Yes, You are Worth 12 Hours

12-Hour Walk

Last Thursday, I walked out of my house at 5:52 am with the intention of not returning until 5:52pm.  

Crazy! You say.  Agreed.

It all started with my introduction Colin O’Brady’s book, “The Impossible First”.  Colin is the first human to cross Antarctica completely solo, just him, his two feet and his 400 lb sled full of supplies.  I was so inspired with Colin’s life story, the circumstances that brought him to crossing the Antarctic, the seemingly throughly authentic and loving relationship he shares with his strategic and brilliant wife, Jenna and his perpetually upbeat, possible mindset, that I finished his book and immediately picked up the next one, “The 12-hour walk.”

It was this book that galvanized my own commitment to my own 12-hour walk that Thursday.

Colin details how Covid hit and he was pinned in, his scheduled adventures cancelled, and suddenly he was shut in with the rest of the world.  Until, he wasn’t.  “I’m going for a walk,” he said to his wife one day and came back 12 hours later.

It was with this ease, this attitude of whats’the’big’deal that I found inspiring.  I’ve never been as much of a planner as I am a doer.  I am incredibly adaptable and can easily pivot by the seat of my pants.  

Back to the walk - and here’s an example of my adaptability - I had planned to take my walk on Sunday.  The day was wide open and I had nothing in the way.  Nope.  Changed my mind.  Wednesday, I changed my mind and decided I wanted to walk the next day, Thursday.  Besides one work call at 1:30pm that would last exactly 1 hour or less, my day was wide open.  I was eager to get started and I also wanted the weekend to do other things.  Let’s get this going!

The reason I share this bit about being flexible with the walk is because it could be easy to say - “It’s a 12-hour walk, therefore I must walk for 12 hours on the appointed time I scheduled.”  Yep - that’s great if it’s how you would like to approach the walk.  Colin is quite clear in his recommendations that the walk is individual.  You make the walk what you want to make it.  If you need to reschedule or tweak your day around, this is your walk.  If you walk 20 minutes or 200, it doesn’t matter.  The point I took from all of this is to set out with an intention, turn the phone off, and let the day unfold.  

Alright, back to it then.  

So, Wednesday night, my husband set me up with his Nathan running vest.  I filled it with 60 oz of water.  Packed an apple, 2 bars, a debit card, my ID and some cash.  I packed my headlamp and sunscreen and went to bed.  

I have run a lot of marathons and races of other lengths, including a 1/2 Iron.  I know what the night before a big day sleep is like.  I can’t say that I love that part of participation in sporting events.  My sleep before the Walk was blissful, deep and I awoke well rested the next morning ready to just walk out my front door.

Colin recommends walking from home for the grounding perspective and I must agree.  Sure, it would have been more scenic to drive to the mountains or the coast, but really, the simplicity of just walking out my front door knowing that I would return again in 12 hours did ground me, it did allow a sense of peace and comfort.  I highly recommend!

I live in a smallish town that is on the precipice of explosion.  I set off to explore all of the new building.  My first milestone was a pharmacy approximately 3 miles away.  I arrived at the pharmacy 4 hours later.  I couldn’t believe 4 hours had gone by!  I began by wandering through all of the construction of burgeoning developments.  I kept to sidewalks for safety and because that’s what you do, right?  I reached the end of the development and saw what seems to be quickly diminishing farm land and breathed in the difference in the air.  The road ended, marked by orange tape and cones.  Ahead lie a field, horses and what looked like a way through.  

This is where I went off road and my whole day changed.  My town has a series of drainage canals that wind throughout to move water to the river during the rainy season.  I found my way to what looked like is going to be one of those canals for the new communities.  There was no path yet, just a hint of what was to come.  Suddenly, and I do mean suddenly, there were tiny birds, white kites, a bunny rabbit or two, and even though I could hear construction equipment, there was quiet.  Do you know what I mean?  To be able to breathe in the quiet of this tiny slice of nature in the midst of rumbling tractors in the distance was like fresh air brushing my face.  Not wanting to turn my ankle, watching each foot step became a little more of my focus and also quite meditative in itself.  At the same time, it encouraged me to stop more often, lift my head and take in my surroundings.  The aches and pains I had been feeling in my feet so early into this endeavor (thanks to my already active lifestyle) diminished and I felt the corners of my mouth lifting.  At the end of the rugged terrain, I popped out into a new development and their beautiful park.  With restrooms!  Yay!  I took the opportunity to stretch, breathe, and observe my surroundings.  More of this is what’s coming.  So many more houses, so many more people.  No judgement.  Just observing.

From here, I noticed the pharmacy I needed was just across the street and I walked in just about 9:52am.  I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing, I simply conducted my transaction and made my way back outside.  I would like to mention that running errands wasn’t the idea behind my walk, however, I needed this Rx before the next day, so there it is.  Again, let’s keep this simple and not overthink it!

I headed out of the pharmacy and back in the direction of the park.  I arrived on a different side of it and surveyed the space for potential yoga classes that I may hold there.  I imagined children playing, sports games being played, and felt gratitude that my town places a large emphasis on open space for families to play and be outside.

I had originally thought maybe I would continue East which would mean crossing the freeway (which could be done on a trail), and as I began to wander, I didn’t feel called East.  I was being pulled north.  Yes, I wanted an ice tea from Peets, which is admittedly a daily habit.  I was also thinking about food because I quickly went through 2/3 of my snacks that I brought with me.

By the time I finished my lunch from Peets coffee, 6 hours had passed.  It seemed incredible to me that half of my walk was complete and also that I still got to experience what 6 more hours had to offer me.  

I kept heading north because after noticing the lift that a trail offered me, that became an intention.  It worked for me. 

I zigged and zagged all over utilizing the trails we have to the best of my ability.  I know this will sound strange … I felt like I was making time.  I was making time to see things, to explore, to venture down trails and streets that I could normally see myself saying I didn’t have time to do.  When I head out to walk my dog, Manny, or get steps in or walk for an hour - there’s always a finite amount of time.  There’s a point to point and time to time aspect.  On this day, yes there was an end time planned and in between there were so many possibilities.  

Another observation during the day was the first 6 hours or so were about thinking.  I was preoccupied with sensations in my physical body.   I was preoccupied with temperature and how good a hot bath would feel.  I was not always in the moment so to speak.  

As the day wore on, I found the walk to be much more meditative, much more free of thought and more focused on my breath and intentional steps.   I felt lifted, light and free emotionally and physically.  

I remember someone saying to me once that I approached exercise and work like a job.  Something to do each day and not to be missed.  At that time, I was a little bummed by this comment.  I felt…. Guilty?  Like a joy-sucker?   Like I was missing the point?  And maybe there was a time when I was missing the point.  Wasn’t that what part of my journey though?  I believe it was.  During the walk this thought floated through my mind and I realized, exercise and movement is my job.  If not me, then who?  It’s my job to take care of my health.  For me.  My husband.  My kids.  My community.   

As I neared the end of my 12 hours, a few things came into focus.  I felt emotionally strong and refreshed  and let’s be honest - my feet were tired!   I had roughly figured how long it would take me to get from where I was to my house and I ended up walking faster at the end than when I started.  This created the need for some looping and further wandering.  During this time, I glanced at my mileage - which up until this point had not been a concern.  I was so close to covering 26.2 miles that I simply couldn’t let it go.  I walked into my driveway 12 hours after I had left.  My amazing husband was sitting in the bed of his truck with Manny, cheering for me like he always does.  I was overcome with my love for him and so happy to see them both.  I felt enormous gratitude for my safe community, for our warm home and hot shower that awaited me.  

Some may still think this whole idea is just nuts.  I get it.  If 12 hours sounds unrealistic to you, consider 1 hour or even 10 minutes.  Walk out your door, put your phone in airplane mode and one foot in front of the other.  I wonder what you notice.  I took a trial run earlier in the fall and just went out for an hour.  One hour and I noticed more in my neighborhood than I have in the 20 years we have lived here.  Do I want to do it again?  You bet!  I’ll be walking alone together on 1/6/2024 with thousands of others around the world who have committed to making time for themselves, to unplug and just be.  

*Update, plan change from 1/6 to 1/7 :).