I will walk 1000 miles
Walk 1000 miles
With the start of a brand New Year, it is always good to look back at the previous year, hopefully with a sense of achievement and indeed the opportunity to then look forward to the year ahead with excitement and great anticipation about what lies ahead.
Like most people out there, at this time of year, I do love to set myself goals. Goals that will enable me to do something productive and of course bring something new and positive into my life.
Over the last 3 years, I feel I have continually made positive decisions. I chose to commute to work and back, by bike. Undertaking a round trip of 32 miles a day, that not only helps my body and mind but also goes a long way to helping do my bit to help save the planet.
Last year, building upon the cycling theme. I also set up a charity pursuit called ‘Cycle for Change’ and this year I endeavour to push myself even further by walking more and being part of a walking challenge. That should not only bring great benefit to both myself and others, in the ways already highlighted above.
What is the challenge?
This walking challenge is an annual event whereby any individual or group can attempt to walk 1000 miles throughout the year. The challenge can be interpreted and undertaken differently, by anyone involved, but I guess all participants simply need to commit to the challenge, walk and strive to achieve the final goal of 1000 miles.
This wonderful initiative is initiated by Country Walking Magazine, which is a magazine dedicated to hikers and walkers, of all ages and abilities. Who enjoy walking. It has no rules about who takes part, it simply wants to encourage others to get active, enjoy the outdoors, walk and maintain a positive approach to being fit and staying healthy. With that, I applaud their overall vision and think that this is something valuable and worth being part of.
So, how will I do it?
Life is busy at the best of times and juggling all that needs to be juggled, can often prove difficult at times. I cycle to work and back. I have a full-time job, but I do have time in the day, which I can utilise and can walk a lot.
I'm lucky to work in a large building and I am required to spend nearly all of my day on my feet. Teaching is not a job where I can spend my working hours at a desk. I have the chance to frequently walk around, so with a fitness tracker attached to my wrist, the miles will soon begin to rack up. Probably, without really thinking about it and indeed without a huge amount of effort.
Doing the maths and dividing the required amount of miles, by days of the year. I would need to complete around about 3 miles a day to cover the 1000 miles. Well, it is 2.74 miles to be exact. I feel that would be easy for me to do across a working week, as I could establish the lion's share of miles at work and then take the odd walk when I get home or perhaps even at the weekend.
Reasons for doing it?
Well, it is safe to say I'm always very active. I do find it hard to really keep still and physical activity is really my form of karma and something that in turn keeps me happy and regulates my mind. Without regular exercise, I simply wouldn't be myself and really there is no use in not being true to yourself, so I will always be keen to undertake such challenges.
In my life, I live by the saying that ‘ one day, I will not be able to do the things that I do now’. So, it is paramount that I should make the most of my time and does much as I can, while I can.
So here we go…
In the first week of January I started as I mean to go on and at this moment in time, I feel really good and extremely motivated to continue in the same vein, hopefully for the rest of the year. Of course, I’m generally very level headed and mostly keep my feet on the ground, therefore I'm under no illusion that at times this new challenge will be tough and throughout the year I will dip in both enthusiasm and interest and as a result, I will probably question what I'm doing. Being determined and someone who thrives on reaching a final outcome, I will endeavour to push myself as much as I can and will also have others around me to ensure that I achieve what I intend to do.
As another motivating factor. I will use my blog posts to document my progress and will also use Twitter to spread the word along with others too, using the #walk1000miles hashtag on my feed, to share my progress and hopefully support others along the way.
I hope that being part of a much bigger community will help spur me on to much bigger and better things.
So… here goes!