Practice Walk - 20 Miles

So yesterday myself and Beccy decided to do a longish walk around the Fens in preparation for our Y3P challenge in the summer. A couple of points to note:

• Walking on the flat of the Fens is no comparison to the peaks
• We walked 20 miles, but the Y3P route is 25 plus miles
• But we still have 123 days to go, so time to improve.

This was planned as a 'stepping stone' to our final goal, and as such I think we did very well.

The Route

(if you cannot see details above, or want to look at more detail, click here to go to the Endomondo website)


Quick overview with photos

We set off at 7.30am in very thick fog. This photo was taken as we walked down the main road out of the village, looking over the fields.

The intrepid walkers. Don't be fooled by the sunglasses, it is still very foggy and cold.

Beccy walking along the flood defence into the fog. (Heading North East out of Eldernell)

Here you can see the flood defence in action. The water to the left should be fields, but have flooded. Thankfully, the grass to the right is still grass, as that is the side our village is on.

 Listening to music (as well as Endomondo sports tracker for an update on progress every quarter of a mile)

After a couple of miles on the flood barrier, we head 'inland' for some serious road walking.

Looking back, we've just walked from the windmills you can see in the distance.

Yes, another waterway - this is the Fens!

Beccy the horse whisperer.

Back onto the flood defence, this time heading towards Eldernell from the south-west. Again the water to the left is flooded fields.

A picture from the flood defence looking over the 'fields' towards Peterborough. Again this photo shows why we need these defences.

Nearly sever hours after starting we returned home tired and weary. 

Overall an enjoyable day, with some important lessons learned:

1) Waterprrof does always mean waterproof (my boots leaked)

2) Spare socks and talc are 'heaven'

3) We've got a hell of a lot of training still to do before we attempt the y3P!

Speak soon,

M

Can you spare £5, $5 or FIVE of any other currency?

The Challenge

On 21st June this year (125 days away) me and my daughter, Beccy, are going to attempt the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge (25 miles, up and down 3 high peaks) and want to raise at least £500 for the Whizz-Kidz charity. To quote from their website,

Whizz-Kidz aims to improve the quality of life of disabled children and young people in the UK through the provision of customised mobility equipment. We also provide help and advice to the children and their families and raising awareness of mobility-related issues through national campaigning.

I know times are hard, and cash is short, but if you can spare £1, £2, £5 or more of your hard earned, we would greatly appreciate it. All donations can be given by the trusted website 'Just Giving' and a link to Beccy's page is below.

http://www.justgiving.com/beccy3peaks



Progress

After a failed attempt last year (Click here for details) we started a training programme back in November, which involves a mix of jogging 3 times a week and short/medium walks on a regular basis.

Progress has been slow for me, after a calf/foot injury in December set me back a few weeks, but I managed to jog 2 x 8 minute sessions with a 5 minute walk in-between today. Beccy is now jogging for 30 minutes 3 times a week.

It is difficult to judge walking progress as we live in the Fens, and the land is very flat (see here for more details). Walking up, and down hills, puts a lot more strain on muscles and joints and requires much more stamina. However we are planning to go for a walk of approximately 20 miles around the Fens tomorrow - assuming the paths are not flooded.

I'll write an update later in the week.


M

140 Days to go...

It has been a little while since I last posted so just a quick update.

• There are 140 days to go!
• We have set a target of raising £500 for Whizz-Kidz - click on this site for more details - http://www.justgiving.com/beccy3peaks/
• Jogging has been going well, although I twisted my ankle yesterday and in a lot of pain today!
• Need to increase the amount of walking we are doing ASAP.

That's all for now. Hopefully a longer post next time.