Four weeks to go

Four weeks to go

If you have read my previous blogs, you’ll know that in May I’m joining my sister, Rebecca, for the ‘Cardiff’ leg of her Circumnavigating round Wales walk for the charity Shelter Cymru.

On the 3rd of April, with only four weeks to my 60 mile walk, I walked a small part of the West Highland Way. This was one of my late husband’s most favourite walks, so a nostalgic journey for me. At Glasgow airport I met up with Su, my friend of 43 years, who had travelled up from Cardiff.  I don’t know why I always choose to walk with super fit people but Su is super fit – running most mornings, with a personal trainer in tow twice a week who thinks nothing of jogging up a Welsh Peak on a weekend.

As you can imagine, it was music to my ears when Su asked if we would have time to visit The Coach House Tea Room in Luss. I am not sure if she was hoping for a ‘marvellous’ cake or just wanted to see the lovely waiters in their tartan kilts, but the rather long detour was made. After several cinnamon toasts (worth the detour any day), we went back to the other side of the loch at Dryman, where our walk began. We were walking to Conic Hill, through Garadhban forest and back again.

The forecast had predicted rain but we risked leaving wet weather trousers in the car thinking that if we got wet, we would dry out again. I really don’t like those sweaty garments! It was fantastic walking through forest with the sound of amazing bird song. I find the uphills are far easier with bird song as your background music. The walking was not hard going but Su was setting quite a pace and I worked up a serious sweat!  After about 3 miles we stopped for some tucker and as I really have been listening to Earle, I only had a small energy bar with a layer of chocolate (oh come on Earle that can’t matter!). My troubled spine was grumbling a bit and I wish I had paid more attention to Earle’s video of appropriate exercise. It always feels good when I just bend in the middle and let my arms swing.

Then, it was onwards and upwards, literally, as we were now walking up the Conic Hill. Su was like a wee mountain goat, I was more troll-like. However, I know I could not have kept up this pace even a couple of weeks ago, so I do know I am seeing small improvements – they just need to be quicker and bigger!

Before we reached the summit, we saw clouds descending rapidly and although we kept going for a while, always wanting to see just round the next corner, we realised the only sensible thing to do was keep below the cloud. It is so easy to get disorientated whilst hill walking due to a quick turn in the weather.  Downwards is in many ways easier, but oh, not on the knees!

So another 8 miles in the bag – plus the following day a two mile walk around Pollock Park, Glasgow. I do feel fitter and also now 5lbs lighter. I am seeing beautiful parts of this very lovely country I live in, spending quality time with great friends, breathing fresh air and having heart-warming encounters with the native fauna.  I also cherish the warm cosy bed I can tumble into each night. That can’t be said for so many homeless people. The real purpose of this quest is to join my sister who is circumnavigating the Welsh border, raising awareness and funds for Shelter Cymru.

Earle’s Advice

I’m becoming a little envious of Sarah’s weekends. There’s no better way to help the time of day and the miles pass more easily, than to team up with a friend. Committing to join someone else also means less chance of remaining tucked up under the duvet after the rigours of the working week. Sarah’s the last person to waste a day and feel guilty by its end, but many people need to have made a promise to someone else because they’ll happily break promises they’ve made to themselves.

If slumming around at home at the weekend isn’t a recipe for fulfilment, then getting out there amongst the terrain, forests and birds certainly is. Home isn’t often a place of peace, joy and health but by stepping out of our domestic environment and into that surrounding us – the space, spring renewal and sense of escapism cannot but make us feel free.

If you ever go for a walk with Sarah, you might be wise to forget the peace bit as she is a bit of a chatterbox. For any friend out there who needs a break from such people though, the simple solution is to speed up a little.

The fact that Sarah’s back isn’t stopping her is a great sign that, though she is pushing herself, it is becoming stronger. Hopefully Sarah’s general fitness will be matched by her back but there may come a point where it ceases to improve as fast and it begins to limit what the rest of her body can do. If applying Atrogel before, during and after the walks becomes insufficient as the mileage continues to accumulate, then the addition of our Atrosan Devil’s Claw should keep the inflammation under control. It’s licensed for muscular pain and backache, ideal indications for Sarah’s purposes. In fact, I’m going to now say that Sarah should really begin to up her mileage for the next 3 weeks and she might want to consider using the Atrosan to make sure this extra workload isn’t accompanied by extra discomfort.

The week leading up to her joining her sister should be an easy one so that the effects of the exercise can sink in. No fitness gains can be had in the final week in time for the big days in Wales, so that leaves just three weeks of training! We need to start replicating what’s ahead and so walking both days at the weekend is a must between now and the end of the third week. The total mileage over those weekends needs to build up to reach around 20 miles too.

We we’re all working this weekend in London so I’ll be asking Sarah what exactly she did on her lieu day!

Time is ticking!