Monthly Archives: August 2016

million Steps – day 36 – ups and downs

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Today finds me once again in the Welsh hills and it is a warm and sunny morning.  Walking along the sea front I am regretting wearing my leggings, it is far too warm.  I love the sea, but today there is no wind and for once the three mile walk is too hot to be comfortable.

Back at base and hubby is up and about.  We chat about how to spend the rest of the day.  Perhaps another walk?  There are some new circular routes I want to try, but hubby is not convinced.  I suggest the Great Orme, and he says this is a great idea.

For those not familiar with the North Wales landscape the Great and Little Ormes  are hills that sit opposite each other either side of the bay at Llandudno.  The Great Orme being the biggest has a railway and cable cars to take you to the summit.  We decided to try and walk up there.

We walk up a passageway and at the top there is a choice of which way to walk.  We plump for the Invalids Walk, surely that won’t be too difficult.  It isn’t at all but we seem to be walking away from the summit.  We find a path heading up but after a short while we abandon it, the steep drops and uneven ground are not for me.

Heading back we pick up the road and head uphill.  To say the road is steep is not doing it justice.  It is very, very steep.  It is still warm and sunny and soon we are very hot indeed.  We pause for breath and talk about giving up, walking back down to the sea front and getting an ice cream perhaps.  Hubby and I are more determined than that and begin to climb again.  Steeper and steeper, this is not an easy walk, and yet when we pause to look behind up the view is amazing.  Encouraged we continue.  Eventually the road flattens out and we follow grassy paths up towards the top.  By now we are feeling a little bit full of ourselves and are looking on those driving to the top with disdain.

Another couple of stops, this time for photos, not to get our breath back, and we are at the summit.  The views from here are stunning, we can see for miles and miles.  We stop to purchase our ice cream and sit enjoying the view.  How quickly we have forgotten the strain of those first hills, how good do we feel? this is a real achievement.  I am reminded of how life used to be.  When I wouldn’t dare walk far at all as the pains in my joints could at times seize up completely.  Now here I am walking up the Great Orme!!

Ice cream and self-congratulations finished we set off around the summit and begin to climb down. The view on the other side is of a vast expanse of the Irish Sea, and below us we can see the remains of an ancient village on the side of the hill.  I begin to wonder about the families that lived here, it must have been a hard life.

As we wend our way down the grassy paths, we are in great spirits.  Tired, obviously, but buoyed by our determination not to give up and our success on reaching the top.  I find downhill hard on my knees but with my hubby to hold my hand anything is possible.

It makes me think of the life we have built together, how we have faced really tricky times, times when it would have been so easy to give up, and yet we didn’t.  Together we made it through.  In fact life has been just like our walk today.  Times when progress was slow, when we needed to stop and breathe, to make decisions, do we carry on or change our route? Times when I was too tired and sore to move, and times when the sun has been on our backs and life is good.

It seems to me that we are not only defined by what we achieve, but we also defined by what we try to achieve, and what we learn along the way.

Eventually we are back in town and we decide to treat ourselves to fish and chips. As we sit in the late afternoon sunshine, we decide that this has been a wonderful day.  I am once again thankful to Diabetes UK for giving me the motivation to move, and to my hubby for always walking by my side throughout all our ups and downs.

Today I added over 21,000 steps to my total, the million is firmly in sight. Tomorrow I may rest awhile.

Million steps – day thirty four

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A lovely long walk this morning, through the town and out onto country lanes, it makes a difference walking with a friend.  As we walk we are chatting and stopping every now and again to look at the views.

I am so lucky to live somewhere where the countryside is so accessible.  From my front door within a mile I am in the middle of fields and hedgerows.  We see rabbits scampering across the field and in the distance are sheep and cattle.

Today the weather was kind, warm and bright sunshine lifted the spirits and the mood.  It is easier to walk with the sun on your back, although it did get a little warm.  I left my friend near her home and carried on for a mile or so homeward bound.

This early morning world really suits me, I arrive home ready for breakfast and have more energy than ever.  Today mundane jobs in the house are calling and I spend longer than I would have liked on housework.  It is always good to remember that, perhaps, three months ago I couldn’t do much at all.  Now cleaning and sorting is all in a days work. I couldn’t be more grateful.

Another reason to be grateful today is that I have another sponsor on my fundraising page.  This brings the total to more than double the total I set for myself.  It is wonderful and all thanks to Diabetes UK.

million steps – day thirty three – two is company

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My early morning walk today and I am not alone.  My very good friend has changed her job and can now also walk in the mornings.  I make my way to her house, starting on a different route is always a bit unsettling, but it made a change.  We set off and it is good to be able to chat as we travel along.

It is a miserable morning, the fine almost nothing rain is steadily falling and soaking us as we walk.  The sky is grey but it is not cold at all.  Weird weather, hot but damp, a British summer.

Later in the day I am heading up to a nearby town to check out bargains for our little shop.  It is not a comfortable shopping experience.  The people working in the shop are all losing their jobs next week.  They are selling everything, and we are lucky to pick up some bargains that will smarten our shop up, and yet it feels a big wrong.  We talk to the assistants who are mostly resigned to what is happening.  One woman is close to tears as she cashes up our purchases and it feels so very unfair.

Altogether I have managed another 13,000 odd steps towards my total today, most of it in the rain.

 

million steps – day thirty two – halfway there

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Today I walked my 500,000th step.  I knew it was close so did a clever sum in my head and kept an eye on my pedometer.  It would have been awesome to be somewhere magnificent at the half way point, but I was actually half way down the steps on the way to the shopping centre.

It is incredible that I could have walked so far so quickly.  Helped by a regular 8,000 odd steps in the early mornings, a few long days when I have racked up the count and lots of slogging through the streets, the miles have mounted up.

Halfway to a million, and halfway to finishing this fabulous challenge.  I know for sure that once it is over the habit is set for life now.  I will be walking forever, thank you Diabetes UK for setting this up, it is a blast.

million steps -day thirty one – tired

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today is the last day of July and the end of my first month of the million step challenge.  I have already achieved much, much more than I imagined on day one, but today was not a day for walking.

I have had an incredibly busy week, lots of walking, lots of physical work and by the time Sunday arrives I am frankly exhausted.  I have no inclination to go out early in the morning and instead settle for a good book and the sofa.

If I have learned anything in my almost six decades on the planet it is to listen to my body.  I am all for pushing myself, for not giving in, for keeping on carrying on, but sometimes enough is enough.  Today was that day.

Later in the afternoon I go out for a stroll around the town.  How different everywhere is when people are up and about.  The quiet of the park, where I watch the ducks take to the water for their early morning swim, is broken by families and children everywhere.  It is a quite different place.

Back home I have managed to complete about 7,000 steps, and as I go to bed the days total is the lowest yet, not quite 9,000, but I am feeling better.  Tomorrow is another day.