Climbing practice

Newcomer James surprised us yesterday by completing just over 25 miles on his first official training walk as a fully fledged member of Team Gould. We walked from Perranporth to Godrevy Point and then back home to Camborne and completed the distance in ten hours. The numerous climbs were a challenge in the heat and we got through more drinks and sun block in one day than we have in the last few weeks. The big day is just 47 days away now but I'm confident that training, team work and determination (or is that stubbornness?) will help us to finish as a team of four.

More team changes

Sadly Team Gould Electronics is losing team member Ewan McDermott. Ewan's knee has been troubling him for several weeks now and he isn't confident that it's going to recover in the 7 weeks before the big event so has decided to back out. Fortunately James Cannicott has agreed to step up to the mark and take Ewan's place (evidently the new blisters gained on his last walk with us didn't put him off) so we don't have to dash about trying to find a replacement. Welcome James .... I hope you realise what you're getting yourself into :) (or perhaps it's better that you don't!)

The Mining Trail

Linz was determined to attempt 30 miles again and with Mum's poorly toe we thought it best to attempt a relatively flat route this weekend so we walked from Camborne to Portreath and then completed the coast to coast path to Devoran and back yesterday. The weather was much better this time than our last walk on this route and we completed the 31.5 mile distance in under 10 hours. We're all getting a bit nervous now that the big day is less than 8 weeks away but I'm confident we'll all be fine. Dave has strict instructions to be waiting at the finish line for us with a bottle of champagne and I'm sure that will keep us going when things get tough!

Walking injuries

Eight weeks to go and Ewan's knee is still troubling him, my toe nails are changing colour daily, James' blisters are back and Mum might have a broken big toe! Think Linz is feeling alright though - maybe she can carry us

50 miles in one weekend

Mum and I completed two 25 miles training walks this weekend and have managed to make it into the office this morning despite stiff joints and sore feet. Ewan and Linz were both busy but our back up member James joined us for 15 miles of the route on Saturday and we were fortunate enough to have two gloriously sunny days to train on.We had a couple of diversions on Saturday (once to meet James at Tehidy Woods and the second time because we missed our turn off because we were engrossed by James' story about teamwork in rats!) and completed the distance in 8.5 hours. I woke up yesterday morning with a headache and stiff knee and fully expected Sunday's walk to take much longer than Saturday's but we completed it in a blistering 8 hours. Might be falling asleep at my desk and dribbling into my keyboard today but don't think anyone could blame me.

Are we mad?

Mum and I have decided to train on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and are going to attempt a 25 mile walk on each day. I'm not sure who's most crazy; me and mum for looking forward to the experience or Linz for being disappointed about missing it because of a weekend away!

What a difference a week makes

It was just me and Mum on Sunday and we opted for challenge rather than distance and set out at 8am to walk approximately 21 miles from Pendeen lighthouse to Lamorna Cove. The day didn't start well - we'd walked just a few meters up the path from where Dave dropped us off when we came across a dead cat in the road - but the sun was out and there was only a gentle breeze. After passing the historic mine works near Boscaswell we came to the beautiful golden beaches of Whitesand Bay and enjoyed a 5 minute lunch break near Sennen. As advised by the South West Coast Path website the going got a lot tougher after Sennen with lots of steep climbs but the scenery continued to stun us and we passed several idyllic villages. The wildlife was also interesting; we saw buzzards, a number of small lizards (much to Mum's delight!) and a very brave cow grazing just inches from the cliff edge. We arrived at Lamorna Cove 8.5 hours after leaving Pendeen lighthouse feeling hot, sunburned and tired but pleased with our efforts. Next weekend's challenge is going to be a 25 mile walk on both Saturday and Sunday so we can experience how it will feel to walk a long distance on very tired legs. Bring it on!

Thank heavens for flip flops!

Not sure where I would be without flip flops at the moment. The nail on my big toe is getting ready to fall off, one of my little toes is misshaped and sore and my new trainers have rubbed both heels on the treadmill this week. I'm sure my poor feet must be a terrible sight for anyone coming into contact with them but it's a relief to free them from boots and trainers. I've started using surgical spirit to harden the skin on both feet (hubby and team leader Dave tells me he did this in preparation for training exercises in his navy days) so I'm sure I must be smelling like a hospital waiting room. I fear that my beloved Jimmy Choos will be confined to their shelf in my wardrobe this summer!

Linz, Ewan and James are all busy this weekend so only Mum and I will be training on Sunday and our aim is to walk from Pendeen point to Lamorna, taking in the rugged beauty of Land's End. The 10 or 11 miles between Sennen Cove and Lamorna is described as difficult on the coast path website, with lots of steep climbs, so it's a good job it's a bank holiday weekend.