tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36172456907076057692024-03-12T17:38:46.888-07:00Amy's Three Peaks ChallengeAmyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-29539418077205145362012-06-25T14:36:00.000-07:002012-06-25T14:36:02.804-07:00Nearly there...Yep, it's nearly here everyone. Very, very soon I will start to talk about something other than The Three Peaks. Thanking for sticking with me on this, believe me, I'm even starting to get bored of it now!<br />
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Have a strange mix of excitement and panic at the moment. Part of me however is more laid back than I think I should be. Having been so disappointed to miss out, and at such short notice as well, last time I think part of me hasn't quite registered that this is happening in just 4 days - I'm hoping this is maybe a good thing, not to get too stressed out by it.<br />
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Wrote my 'to do' and 'to pack' lists today and have started getting everything ready (see photo below). Have just compared it to last year's list <a href="http://amysthreepeaks.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/lists-lists-lists.html" target="_blank">here</a> and I'm pleased to say that they are pretty similar, hopefully this is a good sign that I haven't forgotten anything....<br />
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I will of course update this blog once I've recovered from the challenge. I'm hoping to do some updates while I'm going along (well, between mountains) via Twitter, you can follow me at @AmysThreePeaks</div>
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It would be foolish of me not to give my fundraising page just one final push. I am doing this challenge as a personal challenge to me, and also to raise money for two very important charities The Princes' Trust and JDRF. I have entirely funded all the costs of the challenge (and last year's missed attempt) myself so every penny raised really is going to a good cause. As I write this I'm just £30 off my target, and I can't begin to tell you how much of a boost it will be to know I've reached my target by the day of the challenge, if you can help please click on the link..... <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge" target="_blank">http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge</a> (and of course feel free to share it with friends and family!)</div>
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Thank you to everyone who has supported me both in sponsorship, coming for walks with me or just general moral support and encouragement, really couldn't have done it without you all. </div>
<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-46497549345187003192012-06-18T05:00:00.002-07:002012-06-18T05:03:38.717-07:00Day trip to DerbyshireWith two weeks to go, this weekend's walk was my last 'proper walk' before the challenge, I think I may have saved the best (and most difficult) for last!<br />
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The day started early, leaving Norwich at 545am for the long drive to Derbyshire for a day trip in the PEak District. Leaving in Norfolk which has a distinct lack of hills it was obvious from the landscape as soon as we arrived that this was going to be quite a different walk. We started off in Edale and climbed eventually to the top of Kinder Scout, the highest point in the peak district, before returning to Edale (with an unexpected detour!) via Jacob's Ladder, a total walk of just over 11.5 miles. The walk involved a fair bit of scrambling, hard work but worth it for the spectacular views once we got there! The weather wasn't great so the views were a little hazy, but the rain held off for most of the day so we were pretty lucky really.<br />
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For those that are interested in these things, the route can be seen <a href="http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/activity/running/detail/2001548292?external_share_id=ab8e9661-e4b8-4ad9-aac9-481bceed08fa" target="_blank">here. </a><br />
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There were certainly points where I found it hard going, but I'm not expecting the challenge to be easy so I suppose that's ok. The point is I managed it so I hope I can manage the challenge. Not aching too much today, hopefully that's testament to the training I've been doing, rather than I'm going to suffer tomorrow instead! All in all though, with less than two weeks to go I feel pretty well prepared for the challenge, with a good sprinkling of nerves in for good measure!<br />
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Thanks to Gary and Rebecca for the company, navigation and driving for yesterday's walk!<br />
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With so little time to go before the challenge it would be a little remiss of me not to give my fundraising page a bit of a plug, only £100 off my target so if you are able to help me get there please <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge" target="_blank">click here!</a><br />
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Some pictures:<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-42322094525471119812012-06-10T15:10:00.001-07:002012-06-10T15:10:37.478-07:00Nearly there....With only three weeks to go until the challenge I took myself off for a training walk today from Reedham to Brundall, a total distance of 10.5 miles. A decent distance, and a walk that I've done several times before ( <a href="http://amysthreepeaks.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/route-i-will-never-walk-again.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://amysthreepeaks.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/singing-cher-to-cows.html" target="_blank">here</a> for example). The walk takes me from Reedham Ferry alongside the river and through Cantley and Buckenham. There the route moves away from the river through to Strumpshaw and finally into Brundall.<br />
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This is a route that I usually enjoy, unfortunately however today I was disappointed. I've walked this path on several occasions and have noted, in this blog, how its appearance changes throughout the different seasons. Sadly today it was so overgrown that it was very difficult to walk. I was having to walk through weeds, grasses etc (I'm no expert on what they actually were!) up to my armpits - ok I'm short but still! If I hadn't been so familiar with the route I would have almost certainly turned back as there was no real way to determine where the oath actually was. Indeed, even I took a wrong turn and ended up doing a rather hairy ten minutes on a very narrow piece of ground between two reed beds. Although I can't name much of the vegetation I could identify the multitude of stinging nettles, and sadly my legs still show evidence of these.... I don't know whether the overgrowth on the path was due to the weather, the lack of recent walkers because of the weather, council cuts or a combination of the three but whatever it is I do hope it doesn't stay that way for long, it's such a lovely route it would be such a shame if it were lost.<br />
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I finished my walk in Brundall where I was given a fantastic home cooked Sunday roast dinner (thanks Mum!) the perfect end to a long walk!<br />
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(It has nothing to do with the rest of the walk but I also saw this rather funky (and large) caterpillar on my walk so wanted to share the photo!)<br />
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-2386188339532878122012-05-27T11:32:00.000-07:002012-05-27T11:32:26.984-07:00One route, two very different walks...Last weekend's walk was a 9 miler along part of the North Norfolk coast on a quite grey, wet and windy day. Given the beautiful weather we have today I felt I couldn't pass up the chance to visit the coast so decided to repeat the same route to test what impact the weather had on me, it turns out that it does have quite a significant effect!<br />
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I took the train down to Cromer where I headed onto the beach, walked along to Sheringham and continued to Weybourne mill where I turned round to catch the train back from Sheringham. A really nice, varied route. I walked along sand for part of it, gravel banks for other parts and the cliffs as well, so a really good training opportunity. The change in the weather made the route seem completely different from one week to the next.....<br />
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<i>last week....</i></div>
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this week.....much better!</div>
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This week's walk, although visually much more fun, was a at much slower pace that the previous week, adding an extra 15 minutes to the 9 miles. I put this down chiefly to the heat, but also partially to the crowds of people that were taking advantage of the sun, meaning I often struggled to walk along at my usual pace. </div>
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Last week I also added a little pit stop to my walk. Stopping off at West Runton Beach Cafe for a hot drink (wouldn't have been needed this week!) and to collect the collecting tin they have kindly been holding for me. Thank you to everyone there who have supported the challenge, I have just counted up the coins and it totals very nearly £30! I suppose it would be remiss of me at this point not to mention my fundraising page.... <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge" target="_blank">just click here!</a></div>
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Slight disappointment today was that my camelbak 'hydration pack' has sprung a leak! It was nice and refreshing in the heat to have water leaking onto my back but not really ideal. Looks like I will be venturing to the shops this week to find a replacement, any recommendations welcome....</div>
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<i><br /></i></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-74221946528854312252012-05-12T11:35:00.001-07:002012-05-12T11:35:03.826-07:00Here comes the sun....do do do do.........<br />
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Another weekend, another training walk, now with only 7 weeks to go until the challenge.<br />
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I didn't want to go too far afield this weekend so decided to take myself off for a Norwich based walk. I headed off from my base in Tombland and headed down Kings Street to Whittlingham broad. I wasn't expecting a particularly exciting walk as this is a route I've done many times, seeing the sign below though suggested that maybe things would be different this time....<br />
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Sadly there were no sharks to be seen. However, the sunny weather really was a dramatic change to the weather I've been training in for the past month so this walk did seem a little different than usual. The novelty of the sun detracted from the familiarity of the route I guess. It being spring I was treated to the sight of various duckings, cygnets etc, a nice excuse to pause every so often!</div>
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Following the walk to Whittlingham, plus a lap of the broad I headed back into the city. Before I went home however I headed over to my old haunt, Gas Hill. I took myself up the hill and then round to walk down Ketts Hill and then...........repeated it! So, a total walking length of 9.5 miles including 2 goes of Gas Hill, not bad going I reckon. </div>
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<br />Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-18726596325029228662012-05-07T13:35:00.002-07:002012-05-07T13:35:16.470-07:00Hello again.....Wow, it really is quite some time since I last updated this....oops!<br />
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Pleased to say though that it's just the blog I'm neglecting, the training has been ongoing with at least one long walk every weekend. Given the weather of the past month or so I have had plenty of opportunity to test out my waterproofs!<br />
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Recent walks have included more of Wherryman's Way, North Norfolk coast and various parts of Boudicca Way. Too many to really catch up on now but I promise to make more of an effort update on my training walks over the next 7 and a bit weeks. (yep, that means less than 8 weeks until the challenge....)<br />
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This weekend my plan was to do two walks, taking advantage of the Bank Holiday weekend with one walk on Sunday and a shorter one on Monday. Well, I managed the Sunday one with a 12 mile walk on Marriotts Way. Good walk, and the rain mostly held off. Unfortunately it was overshadowed by the sigting of two (separate) mice during the last two miles of the walk. Those who know me will be aware that I am irrationally terrified of anything rodent-like so this was definitely not a highlight! Today I was suffering a bit from yesterday's 12 miler so struggled to motivate myself enough to go for a proper walk. Instead, I took myself off to Gas Hill ( <a href="http://amysthreepeaks.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/gas-hill.html" target="_blank">previous visits</a> ) for some gradient training. Managed 5 trips up and down it, not a bad effort all things considered.<br />
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So, in summary, have been training, promise to work harder at blogging.<br />
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Finally, with less than 8 weeks to go it seem appropriate to start plugging my fundraising page again. I'm not just putting myself through all this training pain for fun, I'm also raising money for two charities that are important to me, The Prince's Trust and JDRF. I know a lot of people sponsored me last year when I sadly had to cancel the challenge (and thank you for sponsoring, you're amazing!) but if you want to sponsor me again (never know!) or didn't last time but would like to then that would be incredible, just <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge" target="_blank">click here. </a>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-56012629924535257702012-03-17T13:44:00.001-07:002012-03-17T13:44:19.528-07:00Is it because I lied when I was 17?Whatever happened to Travis?<br />
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Today's walk was another opportunity for me to test out my waterproofs. They did a very good job, but I think I may be getting a little too used to walking through puddles....<br />
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The walk was a, not unimpressive, 10 miles, I am starting to get back to the fitness I had before my enforced break from training. I'm pretty pleased with myself that I did this walk, although I wouldn't particularly reccommend it to anyone. I walked from Norwich to Brundall, a route that I've been meaning to do for a while but never achieved before, all other routes I'd considered ended up with me being on the wrong side of the A47, river or train line. <br />
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The route took me through the cathedral grounds and up Ketts Hill, (the hill reminded me that I now really need to get hill walking back into my training schedule) before taking me out of the city through Thorpe St Andrew. I then walked through to Great Plumstead and into Blofield and then Brundall. The whole route was along roads, with about half the walk having pavements, the rest leaving me to jump out the way of oncoming cars. All very boring and non-descript I'm afraid. Still, it was nice to do a walk that led to somewhere, rather than having to return the way I'd come. <br />
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So, no nice pictures, no beautiful views, but it was a good distance for training, and one more thing off my to do list.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-70958302881934907562012-03-04T09:33:00.001-08:002012-03-04T09:33:28.761-08:00Follow the yellow brick road.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, not quite bricks but it looked enough like a yellow path for me to (maybe) have a little sing along to myself whilst I was walking it......<br />
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I've been absent from the blog for the last couple of weeks, but not to worry I have been training. Unfortunately my ongoing internet problems have meant that I've not been recording my training but I did manage a 7 mile walk last weekend and 9 miles the previous one.<br />
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This weekend despite the wet weather (still drying off) I managed a ten mile walk which I'm pretty pleased with. I walked into the village of Trowse and from there decided to explore. First I went through the village and followed a signed cycle path. This led me alongside the A47, not exactly the peaceful countryside walk I was hoping for. Eventually I got to a junction where I could head either to Poringland or Kirby Beton but both these routes followed roads so I turned round and headed back to Trowse.<br />
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Once back in Trowse I took a different route and quickly came across the start of Boudicca Way, the path that leads from Norwich to Diss. This was more along the lines of what I was looking for, almost all off road, lovely and peaceful. I was pretty disappointed that I'd take the earlier detor as it meant I couldn't do much of this walk but fully intend to go back. Just over 4 miles in is Venta Icenorum, the site of a Roman Village so I think a trip there and back is next on my list.<br />
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I do feel now that I'm starting to get back into the walking. Recent training has let me really test out the waterproofness of my kit, although I may be getting a little too keen on walking through puddles.....Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-57346192025630872572012-02-12T10:39:00.000-08:002012-02-12T10:39:50.136-08:00A flatulent horse made me jump...Had a very peaceful walk today, except for the incident described in the title, I don't think any more detail is needed.....<br />
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I took myself off for a walk round Brundall today, the original plan had been to explore some country lanes and footpaths but as I set out the mist had really started to set in so I decide that pavements were the safer option, initially at least.<br />
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The freezing temperatures of the past week meant that much of last weekend's snow was still laying, although not nearly as crisp and satisfying as it was during last week's walk. It did make for some lovely winter scenes however, it also added a degree of jeopardy to the walk as I worked hard to avoid slipping on the ice. This gave me a chance to test out the grip provided by my boots at least!<br />
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<i>Brundall</i></div>
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I set off from Brundall to Blofield and through the village until I crossed the A47 by footbridge. I've not been beyond this point before so I just followed a random selection of small country roads to walk along, walking effectively in a large circle to bring me back to Blofield. Other than the afore mentioned horse I didn't see anyone else along the route.</div>
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Once back in Blofield I was planning to walk along the route I came from, I however spotted a footpath sign and decided to explore. I was glad I did! The footpath took me along some little paths, over stiles, through very muddy fields etc, a 'proper' country walk. I did end up with mud up to my knees, but it was worth it!</div>
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<i>surprise footpath</i></div>
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I still don't feel I've regained the level of fitness I need for the challenge, today's walk was only 7 miles so I still have some way to go. I am however starting to enjoy walking again and probably could have gone on for a few more miles today. I did however have a roast dinner and a hug from my amazing nearly 4 month old niece to get back to so I think I can be forgiven for calling it a day when I did! </div>
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<br /></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-46937854244171233112012-02-05T02:23:00.000-08:002012-02-07T02:32:28.987-08:00The Best Training Walk Ever!<div class="MsoNormal">I could have been forgiven for not going on a training walk this weekend. It’s my ‘pre-birthday’ weekend so I had a party last night, a late night on Saturday doesn’t usually lead to the most productive of Sundays walking-wise. Anyone who knows me, even the tiniest bit, however will know I love snow. Given that overnight we had at least 10cms fall in Norwich the real challenge was waiting until it was time to leave the house to get walking in it. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4itvroqpuYyShdO2EjNTaCAeWfLN217i1mFYmN_Ptt5rGAPTsFwCNWcEKoT6E2h2YhP-nLfczuNxrMuy233qq0ojpcdPV3QJJeCXo3pKAojc1nvzuSgBSxYBDef6BjHks_diNICBxGMG/s1600/DSCF4898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4itvroqpuYyShdO2EjNTaCAeWfLN217i1mFYmN_Ptt5rGAPTsFwCNWcEKoT6E2h2YhP-nLfczuNxrMuy233qq0ojpcdPV3QJJeCXo3pKAojc1nvzuSgBSxYBDef6BjHks_diNICBxGMG/s320/DSCF4898.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>the cathedral</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today’s walk took me to the UEA, via Eaton Park, but I did start off with a slight detour through the Cathedral Close to take a few pictures. Once at UEA we walked although park of the new nature trail (opened this week) before doing a lap of the UEA lake. The total walk was just under 9 miles. The weather meant my pace was slow though, total walk time was just shy of 3hrs 40mins. Still, an impressive time to be out in such weather! Although I may encounter some snow at the top of the Three Peaks it’s highly unlikely I will be walking in anything like this. I do feel like I’ve had a good work out though and imagine the muscles used in keeping my balance on slippery ground may hav some similarities to the balance needs of walking up and down hill. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgVkgQzpAKintCfovxgCDdq8ZCRSEsHvWEdJLd33dRkGvrMVN2LoIHzuUkG2_t7t_-XkhyK5EWu0kIEulha6h4Ij8yZAFU9q28mVfHDJ3veDicZJxOcDqSl1WuxMc9cFUfN_mGVO3HtOy/s1600/DSCF4903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgVkgQzpAKintCfovxgCDdq8ZCRSEsHvWEdJLd33dRkGvrMVN2LoIHzuUkG2_t7t_-XkhyK5EWu0kIEulha6h4Ij8yZAFU9q28mVfHDJ3veDicZJxOcDqSl1WuxMc9cFUfN_mGVO3HtOy/s320/DSCF4903.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Eaton Park</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The walk also gave me the opportunity to really try out some of my walking gear. My feet stayed toasty warm and dry despite me taking every opportunity to walk through the deepest parts of the snow, testament to the waterproofness of my boots. I also used my waterproof trousers, and those combined with some pretty impressive layering meant I stayed warm and dry the whole time, in fact I even considered de-layering at one point as it got too warm. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately I did miss the funniest moment of the day, a (what I imagine to be) rather spectacular fall on the ice by Hetal – I was least on the other end of the phone when it happened so feel somewhat part of it! The second funniest moment however was on the way back watching a smart car trying to get up a very snowy hill! He managed it in the end, but not before attracting quite a large crowd! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">I will be back out on the walks next weekend, having a feeling though that next week’s isn’t going to seem quite as exciting as this with no snowy scenes to photograph. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-90413374100005007392012-01-14T13:09:00.000-08:002012-01-14T13:09:55.796-08:00Trying to get back into the swing of thingsI'm sorry to say that my restarted training stalled last weekend and I failed to do a single walk. A busy Saturday followed by a very late night meant I was left with very little inclination to get out walking on the Sunday. To avoid the same trap this weekend I made myself get my weekly training walk in today instead.<br />
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As I'm still getting back into training I'm still not quite up to the longer walks I was doing late autumn. As a result I'm still quite reluctant to go to far from home, giving me the option to return home early if I want to. So for today I headed off to Whittlingham for a walk round the Great Broad. A lap of the broad is 2.5 miles, plus an approximately 2.5 mile walk each way meant I walked just over 7 miles, no where near what I was doing but certainly heading in the right direction.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">I am finding it quite frustrating that I am effectively starting from scratch when it comes to my training, knowing how much work I put in before which, it feels like at least, was all for nothing. The one positive I am trying to take from it though is that I am now able to appreciate just how far I came before, and at the point I really didn't know what I was doing, so hopefully with that experience on board I can get back to that fitness again, and hopefully improve event more. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I did take a few minutes halfway through the walk for a short break, during which I sat watching a group of swans. They were standing in pairs and kept standing in positions making a heart shape with their necks. I lost count of the number of times when I just missed pressing the button on my camera in time and missed what would have been a great shot. The below is unfortunately the closest I got.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-14305155636263330452012-01-02T08:45:00.000-08:002012-01-02T08:45:01.808-08:00Bridging the gapSo, today's walk was the first 'proper' one in my restarted training. Trying to ease myself in gently I set out to do a 3 or 4 mile walk just around my part of Norwich.<br />
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Started off in Tombland and walked through the Cathedral Close to the rive where I picked up the Riverside Walk along to Bishop Bridge. From there I found myself at Gas Hill ( <a href="http://amysthreepeaks.blogspot.com/2011/06/gas-hill.html" target="_blank">Gas Hill blog)</a>. Although I'm taking it easy training wise at the moment I decided to give it a go, to see how much my hill fitness has dipped. Pleased to say I managed the hill, although did find it very hard work!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EA2q5thyoDs/TwHer6rZlgI/AAAAAAAAAH0/PtDP_-f6t3U/s1600/IMG_2010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EA2q5thyoDs/TwHer6rZlgI/AAAAAAAAAH0/PtDP_-f6t3U/s320/IMG_2010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>River Wensum</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I then walked along the other side of the river to Foundry Bridge and followed the Riverside path back to the Cathedral Close. Then I walked along King Street up to the Lady Julian Bridge and followed the river along to Carrow Bridge. At this point it finally dawned on me that I seemed to be crossing a lot of bridges, so decided to see just how many times I could cross the river in one short walk. With this in mind I followed the river back to the Novi Sad bridge, then crossed the Lady Julian Bridge again before heading back to the Cathedral. I then walked down to the Fye Bridge on Wensum Street, down Quayside to Whitefriars Bridge before going back to Wensum Street and down Colgate. I followed this to again cross the river on Duke Street, then over to The Playhouse to cross the river via St Georges Bridge. By this point my 3 mile walk had turned into 5 miles so I headed home. I was hopeful that I had covered all the bridges in the City Centre (geeky yes but there you go...) but then stumbled on the poster below...<br />
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Turns out I missed a couple, that's a future challenge I guess......Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-19912999751910318542012-01-02T07:55:00.000-08:002012-01-02T07:55:51.940-08:00Take 2...New Year, and I'm back!<br />
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As you will know from my last posts back in September/October I was very disappointed that, despite months of training, I was unable to complete the Three Peaks Challenge last September due to coming down with glandular fever only a few days before. This was a huge disappointment but I am pleased to say that I have rebooked to complete the challenge in June and now that Christmas and the New Year are out the way I'm going to start picking up my training.<br />
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I still have some way to go to get my fitness back to where it was and I don't want to risk pushing myself too much and relapsing so I'm going with the slow and steady approach. The current plan is to just do small walks, without my backpack, during January and then in February start on a 4 month plan to get me to the level I need to be at by June. Over Christmas I started doing a bit of walking and today did my first 'training walk' (blog post to follow). It's not going to be a quick process but at least I've started and I hope you'll all continue to follow my progress on here......Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-88734440910947497322011-10-04T06:16:00.000-07:002011-10-04T06:16:14.632-07:00UpdateWhen I wrote my last post everything was very much up in the air regarding the challenge so I figured it's about time for a bit of an update. As I'm sure most of you know, or will have guessed, I didn't get to do the challenge as planned. I went to the doctors where I was given a blood test and first thing the following morning the results were phoned through to confirm that I had glandular fever. By that point I was feeling so ill that I already knew I wouldn't be able to do the challenge but that confirmed it for me.<div><br />
</div><div>As you can imagine I was extremely disappointed. I am however determined to complete the challenge in the future. Due to the impending winter weather and longer nights the next opportunity is June so I'm hoping to confirm my place on a June date ASAP. </div><div><br />
</div><div>It's likely to be a few weeks or months before I'm up to restarting my training but I aim to revive this blog with details of my training when I do. Given the 'worst winter for 100 years' is currently being predicted training could get, erm, interesting....... </div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-1916406750893755502011-09-21T13:06:00.000-07:002011-09-21T13:06:08.396-07:00Going down to the wire...So, today I was expecting to be posting some sort of update about how the packing is coming together, how excited/nervous I am with 3 days to go etc - sadly things aren't exactly going quite to plan.<br />
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After last week's really negative post I continued feeling ill so went to the doctors last Thursday. The first doctor I spoke to said that he didn't think I'd be well enough in time for the challenge. The next doctor I saw said that the virus that I have (apparently it's "going round" at the moment) has been wiping people out for 1-2 weeks so it'd be touch and go whether I'd be well enough or not.<br />
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Since the weekend I have started to feel a bit better, still feeling exceptionally tired and have a bit of a cold but the hot sweats etc have gone. A couple of days ago I noticed what I assume is a swollen gland come up behind one of my ears, today more have come up and I now have a pretty 'bumpy' neck/chin area... they also feel quite painful (but I have to admit I have been prodding them somewhat) and my voice isn't totally there.<br />
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So now really I don't know what's going to happen. I'm going to try to see a doctor tomorrow to see what they say. Pretty sure whatever they decide the problem is they will probably advise me not to go ahead, so then I have to decide whether to take that advice or not. Obviously I know what the sensible option is, but after nearly 10 months of build up, planning and training I'm finding it very hard to contemplate the possibility of it not happening - of course if that happened I would do it in the future, but that would be next Spring at the earliest and see me lose quite a bit of money. What I am banking on right now is waking up in the morning feeling refreshed and well with no weird lumps in my neck....<br />
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I guess the only option now is to see a doctor tomorrow, work out what I'm dealing with then make my mind up about what happens next....I'm not the best person when it comes to last minute decisions but I guess I don't have much choice now...Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-2143167849267461742011-09-13T12:15:00.000-07:002011-09-13T12:15:29.080-07:00WARNING...this is not a positive post :(Sorry, really self-indulgent, feeling sorry for myself post coming up, feel free to ignore...<br />
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So, with more than 8 month's preparation and planning, plenty of hard work and money spent behind me at the '11 days to go' mark up crops something that could ruin my chances that I simply couldn't plan for, I'm ill...<br />
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Started feeling unwell over the weekend, hot and cold sweats, feeling dehydrated, headaches and feeling very tired, I put it down to the weather, however several days later and no improvement. It turns out the symptoms are pretty similar to those that a few people I know experienced last week, put down to a virus that's 'going round'. I managed to sleep for a total of 18 hours on Sunday, around 14 yesterday and I think it'll be about 12 hours today yet still feel so unbelievably wiped out. So I'm sat (well, actually lying down) here feeling sorry for myself and incredibly frustrated that I can't do anything (I have got used to be so active). At the same time I'm also really panicking about being better in time for the challenge, or if I am better how much of my fitness I'm going to have lost by then?? For a 'planning and lists' person (control freak?) there are a lot of variables which I have no control over right now.<br />
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So there you have it, I was expecting to feel stressed at this point but wasn't banking on this, I know I've got to just sit it out but boy is it annoying. Sorry for the negativity, hopefully I'll be back on soon in a much more positive frame of mind but right now I just don't know....Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-62761189287399047482011-09-08T11:56:00.000-07:002011-09-08T11:56:08.408-07:00Lists, lists, lists.....As I'm sure a lot of you know I'm a bit of a fan of lists (and post it notes, and particularly colour coded post it notes with lists on them....) Now with just over two weeks to go until the challenge I decided it's time to get organised and put together a to do/to take list to work out how much preparation I have left to do. In the interests of sharing my Three Peaks experience on here I figure I may as well write the list straight on here:<br />
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<ul><li>Kit - need to pack my back pack, walking poles, walking boots, 3 pairs of walking socks, walking trousers, water proof trousers, technical T-shirt, fleece, walking jacket, lightweight waterproof jacket, gloves, warm weather hat, cold weather hat, sunglasses, head torch, spare batteries and bulb for torch, whistle, sun cream, insect repellent, water pouch, blister plasters, pain killers.</li>
<li>Paperwork - train tickets to London, Oyster card, sleeper train tickets, Bangor to Manchester train tickets, hotel information, flight tickets, passport, details of all train etc times, contact details for challenge organisers. Need to get some sort of plastic wallet to carry all this in.</li>
<li>Snacks - jelly babies, sports drinks, cereal bars, crisps/nuts, pitta bread and something to put on it so I have something vaguely resembling a proper meal, fruit juice, chocolate.</li>
<li>Mobile phone - I bought an external battery so I can recharge phone during the challenge but cannot find it so I either need to track it down or buy another one.</li>
<li>Camera - need to look into buying an extra battery for this</li>
<li>Clothes to travel in and clothes to change into - need to keep these light, need something to wear to travel to London in plus nightwear for the sleeper train and the hotel in Manchester. Then clothes for the flight back on the Monday. Bag to put these in, this bag needs to be hand luggage size so I can check in my walking back pack. My walking back pack has lots of straps etc so maybe take tape or something to secure them before check in</li>
<li>Headphones, phone charger, insulin pens plus spares and spare cartridges, plenty of blood test strips plus blood meter, money, ear plugs</li>
<li>Going to try to Tweet when I can to keep anyone who is interested updated on my progress, this will last as long as my phone battery does. Have set this up but need to send the details round etc. Need to explore whether I can get that to feed onto my Facebook page and/or this blog automatically, any experts out there...?</li>
<li>Keep fundraising, try to reach £500 at the least....</li>
<li>Rest up, carb up and get lots of sleep</li>
</ul><br />
Phew, that is a lot, and a lot of things still to sort out - any suggestions of things I might have forgotten etc very welcome......best get on with it I guess!Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-5860319735745208572011-09-04T14:37:00.000-07:002011-09-04T14:37:52.849-07:00A route I will NEVER walk again....!Today's walk was from Reedham to Brundall, a route in the most part following the line of the river which I have done many times before, and a route that I usually enjoy. Unfortunately due to an incident today I don't think I will ever be able to bring myself to do it again.<br />
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I was less than a mile into my walk when I noticed ahead of me a couple looking earnestly at the ground. As I approached them I said I hoped I wasn't about to tread on something, to which the man replied " oh no, it's just a cute little field mouse, aww look, he's hiding...". No, any of you who no me well will appreciate the seriousness of this, but for those of you who are less familiar let me explain, I am absolutely terrified of anything rodent like, not in a Tom and Jerry, standing on a chair with a broom style, in a completely and utterly want to cry kind of way. I'm reluctant to call it a phobia, as that implies that there's something irrational about it, and to me it is a totally rational thing. Suffice to say therefore that the idea of being anywhere near one, let alone actually seeing it (I did) really isn't the best start to a walk I could have. Now, I know what you're thinking, does she not realise that on all these walks she's done she must have been near plenty of these creatures?? Well yes I do <i>know </i>that logically, but so long as I don't actually see them then I can convince myself they're not there - yes, maybe that bit is a little irrational.....<br />
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It may not sound like much to most people but I have to say I'm quite proud of myself for continuing the walk after that. Yes, I may have spent the rest of the walk with my head down, scrutinizing the irritatingly long grass that I had to walk through and audibly whimpering every time the wind made the reeds rustle that little bit too much, but the point is I did it.<br />
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The rest of the walk was reasonably uneventful. I did find the going tough, feeling the two preceding days' long walks in my legs. I did discover though that I have developed the knack of keeping going, even when every fibre of my body is begging me to stop - I'm thinking this skill is going to be quite important on the day itself!<br />
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The end of the walk was broken up nicely by a mini air show I stumbled along - I like to think it was a private show for me but I think it was actually just a private individual having fun with his plane. Equally I like to thing the heart shape he made in the sky was aimed for me, however unlikely that is....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybxCzohk-o-WTPdE_sVTn9McX1EsNrqXHcWjt-IeOjUVd9Wu71PFkH3OnDRroWM7TdIzZPblcFr8QNm1nlHbBukHSNgG41h76rApgQ8e_ew9wv__3ZM_T8Y_l8zx8Po2wPUt_DMp3Kreg/s1600/329229_10150785083605296_576845295_20493936_6965745_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybxCzohk-o-WTPdE_sVTn9McX1EsNrqXHcWjt-IeOjUVd9Wu71PFkH3OnDRroWM7TdIzZPblcFr8QNm1nlHbBukHSNgG41h76rApgQ8e_ew9wv__3ZM_T8Y_l8zx8Po2wPUt_DMp3Kreg/s320/329229_10150785083605296_576845295_20493936_6965745_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>for me?</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The walk was rounded off by a lovely roast dinner at my Mum's house so thank you to Mum and Tom for that (I promised them both a mention) a perfect reward for 3 days of training.....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-62424508496392158412011-09-03T11:15:00.000-07:002011-09-03T11:17:24.247-07:00Norfolk Coast Path - Sheringham to SalthouseToday marks three weeks until the challenge, so is my last week end of really 'going for it' with the training before I start to taper it off. So despite yesterday's long walk I decided to do another one today, and will do the same tomorrow. As it stands I'm feeling ok, hopefully a good sign that my recovery from one walk to the next is good.<br />
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Today I took myself up to North Norfolk and followed the Norfolk Coast Path from Sheringham to Salthouse and back again, a total of 10miles. I've done parts of this path before, but never gone as far in this direction so it was a nice novelty. It being a sunny day the path was quite busy, but not so much so that it was a problem.<br />
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Leaving Sheringham the path follows the cliff top towards Weybourne, a pretty hilly landscape (again, by Norfolk standards) so a good training ground for me. Once through Weybourne I was surprised to see the cliffs more or less disappear, and the route on to Salthouse continued along gravel banks along the beach. Now, I know a lot of people say that walking on sand is the best walking exercise you can do....these people have clearly never walk along gravel banks. It was hard work, and added about 3 minutes per mile to my walking pace - a good thing training wise I guess but not fun at the time!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdvLhKK2t8XzTfau3rji9Dy16NeFQi097evlm6vLdTsBGiaPfVIrihHqN_PLCE5fBoVMgMv2fEMvkm4HKt56oN_qRwrATiN0zSgYRTTYd2dcw3d966up964gT5iwv96cMpP5q8YucJRYC/s1600/324586_10150783298425296_576845295_20470762_8242113_o+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvdvLhKK2t8XzTfau3rji9Dy16NeFQi097evlm6vLdTsBGiaPfVIrihHqN_PLCE5fBoVMgMv2fEMvkm4HKt56oN_qRwrATiN0zSgYRTTYd2dcw3d966up964gT5iwv96cMpP5q8YucJRYC/s320/324586_10150783298425296_576845295_20470762_8242113_o+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>boo to gravel banks....</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">All in all though this was a good walk, and it was nice to go back to exploring somewhere new. The only disappointment was that I finished my walk with a blood sugar level of 2.6 (with no hypo signs) - I'm hoping that this is a consequence of the heat rather than a sign that I still haven't worked out what carbs I need for the exercise. For yesterday's walk I started on 7.4, was 4.6 midway and 6.2 at the end, couldn't ask for better than that so hopefully today was just a blip......</div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-74706090366262371162011-09-02T15:05:00.000-07:002011-09-02T15:05:01.410-07:00Here comes the sun.....I think most people would probably agree that the weather this summer hasn't been great. Disappointing though that is it's actually been quite handy for me training-wise. Today however the sun appeared and reminded me how much I don't enjoy it while exercising. I know a lot of people are hoping for a nice late summer but I have to say (sorry!) that I really hope we're heading quickly into Autumn, really don't want a hot day for the challenge itself.<br />
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Today I took myself off to Whittlingham Country Park and followed Wherryman's Way as far as Brammerton Common before turning round to head back. A total walk of just under 13 miles with an average walking pace of 17 minute miles which I'm pretty pleased with given the weather. I've done this walk in the past, very pleasant along the river and it was nice to see so many other people out and about enjoying the scenery and weather. The one downside of this walk, as I described when I did it before <a href="http://amysthreepeaks.blogspot.com/2011/05/walk-of-two-halves.html">here</a> ) was that you have to walk past a particularly smelly sewage plant. Unfortunately I have to report that this was as bad as I remembered it, not a pleasant experience.<br />
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A mention does have to go out to the man walking his dog in front of my for a portion of the walk back. This man was having a great time throwing sticks for his dog to catch. Unfortunately he decided to throw the stick behind him, without looking round. I'm assuming he also had headphones in as he seemed oblivious to my high pitched yelps every time the stick hurtled its way towards my face. It added an element of jeopardy to the walk I guess.....<br />
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-78858786797020332372011-08-30T13:55:00.000-07:002011-08-30T13:55:42.182-07:00Halfway up the stairs......Well, I had an interesting week...having now passed the 4 weeks to go mark my feet are still firmly in the nervous/terrified camp. I think logically I know that I have done a lot of training, and should be fine but there's still part of me that worries that I haven't done enough....<br />
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Had a bit of an odd weekend training-wise. On Friday evening I read an article which say ' walking up and down the stairs 275 times is the equivalent to climbing Snowdon.' As a novice on the marathon-stair-walking front my first thought was that 275 didn't sound like that many and so resolved to give it a go. If anyone else agrees that this sounds like quite a simple task I urge you to give it a go, and please, please tell me how you get on. Despite setting up fans at both the top and bottom of the stairs I was pretty much exhausted after around 15 times. However, as anyone who knows me will confirm, if I say I'm going to do something there is no way I'm going to give in, no matter what happens. So for the next few hours I struggled up and down those stairs, finally reaching the 275 mark. I'm still feeling the pain in my legs 2 days later, not fun!<br />
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The plan had been then to do a long walk on Bank Holiday Monday. Unfortunately I woke up with an irritating cold. I took a lot of persuasion but I eventually agreed that training while ill wouldn't be the best idea, however close to the challenge it is. I'm going to make up for this with long training walks on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week instead! Outside of the training walks I'm still going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, on the days that I don't I'm going for evening walks and I'm spending my lunchtimes walking up hills where I can so the training's definitely still ongoing, despite this weekend's blip!<br />
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And just because the momentum seems to have slowed I'd like to end with a quick plug of the fundraising page.... <a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge">http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge</a>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-85042615302807170262011-08-22T13:02:00.000-07:002011-08-22T13:03:18.665-07:00getting scared...very, very scared......This weekend saw me pass the 5 weeks to go mark, and saw me move from general excitement and into something far closer to paralysing fear...! The challenge suddenly seems very soon and very very real. Hopefully I'll soon move away from this and back into excitement soon.....<br />
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Yesterday's walk was, I have to say, pretty dull. I didn't want to go too far from home so contented myself with the two mile, along city roads, walk to Mousehold Heath followed by 8 miles traipsing back and forth over the heath before heading home. So I got ten miles in, which isn't bad, and luckily Mousehold provides lots of 'up and down' opportunities but goodness was it dull! I think the problem was that I just wasn't aiming to get anywhere. In all my walks, however much I've not wanted to go out I've always had that achievement of getting somewhere, yesterday's walk seemed, well, pointless. The one aim I did have was to try to cover as much of the heath as I could, as this GPS screenshot shows I didn't do too bad a job....<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next week I definitely want to go back to a 'proper' walk. Not sure where yet, the coastal walks are definitely the best but I'm reluctant to venture that way over the Bank Holiday weekend. It may therefore be that Wherryman's Way is graced with my presence once again.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One highlight of yesterday's walk (I use the term loosely) was this stone (I said lightly!) - maybe I was just desperate for some light relief but I'm sure there's a smiley face in there;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8M2xSUvNf_5uy48T66_RVKw0RqITmEAhabmdBngfn2mgPOF5BOh3or2FoOK1gh0AxNiWHtgHQ-VA59MGX8KvTcZzFFi3sjbKEoUgxFrkRyECcmh5nKbgIbq0WdmQEU0oowSLFt9DoEBa/s1600/331123_10150765762945296_576845295_20272967_6396432_o+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8M2xSUvNf_5uy48T66_RVKw0RqITmEAhabmdBngfn2mgPOF5BOh3or2FoOK1gh0AxNiWHtgHQ-VA59MGX8KvTcZzFFi3sjbKEoUgxFrkRyECcmh5nKbgIbq0WdmQEU0oowSLFt9DoEBa/s320/331123_10150765762945296_576845295_20272967_6396432_o+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In other news, I think I've finally bought all my kit, including my new head torch which I could resist trying out this evening.....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQy3D-LgiFeI2ZnuP_GbXB9rx5aqQQFxNRlxern74A3SzAJ-05OJ2YCS_fQlt7yPKQhJ1SHJkWf1UU6yRei_k9B6vPHxQ2k0IeReTr4oSCGELAfIylnqIqczf-AVEIcikp6da7xUpdF_-/s1600/291674_10150765817735296_576845295_20273700_7917849_o+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQy3D-LgiFeI2ZnuP_GbXB9rx5aqQQFxNRlxern74A3SzAJ-05OJ2YCS_fQlt7yPKQhJ1SHJkWf1UU6yRei_k9B6vPHxQ2k0IeReTr4oSCGELAfIylnqIqczf-AVEIcikp6da7xUpdF_-/s320/291674_10150765817735296_576845295_20273700_7917849_o+%25282%2529.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Just a quick thank you to everyone who has sponsored me to do this challenge to date - I know I go on about it a lot but it really does mean a lot and I am very very grateful for your generosity. Of course, if would be remiss of me not to say, if anyone out there still wants to join that list of great, generous people there is is still time.... <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 12px;"><a href="http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Amys_3_Peaks_Challenge">just click here</a> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-11006090036374214182011-08-14T12:58:00.000-07:002011-08-14T12:58:09.210-07:003 a Day - Part 3I can't lie - the idea of getting off the sofa to go out for my third ad final walk of the day was tough. I made the silly mistake of having a short nap (20mins) which just had the effect of making me more tired.<br />
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When I eventually did manage to haul myself out of the house I went for a short 4mile walk, round to Eaton Park and back again, repeating much of today's first walk but today was about endurance, not nice views. One thing that did surprise me was, despite how tired I felt going out, physically I didn't seem to struggle too much. The bigger challenge psychologically making myself keep walking even when I didn't want to, a taster of what I'm going to need for the challenge itself I think!<br />
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All in all a total of just over 17 miles today - not bad work if I say so myself and I think I deserve the ice cream, glass of wine and trashy TV I'm now sitting down with.......Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-4222450932277553782011-08-14T07:30:00.000-07:002011-08-14T07:30:02.690-07:003 a Day - Part 2So, just completed the 2nd of today's three walks. This one was a 6.4 mile walk to Whittlingham Country Park, along one side of the broad before turning round and coming back. A fairly non-eventful walk, much of it is along the road and it covers ground that I've covered in many walks before. Still, always nice once you get to the broad, so long as you can avoid being attacked by swans which one family I saw was failing to do.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1K8_rv4hNO7SPE3ISTavP7ak5J9yLv8EyNpLXXh_7To3MVC9nxPkOIPI53YXuKG1Wx6BXJlkqP05goRZK_v6E7NnXrc388pPVS2g52SyUQgcCQ4ATxhjf-W8BCan5Y-hxyoj_YhJLx3n/s1600/288315_10150753643060296_576845295_20125729_6295471_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1K8_rv4hNO7SPE3ISTavP7ak5J9yLv8EyNpLXXh_7To3MVC9nxPkOIPI53YXuKG1Wx6BXJlkqP05goRZK_v6E7NnXrc388pPVS2g52SyUQgcCQ4ATxhjf-W8BCan5Y-hxyoj_YhJLx3n/s320/288315_10150753643060296_576845295_20125729_6295471_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I didn't feel particularly keen on going out for this second walk, having completed the last one only 2 hours previously. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't feel particularly more tired than I had this morning. My pace slowed from 17m 44s per mile this morning to18m 30s per mile this afternoon so yes I'd slowed but not horrifyingly slow, and the change in temperature may have something to do with it too! Will see how my third walk today goes.....Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3617245690707605769.post-9201074797788735962011-08-14T03:48:00.000-07:002011-08-14T03:48:14.805-07:003 a Day - Part 1I had a bit of a break last weekend, I went to a friend's wedding in Essex and the long journey, accompanied by a late night didn't leave enough time for training.<br />
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I have however decided to more than make up for that break with today's mission. So far my training has taken in long walks, hill walks, endurance etc, but the one element of the Three Peaks which I've not really trained for is the recovery needed to do one peak, sit for a few others then do the next etc. Now, I'm never going to fully recreate this, without doing the challenge itself but today I'm going to try to recreate something similar. The aim is to complete 3 walks, each of around 6 miles, throughout the day with a couple of hours break in the middle. The plan is to start one walk at 9am (done, see below) one at around 1pm and the final at around 5pm.....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQC_LcJkjVIuismNxmjEszW5MPoLpSIa1kQG_3jIwIuQkRMFm9F2VkqOxjiHZLQF2CH7Vi_yan-1RcgGvboxb9K8XpDHhd3hGrxOa0kRWnkmqS6GbMg7mzNt8eeBJ2_QbCEo8DQQ5sezJ-/s1600/228887_10150753444715296_576845295_20122913_1489046_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQC_LcJkjVIuismNxmjEszW5MPoLpSIa1kQG_3jIwIuQkRMFm9F2VkqOxjiHZLQF2CH7Vi_yan-1RcgGvboxb9K8XpDHhd3hGrxOa0kRWnkmqS6GbMg7mzNt8eeBJ2_QbCEo8DQQ5sezJ-/s320/228887_10150753444715296_576845295_20122913_1489046_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>look at that enthusiasm...!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>So, this idea seemed great when I came up with it earlier this week, when my alarm went off at 730am however it has to be said I was less enthusiastic. However, I was out the door by 855 which I'm quite pleased about. As I need to fit so many walks in today I need to make sure the walks start and finish at my front door, which means they're not the most attractive walks I've ever done. For this first walk I took a route that I've often used for running, a total of 6.6miles. I started walking up the usually busy Newmarket Road, this was eerily quiet at 9am on a Sunday morning, I guess most sensible people were still sleeping..... from here I headed to and crossed Eaton Park before following the road into Eaton.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q69YWyxWWwxr4EmtYs4M1iCLJzfdJKw4M8smolCmdniKuFci4uwVeYISSs3_2xezzFZGGuCOVqi2PBTJmbXQSiMiX51kLlRdZdtT-M4XNE6mdQgUmx10Y1nU__gL47kyEilQRMaB_rW-/s1600/175701_10150753445030296_576845295_20122914_4508233_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Q69YWyxWWwxr4EmtYs4M1iCLJzfdJKw4M8smolCmdniKuFci4uwVeYISSs3_2xezzFZGGuCOVqi2PBTJmbXQSiMiX51kLlRdZdtT-M4XNE6mdQgUmx10Y1nU__gL47kyEilQRMaB_rW-/s320/175701_10150753445030296_576845295_20122914_4508233_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Eaton Park</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>From here I took an off-road track that follows the path of the river through some common ground, eventually coming out at the lake at the university. From here it was then back to Eaton Park and home to sit for a couple of hours, have something to eat and then venture out again..... and on that note, with only an hour to go I'm off, will report on walks 2 and 3 soon!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcOG_TgulP-1SJ9-SOImonNNU5Ynem4tUTSo_7XNZOGcnJpRH1Rap2N7-1C1dtLDKV-201LwQSWhA036v6wikIG9UL-D0XVlt1QJV67V0dZrVNbQoIKUOxJpr2YqMz3BvWQ1EqBQxB28T/s1600/286627_10150753445485296_576845295_20122915_6483835_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcOG_TgulP-1SJ9-SOImonNNU5Ynem4tUTSo_7XNZOGcnJpRH1Rap2N7-1C1dtLDKV-201LwQSWhA036v6wikIG9UL-D0XVlt1QJV67V0dZrVNbQoIKUOxJpr2YqMz3BvWQ1EqBQxB28T/s320/286627_10150753445485296_576845295_20122915_6483835_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>the river</i></div>Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10406126086783018283noreply@blogger.com0