Moonwalk

Second instalment.....

The Moonwalk. What can I say. I did 40 miles the week before and loved it. Then I did 26.2 miles the wee after and have never hated anything so much in my life!!! I'm thrilled we did it because we raised a lot of money for a great charity (and walked with a friend who went through surgery and treatment for breast cancer last year). In short, it was very cold (especially when just wearing a bra and a plastic poncho!), there was a lot of stopping and starting due to the fact that the roads are kept open, and my feet were killing me!

There were several times I felt close to tears and I think we all felt pretty low (there were 9 of us walking and we all stayed together). When we'd passed 23 miles I felt the tears welling up and I really had had enough at this point. Knackered and cold (felt like a frozen turd quite frankly), it was all becoming a bit much! The sun actually started to shine (about 6.30am) which was bliss after a freezing night! When we got into Hyde Park and were approaching the 25 mile mark, people starting to say 'come on girls, you're nearly there'. Well, I just wanted to blub very loudly. We took off the attractive ponchos and decided to walk together, bras pointing the way, for the last bit. Saw the 26 mile mark and that was it. Nic (the lady who's had breast cancer) started to cry and the floodgates opened. We got over the line at about 7.25am (so had been walking for 7 hours 40 mins) and we all cried like babies. I've never been so relieved to finish anything in my life! We got out medals and then crashed out for a bit. One of the girls' husbands had arranged for a stretch Hummer to bring us home. Fantastic!!! We had champagne in the Hummer and sat like zombies in the back of it. Went back to Nic's house for breakfast (cooked by her lovely husband). She then presented each of us with a beautiful necklace to say thank you helping her through everything (and walking with her etc). All blubbed again and then I couldn't stop. Spoke to my husband on the phone and cried. He turned up with my two girls and I cried. Then I just cried because I was so damn tired!

Very emotional, I'd never do it again, but I'm glad we did it and stuck together throughout. That's what it's all about after all.

Ridgeway 40 : 12 hours 30 minutes
Moonwalk : 7 hours 40 minutes

Bring on the next one..... Trailwalker here I come!!

Ridgeway 40 and other things

Well its about time I updated this. Computer has been ill so haven't had access for ages. So here goes. I was doing the Ridgeway with two of my three teammates for the Trailwalker in July (it was a practice walk!!). Trev picked me up on the Friday night (9th May), and collected Gary along the way too. We arrived at the youth hostel (which I have to say I was quite impressed with). There were lots of walker type people around (plenty of beards to be seen etc). We did feel slightly out of place I have to say! Met up with other friends who are doing the Trailwalker too (Lou, Annie and Laura). We went to the pub (obviously) to talk about the following day and to sink a few drinks in preparation. We had to be back by 11pm as the doors of the YH would be shutting!

Got up at 5.45am to prepare for the day ahead. I had a rucksack which, to me, felt bloody heavy. Only weight 3kg so obviously I have a long way to go before MdS standards are reached! Saw Steph outside the youth hostel which was fab. SO good to meet a fellow MdSer!!! We had a few piccies taken to mark the occasion! We got the coach at about 6.45am (tho they were a bit delayed). There was much p*ss taking from the lads when I told them I had a survival mirror with me. Well, needs must, and you just can't take these things for granted. Besides, I wasn't the one with a map holder.....

We set off on our journey at about 8.10am. It was slightly overcast and a bit chilly but then it was early! I won't go into massive detail about the day but here's the basics:

I loved walking with the guys. We had a laugh along the way and a lot of quiet moments too. Trev twisted his ankle about 5 miles in and I think he struggled for a while. When we got to 14.5 miles there was a pub (which was the checkpoint). We stopped off and sorted out feet and ankles and took painkillers at this point. My big toes were killing as I had blisters under the nails from a walk the week before.

I think when we got to the half way point, we were all feeling a bit low. Still had a bloody long way to go and it was HOT. We were sweating buckets and jokes and larks were far behind us!! Mile 23 and I felt like were were getting somewhere. Light at the end of the tunnel? Not quite, but it was starting to feel achieveable. Mile 28 and the checkpoint from heaven landed. Hot drinks (tea, coffee, hot choc) and CAKES were widely available. We sat and rested and had a couple of cups of tea, a few flapjacks - lovely!!! I've never been so glad to have a hot drink!! I think a few more painkillers were taken at this point. Despite the fact that we knew we had at least another 4 hours of walking to do, we seemed to get a second wind here! The pace picked up and, dare I say it, we started to enjoy it!! The rest of the checkpoints were basically a quick drink and keep going! The last 3 miles were a blast and we were on fire!!! Speeding along (well, as much as you can after 37 miles).

We got back to the youth hostel at 8.40pm. We were so pleased with this because we estimated 9.30 or even 10 o'clock.

Despite my feet killing me from about the first mile, I actually did really enjoy this. I now feel like we have a really great team for the Trailwalker (tho Sean was missing) and I'm confident we can do it. Plus the Trailwalker is the nearest I'm going to get to the long stage of the MdS. Hoping it will be hot too!

A great day all in all and an 'ultra' distance under my belt.

Ouch!

I'm now panicking about feet. I did a 10 mile walk today and wore the Inov8s to test them out before Saturday. Well, I don't think I'll be wearing them! Because the toe box is so solid, I now have really sore big toes (the nails). I've got about an inch of room at the end of them but I think, when walking, my toes bang the top of the toe box, so now have really bruised toes. I taped the toes that normally blister and although I didn't get blisters, they are really sore. Mind you, the skin still hasn't come back properly! However, the little toe on my right foot is absolutely killing me. I got a sort of blister under the skin (which is quite hard anyway). I put a pin in it to release the fluid which has helped but it still hurts like hell. Its making me limp.

I really don't know what to do! I think I'll have to wear my running trainers for the Ridgeway. I know I'll get blisters, and I know my feet will be a mess, but I'll have to deal with that at the time. I'm going to tape my feet like mad and hope it stops them getting too blistered. I'm definitely ordering the foot book (recommended on the forum). I think its by a guy called Vonhoff so I'm going to have a look on Amazon. At least I can do this now, and hopefully figure out the best shoes/socks etc, so I don't suffer too badly next year. If my feet blistered after a 10 mile walk today, what hope have they got after a day in the desert!

I need to run more, and walk less I think - I don't get blisters from running! I'm not doing any other training this week because I need to repair my feet as much as possible before Saturday. It's supposed to be hot too!

I'm off to soak my poor feet....

Moles and other things....

Not the furry variety. Had a mole cut out yesterday (on my back) and am not supposed to be doing anything because of it. I'm still doing the Ridgeway next week but will take it steady and hopefully get one of my lovely chaps to carry my bag if it's too heavy. The stitches are coming out in just under two weeks (just before the Moonwalk). I feel very lazy as I haven't really done a lot since the week before last. Oh well, can't be helped.

Not a lot else to say - I will be back next week to report on the Ridgeway. Hope I manage the whole 40 miles!