I woke up rested and motivated this morning. My mission: exceed the 25,000 step threshold no matter how long it took.
Now granted, walking the Han river is much easier than climbing up and down Nam mountain. Namsan is a better work out I suppose, but measured in steps, not so much.
So I set about my task this morning planning to push myself down (up?) the river for at least an hour and half and of necessity I’d have to walk back that far to get home.
Made it to Yoeuido on the outbound…
The 63 Building on my approach from the opposite of the river…
And from the bridge leading to the Yeouido side of town…
Saw these gents on the bridge. I was concerned because one looked a little depressed. And depression and bridges don’t go well together. Trust me on that.
So I joined them for a bit and said “choose life”. Don’t think they understood English though because I was met with stony silence in response. I get that a lot though.
This is as close as I intended to get to the National Assembly building today…
I Seoul you too baby!
Took some time to smell the flowers…
So anyway, this is as far up the river as I’ve ever gone on foot. As is my custom, I intended to follow the riverside path back to the Banpo bridge and make my way homeward from there. But somehow I wound up on a path that veered away from the river and followed along a smaller stream…
It was a pleasant enough path mind you. Not crowded at all and I figured it would lead me somewhere close to where I need to be…
After an hour of walking I began to have my doubts. I was in totally unfamiliar territory and without any recognizable landmarks. I eventually came to a bridge, so I took it. Now, I usually have a pretty good sense of direction, but damn, I had no idea where I was or where I was going. Finally, I hailed a cab. Yeah, I know, pathetic. But as it turns out it was the right call because I had been walking in the wrong direction. When I told the driver “Itaewon” he said he’d have to make a U-turn. I realized just how lost I’d been when we drove by the National Assembly building. I had him drop me off at Samgakji station so I could get a few more steps in, despite being stiff and dog-ass tired. Fare was W8,000 so I was indeed a long way from home.
But getting lost has its advantages I suppose. I achieved my goal at least…
And I had a record setting week last week as well….
So, what did I get in return for all that walking?
I’m back in my 20’s! Three pounds down this week, and 40.1 overall. Ten more to goal attainment. But truthfully, I want to lose my belly and it is not cooperating. So, we’ll see how much I have to lose before it chooses to leave me like every fucking woman in my life has done…
Onward and downward. Hopefully.
Congratulations! And I think you beat my count for the week:
5/16: 26,499 (Mon)
5/17: 15,910
5/18: 24,369
5/19: 8,341 (Thu—rest day)
5/20: 24,633
5/21: 170 (ha ha! an absolutely NOTHING Saturday!)
5/22: 22,023
Total: 121,945 steps
You’re obviously well over your weekly goal of 100,000 steps—124.2% over your goal, to be exact. Maybe it’s time to set the new baseline at 120,000…?
Pushing me to the next level, eh? We’ll see. When rainy season gets here it might be tougher.
Considering you had a rest day and a lazy day you’ve had an exceptional week. I’d not be surprised if doing 20,000+ every other day does more good than 10,000 each day. What’s the science on that?
I think the current science is that short, intense, uphill or upstairs trudges that get you puffing and keep you there are better than long, all-day walks (i.e., 25 minutes up the hellish Namsan stairs is better than 3 hours along the Han). Part of the reason for this is that high-intensity effort creates a “burn” that continues on for several hours even after you stop exercising. Dr. Ken Cooper might disagree, however; in his classic book Aerobics, in which he maps cardio onto a point system (you have to earn 30 points per week), Cooper argues that even easy walking, if done long enough and far enough, can have aerobic benefit: you can earn points just walking along the Han, in other words. A PDF of his charts can be found here.
Good stuff!
A friend has convinced me to incorporate some weight training into my routine for much the same reason you mention.