On Foot
One year ago (early 2018), I was inspired by a relative to walk 1000 km over the course of the year. I thought she’d walked that same distance, but learned later that she logged over 1000 km the first year she did it; subsequently, in 2018, she pounded out 2000 km. Regardless, being “realistic”, I stuck with my initial goal.
Broken down into bite-sized pieces, walking 1000 kilometers in a year equates to a very manageable 4 km approximately 5 times per week, all year.
One of many Greenbelt Trails in Ottawa
In January 2018, I started out strong, hitting my weekly targets. I got to know my neighbourhood far better than what I knew simply from driving to my usual destinations. I loved getting to know the footpaths and trails that connected side streets, traversed parks, and green spaces, and that were delightfully inaccessible to vehicles.
Gearing up in warm layers for the winter hikes became fairly standard procedure and wasn’t a big hassle. I loved walking in the mornings before much hustle and bustle of traffic commenced. As long as I was dressed properly I didn’t get cold. In fact, more often than not, the risk was greater that I’d overheat. Though I lived in a relatively flat area, it did boast a retired “ski hill” (really a bump compared to actual ski hills in Europe or Western Canada). Nevertheless, hiking up and down that bump certainly raised my core temperature!
Ski Hill Chair Lift Relic with sign reading “Persons Using This Property Do So At Their Own Risk”.
Along with glorious scenery, and sunrises, there were other highlights in creature-form, even in the city. One favourite was when I came across 3 young foxes playing in a cemetery (amusingly, their toy was a decorative plastic reindeer), coyotes in farmland, wild turkeys, loads of cute dogs, scampering squirrels, and skittish rabbits.
Summer walks were certainly faster without having to slog through snow or cautiously tip toe across icy surfaces. Interestingly despite the walks being easier in the warmer weather, my drive to put in the kilometers waned significantly in the spring/summer. It dipped again fairly drastically with some sickness in the fall; that was a drag because it’s one of my favourite seaBut with winter back again, that nice fresh cool air (and the desire to meet my goal), encouraged be to lace up the walking shoes again. The longer it takes to reach a goal, the more personally disappointing it would be to self-sabotage (by being lazy and not putting in the kilometers), thus nullifying all the time I did put in.
Me on Luskville Falls trail, Quebec.
Finally, though it’s taken me a month to put it in writing, I can announce that I did indeed meet (and slightly exceed) my goal of travelling 1000 km by foot in 2018. The take away for me is that I am best motivated when I have a measureable goal to reach. I also attain that goal much more successfully if I put in the work first thing in the day. With these lessons in mind, I am working towards a new goal this year. Stay tuned. The timeline is shorter, but the work required to reach it will be greater. Let’s get out there, get active, and enjoy the pleasure of achieving some personal goals!
