Susanne Wussow
Having a desk job can be a bit limiting in terms of getting active. So when I saw the posting from the library I was inspired to sign up.
Walk the Length of the Great Wall of China
Join our community walking challenge! During the summer months, use your own step-counter or borrow a pedometer from the library and keep track of your steps.Together we will try to walk 21,196.18 km – the length of the Great Wall of China.
Walking the length of the Great Wall of China – wow. I’ve aspired to walking the Bruce Trail and its 900 km, but the Great Wall is 21,196.18 km – now that’s something completely different, and I think as a community we can do it.
As a community health initiative, it’s awesome. To get people up and about, and to make a little more effort in being active, it’s a wonderful idea. I had put away the Fitbit that I had received for Christmas a couple of years ago, but it is now seeing active service once again. The one thing that bothers me about it is that it doesn’t count your steps when pushing your cart while you’re grocery shopping. And some days it feels like a million steps!
Apparently one is supposed to try to get to 10,000 steps per day – absolutely not possible in my case with a desk job, so I’m doing my best to get to 3,000-5,000 per day. And with some success – my best total for one day was 6,796 steps.
I’d got out of the habit of walking after our dog died and I had put on a bit of weight, so now I’m getting back into it. My first week I walked 25,078, the second week 20,992, and the third was 18,073 – I know, I know, wrong direction for the number of steps, but in my defence it’s been horribly hot. But I am trying (I even have a new pair of running shoes), by parking my car a little further away when going shopping, and going for walks on the Georgian Trail.
I’ll be providing regular updates on the walking challenge till the end of the summer – and writing the updates will motivate me even more to keep on strolling. The total kilometers to date by the 24 participants signed up are 1,449.35. So we have quite a way to go – sign up and join us, and let’s walk the Great Wall of China together!
Contact Amy Solecki, Community Outreach Coordinator at the Library, at asolecki@meaford.ca for a form to record your steps or to borrow a pedometer. Submit your weekly step total to Amy until Saturday, August 31, and the final tally will be presented at the Meaford Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday, September 7.
