Day TwoThreeFourFive

Had a teeny bit of trouble getting online Tuesday and, despite it only being a teeny bit of trouble, decided to take the week off computers, which is a good thing to do and should be done more often. I kept records though.

Day Two

Steps walked: 33,424
Hours actually walking: Six and a half.
Blisters: Yesterday’s blister got a little worse and grew to the big toe region. Not too much pain though.
Ankles: Again, pretty okay.
Leg muscles: Nothing major to report.
Progress: Despite a shorter day I’m still at least half a day ahead, if not more.

Day Three

Steps walked: 35,614
Hours actually walking: Eight and a half.
Blisters: Dried out nicely and no pain, but a potential new one appearing on the heel.
Ankles: Fine until the final walk home.
Leg muscles: Rocking with Jesus.
Progress: Long day today, clearing most of Wake Green and the bit of Kings Heath that comes under my area. I’m now over a day ahead.

Day Four

Steps walked: 32,731
Hours actually walking: Five and a half.
Blisters: Nothing to report
Ankles: Quite bad pain in the morning, hence a much shorter day.
Leg muscles: Sore, but in a tired way.
Progress: I could, if I pushed myself, have nearly finished today, but I was a little too tired so took a shorter day. Also, I had to walk the dog…
Dogs Walked: One. My first walking of a dog ever which was very slightly mildly traumatic despite Badger being perfectly well behaved and knowing exactly where he’s going. Also, my first picking up of dog shit in the park which went horribly wrong as he went in the long grass and the bag broke covering my fingers in crap. (Fortunately Badger is a vegetarian so it didn’t smell that bad). Thanks to my tedious snotty cold I had tissues on me and there was a pond in the park, but I didn’t really want to roll a fag…
Bedtime stories read: One chapter. Was pushed to read two but we settled with playing with my mobile phone instead (kids love clamshells that light up). Book is Ten In A Bed by Allan Ahlberg. I was only really aware of his picture books but his early reader books are very good indeed.

Day Five

Steps walked: 32,103
Hours actually walking: Five and a half.
Blisters: What blisters?
Ankles: Some mild pain due, I think, to a drop in adrenaline as the end approached.
Leg muscles: See Ankles.
Progress: The final mop up, spread over the day in three chunks. This would be the perfect way to do the job – a couple of hours walking, then an hour resting. Unfortunately this would not have been possible on Day Three as I was delivering a long way from base camp and it was raining. Methinks a car would be perversely useful for this job.
Dogs Walked: One. But Badger was not the issue…
Five year olds taken to park with Dog: One. Now the Bean is a lovely little boy and we’ve become good friends these last couple of weeks but he’s five and is starting to assert himself in the world, testing the boundaries. And I’m not his parent. Nor do I have any parenting skills or teaching experience. And like a wild animal, he can smell this. What was supposed to be a 20 minute jaunt to the park turned into an hour of coercion as he stopped to look at pieces of moss and leaves and climb on walls and then when we finally got to the park and fed the ducks, refusal to start going home. After some swinging on the swing and lots of explaining that I had to get back because I was going out, I bribed him by saying I wouldn’t tell his mum how difficult he’d been and we started back, only he wanted to ride on my shoulders. I managed this for a few hundred yards (bearing in mind my body was rather tired from five days of walking) but he wanted more, so we agreed I’d carry him to the railway bridge and he’d walk the rest of the way, which, despite him using my head as a rocket ship control panel, turned out okay as we went at my pace. (Did I mention I’ve also got a medium-sized dog on a lead?) He later apologised and I grudgingly accepted his apology.

Totals

Steps walked: 173,241
Hours actually walking: Thirty Four.

Conclusions: As expected the crippling effects of walking on concrete faded with experience and my leg muscles are now at an optimum level of strength. The only problem comes with physical exhaustion, which is understandable. However, I was able to do the whole job in five consecutive days within EU regulatory limits on working hours. This was all done with a very snotty cold and tight chesty cough, the like of which would have made me take a day off were I working for someone other than myself. In other news, I need to buy a cap and a waterproof jacket that breathes. So, off to Millets again then.

There was mention of more Moseley leafleting in a few weeks. Yay!