How it All Began
In my last blog post, I talked about my “Wellness Evolution.” This post will focus a little more on my physical health. I actually started this journey before I began Random Musings of a Gal Reinventing. In fact, many of the ideas for this blog began on long walks on cold, foggy mornings. I’m most creative when alone with music playing in my ears and my thoughts running wild. It is in those moments that I gather my scattered thoughts and turn them into something meaningful.
After the stress of losing my job, I stopped focusing on my health and was just going through the motions. I was trying to be productive and survive each day. I spent little time focused on my well-being. My only goal was to successfully navigate job searches and get through the next application or interview. Nothing else mattered.
It wasn’t the healthiest place to be. After 18 months of countless setbacks and feeling completely lost, I decided to focus on something small that I could control. I couldn’t control the outside world, the job market, or the results I was getting, but I could take charge of my health. It was something I could improve. So, I decided to start walking. Getting outside a little every day in the California sunshine. I would listen to music, and let everything fade away just for a few moments.
Pause Before You Shake Things Up
I was visiting my family in Las Vegas in late summer, and I decided that when I got back home, I would start going on nightly walks. I was excited to start. Then I promptly bashed my foot into my parents’ coffee table while putting away boxes in their bonus room. Several broken bones and bruises caused a four-week delay. All my best intentions promptly flew out the window.
I hobbled around for the next couple of weeks determined to get started as soon as possible. I worried about staying motivated and looked for a way to keep myself on track. Fortunately, I found an app that offered virtual walking challenges. I could choose from multiple locations, set my walking goal, and receive postcards along the way that showed famous sights and landmarks on the route. Once the challenge was complete, I would receive a medal to highlight my accomplishment.
I knew something like this would keep me motivated, but since I had limited funds, I wasn’t sure I should join. Luckily, the weekend before I was set to begin walking, there was a sale and I joined a challenge for half price.
Why Not the Highlands?
I was in the middle of reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and one of the virtual challenges was walking the Scottish Highlands. It felt like the perfect fit. Visiting Scotland, Ireland, and Wales has always been on my bucket list, and since I certainly didn’t have the money to visit in person, this seemed like a good way to “see” Scotland. If nothing else, I hoped it would motivate me to eventually visit in person and check it off my list.
I purchased the challenge and committed to walking 500.5 miles in three months. It seemed easy enough; I figured I could accomplish anything in that time. Unfortunately, I never calculated the daily mileage needed to complete the challenge in 90 days. Two weeks later, I finally did the math and realized I had to walk 5.5 miles a day—I was way behind. So I walked: at night in the heat of late summer, in the fog and drizzle of early fall, through the disappointment of failed job searches, and along the little pathway in front of my home, alone with music and the endless chatter in my head.
I set out to walk over 500 miles in 90 days, and during that time, I found a sense of who I was. I improved my physical and mental health. When I started, I felt everything in life was out of my control. When I finished the challenge, 12 days ahead of schedule, I realized my journey was just beginning. Although I wasn’t on the path I would have chosen for myself, I was on the road to an entirely new adventure.
It’s All About Balance
Since then, I’ve virtually walked through the Harry Potter book series, the Fjords of Norway, the Grand Canyon, and the Romantic Road through Germany, totaling 2,401 miles. It wasn’t always easy, but I’m proud I kept going. I plan to enter more challenges and hope to walk some of these places in person someday.
The hardest part hasn’t been taking the steps. My motto is to put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. The difficult part has been learning balance. I always want to set a goal and then beat it. If I say I am going to complete a challenge in 50 days, I then try to finish it in 45. I often overdo it and develop leg pain and cramps, and then convince myself to just walk through the pain. This is not a healthy mindset.
To counter this, I often remove my step tracker when I’m in a negative headspace, and just take a day not to think about miles. I have also added other exercises, including strength training and yoga, which are helping. Who knew that the real challenge would be learning to occasionally take time to reset? That’s what a huge part of this journey and reinvention is all about. Taking better care of myself and finding balance. It is not easy, but I will get there.
