How do I get back my walking fitness?

For the past year, while Ziggy Dog has been unwell, the lengths of my walks have reduced. Now that I just have Lulu I thought I would get back to it. So on Thursday I took her out to do a chunk of he Ribble Way in Preston.

It was a lovely day. The weather was mild. The countryside was beautiful. I got to pretended I was a train on the old tram route into the city. But after 3 miles Lulu had had enough, and got back in the car with Mandy. And after 6 miles I too was knackered.

This is a far cry from the days when I did many long distance walks including the Pennine Way and Wainwright’s Coast to Coast. In those days, 6 miles would be the first fast stretch before breakfast.

So what is the problem? I suppose that at 12 (Lulu) and 62 (me) we are not quite the young pups we once were. I think I need to learn not to push Lulu too hard. We went on a longish walk together when we were in Scotland and it took her three days to recover.

But that is no excuse for me. I may be older and more rotund, but I can definitely regain some of my walking legs. So rather like runners do with Couch to 5k (I hate running) I think I need to build up to longer walks step by step. They will mostly be flat walks when we are out on the boat because canals tend to avoid hills, but when the boating season ends I can try a bit more up and down. Time to see if my new blood pressure tablets are working.

All fine words, but as my Dad used to say “Good intentions butter no parsnips”. Let’s see if there is any action.