By Tina Ashby - staff contributor.
One of the best features of discovering the Walking Connection and joining the I’m In - One Step At A Time global community (Facebook group) is meeting fellow walkers like Deb Tycholiz. On her last post of 2020 she summarized her year of walking in beautiful Manitoba, Canada with the phrase “Reach for your goals, they are closer than you think”.
In her post she shared how the pandemic turned her occasional walks into an almost daily routine that she takes with her inspiring husband Rob, and often with another I’m In member; her sister Kim Crosby. She kept a walking log using her Fitbit that tracked her monthly miles without focusing on the number of steps. Each month the totals climbed higher and higher without her even realizing it. She always wore her Fitbit, but didn’t often analyze the data.
When looking back towards the end of 2020, she discovered a steady climb from a few walking days in January and February to 26 miles in March and April. September showed a record 67 miles. As winter set in and the temperatures plummeted to often well below zero (F), she noticed they had walked 81 miles in December and suddenly set a goal of completing 100 miles by the end of the month
How did Deb do?
“We did it! I’m so proud of how far we have walked this year and
look forward to walking even further in 2021”.
In fact, Rob who knows she thrives under a good challenge, jokingly told her to set her goal at 200 miles for January. At last check, Deb is on track to complete a more realistic goal of 125 miles by planning to walk 3 to 5 miles a day depending on her scheduled weight training days and how she feels. She states “But of course we push ourselves every time. We have been lucky with amazing winter weather so far. Usually we have –20 to –30 temperatures with even lower wind chills and lots of snow”.
Setting small but attainable goals has put her right on target to reach her larger ones.
As we close out the first month of a new year, what goals can you set for yourself that are “closer than you think”? For inspiration, look back at the I’m In posts and see some of the places Deb Tycholiz discovered under some of the coldest and most challenging conditions. The weather didn’t stop Deb from reaching her milestones and raising the bar a bit each time.
We are proud of you Deb and look forward to discovering more of the beautiful country of Canada through your walks. Thank you for sharing!
If you would like to join our global community of like minded people that like to walk and hike, find our group on Facebook here.
From the Walking Connection Team: Do you have a story to share about your walks, hikes or travels? We would love to hear from you! Contact us at info@walkingconnection.com