Trying the 5K walking plan again

During the spring of 2011 I wrote a post about starting the 5K Your Way walking plan on the Sparkpeople website. I didn't post again because I didn't stick to it. Last year I tried it again and didn't make it past the second week of the five-week plan. Today I started over for the third time.

The focus of the program alternates between time and distance. The first day you walk for 15 minutes, the second day you walk one mile, the third day you walk 1.5 miles, the fourth day you walk 25 minutes, and so on. The first few sessions will be a piece of cake because I've already been walking at that level for a while. Where I have run into problems the last two times I tried this plan was when I had to walk any further than 1.5 miles. I can walk for about 40 minutes but I really start slowing down after 20 minutes. That means it takes me 60 minutes or longer to walk two miles. The last two times I ended up quitting before I had to do the two-mile walk because I don't want to spend an hour on the treadmill or walking around my neighborhood.

If I already know I can't stick to the plan, then why am I trying it again? Well, I'm hoping that my ultimate goal will encourage me. ABM and I will be taking a vacation in September and he has promised me that he would do a walking tour with me. Usually he goes for activities like para-sailing while I sit in a lounge chair reading. To get him to walk around a city and visit museums and such with me will be a real treat, so I want to make sure I can handle it. Most of the tours I've seen involve being on your feet for two hours and walking about two miles. For that I will definitely need stamina and it is worth it to me to give this walking plan one more shot.