the walking. OMG, the walking

You all may or may not know that I'm trying to lose a little weight here.
Not a lot, I don't want to look like a scrawny plucked chicken.
I just want to lose enough to take some of the pressure off my hips and knees and to lessen the discomfort of the varicose veins.

So I've been eating less, no snacking between meals and smaller portions on the plate at dinner.

This wasn't working out so well, so I decided to add some extra walking to the routine. I already walk to and from work, and walk all around the store doing whatever the boss wants me to do.
That takes care of my mornings.


Now I've added a 3km walk to the afternoons. Easy enough, for an old lady who has let herself get very unfit.

I've been reading around the interwebs about people who walk or run for 6-8-10kms at a time.
Now, I used to be able to walk 6kms without even thinking about it. Not so long ago either. What the heck happened in the last six months? I can barely make it out the door some days.

Anyway, I decided I'd give the 6km a try. I promised myself I'd give the 6km a try. 3km up the road, 3km back down the road.
I set off slowly, i-pod clutched in my sweaty little hand, and tried not to trip on the very uneven footpath.


There's a McDonalds a little less than a quarter of the way along and as I passed it, I thought to myself, well that's almost a quarter of the way, I just have to do that again and again and again.
To get to the halfway 3km mark!
I'd chosen a sunny breezy afternoon, but forgot to carry along my water bottle.


By the time I reached the first main road, I was feeling a little tired, so was glad to stop for a minute while the traffic light was red. Crossed the road and kept going. I was really starting to feel it now, my knee began sending me little distress signals so I slowed down.

What I wanted to do was forget the whole thing and go home. But I'd promised myself.

Trudging onwards, reminding myself that I was already past halfway up, promising myself a 5 minute rest when I reached the second main road. The 3km mark.


By this time I was just blindly carrying on, not noticing the beautiful weather anymore, not nodding and smiling at passersby, just wanting to get there.

At this point, I remembered the going was a bit harder than I'd thought because I was going uphill! It's a very gentle slope, but still uphill. For 3kms.
When I finally reached the 3km mark, I walked around that corner, out of the sun, and sat on a low fence to rest while two full songs played their way through.


Enough resting, now I just want to get home. So off I went. oh boy! This was much easier! Downhill.
Getting a bit thirsty now though. I really should have carried water. But I thought it would only take me roughly an hour. I was wrong! The full trip took me an hour and forty minutes!


I made it home and was never in my life so glad to kick off my shoes and lie down with my feet up. My feet were burning, my face was burning (not sunburn, I'd worn sunblock and a hat), and I laid down for almost half an hour before my face felt cooler. Then I showered, had coffee and told myself it hadn't been so bad. After all, I'd made it home without having to crawl on my hands and knees, I was still standing. Sort of.


The next morning was a different story.

Massive headache. Painful shins, achy thighs. And a blister on the ball of my foot right where it meets the big toe. Blisters are something I rarely get. It hadn't yet reached full size, was only beginning to swell, so I massaged it gently with castor oil and put my soft old bedsocks on. It was gone the next morning.


I am definitely going to stick with just the old 3km walk from now on. One and a half kms up, one and a half kms back. Different road, no hill! Until I can do it easily, then I might stretch it to 4kms. Maybe. I need to remember I'm no spring chicken. I'm an old chook, with a dodgy knee, a bad back and varicose veins.