Why I WALK IT: Walking for a healthy mind

I am currently shielding so I was doing the NHS.uk exercises to keep me moving and working hard as a teacher to make sure my students were happy and had enough work. Then, one morning, I just woke up feeling really fed up and couldn't stop crying. My husband took me for a drive in the car to take my mind off things, and when I got home I started thinking of ways I can keep my mind and body healthy and get out of this mood. I thought I'd get up very early and go for a walk, or go out when it's raining and not many people would be around. I felt better after the first short walk and decided to do it every day, which is when I got an email telling me about My WALK IT.

I have never done WALK IT before. I wanted to do it last year but didn't really have the confidence as I'm not the fittest person in the world and I was worried I wouldn't get the whole way around. However when I got back from one of my walks and saw this email, I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to raise money for this brilliant charity whilst doing something I was already doing. I've used the website constantly during lockdown to find out the latest advice for shielders and what to do in case of a flare, so it feels good to be able to give something back. Another positive for my mental health!

I'm doing the walk alone to minimise my risk so I will listen to music like I do each morning. This stops me focussing on the distance and gives me a beat to walk to when I start flagging. On my daily walks I go around my local area, just in case I need to get home quickly, so I have my 10k route planned like this too and I will do it when there are not too many people around.

I think my biggest challenge will be my energy levels. 10K is a long way when you've been indoors for almost three months and, although I've been building my distance up daily, I'm still not quite there. I know My WALK IT can be done in two separate shifts, but I'm a bit stubborn and I really want to do it all in one go. I must admit though, it does feel good having the flexibility to stop if I need to.

If you're not sure if you can do it, give it a go with an early morning or evening walk. At first I wished I'd signed up for the 5k as I didn't think I'd do it, but having a challenge to focus on has really helped me. As for shielding, I really believe that you have to find a balance between keeping yourself safe from coronavirus and protecting your mental health. I get up at 6am, throw on some jeans and a t-shirt and hit the road and I hardly see another person so it's all safe. Some days I feel like staying in bed, but once I get out I'm so glad I did because it sets me up for the day and makes me feel motivated to get through.