I walked 5K without stopping tonight—the longest I've walked since the hospital. I did 2 laps at my local park, walked to the other local park up the street, did 2 more laps there, then walked back to my apartment. And I felt as though I could have done more.
Once my buddy Mike leaves this coming Friday, I'm going to start some even more ambitious walks. I'd like to get up to 9K by the end of September, and I need to be doing 10K without stopping by the end of the first week of October. By October 16, I'd like to have walked at least to Hanam City (26K, with several stops), plus to have done the stairs from B1 to 26. I don't know whether I'll make that second goal, but I'm pretty sure I can make the first. Then, I'll have to decide whether I'm in condition to do this year's long walk.
Fortunately, as the weather cools, distance walking ought to become easier. The same might be true for stairs work, too. We'll see.
Excellent! Your plan for the way forward sounds solid to me. I wonder how necessary the stair work is since your planned walk is mostly flat. At least for me, I can walk just fine until the climbing starts, and then all hell breaks loose. I think the stairs will put much more strain on your heart than distance will. Anyway, you know you, just take it slow.
ReplyDeleteThere are at least two huge hills along the Nakdong River route, between Busan and Sangju. It occurred to me last night that I can avoid one hill entirely by using a nearby tunnel: through the mountain instead of over it. The other hill, well, that one's unavoidable, and while I plan on resting frequently on the way up it, it's still going to be a difficult hill, so it behooves me to do some hill training while I can. But yes, I'll take it slow.
DeleteCongrats! I do agree with John about taking it slow, though. Don't push yourself too hard if you don't feel like you are ready yet. You will get there when the time is right.
ReplyDeleteI'll definitely be self-monitoring. Thanks.
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