Year of Extremes: Challenge 1

Year of Extremes: Challenge 1 The insanity didn’t originate on my drive home after another night shift, but it was likely supported by such a circumstance. It boiled down to this: I don’t know if I can. Could I walk to the next town over if my car stopped working? Could I… whatever… could I do it? I don’t know because I’ve never tried it! So I made a list of things I might consider extreme, highly unlikely and maybe even impossible. This year I am working on completing them. These challenges are completely for myself, developed by myself and for no other reason than to know I can! Challenge 1 was undertaken on February 6. GOAL: walk for 12 hours. This was accomplished, totaled 27.84 miles and 59,800 steps at the end of the day. I stopped for lunch, dinner a few times to use the facilities, get some Tylenol and shoe inserts from a friend (thank you, Ceri!), to look at some ducks and change my shoes. Otherwise, I walked. I thought the toughest part of the experience might be the pre 7am wake time on a Saturday, but it was probably the pain. HA! The walk started at 0718 and 28 degrees F. I tend to walk fast, especially at work, so I had to remind myself that I was going for time not distance or speed. I took notes throughout the day, jotting down ideas and inspirations. They basically all boiled down to a few main ideas. I truly appreciate the fact that I had support from family and friends. This support ranged from the Tylenol to friends checking in on my progress throughout the day and cheering me along. I especially enjoyed the celebratory attitudes after I walked a marathon. Let’s not forget my husband picking me up at the end of 12 hours when I was still an hour from home. I’m old. There’s no getting around it. My feet started hurting 2 hours in, legs 3 hours in, back and thighs after that. But NSAIDs and determination can accomplish much. I have nothing to prove to anyone, not even myself really. I just wanted to see if I could do this. And I did it!