How to Build on a Walking Habit — Examining, Resolving and Writing Ideas
That is pretty much what we did — walking for about 8 hours every day for 35 days.
Simply focused on covering the distance, eating, and sleeping, only to repeat the same routine the next day.
I had not given walking any thought until I realized that was all I would do — consuming 35 days of my life over 1000 kilometres for our expedition crossing the Gobi Desert of Mongolia.
Walking is an art, though it comes naturally to all homo sapiens, perhaps even before they can talk coherently. Though it may seem as natural as breathing, it takes a hell lot of practice to get right.
In fact, if we build the walking habit enough, we can deal with half the issues we mentally wrestle with. This may seem a tall claim, but you’ll see the logic. And some of the conclusions here are retrospective.
(See this post for skills I re-learnt about walking in my recent 63 KM walk.)
Six months before the Gobi, when I began my walking practice, I walked without any load at first. I mainly walked in the city, which was quite a different ball game than the desert walking I was preparing for. But then I had to get things right — my stride, the swing of my arms, the straightness of my spine, the neck, and head positions. As I walked more, I realized how you place your foot, what force you place it with, and your footwear mattered.
Most of us walk in a style that is easy and steady. We can walk fast when we want to, but not all are naturally inclined toward it. I love to swing my arms since they bring a rhythm to my walk. I used this as a baseline to develop and build on my strengths. Early on, I realized speed was not one of them.
After establishing a steady pace and a style that did not cause me any awkwardness or pain anywhere, I added load.
I started with a light day pack and trained my feet to walk on different terrain. So I was soon away in the hills, on the beach, on trails and mud roads as often as possible.
For activities like the one I had taken on, breaking in your footwear is essential, and I ordered my Scarpa shoes early. They fit me till just above the ankle and have prevented ankle sprain on topsy-turvy terrain.
(Read this post on shopping and ordering your boots online).
Walking can be a passive as well as an active activity.
It seems active when there is passion in your walking and a greater purpose, an aim in your stride. Nothing can distract you.
Passive is when you walk like you are breathing — without being conscious. You can be mentally preoccupied, and at such times your pace is leisurely, but you are easily distracted.
That brings me to my walk in the Gobi.
You’d think all the practice and breaking in the boots must’ve helped, right? Wrong!
The boots seemed as good as new. Before settling down, they gave me umpteen blisters all over my toes and foot pad.
I began using my walking sticks since I hurt my knee after shoving my foot down a marmot hole on the second day of our expedition. The pain was gone in a few, but the sticks felt good. I swung them over my shoulder, carried them on a side or used them as they should be.
And what went on in my head as I walked?
A hell lot of things — singing tunes to myself in my mind, making up a to-do list for the day when I am back home, thinking, a lot of thinking, plans for the future, what car I want to buy, what is the first thing I’ll do when I am back to civilization, visualization of ending the day/expedition, and of course, memories with friends and family.
Then there was the scenery, which changed very little daily due to our slow travel. But that was an excellent chance to photograph the same landscape in a different light.
Memories of home, my family, significant moments and the thinking drove me hard to keep at it every day for 35 days. I counted steps when the going got tough, and for every 500th step, I’d take a sip of water.
Walking is a wonderful habit to build — examining, resolving and writing ideas. This blog post was written entirely in my head while walking in the Gobi.
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