posted
My mother, aunt, and I are trying to get fit and I found a great way to motivate myself and keep track of my goals toward fitness - The Tolkien Walk.
Simply put, using the Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Fonstad, you track your total mileage and see where you are on the journey that Frodo, Sam and the Fellowship took.
There is a website, but since I own the atlas (which is a gorgeous book and if you don't own it I recommend you buy it), I'm tracking it for myself and I've made copies of the relevant maps so I can track my progress with a highlighter.
If anybody is interested, maybe we could post updates on this thread when we reach certain milestones? All you do is keep track of how many miles you do either walking, jogging, cycling, swimming whatever, and then post it here and we'll see where you are! The website is here and the first major milestone is Frodo and Sam's first campsite in the Green Hill Country, 18 miles from Bag End. Frodo and Sam did it in five hours. It will take me probably longer than that, and I won't do it all in one night.
But I'm two miles down the road already. Who wants to go with me?
The road goes ever on and on...
Hatrack's cumulative total, rounded to whole miles:
As of 5/10/07:
50 miles
The Hatrack nation is:
We departed Bag End on September 23rd (aka May 9, 2007) for Rivendell.
We camped last night in the Green River country in a firwood, just over the top of a hill. We were seen by a fox.
We set out the next morning, late and traveled until we saw a Black rider. We hid, then set out again. Currently we are traveling about a stone's throw left of the road, and the going is slower. It is September 24th.
Updated through Speed's 19 miles.
See new posts for updates.
[ June 22, 2007, 05:51 PM: Message edited by: Belle ]
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Wow, thank you for the awesome idea. I've been trying to find more motivation to walk, and I'm sure my inner nerd (and often times outer nerd) will find this easy motivation. I'm going to get out my new shillelagh and a hobbit-worthy hat and start hiking.
Hopefully a nasal minstrel will follow me around to enliven my journey.
I'm going to have to look for a Dragonlance Walking Tour, so my GF can pretend she's Tasslehoff. Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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That sounds really fun. I've been trying to get the motivation to go to the gym more, to lose some weight and gain back my endurance so I can do Lifeguard training. I'll start this tonight, when I go do one of the bikes.
Posts: 1591 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Wow, this is such an interesting idea! It'll be motivation for me to run more as I prepare for the next cross-country season. Myself in Middle-earth.
Except...they had horses and eagles part of the way.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Mar 2004
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That's cool! My Beloved and I have just started getting up before dawn and going for a walk around the neighborhood. It's fun, but this will make it even more so. Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I'm going to do this. It looks like a kick in the pants, and I'm amazed at the mileage logged on that site. Fun. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Tinros, you are on the first slopes of the Green Hill Country. Hobbiton is just fading out of sight.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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This is actually a really cool idea. I don't think I'll do it right now. Maybe during the summer. But it's still a cool idea.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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Oh wow, great idea, Belle! I'm sending this to my best friend. It might make a jatraquera out of her yet!
(Oh, and Olivet, if you see this, hi . Sorry I haven't been in touch with you since I've been back, I've been meaning to!)
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Alas, I am taking the Gandalf trek. That means I travel some on foot, then fall for even more miles, get resurrected via an internal magical trip to the home of the Valar, then spend the rest of my time traveling via a magical enchanted horse some call Shadowfax, but I call a 2005 Dodge Stratus.
Not buying that, huh? Well, I may join you in about 6 months. I don't have any place to walk where I am at, but if we sell our mystical magical house, and our offer is accepted on the new magical mystical house, then I'll have sidewalks galore to while away my hours and excess body fat.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Is this the same as the Walking to Rivendell program? I've been doing that for about a month, and I'm at about 75 miles total.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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This is a great idea! I requested that atlas through my library so that I can do the map thing. According to my pedometer, I walked 3.27 miles today. Most of that was while doing farm chores and building a fence.
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I'd like it if we got posts from the OP every now and then to describe where we have been and so forth, instead of just updating the first post. Makes it more jolly ^^.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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Ok, that's cool. I can do new posts, if you like. But I still want to update the total on the original post.
Including my contribution for today, I have us at 14 more miles, for a total of 50 miles.
Where the Hatrack Nation is:
Last night we camped in the Woody End. A green floor in the wood, roofed by boughs of trees. To the east a steep shoulder falls, and we could overlook the river valley. The lights of the village of Woodhall were seen below (ca. 11 p.m.).
We arose today after sleeping late (we finally got on the road about 11:00 am) Frodo decided to cut SE to Buckleberry Ferry. We scrambled down a hill into the thick trees below. It began to cloud up.
A deep-banked stream below the hill cut across our path. Looking back, we saw a Black Rider on the hillcrest where we had camped. We forced through the bushes alongside the stream. Pippin realized it is the Stock-brook. The banks are low enough now for us to cross. The land on its south bank is wet and reedy.
We reached a belt of trees, mostly oaks with a few elms and ash. Drops of rain begin to fall.
It is September the 25th.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I just ordered a decent pedometer ($19.95 on Amazon.com) so I can start tracking. I'm excited to get going again, and once school lets out I'm going to start running. *gulp* Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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I've ellipticalled 8 miles this week, treadmilled 3, and stationary-biked 13, but I've never been able to finish a Tolkien book, and I fell asleep during the first movie and never tried the later ones. I don't know if you want to count my miles or not.
posted
Umm... I've been debating whether or not to participate in this. But, if we're keeping a Hatrack total I really ought not. My job starting in a week is gonna require me to do something like 20 miles a day. And training for it the week leading in should be at least 4 or 5 miles. So umm... yeah, I'd artificially inflate the numbers. Maybe I can do separate or something...
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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What a cool idea! My dad and I used to walk on this walking path through the woods, and I would always imagine myself hefting a backpack and walking to Rivendell.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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05-09: 2 miles walking to school and then back home. 05-10: 2 miles walking to school and then back home, 2.5 miles at a track meet. 05-11: 2 miles walking to school and then back home, 3 miles running. 05-12: 0.25 miles running and 2 miles walking at a charity event.
That's a total of 6.75 miles.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Alcon: Umm... I've been debating whether or not to participate in this. But, if we're keeping a Hatrack total I really ought not. My job starting in a week is gonna require me to do something like 20 miles a day. And training for it the week leading in should be at least 4 or 5 miles. So umm... yeah, I'd artificially inflate the numbers. Maybe I can do separate or something...
Is that on foot, on a bike, or in a car? I can't imagine running 3/4 of a marathon every day. If you're doing that on foot, you're in some fairly impressive shape.
Anyway, I ran 6 miles yesterday. Maybe more, but I went off my measured track, so I'm not sure. I know it was at least 6 miles, so that's what I'm counting.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
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Zanejin, nonsense! We need a scout, and you are it.
If you are not a soldier, you must be doing some kind of trail work? Or are you leading a summer hiking group? I want to know!
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Well, since I'll have internet access every week end, I can wander in to make weekly reports if you want to count me...
Posts: 3295 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Sorry, I've been away for a couple days, busy weekend with the kids. I counted 53.75 miles since my last post, (which includes my most recent contribution) so we round up to 54, for a cumulative total of 104 miles.
Where the Hatrack nation is:
Since our last update we have stopped and eaten with Farmer Maggot, and we met Merry at the Buckleberry Ferry landing. We've seen a Black rider or riders several times. We spent the night of the 25th in Crickhollow.
On the 26th we arose and continued, but got lost. We stopped to rest by Old Man Willow, a mistake that was almost very costly. Fortunately, we were rescued by Tom Bombadil.
On the 27th, it rained all day so we rested at Tom's house.
Today we left Tom Bombadil's house and climbed a zig-zag path to the brow of a hill on the west side of the Barrow-downs (ca. 9 a.m.). We turned more east than we intended and entered the Barrow-downs, a place of great dread: inhabited by evil Barrow-wights from Angmar.
It is September the 28th.
[Can I just say this is so much fun, it's like re-living the book!]
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Well on the bright side we get some really cool swords while we're here that will come in handy later when have to fight the Witch King Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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My second week of regular exercise and I worked up to 2 miles! It was actually easier than I thought it would be, so I'll probably spend only one week at this level before trying to go for 3 miles, instead of the 2 weeks I'd planned.
I'm sore, but it's a nice kind of sore. A friend who is a personal trainer showed me some ab exercises that wouldn't put too much strain on my large abdominal incision area, but would help start to stretch the scar tissue and adhesions out. (right now ab exercises are pretty painful, with a lot of pulling and burning which I'm sure is due to scar tissue and such) I've done what she said, and lifted weights three times last week, did cardio five times, and ate well - no starving - and I lost three pounds. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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