I’ve renewed my fight against fat. I realize that the main culprit is my late-night snacking, while I watch movies or play video games or just read a book, but exercise can be part of the balance too. Mind you, 30 minutes of walking only uses up a handful of crackers - never mind the cheese they were topped with - but I suppose that bit of exercise can add a mental boost too.
As a solution, I’ve restarted my Conqueror Challenge walks. They are from a site that maps your exercise - in my case FitBit steps - to a virtual walk via Google Maps. Added in are various inducements, such as postcards, planting trees, and (optional) teams. Over the years I’ve completed nine of these, ranging from 50 to 200 km in length, in such places as Paris, Ankhor Wat, from Marathon to Athens, and a hike in New Zealand. The app sends you a daily notification of your progress, and shows it on a map, via StreetView. I usually go in and ‘walk’ the previous day’s steps on the map, as it’s fun to look around and click on various highlights.
My current walk is in Rome. No skyscrapers, many statues, a warren of skinny streets, and lots of cars. And scooters. Beautiful light too, on all that marble. The above postcard is the first of several the app will send me, from ‘me’, I’ll post the others too.
Here’s the text from the email that accompanied it:
A walk through Rome, the Italian capital, is like going back in time to when the city was the centre of the Roman Empire and gladiators battled it out in the Colosseum. At the height of its power, the empire had expanded across most of Western Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia Minor. However, its success was also its downfall. The bigger the empire grew, the harder it was to manage. As time passed, corruption, in-fighting, and attacks from barbarian tribes caused its collapse.
There were a handful of significant rulers such as Julius Caesar. Using brilliant political maneuvres and excellent military strategies, Caesar greatly expanded Rome’s empire. Despite never being an emperor, his adopted great-nephew Augustus became the first and longest-reigning Roman Emperor, ruling peacefully for 41 years over an ever-expanding empire. Trajan was the first non-Italian emperor who reigned for 19 years during the peak of the empire. His cousin Hadrian succeeded Trajan, and built Hadrian’s Wall in the UK. Hadrian ceased expansionism and ruled for 20 years. Roman emperors are often portrayed in popular culture as having short-lived reigns, usually because they were assassinated. However, history shows that most of the emperors who left a lasting legacy had lengthy and successful reigns and generally died of natural causes.
The Romans were great engineers and builders, as seen through the many monuments, grand aqueducts, and ancient roads that continue to exist today. Rome has two nicknames. In the first case, “The City of Seven Hills” refers to the ancient city built on seven hills. The second, the “Eternal City,” refers to the ancient Romans believing that no matter how many empires rose or fell, Rome would go on forever. Well, that much is true. After the fall of the empire, Rome endured the Dark Ages, became annexed by the French Empire, and was bombed heavily during WWII before emerging as one of Europe's largest cities.
The historic centre of Rome has no high-rises or skyscrapers. The layout is more horizontal, with only St Peter’s Basilica dominating the skyline. Most buildings are no more than 3-4 storeys high, with narrow streets separating them. Pockets of small piazzas pop up everywhere, and landmarks are dotted amongst all these. It's not unusual for large monuments to appear suddenly just around the corner. They are often tightly packed into the city’s landscape.
Major roads may lead to a junction or a large piazza, while the Tiber River snakes through the city centre with bridges connecting the banks. The city appears to be divided into three major sections:
1. West of the river is St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican City, and Castel Sant’Angelo. 2. East of the river is the city’s heart with the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Piazza Navona. 3. Southeast of the river is ancient Rome in the form of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
I started my journey by crossing the Ponte Sant’Angelo over the Tiber River. Constructed by Hadrian in the 2nd century, this five-arched bridge, built of stone and beautifully adorned with five angel statues on each side, brought me to the entrance of Castel Sant’Angelo.
The castle has a grand cylindrical design with a fortified passageway that connects with Vatican City. Hadrian commissioned it as his family's mausoleum, where their ashes are buried deep within the building. In the 5th century, it was converted into a military fortress and by the 14th century it became the Papal residence and place of refuge when under siege. Since 1925 it has served as a museum.
Admiring the castle’s architecture, I meandered around its perimeter through a landscaped garden with a bronze statue of Hadrian in the centre of it.
PS. Experience our virtual challenges in real life - The Conqueror Adventures
And here’s the route I’m following. I’ve done about 10% so far. Are any of you doing these challenges? What ways have you found to motivate yourselves to break out of that Lockdown Lethargy (tm) ?
Good for you! I still work on getting 3000-4500 steps per day, as well as some other physical activity-- currently packing-- but my ankle still acts up sometimes, two years after being broken. For me a daily goal works better than a long term goal because it stops me from procrastinating-- 'oh I'll do that tomorrow' etc. have a great time in Rome!
Sounds like a novel exercise programme.