If you want the Ultimate Fundraising you have to pay the Ultimate Price...

...and here it is, Pen y Fan!

It's the one on the right, our route will follow the path you can see on the ridge to the right. This is steeper than it looks and will be a real killer after 69 miles! We descend round Corn Du (the summit to the left) before dropping down to the Storey Arms.

Sole Train

As has already been said, Saturday 21st February 2009 saw the Spa2Summit team attempt the first twenty miles of our chosen route. It took seven hours & seven minutes and we averaged 2.8 miles per hour, which is around the pace we were hoping for.

The training day achieved everything we had hoped it would - answering many questions we already had  and raising some we hadn't.

Here are a few things I drew from the experience. Firstly, the mix of characters in the team is a massive bonus, conversation flowed continually and morale was never short of excellent. Secondly, I was impressed with everyone's fitness. There were clear differences of pace when we started but after a short while we were pretty much in sync. In fact, the longer the trek went on the quicker and stronger everyone became. The mix of terrain along the first twenty miles was also encouraging - a potentially boring stretch of concrete jungle would be replaced by lovely soft grass for a while, and energy-sapping bogland would precede the foot-pleasing luxury of a country lane. This went a long way to helping us comfortably reach our goal. In fact, the hardest part of the walk seemed to be the final two miles, not because it was the final two miles but because it was a long undulating road of apparent nothingness. This may have been the reason why we spontaneously began to run it, which brings me onto my final positive point: when this group is faced with difficulty, instead of shying away from it we attack it, as if personally offended it could treat us that way. How often this attitude will be needed we will have to wait and see.

Even the one major negative turned out to be a positive. Blisters. How is this a positive? Because it's a negative we can control. We learned firsthand at the weekend that prevention is better than cure, and strapping up vulnerable areas beforehand and selecting the right footwear for our individual needs is paramount. For me that means lacing pillows to each foot.

A final note: I'd like to give special mention to Jonty, the Hero Of The Day. Jonty, as you probably know, is our support guy. He's volunteered himself to be our Jonty-On-The-Spot, driving our excess gear around and keeping us well organised. This means he won't be walking with us on the day. Yet here he was powering along with us, getting a feel for what we'd be going through. I think it's called "going above and beyond the call of duty," and is an inspiring characteristic to have in the team. Thanks Jonty!

Our First Donation!

A momentous day here at Spa2Summit HQ as we have received our first donation through our Just Giving page! Hopefully the donation floodgates will now open. If you can donate, then please visit the Justgiving page, they even take PayPal. If you are a taxpayer then you can donate using Giftaid which will increase the value of your donation by 28%!

Training day

As Jonty said below, Saturday was a good day, 20.6 miles in 7 hours and 7 minutes which is a pretty good time. I don't know what came over us at the end but we actually ran up the last hill so something must be going right physically or wrong mentally, not sure which.

Anyway, many thanks to Bev, Miriam and Lavinia who came and picked us from Mitcheldean, we know that many, many people and particularly long suffering family members and close friends will be doing a lot to support us in our fools errand so thanks to all of you.

Keep following our progress and boys, keep training!

Fantastic Day!

Well Saturday was a great day. Because of my hectic social life :) I didn't have time to do the whole 20 mile walk with the team, so I thought I'd just try the first 10 miles (fitness levels never came into it, *cough cough*). So my car was left at the half way point (a pub - funny how the walk ended at a pub too...) and we started from the center of Cheltenham.

Most of the group wore shorts, a pleasant surprise for the Saturday shoppers I'm sure, and off we went. Great spirit and good opening pace. I quickly establish my position at the back of the group, an important role I would maintain for most of the walk ;)

But I'm pleased to say no blisters, just legs like lead at the end of it; well the end for me, half way point for the team. I'm very proud (lump in throat) that the lads finished it, and in the dark, well done guys. I did a 2 mile walk on the Sunday just to take the lead out of the legs, then an all you can eat Chinese to undo any benefits of the walk ;)

Looking forward to the next one, so I'm now thinking of 'hearty' recipes that I can cook for everyone, as I suspect the next training leg (pun intended) will be a bit further. Time to test my skills in the support vehicle!! Though I may try to stroll a little of it!

The Team Works!

Yesterday was our first walk as Team Spa2Summit. We have decided to train on the actual route that we will use in June, so yesterday we set out to cover 20 miles from Cheltenham to Mitcheldean. We are using these walks not only to gauge our fitness but also to try out different combinations of kit etc.

All in all, we had a really positive day! The weather was awesome for starters, with scarcely a cloud in the sky and really comfortable temperatures for walking. What is particularly interesting when you walk cross-country is that you get to see places that you either whizz past or round when in a car. The countryside between Cheltenham and Gloucester is really pretty and the stretch out from Highnam was stunning, yet these bits of land are no more than half a mile from the A40 and it's hurtling masses.

On the plus and minus sides of our walk, minuses include some blisters (We probably went through 2 blister kits!) and some weariness on the final stretch. Pluses include a great team spirit, good pace with everyone taking a turn pulling from the front and no problems with navigating the route.

I felt pretty hammered when I got in last night, but after sleeping soundly I feel a little achey this morning but nowhere near as bad as I thought I would.

Certainly yesterdays walk has given us a taste of what we're in for in June. We have a clearer idea of what our training needs to focus on and what kit would make the walk easier. We're planning a 30 miler as the next part of our training regime, probably towards the end of April and that will be when we can put this knowledge to the test!

I may have possibly overcooked it.

Building up to the 20 mile practice walk which is this weekend. So I decided to again walk the 3 miles home from work. When I got in the house, it became apparent that if ever I was going to go for a run this week, now would be the best opportunity, and so got my running gear on and went. However, the route I'd planned in my head wasn't that far..... or so I thought!!

So after another 4.5 mile jog, I wake up this morning to find my legs feel like jelly!! I only have tonight for them to recover and then onward and upward to our long Saturday afternoon practice walk. Folks, this should be interesting!

I'm finally blogging maybe i should be training...

Hello All,
I have finally (after much badgering by Ken) decided to post my first blog. For those of you who don't know me i'm the daft looking one on the left hand side of our team photo. Although my training is leaving much to be desired I have been doing stuff for the website that should be up and running soon thanks to our marvellous techie types Chris and Jonty.
I'm sure that a 20 miler will certainly concentrate my mind to further training...

Point us towards the challenge and we shall go!!

Right, many developments occurred over the weekend as we had our first team meeting, down Ken's local (photo below!). We were all there, apart from Simon, who at the time unfortunatley was either busy saving lives or spending time with his new-born (pff! like that's an excuse!.... oh no wait, it is!!). Many S2S things were discussed and I'm sure we'll see the results of the good points shortly.

What I wasn't expecting was to be told that in two weeks time our first practice walk will take place. And people.... it's a biggun! A nice 20 mile stroll (or slip, depending on what the snow is doing) on a Saturday afternoon. I'm not sure where the route will be exactly, but I'm sure Ken will post shortly and set out the plan. With this in mind then, I should tell you about my current training "regime". As planned, I am regularly walking home from work, usually four nights per week, so along with lunch-time walks, I estimate that it can be up to 5 miles per day. Additionally I am now arriving to work early, so that on every Wednesday Lunch, I have arranged to go for a 3 mile run with my team manager. This sounds like a excellent plan, until I inform you that he is a club runner, and therefore is usually keen to blast out the run at a constant 9mph rate the whole way round! Which is a fair ol' pace!! So there is me, doing my best to keep up.... wondering if it's this hard work doing 3 miles at 9 mph, what will 70 miles at 3 mph be like?!?!

Right must go, and remember, if you can't get to work because of the snow... it is your solemn responsibility to build a snowman for everyone else!! Okay?

Testing, testing!

Quick experiment to see if I can post from my phone...

The Team!

Those of a sensitive disposition, look away now...

Spa 2 Summit or Summit 2 Spa - The Public have spoken

Results in from the poll:
54% in favour of Spa 2 Summit, 45% say Summit to Spa, which leaves a floating 1% somewhere...?

We must obey!

Pushing the inside of the Envelope!

Had an early start at work yesterday, which meant an earlier finish, so I thought I'd try a longer walk to push things on a bit. Bev works in Tewkesbury so I thought "Why not walk to Tewkesbury, and get a lift home?" Something about a linear walk rather than a circular one that helps with the motivation.

Anyway, worked the route distances out on WalkJogRun, it's about 11.5 miles, and also I noted where the mile points fell so that I could get an idea of my pace.

Set off just after 1pm from Cheltenham and kept up a comfortable pace, and once the old legs loosened up felt really comfortable. Covered the first 4 miles in 55 minutes which surprised me as I didn't feel that I was really pushing on that hard. The last couple of miles started to feel a bit more of a strain but I did the whole lot in 2 hours 45 minutes, which I was quite pleased with. Thanks go to Bridgedale Trekker Endurance socks, Scarpa boots and Misc "Protein" bars (from Millets!). No blisters, just slightly achey legs!

We're planning to do a Spa2Summit team training walk in about 4 weeks (probably the first 20 miles of our June route), and I now a bit happier about my progress. Another couple of longer walks and 20 miles, No Problem! 70 miles, some problems...

Keep watching!

Training.

Hit the gym today in an attempt to boost Cardio fitness. 10 minute run, 15 minutes on the bike and 30 on the x-trainer. My thanks go to The Killers, Prodigy, GnR, Charlie Daniels Band, Heart, Rush Motorhead and Iron Maiden for helping me through it! Felt ok, kept the old heart rate ticking over at 145-150. Getting these sessions regular (that's the real difficulty) should see quick and noticeable improvements, I'm hoping.
Lining up a quick 6-8 miler early Saturday I think. I'll let you know how it goes...

Spa Trek

Understandably, organising a journey of this magnitude requires much planning and forethought. Each member of the team brings to the table their own individual skills and abilities. For example Simon is a trained paramedic, ready to leap into action should the unthinkable happen. Then there is Ken who, with his organisational skills, makes sure that nothing is left to chance. Should we run into trouble and need to hitch a lift, I can show drivers my fantastic legs to get them to stop for us. So we all have skills.

For some reason this made me think of Star Trek. I loathe Star Trek but the parallels of that series and our expedition are clear, particularly when Captain Kirk & company are assembling a team to explore a hostile land. I should point out one subtle difference though: the crew of the Enterprise have it easy - while they get to beam down to their distant location, we have to walk there.

Without Pete this challenge wouldn't be happening. With his drive, never-say-die attitude and rigid hair he is clearly our Captain Kirk.

Displaying a quiet authority and coolness under pressure, Mr Spock is the secret to Kirk's successes. He gets things done with a minimum of fuss. For this reason Ken is our Spock.

Working away in the Enterprise's engine room (or whatever it's called on a spaceship) is Scotty. The obvious choice for Scotty is Scotty, just because of the slightly similar names but on this occasion Jonty has to be the guy. He is the one to fix things, to provide us with more power when we need it. You could be mistaken for thinking he'll be in the background but without him success would be impossible.

Next up is Doctor McCoy, the ship's doctor. This is an easy one. As the only paramedic in our fellowship Simon is the clear choice. Just like Star Trek's Bones, Simon won't put up with the Captain's shenanigans and daft quips.

That leaves Ollie, Scott, Grant and myself and sadly I've used up the extent of my Star Trek knowledge. The only other characters I remember from Star Trek are Sulu, Chekov and the very female Uhura. Take your pick as to who is who. My fantastic legs make me the obvious choice for Uhura but I'd ask you to think carefully about that. After you've privately assigned us to our various characters you'll notice that one of us is left over. Don't worry, in Star Trek there was always a token guy with a clipboard destined to die at the first sign of trouble.

I mean.. 'How hard can it be!?!'

This infamous statement is often said on Top Gear by Jeremy Clarkson, which is promptly followed by a 20 minute film showing that it is always, much, much harder and more work than you could ever expect!! With this attitude I decided to take on 'Pete's invitation', at the time simply thinking it will be difficult, but worth it.

Very quickly though this optimism has seemed to disappear!! 70 miles in a car is known as a fair ol' journey, walking that however is a whole different ball-game. Everytime I set out for a bit of a walk, and someone has said "do you realise we've already done one mile?!", I'd respond grudgingly "Oh genius, but I've gotta do 70 of 'em!" Conversation would promptly wain, as I'm dragged into my thoughts of a surreal series of events involving the coast guards, the TA and various mountain rescues!!

Action was required. Plan A. I've aimed to get going on some sort of training immediately, doing a daily three-quarters-of-an-hour walk, in my lunch break, around Gloucester town. (which everyone will admit can be a mixed bag to say the least!! From Inspiring, to well...down right depressing!) That should at least add to the mileage that my legs will need to do. I also am trying to walk home from work, when I have opportunity or the time in the evening... the issue will be whether I can string all these little walks into something more substantial, all the while, hoping that the knee stays intact (but more about that in a later entry!).

I'm telling myself the hard work starts here!! As Ken reminded us recently, only 165 days to go, and so much to do, let alone, start on the fund raising and publicity drive for this thing... but as I keep telling myself... as long as we all make a substantial amount for MacMillan.. , it'll be worth it!!

So Jezza... how hard can it be?........ Trust me, VERY!

(P.s. boys - I'm not planning on entertaining, I'm just planning on dragging myself to Pen y fan!! Ha ha!!)

Baby Steps

Walking. I've done it for years. Unfortunately that's where the problem lies.

Because we've all been doing it for ages we tend to think we're experts in it. For example, I'm 8 years older than my girlfriend - does that mean I'm a better walker than her? I've seen her walk, she does it really well! Further examples include people in their 70s and 80s - with their experience they should be much better at walking than I am but some of them are rubbish at it, I've seen them. I overtake most of them when I walk through town.

So when the Spa2Summit challenge wafted past my ears, with its 70-odd miles of walking I thought it'd be a doddle, something I actually knew how to do. I'll prove it: to walk I always apply the following procedure: 1) extend right leg forward past left leg, 3) bring left leg forward past right leg, 4) repeat. Admittedly there are alternatives to these instructions and intricate flourishes that can be added (depending on the confidence and experience of the participant) but I find these basic principles have always helped me. I subtly asked Pete if anyone else could join in with his plans and he said yes so here I am.

I love walking. When visiting a new town or city there's no better way to take in its sights, smells and atmosphere than to ignore its public transport and set about it on foot. The same applies to rural areas, the awesomeness of this planet can only truly hit home when you're right there looking at it, smelling it, covering yourself in it and wiping it off the sole of your boot. Plus, distance and fatigue almost disappear while nature entertains you. For this reason, I think we can psychologically knock some of those 70 miles off the total.

Having said that, as time has gone by the realisation that what we're undertaking is actually very difficult has sunk in. Seventy miles is a long way to walk at the best of times but in a straight 36-or-whatever hours?! Up and down gradients?! In the company of Grant?! ;) 

Hannibal led elephants over the Alps but can Pete lead us even out of Cheltenham? The training starts here...

Spa 2 Summit or Summit 2 Spa

Some discussion that it might be better to do the walk from PyF to Cheltenham rather than the other way round. I can see pros and cons to both:
Spa 2 Summit:
+ Sounds better, having the hill at the end.
+ Better nights sleep before setting off.
- 2 miles from the top of PyF to the car, at the end of 70 miles, could be a soul-crusher.
-Harder to get coverage at the end of the walk.
- The really tough stuff is at the end, which could be a killer. (Do not underestimate PyF, they train the SAS on it!)

Summit 2 Spa
+ Finish in town gives better coverage.
+ The Tavern is 100 yards from where we will finish.
+ An easier (relatively speaking) finish offers the potential to make up time.
- Sleeping in a van, or on top of the hill means not so much sleep.
- Either carrying the sleeping kit with us, or having the support team do it.

I don't think it makes too much difference what sections we do in the dark so that evens out across both options.

I've posted a poll on the blog, please vote and help us decide!

Limbering up...

Out in the Black Mountains today and have the following to report:
Good
Sprained ankle held up.
New boots didn't give me blisters.
The Black Mountains are cool!

Bad
The hills are steep.
They're at the end of the walk.
That will hurt.

Also plans are afoot to attend this: http://users.cs.cf.ac.uk/Mike.Alder-Woolf/BMR.HTML

We'll need two months to recover...

The End in Sight!

This is the summit! It's the one in the middle and is 886 metres high.