Right, well if I can walk home, then I can walk in. An earlier start than usual and I was out the door at 6am hitting the streets. The world takes on a whole different character just an hour earlier than usual. The sun is rising, the traffic is calm, the place seems to be just getting up whilst a few revellers just seem to be off to bed.
But I had a job to do. So head down and get stuck in. The pedometer clipped to my side had now become part of me. In the beginning it was an addiction. I was constantly looking at it willing the numbers higher, looking for gratification for the work that I was putting in. But now as I settled into the challenge it was merely a hitchhiker on my journey, counting my way.
I think the best thing to do when taking on long journeys is not to look at the end goal, it will only drive your spirits down. But instead look at the now, the small milestones, and the small goals, enjoy the surroundings for what they’re worth and time will fly by.
The walk in took just under 3hrs, which I was happy with. But now I had a benchmark. Now I had something to beat. The walk home was fairly standard, I had to get back in good time so followed the quickest route, unfortunately a lot of this was next to a busy road, sucking on the fumes of the lazy. Never again.
The following morning with my new benchmark established I headed off at scouts pace – jogging a bit, walking a bit. Having not run for a few years my calves just weren’t conditioned to the long distance running but I plodded away, pack on my back, happy as. I managed to crack nearly an hour off my time as I arrived at work in a comfortable 2hrs.
The way home was not to follow the road, so back over the Downs, the rolling hills and lush green pastures. As I reached the top of the last hill I looked down on the traffic jam below and just wondered why? Why would you trap yourself in a tin can sniffing others fumes when you live in such a beautiful part of the UK and can easily get around by walking or cycling? To me it just doesn’t make sense. But each to their own I guess.
The calf muscles were starting to feel the relentless walking. The impact isn’t something they’re used to in cycling. But 4 days in and we needed a big weekend to hit the target.