April 14th More lessons learned
Had a late start to my walk today. I didn't head out the door until around 11 am. The temperature was 75 F and the humidity was at 90%. My goal for the day was 10 miles. There is a bench at about 5 miles out from my house and I thought that would make a nice spot to have lunch and a break. In fact its the bench in the picture from yesterday. So I set off, happy that the rain was holding off. There was a lot of cloud cover as I walked and the wind was a nice cooling breeze.
As I made my way toward the bench I was really looking forward to a break. It was very hot and humid and I just wanted a break. Then I saw the bench sitting there, in the sun. Yes in the sun. Every other time i had been by the bench it had been in the shade. But today, due to later time and the clouds decided to clear for that moment, my little bench was in the sun. I was tired and a bit disappointed I didn't have shade to rest. So I walked a bit further down the road and found a wooden bridge. The bridge is over what would be a swamp. Luckily for me it was dry and I was able to sit on the bridge and let my feet hang over. I made my self comfortable and enjoyed the lunch I had packed. A nice sandwich, chips and Gatorade. Just as I finished eating the shade was was enjoying was no longer. Time to get moving again.
The walk wasn't really difficult today, it was just so hot. I felt as if the heat and humidity was sucking out my energy. As I made my way back home I was happy to see the skies cloud up again. The clouds were getting dark and I prayed i would make it home without rain. The wind was picking up and was cooler which felt so good to me. I am happy to say I made it home before the rain.
At home as I was resting and cleaning up I noticed that my legs and feet had red blotches on them. I did some research and found that most likely it is heat rash. It never occurred to me that I could get heat rash on my legs when I was wearing shorts. So tonight i will relax and keep the spots cool and dry.
So todays lessons are don't count on the shade always being there for you. Sometimes you may need to look a little further for some. Also its important to watch the time you walk and the weather. If its too hot or humid its okay to postpone, making your walks more enjoyable. Early walks are best in the spring and summer. Also in Spain, an early start will be more necessary than I realized.
This is why we do this training. To get to know theses pitfalls and how to handle them. I am feeling stronger every day.
I think what I learned from reading your blog is that sometimes making the experience enjoyable is what you really need as a motivator to keep going. Too often in workout plans, and of course this is the military training talking too, you're told keep going, push through to motivate you to finish. However, thats only temporary motivation, but I am glad you've been able to find long term motivation by making the walking experience a hobby and not a chore.
ReplyDeleteAlso meant to add "and that will be your secret to success, the inner voice that will keep you sticking with your goals."
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support. I do hope that with this training when the event happens I can enjoy it more, be more in the moment of the walk, looking around and taking it all in. Not worrying about whether I can make it to the next hill or next town. There will be less worrying. The altitude and hills will be the only issue to contend with.
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