Chris's Journey #14- 7 day challenge

Entry 14: Seven Day Challenge A week or so ago when Francesca and I were walking what would be my first 5K, I was telling her about the People Magazine, “I lost half my size” issue. There was a guy in there that began at 607 pounds and lost over 400 pounds to be at the weight he is at now. When interviewed he said that he started off by walking a mile a day. I was blown away by that. When I walk I need a day to recover. My joints hurt, my back hurts, and my feet hurt. Everything hurts, and walking two days in a row is always difficult. Now sure I have walked 2 and even 3 days in a row. But every day?? So I came up with a challenge for myself. Walk seven days straight, and walk at least a mile. I can walk more than a mile if I want, but the only obligations were each day for seven days and ONE mile. I decided that after each walk, I would journal about it so I can see what my thoughts were after each walk. Maybe even see what struggles I had. And if I did not walk on a particular day, I would write about that too. I need to learn more about myself in this journey. I think this will help. Here are the results of the 7 Day Challenge. Day One of Seven Day Challenge Felt pretty good today. Nice cool day. Bought blister band aids that are padded for my blistered little toe on my left foot. It worked like a charm. My foot did not hurt that much and I was able to knock the first day of walking out. Did a 20:52 mile, my fastest yet. Feel super good about that. Legs a little heavy and right ankle bothering me a bit. Not sure why. Tomorrow will be the real test. Can I do two days in a row for the first time in a while? I told myself as I walked, it is only a mile. Push it. Listened to Britt Nicole. “Ready or Not” is rapidly becoming a favorite song of mine. Lot on my mind to sort out but felt good to get my walk done. Day Two I am learning the hardest part of walking for me is to just go. The hour, half hour, and fifteen minutes before the walk consists of me trying to talk myself out of it. “You can do it tomorrow”, “you are too tired”, “you want to get home” are all things the float in my head. But once I am out there I am in the moment. I get tired, do not get me wrong, but it is like rolling a car up a hill then down. Up is hard, once it is down momentum takes over. And that was today. When I finally got out there and turned the Runtastic app on, I was going. So I finished my 1.3 miles today and look forward to seeing what happens tomorrow. Day Three Today was the first day since the 5K that my feet felt good. Thank goodness. The blisters were awful. But the one thing I have to do is stay focused. For me the focus is walking 7 days straight. Feels good having a goal like this. Tomorrow will be a challenge. I have an appointment right after work. Will have to stay disciplined to make sure that after work and my appointment are done, that I knock the walk out. Let’s see if there is a day four. Day Four Day four was tough. I had an appointment right after work. I had to be focused. If I was not focused, I would have blown it and not walked. So after the appointment, I went to my apartment and kept telling myself: change, shoes, walk. Change, shoes, walk. I got up to my place and I changed. And I got out there. It was a cool night. I will say that this walk was tough. I have never walked 4 days in a row. Legs were not there. I was so happy when the mile was done. Day Five I had to stay focused today again. I once again another appointment right after work. And it ran late too. By the time I got home it 5:45 and the lights were almost down. But as soon as I got upstairs I got changed immediately and got out there before I could think about it. Feel good that I accomplished the walk today. Legs are super heavy. Five days straight…longest yet. So want a break, but I can in two days. Day Six Wow, cannot believe I have one day left. I have almost walked a full week. Walked over 7 miles so far. I really needed today too. I had an unbelievably bad day at work. I really was hard on myself about issues we were having. The one thing I have figured out with my walking is that I can really get in to my head and sort things out. After a while I get so tired that my issues do not seem so large anymore. Just me, and the road, and my breath, and my music, and my thoughts. I was able to organize things in my head and just feel better. The one odd thing today was walking in my jeans and work clothes. I will never enjoy that. But hey I did and day 7 is tomorrow to complete my 7 day challenge! Day 7 Mission accomplished! But to be honest there was NO WAY I was not going to complete the 7 day challenge. God made a gorgeous day. He gave me a break where it warmed up enough to walk and it was day 7! Once I got past day 5 this was a done deal. I feel so amazing to have accomplished this. Here is the breakdown: 7 days walking, 3 hours 13 minutes total walking, 8.44 miles walked, and 1 soul feeling great! This seems like a simple challenge, but to me it was not. To be able to work this and complete it, I feel like I can accomplish anything. I encourage you to find a challenge that you can do. It is amazing how you can feel about it. These last seven days were for me, and I am so grateful for them. Sincerely, Chris