I’ve been working at my goal of walking 4 metric miles every day in an hour – around 7,500 daily steps – a marathon weekly – for 309 days now as exercise to keep me fit in lieu of going salsa dancing 6 nights a week which was my raison d’être until it was rudely interrupted by lockdown in March 2020.
From the beginning I wore headphones and walked to the beat of salsa music to make it more interesting and, because I‘ve always found walking hard work, this made my walking smooth like dancing and therefore easier for me to do!
However, as I reduced the time taken from a very slow 90 minutes to reasonably fast 80 minutes (3 miles per hour) it became clear that the salsa music I was using (my favourite Africando Mix) was too slow on 1-3-5-7 (85bpm) and too fast on 1–2–3-4 5–6–7-8 (170bpm) to improve my speed still further as I needed to use something nearer my natural stride rate which I had worked out to be around 120 strides a minute. So I started walking without music.
My time was down to 70 minutes at this stage. Apparently British soldiers walk 4 miles with a 25kg back pack in 60 minutes so that’s my ultimate target though I’m not sure how that can happen because I already felt like I was walking as fast as I could for a 74 year old man at least! But a target it remains . . .
After a few days I found walking without music boring so for Day 106 I downloaded the Simple Metronome app to my mobile phone and set it to 120bpm to help me keep walking at a good speed. That seemed a little fast for my liking so I reduced it to 117 which seemed about right. On the way back I discovered that 116 was nearer my natural rhythm and I was able to walk back 20 seconds faster at this beat despite the strong wind being against me! I think this is because it gave me more time to complete my natural stride length. My times were 33:42 + 33:23 = 67:05.
I was walking from where I live to Frydays near Gosport Ferry, eating a snack sitting on a bench in Falkland Gardens overlooking Portsmouth Harbour and then walking back home again. I thought at that stage it was 3km (2 metric miles) but later it turned out to be only 2.75km so I wasn’t walking as fast as I thought.
Having got bored with listening to the metronome all the time, on Day 114 I downloaded the Music Speed Changer app which slows music down without changing the pitch. I discovered that if I played the Africano Mix I had used since I started salsa walking 113 days previously at 68% of it’s normal tempo this was equivalent to average of 116 beats per minute which is ideal for the pace at which I was walking then! I also ordered a blue-tooth handsfree set so that I don’t have wires hanging around my body.
Anyway – skipping forward a bit – I am now walking a 6k clockwise circular route to Africando Mario at 65% of normal tempo which is 121bpm. The track lasts for just over 13 minutes so it loops 5 times while I walk the 6km in less than 65 minutes which is a lot better than it sounds because the 67 minutes I recorded on Day 114 was for 5.5k not 6k which means my real time for 6k was 73 minutes. I have managed to walk the 6k in less than an hour a couple of times but my goal is to walk it in less than an hour 7 days in a row. I have used the MapMyWalk app to record each walk since 1 September which was Day 171. It’s very useful because it gives me instantaneous feedback on my current walking speed and records my split times for each half km so that I can analyse them afterwards to see how I performed which helps me improve.
I produce a report on facebook every day. You can follow this link to see the latest for Day 309 (17 January) and scroll up to see previous reports if you are interested!
The records below are for the current 6k clockwise circular route:
| DAY | TIME | KM | KPH | MINS PER KM | MPH | MINS PER MILE | STRIDES | STRIDE LENGTH FEET & INCHES |
| 309 | 1:03:27 | 6.00 | 5.68 | 10:34 | 3.55 | 16:55 | 7,669 | 2′ 6.8” |
| 308 | 1:03:03 | 6.00 | 5.71 | 10:30 | 3.57 | 16:49 | 7,620 | 2′ 7.0” |
| 307 | 1:02:36 | 6.00 | 5.75 | 10:26 | 3.60 | 16:41 | 7,566 | 2′ 7.2” |
| 306 | 1:01:48 | 6.00 | 5.83 | 10:18 | 3.64 | 16:29 | 7,469 | 2′ 7.6” |
| 305 | 1:02:59 | 6.00 | 5.72 | 10:30 | 3.57 | 16:48 | 7,612 | 2′ 7.0” |
| 304 | 1:01:57 | 6.00 | 5.81 | 10:19 | 3.63 | 16:31 | 7,487 | 2′ 7.5” |
| 303 | 1:04:37 | 6.00 | 5.57 | 10:46 | 3.48 | 17:14 | 7,810 | 2′ 6.2” |
| 302 | 1:01:26 | 6.00 | 5.86 | 10:14 | 3.66 | 16:23 | 7,425 | 2′ 7.8” |
| 301 | 1:02:28 | 6.00 | 5.76 | 10:25 | 3.60 | 16:39 | 7,550 | 2′ 7.3” |
| 300 | 1:03:13 | 6.00 | 5.70 | 10:32 | 3.56 | 16:51 | 7,640 | 2′ 6.9” |
| 299 | 1:00:59 | 6.00 | 5.91 | 10:10 | 3.69 | 16:16 | 7,371 | 2′ 8.0” |
| 298 | 1:00:53 | 6.00 | 5.91 | 10:09 | 3.70 | 16:14 | 7,359 | 2′ 8.1” |
| 297 | 1:02:21 | 6.00 | 5.78 | 10:23 | 3.61 | 16:38 | 7,537 | 2′ 7.3” |
| 296 | 1:02:05 | 6.00 | 5.80 | 10:21 | 3.62 | 16:33 | 7,504 | 2′ 7.5” |
| 295 | 0:59:25 | 6.00 | 6.06 | 9:54 | 3.79 | 15:51 | 7,182 | 2′ 8.9” |
| 294 | 1:00:46 | 6.00 | 5.93 | 10:08 | 3.70 | 16:12 | 7,345 | 2′ 8.2” |
| 293 | 1:01:28 | 6.00 | 5.86 | 10:15 | 3.66 | 16:23 | 7,430 | 2′ 7.8” |
| 291 | 1:01:42 | 6.00 | 5.84 | 10:17 | 3.65 | 16:27 | 7,458 | 2′ 7.7” |
| 290 | 1:06:21 | 6.00 | 5.43 | 11:03 | 3.39 | 17:42 | 8,020 | 2′ 5.5” |
| 289 | 1:06:18 | 6.00 | 5.43 | 11:03 | 3.39 | 17:41 | 8,014 | 2′ 5.5” |
| 288 | 1:04:29 | 6.00 | 5.58 | 10:45 | 3.49 | 17:12 | 7,794 | 2′ 6.3” |
| 285 | 1:04:06 | 6.00 | 5.62 | 10:41 | 3.51 | 17:06 | 7,748 | 2′ 6.5” |
| 284 | 1:02:26 | 6.00 | 5.77 | 10:24 | 3.60 | 16:39 | 7,547 | 2′ 7.3” |
| 283 | 1:02:40 | 6.00 | 5.75 | 10:27 | 3.59 | 16:43 | 7,575 | 2′ 7.2” |
| 281 | 1:03:20 | 6.00 | 5.69 | 10:33 | 3.55 | 16:53 | 7,655 | 2′ 6.9” |
| 280 | 1:03:13 | 6.00 | 5.70 | 10:32 | 3.56 | 16:51 | 7,641 | 2′ 6.9” |
| 279 | 1:03:54 | 6.00 | 5.64 | 10:39 | 3.52 | 17:02 | 7,724 | 2′ 6.6” |
| 278 | 1:01:54 | 6.00 | 5.82 | 10:19 | 3.64 | 16:30 | 7,482 | 2′ 7.6” |
| 277 | 1:00:47 | 6.00 | 5.92 | 10:08 | 3.70 | 16:13 | 7,347 | 2′ 8.2” |
| 276 | 1:00:21 | 6.00 | 5.97 | 10:03 | 3.73 | 16:06 | 7,295 | 2′ 8.4” |
| 275 | 1:04:36 | 6.00 | 5.57 | 10:46 | 3.48 | 17:14 | 7,808 | 2′ 6.3” |
| 273 | 1:02:28 | 6.00 | 5.76 | 10:25 | 3.60 | 16:39 | 7,551 | 2′ 7.3” |
| 272 | 1:03:18 | 6.00 | 5.69 | 10:33 | 3.56 | 16:53 | 7,651 | 2′ 6.9” |
| 271 | 1:01:38 | 6.00 | 5.84 | 10:16 | 3.65 | 16:26 | 7,450 | 2′ 7.7” |
| 270 | 1:01:05 | 6.00 | 5.89 | 10:11 | 3.68 | 16:17 | 7,383 | 2′ 8.0” |
| 268b | 1:05:11 | 6.00 | 5.52 | 10:52 | 3.45 | 17:23 | 7,879 | 2′ 6.0” |
| 267 | 1:00:42 | 6.00 | 5.93 | 10:07 | 3.71 | 16:11 | 7,337 | 2′ 8.2” |
| 265 | 1:01:38 | 6.00 | 5.84 | 10:16 | 3.65 | 16:26 | 7,450 | 2′ 7.7” |
| 263 | 1:01:57 | 6.00 | 5.81 | 10:20 | 3.63 | 16:31 | 7,488 | 2′ 7.5” |
| 262 | 1:02:25 | 6.00 | 5.77 | 10:24 | 3.61 | 16:39 | 7,545 | 2′ 7.3” |
| 261 | 1:02:22 | 6.00 | 5.77 | 10:24 | 3.61 | 16:38 | 7,539 | 2′ 7.3” |
| 260 | 1:00:44 | 6.00 | 5.93 | 10:07 | 3.71 | 16:12 | 7,341 | 2′ 8.2” |
| 259 | 1:00:38 | 6.00 | 5.94 | 10:06 | 3.71 | 16:10 | 7,329 | 2′ 8.2” |
| 258 | 1:01:13 | 6.00 | 5.88 | 10:12 | 3.68 | 16:19 | 7,400 | 2′ 7.9” |
| 257 | 1:03:51 | 6.00 | 5.64 | 10:38 | 3.52 | 17:02 | 7,718 | 2′ 6.6” |
| 256 | 1:02:40 | 6.00 | 5.75 | 10:27 | 3.59 | 16:43 | 7,575 | 2′ 7.2” |
| 255 | 1:03:58 | 6.00 | 5.63 | 10:40 | 3.52 | 17:03 | 7,732 | 2′ 6.6” |
| 254 | 1:01:25 | 6.00 | 5.86 | 10:14 | 3.66 | 16:23 | 7,424 | 2′ 7.8” |
| 253 | 1:01:11 | 6.00 | 5.89 | 10:12 | 3.68 | 16:19 | 7,396 | 2′ 7.9” |
| 252 | 1:03:34 | 6.00 | 5.66 | 10:36 | 3.54 | 16:57 | 7,684 | 2′ 6.7” |
| 251 | 1:04:29 | 6.00 | 5.58 | 10:45 | 3.49 | 17:12 | 7,794 | 2′ 6.3” |
| 250 | 1:01:38 | 6.00 | 5.84 | 10:16 | 3.65 | 16:26 | 7,450 | 2′ 7.7” |
| 249 | 1:04:01 | 6.00 | 5.62 | 10:40 | 3.52 | 17:04 | 7,738 | 2′ 6.5” |
| 248 | 1:05:04 | 6.00 | 5.53 | 10:51 | 3.46 | 17:21 | 7,865 | 2′ 6.0” |
| 247 | 1:01:15 | 6.00 | 5.88 | 10:12 | 3.67 | 16:20 | 7,404 | 2′ 7.9” |
| 246 | 1:05:05 | 6.00 | 5.53 | 10:51 | 3.46 | 17:21 | 7,867 | 2′ 6.0” |
| 245 | 1:04:21 | 6.00 | 5.60 | 10:43 | 3.50 | 17:10 | 7,778 | 2′ 6.4” |
| 244 | 1:03:20 | 6.00 | 5.69 | 10:33 | 3.55 | 16:53 | 7,655 | 2′ 6.9” |
| 243 | 1:02:09 | 6.00 | 5.79 | 10:21 | 3.62 | 16:34 | 7,512 | 2′ 7.4” |
| 242 | 1:03:05 | 6.00 | 5.71 | 10:31 | 3.57 | 16:49 | 7,625 | 2′ 7.0” |
| 241 | 1:05:40 | 6.00 | 5.48 | 10:57 | 3.43 | 17:31 | 7,937 | 2′ 5.8” |
| 240 | 1:05:05 | 6.00 | 5.53 | 10:51 | 3.46 | 17:21 | 7,867 | 2′ 6.0” |
| 239 | 1:01:17 | 6.00 | 5.88 | 10:13 | 3.67 | 16:21 | 7,408 | 2′ 7.9” |
| 238 | 1:01:48 | 6.00 | 5.83 | 10:18 | 3.64 | 16:29 | 7,469 | 2′ 7.6” |
| 237 | 1:04:08 | 6.00 | 5.61 | 10:41 | 3.51 | 17:06 | 7,752 | 2′ 6.5” |
| 236 | 1:02:14 | 6.00 | 5.79 | 10:22 | 3.62 | 16:36 | 7,523 | 2′ 7.4” |