Time to break out my pink chucks and rack up some miles for my virtual walk to Denver.

Keep It Up, David! is one of my favorite weight loss blogs and I’m shamelessly stealing one of his terrific exercise ideas. I’m going to walk the country like Kane in Kung Fu and get into adventures!

Actually, I’m tracking my cardio miles — walking, running, cycling and swimming — and using Google Maps for a virtual run across the country.

I started keeping weekly totals of my miles about 4 months ago. It’s another great way to push myself. But I love the idea of tracking cardio miles with Google Maps. Tracking the miles is nice, but putting those miles against a map gives you a new perspective on what you’ve accomplished.

My initial goal was to run a total of 2650 miles, the distance from my home to Bakersfield, CA, where my friend (and one of my biggest weight loss boosters) lives. But thanks to my injury, that seems a little ambitious (sorry Miss E!). Pre-injury, I averaged about 55 miles a week. But since I’m not allowed to run and I’m giving up spin while my knee heals, I think I need a more realistic goal.

So now I’ve set my sights on Denver, CO. That’s roughly 1700 miles!

That doesn’t mean Bakersfield is out of the question. Heck, if I reach Denver before the end of the year, then I see no problem striking out towards California.

As For “Getting Into Adventures”
What really excited me was the little nuggets of info that Keep It Up, David offered in his Cardio to Vegas challenge about the areas his virtual path lead him. It reminded me when I lived in Arizona, how my roommate and I would toss a dart at a map of the state and take a day trip to where the dart landed. It’s a great way to go exploring.

Well now I can do it again with this little project, albeit after a workout and with the help of The Google.

Fun, healthy and educational. That’s what you want in a challenge!