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Norah
Norah Sendmail

12. Walk Maker and Breaker

posted almost 2 years ago | Report

Just out of curiosity, what makes and/or breaks your walks? How do you normally organize yourself to ensure a successful walkout?

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  • Norah
    Norah Sendmail

    Routes ->>>> Make me or Break me... Ughh!!

    I am an explorer at heart and I am always up for an adventurous walk. Because of this, I've come to acquaint myself with a lot of walking routes. So much, that sometimes I find myself unable to make up my mind on which route I should take because I know so many of them (Lord, help me!).

    I've come to discover that what mostly makes or breaks my walks is the routes I choose to walk on. Since I like and enjoy the idea of discovering "new walking routes," one of the
    ways I organize myself is to choose a route the day before (or at least have an idea of it). I find it helps to focus my mind and it enables me to have a successful walk. I've also noticed that sometimes random (spontaneous and unplanned) routes have a huge impact on my walking pace and concentration level. Although this is not always the case, I've gotten much better in organizing myself and planning out my walking routes.

    For this summer, I've mapped out a challenge route (i can walk!) to not only work on route
    consistency, but to train in balancing out the warm up and cool down energy. I use the word "warm up" to refer to uphills and steep sidewalks, and "cool down" to refer to downhill and much more easier and manageable pavements. I've discovered that they both demand energy of their own, and finding the right balance between the two is the key. So having said that, the challenge route that I mapped out is a perfect balance. But the only thing is, it makes the route just a tad bit longer (17 miles). However; the energy flow is just right. The route itself is quite a challenge, but with more practice I'm sure I'll do just fine.... so long as I keep an open mind because I still have a lot to learn as well.

    posted almost 2 years ago | Report

  • Barb S.
    Barb S. Sendmail

    I agree with Norah in that planning ahead can increase success as you can mentally walk through the route first and have everything ready to go. What breaks a walk for me is procrastinating, having a busy day schedule, having other priorities, busy family schedule..normal life stuff. Another thing I dislike is walking around lots of traffic and we have lots of that around my home. I love variety so I get more excited when I know something new is happening.

    posted almost 2 years ago | Report

  • David J.
    David J. Sendmail

    Walk maker is an easy one, I love it and it's one of the best parts of my day. Breaker?? hmmmm, down pour and treadmill broke, that's one breaker. Just got the tread fixed finally after two months so that's a good thing. Another breaker??? Lil lady cracks the whip first thing and the running around begins, no walk. Too much pain the day before so taking a rest day is a breaker. One good thing about breakers, not wanting to or too tired has not been a factor.

    posted almost 2 years ago | Report

  • Alicyn H.PRO
    Alicyn H. Sendmail

    Completely agree! I am much better when I have my routes planned the day before. And when I go on long walks, my walk maker is to keep half on the trails and then half on the "city" streets. It helps mix it up a bit for me. I also have had to make walking a priority for my life, which has been hard for my friends to understand. They are always tempting me. My two big challenges for the summer are walking a long distance (over 2 hours) in the heat. And then how to maintain this mileage on days I can't get outdoors. We'll see how it goes. So my walk breaker right now is my schedule, the heat, and all the afternoon showers!!

    posted almost 2 years ago | Report

  • Kenya H.
    Kenya H. Sendmail

    Rain, combination of heat and humidity and poor hydration or nutrition will all break a walk for me. I'm likely to cut the walk short or have a terrible time. I'm also less likely to walk in the evenings even when it's cool. I guess I just prefer mornings. Since I've been doing this I've realized the beauty of overcast early mornings! A walk is usually a good one for me if I'm satisfied with my performance. However, I start off in a better frame of mind when I start on time (not late frantically rushing out the door) and when I have a sense of the purpose and direction of the walk.

    posted almost 2 years ago | Report

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