Well it took the longest 28 hours of my life but we crossed the finish line in just under 28 hours after we started!!!
I thought I'd just wack down a few thoughts and feelings so that both my readers can get an idea as to how I am feeling and felt at the time.
I was so up for this from the start. The prospect of not finishing never once crossed my mind, even months ago. The thought of crossing the finish line and getting a medal was always paramount. During training we'd walked a few long walks, the longest being about 35 miles, and I'd never thought that this was beyond me or that I would fail. Even during the low points, which for me was never really that low, just a "bloody hell, this is getting harder" type feeling, I knew I'd get there. It's amazing the motivation of bragging rights over a brother will provide!
So, to the event! At the campsite we really didn't ever get ahead of the game. We didn't get there early enough, we took aged queuing etc, even missed the start!! Next time will be different. :) It rained all night and whilst I slept OK, thanks perhaps to earplugs and an eye mask, I think the girls both had bad nights, which can't have helped.
I felt good about the first half of the walk. I would have liked to have gone a bit faster (didn't like being overtaken all the time!) but we couldn't. On my live update I was moaning about this 10 hours in I see!
My feet tend to start to get a little sore after about 15 miles then just stay a bit sore, and the walk was no different. I'm not sure of the value or not of Nurofen, but everyone else was taking them so why not me! Maybe it helped, I don't know. it certainly didn't harm! My legs eventually got tired, but were never in any pain, even now, a day later.
Tiredness definitely got us all. Jo, star support crewer noticed how we kept going to the cars to get something, only to go back a minute later for the same thing! By CP7 at about 12.30am I was properly tired. THe walk there had been very slow and the wind on the ridge was freezing. I had a bit of a sense of humour failure there, telling Katie that we couldn't afford to walk that slowly again, I was just too cold and couldn't generate any body warmth. To give her her massive dues, even though she was suffering she picked herself up and put in a great leg to CP8 with Colin (thanks mate!)
After CP8 there was a killer long leg, made only a bit more bearable by the fact that the sun was coming up, and that once you finally made it to CP9 there were just 2 short legs to go. Sasha was having big problems with her little toe at around CP8 but was not going to quit, she just needed to crack on as much as possible, which she did with Colin whilst I walked with Katie, bringing up the rear.
So overall, the first 30 or so were fine top CP5 (we knew they would be, that was training distance, and Colin's brother kindly brought us all Chicken Chow Mein - perfect!) the next 15 or so to CP7 were when the going got a bit tough (and cold!), CP8 was good for me personally as I blasted it with Sasha (or it felt like I did, will look at our times another time!) but 8 to 9 was tough, made worse by me getting a painful blister at 51 miles (see pic!!) which was helped by compeed and nurofen but definitely put a cramper on my walking for a while!. 9 to the finish were slow, but the nearness of the goal kept us going! Baby steps were talked about a lot - just keep moving!
As for now, I keep talking of next year as i feel I have unfinished business - 24 hours deadline is taunting me! Also, knowing the event now will make for better planning.
More later as I get time and have more time to reflect!
Sunday 20 July 2008
Saturday 19 July 2008
Sunset on the Downs
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Heading down to checkpoint 4.
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Slow down!
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Breakfast at 5am
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Friday 18 July 2008
Friday 30 May 2008
A Blustery Day
Trailwalker Training Walk 13 - South Downs Way 24/05/08 with Colin and Katie - 22.9 miles from Cocking to Steyning. Av speed 2.54 mph. Total vertical ascent 3000ft
It was a very windy day! But seeing as we had a choice of walking on Saturday and bank holiday Monday, I'm glad we chose the day we did as Monday was utterly miserable! We started off pretty well, walking from CP2 of the actual Trailwalker course to CP3 in a very good time, which would have put us in 18 hour finishing time, despite a good hill to get us warmed up on at the beginning. Up on the top the wind was beginning to pick up, but given the sun we really didn't mind. Katie was feeling comfortable, which was a good sign as it was the first walk she'd done since the 18 miler that really caused her some hip discomfort. She'd been to the physio who gave her some exercises and stretching tips to strengthen the key hip and groin muscles, and we stopped from time to time for a breather while she stretched off. Its fair to say that the walking got slower as the day progressed, but none of the hills we encountered were too bad and a couple of them we hardly noticed as we chatted as we walked. the views once again were lovely, but as we reached the end we were glad to get off the ridge as the evening started to approach and the temperature was beginning to drop. Towards the end we were now walking quite slowly, and Katie's hips were a little ginger I think. We stopped for more stretches as the day went on, but overall it was a good workout and the important thing was that it gave Katie confidence that come the day her body should hold up (we hope!!)
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Marathon!
Trailwalker Training Walk 12 - South Downs Marathon 11/05/08 with lots of us - see below - 26.5 miles from South Harting and back. Av speed 2.95 mph. Total vertical ascent 4298ft
We did a marathon on Saturday! 8 of us started and 8 of us finished. But that's just the start of the story... It was supposed to be just another training walk on the way to the Trailwalker, but it turned into a watershed I fear for a number of people.It all started so well. It was a 26.5 mile walk organised by the Sussex Long Distance Walkers Association and covered part of the South Downs way that will form part of the route in July. It was however, an absolutely scorching day, no clouds or breeze all day, and one that probably rose to about the high 20s or low 30s in the heat of the day. It was not ideal for exerting oneself in the sun for 8-10 hours!
We all met up on time, except Colin McPhail, typically the person who lived nearest arrived just after the 9am start time, so the group, consisting of myself, Jo and Sasha from Al's Angels (Katie was at Windsor doing important horse things!), Lucy, Laurence, Claire, Colin Johnson (Jo's friend and also BDO) and Colin McPhail, a contact of mine who is always up for a challenge, finally set off in bright sunshine from South Harting Village Hall 10 minutes or so later.
The first thing we had to deal with was two huge hills, the first called Tower Hill and the second called Beacon Hill (see pic, which doesn't do it justice). The latter was one of those hills that one can see from a long way away, just looming up infront of you. It was so steep that in many places steps had been formed in the chalk to help people climb up. Even by this point, only 4km into the walk, it already looked like there were likely to be two natural groups forming, given the speed we were all walking. In the front group were me, Sasha, Laurence and Colin McPhail. The others formed the second group.
Did I mention yet how damn hot it was? It really was very very hot! After the event I also noticed that our total vertical climb was only 111ft shy of the height of Ben Nevis! It certainly felt that way at times for sure.
The front group made it to the first manned checkpoint, (the "2" icon in the North East corner of the map) in reasonable time, only to get a call from the second group that they were lost and had overshot the turning to take them down the hillside. After about a 20 minute wait, they arrived safe and sound fortunately.
After a climb back up the steep side of the South Downs, we headed SSW on more forgiving slopes until we arrived at CP3 and the sweeping views you can see in the video clip. Whilst it was very beautiful, and finally we had a little wind, we had now covered some 22km in to the walk, so aside from a 10 minute break to change socks and get open our lunch we never really got to take in the beauty of our location. By now we were in the heat of the day, but we managed to keep up a pretty respectable 5.5-6km/h pace, and even jogged a few of the gentle downhill parts.
As we got past about 3pm the heat got a little cooler, and eventually we finished in 9 hours but it was a long day in the sun. Over the course I hasd my first taste of "Fat fingers" caused by all the blood congregating in my hands due to the hours of swinging. The capilliary action of the blood vessels isn't enough to get it all back up the arms again so it swells in the hand instead! You probably can't tell from the photo just how chubby they became!
I later also found a couple of blisters on the insides of my heels, but nothing too much, certainly not enough to stop me walking on. I must learn to dry my feet better though as if anything is going to stop me, it'll be feet I think at the moment. They did get very hot and wet. Sasha and Colin both finished strongly, running the last 3 or 4 miles. I stuck with them for about 1/2 a mile but I'm not built for speed (then again nor is Colin!) so I let them get on with it. I managed to get lost as I'd given my directions to the runners, but sorted myself out and eventually finished with Laurence who had caught up whilst I was lost. The other team came in about an hour later, Jo in particular looked absolutely shattered. I think for the members of the second group, and possibly also for Laurence, this walk had made them reconsider whether they could do twice the length, and then some. For me it's made me realise that I need to do more training. Lots more! We've decided to have a get together of all entrants on Friday to see how everyone feels, and I think we will have some drop outs. We shall see.
Sunday 27 April 2008
Almost a Munro!
Trailwalker Training Walk 11 - 26/04/08 with Sasha and Katie - 18.5 miles from Dorking to Leith Hill and back. Av speed 2.48 mph. Total vertical ascent 2750ft
A Munro, I'm told, is a Scottish mountain over 3000ft high. Well out total vertical ascent was only 2750ft but it was close enough for me!! For locals, that's the equivalent of going up and down Box Hill almost 6 times, so all in all a pretty good effort I feel.
However my Memory Map toy tells me me that the Trailwalker event is some 8000ft in total ascent, so we've got to get used to the hills!
Over all this was a good walk, though it did seem that we went slowly overall for some reason, and I'm not really sure why. Provided the path was not muddy we kept up a good pace and never really stopped for long, other than for half an hour at Leith Hill for lunch (where we were disturbed for the whole time by a bunch of D of E kids mucking about!) and another 10 minute stop for plasters and a wee rest. We had a couple of toilet breaks and the like, but did that really account for our slow mph? Maybe the mud slowed us down as we gingerly picked our way round patches that we kept encountering, especially on the Wotton Estate, that much of the early part of the walk was on. We didn't get badly lost ever, though we made a few small wrong turns, and found one footpath blocked, which caused a bit of a diversion.
We're doing a full marathon distance on 11 May along part of the South Downs Way so hopefully assuming that is reasonably marshalled etc we should be a little quicker.
I think by and large we fared well, though Katie's hip/groin seems to play up after about 10 miles, so hopefully a trip to a physio might help sort that out. It's probably muscular, but worth checking as 50 miles is a long way to go if it was causing her the discomfort it was whenever she went up a slope.
You'll see from the maps that we didn't do the full circle, but following our enforced diversion we decided we deserved a car to pick us up, so fortunately Katie's boyfriend was able to come and rescue us. we'd done out target of 18 miles so nothing lost!
I've got some mutterings in the camp about boredom whilst walking, so any ideas as to how to tackle it gratefully received!!
Monday 14 April 2008
Sun and the Rain
Trailwalker Training Walk 10 - 13/04/08 with Jo, Anne and Claire - 11.4 miles up Box Hill, down Box Hill then the same again. Av speed 2.43 mph. Total vertical ascent 1950ft
Another assault on Box Hill, another day of miserable weather, this time with Jo, Anne and Claire. It started OK weather-wise (except for Anne who was blowing hard at the top of Box Hill - again we parked at the bottom) but pretty much as soon as we got to the top the weather turned and pretty much rained for the rest of the walk. Occasionally the sun broke through but overall the clouds and rain won the day.
The walking was slow going, partially because of the hilliness of the course and partially because of the muddy conditions. There was one uphill stretch for a mile or so when pretty much every step was slipping, which made for very tiring and slow progress.
At the 8 mile mark, back at the top of Box Hill for the second time, Anne had pretty much had enough. A combination of the weather and the hills had left her utterly fed up and knackered, so she and Jo headed straight to the car park from the viewpoint at the top. Claire and I headed almost vertically down the slope to the Stepping Stones - thank heavens for the steps cut into the hill! A fallen tree and the heavy rain flooding the river meant we could not cross there so we had to use the bridge a little further downstream. We then knocked off a few more miles of relatively flat walking in the rain to get back to the car park and home for a hot bath!
Once again, and in the face of heavier and more prolonged rain I stayed dry in my North Face Softshell, aside from where the logo is, which did get a little wet inside annoyingly. The only other thing of note was that I ran out of water which surprised me. I didn't fill up my bladder to the brim so not 100% sure how much I got through, but maybe seeing all that water around me all the time made me want more than normal?!
Overall a good workout, still not 100% solved the rain problem. I tried a wide brimmed hat that kept the rain off my face but did get utterly sodden and was a pain to deal with.
The walking was slow going, partially because of the hilliness of the course and partially because of the muddy conditions. There was one uphill stretch for a mile or so when pretty much every step was slipping, which made for very tiring and slow progress.
At the 8 mile mark, back at the top of Box Hill for the second time, Anne had pretty much had enough. A combination of the weather and the hills had left her utterly fed up and knackered, so she and Jo headed straight to the car park from the viewpoint at the top. Claire and I headed almost vertically down the slope to the Stepping Stones - thank heavens for the steps cut into the hill! A fallen tree and the heavy rain flooding the river meant we could not cross there so we had to use the bridge a little further downstream. We then knocked off a few more miles of relatively flat walking in the rain to get back to the car park and home for a hot bath!
Once again, and in the face of heavier and more prolonged rain I stayed dry in my North Face Softshell, aside from where the logo is, which did get a little wet inside annoyingly. The only other thing of note was that I ran out of water which surprised me. I didn't fill up my bladder to the brim so not 100% sure how much I got through, but maybe seeing all that water around me all the time made me want more than normal?!
Overall a good workout, still not 100% solved the rain problem. I tried a wide brimmed hat that kept the rain off my face but did get utterly sodden and was a pain to deal with.
Friday 11 April 2008
My personal marathon
Well with the London Marathon coming up on Sunday, I thought it appropriate to update the world on my own training.
I went out again today for a run. I was quite pleased to find that after 10 I was feeling pretty good, strong even. The next 5 weren't too bad either, the next 5 were hard going, and then on to the finish line was hard going, but I kept running to the end, which was a cause of personal pride.
If only that was miles and not minutes!!
I went out again today for a run. I was quite pleased to find that after 10 I was feeling pretty good, strong even. The next 5 weren't too bad either, the next 5 were hard going, and then on to the finish line was hard going, but I kept running to the end, which was a cause of personal pride.
If only that was miles and not minutes!!
Saturday 5 April 2008
A bit hilly!
Trailwalker Training Walk 9 - 22/03/08 with Katie - 10 miles up Box Hill, down Box Hill then the same again. Av speed 2.96 mph. Total vertical ascent 1630ft
Damn it was hilly! But a good workout it has to be said. I didn't win myself any friends by parking at the bottom of Box Hill as a starting point, but the morning was a beauty to start with and the views over Denbies and the villages around was well worth the effort required to get to the top!
The weather got a bit more miserable but fortunately it never rained, just felt cold and miserable when in the shade or under tree cover.
It was good to walk a new route for a change, and nice to do Box Hill for once. Katie will be the first to admit sh slows up a bit on hills but there's never any hesitation, and a couple were fairly steep. Overall a good workout and one I think we should do again.
I'd really like to get down onto the South Downs Way but its an hours drive each way and I think we'll have to wait til we are doing longer walks which will make the time spent travelling more worthwhile!
Friday 4 April 2008
Another run!
Just bragging now, went for another run before work today!! Same distance only. Not going to extend too soon!
Wednesday 2 April 2008
If at first you don't succeed...
then skydiving is probably not for you! Ha ha!
Since Saturday's disastrous attempt at a fitness run I've been brooding on my failure and thinking about trying again. I had hoped to go Monday after work, then Tuesday after work, but work finished too late each time. I knew I was out Wednesday and Thursday late so they were no goes, so it only really left me one option - to go before work!
Yeah right.
Only I did! Surprising even myself, I found myself outside the house at 7.10am ready to run. This time I'd remembered to do my inhaler before and set off nice and slowly. To my pleasant surprise 20 minutes and 1.6 miles (2.6km sounds a bit longer!) later I was already back home having managed to run all the way to the tea shop by the racecourse and back. Ok, not the longest run in the world but its a world improved from what happened on Saturday and I could probably have carried on a bit, so all in all very satisfactory. I'll try and do the same distance a couple more times then up it to a couple of miles maybe!
Since Saturday's disastrous attempt at a fitness run I've been brooding on my failure and thinking about trying again. I had hoped to go Monday after work, then Tuesday after work, but work finished too late each time. I knew I was out Wednesday and Thursday late so they were no goes, so it only really left me one option - to go before work!
Yeah right.
Only I did! Surprising even myself, I found myself outside the house at 7.10am ready to run. This time I'd remembered to do my inhaler before and set off nice and slowly. To my pleasant surprise 20 minutes and 1.6 miles (2.6km sounds a bit longer!) later I was already back home having managed to run all the way to the tea shop by the racecourse and back. Ok, not the longest run in the world but its a world improved from what happened on Saturday and I could probably have carried on a bit, so all in all very satisfactory. I'll try and do the same distance a couple more times then up it to a couple of miles maybe!
Sunday 30 March 2008
A quick run
I did something very stupid on Thursday evening after a meeting in London - I swung past a specialised running shop near Victoria Station and bought myself some running shoes. I'd had it in mind for a while to use some running as part of my fitness campaign, and I wanted to have a pair of light non Goretex shoes for use on the event itself, and figured I would get more value out of them if I got them now and started running. It was also partially bought on by Katie saying she was going to enter a 5km run on 13 April at Dorney Lake.
Anyway, I got some very nice Asics Torano Gel 2 shoes and couldn't wait to give them a test...
Come Saturday morning I was (almost) raring to go. A nice gentle jog down to the Epsom Downs race course, along one side and back - just 3 miles, 5km, how hard could it be? After all I could knock off a 12 mile walk with no problems. I'd just go slow and steady and all would be well...
I know, it was silly, truly a case of "all the gear, no idea" but I had honestly forgotten why I've never liked running! I got all of a km under my belt and I thought I was about to collapse. That's probably an exaggeration , but it wasn't good! I think in small part it was down to my forgetting to use my inhaler before I went, as I was wheezing from an early stage, but basically whilst my legs were willing my lungs were struggling. In the end I managed a couple of miles alternating walking with running and returned home (jogging the last bit in case the neighbours were watching!) with my tail very much between my legs.
I've had a look on-line about building up a level of running fitness mixing walking and running and I'm determined to continue, but I was one sorry sight on Saturday morning!
Anyway, I got some very nice Asics Torano Gel 2 shoes and couldn't wait to give them a test...
Come Saturday morning I was (almost) raring to go. A nice gentle jog down to the Epsom Downs race course, along one side and back - just 3 miles, 5km, how hard could it be? After all I could knock off a 12 mile walk with no problems. I'd just go slow and steady and all would be well...
I know, it was silly, truly a case of "all the gear, no idea" but I had honestly forgotten why I've never liked running! I got all of a km under my belt and I thought I was about to collapse. That's probably an exaggeration , but it wasn't good! I think in small part it was down to my forgetting to use my inhaler before I went, as I was wheezing from an early stage, but basically whilst my legs were willing my lungs were struggling. In the end I managed a couple of miles alternating walking with running and returned home (jogging the last bit in case the neighbours were watching!) with my tail very much between my legs.
I've had a look on-line about building up a level of running fitness mixing walking and running and I'm determined to continue, but I was one sorry sight on Saturday morning!
Wednesday 26 March 2008
Wind, hail and rain
Trailwalker Training Walk 8 - 22/03/08 with Sasha, Anne and Lucy - 11 miles round Polesden Lacey, Effingham and the North Downs to the West of Ranmore. Av speed 2.6 mphDamn it was cold. And wet. And windy. And muddy and slippery!
So the weather forecast wasn't good to start with but I was keen to get out and surprisingly so were the others. It all started so well, a gentle stroll from the car park down to the YHA hostel at Tanners Hatch. I suppose it was our own fault, but we missed the sharp left had turn needed at the bottom of the hill towards Polesden Farm as planned and ended up heading off towards Polesden Lacey itself! Not the best start to the day! It wasn't problem I figured, we'd just catch up with our route the other side of the estate.
The problem was, being a national trust property, the garden's boundaries were fairly solid and impregnable and for about 10 mins we must have looked like a right bunch of muppets, all togged up, in the light rain at this point, trying to find holes in the fence to crawl through. In the end we crossed over a road via a small footbridge, dodged the barbed wire at the base of the bridge and slid down the steep bank onto the road below. I think it was Sasha who nearly took out an unsuspecting cyclist who was slowly plodding his way up the steep road on his mountain bike and must have got the fright of his life to see a lycra-clad blonde sliding down the bank from under a bridge! You can see the bridge and the bank in the picture above!
Finally back on track we began to notice just how cold it was. Woolly hats and gloves were definitely in order. The cold was OK, but just as we crossed over High Barn road in Effingham we were hit full on by 90 degree hail, whipping in from the North! it only lasted 5 minutes but it certainly made up for time with ferocity and by the time we crossed over Beech Avenue and onto Effingham Golf Course it had stopped. For a while. Somewhat surprisingly as we crossed over the 12th fairway we were surprised to see a few hardy souls on the course. We looked at each other, no doubt each thinking the others were mad to be out with weather like this!!
Eventually we headed South and got back onto the Ranmore Common land. By now a couple of us were quite cold and it didn't take much persuasion for everyone to agree to cut a mile or so off the walk and head back towards the car park, which was still 4 miles or so away.
Once again the going along the North Downs was pretty soggy underfoot, with plenty of slipping and sliding. By now Anne was a very tired walker and the weather didn't do her any favours as the hail came back for the last half hour or so. Fortunately it's not as bad as rain as you don't actually get wet, and the trees took any sting out of them, but it was still a relief when we eventually got back to the car park.
This was one of the slower walks we had done. Aside from one or two small stops to slide under bridges, find short cuts etc we didn't really stop for long. I think we just walked slower. And in a positive way I could tell. A few walks into my training and I was more than happy to have continued at a faster pace, but Trailwalker is a team event (and I had the map!!) so I could hardly push on faster and leave one or two stragglers.
Once again the softshell jacket held up well in the wind and hail and rain. My feet stayed dry in my Salomon Elios XCR, and the skiing long johns under my trousers didn't chaff. Result!
Monday 10 March 2008
The back story...
Trailwalker Training Walk 1 - 24/11/07 with Jo - 5 miles round the North Downs above Reigate. Av speed 2.97mph
Our first walk of any sort, and it was at least dry, but also freezing! We parked at the top of Reigate Hill, just off the motorway and walked along (and down and up!) the North Downs. I didn't really think about the route and poor Jo had to slog up the steepest part of the North Downs for miles around - Sorry!
I also placed a cache (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=fc38be96-c805-42d8-a01f-2f5282e60e72) on the way round - one of a series of Trailwalker Training caches I intend to hide on my walks.
It was Jo and I who first talked each other (and then others) into doing this walk in the office one day in October I think, so it was fitting the first tentative steps were taken by us. Jo won the prize for first person to complain about chaffing. Other than that, not the most eventful occasion, but one has to start somewhere. As shown by the pale blue line on the map.
Trailwalker Training Walk 2 - 01/12/07 with Katie - 6.25 miles round the North Downs above Reigate. (Red line above) Av speed 2.96 mph
This time Katie was the unlucky victim, and was really the first time I'd properly spoken to Katie, so it was really good opportunity to learn more about our latest team member. Katie works in the same department as me but in a slightly different area of expertise so we hadn't really known each other before we started asking around for team members. She's done some walking before whilst holidaying in Africa and has been really enthusiastic and committed from the start. She's also a very good horsewoman, if that's the right word, competing at international level previously and now focusing on carriage driving. Katie is a little quiet but with an air of confidence and always with a smile on her face and I think she's a really great addition to the team.
We walked through part of Walton Heath Golf Course, a former home of the Ryder Cup in 1981 and one of the hardest courses I have played - way too much heather and wind for a hacker like me, but a lovely course and deservedly in the Worlds best courses. It is also the only English Club to have had a reigning Monarch as Captain, when the Prince of Wales became King during his Captaincy in 1935/6.
Trailwalker Training Walk 3 - 13/01/07 with Sasha and Katie - 10.3 miles round the North Downs from Ranmore Common towards (Red line below) Av speed 2.64mph
The first time that Sasha joined us on a 'walk' - or the words longest slip in poor Sasha's case!
Sasha was originally invited whilst she was on a break in her homeland of South Africa. I can only assume the sun and sea had given her a false sense of serenity when she came back and agreed to join our little walking team. Given that she had only joined our team at work at the start of the year, accepting to do this walk with us was really a case of throwing herself in at the deep end. She had worked with and knew Katie previously so it wasn't 100% blind, but still, a good effort.
Sasha had been in training for a half marathon that is imminent, and turned up for the walk in her running gear, including very clean running shoes....
The ground was absolutely soaking throughout the walk and Sasha did very well to stay on her feet for as much of the time as she did, as the paths were very muddy and even Katie and I win 'proper' walking shoes found the conditions very slippery! It was however a really fun walk with some great views down over Reigate and off towards the South Downs. We also passed through a couple of the famous Lovelace Bridges (one in the pic, along with very muddy footwear!) (http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/East-Horsleys-Lovelace-Bridges-Trail) in the area.
Trailwalker Training Walk 4 - 27/01/07 with Katie - 7.4 miles around Leith Hill area (Red route below) Av speed 2.6mph
The first of two walks round the beautiful Leith Hill area of Surrey via the Leith Hill Tower, the highest point in South East England I believe.
We started from the Plough Inn car park in Coldharbour (shame I didn't have time afterwards for a pint!) and headed NorthWest towards Wooton before turning back and walking along the Greensand Way, passing, somewhat surprisingly, a waterfall on the way, before heading uphill for a couple of miles arriving at Leith Hill (where we stopped for tea and cakes and probably ruined our average speed!) before a swift downhill back to the car park!
Trailwalker Training Walk 5 - 10/02/07 with Katie, Anne, Sasha, Jo, Claire and Lucy - 9.2 miles around Leith Hill area (Blue route left) Av speed 2.3mph
Me and 6 women - way too outnumbered. Still, I struggled on round! Much the same as above, but with more chatter. Well, for the first couple of miles anyway! We went to see the waterfall again where Al's Angels Team posed for a pic, then back out to Friday Street. Walking past the Stephen Langton pub at about 11.30am and smelling the cooking was tough not stopping.
We did however stop at the Leith Hill Tower for cakes and a hot drink - I think the promise of cake was what got some people that far!!
I was greeted at work the next day by one anonymous walker with the comment "My **** hurts!" but aside from that, I think everyone enjoyed themselves!! Now all we have to do is that distance another 6 times and we'd have finished!
Our first walk of any sort, and it was at least dry, but also freezing! We parked at the top of Reigate Hill, just off the motorway and walked along (and down and up!) the North Downs. I didn't really think about the route and poor Jo had to slog up the steepest part of the North Downs for miles around - Sorry!I also placed a cache (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=fc38be96-c805-42d8-a01f-2f5282e60e72) on the way round - one of a series of Trailwalker Training caches I intend to hide on my walks.
It was Jo and I who first talked each other (and then others) into doing this walk in the office one day in October I think, so it was fitting the first tentative steps were taken by us. Jo won the prize for first person to complain about chaffing. Other than that, not the most eventful occasion, but one has to start somewhere. As shown by the pale blue line on the map.Trailwalker Training Walk 2 - 01/12/07 with Katie - 6.25 miles round the North Downs above Reigate. (Red line above) Av speed 2.96 mph
This time Katie was the unlucky victim, and was really the first time I'd properly spoken to Katie, so it was really good opportunity to learn more about our latest team member. Katie works in the same department as me but in a slightly different area of expertise so we hadn't really known each other before we started asking around for team members. She's done some walking before whilst holidaying in Africa and has been really enthusiastic and committed from the start. She's also a very good horsewoman, if that's the right word, competing at international level previously and now focusing on carriage driving. Katie is a little quiet but with an air of confidence and always with a smile on her face and I think she's a really great addition to the team.We walked through part of Walton Heath Golf Course, a former home of the Ryder Cup in 1981 and one of the hardest courses I have played - way too much heather and wind for a hacker like me, but a lovely course and deservedly in the Worlds best courses. It is also the only English Club to have had a reigning Monarch as Captain, when the Prince of Wales became King during his Captaincy in 1935/6.
Trailwalker Training Walk 3 - 13/01/07 with Sasha and Katie - 10.3 miles round the North Downs from Ranmore Common towards (Red line below) Av speed 2.64mph
The first time that Sasha joined us on a 'walk' - or the words longest slip in poor Sasha's case!Sasha was originally invited whilst she was on a break in her homeland of South Africa. I can only assume the sun and sea had given her a false sense of serenity when she came back and agreed to join our little walking team. Given that she had only joined our team at work at the start of the year, accepting to do this walk with us was really a case of throwing herself in at the deep end. She had worked with and knew Katie previously so it wasn't 100% blind, but still, a good effort.
Sasha had been in training for a half marathon that is imminent, and turned up for the walk in her running gear, including very clean running shoes....
The ground was absolutely soaking throughout the walk and Sasha did very well to stay on her feet for as much of the time as she did, as the paths were very muddy and even Katie and I win 'proper' walking shoes found the conditions very slippery! It was however a really fun walk with some great views down over Reigate and off towards the South Downs. We also passed through a couple of the famous Lovelace Bridges (one in the pic, along with very muddy footwear!) (http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/East-Horsleys-Lovelace-Bridges-Trail) in the area.
Trailwalker Training Walk 4 - 27/01/07 with Katie - 7.4 miles around Leith Hill area (Red route below) Av speed 2.6mph
The first of two walks round the beautiful Leith Hill area of Surrey via the Leith Hill Tower, the highest point in South East England I believe.We started from the Plough Inn car park in Coldharbour (shame I didn't have time afterwards for a pint!) and headed NorthWest towards Wooton before turning back and walking along the Greensand Way, passing, somewhat surprisingly, a waterfall on the way, before heading uphill for a couple of miles arriving at Leith Hill (where we stopped for tea and cakes and probably ruined our average speed!) before a swift downhill back to the car park!
Trailwalker Training Walk 5 - 10/02/07 with Katie, Anne, Sasha, Jo, Claire and Lucy - 9.2 miles around Leith Hill area (Blue route left) Av speed 2.3mph
Me and 6 women - way too outnumbered. Still, I struggled on round! Much the same as above, but with more chatter. Well, for the first couple of miles anyway! We went to see the waterfall again where Al's Angels Team posed for a pic, then back out to Friday Street. Walking past the Stephen Langton pub at about 11.30am and smelling the cooking was tough not stopping.We did however stop at the Leith Hill Tower for cakes and a hot drink - I think the promise of cake was what got some people that far!!
I was greeted at work the next day by one anonymous walker with the comment "My **** hurts!" but aside from that, I think everyone enjoyed themselves!! Now all we have to do is that distance another 6 times and we'd have finished!
Walk no. 7 with Katie and Claire; 09-03-08
Another Leatherhead walk, again 12.5 miles, this time with Katie and Claire.I was keen to try out my new "North Face" softshell jacket that i bought for £10 off Ebay. I use the quotation marks as I'm still not 100% sure if it is the real deal or not as it came from China! Either way, this walk was its first outing and turned out to be a pretty good test.
First off Jo bunked off, something about her boiler breaking and her having to stay in to wait for the repairman. Nothing to do with the forecast Jo?! :) Then Anne cried off, suddenly remembering that he had to go to her Godson's birthday party or something like that.... must remember that one!! :)
Sasha also couldn't make it, she has a cold and didn't want to aggravate it the week before her half marathon in Bath on Sunday. So it was just Katie and Claire and me.
The route we took is above and it's elevation profile is below.
The weather forecast didn't look great, but we headed out from Leatherhead railway station car park in fairly warm sunshine. It was reasonably windy, but the windstopper material in my jacket seemed to be doing its stuff. Certainly with just the jacket and a Helly Hansen Lifa t-shirt on I didn't feel remotely cold at any point on the walk. However as we walked along the banks of the river Mole towards the Mickleham Bends we could see we were heading into dark clouds, and so weren't too surprised that after a few miles we felt the first drops of rain. Typically it started just as I was placing a cache (Trailwalker Training cache 5 I think). I stuck a cap on and pulled the rainproof cover over my rucksack and wondered how the jacket would stand up to a good soaking. It only rained for about 20 minutes but the jacket held up fine in its first test. I know its hardly scientific, but it was good enough to give me confidence that it would do the trick for a passing shower or two, and only possibly be an issue in a big downpour.
On the other hand my legs got wet, and a little cold, but nothing serious. I've got some lightweight trousers which dried out pretty quickly once it stopped, but for a while the combination of driving wind and rain made them a little cold. But the biggest annoyance was water getting down my neck. I need to have a plan for that I think, as it was just plain irritating. maybe a scarf or a better hat? Dunno.
I didn't use my poles this time. I will try them again I think just to be sure, but I think whilst they made me walk faster for sure, they did get in the way of me playing with my iPod, GPS, food etc. I think I just like to fiddle too much to justify poles. Interesting, as from everything I had read I was pretty sure i would use poles on the walk. I guess I still might, but it's put a big question mark in my mind.
I haven't yet bought my new rucksack, (thinking about the Inov-8 RacePro 12 but likely to go for the Raidlight Endurance) but to be honest given there is no support team on the training walks, it's quite useful having a larger sack for waterproofs, gloves, food, hats etc. I know I carry more than I should, it's just in my nature to be over-prepared for something like this, but for now, and over these distances the larger 25l sack is fine and the weight hasn't been an issue. It's got an airflow back so isn't uncomfortable either.
The walk itself was pretty uneventful aside from the weather, although the rainbow was a nice sight, and the scenery throughout, even in the wet, is lovely. We had good views over Dorking, Westhumble, Ranmore and Box Hill at points, as well as over the Denbies vinyard estate. We ever walked conveniently straight past Katie's 2 ponies, so we had a small breather whilst she went in to give them some hay for the day.
I think we kept up a decent pace. The GPSr said a moving average of 3.2mph. We stopped for about 10 mins towards the end, at a gap in the hedge overlooking Bocketts Farm to watch a pig race, but apart from that we only stopped for breath a couple of times. Even so, it was enough to knock the overall average down to 2.7 mph - which thinking about it would have us home in a touch over 23 hours - that would more than do me! Although it is very sobering to realise that having spent over 4 hours marching through the Surrey countryside we'd have to do it another 4 more times to get to the race distance!
This walk means I have now done, in total training, just over the course distance. Total so far 70.8 miles walked.
Welcome
I've no idea what will appear here, or how long it will last. But I guess until I start I'll never know, so here goes.
Basically its Rowley's fault. And Jo Beesley's. But basically Rowley's. He started all this Trailwalker stuff. Without him I would never had heard of it. Would never have felt inclined to commit to it, and not be here and now writing this blog.
But I guess really I'm glad. I'm enjoying the training, though I know I haven't really started doing enough yet.
I suppose I'll detail my walks etc here and how training is going and other stuff that springs to mind. I don't imagine it will be very interesting but might be a nice record in time.
Basically its Rowley's fault. And Jo Beesley's. But basically Rowley's. He started all this Trailwalker stuff. Without him I would never had heard of it. Would never have felt inclined to commit to it, and not be here and now writing this blog.
But I guess really I'm glad. I'm enjoying the training, though I know I haven't really started doing enough yet.
I suppose I'll detail my walks etc here and how training is going and other stuff that springs to mind. I don't imagine it will be very interesting but might be a nice record in time.
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