Today marks the end of my personal challenge to move a bit more during September. In total, I walked over 130km in the past month, not including the usual day to day movement around home and work. It's been a fun process to see how much I could get out and enjoy the nice weather that we've had and try to do a few greater distances than I usually go, including the few trips to work and various other meanderings.
I feel more fit than I did at the end of August, and I've lost a few pounds to boot, although it has been said that your body weight can fluctuate up to 5 lbs throughout the day, so I don't give much credence to the idea that I've lost a substantial amount of weight. At the very least, I'm hoping this puts me on the track to get a few more pounds off and return to something I feel a bit more comfortable with, in my head at least.
My next challenge is to fill the other side of the mantra I mentioned a few weeks back: Eat less. I have a terrible habit of picking up a snack whenever I'm near someplace that has snacks. Usually I can get around this by not carrying cash when I'm out and about, but that's not always the case. It comes down to self-discipline, which I've been better at than I am now. So starting today, I'm hoping to be willing to say No more often when it comes to passing by the places I usually get a snack and to scale back on the amount of food I intake when eating regular meals. As they say in any process of trying to do something that may be a bit harder, you take it one day at a time.
Wednesday (cont'd): 4 km home
Thursday: 1.75km at lunch
Friday: 1.75km at lunch
Saturday: 6 km around the Pinery
Sunday: 8 km around the Pinery
Monday: 4 km around the Pinery
Tuesday: 1.25 km at lunch.
Adding to the 100+ from before: 125-130km+ over 31 days, averaging about 3+km per day.
It's easier to do this in the warmer weather. The challenge will be to keep it up as the mercury drops.
And here we go into tomorrow.
30.9.14
24.9.14
day 25: routine
I'm starting to notice that I feel bad when I don't get out for a walk. These include the times when it's raining, or times when meetings have me having to skip lunch or any number of other reasons that come up.
I'm taking two courses this term and have quite a bit of reading to do. Last year, I did my reading at lunch while at work, but this year, I feel the need to get out into the fresh air instead of sitting in a stuffy lunch room reading away when I could get at least 20 minutes of walking in prior to getting into the groove for the afternoon.
So you could say it's becoming routine. I've even walked to work two more times this week, and people aren't really looking at me like I'm crazy anymore.
I know that I'll need to prioritize school over the walks in the near future, but for today, I walk.
Friday night: 4 km home; 1 km around neighbourhood after dinner
Saturday: 3 km around neighbourhood
Sunday: 20 minutes in the apartment gym. It feels awkward walking on a treadmill when you can see that you're not really going anywhere and there's a mirror in front of you to make you consider how you look while doing so.
Monday: 4 km to work, 1.75km at lunch, 4 km home
Tuesday: 1.75km at lunch, 4 km to class
Wednesday: 4 km to work, 1.75km at lunch
To date: 100+km in 25 days.
I'm taking two courses this term and have quite a bit of reading to do. Last year, I did my reading at lunch while at work, but this year, I feel the need to get out into the fresh air instead of sitting in a stuffy lunch room reading away when I could get at least 20 minutes of walking in prior to getting into the groove for the afternoon.
So you could say it's becoming routine. I've even walked to work two more times this week, and people aren't really looking at me like I'm crazy anymore.
I know that I'll need to prioritize school over the walks in the near future, but for today, I walk.
Friday night: 4 km home; 1 km around neighbourhood after dinner
Saturday: 3 km around neighbourhood
Sunday: 20 minutes in the apartment gym. It feels awkward walking on a treadmill when you can see that you're not really going anywhere and there's a mirror in front of you to make you consider how you look while doing so.
Monday: 4 km to work, 1.75km at lunch, 4 km home
Tuesday: 1.75km at lunch, 4 km to class
Wednesday: 4 km to work, 1.75km at lunch
To date: 100+km in 25 days.
19.9.14
tangent: going for a long walk
Through my time in Bible college, I learned about pilgrimage and how it is an ancient form of spirituality that is making a comeback in today's day. People of Christian and Jewish beliefs will make the trip to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. People of Islamic faith will go to Mecca. A certain friend, who will remain nameless, once made a road trip to Denver to see Dave Matthews. In many cases, although the end goal is what originally drew you to step out onto the road, the journey is what they will remember most, and in many cases, will be the catalyst for transformation.
I had the opportunity to go to France 4 years ago to Taize, a site that thousands of primarily youth will make the pilgrimage to each year. My time there was not long enough, but cause enough to reflect on the value of prayer and silence in life.
I then learned about the Camino. The Camino de Santiago, otherwise known as the Way of St James. This is a trek across the north of Spain from the small town of St. Jean Peid-du-Port in south-western France to the city of Santiago in north-western Spain. The distance is approximately 800 km, taking most experienced walkers 30-45 days to complete. After learning a bit more about it, I decided that I must go. So I tried my connection of ways to get overseas and justify it so (a) I don't have to pay for it myself and (b) I don't have to take vacation time from work. I contacted my co-leader from the France trip and she was sold. And then unfortunately life changed for me and I was no longer in an employment situation that would help me reach both of the above stated goals. She, however, was, and was able to lead a group of students to complete the last 120 km of the Camino in 2012. And 2013. And 2014 with plans for 2015 as well.
My desire to go on the Camino comes out of a few places. I love to travel. I love walking. I love trying new things (although it may not look that way.) And I love finding new ways to connect with God. There's a book I've read entitled The Way is Made by Walking, written by a former colleague at Tyndale, which speaks about the act of pilgrimage and how walking can bring you closer to God and more in tune with the natural rhythms of you body, along with the added side effect of being good for your health and the environment at the same time. Reading this made me no less desire to go to Spain and take a "walk to church", as the author of the book wrote.
In recent years, the Camino has become popular again among both people of faith and those who are not alike. It has been showcased in popular culture through the movie The Way, starring Martin Sheen, and more recently in a documentary called Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago.
All of this to say, I hope to get there, as does R. Flights cost a lot of money. Once there, it's much more reasonable.
I'll leave you with a video I saw this week that made me start thinking about it again. Enjoy. And until next time, Buen Camino.
http://vimeo.com/65678090
I had the opportunity to go to France 4 years ago to Taize, a site that thousands of primarily youth will make the pilgrimage to each year. My time there was not long enough, but cause enough to reflect on the value of prayer and silence in life.
I then learned about the Camino. The Camino de Santiago, otherwise known as the Way of St James. This is a trek across the north of Spain from the small town of St. Jean Peid-du-Port in south-western France to the city of Santiago in north-western Spain. The distance is approximately 800 km, taking most experienced walkers 30-45 days to complete. After learning a bit more about it, I decided that I must go. So I tried my connection of ways to get overseas and justify it so (a) I don't have to pay for it myself and (b) I don't have to take vacation time from work. I contacted my co-leader from the France trip and she was sold. And then unfortunately life changed for me and I was no longer in an employment situation that would help me reach both of the above stated goals. She, however, was, and was able to lead a group of students to complete the last 120 km of the Camino in 2012. And 2013. And 2014 with plans for 2015 as well.
My desire to go on the Camino comes out of a few places. I love to travel. I love walking. I love trying new things (although it may not look that way.) And I love finding new ways to connect with God. There's a book I've read entitled The Way is Made by Walking, written by a former colleague at Tyndale, which speaks about the act of pilgrimage and how walking can bring you closer to God and more in tune with the natural rhythms of you body, along with the added side effect of being good for your health and the environment at the same time. Reading this made me no less desire to go to Spain and take a "walk to church", as the author of the book wrote.
In recent years, the Camino has become popular again among both people of faith and those who are not alike. It has been showcased in popular culture through the movie The Way, starring Martin Sheen, and more recently in a documentary called Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago.
All of this to say, I hope to get there, as does R. Flights cost a lot of money. Once there, it's much more reasonable.
I'll leave you with a video I saw this week that made me start thinking about it again. Enjoy. And until next time, Buen Camino.
http://vimeo.com/65678090
day 20: walking to the weekend
I woke up this morning with ambition. Sometimes I wake up with a lot of ambition and am through my morning routine in about 30 minutes. Other times it takes 75 from the time the alarm goes off until I'm even close to being ready to being out the door. I used to take a long time to go from alarm going off to getting out of bed, but that seems to have waned since I now need to turn the alarm off immediately or face the wrath of an angry tired wife. Having the alarm on the other side of the room is useful for me, but maybe not so much for her.
Regardless of that tangent, I had ambition this morning. I had decided last night that the weather was looking favourable for me trying to do a commute by foot. I used to do this on occasion when my commute was 1.2 km, so it's not necessarily a new thing, but it is the first time I felt motivated enough to walk the 4 km to work from home at this job. So I got up with R's alarm first, as tends to happen when she has to work earlier than I, she then proceeded to tell me in my groggy state that it was her alarm not mine, so I crashed on the bed for a few more minutes until my alarm went off, pulled myself out of bed, grabbed my clothes, had a shower, ate my breakfast, and even had enough time to ensure that Scotland was still part of the union before departing at 7:45, approximately 30 minutes sooner than I would if I were driving.
The walk was gorgeous. The leaves are starting to change colour and I've begun to accept that they are allowed to do this now. A month ago, when I saw the first signs of colour in the foliage, my reaction wasn't so pleasant. To get to work, I take a semi-direct route. The shortest route is along a very busy thoroughfare, which wouldn't be very nice with the sounds and smells that come with it. So I cut directly through the nearby neighbourhood, through Waterloo Park, and then into the University campus from the south gateway. There seemed to be quite a few students walking to the school through the park this morning, but I'm assuming they were coming from closer than I was.
I made it on time, although somewhat sweaty and devoid of clean shirt and/or deodorant, but that's a lesson learned for the next time.
Likely going to be walking home tonight as well. Should be as exciting as the morning if not even more because it will be the weekend.
Day 18: Wednesday Sept 18: 3.16km at lunch and 2.16 km with R in the evening
Day 19: Thursday Sept 19: 2.72km at lunch
Day 20: Friday Sept 20 (as of 1:45 pm): 4.02 km to work in the morning, 1.82km at lunch and more to come. Woo?
Regardless of that tangent, I had ambition this morning. I had decided last night that the weather was looking favourable for me trying to do a commute by foot. I used to do this on occasion when my commute was 1.2 km, so it's not necessarily a new thing, but it is the first time I felt motivated enough to walk the 4 km to work from home at this job. So I got up with R's alarm first, as tends to happen when she has to work earlier than I, she then proceeded to tell me in my groggy state that it was her alarm not mine, so I crashed on the bed for a few more minutes until my alarm went off, pulled myself out of bed, grabbed my clothes, had a shower, ate my breakfast, and even had enough time to ensure that Scotland was still part of the union before departing at 7:45, approximately 30 minutes sooner than I would if I were driving.
The walk was gorgeous. The leaves are starting to change colour and I've begun to accept that they are allowed to do this now. A month ago, when I saw the first signs of colour in the foliage, my reaction wasn't so pleasant. To get to work, I take a semi-direct route. The shortest route is along a very busy thoroughfare, which wouldn't be very nice with the sounds and smells that come with it. So I cut directly through the nearby neighbourhood, through Waterloo Park, and then into the University campus from the south gateway. There seemed to be quite a few students walking to the school through the park this morning, but I'm assuming they were coming from closer than I was.
I made it on time, although somewhat sweaty and devoid of clean shirt and/or deodorant, but that's a lesson learned for the next time.
Likely going to be walking home tonight as well. Should be as exciting as the morning if not even more because it will be the weekend.
Day 18: Wednesday Sept 18: 3.16km at lunch and 2.16 km with R in the evening
Day 19: Thursday Sept 19: 2.72km at lunch
Day 20: Friday Sept 20 (as of 1:45 pm): 4.02 km to work in the morning, 1.82km at lunch and more to come. Woo?
16.9.14
day 16... still walking... sorta
On Sunday, aka Day 15, I went back to a number of walks to get my distance up.
4 km to church round trip
1.5 km in Hamilton with some friends
2 km with R in the evening
Monday was minimal in the sense that I was only able to walk during a brief lunch period.
1.5 km.
Tuesday, I wasn't able to make it out at lunch, so I made up for it by walking to class.
4 km.
4 km to church round trip
1.5 km in Hamilton with some friends
2 km with R in the evening
Monday was minimal in the sense that I was only able to walk during a brief lunch period.
1.5 km.
Tuesday, I wasn't able to make it out at lunch, so I made up for it by walking to class.
4 km.
12.9.14
day ... i forget
Ok, so a weekend break turned into a week. Not sure how that happened. But a week of not blogging does not turn into a week of not walking, that's for sure.'
As of my weekly weigh-in, I was down about 2-3 pounds. This may just be a fluctuation like the daily fluctuation as the body takes care of itself. We'll see if it's trending downward on Sunday.
I'm using an app on my phone called MapMyRun to keep track of the distances I walk. It's based on GPS and tends to be fairly accurate, unless you're in a place where the GPS signal can't reach. I usually turn it on within a minute of starting and keep it on until I get home. It gives splits and shows maps of where I've been. I'm finding it fairly useful so far.
Sept 5-7 (While camping): Walk approx 10 km over 3 days, bike 7 km
Sept 8: 2.37 km at lunch
Sept 9: 1.78 km to the bookstore to find the line too large and then back. Some of the walk may have been lost as I went through the tunnels on campus on my return journey.
Sept 10: 2.6 km including a successful trip to the bookstore. It rained in the evening. A lot, so the chances to go for a leisurely walk were limited.
Sept 11: 3 km. 1 km at lunch and 2 km in the evening.
Total to date: 46.5 km.
As of my weekly weigh-in, I was down about 2-3 pounds. This may just be a fluctuation like the daily fluctuation as the body takes care of itself. We'll see if it's trending downward on Sunday.
I'm using an app on my phone called MapMyRun to keep track of the distances I walk. It's based on GPS and tends to be fairly accurate, unless you're in a place where the GPS signal can't reach. I usually turn it on within a minute of starting and keep it on until I get home. It gives splits and shows maps of where I've been. I'm finding it fairly useful so far.
Sept 5-7 (While camping): Walk approx 10 km over 3 days, bike 7 km
Sept 8: 2.37 km at lunch
Sept 9: 1.78 km to the bookstore to find the line too large and then back. Some of the walk may have been lost as I went through the tunnels on campus on my return journey.
Sept 10: 2.6 km including a successful trip to the bookstore. It rained in the evening. A lot, so the chances to go for a leisurely walk were limited.
Sept 11: 3 km. 1 km at lunch and 2 km in the evening.
Total to date: 46.5 km.
5.9.14
day 5: relapse
I went for a walk at lunch. The route I take has become busier over the past week as students have returned and the amount of pedestrians wandering around trying to figure out where they are and what the acronyms of the buildings are. I told someone to go past the construction and the shiny building to get to the SLC yesterday. It was the most clear way of telling them to get there from where we were.
I entitled this relapse because despite walking 2 km and being "good" as I call it over the past few days with no stopping in for a snack, I stopped at one of the Tim Horton's that has recently re-opened for the term and got a donut and an iced capp. Sigh. One step forward, many calories back.
R and I are going camping for the weekend. No updates until Sunday or Monday, but I'll try and track how much I walk.
I entitled this relapse because despite walking 2 km and being "good" as I call it over the past few days with no stopping in for a snack, I stopped at one of the Tim Horton's that has recently re-opened for the term and got a donut and an iced capp. Sigh. One step forward, many calories back.
R and I are going camping for the weekend. No updates until Sunday or Monday, but I'll try and track how much I walk.
3.9.14
day 4: cat crossing
There were a lot of cats on the road this evening.
That's all.
Lunch: 1.75km
Evening: 3.5km
That's all.
That's all.
Lunch: 1.75km
Evening: 3.5km
That's all.
2.9.14
day 3: rain delay
I get an hour for lunch. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do in that hour seeing as I bring my lunch and take the break at a time after everyone else has eaten. So I quickly scarf down whatever food I've brought with me for the day and then leave for a walk. This walk takes me through the University to some extent. Sometimes it's through the middle of campus, sometimes it's around the ring, but usually I get at least 1.5 km of walking in before crossing the creek back to work to finish out the day.
Today that was my intention, however at 12:30pm, the skies opened and the rains started to fall with force. It stayed like this until after my lunch hour was over, so unfortunately I missed my walk today.
Not the end of the world, but still somewhat annoying.
R and I went out for our walk this evening and only covered about 2.25 km before returning to home, cookies, and the Amazing Race Canada.
Still I keep moving, albeit less so than the past few days.
Day 3: 2.25 km
Today that was my intention, however at 12:30pm, the skies opened and the rains started to fall with force. It stayed like this until after my lunch hour was over, so unfortunately I missed my walk today.
Not the end of the world, but still somewhat annoying.
R and I went out for our walk this evening and only covered about 2.25 km before returning to home, cookies, and the Amazing Race Canada.
Still I keep moving, albeit less so than the past few days.
Day 3: 2.25 km
1.9.14
day 2: start with a confession
So I have to admit something. Yesterday, while R was at work, I watched "Julie and Julia." For those who many not have seen this movie or heard about it, it is about a girl who decided to cook her way through Julia Childs' cookbook (500+ recipes) over the course of one year and write a blog about it. The movie follows the stories of Julie, as she takes on this challenge, and Julia, as she was going through the process of learning to cook and writing the cookbook. It also stars Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci, two people who know what they're doing when it comes to on-screen work. But anyway, the idea of trying something and keeping a chronicle of it in a public forum is what inspired me.
So my idea is not exactly original, as they say. There are also a large number of blogs out there that people have written to chronicle their struggles with overcoming a plethora of adversities or embarking in the challenge of trying something new. I don't attempt to use this as a way to come even close to the difficulty and sheer determination that it takes improve your life in some dramatic way. This is just me, bringing some level of feined accountability into my attempt at eating a bit better and moving a bit more.
I once read an account of someone who was able to lose a lot of weight over the span of a period of time. They didn't have some silver bullet of how they did it. When asked, they just said "I eat less and I move more, and the rest tends to follow."
I've had this mantra up on my white board for over a year now: Eat less | Move more, but it's not often I follow it. I tend to eat a lot and fast and although I'm not lazy, I don't move enough to make a difference.
So here's where I stand:
Day 1(Aug 31): 12.15 km
Day 2 (Sep 1): 5.5 km
So my idea is not exactly original, as they say. There are also a large number of blogs out there that people have written to chronicle their struggles with overcoming a plethora of adversities or embarking in the challenge of trying something new. I don't attempt to use this as a way to come even close to the difficulty and sheer determination that it takes improve your life in some dramatic way. This is just me, bringing some level of feined accountability into my attempt at eating a bit better and moving a bit more.
I once read an account of someone who was able to lose a lot of weight over the span of a period of time. They didn't have some silver bullet of how they did it. When asked, they just said "I eat less and I move more, and the rest tends to follow."
I've had this mantra up on my white board for over a year now: Eat less | Move more, but it's not often I follow it. I tend to eat a lot and fast and although I'm not lazy, I don't move enough to make a difference.
So here's where I stand:
Day 1(Aug 31): 12.15 km
Day 2 (Sep 1): 5.5 km
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