DID IT!

The 18:15 from Newbury to Reading on Saturday was a little noisier and pinker than usual, as was the following link to Paddington - yes, it was the start of the journey to London ready for the Moonwalk.....and we were a little bit excitable!

Arriving in Hyde Park just after 8pm was also a LOT noisier and pinker - in fact the huge marquee to house all 17,000 participants and 2000 volunteers was the pinkest pink I have ever seen.....ok if you like pink (SS would have absolutely hated it!!)

We were blessed with the weather, the fact that it had finally stopped raining was incredible....probably the only time I had walked with the girls in the dry...but boy was it cold! We had to wait for the start time of 11pm, and the temperature just plummeted...by the time we started walking I had on a thermal long sleeved vest, my T-shirt, sweatshirt, coat, hat, gloves, knee-length compression socks, wind resistant trousers, and I was still cold!! Forget walking around in just a bra...that didn't see the light of day (or even the moon!)

Normally I would warm up nicely, but this wasn't a race as such, and as I was walking as part of a team of 9 I had to match my pace to the others....this I found incredibly hard!! It goes against SS and my normal races where you get ahead so that you haven't got the obstacle of people in front of you....also, being in the centre of a heaving city ( yes, even at 3am!!) you are still dodging traffic, and even though the police were fantastic, it does slow you enough to get cold.
BUT, apart from that, it was awesome! The atmosphere was great, real camaraderie, wolf-whistles, fantastic scenery, an excuse to eat four mars bars straight off, and all for a good cause....and we did it!!

Crossing the finishing line, in Hyde Park, in the sunshine on Sunday morning was amazing. We, as a team, all linked arms as we passed the Serpentine, and walked up the last .2 miles together, in a straight line, amidst cheers from the crowds! What a feeling, a tad overwhelming for a few of us.....actually, I think my eyes where running coz of my hay fever........

So....as a team, there are a few blisters in there, and achy legs a plenty, and lots of "never agains".....and I think to myself...yeah right...that's what I said to SS after my first race.....and here I am thinking to myself, my feet are fine, my legs are fine, I've got all my toe nails...what's next?......I'll give them a week......and then I'll invite them to Bornem...........

Personal.......

I wouldn't normally consider a personal trainer......but there was Sam...sat outside the gym, touting for business, and the word 'free' caught my eye.....
(Plus his dad had asked me to keep an eye on him whilst he was out of the country, so I thought it would be rude not to!)

And that, dear reader, was very nearly the demise of moi!
I considered myself to be relatively fit, but after an hour with Sam I wasn't really fit for much!
He was, and I'm sure still is (!!) very, very good at what he does (not killing people, but training them that is!!) but I have never trained like that before, so have felt it ever since!

He did mention that he was 'DIFFERENT in his approach and that was evident when we approached machinery (sorry, I meant to say equipment!) that I hadn't looked at before.....the bike was ok.....but then came the 'summit machine'  - (Everest in 10 minutes), actually I was pleased with that, as Sam told me that most clients flaked at 2.5 minutes and I did 10 (go girl!), then came the VPR (known as the viper, yep, got bitI) which I had to lift, then squat with, and chuck side to side, then came the TRX.....

Now this WAS interesting.....it was a metal frame with straps hanging from it's centre.....I honestly didn't know whether it was for exercise or to hang myself with.......

Firstly I dangled by hand and used body weight to row, then I dangled by feet and had to do crunches, then I had a little cry.........

And I wasn't even half way through......much, much more was to come....
I puffed, and panted, and sweated, and felt nauseated......and strangley enough, at the end of an hour, even though I felt I needed to lie down in a darkened room, there was a sense of satisfaction that I had done it!

Personal training? Yep, its good, I don't know that I would pay for that kind of torture....but it's very effective, and I have been back and followed the plan that Sam gave me ( Don't tell him but I skipped the VPR lunges - hate them!!!), and it's definately made me look at the gym in a new light - evil machines!!!

Not quite as evil as pilates however..........
SS and I are still going, at least twice a week, to a gentle fitness pilates on a Monday, then a mental functional pilates on a Wednesday!! This started with weighted soft balls...and now the instructor has us using 2kg weighted plates in nearly every exercise we do....honestly, I don't know how she does it, but I come home each week with a different muscle burning that I really didn't know existed!!

All this as well as walking miles with SS! We did a muddy 22 this morning, around Greenham Common (twice), along the canal, and through Enbourne cornfields. I was escaping the teenagers at home who were 'sleeping over', SS was escaping Jim's decorating skills, or lack of them...and it was also my 'last blast' before the Moonwalk marathon next week.

I've been out with the 'Moonwalk gals' from work, we're trained up, bra's at the ready, and this time next week, we'll be heading to Hyde Park ready to start......so, if you haven't sponsored me...c'mon, c'mon, c'mon....it's for a darn good cause - look at the website and leave us some pennies!!
www.walkthewalkfundraising.org/eastfieldangels