No I’m not pregnant 😆. It’s just 9.5 months until I run/jog/walk JOGLE woohoo.

The Getting Fit Bit:

I’ve been training with a coach since June and its going well. I’m not yet running long back to back distances but there is plenty of time for that next year (I hope eek!). He has, however, helped me to build up my base fitness to a really good level. This last week aside, when I felt poorly for 4-5 days I feel fitter than I ever have before.

The plan for winter is to build up strength and become more injury resistant. (Even more vital at my age). I am now doing 3 strength workouts a week and have to work upper body, lower body and core (each section at least twice in the week).

I have also started to hike more and will continue to build up hiking distances, preferably carrying some weight now and again. Eventually I will need to be able to jog carrying ca. 7kg.

I’m still cross training with cycling and yoga which is good for strength and recovery. I’d love to swim too but am struggling to find the time at the moment. Next year I will be running more and perhaps cycling less as I start the ‘build up’ phase. I’m looking forward to that as I hope I’ll start to feel a bit more ‘ready’.

Kit:

I still have some kit to get but I already have my rucksack, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and a decent rain coat. When its possible I intend to go camping and establish what the minimum temperature I can sleep in is at night. After one camping experience two weeks ago when it dropped to 3 degrees (feels like -1), I can safely say my current kit was inadequate for such low temperatures. I had to get up and dance around the toilet block every hour in order to get blood back into my toes. It was not a fun night.

Since then I’ve bought a silk liner and a long sleeve merino top which should help keep me keep warmer. I would like to camp in the back garden at different temperatures (from 1-6 degrees maybe) to see what is comfortable. At least then if it’s too cold, I can dash back in the house and thaw out.

My husband bought me a Fenix watch which I’m absolutely psyched about. I’ll detail more about this in a separate blog, once I’ve had a chance to play around with it some more.

The Route:

I don’t really want to plan the trip in detail since its supposed to be a fun adventure and I would rather work it out ‘as I go along’.

However, I had to book time off work and arrange cover etc so it was necessary to roughly plot the route and establish timing. I have 7 weeks off work so I have to take less time than that as I need to get to the top and back from the bottom of the country. This means averaging 26 miles a day ish but the exact route in between is flexible. I can plot the routes for the day ahead the night before and/or ask locals for their knowledge ‘down the pub’.

Charity and Motivation:

I would like to raise money for a mental health related charity as well as a menopause related charity. This is something I’m looking into. Both mean a lot to me personally. You’ll see a few blogs on here related to menopause. It’s amazing to me – what a significant ‘event’ it is and yet how little its talked about.

My motivation (apart from the selfish need to have an adventure) is to feel like I’m in the driving seat, feel that sense of independence and gain some of the confidence that menopause sometimes strips away.

Tracking:

Yep I’ve put in an order for a tracker so people can see where I’m up to. This is a risky strategy since I’m completely clumsy and may fall over on day 2. It puts a sense of pressure on me. In some senses I sometimes think I should not talk about my adventure, not blog about it, not raise money for charity and not have a tracker. Then I could sneak off and if it all goes ‘t’ up no one would know (except my colleagues, husband and family).

However, I’ve thought about this. Sean Conway said if you are going to do an adventure tell absolutely everyone – then you have to do it. So I’m trying to go with that theory. I also think the tracker will be a nice thing for friends and family. They can follow where I am up to when the time comes.

Now I just need to keep training and at some point run a marathon distance – with a bag. The clock is ticking….. (apologies for the Sharon Gaytor reference).