Since starting my pledge to #MoveMoreInMarch, I had managed to walk 35.11 miles by the end of Thursday 9th March – an average of 3.9 miles a day – so I was well on track to achieving my pledged 100 miles (an average of 3.23 miles a day).
However, I woke up on Friday feeling overwhelmingly tired. It happens sometimes. I saw clients in the morning, but by lunchtime my energy hadn’t returned. I worked through the afternoon, hoping that the exhaustion would pass – it didn’t. By the time I went to bed, I had managed a paltry 1.12miles or 2,639 steps. I felt very frustrated, but interestingly – looking at my ‘Step history’ – I walked less than this distance on 10 separate days in February and didn’t feel frustrated about it then. Is this pledge changing my mentality? Already? When I went to bed last night I decided not to set my alarm and to sleep as long as my body needed, which was just over eight and a half hours and I woke far less tired than the previous day.
I texted my friend Pauline (a local amateur photographer) who had planned to go to Gloucester Docks today, to take some photos. I decided I would walk to meet her and we arranged to walk to the Docks together. As I left the house, I checked my Fitbit… only to notice the flat-battery symbol! How frustrating. I grabbed the charger from the car, thinking I could charge it at Pauline’s prior to walking to the Docks. I was about half-way into my journey when I realised I had picked up the phone charger instead of the Fitbit charger!
Thankfully, my Fitbit didn’t die before I arrived at Pauline’s. She photographed the ‘miles’ and the ‘steps’ displayed, and from that point we were dependent on her tracker. After a quick visit to the pharmacy for some blister plasters (I had made the mistake of wearing new trainers and very thin socks) we popped into the closest sports shop for some ‘padded’ socks, which I duly put on, before we continued to the Docks.
We detoured to Gloucester Quays Shopping Outlet, where we both bought proper ‘walking shoes’ (I confess that my heels were so sore that I wore my new walking shoes out of the shop!) before moving on to the Docks to take photos.
Arriving back at Pauline’s we noted how far we had walked. To my surprise, despite the flat battery, my Fitbit was able to display my miles and I already knew how many miles my walk home would be, from walking to Pauline’s from my house in the morning. To my delight, when I arrived home, my Fitbit managed to display the total miles I had walked today and sync with my iPad! To say I’m impressed with the performance of my Fitbit is an understatement.
It’s surprising how much you notice when you walk. I spotted my first honey bee and my first bumble bee, both feasting on fragrant mahonia. In fact, walking through Barnwood Arboretum on the way home, my senses were seduced by the scent of the blossom. It really is a beautiful time of year and it makes me think just how much I would be missing, if I hadn’t pledged to #MoveMoreInMarch. If you live a sedentary lifestyle, why not try it?
Sali Says 