Training hampered by illness

Only two team members were available for training on Sunday and Mum and I were celebrating a family member's birthday in the evening so we opted for a relatively easy 6 hour walk along the North Cliff coast path. As it turned out however Mum had fallen victim to a particularly nasty cough doing the rounds at work and wasn't feeling her best. We started at Tehidy Woods again and walked to Godrevy Point (not getting lost in between this time) and as soon as we left the shelter of the woods it became apparent that the wind was very strong. Once we hit the coast path we were buffeted around by increasingly strong gusts and before long we began to find the going incredibly tough. At times the wind was so strong we had no option but to stick our poles into the gorse and brace ourselves to prevent the wind from knocking us over! As we neared Portreath I made the decision to divert to the main road because there was a slightly tricky section of path coming up which I felt would be dangerous in the strong winds (one misplaced foot and we would end up in the sea!). We walked into Portreath on the road (passing a lot of exhausted charity runners on the way) and from there we made our way back to Tehidy woods and then home to Camborne.

My back started to ache surprisingly early on in the walk and my legs soon felt weak. As I found the previous week's 7 hour training walk relatively easy I assumed that I was struggling because of the strength of the wind and that maybe I'd overdone it on the treadmill. By the time we reached Camborne my legs were aching and heavy and I felt as if I'd completed the 100km challenge already. I woke yesterday morning feeling ill and it would appear that I have caught the dreaded bug affecting so many in the office. Training was on a standstill yesterday but I managed 20 minutes on the treadmill this morning and Mum and I are hoping to feel well enough to walk home from the office tonight. We know who is responsible for making us unwell and who to blame if we have to call our support crew leader to rescue us!

No wonder my feet hurt!

Just done a tally of February's training and I've walked 125.5 miles this month (272,930 steps according to my pedometer). My big toe nails are turning black, my trainers are falling apart and I've already had to order replacement sock liners. Still, all this exercise means I get to eat more cake and chocolate so it's not all bad!

Mullion to Marazion

The team walked from Mullion to Marazion yesterday, covering the 18 miles in a fraction under 7 hours. There were some fairly steep climbs to contend with and the weather was mild enough to make us strip coats and fleeces off soon after starting. We didn't take nearly enough drink with us but our wonderful support crew leader was waiting for us at Marazion with a bag of bottled drinks and chocolate bars and we'll know to carry more next time.

Fundraising leaderboard

Just received fantastic news. Gould Electronics are currently at the top of Trailwalker's fundraising leader board. Amazing!

Team training

I've still got to plan our route but we're thinking of walking from Mullion to Penzance on Sunday. We're aiming to walk approximately 18 miles this time and it will be the furthest distance we've attempted yet. Mum's blisters have fortunately healed well (all thanks to regular treatment with surgical spirit!) and the weather forecast looks good.

There's now just two weeks to go until our fundraising afternoon tea and I'm starting to feel a bit nervous. I'm worried that we'll either find ourselves inundated with hungry people or no one will turn up and everyone's hard work will be wasted. I hadn't even thought about details such as crockery and cutlery until a few days ago so I think that it might be a good idea to spend tomorrow planning.

That's my weekend sorted!

Weekend off

I stayed at the Driftwood Hotel with family this weekend and intended to take a couple of days off training. I couldn't resist a 5 mile walk along the coast path however and enjoyed a brisk stroll to Portscatho and back before lunch on Saturday.

Blisters

This evening's training walk has been cancelled due to injury. Mum has blisters the size of dinner plates on her heels after our walk home from the office on Tuesday and she's had to come to work wearing open-toes sandals today. Still, at least we've learned a couple of things from the incident; never wear new trainers on a 6.5 mile walk, and don't trust the claim that you can walk a thousand miles in a pair of socks without developing blisters!