Ten-Toed Sloth

Since finishing VBW on 23rd July, I have not been for a walk. Sure, I have walked around town, even walked 7 or 8 kms into town and back, for instance while we were staying at a caravan park outside Ambleside. But I have not donned my shoes in earnest and set off walking for either exercise or pleasure.

This is partly because there has been such a round of visiting, entertaining, being entertained, wining, dining, travelling and generally basking in the warmth of success. Partly I have convinced myself that my body needed to recover from the sustained effort of walking more than two thirds of a marathon every day for 70 days - even though I did not feel tired after the walk or even often during it. Partly because I could let myself believe that I am now old. Partly because I have been there, done that, and am wondering what to do next.

Basically, I have not taken any exercise for 3 weeks, and have therefore put back the 2 or 3 kilos lost during the Big Walk. Monday, I started to correct my course. I did 20 minutes on the static bicycle (far more effort than if I took the bike off the stand and out into the open air). Yesterday I did 30 mins on the bike and 10 minutes on the NordicTrack ski-trainer. Both efforts left me drenched, but it is quite warm hereabouts just now. Today it was supposed to be 30 minutes on each machine, as part of the build-up to some sort of regular exercise program. But our friends John and Gail from Brisbane have been in town for some time while we were away. We almost missed them and only caught up with them yesterday. Today is their last day. We went for lunch with them in Quillan. After lunch it was too hot to exercise. Excuses, excuses? Watch this space. By Saturday I may even have been for a walk - Gay and I plan, weather permitting, to climb down to Quillan and up again, as we did so many times during training for VBW.