Walks are all we have to do right now

DOES anyone else feel like they’ve aged dramatically in the last year?

As I sit at my makeshift desk, surrounded by various remedies I fashioned in the middle of the night when my under-stretched neck seized up and kept me tossing and turning, I can’t help but feel like I’m nearing 100.

We’ve all talked about our mental health during the pandemic, about the burnout and daily fatigue from doing nothing, other than the walk from bed to computer to couch. But I’m guessing I’m not the only one with more aches and pains than ever as the physical aspects of staying indoors take their toll.

I suppose how you’re feeling, one year on from that first day of lockdown, depends on how you exercised before.

Gym bunnies and joggers seem to have come out of this better than the rest, if the runners tackling the sizeable hill I live on are anything to go by. Day after day, they jog up and down, out of breath but still boasting “look at me keeping up my fitness levels” with their eyes. Paranoid, moi? My workout of choice has always been swimming – so I’ve suffered through the dreary winter months without much to look forward to. Back in 2020, I was determined to become a wild swimmer and I dipped my toes several times at Loch Lomond, not a wetsuit in sight and a smug post-exercise glow that lasted for days after. I thought about continuing to take the plunge as temperatures cooled but chickened out – so nowadays, I’m stuck with “a nice walk” for the millionth time.

Whether grabbing a coffee with a friend or dragging our households outdoors for fresh air, walks are about all we have to do right now.

The husband and I even tackled a big hill at the weekend – I won’t tell you which one because munro baggers would scoff and tell me “that’s not a hill”. I’ll admit, I felt more positive than I have in months as we descended into green fields and dreamed about the Sunday roast waiting for us at home.

Lockdown weekends may have taken their toll on my fitness levels but they seem to have made me more wholesome too.

It may be a while before I get back into the pool again but at least these light nights and warmer temperatures can give us a bit of hope.

Schlepping up a hill on a sunny March day sure beats pounding the city streets in the freezing January rain. And right now, we all need those little wins where we can.

Still, perhaps now more than ever, we should ditch the idea that summer needs a “bikini body” after a year of makeshift exercise and quarantine comfort eating.

After all, we all know we’re heading straight for the nearest open beer garden when the sun rears its head – and you don’t need to be fit for that.