Queen of the Road

Today we opted for some cross-training, in the form of a 25 mile bike ride. We set out at 9am but even by that time it was getting very hot! We haven't done much cycling this spring because of a) the downpour that was April and most of May and b) walking training has taken up most of our spare time. I found out today that walking does not use your thigh muscles as much as it must use other muscles. Normally I would find 25 miles not too strenuous but today my thighs were screaming by the end.. bizarre.

Anyway, enough about my legs. The bike ride will stay in our minds mainly because of the Queens dotted about all over the place. Random effigies of old Liz lined the route... some looking just like a bonfire guy and others rather more sophisticated. The 2 best were one propped up on a bike outside someone's gate and one with a mechanical arm which waved! Now I don't remember seeing anything like this at Silver or Golden so it must be a new thing... weird.  Unfortunately we were whizzing past too fast to take any pictures.

Half Distance

Yesterday, half of Blister Sisters walked half of the Trailwalker distance. 31.8 miles in 3 loops of 10.6 miles each, stopping at the car for 20 minutes between each loop for a change of socks/boots and some food.

The countryside was in full bloom... everywhere green and lush after all the rain. It was lovely walking weather... a mixture of sunshine and cloud, a good temperature and not wet... what a treat to not need waterproofs!

It was still pretty muddy in places so we needed gaiters, but otherwise the conditions couldn't really have been better... note to Mother Nature - same again on 14/15 July please!!

The first loop went smoothly enough, just over 3 hours to do 10.6 miles which is a very good pace. No aches or pains. Halfway through the second loop, however, I started to feel nauseous. Not chronically so, but enough to make it all very much more challenging. I made sure I kept sipping water constantly and trudged on to the next break. As soon as I stopped moving and sat down I started to feel better. I ate some pasta and half a lemon flavoured energy bar, drank more drink and we both changed our socks again (it's amazing how nice this simple thing is!) before setting off on the 3rd and final loop. The first 2 miles were fine but then the nausea came on again and stayed for most of the next 3 hours until we finished... very difficult.

I am going to have to tackle this because it could prove to be a show-stopper on the event itself which is twice as far as the walk yesterday. I'm not sure I could have contemplated walking another 30 miles feeling like that. First stop... ask the pharmacist for advice about over the counter anti-sickness remedies.

Especially given my sickness, we were very pleased with completing almost 32 miles. Those 32 miles were more difficult than the first 32 miles will be on the day because we had to do it with less frequent breaks and no support crew to help, so we were having to do everything ourselves at the stops which meant we didn't really get to rest much. I can really see what past participants mean when they say they couldn't have completed it without the support crew... I suspect I couldn't either!

Despite the lows, there were also some highs on the walk. Strolling past some cows with massive horns was one of them... we had to assume they were friendly as they were loose on a public footpath, but they really looked like they could do you damage if they chose to. There were impressive!

The watch battery ran out halfway round the final loop but the route is here.

MapMyWalk

Having had a busy day yesterday, and a big walk planned for next Saturday (31 miles), we decided to just do a short fast one today... 3 hours ish. Also, it was an opportunity for me to try out the MapMyWalk app on my new iPhone!

We knew it would still be muddy everywhere so opted for a mostly road route, starting and finishing at Braishfield Village Hall. We set the Garmin watch and MapMyWalk going at exactly the same time. However, by the end of the 3 hours MapMyWalk had measured 11.14 miles while the Garmin watch had only recorded 10.59 miles... very interesting! I wonder which is right.

There's not much info on the MapMyWalk route (but to be fair, I could be using it wrongly!) but here it is anyway. The Garmin route is here.

Well Supported

... and now the Dry Run day from the walkers' perspective.

The preparation session was interesting and useful up to a point... but why are there always people who ask stupid questions, to which the answers are in the literature and on the website, and waste everyone's time!?

We walked from the start at Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Checkpoint 4 at Houghton, 23 miles give or take a few yards. At the start it was drizzly and cold and it was awkward getting ready in the minibus but eventually we set off at about 11:55. We made good time on the first section, which is relatively easy walking and surprised the support crew at CP1 but they still managed to provide bacon & egg sandwiches for the 3 of us who wanted them, and soup for Rachel. It was all a little disorganised, but still it felt like every effort was being made to make our lives as easy as possible.

Stage 2 included Beacon Hill, the steepest on the whole route, which left us puffing a bit and slowed us down but we still reached CP 2 bang on schedule, and this time the support crew were expecting us as we'd rung ahead with orders and an ETA... that worked well. This time there were boot/sock changes and a variety of food requests and we ended up spending 30 minutes at the CP... too long, it needs to be slicker.

Stage 3 is only short, little over an hour and a half of walking and we all thought we wouldn't want much at the end of it and we were right, just some cold snacks and topping up drinks. We got away promptly on 20 minutes.

During Stage 4 we had a discussion about whether we would continue into Stage 5 or stop at CP4 and we decided on the latter. We rang the crew and told them our decision so that they could organise the bus accordingly. By now we were feeling quite chilly and hungry and the thought of the hot pasta meal waiting for us at CP4 was a real boost.



The checkpoints got smoother as the day went on. The support crew learned more about how to organise themselves and the bus and the walkers got better at thinking ahead and making the most of the support. It's a real bonus to be able to just keep walking along the route, without the depressing thought of having to turn round and go back to the car.

We agreed some modifications to the procedures and kit and also that we would do another day early in June to try out the changes.

One of the other things we did was investigate the charging of the Garmin watch at the checkpoints, so the route is split into 3 bits. Stages 1 & 2 are here, Stage 3 is here and Stage 4 is here.

Learning lessons...

This has been the first time the support crew has actually had to live up to its name and generally so far we think we've done a reasonable job. We just about included all of the necessary kit, provisions and sundries and our team of walkers seem reasonably satisfied with the service.

However, we have learnt very clearly that we need to be more much organised in terms of how we store things inside the bus. At the moment we have a very varied assortment of bags stuffed (although not completely haphazardly) with various ingredients, dehydrated foods, crockery, pans, water - you name it, we've got it tucked away in our little minibus.

The difficulty is that each of the checkpoint stops needs to very efficient - a bit like a Formula 1 pitstop. The walkers need to quickly rest/tend to their feet, have the required food and refreshments and then get back underway.

Usually the exact meal requirements are phoned/texted in to us twenty or so minutes before the team arrives. Once the order is in and we know the ETA then we've got a really short period of time to get everything prepared. The overall numbers of teams entering mean we also can't get to the checkpoint too early. As soon as our walkers arrive, they might need to change certain clothing, boots or just have a craving for something specific.

Consequently, the biggest lesson today is that we need to be fantastically ordered - with everything in boxes. Personal items and kit will be separated out for each walker and food & common items will need to be organised so that anyone in the support crew can lay their hands on any specific item in seconds (at the moment, we've all contributed different things, so although everyone knows where something is, nobody knows where everything is. Cooking a meal is a very consultative exercise!)

Our aim will be to get the team refreshed and on their way as soon as practical, with minimal fuss or bother around them. Obviously they need to rest, but so far today the walkers are suggesting they want to get moving again a little more quickly than they've been able to. Hopefully our new ultra organised approach will let that happen.

Blog INVASION...

Hello!

You might consider that a slight mutiny is in the works - a blog takeover, if you will.  Let me introduce myself, I'm Alex, one of the 'support crew' for the Blister Sisters.

Becky has unwisely (and slightly reluctantly) given me access to post on this blog, so that during the TrailWalker event itself, we can update friends and family on the progress of the team.

If you have been paying attention to Becky's blatherings (sorry - I'm sure I meant to say 'wise words') so far, you may have spotted that our intrepid team of four will be supported throughout their barmy expedition by a support crew - that's where we come in.

We are:  Alex, Pauline, Sandie and Charlotte.   We are responsible for providing the team with food, refreshments and moral support as they stagger through the 100 kilometers.   We will meet them at the various checkpoints with our minibus laden with consumables - at the moment, largely expected to be food and socks - doling out comfort in whatever way we can.

The walking time between each checkpoint is about 2.5-3 hours, so we have plenty of time to get between each (even taking into account my undeniably flawed navigation skills).  All being well, we will arrive a few minutes ahead of our team to give us time to prepare ourselves.

Spending 24 hours in a minibus (no matter how delightful the company) might be a little on the dull side, so between stops I am making it my mission to continue to update this blog, twitter on incessantly and, quite possibly, post pictures and audioboo sound recordings to give you a real sense of how the team are doing.   You can now see the twitter updates for the team in the box in the top right hand corner of the blog - audioboos will also appear in amongst the tweets.

In all seriousness, 100km is a HUGE endeavour and I think I'm only now starting to realise what an impressive challenge they've all taken on.  Past participants have spoken very strongly of the importance of knowing that people at home are supporting and willing them on towards the end.   I really hope that you can join me for the live updates during the event itself - and especially hope you will contribute by posting/tweeting messages of support for us to pass onto the team.

P.S.  All the technology is getting a trial run this Saturday coming, so if you really REALLY want to, you can even follow along with our, first ever, walkers and support crew practice event. :)