At Your Mercy
Posted in Boots are Made for Walkin on August 17th, 2007 by JennyErin and I throw ourselves at your mercy - well kind of. We are humbly requesting your opinion to help decide what to do next in regards to our walking dare.
A reminder of what we agreed to:
- Walk 15 of Minnesota’s 19 state trails, totaling 554 miles/892 kilometers;
- Complete the trails by the end of November 2007; and
- Walk every single inch of every trail we have chosen, including all offshoots and additional loops.
Where we are at:
- To date, we have walked 164 miles/264 kilometers;
- Two of the longest trails we have yet to complete are over 100 miles away and require several days of walking. Both times we have tried to complete these trails we have had to leave early due to injuries and poor weather. Our schedules do not allow making these overnight trips again;
- With the limited time to make overnight trips, it is unlikely we will finish the trails unless something dramatic happens; and
- We are 150 miles behind our original schedule (blah!).
Where you come in:
I spoke with my friend who started this dare about our current situation. She thought it would be especially amusing to put the decision of what we do next in the hands of our readers (yeah, I am surrounded by comedians). So Erin and I literally are at your mercy…
- Substitute one of the further away trails for a different, non “state” trail of the same length. This local trail does not require hours of driving or overnight stays;
- Keep pushing forward doing our best, regardless of whether or not finishing by the end of November is truly possible;
- Extend the date of the when we should have the walking dare complete, likely into next summer because we get a lot of snow and ice here starting in November; or
- Quit.
Can we substitute a trail outside of the original dare parameters so we can finish? Should we just keep on pushing through on the original challenge, even though finishing would be unlikely? Keep on working on it next summer? Should we quit? (Neither Erin nor I are keen on, but it is an option…) What do you think?
August 17th, 2007 at 6:45 am
I promised I wouldn’t say this in the post so I didn’t but I really, really don’t want to quit! I would rather keep walking and not finish. Please don’t suggest quitting. Please.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:05 am
I’d ask what’s the most important part, completing the dare before November, or completing all the state trails.
If it were me I’d not worry about the time limit and simply aim to complete all the trails as soon as reasonably possible (i.e., whenever weather permits)
August 17th, 2007 at 10:59 am
I say that as the goal is to walk, I say keep to the core “function” of the dare and ….Substitute one of the further away trails for a different, non “state” trail of the same length.
August 17th, 2007 at 11:32 am
I’m in agreement with Mark. It’s about the experience, not the specifics. Forget the deadline (well, give yourself more time, anyway), and complete the task.
Having a deadline is certainly useful (it helps to prevent TOO much procrastination), but having an impossible deadline is far more harmful than useful. Figure out a deadline that is reasonable based on your current status, and use that.
August 18th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I admire your tenacity with the walking. You establish your personal goals and the timeline will be your own, whether or not it changes. It would be fascinating if more people kept track of how far they walked and where and why. Many people do such things unconsciously. Personally, I’ve participated in walk-a-thons and other fundraisers, but seldom keep track of distances for other reasons. I have one friend with a counter that measures how many steps she walks. You may have heard of the gadget?
August 20th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Hi Jen! I think it would be very cool if you eventually complete your original goal. It doesn’t matter how many summers it takes to walk all the state trails, but it does matter (to you and only to you) that you said you would do it and you do it. I think that will be the ultimate reward. And hey, bragging rights have to be worth something! In the meantime, if walking is truly the goal, you are free to walk wherever and whenever the spirit moves you. Happy trails - Jo
August 21st, 2007 at 7:31 am
Hi Jo! Thanks for weighing in!! Long time since we’ve talked. The quilt you made me has a new prominent position in my place.
Give my love to the relevant men in your life.
Jen
August 21st, 2007 at 7:51 am
Thanks everyone for your feedback. Jenny and I were secretly hoping that it was the trails we could adjust (thanks John), but it is clear that instead it is the time line. I think in the long run we will be happier with the decision to push the end date back and give us some more time to enjoy the trails - the trails we originally set out to walk - rather than turning the dare into a death march. Off we go!
August 25th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Jenny,
The delays in completing your goals were beyond your control-nobody wants to get hurt and no one controls the weather.
Extend the deadline to complete the dare by the walks that didn’t happen because of injury or weather. If that goes into next summer, so be it, Minnesota in the winter is not a friend to long, long walks.
Dennis
August 25th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Appreciate your kind words Dennis! Thanks for commenting and all the water…
How you been? I’ll email you.
August 27th, 2007 at 5:13 am
[…] we are taking your advice and are continuing the walks. We are going to keep the original trail miles and allow our timeline […]
September 13th, 2007 at 6:53 am
I came back to this thread thinking about the evolution of views of comfortable footwear. People develop an understanding about which shoes are supposedly appropriate for which activity. Stilettos likely wouldn’t be a great choice for a long hike, unless you’re a real glutton for punishment. Cowboy boots probably wouldn’t be too comfortable for that either. Its curious how cultural associations and assumptions arise.
Consider the modern Marathon marks run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message “Niki!” (”victory”), then collapsed and died. His fate supposedly related more to sudden heart failure than not wearing shoes. Would you hike without em?
September 13th, 2007 at 7:18 am
“His fate supposedly related more to sudden heart failure than not wearing shoes. Would you hike without em?”
PS. Erin walked barefoot with me - same experience on her end with feels great and then suddenly, whoops! the skin is bright red and hurting
September 13th, 2007 at 8:13 am
Maybe over time the whole barefoot thing would work better. I’m sure evolutionarily our feet are made to withstand it. However, I am scared to think about how our feet would end up looking with all of the the calluses.