The first week of Walktober is over! I must say, it wasn't too bad. Not bad at all, actually.
Day 1 + 2
The first days were supereasy. I walked the 3.1 kilometers to work and then back home again, the challenge was still fresh, the weather was amazing... On Thursday I listened to Tim Ferriss' podcast during my walks. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were his guests, and at some point he asked them what habit they picked up from working with Snoop Dogg. Turns out, the Snoop in quite a walk-fanatic himself. "Walking is great man, it's important." Evan then went on to describe how he started taking short walks in the morning and in the evening, and how it has had a massive impact on his life. Not a coincidence!
Thursday 1 October: 11,991 steps, 8.6 kilometers
Friday 2 October: 13,030 steps, 9.3 kilometers
Day 3 + 4
Weekend! On Saturday morning at 8:30, I had an appointment at the hairdresser, resulting in some logistical issues. I would have to leave the house quite early in order to get there on time, and it would take me too much time on the way back in order to catch the bus. So I comprimised by walking half the way there with my bicycle in hand... Which looks pretty silly at 8 AM in the morning. Then, I traveled to meet up with friends for lunch and to visit my parents. Due to the lack of walking a substantial distance, I walked around the house a bit more at the end of the day to pick up some final steps.
On Sunday morning I actually went running (!) with my sister, who was also "home". We ran (and walked...) for 4.2 kilometers, which was actually further than I had ever even gone running before. Sure, it wasn't a record time-wise, but it felt pretty good. That distance however was pale in comparison to what my mother walked that day: a whopping full marathon! GO MOM! We went over to support her and ended up taking in a few extra kilometers ourselves, walking around at the beach. Good day.
Saturday 3 October: 11,475 steps, 8.2 kilometers
Sunday 4 October: 15,935 steps, 12.1 kilometers
Day 5 + 6 + 7
This is where it started to get a little boring. On Monday and Tuesday I walked to work again, but I was getting kind of annoyed by it. The weather wasn't so great anymore, and the fact that walking takes up 15-20 additional minutes on my commute is something that I started to resent, particularly in the morning. I haven't had a very busy week, but to have to leave the house at 7:30 in order to arrive around 8:00 is a bit of a hassle. I have no problems with getting up early, but I like to take those few extra minutes in the morning to do some chores or a little reading, or just, take it easy. And yes, I do realize that my commuting time is still peanuts compared to many others :-)
So on Wednesday, I shook it up a little. I went running in the morning (what, again???) and took the bike to work. I actually missed cycling! When I came home at the end of the day I had to go outside again for a short walk to reach my goal, but overall, it was a nice variation.
Monday 5 October: 12,934 steps, 9.2 kilometers
Tuesday 6 October: 11,712 steps, 8.4 kilometers
Wednesday 7 October: 10,357 steps, 7.7 kilometers
Review week 1:
The average score of the first week stands at 12,491 steps & 9.1 kilometers per day, and I made it to 10,000 steps every day. Hurrah! Obviously I did not deliberately "walk-walk" all those kilometers each day, I was actually surprised by how many steps you pick up by just getting up and walking around at home or at work. If you don't have a desk job, I reckon it would even be quite easy to reach the 10,000 on a daily basis. However, I did need to put in a little extra effort a few times this week to get there.
Anyway, I decided to up the ante and set myself the additional goal of reaching 10,000 steps every single day, not as a result of the average. To be continued!
