Stumbling into Sustainability: The Walking Commute Finale
I started this challenge incredibly optimistic. I was optimistic about myself, my available time and even my enthusiasm. It got real, real fast! Sweat and flip flops became a part of the equation. There were wins, there were…not wins. Get caught up in the previous entries for this seemingly simple and obvious goal with: Stumbling into Sustainability: The Walking Commute and Stumbling into Sustainability: The Walking Commute Pt 2, Begin Again
July 28-30: Back on the Road
The first week (July 27–31) of part three has been a moderate success in real life, but a fantastic success in terms of my summer goals. I managed to walk to work on Tuesday and then got picked up in the afternoon to run errands. I drove my car on Wednesday, but I took a ton of prepped food with me: snacks, salad, leftovers for lunch...basically, I came prepared. And then I walked to work again on Thursday, rewarding myself with a protein latte along the way: three shots of espresso and a protein shake.
Another day of walking and I may even reward myself with a fun coffee drink with all the delicious sugar and whipped cream I want!
(Screamed in my best Veruca Salt voice.)
So, progress? Yes. Consistency? Well…
August 1: Some Goals Sticking
It’s been another long break between walking, but I managed to walk to work this morning. I knew I would need to run errands this afternoon and would have someone available to pick me up, so I figured I could maximize my work hours and still get my walk in.
The meal planning, however, is still going well. Cottage cheese, salmon and avocado for breakfast. A weird breakfast, I am sure, but a healthy one full of protein and healthy fats. And my water intake has severely increased, which is awesome.
So even when the walking isn't happening, some of the other goals are sticking.
I'll take that.
August 25: Hope in the Face of Practical Realities
It’s been another large gap since I last walked. It’s now August 25, and I finally walked to work again. Last week was a failure. There’s really no other way to put it. I had obligations after work for at least three of the four days I was in the office.
And let’s be real about walking to work in an area that is warm and humid: sweat is real. It’s not always pleasant and awesome. And maybe your coworkers would prefer that you didn’t arrive at work looking, and definitely smelling like you just left the gym. There are some practical realities to this experiment that I probably should have considered more carefully. But as always, the lessons I’m learning from this experiment may not be what I expected or even hoped for.
August 26: Blood Suckers and Not Sucky Walking
I chose to walk again on Wednesday, August 26. But I made the choice to walk in flip-flops, which is not normally recommended. The night before, I had been sitting on my porch enjoying the rain and apparently did not realize I was being eaten alive by the flying bloodsuckers who prefer to bite the tops of my feet. I am extremely sensitive to bug bites, not allergic, just EXCESSIVELY itchy. Trying to wear tennis shoes with six-plus bites on my feet was never going to happen.
So my choices were:
Wear my flip-flops and drive to work.
Wear my flip-flops and walk to work.
Somehow magically grow a new pair of feet.
I chose option two. I sucked it up and enjoyed the walk.
September 1–6: Recreational Walking Wins, Work Walking…Something Else
I knew the week of September 1–6 would be a bust for walking to work because I was on vacation. I had family in town and we were doing all things Minnesota, so I still got plenty of walking in. Nine miles at the State Fair on Friday. Another four miles at the Renaissance Festival on Saturday. But the point of this exercise wasn't recreational exercise. The point was to create a habit of walking to and from work. The point was to create a habit of walking to and from work.
As I headed into my last week of observation, I figured I would get quite a bit of walking in; hopefully Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I thought the last week would be the motivation I needed to really kick it in the butt. I managed one day. One. One day of walking to and from work.
And you know what? That's okay.
The Unexpected Wins
I have noticed that I’ve gotten much better about food prep and being more deliberate about my food choices. Yes, I love sugar. That will probably never change. But as I started doing my walks to work, I switched from my delicious flavored lattes and mochas to iced espresso and a protein shake, a drink that had been my go-to for about a year.
I’ve also gotten better about making sure I always have salmon or tuna snacks available. And I have adjusted my expectations of what constitutes “breakfast.” Apparently, I have adopted more of an Eastern acceptance of “unusual” breakfast foods for Westerners.
Fish for breakfast? Absolutely. Leftover salad with chicken? Yes, please. A bone broth sipper? Done.
Maybe the walking experiment has actually been a food experiment in disguise.
What Did I Actually Learn?
I didn’t do great on the walking part. But I was surprisingly pleased with my meal planning and food prep. I’ll take that W.
As always, there is a reflection period, and this one very much comes down to overcommitting. I have a full-time job and a part-time job. Those take time. A commitment to walking to work also takes time. And while it may not seem like much ahead of time, once you get into it… Well, it’s like quicksand. You start sinking, and the more you try, the more you sink. The trick to quicksand is...Stop moving, reflect, then start with slow, purposeful actions.
As I set my goals moving into fall, that's what I'm going to focus on: small, purposeful actions, not giant commitments, not unrealistic expectations.
Not deciding that this is the summer I will magically become the person who walks everywhere, meal preps perfectly, exercises consistently, drinks all the water and somehow still has time to do everything else.
Small. Purposeful. Actions.
What Comes Next?
I was asked if I was going to set myself another challenge as I moved into fall and winter. While I do have some physical goals and commitments that I have already set for myself, and, importantly, paid for, I’ve decided that making those commitments public right now isn't the direction I want to go.
My pride took a bit of a beating from not being able to live up to my own expectations this summer. So I’m going to lick my wounds and regroup. And that's part of the lesson, too. Not every experiment needs to end with a success story. Sometimes you try something, discover what works, discover what doesn't, and adjust.
But...I have been making a list of all the cold-weather foods I’ve wanted to try making this year. Including avgolemono, a Greek lemon soup that was brought to me while I was sick. Maybe the next chapter of this experiment won't involve walking to work at all. Maybe you’ll hear about my kitchen mishaps instead. And there is plenty of material there.
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