WalK Hard...
As Dewey Cox said in the movie Walk Hard, “It ain’t easy to walk to the top of a mountain. It’s a long hard walk. But I will walk hard.”
Well, here it is, the final comments from a year that saw both myself and my wife Ann walk, and we walked hard.
The goal in the beginning was simple. I, an avid couch potato who abhorred exercise, was going to don the walking shoes and trod 1,000 miles in 2011. The logo for the program name, WalK, even had a tiny little five inside the K, standing for a 5K, which is approximately what I had to walk every day in order to achieve the carrot at the end of the string.
Weirdly enough, after about four months into the program, I realized that 1,000 miles was going to be a cinch, so I adjusted it to 1,200 — the approximate distance from Millersburg to Denver, Colo.
And so, I walked hard. I walked through rain, I walked treadmill miles, I walked in the dead of night, I walked in 98-degree heat where the humidity was so bad it made the toughest of men weep.
Along the way, I had my loyal sidekick — although she was more of a mentor than a sidekick — my lovely wife Ann, who has been known to hoof it around the hills and valleys of northern Benton and its outlying regions.
I figured if my goal was 1,200 miles to Denver, hers would have to be more... much more, it turned out. I set for her a path to San Diego, Calif., a tidy little trek of a mere 2,000 miles.
Not surprisingly, once the WalK project began, she provided plenty of evil leers in my direction on numerous occasions, and it was kind of neat to see her attitude change as she went from despair that there was no way she could make it, to realizing it was within reach, to the point where she was counting down the miles in plenty of time to make it to those sunny San Diego beaches.
I am proud to say, that on Dec. 23, she pulled into San Diego station, her trip a success, her rock-hard calves announcing her arrival to total fitness.
Four days later, I arrived in Denver, thrilled to have met my goal, happy that I had made a commitment and kept it, and more than ready to quit walking forever.
No, not really. I jest.
Our final numbers were 2,012 for Ann, 1,207 for myself.
What I found during this year was that I actually enjoy the walking part of the process, but it was the time that was the biggest deterrent. It’s not easy to find an hour or sometimes two every day to commit to walking, and for Ann, it was sometimes two-plus hours of time commitment.
That was the hardest part, not the actual physical act of walking every day.
I guess if it were easy, everyone would do it, but we all lead busy lives, and time becomes an obvious issue.
But as for the feeling of accomplishment that I got with this program? It is awesome. Walking outside, being in nature, the smells, sights and sounds, walking with my wife, feeling better about myself physically... it all adds up to a very worthwhile experience.
I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make the commitment to exercise a little bit when they haven’t in the past. It’s not a hugely taxing undertaking physically, and even if it isn’t three or more miles a day, a simple act of committing maybe one mile, or 10,000 steps a day, or anything that gets you off the couch and starts you toward activity will help.
As for continuing the WalK program, I am leaving it behind, replacing it with the more time-friendly act of walking one hour a day whenever possible. No pressure, no strict schedule, but now, because I know that I like walking, I am much more willing to do it when I have the time.
Along with that, Ann and I are exploring some toning activities along the lines of P90-X for Old People, or something along those lines, that will shape up our midsections in addition to our finely toned calves.
Maybe a little dietary action would be a nice place to go too, but I blame my wife’s incredible cooking skills for that problem.
2011 was indeed an incredible year for my wife and I. It was gratifying, and one of the things that I liked most was how we were able to encourage each other and serve as examples to one another throughout the year.
All I know is, it would have been fun for me to do this, but not nearly as much fun without her.
Thanks to all of you who encouraged us over the year. Your words of encouragement kept us going, and we hope that we have, in some way, been an inspiration to you as well.
Now, go out and walk... walk hard.
Signing out,
Dave Mast
Well, here it is, the final comments from a year that saw both myself and my wife Ann walk, and we walked hard.
The goal in the beginning was simple. I, an avid couch potato who abhorred exercise, was going to don the walking shoes and trod 1,000 miles in 2011. The logo for the program name, WalK, even had a tiny little five inside the K, standing for a 5K, which is approximately what I had to walk every day in order to achieve the carrot at the end of the string.
Weirdly enough, after about four months into the program, I realized that 1,000 miles was going to be a cinch, so I adjusted it to 1,200 — the approximate distance from Millersburg to Denver, Colo.
And so, I walked hard. I walked through rain, I walked treadmill miles, I walked in the dead of night, I walked in 98-degree heat where the humidity was so bad it made the toughest of men weep.
Along the way, I had my loyal sidekick — although she was more of a mentor than a sidekick — my lovely wife Ann, who has been known to hoof it around the hills and valleys of northern Benton and its outlying regions.
I figured if my goal was 1,200 miles to Denver, hers would have to be more... much more, it turned out. I set for her a path to San Diego, Calif., a tidy little trek of a mere 2,000 miles.
Not surprisingly, once the WalK project began, she provided plenty of evil leers in my direction on numerous occasions, and it was kind of neat to see her attitude change as she went from despair that there was no way she could make it, to realizing it was within reach, to the point where she was counting down the miles in plenty of time to make it to those sunny San Diego beaches.
I am proud to say, that on Dec. 23, she pulled into San Diego station, her trip a success, her rock-hard calves announcing her arrival to total fitness.
Four days later, I arrived in Denver, thrilled to have met my goal, happy that I had made a commitment and kept it, and more than ready to quit walking forever.
No, not really. I jest.
Our final numbers were 2,012 for Ann, 1,207 for myself.
What I found during this year was that I actually enjoy the walking part of the process, but it was the time that was the biggest deterrent. It’s not easy to find an hour or sometimes two every day to commit to walking, and for Ann, it was sometimes two-plus hours of time commitment.
That was the hardest part, not the actual physical act of walking every day.
I guess if it were easy, everyone would do it, but we all lead busy lives, and time becomes an obvious issue.
But as for the feeling of accomplishment that I got with this program? It is awesome. Walking outside, being in nature, the smells, sights and sounds, walking with my wife, feeling better about myself physically... it all adds up to a very worthwhile experience.
I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make the commitment to exercise a little bit when they haven’t in the past. It’s not a hugely taxing undertaking physically, and even if it isn’t three or more miles a day, a simple act of committing maybe one mile, or 10,000 steps a day, or anything that gets you off the couch and starts you toward activity will help.
As for continuing the WalK program, I am leaving it behind, replacing it with the more time-friendly act of walking one hour a day whenever possible. No pressure, no strict schedule, but now, because I know that I like walking, I am much more willing to do it when I have the time.
Along with that, Ann and I are exploring some toning activities along the lines of P90-X for Old People, or something along those lines, that will shape up our midsections in addition to our finely toned calves.
Maybe a little dietary action would be a nice place to go too, but I blame my wife’s incredible cooking skills for that problem.
2011 was indeed an incredible year for my wife and I. It was gratifying, and one of the things that I liked most was how we were able to encourage each other and serve as examples to one another throughout the year.
All I know is, it would have been fun for me to do this, but not nearly as much fun without her.
Thanks to all of you who encouraged us over the year. Your words of encouragement kept us going, and we hope that we have, in some way, been an inspiration to you as well.
Now, go out and walk... walk hard.
Signing out,
Dave Mast
Published: January 26, 2012
