Longest walk yet (about 18 miles)

Sunday Morning (Pre-walk)
I was supposed to leave this morning at the crack of dawn, but when I awakened and it was pitch black out, I rolled back over and decided that was a stupid idea. I should walk in the sunlight, right?! lol.

So, now at about 8:20, I am (still) procrastinating leaving for this big walk. Again the question "why?" pops into my mind...The simple answer: I am scared. Last week's heat episode has really left me doubting myself. I am scared. Scared I won't fuel right, scared my feet or legs will give out, scared I will collapse. I am just plain scared. 6-7 hours is a friggin' long time to walk.

So, off I go...

Monday Afternoon (Day after the "big walk")
As Dora the Explorer would say, "We did it, we did it, we did it yeah!" I managed to do 19.48 overall miles. That includes the jaunts to the ladies room, the strolls to the car to fill up my water/Gatorade and to get snacks. The "timed" walking portion was 18.48 miles. I took some long breaks, but here is the gist:

Half loop/warm-up: 1.73 miles: 32.5 minutes = 18.79 min/mile = 3.19 MPH
Full Loop #1: 3.35 miles: 62.25 minutes = 18.58 min/mile = 3.23 MPH
Full Loop #2: 3.35 miles: 61.5 minutes = 18.36 min/mile = 3.27 MPH (still thought negative splits were possible)
Full Loop #3: 3.35 miles: 62.8 minutes = 18.75 min/mile = 3.2 MPH
Full Loop #4: 3.35 miles: 66 minutes = 19.07 min/mile = 3.07 MPH
Full Loop #5: 3.35 miles: 77 minutes = 22.99 min/mile = 2.6 MPH (OUCH)
TOTAL WALKING TIME: 18.48 miles: 362.05 minutes: 19.59 min/mile = 3.06 MPH
TOTAL TIME (including breaks and all): 19.48 miles: 428.5 minutes: 22 min/mile: 2.73 MPH

I was feeling really good until the last loop. That one was hard. I was hungry, tired and wanted to call it a day. I am a but miffed because I spent as long yesterday including my breaks (which would, obviously, be counted during the marathon) as I had originally hoped to spend doing the entire thing (aka marathon), yet, I still had 6.8 miles to go (which is over 2 hours at the pace I was keeping). Speed and endurance are tricky things to work on. I thought by not pushing my speed too much in the beginning yesterday I was golden and would maintain a 3 MPH rate throughout, but no such luck. The good news is, I did maintain that for the first 15+ miles which is a huge improvement.

All in all, it was a great walk, a great day and I must say, I know now how much the heat impacts me. Yesterday was a lovely day to be walking and the climate was right. It wasn't too humid, the high must've been in the low 80s. It was all good. I feel good today. My feet were aching last night and hurt mildly this morning, but they seem to be okay. Next long walk, I will try taking something like aleve during the walk and see if that helps. The footsies were killing for the last lap. Luckily, I called a friend and chatted for about 15 minutes which had me not concentrating on the pain too much - I was going to say forget about the pain, but I didn't. I just placed it to the back of my mind for a few minutes.

Walking in Prospect Park, which is where I do the majority of my long walks, is fascinating. There are people who you feel like buddies with because you see them several times. There are people who must be training for ironman events or something because I see them 4-8 times and I am walking - they are running or riding bikes. That is some serious mileage. It is such a friendly and diverse place.

As I walk throughout the day, it changes. In the morning, it is peaceful with the sounds of nature and the rhythm of the other athletes approaching. As the day goes on, there are kids on their bikes and the challenges of youngsters about who can get up the hill faster or who can go "no handed" for longer. And, if I look over at the fields, they start to fill up with people sunbathing, tossing firsbees, having picnics and playing a variety of sports: soccer, touch football, baseball and, if you can believe it, cricket. Who knew there was cricket right here in Brooklyn?

As the day goes on the bbqs start, which always seems a little cruel to me. Here I am having walked for umpteen hours, famished and I can smell the lighter fluid followed by the burgers and chicken cooking away. There is one family/group who seems to be there every weekend with a mob of people and their food smells divine. One of these weekends, I am just going to have to crash.

Then, as the day creeps on, the drum circle starts. I always get a kick out of that. The beat carries me to the end of my loop and starts the next. Usually, the people in that area are gregarious, funny and have some encouraging comments. They are all races, sizes and ages just chilling to the beat of the drums.

The one downside I have noticed is that as the day goes on and the park gets more crowded, the manners decrease. In the morning, everyone is watching out for everyone. You would never have a car or a pedestrian cut a jogger or biker off nor would you see an athlete get annoyed as a ball is accidentally sent into the path. In the afternoon, I am dodging people and cars crossing the streets. The bikers and roller bladers are in the walkers/runners lanes. People are seemingly bothered by any intrusion, even someone encouraging them. Here is an example. The Team for Kids Singlets are BRIGHT GREEN and hard to miss. There was a young 20 something girl wearing one. I passed her 4 times. The 1st time, I called out, "GO Team for kids." She looked up and around baffled. Mind you, I was wearing the white version of the shirt, she still never spotted me. The other 3 times, she was so busy watching where she was going, we never even made eye contact. I feel certain that would never happen in the morning. In the morning, everyone has a smile for the other athletes out there. Maybe it is the heat, maybe it is the crowd, I don't know, but if you want to find the nicest crew, go early in the morning.

Wow, I hate to sound cocky, but I am in awe of myself. Just 7 months ago, when I attempted to do a quick mile I was dying afterwards and now I did almost 20 miles and have had a totally normal day today! That is amazing. I even went swimming and raced with Emily.

And no, I am still not losing weight. I am within a pound of where I was in January when all this insanity started. I put that in often since it is the #1 question I am asked.

Ciao, until the next update.