One Mighty Hike

I made it to the finish line!

I’m always up for a challenge, but what on earth had I agreed to now?

Richard Branson says: Say yes, and then learn how to do it later.

And that’s what I did!

A friend had rung me in January and casually asked if I was up for walking a marathon to raise money for charity. Equally casually, I said yes. 

I like my walking, but really? 26 miles in one day….

Reassuringly, I told myself I’d got 6 months to get my head round this.

It wasn’t until I’d completed my walk that I realised this was not just about walking 26.2 miles for a good cause; it went much deeper than this. Some of the strategies that I put in place, and the organisers used, can be used for any great challenge in your life. The brain is a pattern-matching organ, and even though this challenge may seem unrelated to other challenges, to the brain, it doesn’t.  

Having a plan before you start:

Prior to the event, I put a bit of a training programme in place, increasing the walking distance slowly over the weeks. My walking companions and I also met up a couple of times, so we had an idea of what it was like to walk together. It was clear that we all walked at different speeds. We made the decision before the walk that, if necessary, we’d split off and regroup at the pit stops. 

The importance of little goals to achieve the big goal:

26.2 miles is a long distance. The brain is unable to put something that is large into any sort of concept, except “it’s big”! This is why it’s important when we have anything that is huge to break it down into sizeable chunks that feel realistic. There were 3 pit stops: 7 miles, 12.2 miles, and 19 miles. It’s also important to have a way of ticking off the process, so you can see how far you have progressed. Along the route, there were mile markers. This was a real motivator because I had a visual cue of the miles being slowly ticked off.

Motivation:

When something is huge and either challenging or monotonous, there needs to be something to motivate you. The fear of failure motivated me: I wasn’t going to not achieve this.  But also, I didn’t want to let down all those who had sponsored me. A great motivator is reward, and for me, the thought of food at the pit stops was a real spur. 

Going it alone:

Something that concerned me as I started doing longer walks was not the physical fatigue but the sheer boredom of walking! In reality, I found this wasn’t an issue. I had a couple of strategies: counting my steps, first in English, then in French, German and Spanish. I’d see if I could recognise the trees I passed. I’d enjoy the countryside. On the walk itself, the route was varied: beautiful villages to admire, the changes in landscape and then all the different people on the walk. If I got stuck behind other walkers, I could eavesdrop on conversations. At times, the terrain was challenging and needed concentration. This was 8 hours of being mindful!

Total focus:

For those 8 hours of walking, I was totally focused on that one task, crossing the finishing line. I had no distractions from everyday life, and I kept going with consistency. I didn’t stop off at a local pub for a couple of hours for a drink, although I did spot some walkers having a pint!

Support matters:

Although I walked most of it on my own, knowing I was doing it with two friends, and meeting up at pit stops really helped with moral support. To cross the finishing line with one of them, sharing the achievement was even better.   

Reflection:

Reflection is an important part of any task. This is how you learn and improve. If I were to do this challenge again, I would know what to expect. I would certainly pack a spare pair of socks! I’d also get a better and lighter waterproof. I wouldn’t take as many snacks with me. 

Conclusion: 

The brain is great at forgetting pain when it’s linked to a positive emotion. As we marched up to the finish, I said to my companion that if she asked me at this moment in time if I’d do this again, the answer would be an emphatic no. A week later, with time to reflect and forget the pain of the last few miles, my response is different! I’d be better prepared and I’ve got the knowledge that I can achieve it.  This experience is now banked in my memory as a massive achievement. When I next feel a task is insurmountable, I can reflect on what I achieved on this walk.