Had to give in to MySQL limits. Since the database exceeded the pre-set limit, the continuation of the diary resides here now. Link to the first, second and third parts of the diary are just below.
Had to give in to MySQL limits. Since the database exceeded the pre-set limit, the continuation of the diary resides here now. Link to the first, second and third parts of the diary are just below.
Results, so far - with no dieting, after 4,439.5 miles - lost 30 pounds and 5.5% body fat since May 16, 2005, when this diary was started. Just think what kind of results YOU could achieve with Nordic Walking and a rational diet! Have also gotten faster, as proven by steadily tumbling personal records.
On June 6, 2009 I have been persuaded by Gottfried Kürmer to switch over to a regimen recommended by an Oxford University study, which proposes conducting relatively intensive workouts for 30 minutes a day - seven days per week. Yes - no break days, but none, or fewer one, two, or three-hour intensive walks.
Therefore, my optimal mileage will hover between 15 and 20 miles per week, instead of 25. I still intend to do at least one longer walk per week and even take a day, or two off sometimes, to even things out.
The 1st part of The Nordic Walking Diary
The 2nd part of The Nordic Walking Diary
The 3rd part of The Nordic Walking Diary
November 1, 2008 Riverbend Park, from Great Falls Park, Virginia. About 6 miles. 1:28. This route leads through hills and valleys and along the Upland Trail and the Potomac River. With Ania. 1:40. 72F (23C). Absolutely gorgeous, sunny day. Lots of people in both parks and along the trails.
22 miles for the week
57F, mostly cloudy, with some UV peeking through. (6.5).
58F and cloudy. It seems like overnight the McCain supporters have littered the vicinity of our voting precinct at the Flint Hill Elementary School with their signs. It didn't help them one bit :) (11).
Streets and parks of Vienna. 4 miles. 0:57. In the evening, with a headlamp, listening to the post-election reactions and commentary on NPR. (15)
68F (20C). Partly sunny. I wonder if this was one of the last opportunities this year to wear shorts... (21).
A section of the C&O Canal towpath, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, from Fletcher's Boat House, upstream and return. About 2.5 miles.
With Ania and Ewa. Afterward we went to see the congratulatory Barack Obama signature panels at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.
23.5 miles for the week
Sunny, windy and only 43F (7C). (10).
Cloudless skies and 43F (7C). (13)
55F, damp and muddy. Met a couple of hikers and the usual deer and other wildlife. This section of the CCT parallels the Difficult Run stream. (20.5).
72F (21C) Warm and humid.
26.5 miles for the week
Mostly cloudy and windy - 43F (6C).
35F (2C), sunny and very windy. (8.5)
32F (0C). (11.5)
35F (2C), cold and windy, but with some sun peeking through. (18.5)
Saturday went to see Andrzej Wajda's Oscar-nominated movie "Katyn", about the murder of some 15,000 Polish officers by the Soviets in 1940. A great movie, about a very tragic event. It was shown during the European Union Film Festival and sponsored by the Polish embassy in Washington. Therefore, no Nordic Walking was done on Saturday.
18.5 miles for the week
37F (3C), sunny and beautiful.
43F (7C), sunny and very nice. (10.5)
47F. Beautiful, sunny day. Thanksgiving. (20)
This trail winds through the woods, crosses several streams, has several noticeable hills. The route provides a very varied workout. Not as nice as Great Falls Park, but a few miles closer to home.
Quite a number of mountain bikers on the trail. Not surprising at all, except for the fact that about half of them were wearing shorts. Don't you guys know what the cold, combined with the bike's speed can do to your knees down the road?
25 miles for the week
38F (3C). Cold and rainy. Got a surprising amount of rain overnight- it was pretty obvious by the amount of water in the Piney Branch stream that I had to cross.
40F (5C), sunny and beautiful.
In the evening, went through parks and streets of Vienna, with a headlamp for 4 miles, in 0:57. Just a tad cooler, at 37F, with a clear, beautiful sky. (15.5).
35F (2C). Sunny, with a bit of wind. (21.5).
With Ania. Saw several herds of deer and a great many Canada Geese, ducks and the largest group of cormorants I have ever seen. 32F (0C) and mostly cloudy with extremely faint snowflakes.
26.5 miles for the week
30F (-2C), sunny and windy, with about a millimeter, or two of snow in places.
60F (16C), way over average temperature. Damp, with a very light drizzle. (10).
38F (4C), partly sunny and windy. After heavy rains yesterday, the streams and lakes are full to the brim. (17).
32F (0C), sunny and nice.
20 miles for the week
45F, sunny and windy.
38F (4C) with a light drizzle. (7).
39F, cloudy, damp, but no precipitation. (13).
With Ania. 32F (0C), cloudy and a bit damp. Quite a few walkers, runners, a few deer and a big hawk.
19 miles for the week
37F (3C), sunny and very windy.
20F (-7C), sunny and windy. Not a trace of snow, but the Boston area, where we are heading later today got buried in snow, so it will definitely be a White Christmas!
Only 8 miles of actual Nordic Walking for the week; several miles of walking around Boston
70F (21C), cloudy, windy and ridiculously warm for this time of the year. Haven't done any Nordic Walking during our family Christmas vacation in the Boston area - time to make up.
47F (8C), sunny and somewhat windy. (10.5).
Fairly blustery last day of 2008. Although it was partly sunny and 38F (3C), the wind gusts were very strong and some snow flurries appeared from time to time. (15.5)
40F (5C), sunny, with little wind. (21.5).
25 miles for the week
43F (6C) and sunny.
45F (2C), partly sunny, with a tiny amount of occasional snowflakes. Many icy spots left after two days of rain and the overnight freeze. (9).
January 9, 2009 Complete circuit of Lakes Thoreau and Audubon in Reston, Virginia. 6 miles. About two hours.
A walk with a difference, as I brought along my new Nikon D200 camera and stopped to take pictures here and there.
36F (3C), sunny and quite nice, but chilly. (15).
Brought my Nikon along again. Took some nice photos of deer, staring at me. Was planning a longer walk, but it started raining, first of the freezing, then the regular, wet variety. Turned around to protect the camera. About 37F (3C).
20 miles for the week
33F (1C), partly sunny.
35F (2C), mostly cloudy. (6).
20F, sunny and cold. (8).
20F (-7C), sunny and windy. Many streams and all the ponds are fairly solidly frozen. If these temperatures hold, we might be able to skate on them soon :) (12.5).
15F, sunny and windy. Not as cold as in some other parts of the country, but cooold! (14.5)
18F (-7.5C) and sunny. Warmer than yesterday, with less wind. The lakes are pretty solidly frozen.
18 miles for the week
Much warmer than the past few days, at 32F (0C) and cloudy.
30F (-2C), very light snow falling. (8.5).
23F (-6C) I'm full of admiration for the millions of people who have braved the cold and the wind, in some cases spending the night on the National Mall, and even passing out from hypothermia...Get well, all of you!
Sunny and 20F. (15).
Took a bit more time than usual, as I brought my new Nikon D200 along and took a bunch of photos.
52F (11C), a sunny, beautiful day. (21.5).
33F (1C) - considerably colder than yesterday.
28 miles for the week
27F (-2C), not a cloud in the sky.
Light snow (finally!!!) falling, with about two inches on the ground. Not quite enough for cross country skiing. Lots of sledding going on everywhere. (7.5).
A two-inch-thick layer of frozen snow and rather beautiful. 37F (3C). (13.5)
32F (0C), sunny. Icy only in shaded areas.
18 miles for the week
A pretty incredible, sunny 52F, but with many patches of hard, slippery ice in the shaded parts of most sidewalks.
50F (10C), sunny and beautiful, although the whole route is interspersed with sometimes extensive and quite treacherous patches of ice. (6)
34F (2C), sunny and with a few millimeters of snow in spots (yes, in spots - really weird, but pretty). (10.5).
39F (4C), sunny. A bit more time than usual, as I was taking photos along the way. The lakes are still largely frozen. (16.5)
60F (16C). Not a cloud in the sky.
21.5 miles for the week
63F (17.5C) and sunny, with a nice breeze.
49F (9.5C), sunny. Remains of snow visible only in very shaded areas. (9).
67F (17.5), mostly sunny. Many people in shorts on the trail. (14).
47F (7.5C), sunny and windy. (21).
About 43F and cloudy.
27 miles for the week
34F (1C), cool, but sunny and very nice.
35F (2C) and sunny with not a trace of snow anywhere :( (12.5).
Sunny and windy. Only 34F (1C). (18.5).
Not too fast. Spent some time at the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center and observed and photographed numerous Blue Herons, looking for lunch in the waters of the canal.
23.5 miles for the week
34F (2C). Within an hour we had beautiful, thick and wet, but not-accumulating snow flakes. light snow and almost clear, sunny skies.
32F (0C). Sunny and beautiful. Took a different, less-traveled trail for the first 3/4 miles. (10.5).
60F (14C), with the lightest of rain and quite windy. (18.5).
Much colder at 40F. Some snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow night - finally...
24.5 miles for the week
32F (0C), with light snow. About half an inch of snow on the ground. Pretty slick in places on the snow, ice and mud, with the wet mud being by far the slickest of the three. Up to 10 inches of snow predicted overnight.
20F (-7C), sunny and beautiful. Hard blue wax proved to be perfect as the snow had a bit of crust on it.
Yesterday we finally got 6-7 inches of snow. Didn't have time to go out yesterday and wished that I had more time today. (9).
34F (2C), sunny, beautiful, but the snow is melting. At least on the Cross County Trail it was still in good shape in most shaded areas. (13).
March 6, 2009 Great Falls Park, Virginia. Swamp, Difficult Run, Ridge trails and a section of the Carriage Road. About 6 miles. 1:2066F (18C). Leftover patches of snow only in hollows and on the north side of some of the numerous hills in the park. Photographed a snake, sunning itself on a log. (19).
This route leads through hills and valleys and along the Upland Trail and the Potomac River. With Ania and Ewa. 70F (22C). Absolutely gorgeous, sunny day. Lots of people in both parks and along the trails.
25 miles for the week
73F (22C). Wow!
60F (15C), sunny and very windy. (6).
62F (16C). (9).
Cloudy and chilly, 38F (3C). (12.5).
About 41F (6C), with drizzle towards the end of the walk. With Ania and Ewa. Hanged around Pennyfield Lock a bit. There is a crumbling rest house there, used by President Grover Cleveland for fishing trips. Wish somebody would fix it up...
18.5 miles for the week
40F (5C), with light drizzle.
53F and sunny (6.5).
51F (11C), sunny and beautiful. Quite a few people in the park. Found the snake I photographed on March 6 dead and dried out under the log...
It was a busy week, including attending the dress rehearsal of the annual Washington Gridiron Club dinner and roast on Friday. Therefore my mileage is not up to par.
13 miles for the week
53F (12C), sunny and beautiful, but too many of the cyclists on the W&OD Trail were wearing shorts.Hate to think about the health of their knees 20 years down the road... Must have just looked out the window and probably don't have thermometers :)
Partly sunny and 59F (9.5C). (11).
60F (16C) with a bit of sun.
In the evening an after-dinner 1.5-mile walk along the W&OD Trail in Vienna. With Ania. (19.5).
Meandered along a network of new (for us) sections of trails. 50F (10C). A light drizzle. Muddy after last night's rain. The streams were a bit hard to cross.
25 miles for the week
63F, damp, but the sun started peeking out. Muddy on dirt trails.
50F (10C) and cloudy. (7.5).
68F (20C) Mixture of clouds and sun, a bit windy. (14.5).
63F and sunny, with a strong wind.
17 miles for the week (at least I'm over my minimum :)
52F (11:5C), a bit windy, but a welcome respite after earlier rain.
44F, some sun, quite windy, even saw a few actual snowflakes falling for a few minutes. (12).
60F and sunny.
Witnessed a fairly elaborate recreation of the Way of the Cross by a group of local Latinos. Christ with cross, Roman soldiers - the works. (16.5).
A decent climb. Huge water towers on top. This hill used to have auto access in the past and also was at one time a small ski area.
43F (6C). Rain. (5)
Beautiful, sunny day, 60F (16C). (8).
66F (18C) beautiful and sunny. (14).
Close to three hours, as we took our time, watching the great views. Beautiful, sunny day, about 75F.
20 miles for the week
With Ania. 74F, partly sunny. Lots of cyclists.
48F (7C), cloudy. Right before some rain, with hail mixed-in.
In the evening, with Ania and a headlamp. About 2 miles through the Lakevale neighborhood, close to our house. 0:36.
The cherry trees are in full bloom all over that area. Saw what I believe was a meteorite. Very bright and shooting sparks...probably fairly close. (9).
78F (25C). Beautiful, sunny day.
In the evening, 2 miles on the Cross County Trail, starting south of Arlington Boulevard and return. With Ania. 0:45. (18)
This route leads through hills and valleys and along the Upland Trail and the Potomac River. 92F (33C) sunny and humid, but without haze.
Lots of people, horses in both parks and along the trails. The line of cars to Great Falls Park when we were leaving was absolutely the longest we have ever seen. Saw a couple of herds of deer and a snake, munching on something.
24 miles for the week
90F (33C), sunny, humid. Felt super hot, even with a hat and a water bottle.
83F (27C) and sunny. Much nicer than the overwhelming heat of two days ago. (10).
56F, light drizzle, damp and muddy in parts after lats night's rain. (14.5).
25 miles for the week
61F (16C) still damp in places, but mostly sunny for a change.
In the afternoon: Complete circuit of Lake Thoreau in Reston, Virginia. About 2.5 miles. 0:34. Walked fast as some serious-looking clouds threatened. No rain during the walk, though. (12.5)
77F and sunny. A typical, shorts, hat and sunglasses day. (19.5).
I did the River Trail alone, as the girls decided that they were not up to tackling the flooded sections of the trail and some necessary rock scrambles and returned via the Matildaville Trail. 80F (26C), sunny and fairly humid.
26 miles for the week
68F (20C), almost perfect, sunny weather.
59F (15C) and sunny. (10.5).
65F (18C). Sunny, beautiful day. Wish I had time for a longer walk.
In the evening, with Ania, about 2 miles through the Lakevale neighborhood, close to our house. 0:37. (15.5).
73F (23C), humid, some sun, but with threatening storm clouds. (21.5).
72F (22.5C), mostly cloudy. Lots of cleanup activities, kayaking lessons, walkers, joggers and walkers.
26 miles for the week
56F and mostly cloudy.
53F (11.5) and sunny. (7.5).
60F (15C), sunny and beautiful. Saw a young buck standing in the middle of a sun-lit driveway. His doe was a bit more shy and stayed in the bushes. (11).
66F (18C), another great, sunny day. (15).
80F (26C). Lots of walkers, runners and even boaters. (19.5).
This route leads through hills and valleys and along the Upland Trail and the Potomac River. With Ania. 84F (29C) Hot and humid, but a very nice, sunny day. Lots of people in both parks and along the trails.
25.5 miles for the week
79F (25C), sunny and hot.
59F (15C), damp, but no rain. (11).
80F (26C), mostly sunny, hot and humid. Just before some predicted thunderstorms. (18.5).
77F, great, sunny day. All the rivers and streams are brim-full, after the recent bout of rains.
25 miles for the week
72F (22C), sunny and beautiful. Still damp in places after last night's storm.
74F (23C), sunny and humid. Strong storms predicted for later in the day. (10.5).
May 6, 2009 An ANWA-sanctioned Nordic Walking instructor's seminar, conducted by Gottfried Kurmer at the Gertung Intersport in Baltimore. A very good learning experience.
Not sure how many miles we covered, but I am guessing that it was around 5, or so. A sunny, hot and humid day.
About 15.5 miles for the week
Exceeded the 30-minute rule a bit. Will have to map a few 2-mile routes in my area, as the shortest one up to now was a 3-miler.
Not fast, but intense, with strong, almost forceful arm action, paying particular attention to the closing of the hand around the handle, when passing the hip for a strong pole plant. Also paying attention to releasing the grip while passing the hip, going backwards, following with my usual full grip release.
Mostly on pavement, with no rubber tips in order to be able to tell by sound (another one of Gottfried Kurmer's suggestions) if the arm stroke was correct. A great test of the technique! (5.5).
Once again, mostly on pavement, with no rubber tips. Honing my technique. Must be getting closer to the required 15,000 repetitions, as the changes feel more and more natural and the metal tips mostly return clean, sharp clicks :) (7.5).
Once again with bare, metal tips only on concrete sidewalks, blacktop streets and occasionally on grass. The slightly modified technique is getting ingrained and a vast majority of the pole tip strokes return single, solid, clean clicks on the pavement. Hardly any double taps, scrapes and so forth. (13.75).
With Ania partly with bare tips, mostly with rubber ones. 78F (26C).
18.5 miles for the week
Same route as on May 10 - in reverse.
75F (24C), sunny and not too humid. Did the first two miles with rubber tips on. Removed them for the rest of the walk. Must be doing something right, as the great majority of the tip plants against the pavement returned single, sharp, clean clicks :)
(6.25).
This trail winds through the woods, crosses several streams, has several noticeable hills. The route provides a very varied workout. Not as nice as Great Falls Park, but a few miles closer to home. I came to the conclusion that this route is actually around 4.5 miles, not 5, as I estimated it earlier. (10.75).
78F (25C) and sunny. No rubber tips for the entire walk.
One learns to appreciate the relative roughness and relative softness of asphalt surfaces, as compared to the probably harder and usually smoother concrete, which really requires a nearly perfect technique, with the hand closed around the pole's grip at the moment of the plant and the absolute need of continuing pressing the pole hard into the ground throughout the stroke - up until the final release in the back, of course.
Otherwise, there is slippage and instead of the satisfying, single, sharp click, there are double taps, scraping and the like. Must say that the latter have become very rare lately :)
16.75 miles for the week
The weather wasn't cooperating - it rained and stormed, but instead of just going to the beach, after it cleared up, we took a very nice Nordic Walk.
The next day the weather was much better and we were able to finally try out our new boogie boards (as the old ones were getting pretty worn after many years of use). The surf was quite good and the workout even better than Nordic Walking, if you all can believe it :)
Once again, mostly on pavement, with no rubber tips. (7.25).
With Ania and Ewa. Relatively slow, but pleasant Nordic Walk. 80F, sunny and less humid.
17.25 miles for the week
Bare tips, mostly on pavement, with some sections on grass. Getting from grass, to pavement is a great test of technique, as having single, positive clicks of the tips, immediately after the more relaxed grassy sections, proves that the arm stroke is correct. (6.25).
Same drill, as most of the past several weeks: bare metal tips on pavement, very occasionally on grass. Getting to feel quite natural now. (8.5).
My first time on this route with the bare, metal tips and the new, slightly slower, but more forceful stride. There is a noticeable increase in effort, with the firmer stride and the definitely stronger push on the poles. 72F (22C). Still light, but towards evening. (13.75).
Nibbling on blackberries, but it will be about a week, before they ripen in larger quantities. Mainly sunny, 72F (22C) and fairly humid. (16.75).
20.25 miles for the week This figure will probably be higher this evening as we are heading to watch the Washington DC fireworks, from under the Iwo Jima Memorial, on the Virginia side.
There will be quite a bit of walking involved both to the memorial, from the Metro station and probably a longer walk on the return trip, as the nearest stations will be so incredibly crowded that we will most likely walk several extra miles.
http://www.nordicwalkingus.com/article.php/20081101155836846