October is a really key month for Sport Walkers because it marks the shift from the summer into the autumn and then winter. October is one of two ‘transition months’ and is a starting point, a month to refresh, reset and reboot your enthusiasm.
This might seem a little odd because for so many people it’s January that is the main transition month being the start of the new year but the thing is, the calendar isn’t really geared up for what we need, as Sport Walkers, or to give us the structural change to facilitate progress. October and March, on the other hand, do give us what we need – a point in the year to shift emphasis, to reset, reboot and prepare for what comes next.
Why does this matter you might ask? Why not simply just keep doing what you’re doing? Well, there’s the potential for repetition to breed boredom and for boredom to breed disinterest. Without reinvigorating our actions, our schedules from time to time, especially in line with the seasons so we can capitalise on what they each offer, we can just become stuck in a rut and that’s not good for anyone.
Variety, change, progress, differentiation, these all contribute to the things we do feeling alive and interesting. Each of the seasons of the year is roughly three months long (in terms of how it plays out practically in our lives) and so by making a shift every three months, in line with the seasons, we can increase the potential for it to remain feeling fresh and fulfilling.
Of course, every twelve months you’ll be repeating a process and your objectives don’t change, so in that respect, there is still repetition but it’s only repetition of the framework that you adopt, it’s not necessarily repetition of the exact thing you do and that offers enough space for variety that you don’t feel like it’s Groundhog Day.
We’re now on the cusp of one of two key, seasonal turning points in the year, so what’s involved and what should we be looking to do?
Do a little housekeeping
The first thing to do is to give all your Sport Walking kit a good once over and check that you have everything you need to carry you through autumn and winter. This means checking your shoes – are they still in good condition or do they need replacing? Are the shoes you’re using suitable for the winter months or do you need to look at changing to shoes with a waterproof lining, so your feet will remain comfortable (trust us, comfortable feet are crucial during winter).
What’s the condition of your main winter rain jacket? Has it had a lot of use, does it need reproofing or has it spent all summer in your vest and never once seen action? During autumn and winter, your rain jacket will become a critical piece of kit, even if you don’t find yourself walking a lot in the rain, so make sure it’s ready for this challenge now.
The main change you’ll notice as we move into autumn is the light. There’s less of it and it starts disappearing at a really inconvenient time – about half way through the afternoon! So make sure you’ve got what you need for walking in the dark because, trust us, if you aren’t prepared to walk in the dark during autumn and winter, then you’re going to struggle to get much done at all.
Do you have or use a head torch? If not, it’s seriously worth looking at getting one because they not only illuminate the way in front of you, they dramatically increase your visibility, so you don’t have to look like someone from Health and Safety when you go out. Yes, we know not everyone loves a high viz vest!
Seriously though, head torches are complete game changers for walking in the dark. They not only give you great illumination, they can actually make you feel more comfortable going out in the dark in the fist place. And let’s be honest, if you need to go out early or go out after work to get a planned walk done, whether you’re in training for an ultra or just having a walking workout for fitness, from the end of October onwards, it’s going to be dark!
But all this sneaking around your neighbourhood in the dead of night won’t do much if anything for your motivation so another really important factor in navigating autumn and winter is to invest more in your weekend walks. Not invest more in the sense that you pick more expensive places to visit but invest more in planning where you can go so that you have the most enriching and fulfilling walk possible because that can carry you through the long dark working week.
Winter weekends are a really important time for the Sport Walker because it’s really pretty tough extracting anything of value from you weekday walking workouts or training walks. For these sessions, when it’s cold, dark and maybe wet, you just need to go out and get it done. Do the workout or the training walk you’ve planned and not worry too much about where your route goes, except to include any necessary hills or other tests that you want to feature.
When the weekend comes, you will have done the physical work you need up to this point but your psychological needs probably won’t have been met, so that’s the time to reward yourself with a great strong walk in beautiful countryside (if you can) and on trails or tracks that give you a lot of visual value. So that’s big views, challenging and fulfilling terrain, lots of nature and, possibly, other walkers to meet along the way.
So as October takes hold, start really putting some effort into your planning for your weekend walks. Try to ensure you’re building seasonal interest into every walk, as well as going places that really feed you. So seek out woodland that’s maybe turning a fiery shade of red or yellow, an expansive hill with views across autumnal forests or even country parks where you might witness deer rutting (from a safe distance of course).
If you always try to keep in mind current seasonal features and seek to plot out routes that give you the best chance of experiencing them, you can make sure that you’re getting the most out of what autumn and winter have to offer. You see although these may be the dullest parts of the year, there’s still aspects of autumn and winter that offer a lot.
A bright, freezing, crisp morning in the depths of winter, where the ground is rock solid and there’s frost all around, takes some beating and can feel almost as great as a walk in high summer. So don’t just let these seasons happen to you, embrace them, identify the best bits and try to incorporate them into your walks. That way you’ll feel connected to the winter seasons, not just a hostage to them.
Lots to think about then and lots to do! Preparation is everything because if you’re prepared, you can get the best out of any autumn or winter day and it all starts in October, so get planning, reviewing and preparing, then you can really make the best of the season.