A year on the road. Not the road in the picture. That is the A383 in the Highlands.
It has been a time of reflection. The summer solstice on the 21st June marked the first year of this Marathon Monk project and I was hoping to have completed 200 days and over a thousand miles by then. I missed both. Looking at why I didn’t walk on quite as many days as I had hoped it comes down mainly to health issues. I lost fifteen days for my hernia operation and recovery. I also lost days where I was knocked out by viruses of various kinds and in the last month had toothache leading to root canal work. In addition to this I had to use an extra ten days of holidays because they changed our holiday system.
By mid June I was actually pretty depressed. Completing a standard on-line test one afternoon gave me a “moderately depressed” score and a suggestion I go and see my GP. I went to a cafe and had a slice of cake in stead! Yes I know I shouldn’t bury my suffering with consumption… Doing the walks whilst in a low state was revealing. My mind would churn quite slowly and in negative ways and when I stopped at shrines I’d just be blank. The contrast with the lighter feeling I normally have was dramatic but there was also a strong desire to carry on with the routine. I never felt repulsed by the project as I was by most other things.
After a glorious sunny week camping in the Highlands with family and without midges I’m feeling much better and passed the 1,000 mile mark on my first day back at work (Monday 9th July) without realising it.
Looking to the next year I think I need to focus on my physical health. At the current rate it will take me another fiver years to complete the 1,000 walks and I’m not getting any younger. I need to look to my diet. On the solstice I was just in the overweight category with a BMI of 25.5 at 14 st 3 lbs (that is 199 lbs or 90 kg in new money) and believe me very little of that is muscle. So I’ll add a little of my dietary thoughts and weight to my monthly reports form now on.
- Marathon Monk: Back story
- Lay Pedestrian meets Marathon Monk
- Lay Pedestrian resolves to mug Marathon Monk
- Setting Off on Project Marathon Monk
- Marathon Monk Index
- Marathon Monk: June 2017 – 8 days & 48 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk and the Pointless Pole
- Marathon Monk: July 2017 – 22 days & 132 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: August 2017 – 33 days & 198 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: September 2017 – 47 days & 282 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: October 2017 – 62 days & 372 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: November 2017 – 78 days & 468 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: December 2017 – 89 days & 534 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: January 2018 – 97 days & 582 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: February 2018 – 112 days & 672 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: March 2018 – 125 days & 750 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: April 2018 – 137 days & 822 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: May 2018 – 152 days & 912 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: June 2018 – 166 days & 996 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: July 2018 – 182 days & 1,092 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: August 2018 – 199 days & 1,194 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: September 2018 – 217 days & 1,302 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: October 2018 – 233 days & 1,398 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: November 2018 – 248 days & 1,488 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: December 2018 – 258 days & 1,548 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: January to March 2019 – 281 days & 1,686 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: April 2019 – 301 days & 1,806 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: May & June 2019 – 323 days & 1,938 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: July 2019 – 340 days & 2,040 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: August 2019 – 358 days & 2,148 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: September-November 2019 – 399 days & 2,394 mindful miles
- Marathon Monk: To 23rd March 2020 – 441 days & 2,646 mindful miles & into Covid-19 Lockdown