And there it is.

And with that, the challenge set down by Random Internet Woman is done. 30 days, 30 walks. I hit two out of my three goals which were walking every day, walking more than 30 miles over the month and a stretch goal of doing over 40 miles.

I fell just short of the 40 miles by clocking in around 38 miles. The cancelled walk with Nerdy Girl would have seen me easily cross that, but it would have put at risk the daily part of the challenge. All in all, I'm satisfied with how things went.

While it doesn't seem like an awful lot (we're talking roughly 20 minutes per day), it hasn't been easy. Motivation to leave the house has been, at times, tough. There was the leg pain/possible shin splints that seemed like it might be getting a little better. Is the walking just building up the strength in the leg meaning that while the pain does come, it feels like it's getting later into the walk? But, I did all 30 days, and I'm quietly proud of that.

I've been sleeping better and I might have lost some weight (I've not been tracking it, but it feels like it). my back pain has eased, though it is not totally gone. It's more difficult to quantify the mental health aspects. I'm not sure I'm in a better headspace as a direct result of the exercise, and things have been tough this month with work deadlines and family issues to contend with.

I don't know what I'm going to do next. I want to get back into yoga to get some stretching done to address the back pain. I guess, it'll be a combination of walking and yoga. If I walk, I won't do yoga, and vice versa and unless I get a real burst of energy, I'm unlikely to do both on the same day. But I want to continue doing something.

Oh, K.

Out of the blue, I dreamed about K last night. It was a very adult dream if you catch my drift. I was passing through the town where she lives. We bumped into each other, went for a drink and one thing led to another. We adjourned back to my hotel and enjoyed each other all night long.

It's the first time I've thought of K in I don't know how long. It's the first time in ages I can remember a dream and it's the first time in ages that I've had a sex-focused dream.

I will always be disappointed in how and why our friendship faded away, but I am still adamant that most of the blame lies with K herself if you want to call it that.

Looky here.

I made a trip into the office today. Not strictly voluntary because we had some Big Cheeses visiting from head office visiting for a celebration event. We've had a rough year, so I don't think they're reading the room that well.

Regardless, the point of this post was that I bumped into SSCW. We chatted briefly. She was looking mighty fine. We were heading in roughly the same direction, so off we went. She put her arm through mine. A couple of co-workers were leaving at the same time and gave quizzical looks as I walked off. I'm expecting several IMs tomorrow.

Rain check.

Nerdy Girl just texted. She's not feeling well, so can we reschedule until next week? That's not a problem, but I'd been relying on tonight's walk to get across the line, from a challenge perspective.

There's other stuff going on as well, and I'm mentally exhausted.

Countdown.

Nerdy Girl sent a few text messages asking to reschedule our walk, then again, then again. I had no issue with that, but it appeared she had a clash with someone who didn't have a clue what was going on. She explained later that she was doing something with her mum and her mum had gotten confused about dates, hence the rearrangements.

We're back to meeting tomorrow evening, our original plan. I'm both apprehensive and excited. It'll be great to see Nerdy Girl, but it's more about the walk.  This is the first I've done since starting the challenge with Random Internet Woman. And while I've been walking more frequently, I've not done anything over a mile and a half. Will that help me out with the blisters and pain that I usually get after doing six miles with Nerdy Girl? I hope so.

If not, it'll likely be the end of the challenge. I'll be disappointed if that's the case because it'd mean not completing the core goal, which is to get out every day. But I think, if I get today and tomorrow done, I might actually achieve my secondary goals even if Tuesday is the end of the challenge for me.

Hello again.

My apprehension about meeting FP's widow last night was unfounded. It was nice to see her, and I think she needed someone to talk to who wasn't family. We met in CB Pub and I'd thought I'd be out for maybe a couple of hours, tops. However, it was near 11 PM when I returned home, from meeting her at 7 PM. She's having a rough time of it and she still has to deal with the fallout of FP's passing. While they were preparing for the worst, the complications leading to his passing came around a lot quicker than they'd expected and so a lot of the paperwork wasn't completed.

But as we parted, she seemed a little happier than when she'd arrived. She's asked me to do a few favours for her, which I am happy enough to do, so we're likely to see each other soon, albeit not socially.

That's two days in a row I've been social, so I am really looking forward to a day by myself. Perhaps on the sofa with a good film and the new soundbar.

Hear me out.

I treated myself to a soundbar recently. Actually, it's less of a treat and more of a tool because I am pretty sure my hearing is starting to go. I have had tinnitus in my right ear for years. It's started in my left ear, too. If I am out in a crowded place, it's difficult to hear what people say.

My TV's speakers are mounted in the back, often making for muffled sounds. So I bought a cheap-ish soundbar to have forward-facing speakers and I have to say I'm quite pleased so far.

I set it up this morning, turned on the TV to test it out and got side-tracked by Daniela Ruah in NCIS: Los Angeles. Regular readers will be aware that I like certain things in women, and Daniela Ruah ticks a lot of those boxes: athletic, attractive, great smile and nice eyes. And curves.

So, yeah, it was only after watching the TV for around 30 minutes that I remembered why I was sitting in front of the TV and put on something meaty to test it out.

Hurrah.

And the pattern repeats itself. I've always been regarded as being the social one. If I'm working with a group of people that I like, then I'll build team spirit by being social - suggesting lunches, trips into the office etc.

And yesterday was another example of that - we took the afternoon off, hit a few pubs, had a late lunch and came home early-ish. It was all my idea. I arranged it, and cajoled people into attending.

And judging from the messages in the WhatsApp group this morning, people had a great time and are already talking about another one.

Decisions, decisions.

I think I have nailed KfW2 down for doing something social. The problem is that I've already tentatively agreed to see S that weekend. His friend is over from London, and nights out with her are usually great fun.

So I might have to make a decision on that one (no decision really, if they're on the same night, then I'm picking KfW2), but if I get lucky then they'll be on separate nights and I can do both.

I do hope it's the latter. I've not seen The Crowd in months... possibly since the Chloe night from December last year.

Or maybe there's a third option where I can combine the two? I'd much prefer to get KfW2 out on her own seeing as it's been months since I've last seen her, but she might be interested in seeing The Crowd. She got along with them well enough, I think.

Forward thinking.

I was thinking about seeing if Nerdy Girl fancied a walk this week, but then I remembered that I have a habit of finishing our walks in a little pain and with blisters. And I wouldn't want that to put an end to my challenge with Randon Internet Woman seeing as that's currently going quite well, and there's just over a week to go.

I did send her a message to see if she wants a walk early next week. She suggested Tuesday which is pretty much ideal. And even if my feet do hurt and get blisters, I'll have more than done enough to achieve the secondary goal, which is to average more than a mile per day.

Now that I'm getting near the end of the challenge, it's time to think about what my next steps might be (no pun intended). My thoughts from earlier in the month were to try and keep up the walking. It's not a huge distance though it has been difficult at times to motivate myself into going out. But my back pain has eased and my sleep is better. And to build on what I have achieved, I thought maybe about getting back into my yoga. 

USHW, who sent an email just as I started typing this post, suggested easing into that with some stretching first. That's a good idea because while the yoga that I like does involve stretching, I have felt some tightness in my legs as well as some actual pain (shin splints I think) when I try to walk at my normal, natural pace. So maybe that's the plan for December, to start stretching with a view to progressing into my old yoga programme by the end of that month.

HBNV

I'm doing yet another run-through of My Name is Earl (you gotta love those mid-2000s hipster jeans and crop/belly tops) and IMDB shared that it's Nadine Velazquez's birthday today.

Out and about.

After being out two nights in a row with G (rock and roll), I potentially have another few social events this coming week. FP's widow has suggested getting together, and I have an afternoon in the pub with my current co-workers that I'm looking forward to.

That means this is easily the busiest week, socially speaking, I've had in many years.

Get along.

I was out with G last night at a local sporting event. It was cold, raining and windy, but I still had a good time. One thing of note was G randomly telling me that he really liked KfW2 (in a platonic sense). I mean, I've made my own posts before about how awesome I think she is, and GM has been very vocal in sharing his opinion of her. But to the best of my knowledge, KfW2 and G have only met twice and neither time was under great conditions.

That's by the by. I love it when two friends get along. And KfW2 is my closest friend and G is my oldest friend.

The name's...

I've always been a massive James Bond fan, specifically the films. They were just great fun. The Daniel Craig era has been hugely disappointing. Casino Royale was excellent and, in my opinion, the films have dropped in quality with each passing release.

The last one, No Time to Die, was a travesty, but it did have Ana de Armas. She was easily the film's highlight.

Too late.

FP's wife texted me last night. It's the first we've communicated since the funeral. I feel guilty. I've been meaning to reach out, but the past two months have been super busy for me and I've been dealing with my own stuff.

I've replied. I've apologised and offered to meet for coffee/drinks/whatever.

Funk

Swapping messages with Random Internet Woman is becoming too fiddly on Reddit. She's been desperate to chat with me... to have an actual phone call with me. But I've been reluctant to make that change.

I can't put my finger on one specific reason. I've tended to keep my online life and real life separate, for the most part. There's also this nagging doubt at the back of my mind about how... keen? Is that the right word? About how keen RIW is to maintain contact on a daily basis, despite us only messaging for a few weeks and barely knowing anything about each other.

We've moved to email. My suggestion. But one that she seemed very bemused or frustrated by. I like the conversation with RIW, don't get me wrong, but I've always had reservations. Maybe it's her drive to move the conversation forward, to suggest we have phone calls, to suggest we swap real-life names (I know hers) and a few suggestions that I travel to England... not specifically to see her, though she has suggested (quite seriously I think) that she'd act as a tour guide if I were in her neighborhood.

This evening, I'm in a real funk and it's messing with my head a little. The funk, I think, is just a lot of real-life stuff catching up with me. But... I dunno. It feels different this time, and my mood is all over the place.

Time off.

The joy of mismanaging my holiday time throughout the year is that I always have a glut of time to take at the end of the year. So, from now until the end of the year, I am on a four-day week. And I still have some days to take, so some of those weeks will be a three-day week.

Last year, a semi-impromptu night out with The Crowd last December resulted in meeting Chloe.

I don't know what I'm going to do with the time off, but I will enjoy not being at work.

The weekend.

G's home this weekend. I don't know when I'm due to see him, but I will see him at least once. M might tag along, too. We've not seen each other in a few months. It'll be interesting to catch up with him. I'm looking forward to the weekend.

I also need to chase up KfW2 because I've offered to have her at mine for drinks.

Hello again.

CC sent a message last week. She needed a favour. It was the first I'd heard from her in months. I realise that I could have reached out at any time, but CC can be annoying or she can be great company, and you never know until you meet. When she came to collect her favour, we talked about having dinner this week. She seemed keen but was unable to commit due to prior commitments whose details she couldn't remember.

Well, she's just texted asking if I am free tonight.

I am, so we're having dinner tonight for the first time since mid-July and I am looking forward to it.

Well I never.

I have to say that it's been quite the eye-opener about how much better I feel after "only" walking a mile a day. For the record, that's about 20 minutes of very light exercise. I'm sleeping better and my back, which has been problematic for the past month or so, is giving me less grief.

I know that articles often say you don't need to be doing much, but it's different seeing it in action.

Quick Digest

Two things to note for today: Facebook reminded me that it was the anniversary of one of the nights out when CH got handsy. I definitely remember at least one incident that evening where she slid her hand down my back and rested it on my ass.

Secondly, I did my walk today and the leg pain came back. It wasn't entirely unexpected. I was pushing myself quite hard as it started to rain quite heavily as I left the house and I wanted to get the walk over and done with. I probably could have just gone back inside and waited it out, but it had taken me quite a while to motivate myself to leave the house and I might not have left again.

Go me!

Phew that was tough. Not the walk. That was actually not that bad. I did the same route, though in reverse after a suggestion from USHW that maybe my pains were brought on by trying the uphill portion of the route too early in the walk and my muscles not being sufficiently warmed up.

Well, I got through the walk without too much pain. There were a few pangs towards the end, but nothing specific to one area and I'm assuming that this is a result of being a lazy bastard over the past three and a bit years and not being flexible enough.

So, some positivity. The tough part was motivating myself to leave the house, albeit only for 20 minutes to do the lap.

Remember me?

Sports Girl appeared on my Facebook feed today. That's not unusual in itself, but this time she posted a picture of her in a posh dress from an event around a hobby of hers from a few years ago.

It might even be the same event that she was adamant that I attend, and when I showed my face, she was too drunk to even realise I was there.

She really was an attractive, sexy woman. Shame she was batshit insane.

Speaking of Facebook, I defriended QC3 a few weeks ago. There are only so many ellipses that I can take in her posts.

Phew!

I wasn't planning on giving a daily update on the challenge with RIW, but the leg pain on the first day was a huge cause for concern.

Luckily, today, I could do the distance without too many worries. It was, admittedly, a different route with different footwear, but I did the distance in roughly the same timeframe.

I'll be back to my regular route tomorrow, so it'll be interesting to see if it's route-related (hills) or something else or a one-off.

WTF?

Hang on... for the past few weeks I've been doing the odd walk. From my parents' house to mine. It's just short of about a mile and a half. And I've been doing it with no issues. I've done 6-mile walks with Nerdy Girl with no issues apart from blisters.

However, today, on the first day of my November challenge with Random Internet Woman I developed sharp pains in my right leg. It might be shin splints. I had something similar many years ago and the physiotherapist I was seeing at the time for something else suggested it was shin splints.

Sigh.