Thursday 29 July 2010

Long Time No Blog!!!!

Hello there!!!!
It has been a long time since my last post for which I must apologise, my uni work has been taking over!!!!!!!
But what it does mean is that I have lots to tell you about now!!
On the fatful day when England went out the of the world cup I managed to avoid the misery by walking around Portland!!!
Meg and I hiked around the island with a pack (not full) and stayed to our pace of 3mph. It was very hot and we both struggled a little especially towards the end. We are both glad that we are going in september.

I have been raising the awanress of the walk while I have been away as well. I now have a radio interview tommorow on BBC Somerset with the loverly Emma Britton. I will try and post a link to the show after it is done so anyone who missed it can hear it. I should be on just after 10 on 95.5FM!
I also have intrest from ITV West news!!! Dont know what interest but its still good news. The Somerset Standard are also writing an article about the Walk!!!! The more interest I get the more people can learn about the amazing things that can be achieved by donating blood!!!!

I have also a rough daily route planned for the walk and will get a more detailed one posted on here soon.

Got to dash but keep posted

Do something amazing.....Give Blood!!!!

Monday 26 July 2010

My Apologies!!!!!

I would like to make an apology to anyone who has made a monatory donation to the Walk For Blood with the impression that the money was going to the National Blood Service. All donations raised were towards the kit needed for Meg and I to complete the walk and raise the awarness of Blood Donation, a fact I tried to make clear to anyone who did donate. If this was not made clear to you I apologise.
Thank you for your continuing support for the Walk for Blood and the importance of blood donation.

Monday 5 July 2010

Thank You!!

A big thank you to the Holisticvet in Bath who has supplied Meg with her very own first aid kit!!!!!!

Thursday 24 June 2010

24/06/2010

An early start to get ready for an 8/10 mile walk.
The day was slightly cooler than tuesday so I wore jeans. The stinging nettles were not going to get me this time!!!

The route now in my mind was much easier than last time, I failed to get lost and found all those paths that I failed to find the first time around, whoops.

Shin splints were an issue to start with, again the issue came from starting the walk on tarmac. The pain is unreal but I carry on. My legs are still a bit tight now, need to keep stretching them out. This could become a real issue but I am hoping to get it sorted b4 the big walk.

I managed to complete the walk hitting an average speed of 3.3mph which I was pleased with. Another few walks like this and I will increase the weight in my pack.

Keep tuned for more on my training

23/6/2010

Not a big walk today just a quick march back from Leigh-on-Mendip after dropping my car off for an MOT!! No dog just my pack, shin splints quite bad because of all the road walking but soon went away.

Wednesday 23 June 2010

22/06/2010

Today saw Meg and I undertake a longer training walk than usual. Up until now we had been walking around 5 miles, today we were going to do 8 (thats what it said on the route plan any way!!!).
Starting off early in the morning to avoid the heat that was forcast to come and to allow me to work after the walk we set off. My pack was only filled with blankets and my platapuss (donated by Amie Watts). Meg was attached to my leg using the new leg leader lead that I was trying out.

We managed to set a good pace with very little problem with navigation. I was walking some very familiar roots.The sun was out in all its glory and it was clear it was going to be a nice day. Meg was her usual energetic self and wanted to be in front. The new legleader lead does remove the feelin of ones arm being pulled out of its socket but it does not stop her pulling. THough this habit will soon be broken if the box the lead came in is to be believed (yea right).

A large part of the walk was along a cycle path along a disused railway. Here I could let Meg off and she could spend some time exploring where she wanted to and it gave my leg a bit of a rest too. THe cycle path was easy going and gave us a chance to up our average speed. It is important that we make the most of the easy going sections of the walk so that we are able to stop and sort out boots, water and other business along the route without worrying about time.

It becam aparent while walking along the cycle path that the boot I was wearing (ex army issue) where in a word rubbish, I have the blisters to prove it. But I had to carry on.

The second half of the walk involved us getting lost on two occasions, one a simple fix, the other meant having to cover some of the hardest going terrain yet to have been walked by me and Meg, followed by the crossing of a river at the best location I could find.

Amazed to find my feet still dry aftert the river crossing we pushed on and walked into Mells. Once again I managed to have issues with non-existant foot path signs or paths but soon had us heading home. The nly issue being walking through lots of summer stinging nettles with 3/4 length shorts on, mmmmmmmmmmmm owch.

We soon found our selves back home, Meg ready to sit under the shade of her conifers and my self looking for the vinegar to put on my bright red legs (how many stinging nettle stings before they are fatal?!!!).

So the hard work has began. From now on I plan to build up the weight of my pack I carry doing the sam esort of distances so that I can get used to the weight gradually. So keep tuned for more adventures as Meg and I trian for our Walk For Blood!!!!

Monday 21 June 2010

First Training Walk With Meg

This morning I got up early and had the intention of walking a 4mile walk or so with Meg in her new leg leader lead. The walk started fine but then we both ran in to problems. The footpaths were not that well marked or looked after. My legs have been stung to pieces and unfortunatley Meg was shocked by an electric fence as the path was too close. As a result of the electric fence making the walk difficult and risking Meg I decided to turn around. i didnt manage to finisht the walk, even so I learnt some important things.

Meg definatley slowed me down a little today, there are more stops and the new lead needs some work to make it comfortable. But I enjoyed being out with Meg in the nice weather.

Keep tuned for a map of my route and probably more complaints about land owners not marking or clearing the public rights of way on their land.