The GREAT Canadian Comeback: February 2022

2021: More Walking, More Biking, Less Running

The Darn Foot Injury That Keeps on Giving

Paul and I know how, why, when and where to relax. Charlotteville, ONT

(And what's this got to do with covering 2,000 miles in 2021?)

By The Numbers:

Last year I said the following about what I call "getting out the door" -

I walked or ran on 320 out of 366 days in 2020. Or, I got out the door on 87.4% of the days of the year. Makes me think, if I'd scored that high in math and science while in school... why, I coulda punched my own ticket!

Not bad at all, I say. I've read that if a person can get out of the house - at least 3 times per week - for a walk, bike ride, comfortable run or (for example) a swim or 60-minute workout at the YMCA, then he or she is well on the way to good overall fitness.

I aim for "getting out the door" 5 or 6 times per week because I tend to like craft beer and I read that beer calories like to collect around the waist... and have you seen the price of a new pair of jeans lately? There are other reasons as well, waist-related. I am on the last notch of my favourite, hand-tooled, leather belt (purchased for $5 in 1970). Have you seen the price of a new, well-designed, real leather belt lately? My heart is racing!

Thanks in part to my Scottish-heritage and the sharp pain associated with buying new clothes, I got out the door on 337 out of 365 days in 2021 (92.3%), and that's with a sore foot that kept me from running a virtual half-marathon in April (and I wanted to enter; I won my age group in 2020).

Sore foot didn't keep me from walking to Gibbons Park on St. Patrick's Day

About the Year's Mileage:

Last year I also wrote the following about my total mileage for 2020 and made - sorta anyway - a reasonable prediction -

I may not walk/run as many miles - on average - over the next ten years as I did in 2020 (2,381 miles, or 3,835 km), but I bet I'll be 2,000-plus miles for at least a few more years.

I was right on two counts. I did not walk/run as far in 2021, but it was a total of '2000-plus miles', i.e., 2,171 miles or 3,495 km. Not bad, I say, considering a foot injury that lingered longer than it should have. (My fault too: I slammed my right foot against a tree root hidden from view, broke one toe, maybe two, and stubbornly resisted going to my family doctor about the problem for many months. "I'll just stop running for a week or two. It will get better").

That being said re a nagging injury, I am now running 2 - 3 times per week again (Feb. 2022) and looking forward to half-marathons in the late summer or fall of this year.

Because my mileage was a bit lower in 2021 than the previous year, my weekly average was lower as well. It dipped from 45.6 to 41.6 miles/week. Currently it is on the rise - at 43.3 mi./wk. - and I bet it will be still pretty close to that figure by the end of this new year.

I love craft ice cream bars too!! "Calories in, calories out" is my motto

Conclusion:

2021 was an up and down year. I tried to get back to steady running on more than one occasion, but my right foot denied me "Steady Eddie" status, something I covet. I am currently on the right track, with a few runs per week, but poor footing in icy/snowy/slushy streets is a pain in the neck at the moment. I was walking/running in shorts last March and hope for the same small pleasure again in 2022.

Walking and running miles are very steady currently and can only improve over the next two months as warmer weather approaches. Stretching exercises w weights are also steady, so my goal of sveltness is within my grasp.

A Close Look at Final Fotos:

See you in Gibbons Park on St. Patrick's Day!