I was hoping to get to “10 miles a day” goal by my birthday (early June). But turns out I accidentally achieved it on Sunday, on Day 62, while on the phone for 3 hours with a friend. As of Day 65, I’m at 355 miles walked (I haven’t left for today yet).

Two months into my challenge, I got to walking 10 miles. And as I expected after I began walking 8 miles a day, I don’t think it’s sustainable at all. This week, I’ve walked 10 miles twice, and they both took over 3 hours. I guess my Quest is officially complete!

With the weather getting hotter and the sun stronger, I’d have to leave at 8am to avoid having the sun directly over me at maximum temperature for the day. I’ve been walking in the evenings for the past few days (mostly because of the rain), but it’s almost impossible to leave after early dinner and get home before it’s pitch dark.

I also realized that with my medication (Methotrexate), I’m not supposed to be in the sun for prolonged periods. Whoops? Might explain why my skin is so upset!

Anyways, I think I might begin doing a schedule of sorts rotating 6 miles, 8 miles, and 10 miles days, keeping 10 miles a day to once a week. Walking 10 miles is exhausting, and the next day I find myself needing a nap or having difficulty getting up. Exhaustion and time constraints are pretty big, and with the sheer amount of time I know walking for 8 or 10 miles will take me, I’m finding myself having another bout of “oh I don’t want to” every day.

After walking consistently 8 miles for weeks, I feel like 6 miles is a cop out, but it still takes almost 2 hours. And now that I’ve achieved my goal, I think it’s time for maintenance phase as opposed to pushing myself.

Potential schedule I’m thinking of is:

• 6 miles: 3 times a week
• 8 miles: 3 times a week
• 10 miles: 1 time a week

From now on, I’ll focus on walking with higher intensity so that I can consistently get down to my goal speed of 15 minutes/mile. With that, I can finish a 6 mile walk in an hour and a half, and an 8 mile walk in 2 hours. It’ll give me more of a workout without sacrificing the time!