3 January 2019 16,694 steps no running weight 78.9kg
A slight reduction in temperature today was counteracted by the humidity rising to 100%, making for a very unpleasant day. Despite this I managed to cram sufficient walking in to get my steps tally for the day well over my minimum mark. These sorts of arbitrary targets may be of no consequence, or they be of immense importance, it’s damnably hard to tell. On the whole, I think they are useful in keeping me in some form of daily fitness habit. Where do I walk? Well, mostly to and from work, or, when I’m home, to and from the post office and the shops. Sometimes I walk around the block, and sometimes I zig zag around the local streets. Sometimes I walk in circles; sometimes I pace up and down. The other night on my way home on the bus I somehow managed to work in an extra 400 steps in half an hour without moving from my seat … which is also when I realised that the old step-counter in the Garmin Forerunner watch isn’t entirely accurate, especially on bouncy bus rides home late at night. On the other side of the equation, I have found I can creep quietly around the house without it recording a single step, though I have been sternly warned against creeping about anywhere. In my defence, I was merely testing out the Garmin’s step-counting capabilities.
Speaking of technology, I awoke this morning to the news that China has apparently installed the world’s first (so far as we know) ship-mounted rail gun, which is capable of firing projectiles at Mach 7 to targets 200km away. Using electric currents instead of gunpowder or cordite to fire the shell means far greater speed, distance and accuracy is possible. This comes fast on the heels of Russia’s recent announcement of a new hypersonic, Mach 20 missile called the Avanguard. This kind of speed means it is unstoppable by current technology, and profoundly changes the world of defence, although why we call it ‘defence’ when most of these weapons are designed for attack, I’m not sure.
Walking and running probably give me too much time to think about such things. Charlie Cat 5 (above) isn't the only person in recent time to accuse me of ‘over-thinking’ things related to running, but in truth I overthink pretty much everything I ever turn my mind to. The world is endlessly fascinating - even the negative stuff - and let’s face it, thinking things through is still better than watching daytime telly.
If the superpowers keep developing these weapons and putting control of them in the hands of the likes of Putin and Trump, then we best spend our time wisely. Or at last productively. Or enjoyably.
Or maybe just go out for a run. You’ll definitely feel better for it.
January 2019 ... here we go again!
