As suspected and reported in my January Update, February has been a much harder month for my 2012km in 2012 challenge.
We started February with snow. I love the snow – it was gorgeous – but it did not help me get some long distances in, either on the bicycle or power walking. I went for a really enjoyable walk in the snow which was fantastic, and did get back on the bike as soon as I could after the worst of the ice was gone, but haven’t done as much walking this month by a long way. We’ve also had some busy weekends which hasn’t given me much opportunity for long training walks. But I’ve not sat still, I’ve still managed to do a decent number of km this month, so I’m not disappointed with myself or anything, just well aware that I need to walk much more to get fit and ready for the MoonWalk and Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenges.
Apart from cycling and a little bit of walking I’ve also done some skiing. I’m actually in the middle of a week long skiing holiday in Andorra and agreed at the start of my 2012 km challenge that skiing would count because it is exercise in the same way as walking and cycling is. I have been using the Ski Track app which I really love (maybe a review when I get home). I set it going when we get to the top of the main gondola and it follows me all day, tracking where I am, when I’m on a lift, when I am skiing and when I am having an ice cream stop (yes, ice cream, it’s been like summer on the slopes!). At the end of each day I have a report that says how far I’ve skied, how many runs I’ve done, how fast I’ve gone etc. So far my top speed is 66.7kph – which I got on an easy blue run just aiming down the fall line (ok I was trying to beat my previous top speed of 40-something!!). In total I’ve done 53km skiing towards the February total.
So here’s the data:
2012 in 2012 Summary, Wednesday 29th February
Total for February >> 209.8 km
Total for 2012 >> 459.4 km
Average per day (60 days) >> 7.65 km
Remaining >> 1,552.6 km to go
I’m still well on track for my 2012 km target, which is excellent news.
I’ve been doing some research on my walking style and have had the opportunity to try some new boots and trainers this month from brands wanting to see reviews here on Splodz Blogz – I’ll have the perfect pair for both the MoonWalk and the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge by May I’m certain of it. Last month I asked how I could try and become lighter on my feet (having the grace of an elephant makes me ever-so heavy footed) and I’ve had some great advice from Justin at Just For The Challenge which I’ve been trying, but I’ve also been warned that some people are naturally heavy footed and it’s pretty difficult to change that. My poor feet. Ho hum!
March is potentially going to be equally as difficult as February for time (and the whole year looks pretty busy) but I’m going to have to find some hours for long power walks if I’m going to manage the MoonWalk in the six hours I’m aiming for. With Spring definitely on its way I’m hoping for lots of cycle to work days and lunch time walks which all add up. This month I will also be concentrating on nutrition – I’ve got to sort out my eating – I know about eating healthily but with all these miles am always hungry and need to sort out what I take in to get the best out (haven’t done that since I was a teenager and doing athletics and playing hockey!).
So how are your 2012 challenges going? Let me know below…
Oh and if you can/want to please (please please) help me with my MoonWalk fundraising by donating a couple of quid over on my fundraising page. I’m aiming for £250 but would really love to beat that.
Tristan
Fantastic going keep it up and fingers crossed no more snow, well at home at least 😉