On March 20, 2010, I started walking at mile marker 100 in Key Largo. Over the next 8 days, I walked to mile marker 0 in Key West. This is the story of that walk.
2010-03-30
Long Walk: Prelude
On Saturday, March 20, 2010 I’m going to start walking from mile marker 100 in Key Largo and over the next 8 days, walk to mile marker 0 in Key West.
Long Walk: Saturday - Mile 100 to Mile 86
My first day is done and I’m calling it a success. I walked 14 miles in 6 1/2 hours. My feet and lower legs are tired and a little achy, but no more than I expected and I believe I can do it again tomorrow and then again for more days after that. Here are a few snapshots from the day.
Long Walk: Sunday - Mile 86 to Mile 71
Sunday, March 21, 2010
I walked 15 1/2 miles today. After 2 days, I’m 4 miles ahead of plan and feeling good about this trip.
Long Walk: Monday - Mile 71 to Mile 51
False advertising. That’s what I call it. I walked all day and didn’t see a single poisonous snake!
But back to business. I pushed hard and walked 20 miles today. That puts me 11+ miles ahead of plan. That gives me a cushion and will allow Dianne and me to take it a little easier. We’re staying two more nights here in Marathon, and then Dianne will move us south again.
Long Walk: Tuesday - Mile 51 to Mile 40
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
At mile marker 50 early today, half way there!
Today I walked the last 4 miles through Marathon and then 7 miles across the bridge, ending at mile 40. I’m feeling good about this!
Long Walk: Wednesday - Mile 40 to Mile 30
After our adventure in the biplane this morning, I was ready for a short walking day and only traveled 10 miles.
Long Walk: Biplane Excursion!
Is it a rule that tour pilots must also be comedians? When we took a helicopter ride in Grand Cayman a couple years ago, our pilot was hilarious. Today we hired a local biplane owner to give us a ride around the Marathon, and once again we got a funny guy.
I’m not saying this is a bad thing, the guy really was entertaining while at the same time making us feel confident in his skills, and he gave great tour. Here are some pics.
Long Walk: Thursday - Mile 30 to Mile 15
Remember the similar sign I saw on my first day? I’ve made some progress!
I walked 15 miles today, which halved the remaining distance to mile zero. Tomorrow I plan to walk 10 miles which will put me at the east end of Key West and leave me with a shallow leisurely 5 mile walk to mile zero on Saturday.
Long Walk: Friday - Mile 15 to Mile 4
Key West - 4 miles to go!
I’m almost done, and I’m really glad. My feet are starting to complain a little more and I had a blister on my right heal this morning, my first. It wasn’t a problem on today’s walk, and I’m sure I’ll breeze the last 4 miles tomorrow, but still, I am glad I’m almost done.
Long Walk: Saturday - Mile 4 to Mile 0!
And just like that, it was over. As I walked the last few blocks with Lucy, a part of me didn’t want to get to the end just yet, but a larger and more sensible part of me wanted to call it done. At about 10:20 am I touched the Mile 0 signpost and it was over.
Long Walk: Epilogue
Random Musings
After re-reading my own posts from each day of the trip, there are some things I want to add to more fully describe the experience and to answer questions I’ve been asked.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)