training, training, training RAW HIDE
Argh! I had a previous blog - as some of you (Amanda!) will know. But I have been so lousy at posting to it recently that I TOTALLY FORGOT what I had called it. And so have had to create a new one. Duh.
So anyway, enough of my idiocy - let me tell you about my training weekend on the Isle of Wight. 3 words. Oh. My. God.
The pain, the frustration, the mental anguish, the short temper... and all of that before I even leave the carpark at work! We left on Friday and came back on Sunday - around late afternoon (5ish). Here's an idea of what we went through... Friday night, we had night navigation as a team from 930 until 1130. The next morning we had to be down and ready for warm ups by 645 - yes, IN THE MORNING! - before we went on a 60 minute run to get some clues for the 200 minute run we had later that day. Only after we got the clues were we allowed to have breakfast. I have NEVER eaten breakfast so fast in my life. Because I then had to plot the points for our next destination - this is for the 200 minute fastest finish dash to get points. If you have never been to the Isle of Wight, then let me tell you - it has some of the most painful hills EVER. So anyway, we finish that - with just a few breaths spare. We have 45 minutes to eat a sandwich, pear and a packet of crisps and then we have another 200 minute fun round of cycling. I have not ridden a bike since I was 16. So not only did I NOT have the option of not doing it, I also didn't have the option of easing into it. By the way, I can totally confirm that you never forget how to ride a bike... But that does not make you an expert by any means! And then of course the breaks didn't work. So i had to purposely fall to avoid riding into on-coming traffic. Which was another interesting experience. We managed to get back to the YHA in one piece - just - and I had the most wonderful shower... well, it did manage to remove about 4 layers of mud off of me! We then had dinner and went to the local pub where the locals were certainly very... local! If you have ever watched "A League of Gentlemen" you'll know exactly what I mean.
The next day we had 2 hours of canoeing - that was fabulous! - and then we had another 90 minutes of solo navigation through swampland. Lovely!
And then we got to go HOME. And even though it was a tough and challenging weekend, I was really glad I did it. It's not easy to push yourself and a lot of the times, your worst enemy is your mind. But I did it, and survived it and now, I would just say that I am halfway to being ready for the BIG event in June where it's FOUR days and THREE nights of complete insanity...!
On a serious note, if I can complete this successfully - as in, do the whole thing - I am SOOOOO definitely going to do the base camp climb to Everest!
So anyway, enough of my idiocy - let me tell you about my training weekend on the Isle of Wight. 3 words. Oh. My. God.
The pain, the frustration, the mental anguish, the short temper... and all of that before I even leave the carpark at work! We left on Friday and came back on Sunday - around late afternoon (5ish). Here's an idea of what we went through... Friday night, we had night navigation as a team from 930 until 1130. The next morning we had to be down and ready for warm ups by 645 - yes, IN THE MORNING! - before we went on a 60 minute run to get some clues for the 200 minute run we had later that day. Only after we got the clues were we allowed to have breakfast. I have NEVER eaten breakfast so fast in my life. Because I then had to plot the points for our next destination - this is for the 200 minute fastest finish dash to get points. If you have never been to the Isle of Wight, then let me tell you - it has some of the most painful hills EVER. So anyway, we finish that - with just a few breaths spare. We have 45 minutes to eat a sandwich, pear and a packet of crisps and then we have another 200 minute fun round of cycling. I have not ridden a bike since I was 16. So not only did I NOT have the option of not doing it, I also didn't have the option of easing into it. By the way, I can totally confirm that you never forget how to ride a bike... But that does not make you an expert by any means! And then of course the breaks didn't work. So i had to purposely fall to avoid riding into on-coming traffic. Which was another interesting experience. We managed to get back to the YHA in one piece - just - and I had the most wonderful shower... well, it did manage to remove about 4 layers of mud off of me! We then had dinner and went to the local pub where the locals were certainly very... local! If you have ever watched "A League of Gentlemen" you'll know exactly what I mean.
The next day we had 2 hours of canoeing - that was fabulous! - and then we had another 90 minutes of solo navigation through swampland. Lovely!
And then we got to go HOME. And even though it was a tough and challenging weekend, I was really glad I did it. It's not easy to push yourself and a lot of the times, your worst enemy is your mind. But I did it, and survived it and now, I would just say that I am halfway to being ready for the BIG event in June where it's FOUR days and THREE nights of complete insanity...!
On a serious note, if I can complete this successfully - as in, do the whole thing - I am SOOOOO definitely going to do the base camp climb to Everest!
posted by moonflower | 4/11/2004 02:28:00 pm
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