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| The Way Forward on the Second Course of Ground Work |
Last weekend, I managed to put the rat race behind me for a relatively short period and conduct the second of what I'm currently calling my training walks. The concept of training for a Transcontinental Pilgrimage (TCP) strikes me as a bit laughable on the surface of things, but until someone can suggest a more clever title, that's what I'll call these relatively short weekend jaunts for now.
To a degree they do provide some of the escapism that I believe I was seeking when the idea of the TCP first entered my mind. I found that reflecting back on my first training walk and planning for this one was a much needed diversion from the monotonous bureaucratic grind of the current method I've landed for earning a living.
This walk was just 10.2 miles covered in the space of 3 hours and 01 minutes. For the math wizards in the audience, you will no doubt note that the pace was just a bit off from the first training walk. I would be fibbing a bit if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed in that factoid, but as soon as that thought enters my mind, I intellectually understand that particular reaction is an almost Pavlovian response to the some of the very aspects of the rat race that I'm trying to distance myself from. It's an indication that I have some additional "spiritual," or at the very least attitudinal, work left to do.
All that said, it was a good walk. I was able to cover the entire distance of what may become one of my principal training routes over the course of two weeks. As you can see by the picture, I conducted the walk in the rain. Interestingly enough, the weather was not such a bother and a little wrinkle in the planning that I found injected a wee bit o' apprehension and challenge to the whole event. I have a bit of a taste for chaos (more on that later perhaps), so I drew upon this minor adversity in satisfying ways.
I continued to have a minor vexation with blisters, but this last longer walking experience has shifted my butt, and I've continued to take action to mitigate this development. I'm applying a salve derived from some things suggested in hiking and ultra-marathon forums. It's pretty early in that process, so I'll report on the results after a little more run time.
One final note. I looked back on the post documenting my first training walk, and I noticed that I managed to violate an idea that's been maturing in my experience over the last several months that characterizing events or experiences as good and bad is becoming less and less valuable as I get older. This "philosophy," if you will is relatively knew and probably warrants an explanation all to itself (more on that later I think), but suffice it to say for now that narrowly bucketing any of the experiences associated with living as good or bad is intellectually lazy at best.
I am grateful to have experienced this last walk, and I'm looking forward (but not too far forward) to whatever comes as a result of this endeavor.
To a degree they do provide some of the escapism that I believe I was seeking when the idea of the TCP first entered my mind. I found that reflecting back on my first training walk and planning for this one was a much needed diversion from the monotonous bureaucratic grind of the current method I've landed for earning a living.
This walk was just 10.2 miles covered in the space of 3 hours and 01 minutes. For the math wizards in the audience, you will no doubt note that the pace was just a bit off from the first training walk. I would be fibbing a bit if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed in that factoid, but as soon as that thought enters my mind, I intellectually understand that particular reaction is an almost Pavlovian response to the some of the very aspects of the rat race that I'm trying to distance myself from. It's an indication that I have some additional "spiritual," or at the very least attitudinal, work left to do.
All that said, it was a good walk. I was able to cover the entire distance of what may become one of my principal training routes over the course of two weeks. As you can see by the picture, I conducted the walk in the rain. Interestingly enough, the weather was not such a bother and a little wrinkle in the planning that I found injected a wee bit o' apprehension and challenge to the whole event. I have a bit of a taste for chaos (more on that later perhaps), so I drew upon this minor adversity in satisfying ways.
I continued to have a minor vexation with blisters, but this last longer walking experience has shifted my butt, and I've continued to take action to mitigate this development. I'm applying a salve derived from some things suggested in hiking and ultra-marathon forums. It's pretty early in that process, so I'll report on the results after a little more run time.
One final note. I looked back on the post documenting my first training walk, and I noticed that I managed to violate an idea that's been maturing in my experience over the last several months that characterizing events or experiences as good and bad is becoming less and less valuable as I get older. This "philosophy," if you will is relatively knew and probably warrants an explanation all to itself (more on that later I think), but suffice it to say for now that narrowly bucketing any of the experiences associated with living as good or bad is intellectually lazy at best.
I am grateful to have experienced this last walk, and I'm looking forward (but not too far forward) to whatever comes as a result of this endeavor.
