Christmas is now well and truly over and, therefore, it means that I need to start training for the London Moonwalk. An event that makes me feel a little bit sick if I actually think about the miles that are going to be involved. Let’s not mention specifics right now, let me pretend it is just a jolly jaunt with two of my friends. Anyway, plane tickets have now been booked and the inevitable could not be delayed any longer - I needed to start training.
Delaying Training
I have decided to ease myself in gently by following the suggested training plan on the Moonwalk website. This meant that on Sunday I completed a 3 mile walk. That’s fine, I told myself, that is just the distance between St Helier and St Aubin. However, I still found myself delaying the moment when I would need to get out and walk. I suddenly decided that now was a good time to declutter the kitchen and that the kids should declutter their bedroom. This took all morning and about 7 bags later I was finally ready for my walk.
Scooters, Rocky And Zombies
The idea is that you walk at a good pace but my family had other ideas. My two children decided that they needed to come along to make sure that I wasn’t slacking. The walk would have been quite pleasant as it is a lovely walk round the bay and it is also the island’s trim trail. Along the route they have several spots where you can use the apparatus to do sit-ups etc. I had visions of myself flexing next to these apparatus, looking like I knew what I was doing. I was going to channel a bit of Rocky, pose next to the trim trail whilst shouting “raaaah” and singing along to “Eye of the Tiger”. Almost sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Other people might think I am nuts but this is what I have to do to relieve the tedium of exercise. When I was training for my 10k run I used to pretend that I was being chased by zombies. Then someone went and made that into an actual app. I could have made millions *sigh*.
Anyway, there I was Sunday afternoon, visions of Rocky in my head, the sun hanging low over the sea and two lovely and charming children at my side *cough*. Two very enthusiastic and very loud children at my side. However, they clearly underestimated the task and about a mile in we had the cry of “are we nearly there yet?” Fun times. My dreams of Rocky and pretending to be super fit were shattered. They had decided to bring their scooters and whilst this meant they were speedy, it also meant that they wore themselves out quickly. I also spent the whole walk on high alert as they took a daredevil approach to scootering, weaving across cycle lanes and in between joggers at a speed that would have made Jenson Button proud. They were reckless, they seemed to think that they were training to be Eddie the Eagle but on scooters. I never knew it was possible to actually fly on the scooter until that walk. I have decided that whilst it was nice to have their support, I will be leaving them at home in the future. My heart can’t handle training with two speedy scooter riders. It would also be nice to train without having to shout sorry to every runner, cyclist and dog walker.
The Finish Line
However, despite bad etiquette on the scooters and the occasional bout of moaning, the walk was really going quite well. That was until Youngest decided to face plant the floor. Having become tired, Youngest had resorted to shouting orders at Daddy to push her. Somehow this resulted in the scooter toppling forward and Youngest smacking the floor with her face. The helmet did protect her but she was still feeling very sorry for herself and we spent the last mile limping towards our destination. Youngest did perk up when she was greeted by a Costa Coffee on the finish line with the biggest chocolate muffin you have ever seen.
Moving Forward
The walk itself was an easy way to start training. However, I really need to make them more challenging although this week I plan on taking it slow and easing myself in. This week requires me to do three x 3 mile walks and 3x days of relax and stretch. Any ideas of what I should be doing for relax and stretch? Is it like yoga? It says to only do 15 minutes but I really don’t know where to start. If anyone can point me in the right direction then that would be brilliant.
Diet
Something else I need to also sort out is my diet. I am pretty sure that I am supposed to increase my carbs and eat lots of green vegetables. If anyone has any good suggestions for websites or books then that would also be brilliant! I am pretty sure that when I trained for a 10k that I didn’t really change my diet but hindsight taught me that I should have changed my diet!
Vlogging
At the end of the week I plan on sharing what I have done and learnt in a vlog. This will help ensure that I keep motivated but I am also hoping that when I look back I will be able to see that I have made progress. I also want to make a fitness vlog that is realistic and shows that anyone can get fit, even those that resemble a sloth like myself. Be prepared to see my fat, sweaty face on a YouTube channel near you.
There you go. First training session done and dreams of Rocky quashed.
If you would like to sign up for the Moonwalk then you can still do so.
If any of you have completed the Moonwalk then please let me know. I would love to hear your experiences. I would also love tips. Lots of tips!
I wrote this post yesterday, trying to find the enthusiasm for the task that lay ahead, the training for the Moonwalk. Then today I had another reminder of how cruel life can be and another reminder of why walking the Moonwalk is so important.Whilst I wish that I could write a beautiful tribute, I can’t. I am out of words. There are no words that make sense. I hope that my actions speak louder. Ladies, this is for you. I hope to do you both proud.
xxxx
