One Fat Hiker

The continuing story of a Fat Man, gone to the bush

Tag: Status Update (Page 2 of 2)

Sick, Slack, and Sad

June 9, 2015 / / 1 Comment

(some people think alliteration is silly, superficial, and simpleminded, but I say they are stupid)

Things haven’t been going all that well this past week as far as the The Plan™ is concerned.  Firstly I came down quite ill on Tuesday.  That knocked me down for at least 3 days.  After that I just didn’t feel like walking, so ended up having a really slack week. I did have an idea to go for a 10 km walk around the river, but just didn’t.

When it comes to quitting I am generally considered a world champion.  If quitting were an Olympic event, I wouldn’t win – I would have quit before getting there.  So knowing this I could see the danger signs coming, so made sure I went out for a walk on Sunday afternoon.  I just did 4 km around home, and I did it without a pack, which surprised me how easy it was to walk without a weight on my back.  So I am starting to get back on The Plan™.

It has also come to my attention that I will probably have to lose around 50 kg before I can effectively do the Milford Track.  It has also come to my attention (due to a visit to the Doctor the other week) that I have put on 5 kg in the past 5 months.  Damn it!!  It is time to really get serious about this – next week (because everyone knows that diets that start next week are more effective).

So an update on the plan at the beginning of Week 12 of The Plan™ I have walked 200.8 km in 51 hours and 27 minutes, running at about 95% adherence to the plan.  That is low because of last week, so I will see what I can do this week to get that back up.

I’m also considering ways that I can get more exercise into my program; maybe some swimming, maybe starting to cycle to work again.  But I am a little reluctant to do too much and overdo it, causing the aforementioned “quit reflex” to kick in.  It is also why I haven’t attempted to change my diet considerably; I just wanted to focus on getting the walking habit underway; 12 weeks in it might be time.

The Road to Mangatepopo

May 25, 2015 / / 1 Comment

I am in the final lead up to the my first “hike” in at least a decade, and about 50 kg.  Some of my misgivings from the previous posts have abated.  Yesterday I took the pack out for another walk, this time 4 km, and it went pretty well.  The only moment of concern was during an attempt to scratch my ass, which I couldn’t reach because the pack was in the way, and twinged my knee in the effort for a good scratch.  So I will need to develop a good ass-scratch strategy for the future.  I am not sure my walking companion for this weekend would appreciate me asking.  As it is she is going to have to put up with my grumbling, complaining, moaning, burping and farting for the duration (then snoring in the evening).  So if I thew a casual “Hey!  Can you scratch my butt?” it would go down like a cup of cold sick.

Today I took the pack to work with me, which also wasn’t so bad – I even walked up the stairs with it.  I got a number of hilarious jokes from various work mates.  But I will have to endure more ridicule and worse before all this is over (and that is just from me – I’m brutal with myself).  I will walk with the pack all this week, hopefully that is enough to accustom myself to the weight and feel of the pack.

Listen to me, it’s like I am planning to climb Everest or something!

It has been snowing at Tongariro National Park today.  Hopefully it will clear by Friday.  I am willing to walk in the rain, but I draw the line at snow (and I don’t have the equipment for it).  My sister reported today that the track was apparently quite muddy a few weeks back (according to her husband, who heard it from someone else . . . ).  Hopefully it isn’t too bad.  Mud is ok.  Slipping down a gully isn’t.

So an update on The Plan™

At the beginning of week 10 I have racked up a total of 167.1 km in 39 hours and 58 minutes.  Running at an efficacy rate of 96% – but that is more because last week was so bad (I blame injury, but there was a bit of complacency and “I don’t wanna do it” mixed in too).

I’m still buying the odd bit of equipment.  I have a head-light coming and also a USB phone charger battery thing, to charge my Fitbit so that I can track the hike . . . I like tracking things.  It makes me happy.

 

Yay Me!!

May 9, 2015 / / 1 Comment

I am particularly happy with myself today.  It has been a good week as far as The Plan™ goes.  Not only did I manage to get in all my walks this week (on the revised expectation of 5 walks a week), but I also far surpassed the planned distance for the week, and got in two walks of 10 km+.

The Hutt River North Bank looking east

The Hutt River North Bank looking east

I just returned for the second of those 10 km walks, the same loop on the Hutt River as on Sunday, although this time I did it slightly quicker, and took fewer rests.

The Hutt River South Bank looking east

The Hutt River South Bank looking east

All up I am feeling stoked.  I feel stronger and fitter and reckon I look thinner in the mirror.  So it appears I am suffering from a rare bout of optimism.

It won’t last (that’s more like me).

I even made a couple of healthy food choices this week.  Impressed?

So an update for the end of Week 7 (which is a “4 km a day carrying a 2 kg load” week):  In total I’ve walked 129.4 km in 31 hours and 11 minutes.  I now have an efficacy rate of 104% :-) This week alone I did 34.29 km  which is 171% of the weeks plan.  Long may it continue.

 

No More Elevators for Me!

May 6, 2015 / / 0 Comments

-yeah right-

I’ve decided not to use elevators for the next month in the lead up to the Mangatepopo walk.  I figure this will be good for my fitness and for building my leg / knee strength.

I hate stairs.

More to the point, I hate getting to my desk puffing and panting like a fat guy who just walked up a flight of stairs . . . oh . . . anyway, I hate it.  So now I will have to stand in the stairwell catching my breath before I head into the office. Luckily I work on the second floor of my office building so it isn’t too onerous to walk up and down the stairs.  I might have more of a challenge when I have to go to meetings at the other office building up the road where I am usually going to the 13th floor.  Let’s climb those stairs when I get to them . . .

In other news:

I have reconfirmed my opinion that when I want to exercise the least is when it will do me the most good.  Last night I really didn’t want to go out for a walk, but made myself and actually had quite a good time of it.  It felt like I was walking faster and stronger up the hills, and even pushed on further than The Plan™required of me, but only by 600 metres (don’t want to get too ahead of myself).

So an update on where I am at according to The Plan™ at half-way through Week 7, I have walked  110.1 km over 27 hrs 8 min.  I don’t know if that is good or bad really.  I am feeling fitter and think I am finding walking easier.  I am even feeling thinner, but I am sure that is all in my head.

I am sitting at 91% adherance to The Plan™, but that figure is only so high because I have made an alteration to how I calculate “adherance”.  Rather than expecting to walk every day for a year (which would give me the 100%) I realise it is actually only reasonable to expect to walk 5 days a week.  Giving myself time to recover and rest, particularly after a long walk and i’m suffering from bung knee or gouty foot.

I am also having doubts around how I am accomplishing most of these walks.  Instead of doing 4 km straight I am splitting it to before and after work (by parking 2 km from work).  Effective time wise and for making sure I get the walks in, but not sure if it is conditioning me to be able to walk for long distances.  It is early days yet.  But I will have to have a serious think about that and if it is really helping.

The Story so Far

April 29, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Back in March 2015 . . . on the 21st I think, it got into my head that I should hike the Milford Track.  I am not sure where the idea came from anymore.  I know that I had been thinking about my general physical conditions and how it was limiting my ability to experience life as I wanted.  I had also been hosting a number of couchsurfers at our place, and they were always young, fit, and seeing more of NZ than I am.

So I looked a bit into the Track and realised that I should be able to do that.  I wanted to do it – call it a bucket list item I suppose.  Ever since my childhood, when I first heard of the Milford Track I have thought that it would be an amazing accomplishment, but most likely not something I could do (I was a fat kid as well).

So I made a resolution right then that I would . . . try (screw you Yoda, there is such a thing).  I hate failure, although very well aquainted with it, so I don’t want to set myself up for another one.  Therefore my approach is quite cautious.  I came up with a 20 week program of daily walks, steadily increasing in length and load carried.  Starting with a plan of walking 2 km a day for a week, then 3 km a day for a week  – progressing up to 4 km for a couple of weeks.  Then starting to carry a backpack with weights, increasing each week by 1 kg till I am walking 4km a day with 15kg.  Then increase the distance again upto 6 km a day carrying 15kg.

During those 20 weeks I will do a mini-hike some weekends, to get accustom to walking on unpaved terrain, up and down hills etc.  At the end of the 20 weeks I will make a go/no-go commitment to the Milford Track.  This in the form of actually booking and paying for the trip (and surrounding travel and accomodation).

So.  Here I am, now on week 6 of that program.  I have walked a total of 80 km in 20 hours and 32 minutes. I am running at about 60% effective (i.e. walked about 60% of the planned total distance), including two mini-hikes.  Both of which have been fun, harrowing, and challenging.  I will post on each seperately.  Overall I feel like my fitness and stamina is gradually improving.  I’ve bought myself a new pair of hiking boots (because a outdoors store was having a closing down sale and they were 60% off), which I am breaking in.  And I have even bought myself a Fitbit™ Surge to help me be motivated to move, and to log the various walks and hikes.

And feeling confident enough to start this Blog.  I am generally keeping this whole thing on the down-low.  I’ve not told many people about it (2 or 3 I think), no family members.  I don’t want my impending failure to known by them.  Or worse!  Any of them want to do it with me.  Jordan doesn’t walk with others (story for another post).

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