Walk this way

OK, so yet again, there has been a huge gap in between blog posts.

This time, however there is a kind of valid reason! I have taken up walking to get fit! (Those who know me well were amazed at this news, when I started!)

I have been needing to do some exercise for a while and couch potato is not a career aspiration to be proud of!

I have a friend in the US, Stevie G, who has been regularly walking a marathon distance each week for as long as the weather in Cincinnati will allow him.

He in turn has inspired a friend of his over here, Diane, to follow suit and she has too been walking 26.2 plus miles per week and a lot more for the last 18 months. He suggested that she and I walk together and one Sunday in June I turned up on her doorstep completely ill prepared and we walked two miles!

I enjoyed that so much that I decided to invest in the correct footwear and clothes and a regular walking friendship has ensued. What started as 2 miles, quickly grew to 4/5 miles and then to 6 miles per walk.

While that is great, the bit that I didn't expect was to want to walk as much as I have when Diane and I can't. That has meant that most nights when I get home from work, I now get changed and don the trainers, plug in the iPhone, cue the podcasts and off I go.

I am also, therefore, now doing a marathon equivalent per week (well I have for the last 4 weeks!)

The benefits? Firstly, I've lost a lot of weight. At least half a stone, probably nearer a stone, but I didn't weigh myself before I started any of this. I'm certainly thinner, both around the waist, down one whole trouser waist size and in the face, even my Mum has noticed!

Secondly, I'm eating a lot less. Walking and snacking don't go together and generally I'm less hungry.

Thirdly, I feel so much better about myself. Doing something and enjoying it has made me a far more confident and positive person!

How long will this last? Who knows, but at least until the weather turns cold and even then I'd like to think I will battle on. Walking after work in the dark may prove a challenge but time will tell.

Steve and Diane, I am in your debt, thank you from the bottom of my ( healthier) heart for kick starting this and continuing to support and motivate me.