What do you mean that was only training?!

Afternoon all!

Whilst I appreciate that my last blog was dramatically short, it did sum up all I wanted to say at 2am. But now on reflection I feel I must fill in a few of the gaps of my personal experience of the final training walk.

Whilst the other guys seemed more and more vitalised during this walk as the terrain got tougher, I on the other hand was constantly reminded that however tough this walk got, next time I would be approaching it after already being completely drained having walked 65+ miles. This was not funny anymore! I was hoping for a smooth and steady assent having only ever tackled Pen-y-Fan from the Storey Arms approach, but to save an extra 10 miles by needing to walk around the Brecons, our approach, twice was more than eyeopeningly steep, and in all seriousness looked quite like the "Challenges" picture thumb which Ken posted before our walk. I was not impressed!! That coupled with the fact that I was the least experienced fell walker amongst the team that day, as I had never climbed at night, gave me an uneasy feeling about the final push. Please don't get me wrong the easy bits were lovely, i.e. the canal and section over the top. But the climb to the cairn was for me, the toughest part of the walk. This section of the walk is large contrasts, spectacular reviving views, and a few heavy climbs! But it is nobody's fault, no-one said this was easy!!

It doesn't mean however that I am at all prepared to give in, I'm just bracing myself for what I know will be a hard slog. This is where your help will be appreciated, we are gonna need all the moral support we can get in the final walk, so I must ask, if you have volunteered and said you would like to walk a stretch will us, that would be awesome, but please make sure you contact Jonty, and he will organise the details with you.

On an alternative tact, now that the training walk is done, we need to focus on why we are doing this.... raising money for Macmillan. Therefore can we impose on you? If you are a regular reader of this blog, are you able to help the Spa2summit team and have a small fundraiser in your work place or office, i.e. an impromptu coffee morning or simply distribute fliers or take a sponsorship form or simply tell others about the challenge? I'll leave you ponder this matter, but any extra assistance would be hugely appreciated by the whole team and Macmillan as we build up to the walk with less than four weeks to go.

Finally, as Ken mentioned earlier, we have had a team member who has not received much of a mention. Wilson. Wilson, the bold and noble. Wilson, the spherical and golfy! He was unavailable to come with us on Saturday, but so far he has walked (or should that be rolled?!) with us for roughly 55 miles. He is a strong asset to the team and seems to be a better conversationalist than me on these walks. I feel he has taken a back seat in this challenge for too long.... so people, I have the tremendous privilege in introducing.... WILLLLSOOONNN!!!..........

Thanks for your support!

Sole Train #2

It's been almost a week since Spa2Summit's second training walk and the confidence that we'll complete 70 miles is flooding back. I have to admit that after this 35 mile training walk I was doubting whether we'd be able to do another 35 straight after.

As with the first training walk reaching the end was not necessarily the main goal. Familiarizing ourselves with the route, becoming accustomed with our gear, finding a suitable pace and noting any potential blister areas were of more importance. In these areas the day was a success.

Since the first walk I had acquired new footwear, socks, walking poles and pack (among a few other things).

1. Footwear: The new shoes (The North Face Hedgehog GTX XCR) were a revelation! On the first walk with chunky walking boots I had blisters within a mere six miles; on this second walk I had mild hotspots just forming by the time we reached 35 miles! It can't be ignored that their success is also due to some fantastic socks and lashings of Compeed plasters applied to my feet before and throughout the walk.
2. Walking Poles: I've never been a fan of walking poles but thought I'd give them a go and, once you get used to them, they make a difference. I went without them for most of the walk but introduced them with about fifteen miles to go when I began feeling my energy levels dropping.
3. Pack: One fault I have while walking is that I tend to ration my water intake. This is a big mistake so I bought a Camelbak Mule, a backpack that holds a resevoir of water that runs through a tube to your front so that you can hydrate yourself at any time without having to hunt around for your bottle or flask. At the points where we met up with Jonty I had a big bottle of Lucozade Sport waiting to provide me with the needed salt and its isotonic goodness. Hydration on this walk was not a problem. I did get some back pain in the final stages but this can probably be sorted by tweaking the position and tightness of the pack on my back.
4. Food: With a constant supply of Science In Sport bars and gels, Mars Bars, bananas, Wine Gums and Dextro Energy tablets, as well as sandwiches for lunch, food was not a problem either, although towards the end of the walk the effort of actually eating something saw me cut down my intake - something I'll have to keep an eye on.

All in all, problems encountered from the first walk were eliminated in this one. There is still a great deal of fine-tuning to be done between now and 19th June, most of it being psychological. In the last six days I feel confident that most of that has been done and the enthusiasm to take on the full seventy is fast returning!

. . . . . .

In this age of efficient and quick travel the Earth has become smaller. This is great because, generally, one is never more than a few days from anywhere. As with all progress, though, something has to be lost. With the advances of modern travel, western man has forgotten distance in relation to walking. For example, when telling people that we plan to walk 70 miles non-stop we encounter either one of two responses: awe on one hand and polite indifference on the other. Those who display a sort of awe (this is my ego's favourite type of response!) are ones who you can tell are, or have been, walkers; those who display indifference are arguably ones who have embraced modern transport options and think of 70 miles as an hour's journey on a clear motorway. Before Spa2Summit came into existence I suppose I too struggled with understanding just how far 70 miles is on foot, even though I've always lived an active life and done regular large walks and hikes. This is the first time, however, that I've had a specific distance to aim for rather than say, a ridge, peak, hostel, pub or whatever. What I'm trying to say is this task is difficult. It will take its toll on the five of us taking part. So please continue to donate, not just to help the nurses and hard-working staff of Macmillan but also to give us a boost when we struggle, knowing that we have your enthusiastic support!

The Spa2Summit 'Plodcast'

As you should know by now, the Spa2Summit team are heading out into the world this weekend for our second training walk. Since our first walk we have all got new kit, whether it's stuff we've bought or had kindly donated. That's the main point of the training walk, to experiment with kit and learn our personal limitations, success is less important.

At this moment, however, I feel very excited and confident. I'm extremely happy about my health and fitness with training having gone exceptionally well. As the weather has been steadily improving the amount of time at the gym has decreased and the time spent out in the open air has increased. Also, I'm saving money on petrol as I choose to now run to a lot of my destinations. All this, along with a much-improved diet, result in an enormous sense of well-being. My only worry now is whether I'll stick to this routine when the June 19th walk is over, I certainly hope so. We may need a second project!

What I really wanted to talk about today was The Spa2Summit Plodcast. How many episodes we make we don't know but we thought we'd attempt our first tomorrow on our training walk. This is where we need your help. If you have any questions about Spa2Summit or anything(!) please email them to chris@spa2summit.org along with the name of who you wish to attempt to answer them. Also, any messages of encouragement are most welcome and we'll try to include them on the plodcast. Thank you so much! Keep donating!

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!!)