12 mile walk with a local walking group. Tonight I have aching muscles but a sense of achievement!
I haven’t made so much progress during weeks 5 and 6 and just as well I gave myself a head start the previous weeks! I’ve just been to the Maldives to celebrate my 50th birthday and, while I did have an active week of yoga, gym, swimming and cycling, there wasn’t too much walking involved!
I didn’t do any extra walking at all during the weekend of my birthday and basically spent the time getting ready for my party (Saturday) and recovering on the Sunday! I’m keen to get back to more walking next week…
Having joined the gym we have at work on 4th December 2017, and having completed my induction on 5th December I have since then attended a gym session on each occasion that I’ve been into the office.
This has averaged at 2 x gym sessions per week although as I didn’t go into my main office during the third week of January (Mon – Wed I was in Portugal; Thu in a different office and Fri I worked at home) I had no choice other than to miss this week…
I did however compensate by walking an extra 39 miles so was able to maintain my programme of fitness and activity.
As I combine the gym with walking and swimming I tend to focus more on weight training while in the gym, particularly exercises for my upper arms and shoulders… as I approach 50 I need to try to prevent the appearance of the dreaded ‘bingo wings’… heaven forbid!
Incidentally… on the matter of bingo wings… I found this article which suggests that women who lack the male hormone testosterone are more prone to bingo wings! It says you can boost your testosterone levels by consuming more protein and less cakes and biscuits. This is a little worrying too… if you eat more protein you might reduce the likelihood of bingo wings… but does this mean you end up with a moustache? I’m not sure I like the idea of increased testosterone levels so will focus on exercise to combat the bingo wing effect…
Anyway… the good thing is that I have now been a gym member for just over two months. After about 6 or 7 weeks I began to notice a significant difference. I had a bit of a fitness breakthrough and found myself increasing all of the weights on each piece of equipment together with increasing the resistance levels on each of the cardio machines. This is incredibly motivating… I’m really starting to feel so much fitter and more energetic.
A little late for my February weigh-in as I’ve just returned from the Maldives, a special holiday to celebrate my 50th birthday which happens to be tomorrow! As I didn’t have any scales with me I was unable to weigh myself on 1st February, i.e. the first day of each month being my planned 2018 weigh check days.
Throughout January I remained highly focussed and committed to achieving my goal weight of 9 stone (57 kg or 126 pounds). I did extra exercise when possible and stuck to an average daily calorie intake of 1100 – 1200 calories. Some days I burned an estimated extra 600 – 700 calories, for example, by walking 5 miles in addition to spending an hour at the gym. On these days, rather than eating more I stuck to my 1100 – 1200 calorie regime which I think must have accelerated my weight loss.
Almost every day I either went swimming, went to the gym or walked for several miles. When I went out for meals I chose salads or low calorie dishes and mostly had either no wine or one glass of wine. Rather than drinking cappucino’s I now drink fruit flavoured tea when in coffee shops.
So a huge effort was exerted throughout January… I even managed to have a healthy holiday! Rather than a complete blow-out I went to the gym, did yoga, went snorkelling and swimming every day and was careful to eat healthily for example by sticking mainly to proteins, vegetables and lots of tropical fruit. I also had 6 alcohol-free days!
These are the results…
Weight on 1st January 2018: 9 stone 10 lb (62 kg)
Weight on 9th February 2018: 9 stone 0 lb (Hurrah! Bang on and just in time for my big 5-0 birthday tomorrow!)
Another good week to finish off January! This week I’ve looked for additional opportunities to get a few more miles in; for example, rather than taking the car to the local supermarket yesterday I set off with my backpack (in the rain) and walked there and back which added another 3 miles to my total! My husband thought I was mad… and needless to say, he stayed at home!
I also did 10 miles today with a local walking club which is a good way to increase my mileage in a social way. This is a different walking club to my usual one but there are a few to choose from in my local area.
Book read: Kamikazi Kangaroo’s! 20,000 Miles Around Australia. One Van, Two Girls… And An Idiot. by Tony James Slater
My first book review following the challenge I set myself to read a book each month.
Even though the author is nearly half my age and (by his own admission) a weird bumbling idiot I really enjoyed reading this book. The book follows Tony’s adventures and escapades of driving around Australia in a battered old camper van, together with his sister and her friend.
They have an enviable carefree lifestyle which lacks any real responsibility or any sense of direction. They have no money and no plans but somehow seem to get by with odd jobs along the way.
The book is somewhat crude and even a bit cringy in places but still hilarious all the way through… It gave a great insight into this kind of lifestyle and a real sense of escapism as I sat reading it (via the Kindle app on my iPad) as I commuted in and out of work.
I enjoyed learning more about Australia and loved Tony’s account of the Bibbulmun Track which inspired me to consider a long distance trail in the future… and a road trip around Australia…
(I have no kangaroo pics…)
So… you might have noticed.. ahem… the heading of this post states ‘reviews’… yes… after not picking up a book for possibly 4 or 5 years I managed to get through TWO books already this month! I’ve enjoyed the sense of escapism (as mentioned above) that reading these type of adventure books brings… a good way to relax and get inspired too…
Review: This book is an account of the authors incredible adventures as he walks the entire 630 mile South West Coast Path in one go! He is an average 37 year old office worker who discovered a passion for walking.
While well written it’s not as hilariously funny as the Kamikazee Kangaroos book as mentioned above but Stephen does have a good sense of humour. He has no ego and seems a really decent chap.
I can’t believe his diet… all he seemed to eat was chips, mars bars, some kind of spicy sausage/pepperoni and Weetabix every day… I mean, every single day…. he was doing wonders for his body and his physical fitness levels yet he filled his body with junk…
Anyway, Stephen also inspired me to do this awesome long distance trail at some point! I don’t think my work will allow another career break for a while so I’ll just have to put this on hold… actually I first thought about doing the South West coast path about 12 years ago when I first heard about it… this book has only but fuelled another ambition…
I’m pleased I managed to walk 39 miles this week which is quite a psychological boost as it has given me a few miles in the bag towards my target. As well as 2 x 5 or 6 mile treks in Portugal on Monday and Tuesday, I did two walks at the weekend; an 8.5 mile local trek with a group of friends (in the rain) and a 10.5 mile trek with a local walking club (in the snow).
Fifty at Fifty 