September 10, 2020

My Walking Stats: Notables of Exercising Twice a Day


I am SO glad to see that I'm not the only parent struggling so hard with the distance learning for my kids' school! Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your struggles with it, too. I was feeling SUPER overwhelmed yesterday and really disappointed in how things are going. (Eli was marked "truant" from two classes today--I was there when he signed in!) Like I said, I hope that they are just working out the kinks now and things will get better in the next week or two.

While I was walking today, I was thinking about how familiar all the routes are around my house (there are only so many streets to walk). And it got me thinking about my walking stats, or just interesting things about my walks (things I've seen, money I've found, etc.) So I decided to write a post on it!

I started 75 Hard on July 20th, so I'm halfway through Week 8--I'm on Day 53. Here are some notables from the last 53 days of walking 45 minutes twice a day, every single day. I haven't missed a single workout! (I've done a few bike rides in lieu of the walking, but for this post, I'm just focusing on the walking.

Numerical Stats:

  • Earliest walk: 5:03 AM (this was on the treadmill right before we left for a 10-hour drive up north)
  • Latest walk: 7:23 PM (again, on the treadmill--likely, I was procrastinating)
  • Longest distance walk: 3.66 miles (this was a walk/jog on the treadmill; my longest of simply walking was 3.34 outdoors)
  • Shortest distance walk: 2.22 miles 
  • Longest duration walk: 1:08:17 (3.34 miles)
  • Shortest duration walk: 45:02 (2.57 miles)
  • Highest average heart rate: 146 bpm (this was during my fastest walk)
  • Fastest average pace: 14:17/mile
  • Fastest mile: 13:55
  • Slowest average pace: 20:37/mile
  • Slowest mile: 20:56
  • Average number of miles a day: 5.3 miles
  • Average number of minutes a day: 94:02
  • Total number of miles walked: 261.93 miles
  • Total duration walked: 3 days, 5 hours, 35 minutes!
One of my favorite parts about going for walks is finding money. I pick up every coin that I see--it's like a treasure hunt! Since July 20th, I've found $3.25 while out walking. Whenever I find a coin, I tuck it under the shoulder strap of my sports bra, haha. 



The most I've found on a walk since I started 75 Hard is $0.63 cents. It was kind of funny... I was walking along and saw a bright shiny quarter in the middle of the road. Score! I love finding quarters. Then a street over, I saw another shiny quarter in the middle of the road. This actually made me wonder if perhaps somebody who lives nearby is doing my Cookies Summer Challenge and left quarters out for someone to find. Hmmmm?

I've seen lots of animals: the usual cats, dogs, rabbits, squirrels, etc. I've seen groundhogs, muskrats, deer, bald eagles, hawks, cranes, and other birds, snakes, turtles, frogs, geese, ducks, and even a black bear (the bear was up north). And the most unusual to me--something I've never seen up close in the wild--a bat! Unfortunately, it was dead in the middle of the road. While it may be gruesome, I took a photo of it because I found it so interesting.



I've been rotating through shoes--up to four pairs at one point! (Clockwise from top left):

Saucony Triumph 4.0 (newest)
Brooks Ghost 9 (second oldest)
Saucony Triumph 2.0 (oldest but with very few miles)
Altra Escalante (second newest)




I'd been wearing the Ghosts model for YEARS, but when I stopped running and was wearing Converse Chuck's all the time, I thought I'd better find a more neutral shoe with less support when I started to walk. I bought the Altra's, but those are zero-drop (which is a big change from the Ghosts) and I started alternating them with the Saucony Triumph 2.0 shoes that I got in 2016 and rarely wore.

I discovered the Triumph's were super comfy and minimized my ankle pain, so I looked online for more. I couldn't find the 2.0 version ANYWHERE in my size (10), so I bought the 4.0's on eBay (new in box). They are very cushiony, but I don't like them as much as the 2.0 version, which is a bummer. They are tighter on my heels and if I don't rotate shoes, they give me blisters.



I've worn out my Ghosts, pretty much, and will probably need to drop those soon. The Triumph 2.0's are toast--the bottoms have gotten totally worn out. So now I'm down to the Altra's and the Triumph 4.0's. And those have quite a few miles on each of them already. I didn't realize how quickly the miles would add up as I started walking.

Finally, here is a very long calendar with all of my walks (and a few bike rides) on it. I didn't include the bike rides in the totals.


It's fun to see all of this in one place. Especially looking at all the workouts on the calendar like that!

And no, I'm not done. I'm going to continue for a total of 90 days, so I'm more than halfway done now.

4 comments:

  1. How do you know your shoes are worn out, besides the wear on the soles?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do get a lot of wear on the soles, but I also tend to get knee and foot pain (especially in my arch) when the shoes are wearing down. Mine typically wear down more quickly than others'--I get about 300 miles out of them.

      Delete
  2. I wear a 10, too! (Though before having my babies, I was an 8.5 🤣). Would you recommend Altra’s? I’ve been looking at their Solstice XT as a possibility when I am able to return to Jazzercise and Refit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was a 9.5 before I lost weight, then an 8 after losing weight, and now I'm a 9 (except for running shoes, which I buy in a size 10 to allow for natural swelling). It's so funny how shoe sizes can change like that!

      The Altras are GREAT, but they definitely take some time to get used to. (Look for an older model on Amazon... you can get them really cheap!) I would introduce them very slowly, rotating with your "regular" shoes for at least 3-4 weeks. Your hamstrings and calves may be a little sore at first. But once I got used to them, I really do love them!

      Delete

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