Adventures in Spott

Yesterday I went down to Mum and Dad's in Spott for my first proper walk in my boots (better late than never) outdoors. As I set off from Edinburgh it absolutely poured down and got progressively worse the further I drove! It wasn't looking good for a walk but after lunch and grand prix watching it cleared up and stopped raining so Dad and I headed off. Since Dad grew up in Spott he knows his way around so had suggested a 1.5 hour walk involving many many hills for good practice! It's impossible to have a flat walk around Spott anyway as it's surrounded by hills so we set off up one of the steepest called Stervation and by the time I got to the top my legs were soooo heavy! It was worth it though as the view was stunning, right over the Firth of Forth. We carried on round a big loop mostly along rough paths until we hit another hill up to the Brunt (an estate near Spott and part of the larger Spott Home Farm Estate) This one was much tougher as we had to negotiate a cattle grid halfway up, not easy when it's all wet! Anyway it led to another stunning view over East Lothian so we stopped for a breather while Dad pointed out all the some of the other estates and farms nearby and places he played when he was younger. It turned out to be quite flat after that and we headed towards home. We went though a gate into a field that was suspiciously splattered with cow pats and a few minutes later came across a group of young cows next to the cattle grid we had to cross to get out of the field. Dad suggested climbing through the fence to the wood to pass them but for some reason we didn't do that and just walked towards them, needless to say Dad went first! It was going fine until some of the cows got spooked and jumped over the fence into a small pen of trees and ran off. Luckily only 4 or 5 went over it and we managed to pass the others and get over the cattle grid but it was just a bit scary for my liking! My cousin Gary works on the farm so we popped into his house to let his wife know what had happened, we have since found out that all the cows are fine, completely unharmed and back in the field where they are supposed to be. Big relief!
After that excitement we headed along the bottom of the Doon Hill towards home and arrived there just in time for dinner expertly timed by Mum.
Happily my boots seem to be feet friendly and I don't have any blisters and they have held up brilliantly despite the mud and rain so it was a very successful training session. I should really make it a weekly thing until the trek I think. My legs aren't too sore today so I'm going for a swim tonight with my big sister at Dalry. It's a lovely sunny day so may even walk there, I won't have to worry about encountering any cows along the way that's for sure :)

Tweets

I have just created a twitter feed for The Trek Files for those of you who have Twitter. It goes without saying it will take me a while to get in up and running properly :) See link below!

http://twitter.com/thetrekfiles

4 weeks today!

I will be on the plane to Beijing in 4 weeks time (subject to ash cloud) Hopefully I can find enough time to fit everything in. Yesterday I managed to buy some walking socks in preparation for a hilly walk this weekend around Spott to wear with my boots. It will be their first outing on grass and mud rather than pavements so I hope they survive but they weren't exactly cheap so they should. I also managed to get some long sleeved clima-cool tops from Mountain Warehouse and 20% off, bargain! I actually stumbled over the shop accidentally, I'm glad I did. Usually it's the sort of shop I would completely bypass on my way to Dotty P!
I also met up with Lynsey for a catch up and plan for our charity quiz we are hosting on the 6th June. We are quite organised which is good, now just need David to finish off the questions :) We have also managed to source so raffle prizes so hopefully we will raise a few pounds. Everyone has been so generous so far which is wonderful, we have been so lucky and our charities are extremely grateful. Thanks everyone :)

Updates and equipment

Now I really know it's getting closer to the trek as the emails from Charity Challenge are coming thick and fast. As Lynsey and I are organising our own flights and arrive the day before everyone else we have been given instructions on how to meet up with the rest of the group. These instructions basically are look for the guy holding the Charity Challenge board up in arrivals at Beijing Airport and walk over to him! We arrive there on Friday 25th and the others arrive on the 26th. We arrive at 10pm local time and have organised a night in The Peking International Hostel. This has a travel desk where we are hoping we can make some arrangements for our adventures after the trek. We hopefully won't be too jet lagged when we arrive so we can spend the following day perhaps seeing a bit of the city before heading back to the airport to meet up with the others. Exciting!
In a previous post I was waffling about some craghoppers trousers that I had ordered from Amazon. It turned out Home Delivery Network aren't so bad after all as David picked them up for me today. I'm really happy with them and they are exactly what I need.
One pair are navy and zip off into knee length shorts and the other are dark grey and zip off into 3/4 length trousers, very versatile! They are so light too so will be great in the hot weather and pack up nice and small in my rucksack. Now I just need walking socks and some light tops and then I'm set for the trek.
I'm also in the middle of planning my 4 week training schedule as odd as it sounds my next 4 weeks are revolving round trek training so I need to set some sessions in stone and work other things around them. It's the only way I can get myself in the best shape possible for the challenge ahead!

The best laid plans...

can go up in smoke in minutes! I have discovered I can plan all I like but I have to learn to deal with things not working out as I'd hoped. I'm the sort of person that likes to plan and if these plans don't materialise then I get miffed and stressed. I need to get over this asap as it's not really doing me any good!
Unfortunately this means that my new routine has kind of gone to pot and I get up at 7 instead. I do still walk to work most days and home from work (when it's not raining) so at least I am building up the miles and breaking in my boots but the plans to go back to classes and the gym are not happening! It's now less than 5 weeks until the trek so I have to get my skates on and get some training in! I did manage a swim on Monday after work as my big sis picked me up from work and we went to Dalry Pool. It was absolutely freezing after baking in the heat all day, I still shiver thinking about it!

My new routine

Has stuck until the end of the week- hurrah! Even though I used to do it all the time I have found 6.30 starts extremely hard this week but I'm hoping that the worst is over and it will soon become second nature. It has allowed me to walk to work every day this week which was my main goal and means I have racked up 15 miles of walking this week, woop woop! It has been cracking weather this week which has definitely encouraged me to get out of bed but has also meant that I will definitely have to buy some cooler clothes.
Speaking of cooler clothes I have ordered some clothes for China over the internet. A friend recommended a brand called Craghoppers which have Nosquito (anti mosquito) technology, are quick drying, have 100% UV protection and are even convertible so I don't have to pack shorts. After an evening of searching I managed to source some on Amazon for half the price they are in the shops which is good as two pairs still cost me £67, really 2 for 1 though. Unfortunately they are in a depot miles away as for some reason Amazon now use Home Delivery Network who are notoriously troublesome. Anyway I am hoping to pick them up soon and try them on and see if they are as great as I think they will be. I have ordered one grey pair which are 3/4 length when zipped off and one pewter pair which are knee length when zipped off. I guess they aren't mosquito proof anymore if they can fly up my leg. I'm not entirely sure how Nosquito works but basically it should fend off any pesky mosquitoes and hopefully help me avoid bites! We are not visiting any malarial areas so there is no need for me to take anti-malarials as these can really mess with my epilepsy medication. There are newer ones on the market that don't but these are really expensive (3x cost of regular ones) and haven't been as thoroughly researched so I'm not sure how confident I would be in taking them. Happily I don't have to worry about taking more pills I can just arm myself with DEET, hope it doesn't pong too much :)
It's under 5 weeks until we get on the plane now and I can start to get super excited as Lynsey's visa came though yesterday! Yippee! We were getting a bit worried about it but in the end it came back within a week of applying. Now we can relax and get planning our trip post-trek. I have been listening to my Easy Learning Mandarin CDs on my walks to work and I think things are starting to go in. I have now learned some handy phrases and discovered that there aren't Mandarin words for Yes or No which seems odd but really you just have to ask questions in a different way. One of the handiest phrases I have learned is Speak/Not Speak English? This is answered I speak/not speak English rather than Yes or No. I guess I can always nod or shake my head as an alternative!
More updates to follow soon, I am definitely going to put more effort in in the coming weeks!

These boots were made for walking

A few weeks on from buying my boots for the trek I have finally introduced them to the outside world! After a lovely anniversary weekend I decided it was really time to step up the training for the trek so I made a plan which I need to stick to this time.
It has started fairly well in that I got up at 6.30 as I had aimed to do so that was the first hurdle cleared. It's actually not that hard to get up that early and if it means that I definitely have time to walk to work then it's worth it so the aim is to do this every working day until the trek. Now that the 10k is out of the way and my blisters have finally gone I decided that I really needed to break my boots in so I pulled them on for their first venture outdoors and I walked to work. They felt so weird! I'm not used to wearing boots or anything round my ankles so I did feel a bit trapped at first rather than supported but I gradually got used to them. Unfortunately this is has been one of the hottest days of the year so by the time I got to work I was super hot and my feet were roasting so I quickly changed into my trusty trainers for the day before pulling on my boots again for the walk home.
Happily 4.5 miles in my boots still look in perfect condition and my feet are also holding up :)

Edging closer to the adventure

It's now 6 weeks tomorrow until I'll be on the plan to Beijing, ash permitting! Training is once again in full swing after recovering from the 10k and now I can't afford for it to stop as the challenge gets ever closer.
Last Sunday Lynsey and I met for a run along the Water of Leith which was excellent. We met at Roseburn and decided to head along the path towards Balerno. After a couple of miles we emerged somewhere, neither of us were entirely sure where, and headed towards where we thought was the city centre. It turned out we were in Slateford and really only a couple of miles from Haymarket. We took a walk along the road to catch our breath and cool down and after admiring the blossomed trees emerged at Roseburn again. After all that work we headed along to Beanscene for a well deserved coffee and chat. It's coming round so fast!
Another week at work has almost gone and is finally calming down a bit allowing me to have enough energy to put in some training thankfully. My new tactic of not taking money to work so I have to walk home has been fairly successful and I have managed to get several miles under my belt. I now just need to get my walking boots on and break them in now that my feet have recovered from the trauma of the 10k!
I've also started listening to my Easy Learning Mandarin again after a break from it and some of it seems to be going in now. I think I may have overdone it to start with, tried to learn too much and actually ended up learning nothing so now I am being a bit more sensible and only listening to a few units then recapping!
Today I got my second dose of Hep B and now just have one more to go. I don't really feel that bad just a bit of a sore arm again but it's only my left arm anyway which I don't use much anyway. Final dose in two weeks time then after 9 rounds I'm done!
It's our anniversary this weekend so training might take a bit of a hit but I am hoping to get at least one run in to keep up my resolution!

7 weeks to go

Quick post today to say it's only 7 weeks until we jet off to China, I can't believe how quickly it is coming round.
Now the 10k is done I can start fully concentrating on preparing myself for the trek starting with breaking in my boots and getting back into walking into work. This time last year I told myself I would keep up my running after the 10k and it didn't happen so this year I am determined to keep up at least one run a week. I'm making a good start as I'm meeting Lynsey tomorrow morning for a run along the Water of Leith. My blisters have finally cleared up so no more excuses to wriggle out of training!

Rounds Three and One

The build up to China carries on with my latest round of immunisations. My plan to leave early for the surgery and take a slow wander up the hill didn't materialise and I ended up running the last few hundred metres in order to get there for 8.30, phew hot work in jeans and a jumper with my rucksack on! Even at 8.30 the Nurse was running late so I had a chance to cool down before exposing myself to a Rabies shot for the third and final time along with my first dose of Hep B. This may seem rather over cautious but better safe than sorry given that 10% of the Chinese population carry Hep B. Thankfully I was able to get both shots in one arm so the now familiar burning sensation was contained in my mostly redundant left arm. As time ticked on I jumped on the bus to work, had a fairly busy day and went shopping after work. Happily my arm isn't too sore just a bit bruised and swollen. Only 2 more doses of Hep B to go then I am done :)

Back to the training

Wow I felt sore on Monday! My feet were agony from the race and covered in blisters, my legs were aching and my intercostals were screaming, not good! I spoke to Dad and he was absolutely fine, he's 59 and thirty years older than me! I treated myself to the bus and the lift at work, I think I deserved it!
Yesterday I felt a bit better and still got the bus but did tackle the stairs so I had done something! I picked up the Evening News to discover that I had finished 6562nd in 1.18.10 not too bad I suppose. Dad had the same time but was placed behind me, I feel bad as he deserved to be ahead for sure!
Today I thought 3 days on I had better do something but I slept a bit too late so I had to get the bus to work, must start walking again tomorrow though. I did go for a swim after work though so I have restarted my training :)
Tomorrow I am going for my final Rabies shot and fist Hep B shot of three, better walk there in case I feel rotten afterwards!

Did I really do the 10k?

I have finally recovered enough from the excitement and pain of doing the 10k enough to post an update. I thought of doing a half hearted one but then decided that's not really for me, it's all or nothing!
I spent most of Saturday carb loading in preparation for the 10k and fully intended on going to bed early, inevitably this did not happen! I ended up going to Haddington and catching up with the girls for the 1st and did not go to bed until 11- oh dear. I knew that Mum and Dad would be arriving super early on Sunday so I tried to doze off rapidly but ended up just keeping myself awake by worrying about my lack of training. I think I must have dozed off around 1 and then woke up about 7, not the best preparation just to add to my anxiousness. I managed to force some breakfast down and get myself ready before Mum and Dad arrived at 8.30. Dad was hyper and it was infectious so I thankfully finally got excited about the race just in time! We got ready and put our numbers on and got some pictures taken (will post when I work out how to do this!) then headed down to the start line in Holyrood park. I started to get nervy again as we strolled down the Royal Mile and I saw some rather more professional looking runners but once we were there and we knew where to stand and did a bit of warming up I got excited again. Our start time was 10.47 so as this closed in we said cheerio to everyone and headed towards the start then we were off! The first km was up Queens Drive, a very long uphill stretch of the park. This is definitely the toughest part of the course so I guess it was good to get it over but a bit of a hellish start at the same time! It soon became clear that Dad had prepared a lot better for the race than me but since we had decided to go round together he kindly slowed up so we could do that. After the hilly start it was downhill to the Cowgate which was a good chance to recover. We saw some familiar faces at the bottom of the Pleasance and their cheers spurred us on along Cowgate, through the Grassmarket and to the Meadows. By this time I was feeling pretty tired and really thirsty so it was with relief that I grabbed a bottle of water at the 5k mark. Dad was doing brilliantly and way better than me and hardly seemed to be puffed out at all! One more hill up to Potterrow then along George IV Bridge, down the Mound and through Princes Street Gardens where we caught up with Spiderman and Wonder Woman which was a bit of light relief as by this time I was really tired and could feel the dreaded blisters- ouch! As we turned onto the Royal Mile from Jeffrey Street I looked up at the flat and saw David leaning out of the window cheering us on and taking pictures and we knew it was almost over! One last km down the hill towards Holyrood Palace which the Queen and the finish line. The Queen had given special permission for the finish line to be constructed in the palace and we were extremely glad to see it! More friendly faces on the sidelines and a few unexpected extras caused Dad to take a diversion for a high five then we burst over the line and all I felt was pure relief and pride. As we picked up our finishers packs I fished out my medal and put it round my neck, all that pain was worth it after all! We met up with everyone, posed for a few after race pictures, and then headed to the flat where we chewed over the race as well as our power bars and got ready to devour some well earned lunch :) The five of us headed up to Whiski just up the Royal Mile and I tucked into Macaroni Cheese and Chips with no guilt whatsoever along with a celebratory pint, wonderful! Dad and I were hyper! After a couple of relaxing hours we headed back to the flat where I promptly fell asleep for 2 hours, must have needed it!