Saturday, April 26, 2014

An extension, if you will!

"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."

So, my awesome ladies over at Shrinking Jeans Accountability group have joined together to do a walking challenge, and someone postulated that we could see how far we get in the month of May. I love this idea, as I've gotten more into walking. My plan may constantly change (freaking ADHD) but the goal has always been to get off the rumpus and get out the door.

Well, I decided to expand on the Mileage May challenge... When I was much younger, I had joined Weight Watchers (the first of many times) and I was really big on their message boards. There was this group that was focused on Middle Earth. I loved it! I forgot all about it when I quit, but it was a great experience, and kept me motivated for some time.

I wouldn't have even thought about it now, if it wasn't for Laura, who mentioned a Walking to Mordor group on My Fitness Pal. While I don't want to join yet another group, especially on a site that I'm not on often (but probably should be) I searched for alternatives. That's when I found this really really familiar site. It actually maps out how many miles it took to get around Middle Earth! I'm super excited! The first part of the trek takes you to Rivendell. 

(There are two websites that you can follow, the first is EowynChallenge.net, which lines out allllllll the walking done by everyone during the entire trip. Or there's NerdFitness.com, which just lines out Frodo and Sam's walk.... which is what I will set out to do)

If you just follow Frodo and Sam's path then this is the mileage:

  • 458 miles: Go from Hobbiton to Rivendell.
  • 462 miles: Set out with the Fellowship from Rivendell, through Moria, to Lothlorien.
  • 389 miles: From Lothlorien, down the Anduin, to Rauros Falls.
  • 470 miles: Follow Frodo and Sam on the quest from Rauros to Mt. Doom.
  • 535 miles From Minas Tirith to Isengard
  • 693 miles From Isengard to Rivendell.
  • 397 miles From Rivendell to Bag End.
  • 467 miles: (bonus!) Follow Frodo to the Grey Havens and return home with Sam.
Following this path, you need to walk a total of 1779miles to get from Hobbiton to Mt. Doom. At which point you destroy the ring and get carried to Minas Tirith by giant Eagles. Then you’ll walk 1625 miles back to Bag End (and an additional 467 miles if you’re interested in doing a round trip to the Grey Havens).

Now I can't decide, do I factor in the miles I've already walked since I got serious last Monday, or do I start May 1st? Either way, it's going to take me a long time, which is fine. I'm excited to start this epic journey!

P.S. Nerd Fitness also has charts that you can plot your journey and keep track of where you are on your path!

10 comments:

  1. I'm not a huge LOTR fan, but this is a cool way to track your mileage.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think this is amazingly cool!! I am totally going to try to start this on may 1st!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wonder if they have a hobbit version?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is from Eowyn Challenge:
      THE HOBBIT:

      397 miles: Travel with Bilbo from Bag End to Rivendell.

      570 Miles: Travel with Bilbo from Rivendell to Lonely Mountain.

      Delete
  4. Ahh I totally tried to do this last year and ended up just stopping tracking it. I think I was in the MFP group for it at one point too. But, if you can do it, what a wonderful way to track!

    BTW, my and my husbands wedding rings are "the one ring" but it's not evil nor does it turn us invisible! ;) It actually has a sappy love poem written in Elvish!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is so cool! I think tracking the miles is a great way to motivate the unmotivated... although, I'm not so unmotivated anymore lol. And the fact that your rings are THE RINGS are just awesome!!!!

      Delete
  5. I want to make a BIIIIIIIIIIIG map and put it up! with a stick figure of meeeeeee! I will doooooo eeeeeeeeeet with you! Almost tempted to read the books along with the journey.... How long might it take to figure out where to start and stop in the book each time? (never read the series but I've seen the movies a million times)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is awesome! I think you would have to read at a snails pace to keep up lol

      Delete