The #2020km Challenge?
When I was brainstorming fitness challenges for 2020 with my old school friends who I went on a walk with in December, this idea kinda just emerged. "How about we try to run or hike 2,020km in 2020? It has a kinda ring to it right?"
"Well, yes, it has a ring to it but how does that break down in daily terms?" was the first question asked. 2,020km works out at around 5.52km per day. In "old money" that's about 3.4 miles per day. That's a lot! And soon it was quickly kicked to the side until 31st December.
But I had a bit of a niggling feeling in the back of my head which made me want to at least give it a go, especially after being inspired by old DJ friend, DJ Pi, who ran every day in 2018 for Muscular Dystrophy. So I did a run or two in the week over Christmas to get some fitness going (that was NOT easy!) and I thought I'd just "give it a go" and see how I get on in January.
Scenes from my hiking route across the fields
January 2020km Report
The Plan
Finding the time to do this challenge would prove to be... a challenge (ha!)! Running after work when it's still dark or running before work... when it's still dark, were both unappealing ideas but I think getting it out of the way before work is the better option... just! Then the hiking around the countryside can be done at the weekend when it's bright so that's the plan!
It seemed to go pretty well in the first two weeks, that "new challenge" feeling kicking in when the novelty is still there and in fact, I was up on the required daily average of 5.52km, ahead of the game in the first week or two reaching the dizzying heights of 5.98 km/day average... and then...
The Illness
This was NOT part of the plan! There'd been a lurgy lurking around the office for many weeks and at home. Eventually it made it's way in to my bodily system and wiped me out for a week. I thought I could at least do a hike one weekend to mitigate the damage this would do to my required daily distance... bad idea!
It wrecked my daily average from 5.581 km/day all the way down to 3.67 km/day but I just had to wait this one out, savagely taking in as much Vitamin C as possible whilst watching the gap grow and grow between average daily distance and required daily distance.
The Recovery
Thankfully, the illness seemed to be relatively short lived and only lasted a week to 10 days, which could be down to being slightly fitter since the challenge began as others reported that bug stayed with them for weeks! Touch wood of course...
Towards the end of the month, the daily average distance is recovering out of the doldrums towards 4.47 km/day and getting towards the required daily although I've still got work to do if I want to get "back in the green" again. It's probably worthwhile mentioning the terms and the geeky jargon seeing as I've created something really cool to keep track of it all. I am of course referring to...
The Spreadsheet
Ah yes, the spreadsheet! Of course there's a spreadsheet, why wouldn't there be one?! To be fair, I'm glad I set it up as it has really helped to see just how easily things can slip away. The graph below shows a red and a blue line. The red line is where I need to be - the "average daily required" - and the blue line is my current daily average - the "average daily actual". You can see where the illness wiped me out and the recovery job towards the end of the month but I just need to keep it going and make it through! Especially with more motivation coming from...
The Charity
When I was on a radio show called Spotlight on the Artist (
I originally made this track after my Nana passed away but she was diagnosed with vascular dementia, a devastating disease that is just horrible all round for the patient and the family. After speaking on the show, playing the track and seeing the comments from those that were listening in live, I knew that I had to do this #2020km challenge for the Alzheimer's Society.
Image Source
They are currently researching in to the causes and treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, which is the umbrella term for all crippling dementia conditions, and hopefully can find a cure for it - I have created a Just Giving page here if you wanted to donate - seems a target of £2,020.20 is appropriate :)
Any support you can give will be greatly appreciated!
The Challenge Goes On
So there you have it folks, a quick digest and update of what this challenge is all about and how I'm getting on. The legs are just about coping but starting to show signs of wear already so I could probably do with some physio at some point but definitely no ice baths haha! I'm not THAT crazy :P
Catch you soon
Nicky
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Original article: https://nickyhavey.co.uk/2020/02/haveys-2020km-challenge-first-month-report-chosen-charity/