Half year update - 1500 miles done as of 6/30/2018 which means there are 518 left to do. Thankfully have been doing well health-wise. Seem to have picked up some poison ivy, however, from trail runs in Montana but so far such has not forced me to the sideline. Alright signing off till next report.
Hi everybody, trust the new year is treating you well! By now you may have heard or read about resolutions such as covering 2018 miles in 2018. I sure have and as such have decided to make that my goal too, and plan to achieve 2018 miles via running, walking, or hiking by the end of the year. To help boost the odds of doing so am going to pledge a set amount per mile to the Friends of Ho`opono.
Ho`opono is Hawaii's state agency that provides services and programs to people who are blind. The Friends over the years have assisted with funds that among other things have enabled the agency to provide special outings such as camping on the north shore, backpacking through Haleakala, rafting the Grand Canyon, and Alaskan kayaking.
You may want to consider taking on a similar challenge. Does not have to be 2018 miles, could be more or less no matter. There are programs online that will even send you a medal, or you could decide to pledge to donate to a favorite charity for each mile gained. Or you could decide to make a donation for someone else's efforts for their favorite organization (like the Friends of Ho`opono). Four years ago I did something similar to this new goal while walking along the Appalachian Trail and found that it is true that knowing you are exercising for something greater than just yourself is motivating.
Will I reach the goal of 2018? Maybe, maybe not. I didn't come close to hiking the whole AT but did do about half and received much joy from that adventure. Places that plan to journey along the way towards trying to reach 2018 include Hokkaido, Canadian Rockies, and Maine's wilderness.
And of course, most all miles gained will take place right behind our home in Ahuimanu valley.
Future posts will provide updates as to how am doing regards the goal and 2018 travels. My GPS watch step calculations likewise will not be used as it is widely inaccurate. Am relying on routes, treks where know the mileage. Hiking Maine's segment of the Appalachian trail will help pad the miles some. Preparing to stay injury free for that trek though means that will be cutting running mileage to about half of what currently doing. Will make up those lost miles by walking around the neighborhood with a loaded backpack. People will think Betty finally threw me out!
FYI the Friends of Ho`opono website (it allows for online donations) is located at:www.razoo.com/organization/Friends-Of-Hoopono. Donations designated for the Friends can also be sent to Hoopono, 1901 Bachelot Street, Honolulu HI 96817.
Update -
For the first 9 weeks of 2018 total was 507.25 miles - Ran 347.75 and walked 159.5. The highlight was an unexpected 10k race up Kolekole pass that did with son in law Ray on March 3, which resulted in first time ever placing in the top 3 (second place) of age group. It helped that there were only 3 of us in the 65-99 men's division and that Ray pushed me up the hill.
Post Script
Past readers of this blog may recall that earlier in 2017 at this blog address there was a post titled "Worth It" which was primarily about running. It also covered challenges have faced the past year living (as most of us medicare aged folks do) with osteoarthritis. Am glad to say that have been hitting the roads regularly for awhile and have run over 1000 miles the past 7 months.
You may also remember that in another post titled "one of us" a pledge was made to help lessen my personal carbon footprint by only driving when taking or picking people up. I did not go the whole year reaching that goal but came close. Due to circumstances that were hard to avoid the pledge was broken on three occasions. Will try again this year. Update - for 2018 there was only one occasion where drove on my own. So going to have to try for zero in 2019 looks like.
Alright stay tuned and Have a Great Year!
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