Back in October I was inspired by my friend Nia (Wild Trails Wales) who had set herself a challenge to walk 100 miles that month, as well as cycle 100 miles. I wasn’t keen on the cycling idea but I liked the idea of a walking challenge. So during October I set out to walk 100 miles, by the end of the month I had walked 140 miles. Having enjoyed the challenge, and having more than met my target, I decided during November I would try and walk 150 miles (or 240 km). Given how close I had gotten to 150 during October, I didn’t think it would be too hard, but I quickly realised that by mid November, with it being dark by 4.30pm, I would have much less time in the day to fit my walking in around daily life. However, I somehow managed to do it and ended up walking a grand total of 158.5 miles duing the month of November.

So I thought it would be good to share a little bit about how I managed to fit that many miles into just one month, all whilst looking after my three children, running my own business, and everything else adulting entails.

The School Run

I’ve been walking my children to school every weekday for about 9 years now, for a good chunk of that time I was actually doing it three times a day, with the combination of full time school and the half day nursery stint too. Even before I had children I had this idea in my head that walking your children to school was important, and so when we bought our first house, knowing it was close to the school was a key factor. Until last year we were also a one car family, and so with my Husband needing the car for work, there was no option other than to walk to school.

Much to my children’s dismay, driving them to school is not something I’m prepared to do on a regular basis. For bad weather we have waterproofs, and thanks to my deep rooted dislike of arriving anywhere late, punctuality hasn’t ever been a factor either. Now we do have a second vehicle, I still only drive them to school if I have to be somewhere promptly after drop off or pick up and there isn’t time to walk. The children regularly moan at me about it, but I think getting some exercise, and doing our bit for the planet by driving less, is much more important.

The school is exactly 1 mile from our house, so it has formed an ideal basis for all of my daily miles. As without having to make time for any other walks I can tally 4 miles a day. If it wasn’t for the school run I definitely think I would have struggled to reach my target.

I appreciate that not everyone has the luxury of walking their children to school, plenty of people live too far away, or have to drive straight to work afterwards. However, if you are hoping to get some more miles in and can spare the time on the school run, then maybe try parking further away and walking at least some of the distance. Or if you live a lot closer than I do, then maybe walk a longer route home to try and get a bit more milage into your day. I know for me that starting my day off with the walk to and from school genuinely does make the rest fo the day feel a bit easier, especially if that whole time I am sat at a computer doing work!

Walking and Working

One of the luxuries of self employment is that to a large extent I can set my own working hours. Now I do have three young children, so the hours they are in school make the most sense for me to work, however, with it getting dark so early now, it also doesn’t leave me much time outside of school hours to get out walking. I have made the most of things being quieter for winter, and due to covid limiting what I can do, and have taken the opportunity to get out during the day for some longer walks to try and clock up more miles.

If however, you don’t have the same amount of flexibility that I do, then maybe make the most of any breaks you get during your working day to get some walking done. Even spending 15-30 minutes a day walking can help clock up some more miles. Or maybe if your job involves a lot of walking around, download a steps counter and try to track how much distance you cover at work. It all counts!

Evenings and Weekends

If you can’t possibly fit in any walking during the working week, then that leaves you with your evenings and weekends. I found it hard this month to get out in the evening. As a woman I just don’t enjoy being out walking in the dark by myself. Even if the risks are low, it just doesn’t feel great to me. So unless I can drag someone out with me, it tends not to happen, and the woods near our house are just creepy in the dark. Walking around the houses just doesn’t have the same appeal, but if it’s all you can do, and you don’t mind the dark, then get out and enjoy. It can be difficult once the working day is done, and the kids are home, to find the energy to get outside again, but just remember you’ll always be glad you did.

As for the weekends, ignore the rain, wrap up warm, take your waterproofs, and get out for a walk! There isn’t a whole lot you can do at the moment anyway, with covid restrictions, and a walk is always much more enjoyable than shopping or cleaning! You may have to adjust your priorities if you really want to do a challenge like this, if you usually spend your weekends indoors or doing chores, but for me, walking and being outdoors is so important for both my physical and mental health, so having the extra push of this challenge to get me outdoors has been invaluable.

As for the kids, there is definitely an amount of dragging involved to get them out the door, but they pretty much always enjoy it once we are out, and snacks and treats go a long way to make the process of getting them out the house a lot easier! (For more tips check out this blog I wrote about getting the kids outside!)

I hope this post has inspired you to try and get outside more and take on your own personal walking challenge. As for me I shall be attempting to walk another 150 miles in December too, which will be a lot harder with about 2 weeks without the school run, and the shorter days. Hopefully it will help push me outdoors more, especially during a month that it’s very tempting to just hibernate and eat all the chocolates!

Who knows, maybe once spring comes around with it’s longer days, and fairer weather, I might be able to challenge myself to walk even further!

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