I promised I would explain the alternative walk30 goal .... here it is!
The second idea for a great walking goal is the HALF MARATHON A WEEK challenge. Some of you may know that I am the co-chair of the Minds in Motion - K W Walking Classic here in Kitchener Waterloo Ontario. We have just finished the fourth annual event ... a chip timed event for walkers of all levels and for walkers exclusively. It is a walkers only race with all the elements of a top notch running event ... just no running allowed.
Check out the race website here!
In our first year I wanted to set a challenging goal for myself sixteen weeks before our race in September. As the race organizer I knew I couldn't walk on the day of the race but I wanted to raise funds for our cause ... mental health. So in June of 2008 I challenged myself to walk a marathon a week ... my goal involved getting out the door for at least 6 km per day which would mean that I would be walking for approximately an hour. I also promised myself that I would walk every single day... some days we would have our walking workshop or our free walks and would walk for 10 to 20 K but although I would count the extra Ks in my total for the week I still made myself do my 6 K per day no matter what.
I am proud to say I made it through the sixteen weeks and I walked at least a marathon a week each and every week and usually more.
There were days when it was 9 at night but I promised myself I would not go to bed without having walked my 6 K. Sometimes I broke it up into three shorter walks but I did my 6 K. The benefits were many ... I dealt with the stress of putting on a major race event better, looked a little more shapely and had more energy to burn.
At the end of my challenge I left my daily walking habit behind and although fitness is a way of life for me there are days when it is still difficult to just head out the door.
Two years ago we added a half marathon distance to out Minds in Motion KW Walking Classic and so I started thinking that it would be great to suggest a HALF MARATHON A WEEK Challenge to people who are thinking of participating in our event ... but even if you don't want to walk in a race you might just want to have that daily habit of walking and the motivation of a goal to give you a boost might be just what you need.
If you want to make a marathon a week your goal ... an hour a day of walking will take you there.
The idea here is to make this doable and create doable goals so you might find that you want to start by using the first goal of getting out the door 10 minutes per day for 30 days or you may be ready to get out there for 30 minutes every day and actually be walking the 21 K that will be a Half Marathon per week!
What ever walk30 goal you set for yourself I would love to hear about your journey and your challenges ... join the group!
Walk On Strong!
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