Been shopping!

I haven't been walking at all this week (very bad). My excuse is I've been letting my toes repair themselves. I've been reading a lot of advice on the http://www.mds.co.uk/ forum about feet, and, after the horrible blisters I got from my last 20 miler, I have been taking it! The skin is really dry and cracked where the blisters were, so I've been applying tonnes of Flexitol Heel Balm which is really helping. Also been attacking my feet with a file (lovely) but it is helping. Toes are nearly better. All the Moonwalk ladies are doing a 20 miler on Saturday (we're having our picture taken for the local paper too) so hopefully that will go well and I won't get any more. This will be the first long walk in the Inov8s too. I've been wearing them tho, and so far they feel really comfortable.

Anyway, back to the shopping reference. I am officially turning into a complete walking geek. I got a backpack (as need one to train with and for the Ridgeway which is only just over a week away). It's a 30 litre (so the same size as the one I'll be carrying next year) so good to get used to I suppose. Also got a Camelbak to go inside as I really don't want to be carrying water bottles once I get this on my back. A survival mirror (obviously for make-up traumas, dodgy eyebrow incidents and needing to check for bits in teeth), emergency blanket (silver foil!), spork (just because I wanted one), first aid kit, whistle (apparently the loudest one in the world), torch and compass (woo hoo!) and maps for the Ridgeway and Trailwalker.

Am thinking of asking mum if I can borrow her trekking poles for the Ridgeway just so I can check them out and learn how to use them properly.

So that's it for now. Hopefully I will actually post some exercise on here at the end of the week.

Rach