Losing a part of me

I was not feeling energetic today. I had my support call at 11:00am, and then I went shopping. My intention was to come home from shopping, make lunch, and then after lunch I would get dressed and go for my walk. That is not quite how it worked out, because after lunch I sat around like a lazy slob until I finally lay down for a nap.

I was not going to let today go to waste, but it is my last day before I start teaching again. I also knew that I had walked my tail off all week, and if I decided to take the day off, it would not be a crime.

NO! I do not know how my schedule is going to work starting tomorrow. I hope I will be able to do my fitness walking in the evenings, but how can I be sure that after a long day of lecturing that I will have the koach in me? Tomorrow will be telling… but today is today.

I got out of bed, ready to go for a fitness walk… only to be thwarted by a cute little princess who wanted to go for a walk too… only she does not fitness walk, she saunters, sniffs, and pees. Nevertheless, her walking is much more of a priority than my own, so even though I was dressed to work out, I collected her leash and…

One of my earbuds was gone. I have written a few times about my Jaybird Vista earbuds, and how I have twice lost one, to have the company replace it for me each time. Aside from the fact that I have had them a year and a half and the warranty is long expired, I suspect I have pushed my luck with them as far as I can get away with. I looked everywhere, but it was nowhere to be found. I must have lost it along my walk with Princess Sophie this morning, or on my way in from shopping… which means that in all likelihood, were I to find it, it would be rain drenched and useless. I sighed, resigned to the fact that I would have to invest in a new pair soon enough.

We walked down through the lobby and … what was sitting on the floor, inside the dry lobby, but an ear bud!? I was thrilled to find it. I am sure that soon enough I will need to invest in a new pair, but I am glad that is not today.

I took Her Royal Floofness for her walk, and when we came back in, I gave her a treat, and set out again. I was not sure how far I would comfortably walk today, considering a couple of blisters on my feet, and the fact that there were severe thunderstorm warnings for the next couple of hours. The sun was still blue, so I put on my shoes with the thickest soles, along with my thick gym socks, and I headed out.

While the shoes that I selected are likely the best for walking with blisters, and are likely the only ones that fit with the thick socks, I have never had a good split-pace time wearing them. Today was no different, with an average pace of 10m52s per kilometre.

• Distance: 8 km (8.06 km)
• Duration: 1:27 (1:24:05 minutes)
• Average Pace (Min/km): 10:52 (10:26)
• Steps: 10.1k (9.9k)
• Calories burned: 460 (467)
• Elevation gain: 36m (23m)
• Average cadence (steps per minute): 116 (118)

One thing I should mention is that when I adjust the units of measure on my online apps, I should make sure to reset the apps on my phone. The MayMyWalk app decided to let me know my split pace times at intervals of 625 metres, which was really disconcerting. For those who are curious, the best I could come up with is that there are 6.25 miles in 10 kilometres, so when I switched the app units of measure from Imperial to Metric, something weird happened. I’ll reset it now that I am home.

So why the title, The First 47.5? It is of course a play on words of the title of the television show The First 48; From Monday to Sunday, I walked 47.5 kilometres.

• Monday: 9.03 km
• Wednesday: 8.0 km
• Thursday: 8.0 km
• Friday: 6.5 km
• Saturday: 8.06 km
• Sunday: 8.0 km

The drive from my apartment to Toronto Pearson International Airport is 46.5km. In the (for Canada) blistering heat, I could have walked to the airport this week… and right to my gate. I am calling this a very successful week, but likely an anomalous one… I do not suspect that the next four weeks, when if I can walk it will be in the evenings after a long day of work, I will be able to walk nearly as far. Not a problem though… as long as I do not quit!

Tomorrow morning, I will wake up and do my morning routing, and then after I walk Princess Sophie, I will sit down to teach. I am looking forward to being back in front of a class. I do not know if I will be fitness walking tomorrow, both because of the class but also because of the even more blisters on my feet now than I had earlier today. We will have to see.

Have a great evening folks!