Walking The World is an outdoor adventure company offering guided walking tours for those over 50 years of age.  We invite any and all active travelers to join us on our walking trips. You do need to be in “reasonably” good physical condition at the time of your particular trip, be able to walk 5-9 miles a day at a comfortable pace, have an adventurous spirit and love the great outdoors.  Oh, and you must also love to sample some of the world’s best food and drink, love new experiences and be open to meeting some of the nicest people in the world – your fellow travelers!

How does one prepare for a walking tour?  Walking on a regular basis, ideally on a daily basis with some hill or stair work, is a great start.

The last few months for me have been extraordinarily busy and I’ve found myself putting off my daily walks or weight training simply because I didn’t feel I had the time or because I was “too tired”.  Now the reality is that I can find the time to get in my walk…if I choose to do so.  It really is that simple.  However, when I don’t have a specific goal I’m shooting for, I find it much easier to find an excuse to put my walk or weight training off for that “perfect” day.  To counteract my own tendency to procrastinate, I set a goal of walking at least one mile on one hundred consecutive days, rain or shine or snow!

Part of my madness also comes from a true desire to better understand why it is seemingly so easy for so many of us who are over 50 to put off doing the exercise that will keep us happy and healthy as we age.

How’s it going?  Well, so far, so good.  Oh, I also count all my hiking miles toward my daily mileage goal.  Although the miles may include some stops for water or lunch, etc., I still consider them good miles walked.  I would invite you too as well if you design your own walking challenge.

Below is a chart of the first 30 days of my 100-day walking challenge.

 

Ward’s 100 – Day Walking Challenge

Day      Date          Mileage             Time

1        Sept 29     2.8 miles          40 min

2        Sept 30     3.0 miles          45 min

3        Oct 1       2.2 miles          33:37 min

4        Oct 2       4.19 miles         60:25 min

5        Oct 3       2.2 miles          32:50 min

6        Oct 4       1.12 miles         16:36 min

7        Oct 5       4.0 miles

8        Oct 6       4.0 miles

9        Oct 7       6.5 miles

10       Oct 8       2.0 miles

11       Oct 9       6.5 miles

12       Oct 10      11 miles

13       Oct 11      1 miles

14       Oct 12      2.1 miles          31:00

15       Oct 13      2.2 miles          32:26

16       Oct 14      2.2 miles          33:33

17       Oct 15      2.15 miles         31:45

18       Oct 16      2.25 miles         32:56

19       Oct 17      2.0 miles          27:35

20       Oct 18      6.0 miles          187 min

21       Oct 19      2.2 miles          32:29

22       Oct 20      4.62 miles         1:12:41

23       Oct 21      2.19 miles         34:41

24       Oct 22      2.25 miles         36:58

25       Oct 23      2.21 miles         35:34

26       Oct 24      4.2 miles

27       Oct 25      1.0 miles          14.27

28       Oct 26      2.29 miles  35:02

29       Oct 27      1.0 miles  14:04

30       Oct 28      1.0 miles  15:14

(Please note that the days with more detail included, minutes and hours walked, were tracked with my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS and heart-rate monitor.)

I would love to hear if you’ve ever designed your own walking challenge.  And if you’d like to walk along with me, I would love that.  Please drop me an email at info@walkingtheworld.com to let me know you’re going to join me and when you’ll be starting.  I’d like to send you encouragement for lacing up those shoes or boots each day and heading out.

In Adventure and Great Walking!

 

Ward Luthi

Walking The World