Monday Morning Smugness
Am I entitled to feel a little smug today? Well the answer is yes. I walked 4 miles on Friday night, 5 and a half miles yesterday and 4 miles this morning before I left for work. So what’s that…. 13 miles in 4 days. Smug, I deserve a bloody medal. It’s all good though, 2 of the walks have been with Moochy and Peggy dog and all 3 were thoroughly enjoyable.
I don’t know if I mentioned, but I have been a “jogger” in my time, going for runs sometimes 4 times a week, sometimes not for weeks at a time. I started running because Moochy did and he inspired me, although I never really enjoyed it. However, I continued doing it as the health benefits were obvious and I always DID enjoy the feeling of achievement when I had finished. I mean, how many people do you know that can run 4 miles, or even 1 mile?! I have done the Manchester 10k twice and twice attempted the Tatton Park Cancer Research 10k and whilst I finished them all, my times were never anything to write home about. I also have done a Race for Life (5k) every year since my Grandad passed away in 2004, and in turn this has helped me raise lots of money for charity. Brilliant.
In September 2010 my mother-in-law pointed out to me that my brother-in-law and I were the only 2 members of the family that hadn’t completed marathons..
- AL ran the London Marathon in 2003 and 2004
- ML ran the London Marathon in 2004
- JL walked the Shine Marathon in 2010
- RC walked the Shine Marathon in 2010
So this is partly the reason why I signed myself up, it’s a personal challenge and I feel it will help me focus and lose some weight. There is definitely a different vibe around walking training as opposed to running training. I start these sessions almost certain that I will be able to finish, knowing that even though I might be walking for a while, the distance isn’t beyond my physical capability and that I probably won’t have to stop due to fatigue.
For instance, I am just starting my 3rd week of training and I am already up to 5 miles and almost 2 hours. There is NO WAY I would be up to this if I was running…. it’s a revelation. It’s true that I am a bit stiff and achey, but that is to be expected and partly what the training is all about – getting our bodies ready for the marathon experience.
I’m still smug btw x
Sunday 5 miler
Wow, so today was supposed to about our 5 mile walk in Delamere Forest, but unfortunately Moochy coughing was bad again overnight. So this meant that we both spent time on the couch and were both suitably knackered this morning. So by 11:30 this morning we were still on our couch, under the slanket trying to get the motivation to move our arses.
However, this walk is important to me, so eventually about an hour and half later we were out of the door and walking. We walked for 5.5 miles in just over 1 hour and 50 minutes and it felt good. Our knees and a few other joints started to hurt near the end and I did of course need to go for a wee in the Ship Inn, but other than that it was great. Peggy loved it and is completely sparked out as we speak – perfect.
Oh and last night Moochy and I totally rocked our mini-glam dinner party.
- Home made Focaccia Bread with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar
- Posh Chicken and Chips
- Chocolate Cake
All the food was gorg and we had a great night.
p.s. I had originally planned to make the Parmesan and poppy seed lollipops, but can I let you into a secret… they were a bit horrible, so they went straight in the bin.
Shine 4 miler
Oh my god our walk was a bit wet this morning. To be fair it wasn’t raining hard, but it was raining none-the-less and after an hour and 24 minutes, we could officially classify ourselves as WET!
Can I be honest with you, I didn’t enjoy the first half, it was tres wet and muddy and as a girl, this wasn’t great. I also couldn’t talk to Moochy much as the combination of himself being fairly quietly spoken and me with hair, a hat and hood over my ears, meant that I could hardly hear what he was saying. 
But at around the mid-way point I had my apple and it seemed to work wonders. Plus I suppose, once you reach the half way point, you are “walking home” – well you are in my head anyway. This training is going to be 50% stamina and 50% mental strength. For the marathon itself I will be walking for about 8½ hours, which doesn’t include any hanging about at the beginning etc. So I will have to have the mental strength to keep going.
Peggy dog and Moochy came with me today, but I will be on my own for Shine itself – so I will have to find a way to push through the hard bits and enjoy myself as much as possible.
Onwards and upwards. xxx
Tired but worth it
So far this week I have walked 9 miles in the first week of training for the Shine Marathon I am doing in May. I have done 3 lots of 3 miles and I have got to do a 4 mile walk on Sunday to finish the week off. I feel tired, but in a good way. Sometimes I feel tired because I have spent too much time travelling and driving, or too much time with my “game face” on in work, which can be exhausting. Just to digress for a second, my “game face”, is used for when I am doing community visits and have to be happy and pleased to see everyone all day or when I am in meetings and have to show interest in somehwhat “dry” subjects for extended periods of time – quite an unnatural state which requires a huge amount of energy and concentration. This is especially tiring when you are tired to begin with and your mind has a tendancy to drift off no matter what you are doing 
Back to the training; so I have done 3 x 3 mile walks for a total of 3 hours so far. Moochy has been on one of the walks with me and Peggy dog has been on them all. I am sure after my body has adjusted to the extra exercise and things, that I will stop feeling quite so dead on my feet and more like a spring chicken – at that’s the theory at least.
Bring on the weekend I say, I love a good lie in. x
Cancer Research UK Manchester Shine 2011
Oh god, there is no going back now – I have just signed up for the Cancer Research UK Manchester Shine 2011 which is a WALKING marathon. Yes 26.2 miles of walking around Manchester overnight all in aid of Cancer Research. I must be mental, but what a challenge eh? The fact of the matter is that from Day 1 I haven’t really loved running, but I have always liked walking. So why not kick start my fitness for 2011 with a brilliant challenge…. why the hell not?!
So first things first, why not sponsor me?
You know it makes sense, and honestly, having done events similar to this before, it really does spur you round the course.
I have also been looking on the Shine website and as far as I can tell, this is the course:
View Cancer Research UK Manchester Shine 2011 – Route in a larger map
wish me luck xxx
