week 3: A Setback

Grrr- a frustrating week! I was going to do one long walk, one cross-training session, and one short walk. 1/3 of the plan was all I achieved, partly due to an ill mother necessitating my remaining at home all day waiting for the Dr. and the Occupational Therapist and keeping an eye on her to prevent her falling out of bed. Then the cross-training didn't happen due to the bad weather and severe procrastination, and worst of all–last night my back/hip went into a mild spasm conjuring up memories of last year's troubles/bed rest/paralysis, etc etc. Have been very, very careful today, using ice packs and hot beanie bags and painkillers and gentle potters around the front garden (it's SO pretty in the snow). No sitting or lying down for longer than 20 min at a time. Grrr- This is so maddening! Will have to wait and see how it fares but it could set me back a week or two :(

Constables house

Mind you, I did a fabulous walk earlier in the week in Constable country with my friend Cathy who works for the Suffolk County Council Area of Outstanding Beauty department. She was due to lead a public walk at the weekend so we went on a practice walk to make sure the route was okay and how much mud there would be (lots!). It was an amazing walk through the countryside that Constable knew so well & made famous through his paintings, including the house where he lived.

Which painting am I in?

I even had my photo taken in front of the scene near his house that featured in one of his most famous paintings (I will send a bar of chocolate to the 1st person who tells me the name and date of said painting and who owned the cottage on the left-hand side of it). Any art lovers out there? (Local friends excluded as they've heard all about the walk!)

Wildlife tally: alpacas/ llamas–5, horses 5, rabbits 2, birds–lots (blue tits, pheasant, crows, pigeons, blackbirds, finches, swans, geese), sheep and lots and lots of lambs.

One other plus to the week–I've made a large (A2 sized) wallchart of the days and weeks ahead so I can plan properly as I keep forgetting to do the lunges, squats and steps, probably the most important daily exercises. I look forward to the satisfaction of crossing each day off with a thick red pen :)
 

Week 2- Shingle and Sailors

Week 2 consisted of a gym visit to get my  cardiovascular system moving (bike and treadmill), a good stretching yoga class and a brisk 5 1/2 mile solo walk (no Marion today) which included a boggy, flooded golf course diversion (good practice for the peat bogs between Pen-y-Ghent & Whernside, 2 of the 3 we'll be walking in June), and a very brisk–almost–run–section of a shingle beach. Boy, I was sweating up a storm–have you ever tried running on shingle?

Sailors Path sculpture

Friday though, ahh, that was a good one–we walked the Sailors Path (a well-known route in this area, part of the Sandlings Trail), stopping off to lunch at Snape, and then back again–a good 8 miles or so. As it was so muddy I wore the Tibetan boots, the ones I bought especially for the Mount Kailash trek in 2007 and have hardly worn since as the backs are too high for me and cause bruises. And Friday's result? Bruises on the backs of my ankles for the next few days. I definitely need a new pair of boots as  I'll be crippled before I complete the 23 miles of the Three Peaks. A good fitting pair of boots is SO important- know anyone who wants a well-travelled but hardly-worn pair of boots, size 5?


[Stats: 8:071 miles, 668 cal, 243 min (4 hours- but that did include a one-hour stop for lunch)]