Saturday, July 31, 2010
Not Been A Great Week...
I have been quite ill this week so haven't really done anything from Tuesday night onwards...
Sunday was the Race For Life at the Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont. I had never done this before as it seems a little cheeky asking people to sponsor me for running 3 miles when I got all that sponsorship for MdS, but mum and sis Katie wanted to do it so I agreed to do it with them.
The weather was perfect- sunny and dry, but not too warm. There were literally thousands of participants, mostly dressed in pink Most people had a pink square detailing names of loved ones they had lost to cancer, or who are currently battling the disease, it was quite humbling.
We were given a mass warm up before the 'off' and set off around the lake- I guessed that the route would be a circuit of the Regatta Lake and I was correct. We walked mostly, although mum did manage a few jogs, and crossed the line in 48 minutes 15 seconds which she was happy with- she now says she has a PB to beat!! As we were nearly finishing we could still see loads and loads of people behind us, I think it must have taken some folks quite a time to pass the Start line. Here are a few pics;
Katie, Mum And Me
At The Head Of The Lake
Looking Back
After The Finish!
Tuesday night was the night I had chosen to do the 'Gym For Heroes' challenge at the gym- 1 hour on the rower, 1 hour on the stationary bike and 1 hour on either the treadmill or elliptical, with monies raised going towards 'Help For Heroes'. Although I had got some sponsorship, I hadn't taken this that seriously and had 'panic trained' the Sunday before by going on the rower for 20 minutes and the bike for 30 minutes. I was rather sore in, um, certain areas next day and seriously considered taking a cushion in!!
The event wasn't too bad in the end... the rower was the worst, mainly because it was boring, although I did get to watch a spin class. At one point it felt as though the nerves down the back of both legs were being trapped, but I put a spurt on at the end and managed 8,000 metres. One of the gym staff was doing the challenge too, and another was doing the 12 hour challenge- he must have been mad or very fit or both!! His wife, who had done the 3 hour challenge on Sunday, was supporting him and was also very supportive of me, cycling and running with me and generally keeping my spirits up which was really nice of her.
The bike seemed fairly easy, I kept the resistance light and pedalled quite fast, managing 20 miles and watching Eastenders. My legs felt a little wobbly afterwards, and it was an effort to get going on the treadmill. I could have walked my hour on the treadmill, but that would have been too easy, so decided I'd run for the hour. I had mentally set myself a 5 mile target- the last 20 minutes was really tough. We had been provided with special t-shirts to wear, but they weren't technical ones so mine was absolutely soaked through at that point- I could wring it out! Ross finished his 12 hour challenge, and then I heard my name being announced over the tannoy (luckily the gym wasn't busy!!) so that gave me a little spurt of extra energy!
I managed 5 miles on the rower, 20 on the bike and 5 on the treadmill, so am happy with that, especially as I didn't really do any special training for it.
Next day I woke up with a headache- I assumed it was dehydration, and would go off if I drank plenty of water. It didn't- it got worse, to the point where nothing I did would relieve it, and I spent the morning and most of the afternoon throwing up! I don't think it was the challenge- I have done loads of physical stuff and nothing has ever made me physically sick, so I am convinced it was a bug of some sort. I have not felt that ill for absolutely ages- I am still not feeling 100% now- so am giving myself a few days rest from training.
Not for too long though- I have entered the Nottingham Ultra on 22nd August. This is a 50k race from Sherwood Forest to Nottingham Castle and is so local it would have been rude not to enter!
Sunday was the Race For Life at the Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont. I had never done this before as it seems a little cheeky asking people to sponsor me for running 3 miles when I got all that sponsorship for MdS, but mum and sis Katie wanted to do it so I agreed to do it with them.
The weather was perfect- sunny and dry, but not too warm. There were literally thousands of participants, mostly dressed in pink Most people had a pink square detailing names of loved ones they had lost to cancer, or who are currently battling the disease, it was quite humbling.
We were given a mass warm up before the 'off' and set off around the lake- I guessed that the route would be a circuit of the Regatta Lake and I was correct. We walked mostly, although mum did manage a few jogs, and crossed the line in 48 minutes 15 seconds which she was happy with- she now says she has a PB to beat!! As we were nearly finishing we could still see loads and loads of people behind us, I think it must have taken some folks quite a time to pass the Start line. Here are a few pics;
Tuesday night was the night I had chosen to do the 'Gym For Heroes' challenge at the gym- 1 hour on the rower, 1 hour on the stationary bike and 1 hour on either the treadmill or elliptical, with monies raised going towards 'Help For Heroes'. Although I had got some sponsorship, I hadn't taken this that seriously and had 'panic trained' the Sunday before by going on the rower for 20 minutes and the bike for 30 minutes. I was rather sore in, um, certain areas next day and seriously considered taking a cushion in!!
The event wasn't too bad in the end... the rower was the worst, mainly because it was boring, although I did get to watch a spin class. At one point it felt as though the nerves down the back of both legs were being trapped, but I put a spurt on at the end and managed 8,000 metres. One of the gym staff was doing the challenge too, and another was doing the 12 hour challenge- he must have been mad or very fit or both!! His wife, who had done the 3 hour challenge on Sunday, was supporting him and was also very supportive of me, cycling and running with me and generally keeping my spirits up which was really nice of her.
The bike seemed fairly easy, I kept the resistance light and pedalled quite fast, managing 20 miles and watching Eastenders. My legs felt a little wobbly afterwards, and it was an effort to get going on the treadmill. I could have walked my hour on the treadmill, but that would have been too easy, so decided I'd run for the hour. I had mentally set myself a 5 mile target- the last 20 minutes was really tough. We had been provided with special t-shirts to wear, but they weren't technical ones so mine was absolutely soaked through at that point- I could wring it out! Ross finished his 12 hour challenge, and then I heard my name being announced over the tannoy (luckily the gym wasn't busy!!) so that gave me a little spurt of extra energy!
I managed 5 miles on the rower, 20 on the bike and 5 on the treadmill, so am happy with that, especially as I didn't really do any special training for it.
Next day I woke up with a headache- I assumed it was dehydration, and would go off if I drank plenty of water. It didn't- it got worse, to the point where nothing I did would relieve it, and I spent the morning and most of the afternoon throwing up! I don't think it was the challenge- I have done loads of physical stuff and nothing has ever made me physically sick, so I am convinced it was a bug of some sort. I have not felt that ill for absolutely ages- I am still not feeling 100% now- so am giving myself a few days rest from training.
Not for too long though- I have entered the Nottingham Ultra on 22nd August. This is a 50k race from Sherwood Forest to Nottingham Castle and is so local it would have been rude not to enter!
Labels: gym for heroes, Nottingham Ultra, Race for Life
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Little John Challenge
I actually did a long walk- for the first time in ages!! I decided on the Little John Challenge walk by John Merrill- 28 miles round Sherwood Forest and area starting and finishing in Edwinstowe. The weather was... changeable! I did get quite a lot of sun, and it was warm, but also quite showery earlier on. I took plenty of water with me- which turned out not to be enough- which made my rucksack heavy.
Although the walk starts from the Sherwood Forest Visitor's Centre car park, it finishes by walking right through the village back to the start, so I figured that if I parked just after the railway bridge I would do this at the beginning rather than the end (plus I was too tight to pay for parking! Well- they did get £3 out of me last week...)
I found the path I needed- the bridleway towards Gleadthorpe- without much effort and decided that I would jog when I could. The first part of the walk went right through the forest;
Sherwood Forest
There was a bit of route navigation needed here as I needed to turn off this bridleway onto another one, and then turn left along another track towards Church Warsop. All of the forest paths were very runnable, and actually very well sign posted;
It started to rain here, just as I was about to leave the forest and head across open fields and track into Church Warsop. I had done a lot of the earlier parts of the walk before at some point and remembered that the next bit, to Cuckney, had caused a problem before.
The route crosses the A60 and leaves Church Warsop via a foot path uphill, across field and into Oakfield Plantation. Although the kissing gate entrance to the path was strewn with rubbish the path was pretty clear. It had also stopped raining;
Leaving Church Warsop
It was in the plantation that I had problems before. The path marked on the map past Park House Farm towards Cuckney is not very apparent on the ground. I walked too far (feeling very angry at being passed by a couple of motorbike riders- on a public footpath- leaving deep tracks in the ground. This does make me cross because of the damage they do- parts of the Ridgeway are now almost unwalkable thanks to the deep ruts left by motorbike riders).
I found a path running in the right direction but came out too far to the right. Luckily I came out onto a path which led onto the track I needed. To reach Cuckney there is a funny little track over Mill Hill and down to Cuckney Dam. Cuckney is an attractive little village, although close to the A60 which I had to cross- again.
The path then crosses the River Poulter before heading onto the Welbeck Estate, home of Welbeck Abbey.
Cuckney Church
The next part of the route is a bit of a boring trudge up the road through the deer park. John Merrill suggested that I cut across to the A60 and walk along it for a 100 yards before turning off into Holbeck Woodhouse. I didn't really fancy this though- it is a very busy road although it probably wasn't when John devised the route. I opted to walk along the deer park road a bit further, crossing straight over th A60 (yet again!!) to reach the village. Surprise surprise, it was raining again!!
I knew the path along the fields to Cresswell Crags quite well, a good path had been created through fields of crops. I saw other people walking for the first time although nobody else looked quite as sweaty as me!
Cresswell Village
The crags are quite impressive- a huge limestone gorge, forming the border of Nottinghamhire and Derbyshire with caves which were used as a temporary camp for prehistoric man. It had stopped raining by this point so there were a few more folks around;
The Crags
Swans With Seven Cygnets!
Another View Of The Crags
A brand new visitor's centre has been built, so I took a peek in the shop and used the loo but didn't outstay my welcome as I probably didn't smell too fresh... up to that point I had jogged most of the level/ downhill parts of the route and was very hot!
I knew the next part of the walk very well too- across the fields to South Lodge, and through the woods to Truman's Lodge. I have since found out that the 5th Duke of Portland and heir of Welbeck was rather reclusive and had a network of tunnels constructed, running to various parts of his estate so he could travel without being seen. One of them runs to South Lodge and can actually be seen as the ridge in the middle of the picture below, covered by longer grass;
The Tunnel!
The next part of the route involved running along an easy track through the woods, through a sandstone 'gorge';
It was at this point I started to get a bit worried, as I realised that I was just over half way, but had drank a lot more than half of my water- and felt quite thirsty! The sun had come out and it was now quite hot, plus I had been jogging a lot- it was perhaps a good idea I didn't do this walk last weekend as it was scorching! There are not a lot of facilities on route so I was panicking slightly.
I reached Truman's Lodge and the entrance to Clumber Park;
It soon started to rain again, but I was heading back into the forest through Clumber Park towards the village of Hardwick. The sign pointing towards the village also suggested that refreshments may be available- which was now a necessity as my water was running rather low and I wouldn't have lasted the rest of the day. Unfortunately, when I reached the village, the sign for 'visitor's facilities' pointed in the opposite direction! I was pretty desparate so followed the road down to a car park and ice cream van- salvation!!
Unfortunately I had picked the only ice cream van which didn't sell drinks... the lady serving must have seen the look of despair on my face, as she pointed to a path along the lake and told me that the ladies loos had a water fountain and were only '5 minutes walk away'. I was not impressed as I thought I'd have to retrace my steps to reach Hardwick, but had no choice really so I marched on, found the loos, refilled my water bottles, had a really good drink and then realised the track had by passed Hardwick and connected with the route- so no step retracing necessary.
There is a ford and footbridge over the river;
The next part of the route was completely new to me- crossing the A614 (very busy) and through woodland with plenty of rubbish strewn along the path. I now had glorious sunshine again, and eventually left the woods to walk along a well defined track. I was still managing to run- slowly- at this point!
I thought route finding may be slightly tricky as I had to leave the track and turn onto a bridleway, and then leave the bridleway for a footpath leading to Bothamsall; luckily it was very well signed.
Motte And Bailey Mound
I had actually had enough at this point- I was pretty tired, my legs were aching and there was no more jogging...
The Other Side Of The Motte And Bailey
The next part of the route was through forest, (Conjure Alders and Blackcliffe Hill Plantation) but seemed endless. I met some young lads fishing on a footbridge, who were really polite and insisted on moving their equipment to let me pass easily.
Finally I reached the Walesby Forest and the road. The route John Merrill suggested follows the road to a farm and track to Ollerton but I was a bit worried about this as it is not shown as a right of way on the map. I chose to follow a bridleway following the river, which ran more or less parrallel. I could see the houses of Ollerton from the start of the bridleway but they didn't seem to be getting any closer! Finally I was walking through the village, to find the footpath back to Edwinstowe.
This follows the course of the railway line; I was very worried at first as the path was extremely overgrown and my arms and legs were geeting scratched- I couldn't face another mile of this. Luckily it soon gave way to a proper track through the fields, although to my dismay it did climb quite steeply at one point!
The Track Following The Railway Line- Impending Showers!!
Thoresby Colliery Signal Box
Eventually the houses of Edwinstowe crept close and closer until, to a blast of 'Summer Holiday' from a nearby garden, I reached the village and the car. It took me 9 hours 10 minutes- which to me seems incredibly slow considering I jogged a lot of it and didn't sit down at all (apart from on the loo!) It took John Merrill 9 hours apparently- he must be a pretty fast walker!
Although the walk starts from the Sherwood Forest Visitor's Centre car park, it finishes by walking right through the village back to the start, so I figured that if I parked just after the railway bridge I would do this at the beginning rather than the end (plus I was too tight to pay for parking! Well- they did get £3 out of me last week...)
I found the path I needed- the bridleway towards Gleadthorpe- without much effort and decided that I would jog when I could. The first part of the walk went right through the forest;
There was a bit of route navigation needed here as I needed to turn off this bridleway onto another one, and then turn left along another track towards Church Warsop. All of the forest paths were very runnable, and actually very well sign posted;
It started to rain here, just as I was about to leave the forest and head across open fields and track into Church Warsop. I had done a lot of the earlier parts of the walk before at some point and remembered that the next bit, to Cuckney, had caused a problem before.
The route crosses the A60 and leaves Church Warsop via a foot path uphill, across field and into Oakfield Plantation. Although the kissing gate entrance to the path was strewn with rubbish the path was pretty clear. It had also stopped raining;
It was in the plantation that I had problems before. The path marked on the map past Park House Farm towards Cuckney is not very apparent on the ground. I walked too far (feeling very angry at being passed by a couple of motorbike riders- on a public footpath- leaving deep tracks in the ground. This does make me cross because of the damage they do- parts of the Ridgeway are now almost unwalkable thanks to the deep ruts left by motorbike riders).
I found a path running in the right direction but came out too far to the right. Luckily I came out onto a path which led onto the track I needed. To reach Cuckney there is a funny little track over Mill Hill and down to Cuckney Dam. Cuckney is an attractive little village, although close to the A60 which I had to cross- again.
The path then crosses the River Poulter before heading onto the Welbeck Estate, home of Welbeck Abbey.
The next part of the route is a bit of a boring trudge up the road through the deer park. John Merrill suggested that I cut across to the A60 and walk along it for a 100 yards before turning off into Holbeck Woodhouse. I didn't really fancy this though- it is a very busy road although it probably wasn't when John devised the route. I opted to walk along the deer park road a bit further, crossing straight over th A60 (yet again!!) to reach the village. Surprise surprise, it was raining again!!
I knew the path along the fields to Cresswell Crags quite well, a good path had been created through fields of crops. I saw other people walking for the first time although nobody else looked quite as sweaty as me!
The crags are quite impressive- a huge limestone gorge, forming the border of Nottinghamhire and Derbyshire with caves which were used as a temporary camp for prehistoric man. It had stopped raining by this point so there were a few more folks around;
A brand new visitor's centre has been built, so I took a peek in the shop and used the loo but didn't outstay my welcome as I probably didn't smell too fresh... up to that point I had jogged most of the level/ downhill parts of the route and was very hot!
I knew the next part of the walk very well too- across the fields to South Lodge, and through the woods to Truman's Lodge. I have since found out that the 5th Duke of Portland and heir of Welbeck was rather reclusive and had a network of tunnels constructed, running to various parts of his estate so he could travel without being seen. One of them runs to South Lodge and can actually be seen as the ridge in the middle of the picture below, covered by longer grass;
The next part of the route involved running along an easy track through the woods, through a sandstone 'gorge';
It was at this point I started to get a bit worried, as I realised that I was just over half way, but had drank a lot more than half of my water- and felt quite thirsty! The sun had come out and it was now quite hot, plus I had been jogging a lot- it was perhaps a good idea I didn't do this walk last weekend as it was scorching! There are not a lot of facilities on route so I was panicking slightly.
I reached Truman's Lodge and the entrance to Clumber Park;
Unfortunately I had picked the only ice cream van which didn't sell drinks... the lady serving must have seen the look of despair on my face, as she pointed to a path along the lake and told me that the ladies loos had a water fountain and were only '5 minutes walk away'. I was not impressed as I thought I'd have to retrace my steps to reach Hardwick, but had no choice really so I marched on, found the loos, refilled my water bottles, had a really good drink and then realised the track had by passed Hardwick and connected with the route- so no step retracing necessary.
There is a ford and footbridge over the river;
I thought route finding may be slightly tricky as I had to leave the track and turn onto a bridleway, and then leave the bridleway for a footpath leading to Bothamsall; luckily it was very well signed.
I had actually had enough at this point- I was pretty tired, my legs were aching and there was no more jogging...
The next part of the route was through forest, (Conjure Alders and Blackcliffe Hill Plantation) but seemed endless. I met some young lads fishing on a footbridge, who were really polite and insisted on moving their equipment to let me pass easily.
Finally I reached the Walesby Forest and the road. The route John Merrill suggested follows the road to a farm and track to Ollerton but I was a bit worried about this as it is not shown as a right of way on the map. I chose to follow a bridleway following the river, which ran more or less parrallel. I could see the houses of Ollerton from the start of the bridleway but they didn't seem to be getting any closer! Finally I was walking through the village, to find the footpath back to Edwinstowe.
This follows the course of the railway line; I was very worried at first as the path was extremely overgrown and my arms and legs were geeting scratched- I couldn't face another mile of this. Luckily it soon gave way to a proper track through the fields, although to my dismay it did climb quite steeply at one point!
Eventually the houses of Edwinstowe crept close and closer until, to a blast of 'Summer Holiday' from a nearby garden, I reached the village and the car. It took me 9 hours 10 minutes- which to me seems incredibly slow considering I jogged a lot of it and didn't sit down at all (apart from on the loo!) It took John Merrill 9 hours apparently- he must be a pretty fast walker!
Labels: Edwinstowe, Little John Challenge Walk, Sherwood Forest
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Rainy Day in Dovedale...
How come we have had days and days and DAYS of heat and sun, and as soon as me and my mum decide to take time out of work to go to Dovedale... it rains!!
I knew this wasn't going to be much of an endurance challenge, as mum doesn't like to walk too far and was tired, so planned a 6 mile route through Dovedale to Milldale and back across the hill tops. Mum bought the dogs over and we piled them in my car. We had a slight drama over mum losing her phone when I dropped her off at Morrisons to get cash out, but luckily an honest member of staff had handed it into the store...
Many roadworks and tractors later, we drove down the narrow, twisty road into the car park and paid our two pounds to park (quite a bargain!) As we hoped, it wasn't too busy, and once we had the dogs sorted we set off eating home made ice cream from the kiosk in the car park. The stepping stones were apparently shut so we opted to use the bridge (quite hairy crossing with a kamikaze Jake eager to get to the water).
Walking Into Dovedale
The stepping stones had been sectioned off, and it looks as though what the workmen are doing is cementing thick stone slabs on top of the existing stepping stones... I appreciate that they must be at risk of being worn away but seems a bit of a shame as I'm sure it will detract from their original character.
We let the dogs off; Jake immediately took to the water like a duck and Gemma, as usual, didn't move more than a few inches from mum's feet.
Thorpe Cloud
It was a quiet day in Dovedale (bet it's murder at weekends!!) with only a few hundred schoolchildren in seemingly endless school parties. They all seemed to be walking the other way, and, as they filed past, there were the usual cries of 'Oh, look at that cute little dog!' Gemma got quite a lot of attention!
Me With Jake!
There is a good path through Dovedale, including a short climb with stone steps, a lot of which appear to have many fossils embedded in them- I do remember reading that these rocks were actually under the sea millenia ago!
Gemma has a unique way of walking... if she is tired, she will stop until she is carried for a few minutes (luckily she's a small dog- hope Jake doesn't get any ideas!) If she gets a piece of grass or vegetation stuck to her fur she will stop until it is located and removed. This can make progress rather painfully slow at times!
Doveholes
Just past the caves of Doveholes, it started to rain quite persistently. We took shelter under a large tree for a few minutes, until it eased, and then carried on to Milldale where we intended to eat lunch. There was a shelter with seats in it, but is was completely full of walkers wearing various brightly coloured waterproofs, so we elected to sit on a bench near the stream. I got us a coffee from the little shop which sells food, drinks and maps, and we sat in the drizzle. We were just about to eat our sarnies when Jake started coughing and brought up a wad of green water vegetation coated in white froth- don't you just love dogs!!
We defied the rain, which started again in ernest, and ate lunch- we even had a second cuppa! Typically enough, as soon as we finished the barn emptied. We made the decision to walk back the way we had come, rather than go up and over the hills, as we would have the shelter of the trees and Jake would be able to go back into the water.
We had a few showers on and off walking back, but were largely sheltered. We had a bit of excitement when
mum was convinced she had seen a kingfisher sitting on a stone, and in her eagerness to get a closer look stepped on Gemma- but it turned out to be a dipper (no, I don't know how she could confuse a brown and white bird with a kingfisher...)
Milldale And Viators Bridge
Jake Loving The Water!
We took our time on the way back, taking photos...
Mum And The Dogs
Gemma
We made it back to the bridge and had a welcome hot chocolate from the kiosk. Typically enough, as we drove away the sun bloody came out! Talk about rubbing it in... still, we did manage to have a good day and it was nice walking and chatting with mum.
Saturday I had originally intended to do the 28 mile Little John Challenge Walk, but my friend wanted to walk with me so I set my sights a little lower as she's not into walking distances. We walked about 5 miles in all, as she was feeling the heat, so not quite the training I had intended but still quite nice to walk and chat, and enjoy a coffee and a cake afterwards (and pub meal before!) I will do the Little John Challenge soon...
I have entered the Gym for Heroes challenge which my gym is participating in. There are two challenges for either teams or individuals- 3 hours non stop challenge (1 hour rowing, 1 hour on the stationary bike and one hour on the treadmill or elliptical) or 12 hours non stop challenge (4 hours on each) I was seriously intrigued by the 12 hour challenge, but seriously don't think I'd be up to that (it's more Jo's thing!) so I have registered for the 3 hours, which has to be completed between 24th and 30th July.
I have had quite a tough gym session this morning and have started to use some of the training schedule which was drawn up for me for the MdS, and I managed to do a lot more than I thought I could- so it looks as though the training isn't going so badly!
I knew this wasn't going to be much of an endurance challenge, as mum doesn't like to walk too far and was tired, so planned a 6 mile route through Dovedale to Milldale and back across the hill tops. Mum bought the dogs over and we piled them in my car. We had a slight drama over mum losing her phone when I dropped her off at Morrisons to get cash out, but luckily an honest member of staff had handed it into the store...
Many roadworks and tractors later, we drove down the narrow, twisty road into the car park and paid our two pounds to park (quite a bargain!) As we hoped, it wasn't too busy, and once we had the dogs sorted we set off eating home made ice cream from the kiosk in the car park. The stepping stones were apparently shut so we opted to use the bridge (quite hairy crossing with a kamikaze Jake eager to get to the water).
The stepping stones had been sectioned off, and it looks as though what the workmen are doing is cementing thick stone slabs on top of the existing stepping stones... I appreciate that they must be at risk of being worn away but seems a bit of a shame as I'm sure it will detract from their original character.
We let the dogs off; Jake immediately took to the water like a duck and Gemma, as usual, didn't move more than a few inches from mum's feet.
It was a quiet day in Dovedale (bet it's murder at weekends!!) with only a few hundred schoolchildren in seemingly endless school parties. They all seemed to be walking the other way, and, as they filed past, there were the usual cries of 'Oh, look at that cute little dog!' Gemma got quite a lot of attention!
There is a good path through Dovedale, including a short climb with stone steps, a lot of which appear to have many fossils embedded in them- I do remember reading that these rocks were actually under the sea millenia ago!
Gemma has a unique way of walking... if she is tired, she will stop until she is carried for a few minutes (luckily she's a small dog- hope Jake doesn't get any ideas!) If she gets a piece of grass or vegetation stuck to her fur she will stop until it is located and removed. This can make progress rather painfully slow at times!
Just past the caves of Doveholes, it started to rain quite persistently. We took shelter under a large tree for a few minutes, until it eased, and then carried on to Milldale where we intended to eat lunch. There was a shelter with seats in it, but is was completely full of walkers wearing various brightly coloured waterproofs, so we elected to sit on a bench near the stream. I got us a coffee from the little shop which sells food, drinks and maps, and we sat in the drizzle. We were just about to eat our sarnies when Jake started coughing and brought up a wad of green water vegetation coated in white froth- don't you just love dogs!!
We defied the rain, which started again in ernest, and ate lunch- we even had a second cuppa! Typically enough, as soon as we finished the barn emptied. We made the decision to walk back the way we had come, rather than go up and over the hills, as we would have the shelter of the trees and Jake would be able to go back into the water.
We had a few showers on and off walking back, but were largely sheltered. We had a bit of excitement when
mum was convinced she had seen a kingfisher sitting on a stone, and in her eagerness to get a closer look stepped on Gemma- but it turned out to be a dipper (no, I don't know how she could confuse a brown and white bird with a kingfisher...)
We took our time on the way back, taking photos...
We made it back to the bridge and had a welcome hot chocolate from the kiosk. Typically enough, as we drove away the sun bloody came out! Talk about rubbing it in... still, we did manage to have a good day and it was nice walking and chatting with mum.
Saturday I had originally intended to do the 28 mile Little John Challenge Walk, but my friend wanted to walk with me so I set my sights a little lower as she's not into walking distances. We walked about 5 miles in all, as she was feeling the heat, so not quite the training I had intended but still quite nice to walk and chat, and enjoy a coffee and a cake afterwards (and pub meal before!) I will do the Little John Challenge soon...
I have entered the Gym for Heroes challenge which my gym is participating in. There are two challenges for either teams or individuals- 3 hours non stop challenge (1 hour rowing, 1 hour on the stationary bike and one hour on the treadmill or elliptical) or 12 hours non stop challenge (4 hours on each) I was seriously intrigued by the 12 hour challenge, but seriously don't think I'd be up to that (it's more Jo's thing!) so I have registered for the 3 hours, which has to be completed between 24th and 30th July.
I have had quite a tough gym session this morning and have started to use some of the training schedule which was drawn up for me for the MdS, and I managed to do a lot more than I thought I could- so it looks as though the training isn't going so badly!
Labels: Dovedale Dipper, gym for heroes
Monday, July 05, 2010
More Pics!
Here are a few sunset pics from just outside my house...
Bit Slack Posting!!
I seem to have forgot about posting lately... although the good news is I haven't forgotten all about training- I've still been doing some!!
Last Tuesday I decided to go to the Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont and do a double circuit of the Regatta Lake- approximately 3 miles all the way round. It is quite a demoralising run, as you can see the end of the lake (which is basically a huge rectangle) seemingly miles away, and it never seems to get any closer. Finally, you round the top and start the long stretch down the other side- into the wind. Add to this several groups of geese to negotiate and lots of geese sh*t- I had had enough by the time I got to the top of the lake a second time but stuck with it and ended up doing 8.25 miles by the time I got home.
I have also introduced my body back to the gym, and taken a few local walks/ runs in the evenings. Here are a few pics;
Baby swans!!
I must must MUST do a long walk very soon... I have had a busy couple of weekends so am actively planning one for Saturday. At the moment I am flirting with John Merrill's Little John Challenge walk- it's fairly local, I haven't done it yet and it's 28 relatively easy miles...
Last Tuesday I decided to go to the Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont and do a double circuit of the Regatta Lake- approximately 3 miles all the way round. It is quite a demoralising run, as you can see the end of the lake (which is basically a huge rectangle) seemingly miles away, and it never seems to get any closer. Finally, you round the top and start the long stretch down the other side- into the wind. Add to this several groups of geese to negotiate and lots of geese sh*t- I had had enough by the time I got to the top of the lake a second time but stuck with it and ended up doing 8.25 miles by the time I got home.
I have also introduced my body back to the gym, and taken a few local walks/ runs in the evenings. Here are a few pics;
Labels: John Merrill
