Our Legs Had Other Plans

The plan was 8km.

A nice, sensible distance as we slowly build our walking fitness back up. Nothing heroic. Just 8km.

Apparently nobody informed my legs.

Somewhere along the way, 9km came and went … … and we just kept walking. By the time we finally stopped, we had clocked almost 10km. And strangely, rather than feeling like I would pushed myself too far, I was simply pleased.

Finding My Walking Legs Again

Not too long ago, I atempted a longer after-work walk with Adrian and ended up deciding at Raffles City that the bus looked extremely attractive!

At the time, it was a little reminder that my walking fitness weren’t quite where it used to be. So I’ve been trying not to rush things.

A shorter walk. Then another. 6.3km after work. And now, almost 10km.

No pressure to walk faster or prove that I can still do the distances I used to do. Just slowly getting my legs accustomed to walking again. And today, they surprised me.

The Extra 2km

I think that’s what I enjoyed most about this walk. The extra distance wasn’t something I forced myself to complete. There wasn’t a voice saying, “Come on, you must hit 10km!”

We simply reached our original target and felt ok to continue. So we did!

That’s the kind of progress I want. Not pushing until I’m miserable. Not chasing numbers for the sake of numbers.

Just listening to my body and discovering that, every now and then, it has a little more to give than I expected.

Next time? Maybe 10km. Maybe 8km again. It doesn’t really matter.

Because there are still many months before I stand at the beginning of the Camino, and I don’t need to get there tomorrow. For now, I’ll just keep walking.

6.3km became almost 10km.

And slowly, those walking legs are coming back.

Step by step.  At my own pace.