Plans, plans and more plans

That was it then…

All the Christmas decorations dismantled and put away, and the Christmas tree chopped up for recycling. So that’s that for another year.

It’s amazing that the preparations seem to start almost as soon as summer holidays end, building to a climax all on a single day – then it’s a struggle to keep the festive stuff alive for the few days until the New Year, one last good excuse to drink too much and – bang – it’s all over.

The Easter eggs will soon be on the shelves…

Planning ahead

Time now to get the walking back into gear, and to set out a proper training plan for my big stroll later in 2019. I already know that I will need to build up regular distances on foot, so that 20 miles day after day is a pleasure not a chore. I know that this is best done in gradual stages, and that I need to use the build-up to test the important gear, footwear, backpack and so on. I did what everyone does and trawled the internet for a template but found very little that didn’t tell me what is already pretty obvious. 

My thinking so far is to increase the daily stroll in weekly stages from just 2 miles (see earlier posts) to around five, and to add regular longer distances. I kicked off that part today with a 10-mile rural tour from home, intending to repeat something similar weekly at first, steadily increasing the distances and the frequency as time goes on. Later the stages can be redone with gradually increasing pack weights – today I carried almost nothing – leading to at least one full “dry run” over consecutive days closer to the start date.

Apparently there is a school of thought that claims you can “train as you go” – but luckily nobody with a brain agrees with that. The first days would be hell, and might leave me hobbling for the rest of the journey. Instead I fully intend to enjoy every step!

Calories and kilos

At the risk of being thoroughly hated I will confess that my weight did not change by more than 0.3kg through the whole indulgence of Christmas, and I didn’t hold back with eating or drinking. My body just doesn’t do the fat thing. My weight changes gradually over time – it’s up about 1.3kg in the last year, that’s all.

If you followed earlier posts you'll know that I'm taking on  extra rations - that includes much bigger breakfasts now, and extra portions all round. Time will tell if it builds any weight, or whether the training plans just keep it all in balance.
 
Of course, I have yet to tell the doctor about my plans - that can wait...