Experiment incomplete
Sep. 21st, 2007 09:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unforthToday, I conducted an experiment: How far can I walk before I just feel like keeling over and dying?
As I see it, this is a useful thing for me to know. Ever since I visited with my dad in July, I've been vaguely entranced with the idea of attempting the Appalachian trail, or at least parts of it, but an adventure of that magnitude would require me to be able to do two things: 1. Eat weird shit, like freeze dried beans, and 2. walk 10 to 20 miles a day for weeks/months on end. Now, this isn't an adventure I could possibly try until the summer of 2009, but even so, one does not spontaneously become able to do either of things, they both take time and effort. So I've been putting in time and effort.
On the food front, I've been making progress apace. I've made noticeable progress even since the post I made on Tuesday where I talked about how much progress I'd already made. On Wednesday when I went grocery shopping, I picked up some veggies, and I'm proud to say that since then I have eaten salad's with my meals twice - spinach, cucumber, scallions, and snow peas, with a light dressing which is my least favorite part. Today, I bought more spinach and another type of green thing that I couldn't quite identify but which looked tasty, so we'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I've started making sure to try to finish - or at least taste - everything brought out to me. In the last few days, this has included:
1. blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, whole though kind of mushy, as part of a compote on some ice cream I ate.
2. lots and lots of onions
3. Some substance involving raw tuna which I couldn't id.
4. Pickled daikon, at least I think it's what it was, I didn't like it so I didn't ask
5. Emptying a whole bowl of miso, seaweed and all
6. Semi-raw egg (I had Oyakodon, without realize how runny the eggs would be. Or maybe that's not normal. I have no idea.)
7. Miso soup with the heads of shrimp - big shrimp - floating in it and staring at me.
8. Strawberry jam, which I decided to try because of the degree to which I've become addicted to apple jam.
...er...I think that's everything. But for three days, that ain't bad! Of course, none of this is freeze dried anything, but I'm definitely working on my adventurous eating spirit.
However, none of this pertains to keeling over and dying.
I left home at 11:30 today. I got home about 30 minutes ago. I spent at least 6 hours of the in between time walking. I'm in pain, and have one nasty blister I had to drain, but I think that I could walk more anyway - the blister would hurt, but the blister has hurt since about 1:30 this afternoon, so I can clearly ignore that.
According to Google, where I roughly traced out my route and finally figured out how to get it to tell me distances, I walked 20 miles. Given that there was some back tracking involved, that I didn't record, and that it measures in straight lines when real roads curb, and crossing streets, etc., etc., I'm willing to grant myself 21 - maybe 22, I did a bit of serious back tracking once or twice.
But even if I DON'T do that...
I walked 20 fucking miles today.
And I didn't keel over and die. And I took LOADS of pictures of some neat stuff, some of which are garbage but some of which aren't. And I rode on a giant ferris wheel.
The only reason I didn't end up walking a LOT more was that, around dusk when I was starting to get way tired, I got hopelessly turned around. There is nothing as strange as knowing EXACTLY where you are and still not being at all clear on any where else to go from there. Rather than get even more lost, I just got on the train that I was using a reference point. I figured I'd probably done enough.
20...fucking...miles. :)
Now, normally, from my point of view, the next step of this experiment would be clear: Can I do it again tomorrow? However, I have an assignment for work which I was REALLY supposed to do today (I didn't actually mean to be gone so long, I got distracted by shinies over in Asakusa when I went to grab groceries after getting back from the serious part of the walk) and so now I have to do it tomorrow. However, I do know I can do it more than once in a week - given that the goal was 10 - 20 per day - since according to Google the walk that I did on Tuesday was 15.5 miles. I think I was right in saying I worked off the cheesecake I ate.
Anyway, I'm not sure where this goes from here, entirely. I have a few more areas of Tokyo I want to see but can easily do in swaths rather than needing to stop and see things, but after that I'm out of those sorts of things. I think I'm gonna have to start taking the train to places where I can walk a whole shit load. And maybe in the spring I'll try backpacking my way across some part of Japan. That sounds like it'd be neat. :)
It just blows my mind. Today, I walked to Martinsville. Today, I walked to Oakdale Mall from Campus, back again, and then realized I'd missed the bus so I had to walk to Mill Street. Today, I looped Manhattan Island. Seriously WOW. :) I'm kind of proud of myself, can you tell?
So in conclusion, the experiment was inconclusive, because I have not yet keeled over or died. :)
As I see it, this is a useful thing for me to know. Ever since I visited with my dad in July, I've been vaguely entranced with the idea of attempting the Appalachian trail, or at least parts of it, but an adventure of that magnitude would require me to be able to do two things: 1. Eat weird shit, like freeze dried beans, and 2. walk 10 to 20 miles a day for weeks/months on end. Now, this isn't an adventure I could possibly try until the summer of 2009, but even so, one does not spontaneously become able to do either of things, they both take time and effort. So I've been putting in time and effort.
On the food front, I've been making progress apace. I've made noticeable progress even since the post I made on Tuesday where I talked about how much progress I'd already made. On Wednesday when I went grocery shopping, I picked up some veggies, and I'm proud to say that since then I have eaten salad's with my meals twice - spinach, cucumber, scallions, and snow peas, with a light dressing which is my least favorite part. Today, I bought more spinach and another type of green thing that I couldn't quite identify but which looked tasty, so we'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, I've started making sure to try to finish - or at least taste - everything brought out to me. In the last few days, this has included:
1. blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, whole though kind of mushy, as part of a compote on some ice cream I ate.
2. lots and lots of onions
3. Some substance involving raw tuna which I couldn't id.
4. Pickled daikon, at least I think it's what it was, I didn't like it so I didn't ask
5. Emptying a whole bowl of miso, seaweed and all
6. Semi-raw egg (I had Oyakodon, without realize how runny the eggs would be. Or maybe that's not normal. I have no idea.)
7. Miso soup with the heads of shrimp - big shrimp - floating in it and staring at me.
8. Strawberry jam, which I decided to try because of the degree to which I've become addicted to apple jam.
...er...I think that's everything. But for three days, that ain't bad! Of course, none of this is freeze dried anything, but I'm definitely working on my adventurous eating spirit.
However, none of this pertains to keeling over and dying.
I left home at 11:30 today. I got home about 30 minutes ago. I spent at least 6 hours of the in between time walking. I'm in pain, and have one nasty blister I had to drain, but I think that I could walk more anyway - the blister would hurt, but the blister has hurt since about 1:30 this afternoon, so I can clearly ignore that.
According to Google, where I roughly traced out my route and finally figured out how to get it to tell me distances, I walked 20 miles. Given that there was some back tracking involved, that I didn't record, and that it measures in straight lines when real roads curb, and crossing streets, etc., etc., I'm willing to grant myself 21 - maybe 22, I did a bit of serious back tracking once or twice.
But even if I DON'T do that...
I walked 20 fucking miles today.
And I didn't keel over and die. And I took LOADS of pictures of some neat stuff, some of which are garbage but some of which aren't. And I rode on a giant ferris wheel.
The only reason I didn't end up walking a LOT more was that, around dusk when I was starting to get way tired, I got hopelessly turned around. There is nothing as strange as knowing EXACTLY where you are and still not being at all clear on any where else to go from there. Rather than get even more lost, I just got on the train that I was using a reference point. I figured I'd probably done enough.
20...fucking...miles. :)
Now, normally, from my point of view, the next step of this experiment would be clear: Can I do it again tomorrow? However, I have an assignment for work which I was REALLY supposed to do today (I didn't actually mean to be gone so long, I got distracted by shinies over in Asakusa when I went to grab groceries after getting back from the serious part of the walk) and so now I have to do it tomorrow. However, I do know I can do it more than once in a week - given that the goal was 10 - 20 per day - since according to Google the walk that I did on Tuesday was 15.5 miles. I think I was right in saying I worked off the cheesecake I ate.
Anyway, I'm not sure where this goes from here, entirely. I have a few more areas of Tokyo I want to see but can easily do in swaths rather than needing to stop and see things, but after that I'm out of those sorts of things. I think I'm gonna have to start taking the train to places where I can walk a whole shit load. And maybe in the spring I'll try backpacking my way across some part of Japan. That sounds like it'd be neat. :)
It just blows my mind. Today, I walked to Martinsville. Today, I walked to Oakdale Mall from Campus, back again, and then realized I'd missed the bus so I had to walk to Mill Street. Today, I looped Manhattan Island. Seriously WOW. :) I'm kind of proud of myself, can you tell?
So in conclusion, the experiment was inconclusive, because I have not yet keeled over or died. :)
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-22 12:39 am (UTC)