Walking Goals: Twenty-Four Miles in Two Days Challenge
I'd been hoping to accomplish my 24 Before 24 challenge of walking 24 miles in two different days while here in Mexico. Monday walked 8 miles in the morning and then did 2 more in the evening. (It's so hot here I can't walk a lot during the day.)
I was excited about the possibility of getting my 24 miles in during two days - I only had to get 14 miles in on Tuesday and I'd be able to mark it off my list. It was a slightly daunting task though, since I've never done more than 10 or 11 miles in a day, and I've only done that about twice. Nevertheless, I set my alarm and got up early Tuesday morning and then set out to beat the heat.
Walking on the sand is fun, especially with the cool water washing over my feet, but after a while my feet start feeling the lack of support. So, Tuesday morning I started out wearing tennis shoes - one of the first times I've put them on during the last month. The problems is that the beach is wet and damp shoes aren't exactly my forte, so after 3 miles I took them off and was instantly relieved.
It's amazing the amount of changes that occur on the beach in a several-hour time period. I was walking back and forth over about a mile and a half range, so I kept seeing the same stretch of beach over and over again, yet the sand looked different with the tide sweeping in and out. Shells would arrive, ripples would appear, and a fair amount of dead fish would wash up.
Tuesday morning was cloudy which meant I was able to walk longer than usual and I got 10 miles in. Then, the sky was over cast again in the evening before supper so I rushed out to try and get my last 4 miles in. During most of this time I'd been walking at a moderate pace, only a little over 3 miles an hour. I know that's not much at all, but the sand really does make it a bit more difficult than regular walking.
I was excited to get over 4 miles in during the next hour before supper. It took quite a bit of jogging (I don't power-walk on the beach very well), but I stashed a water bottle on the beach and the water helped keep me going. By this time I'd discovered that no matter how soft sand appears to be, after walking over it for 24 miles, it loses it's softness. I quite literally sanded my feet and they hurt.
By this time though, I was no longer satisfied with reaching my 24 Before 24 challenge, instead I wanted to do a marathon over the period of two days. My family kindly excused me from dishes after supper so I could hurry out and get two more miles in before it was too dark. I'd been out walking at sunrise and sunset for two days now and I was enjoying it a lot.
The sky was cloudily and therefore there wasn't anything to see when it came to the sunset, but the wind was blowing at a nicely (some evenings it's difficult to walk in because it blows so hard) and the air was cooling down from the 100 degree day. It was perfect weather for finishing up my two-day marathon.
I was tired by this time, but determined to keep going. I knew that eventually the pain of the exercise would abate and I'd be that much closer to reaching my goal of running a marathon in October. I went back and forth between listening to an audio book on fast speed and praise and worship music, and finally, right before dark, I accomplished my goal.
26.2 miles in 7 hours and 45 minutes isn't spectacular, it's not award winning, and it's not a what most people dream of, but to me, it was fantastic. It showed me how very far I've come along in my quest for health and reminded me that my goal of a marathon really is within reach.
That night my feet ached and my sister kindly rubbed them for me, but it was so worth it. I gave myself a break yesterday and this morning from long-distance walking, but I'm eager to jump back and and cut my walking time down considerably.
And now for a 26.2 miles in one day...
I was excited about the possibility of getting my 24 miles in during two days - I only had to get 14 miles in on Tuesday and I'd be able to mark it off my list. It was a slightly daunting task though, since I've never done more than 10 or 11 miles in a day, and I've only done that about twice. Nevertheless, I set my alarm and got up early Tuesday morning and then set out to beat the heat.
Walking on the sand is fun, especially with the cool water washing over my feet, but after a while my feet start feeling the lack of support. So, Tuesday morning I started out wearing tennis shoes - one of the first times I've put them on during the last month. The problems is that the beach is wet and damp shoes aren't exactly my forte, so after 3 miles I took them off and was instantly relieved.
It's amazing the amount of changes that occur on the beach in a several-hour time period. I was walking back and forth over about a mile and a half range, so I kept seeing the same stretch of beach over and over again, yet the sand looked different with the tide sweeping in and out. Shells would arrive, ripples would appear, and a fair amount of dead fish would wash up.
Tuesday morning was cloudy which meant I was able to walk longer than usual and I got 10 miles in. Then, the sky was over cast again in the evening before supper so I rushed out to try and get my last 4 miles in. During most of this time I'd been walking at a moderate pace, only a little over 3 miles an hour. I know that's not much at all, but the sand really does make it a bit more difficult than regular walking.
I was excited to get over 4 miles in during the next hour before supper. It took quite a bit of jogging (I don't power-walk on the beach very well), but I stashed a water bottle on the beach and the water helped keep me going. By this time I'd discovered that no matter how soft sand appears to be, after walking over it for 24 miles, it loses it's softness. I quite literally sanded my feet and they hurt.
By this time though, I was no longer satisfied with reaching my 24 Before 24 challenge, instead I wanted to do a marathon over the period of two days. My family kindly excused me from dishes after supper so I could hurry out and get two more miles in before it was too dark. I'd been out walking at sunrise and sunset for two days now and I was enjoying it a lot.
The sky was cloudily and therefore there wasn't anything to see when it came to the sunset, but the wind was blowing at a nicely (some evenings it's difficult to walk in because it blows so hard) and the air was cooling down from the 100 degree day. It was perfect weather for finishing up my two-day marathon.
I was tired by this time, but determined to keep going. I knew that eventually the pain of the exercise would abate and I'd be that much closer to reaching my goal of running a marathon in October. I went back and forth between listening to an audio book on fast speed and praise and worship music, and finally, right before dark, I accomplished my goal.
26.2 miles in 7 hours and 45 minutes isn't spectacular, it's not award winning, and it's not a what most people dream of, but to me, it was fantastic. It showed me how very far I've come along in my quest for health and reminded me that my goal of a marathon really is within reach.
That night my feet ached and my sister kindly rubbed them for me, but it was so worth it. I gave myself a break yesterday and this morning from long-distance walking, but I'm eager to jump back and and cut my walking time down considerably.
And now for a 26.2 miles in one day...
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