Looking back in the last six months, it seems that despite a few setbacks health wise, I’ve seemed to gain a new addiction.

What is that you’re asking?

My name is Robbie and I’m addicted to taking part in fun walks.

Please explain

Ok so hear me out. Somehow a friend of mine mentioned this and mentioned how they were doing the MS Walk around Albert Park in May 2022. Somehow that motivated me to take part, as I was looking for a challenge- previously I was planning on doing the Stadium Stomp but first that got postponed because of Covid and then life got in the way.

So I ended up focusing on that- it was happening at the end of my annual leave which was perfect timing! I even attempted to do a few practice laps of Albert Park before the big day- a big fail as I tried one up (5km) and bailed on the second; which could have been an ominous sign as I had signed up to do two laps (10kms), with my thinking being “go hard or go home!”

Never mind though- I increased my general walking whenever I could do it wasn’t like I was a total lazy douche canoe, hell when I was in Sydney a few weeks prior to the big day, I ensured I walked everywhere and included doing laps across the Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of the routine- which isn’t that crazy because the distance across the bridge isn’t that long (about 10 minutes to walk across), and fairly flat (some incline not many), with the hardest part being the steps climbing from the ground below up to the bridge level.

Anyway- signs were looking good I decided to test myself to a stay in the city the night before and the night after the event, to make it easier to get to the event. I took advantage of the hotel infinity pool the day before as well as the gym, to get the last minute gentle workout involved- and I carb loaded the night before by a lovely a pasta at Pellegrini’s.

Before I knew it, the big morning came around and I was mostly excited. Not surprisingly, I did have a bit of anxiety when I got the event and my body reacted in its usual way. But I powered through it and had my eyes on the prize- the accomplishment of achieving something that was bigger then me. I had my fuel consumed and my water ready- I was determined to nail this thing!

And as soon as I took the first steps across the line, it was on like Donkey Kong! I wasn’t at the very front, but neither was I near the end- I was probably a quarter of the way near the start and I was excited!

As I had done a practice attempt, I was aware of the general layout of the path (the walk did a few diversions) so psychologically I knew what to expect- a generally flat track, with landmarks for my brain to associate with progress and progress I did make- I had my headphones on (I can’t remember what I listened to looking back on it), and I was making good times- before I knew it I was almost near the end of lap 1, and got talking to a lovely fellow walker.

And soon it was time to power through to lap 2 and towards the 10km mark- all the whole wondering how awesome this was and how psychologically speaking, it was a hell of a lot easier then my practice attempt!

The weather turned out to be on our side as it was a gloriously sunny day that Melbourne can put on- but only when it wants to! And it was an omen- for soon on my second lap (about the 7.5km mark) I soon found myself actually lapping people!

While I know that’s not important- after all we’re raising money for charity (sadly only one person donated money)- the psychological impact of it was a massive endorphin boost! I couldn’t believe I was actually lapping people- I didn’t think I had it in me but I did!

Soon enough, it was time to pass the finish line and I did- I was mostly happy with my time as while I didn’t have a specific time I wanted to make, I had a rough figure I wanted to achieve and I mostly achieved it- I had aimed to achieve it in 90 minutes (a figure I calculated based on my average time/distance along the St Kilda/Port Melbourne foreshore being 55 minutes at a somewhat comparable distance of circa 6km), and I achieved it in 93.

And with that victory completed I present you the following

The 2022 MS Walk+Run+Roll Medal- a sustainable medal made of wood, that’ll have a special place in my heart

Intermission

So just after this major achievement of mine, I had a massive attack of vertigo which is a symptom of the Meniere's disease- which I was diagnosed with in 2020 (during bloody lockdown!)- and six months on as I write this, I’m not fully recovered from this latest bout, but I do have a target of when I should see an improvement (no surprise I am determined to beat that target!)

Anyway, despite this I had been thinking about taking part in the fun walk part of the Nike Melbourne Marathon- a distance of only 3km, but you end up finishing with a lap of the hollowed turf of the Melbourne Cricket Ground!

Despite the fact that for essentially the entire month of June 2022, I was literally bed ridden due to being unable to have any form of balance, this target was always on the back of my mind- I wanted something to focus on, something positive to work towards for when I got better.

After many sessions with both my GP (who eventually gave me some medicine which helped me regain my balance somehow!), and many sessions working on my balance and gait with my awesome osteopath(!), I decided to say “fuck it” and signed up for the walk- worst case being that I simply didn’t take part, but still raising money for a charity (in this case I chose to fundraise for Minus 18).

And before I knew it it was soon October and nearly time for the walk!

It’s amazing to look back on it and look at how fast July, August and September went by, I found a pattern that would help me; often I would go for a walk in the water at my local beach which helped me regain my balance with resistance from the waves, along with increasing my walks in my local area. I was also attempting to get back into work- a few false starts along the way and a few since then, but on a whole I have found the grove again.

While this was happening, I also had the support of some really awesome and caring people in my life. I’ve always enjoyed getting to know people more- as a writer I love hearing about peoples own stories- and this one person helped me through a really bad spot in my life. So to this person- I say many thanks and I owe you a few cases of beer!

Anyway, the day of the walk soon arrived and I found myself amongst many others at Batman Avenue ready for yet another sunshine filled day of excitement and fundraising- this time I had more people donate to my cause and smashed the fundraising target out of the park!

Thankfully this time I was less nervous and anxious as I now knew what I was doing, plus I was walking to the start line I did see my friend who got me into all of this- so a friendly face is always a good tonic for the nerves!

Anyway, soon we were off and as per normal, my headphones were in and I was smashing it! A bit more crowded then the MS Walk, Melbourne put on yet another glorious day and soon enough, we were crossing the old Jolimont Rail Yards twice then meandering towards Birrarung Marr, before then heading towards William Barrak Bridge and the mighty G!

At this point I won’t lie and admit to getting excited, for being able to get onto the hollowed turf of the G was a dream of mine! And soon enough I was on it and heading across the finish line in another acceptable time- I had a rough aim of doing the 3km walk in around 30 minutes and I kicked it out of the path in 33 minutes!

Personal Figures for the 2022 3km Nike Melbourne Marathon Fun Walk

The Home Stretch and The New Start

So with two fun walks done, my mind was running a millions mile an hour and I was determined to find a new challenge.

October and November were passing us buy and sadly I was having more bad days then good in regards to my health, but yet I was determined to always look forward and I knew better days were ahead. except I just didn’t know when (to be fair none of us do, do we?)

Anyway, what was a constant was the fact on my Facebook feed were ads for virtual fitness events called The Conqueror Virtual Fitness Challenges . I kept looking at them, and they kept appealing to me. So one day in early December I decided to say “screw it” and signed up for the first one- the 33km English Channel Challenge. The reason the virtual fitness challenge appealed to me was because you could specify the time frame you wanted to a achieve it in and you don’t have to achieve it in all one go- so you can log a 1km walk one day, a 5km bike ride another day and so on.

So to pace myself, I decided to give myself 42 days to achieve this challenge- I could always adjust it if need be, just to see how I would go and if I would enjoy it.

The short answer is I loved it and kicked it out of the part- so much so that I soon signed up for the next challenge and and soon kicked THAT out of the park. I’ll show you the screenshots- the second challenge I kicked butt at was the 42km Marathon to Athens.

The finishing location in Athens is a place I’ve been to in real life and it’s amazing :D

First Virtual Medal- The English Channel

The Future and Beyond

So as you can see despite the crappy six months, it’s also been an enjoyable six months with my Medals of Progress.

I have the bug for this thing now and I intend on maximisng my effort as my health allows it. I’ll attach a screenshot of my next virtual adventures- as you can see I’ve a itch and I’m going to enjoy scratching the itch; the only issue being is how will I display all the medals?

To the awesome people who’ve supported me- thank you so much.

Apologies for the long post, but hopefully now you can see why they mean so much to me