Losing a part of me

Some of us seem to go to great lengths to procrastinate. I decided that this afternoon was a good day to go for my third walk. I was not sure how I was going to feel, so I did not set out with a distance in mind. After the first two kilometres I was feeling fine, but just could not achieve the same pace that I had for my first two kilometers Monday. I was under the mistaken impression that I had done better the last time around than I had, so I was disappointed by my pace. In truth, I was hardly off at all. My first kilometer was 8 seconds slower, the second was 22 seconds slower. Considering that on Monday I had the wind at my back, and today it was in my face, I really was not doing too badly.

If I could not match my pace from Monday, then at least I could match my distance. At the second kilometer mark, I decided that I would match the 5km that I did last time. It is funny how things work… At the end of that 5km, my stats were almost identical to Monday’s!

· Distance: 5.00 km (5.00 km)

· Duration: 55:59 minutes (56:00 minutes)

· Average Pace (Min/km): 11:11 (11.11)

· Steps: 6.4k (6.3k)

· Calories burned: 285 (519)

· Elevation gain: 19m (14.1m)

· Average cadence (steps per minute): 114 (114)

What I am having trouble understanding is this: If every other measure is nearly identical, how is it that my calories burned today is a little over half what I burned on Monday? The only explanation I can think of has to do with the fact that Monday I split the walk into two and did my grocery shopping at the halfway point. While the app is paused for that, maybe there is something going on? I don’t know.

Speaking of which, that brings me to the title of the article. This was my third measured walk of my new regime. Following my first walk, I wrote a piece called “But Was It a Workout?” in which I questioned if going out shopping, but doing it on foot, and measured, really constitutes a workout. My second walk was the same, except that rather than split into four uneven segments, it was split into two. Today was the first time that I set out to go for a walk without any destination. I not only changed my shoes but also my pants – I took off my trousers and donned a pair of Adidas training pants (note to self: I need a new pair of training pants), I put on a hoodie instead of a jacket. So, while it was my third walk, it could be considered my first workout.

Whether it is or not, I feel good about myself. It was a grueling pace to maintain, considering my weight. It is also the first time I did two workouts (whether or not it was that) in a week. My hope is that, going forward, I will be able to do at least two or hopefully three workout walks per week. It may take a few more weeks – and a few more kilos lost – to get there, but it is a good short-term goal.