Achieved the first goal of the year & HPUD... my training diary ent...

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_{(Today there is no photo, but a screenshot from my Garmin app.)}

Hi Actifitters,

as announced yesterday, I had a very special challenge ahead of me, one I'd been thinking about for well over a year – walking at least 50 kilometers. Yesterday, the day finally arrived.

Knowing the whole thing would take quite a while, I packed my backpack the day before. I also went for a test run the day before yesterday to familiarize myself with the road conditions. Luckily, it wasn't quite as slippery yesterday as I had feared based on my short test walk.

Because of the snow, the icy conditions, and the uncertainty of what surprises awaited me on my journey, I prepared well. I packed a second pair of shoes, ice cleats, two pairs of spare socks, shirts, a thermos of hot tea, plenty of water, bananas, and protein and energy bars. Blister plasters and chamois cream, to prevent chafing or blisters if necessary, were also included, as was a power bank. My backpack weighed over 10 kilograms at the start.

I set off shortly after 7 a.m. After just two kilometers, I took off my sweater, even though the temperature was still just below freezing. It was simply too warm with a shirt, sweater, and jacket. The base layer, now the only layer under my jacket, kept me dry the entire way, and I never felt cold. But that also meant a bit more weight on my shoulders, which at times almost killed me.

After about 20 kilometers, I noticed the first pain in my left shin muscle. While this distracted me somewhat from the unpleasant pulling sensation in my right shoulder, I still had over 30 kilometers to go, and it worried me greatly that the physical decline was already starting so early.

The next 10 kilometers went quite well, and the pain was manageable during this time. Then, however, the trail led into a floodplain along the Isar River. Apparently, not many people are out and about on this side of the river. On this stretch, I occasionally had to find my own way, as the path wasn't always clear. It involved going under and over fallen trees and sometimes through thick undergrowth. This section severely impacted my motivation, as progress was quite slow and the pain intensified.

It wasn't long before I decided to take the first painkiller. The pain in my shin muscle had simply become too intense. After half an hour I took the second painkiller. It took another 30 minutes for the pain to subside. From that moment on, my mental state improved. It was a real relief to be able to walk pain-free again. A positive side effect was that my shoulder no longer hurt from the heavy backpack.

From then on, I just kept going and didn't think about it anymore. The last 10 kilometers became a bit adventurous again due to the onset of darkness, but even that went quite well.

My knees stiffened up during the last hour, and I had to do some light stretching exercises every now and then. When I got back to my hometown, I decided to make a quick stop at the Greek restaurant to get a gyro pita roll. It was such a relief to have something warm to eat. I ate the roll during the last kilometer and was incredibly happy when I finally got home and put the key in the lock.

To my surprise, I have hardly any problems today. I can feel my shin muscle slightly, but apart from a slight muscle ache in my legs, everything is okay.

Besides the new distance record, I also managed to set a new record for steps. According to Garmin, I took just over 75,000 steps. Actifit was a bit too generous with the count yesterday.

Today is all about rest and relaxation before I get back on my bike tomorrow.

Finally, let's briefly talk about the HPUD. Of course, I participated again and powered up a few Hive as you can see on the following screenshot.