Wow, I moved a total of 1,000 miles in 2024. In past years I have challenged myself to get outside and move more. I have done various challenges such as 52 Hike Challenge, 365 Mile Challenge and the 500 Miles in a Year Challenge. When 2024 started I had a goal of doing 500 miles again as there are a group of women in my community who do this together virtually.
2024 started with my daily walks around my neighborhood and occasional hikes. January in New Hampshire is an interesting month for getting outside due to the ever changing weather. Fortunately, I was able to get in a couple waterfall hikes.
Senter Falls
To keep myself motivated to go on my daily walks, especially in the colder winter months, I kept reminding myself that the walks help manage any daily stress, improve my sleep and keep my blood pressure stable. It is also a good time for my husband and I to catch up on the daily happenings. Yes, I am fortunate that my husband walks with me most times. I do not have a way to walk inside, so all my walks are outside. Plus I enjoy being outside in all the different seasons.
This past winter we did not get a lot of snow, which kept us from cross country skiing and snowshoeing, but allowed us to continue to hike and walk, embracing some local rail trails.
As winter went on I tried to walk everyday, even if it was a mile. On the weekends I would get in longer walks or hikes. As spring approached the nicer weather made it easier to get miles in. When my daughter had softball practice I would use that time to walk as the location of the field is a great place to walk and sometimes a friend would join me.
Spring brought on some health issues related to my hormones that I have openly talked about on my blog, Perimenopause Hit Me Like and Brick Wall and the Updated Blog Post. These hormone challenges forced me to exercise more. I started walking twice a day, getting creative with how I got miles in. I would walk on my lunch break. I spent a lot of time at the track in the town my daughter played travel sports in and our weekend activities revolved around getting movement in.
During the summer months I kept up with my miles on my lunch break and after work. The weekends found us at travel sporting events so I was walking between games when I could. In August, I reached my initial goal of 500 miles. Since I still had four months until the end of the year I gave myself a soft goal of reaching 1000 miles by the end December.
My husband has been trail running and runs on a regular basis, solo and with a group of friends. He and his friends have been trying to get me into running, but I have never enjoyed running and had no motivation to start. In the fall I continued to struggle with hormonal issues and a friend suggested running as she found it helpful with managing her hormones. One day I looked at my husband and said I wanted to try going for a run. You would have thought he won the lottery, he was so excited. I started out slow, running at our local track and school parking lots. I was ready to try a local rail trail, where I ran a mile without stopping for the first time, I started crying.
I continued running at least three to four times a week in addition to walking every day and getting in hikes on the weekend. The end of October is my birthday and I always take the day off to treat myself. Due to a change in plans I did not end up doing my traditional spa day, I hiked instead. My husband joined me and we hiked North Pack Monadnock. I was nervous about this hike. This is one of the more difficult hikes in the Monadnock Region other than Mt. Monadnock. I was in better shape than I had been in many years and had lost a little over 60lbs, but I was worried with how I would do on this hike. I surprised myself and did amazing. I was able to hike up North Pack, hardly stopping. I felt strong and great. My husband and I were impressed with how well I did.
As we approached the end of the year I continued running, walking and hiking getting those miles. On December 30th while running at my local school I reached 1,000 miles for the year. I could not believe I did it.
Reflecting back on the past year and what moving 1000 miles taught me. Having a friend to walk with helps get those miles in with a bonus of some great conversations and therapy. In your 40’s you can start a new habit. I never thought I would run, now I cannot imagine not having running in my life. Having a good playlist or audiobook is great when you walk or run alone. Moving 1,000 miles helped me lose over 70 pounds and get some control over my hormones. You can walk almost anywhere, some times you just have to get creative. Having a good pair of shoes is everything. Reminding yourself your why. For me it was to work through my hormone challenges and improve my health. Having a great support system is amazing. It is nice that I have a few friends who are willing to walk with me. I do not have any goals as of yet for 2025, but I know I will continue to get those miles in.
