How far is too far to walk to work?

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I want to start walking more, and I'm considering trying to walk to work/class but I live about a half hour with public transit away from my job/school (I work at the university). It's 7.8km which, at my slow pace, is probably two hours away. Is that reasonable? Anyone else walk a long distance to/from work/school/anywhere?
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Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    Eh, that would be too far for me just because I don't have the time. I've been trying to get off the train a couple stops early in order to get a few extra miles in per week. You could try that at first, eventually getting off farther if time permits. Or you could walk two hours to and from work...doesn't sound sustainable to me.
  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Eh, that would be too far for me just because I don't have the time. I've been trying to get off the train a couple stops early in order to get a few extra miles in per week. You could try that at first, eventually getting off farther if time permits. Or you could walk two hours to and from work...doesn't sound sustainable to me.

    I like your idea of getting off a few stops earlier though, that sounds like a great way to give it a test-run! I don't know if I would want to walk to AND from work, at least not at once; I had thought to do one or the other now that the weather in Montreal is finally turning pleasant again, but that IS still two hours of my day walking.... But nobody said being healthy would be easy!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    Agree with arditarose. Get off the bus or train a couple of stops early to start with and increase the stops as you build walking endurance.

    Cheers, h.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Eh, that would be too far for me just because I don't have the time. I've been trying to get off the train a couple stops early in order to get a few extra miles in per week. You could try that at first, eventually getting off farther if time permits. Or you could walk two hours to and from work...doesn't sound sustainable to me.

    I like your idea of getting off a few stops earlier though, that sounds like a great way to give it a test-run! I don't know if I would want to walk to AND from work, at least not at once; I had thought to do one or the other now that the weather in Montreal is finally turning pleasant again, but that IS still two hours of my day walking.... But nobody said being healthy would be easy!

    Oh yeah! A lot of people spend a few hours a day walking. Maybe I'm just a lazy butt. But yeah, getting off the train a few stops early has been nice. I usually listen to fitness/nutrition podcasts while I walk too so I've learned a lot while trying to increase NEAT

  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Eh, that would be too far for me just because I don't have the time. I've been trying to get off the train a couple stops early in order to get a few extra miles in per week. You could try that at first, eventually getting off farther if time permits. Or you could walk two hours to and from work...doesn't sound sustainable to me.

    I like your idea of getting off a few stops earlier though, that sounds like a great way to give it a test-run! I don't know if I would want to walk to AND from work, at least not at once; I had thought to do one or the other now that the weather in Montreal is finally turning pleasant again, but that IS still two hours of my day walking.... But nobody said being healthy would be easy!

    Oh yeah! A lot of people spend a few hours a day walking. Maybe I'm just a lazy butt. But yeah, getting off the train a few stops early has been nice. I usually listen to fitness/nutrition podcasts while I walk too so I've learned a lot while trying to increase NEAT

    Podcasts are my go-to way to keep my mind active while I work out too! I'll definitely try getting off early come Monday. Maybe I'll do the reverse when I leave work and walk along the metro paths until I'm tired enough to get on :smiley:
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Eh, that would be too far for me just because I don't have the time. I've been trying to get off the train a couple stops early in order to get a few extra miles in per week. You could try that at first, eventually getting off farther if time permits. Or you could walk two hours to and from work...doesn't sound sustainable to me.

    I like your idea of getting off a few stops earlier though, that sounds like a great way to give it a test-run! I don't know if I would want to walk to AND from work, at least not at once; I had thought to do one or the other now that the weather in Montreal is finally turning pleasant again, but that IS still two hours of my day walking.... But nobody said being healthy would be easy!

    Oh yeah! A lot of people spend a few hours a day walking. Maybe I'm just a lazy butt. But yeah, getting off the train a few stops early has been nice. I usually listen to fitness/nutrition podcasts while I walk too so I've learned a lot while trying to increase NEAT

    Podcasts are my go-to way to keep my mind active while I work out too! I'll definitely try getting off early come Monday. Maybe I'll do the reverse when I leave work and walk along the metro paths until I'm tired enough to get on :smiley:

    Nice! Enjoy :)
  • Madwife2009
    Madwife2009 Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I wouldn't walk that distance twice a day but I'd happily cycle it.
  • Naaer
    Naaer Posts: 212 Member
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    Sounds like a lot to me...I agree with the posts saying to get off the train early...A two hour walk twice a day would be EXHAUSTING...Just my opinion...
  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
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    I wouldn't walk that distance twice a day but I'd happily cycle it.

    Man, I've never been a very good cyclist, but maybe I should give that a shot too! My poor bike has been gathering dust :P
  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
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    Naaer wrote: »
    Sounds like a lot to me...I agree with the posts saying to get off the train early...A two hour walk twice a day would be EXHAUSTING...Just my opinion...

    I don't disagree, just the thought of it makes me wanna nap :P but at the same time, the idea that over time I could walk it in a shorter amount of time, or not be exhausted by the idea alone has put a bit of a fire in my belly!! :grin:
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    Naaer wrote: »
    Sounds like a lot to me...I agree with the posts saying to get off the train early...A two hour walk twice a day would be EXHAUSTING...Just my opinion...

    I don't disagree, just the thought of it makes me wanna nap :P but at the same time, the idea that over time I could walk it in a shorter amount of time, or not be exhausted by the idea alone has put a bit of a fire in my belly!! :grin:

    While a challenge is great, it's also good to start with something sustainable that you can adhere to! If you start with a two hour walk and you last a week...is that as optimal as getting off the train a mile early and sustaining that for...possibly a lifetime? heh. Do I sound demotivating? I don't mean to be!
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    I'd start by getting on the bus/train one stop later and off one stop earlier and then steadily increase the number of stops you walk rather than ride. I started off walking one stop further from home and now walk 4-5 which is about 2.5km. I'm hoping to increase that as the weather gets better until I'm walking to the next village 6km away
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I'd compare the walking time to the public transit time.

    For me, I'm about 6.5 miles away (more than 10K) and it takes 45-55 minutes on public transit. I often bike (which takes less time than transit, although if I add extra miles, as I commonly do, it's more) or run (about the same or not much more, although again I often add extra miles so it takes longer) or walk part way (normally I walk about 3 miles and hop a train, although if pressed I might just walk the final mile or 1.5 miles).
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Eh, that would be too far for me just because I don't have the time. I've been trying to get off the train a couple stops early in order to get a few extra miles in per week. You could try that at first, eventually getting off farther if time permits. Or you could walk two hours to and from work...doesn't sound sustainable to me.

    I like your idea of getting off a few stops earlier though, that sounds like a great way to give it a test-run! I don't know if I would want to walk to AND from work, at least not at once; I had thought to do one or the other now that the weather in Montreal is finally turning pleasant again, but that IS still two hours of my day walking.... But nobody said being healthy would be easy!

    Oh yeah! A lot of people spend a few hours a day walking. Maybe I'm just a lazy butt. But yeah, getting off the train a few stops early has been nice. I usually listen to fitness/nutrition podcasts while I walk too so I've learned a lot while trying to increase NEAT

    Podcasts are my go-to way to keep my mind active while I work out too! I'll definitely try getting off early come Monday. Maybe I'll do the reverse when I leave work and walk along the metro paths until I'm tired enough to get on :smiley:

    Me too!
  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
    Options
    arditarose wrote: »
    Naaer wrote: »
    Sounds like a lot to me...I agree with the posts saying to get off the train early...A two hour walk twice a day would be EXHAUSTING...Just my opinion...

    I don't disagree, just the thought of it makes me wanna nap :P but at the same time, the idea that over time I could walk it in a shorter amount of time, or not be exhausted by the idea alone has put a bit of a fire in my belly!! :grin:

    While a challenge is great, it's also good to start with something sustainable that you can adhere to! If you start with a two hour walk and you last a week...is that as optimal as getting off the train a mile early and sustaining that for...possibly a lifetime? heh. Do I sound demotivating? I don't mean to be!

    Hahahaha not at all, you sound like someone who knows how to set long-term achievable goals!!

  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
    Options
    firef1y72 wrote: »
    I'd start by getting on the bus/train one stop later and off one stop earlier and then steadily increase the number of stops you walk rather than ride. I started off walking one stop further from home and now walk 4-5 which is about 2.5km. I'm hoping to increase that as the weather gets better until I'm walking to the next village 6km away

    Sounds like it'd be a good way for me to get started as well! The stops get pretty close by the time I reach work, so a couple to start with shouldn't be too hard to start with at all!
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Options
    arditarose wrote: »
    Naaer wrote: »
    Sounds like a lot to me...I agree with the posts saying to get off the train early...A two hour walk twice a day would be EXHAUSTING...Just my opinion...

    I don't disagree, just the thought of it makes me wanna nap :P but at the same time, the idea that over time I could walk it in a shorter amount of time, or not be exhausted by the idea alone has put a bit of a fire in my belly!! :grin:

    While a challenge is great, it's also good to start with something sustainable that you can adhere to! If you start with a two hour walk and you last a week...is that as optimal as getting off the train a mile early and sustaining that for...possibly a lifetime? heh. Do I sound demotivating? I don't mean to be!

    Hahahaha not at all, you sound like someone who knows how to set long-term achievable goals!!

    OMG. No one has ever said that about me. Thank you.
  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
    Options
    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    I'd compare the walking time to the public transit time.

    For me, I'm about 6.5 miles away (more than 10K) and it takes 45-55 minutes on public transit. I often bike (which takes less time than transit, although if I add extra miles, as I commonly do, it's more) or run (about the same or not much more, although again I often add extra miles so it takes longer) or walk part way (normally I walk about 3 miles and hop a train, although if pressed I might just walk the final mile or 1.5 miles).

    At the moment I don't put much stock in the Google Maps estimation of the walking time, which is about an hour and a half, just because I'm pretty heavy and well as short, and thus a slower walker than average! But the cycling time is about the same as the public transit time (36 min v. 33 min) so maybe I'll try that if I find that walking there isn't for me in the long run!

    Hopefully one day I'll be able to run it! I would really love to become a jogger or runner, but like I said earlier, I'm very much overweight, and running with all that extra weight is hard!!!
  • danielasaur
    danielasaur Posts: 63 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Naaer wrote: »
    Sounds like a lot to me...I agree with the posts saying to get off the train early...A two hour walk twice a day would be EXHAUSTING...Just my opinion...

    I don't disagree, just the thought of it makes me wanna nap :P but at the same time, the idea that over time I could walk it in a shorter amount of time, or not be exhausted by the idea alone has put a bit of a fire in my belly!! :grin:

    While a challenge is great, it's also good to start with something sustainable that you can adhere to! If you start with a two hour walk and you last a week...is that as optimal as getting off the train a mile early and sustaining that for...possibly a lifetime? heh. Do I sound demotivating? I don't mean to be!

    Hahahaha not at all, you sound like someone who knows how to set long-term achievable goals!!

    OMG. No one has ever said that about me. Thank you.
    arditarose wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Naaer wrote: »
    Sounds like a lot to me...I agree with the posts saying to get off the train early...A two hour walk twice a day would be EXHAUSTING...Just my opinion...

    I don't disagree, just the thought of it makes me wanna nap :P but at the same time, the idea that over time I could walk it in a shorter amount of time, or not be exhausted by the idea alone has put a bit of a fire in my belly!! :grin:

    While a challenge is great, it's also good to start with something sustainable that you can adhere to! If you start with a two hour walk and you last a week...is that as optimal as getting off the train a mile early and sustaining that for...possibly a lifetime? heh. Do I sound demotivating? I don't mean to be!

    Hahahaha not at all, you sound like someone who knows how to set long-term achievable goals!!

    OMG. No one has ever said that about me. Thank you.

    Haha not at all, thank YOU for the advice!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
    Options
    You could eventually think of working into C25K. You would need a shower at work, or make it the trip home.
    Make sure you have good footwear to walk in.

    Cheers, h.