Wednesday, March 09, 2011

A Walk In The Park

It is no secret that there is no love lost between me and the gym. I continue to go because I know it is a major player in helping me lose weight and get fitter. Generally on my weekends I try to find ways to keep active and get moving without stepping foot in the gym and this weekend I really stepped it up a notch and I had a lot of fun.

Since I have lost weight, the main thing I enjoy doing is walking everywhere instead of getting public transport or driving. To me it is a novelty to have the ability to walk places, especially given it was difficult for me to even walk around the block when I was 130 kilos. I used to live in fear of a casual comment from friends or family saying "let's just walk to the restaurant" or "should we walk instead of getting the tram?". Nooooo... Now I get off on the high of finding new ways to challenge myself and what I think I can do.

On Saturday I was going to do my regular river walk, which depending on the track I do, is between 4-6.5 kms. I decided to push myself and do a bit extra and ended up walking 9.2 kms (5.7 miles). I really enjoyed it and I was tired by then end, but not exhausted. I guess next time I'll have to try for the full 10 km!

Then on Sunday AJ and I decided to try the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk in the Dandenongs. It is 1000 steps, so I was nervous that I wouldn't have the fitness to complete it, but I figured I would just turn around and go back if I had to. It turned out to be really not that hard and I enjoyed the challenge of walking up the steep incline. Don't get me wrong, it was tough going, but the main difficulty was dealing with the steep and slippery steps coming down. I was petrified I was going to slide right down on my arse and make a fool of myself. Thankfully I remained upright, and it was a great relief to reach the bottom safely, though my legs were shaking for a while!

I would love to hear from you about your favourite walking spots, I am always looking for new places to try.

Kokoda Track starting point

Me excited to get started...

Me at the end dripping in sweat and slightly disheveled!

9 comments:

  1. excellent work!!!! I've never done the 1000 steps, looks good! I don't think there are any scenic walks in my hood. your river walk is about the closest!!! So long as I have tunes, I don't really mind what the scenery is :0)

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  2. That sounds like an awesome walk! Good work!

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  3. Well done Tully and Sunday was such a gorgeous day for a walk. I really must do that trail one day.

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  4. I used to do that trial every weekend. It's an awesome workout - there is another track down too but no steps and its very hard on toes and knees.

    I hated the incline before the steps. That used to kill me more than the steps did.

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  5. omg - the hill before the steps themselves is a killer! I do these all the time - have prob seen u there! Keep it up - ur an inspiration!

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Awww thanks so much for the comment!