The 3 Peaks Challenge: Progress Report
Regular readers will be aware that my wife Nicky and I have set ourselves a challenge to help raise money for the WSPA, a great charity that not only does its best to rescue suffering and mistreated animals but also educates people in less developed countries on how to treat and care for their farm animals so they get the most from them and farm more successfully. Our challenge is to walk the 3 Peaks in Yorkshire within 12 hours: a 24 mile marathon that includes 5000 feet of climbing. You can read our introduction to the challenge here.
Training
Naturally over the past few weeks we have been in training, covering many miles in preparation for the challenge and in all honesty it has been an eye-opener. When we decided on the challenge I have to confess that I thought it would be quite easy compared to my very intense training sessions that I perform within the safe confines of my gym. However my opinion was quickly changed after our first test walk of 5 miles. Pathetic? Maybe, but it wasn’t our fitness levels that let us down, it was our leg muscles that cramped up and our feet fell apart with blisters on blisters. Were we prepared? No, we had never walked for long distances before and so the whole concept was somewhat alien to us.
What did we learn?
After that first experience we quickly learnt that we were going to need some proper equipment. So we went straight down to our local outdoor pursuits store where we got ourselves some hardcore walking shoes which have been very generously sponsored by Sam’s Sneakers. We also sensibly armed (or should you say legged – Beeble) ourselves with some proper walking socks and even bought more suitable trousers (pants to our American friends – Beeble) to avoid any irritating rubbing on our legs.
Practice walk
With this new equipment we were able to head out with a new sense of strength and optimism. We upped the anti and aimed for 10 miles which we completed at a much quicker pace than our first attempt and managed the first 6 miles in relative comfort. However during the last 4 miles our legs started to seize up again and our feet, even with our new boots and socks, were starting to shred. This walk opened our eyes again and made us rethink and investigate ways to improve our feet’s durability and keep our legs upbeat.
What did we learn this time?
This distance walking was starting to become a painful and steep learning curve, however we learnt that by wearing two layers of socks and applying some Vaseline to our now well-worn feet we would be able to keep them in one piece for the whole 24 miles (you hope! – Beeble). With our feet covered we now had to decide what to do about our legs that just seemed to seize up. Naturally when anyone performs a certain movement over and over again in a limited range, like walking, the muscles involved will shorten and tighten. With practise that can improve, but there is only one thing that can really keep the muscles supple and that is stretching. That means we will need to stop at regular intervals and stretch our legs out. Here are the leg stretches we will be doing:
During the walk we will still be able to stretch on the move by changing our stride length at regular intervals. By changing your stride length you can avoid the repetition that is causing the muscles to seize. We will still need to stretch but not as often, which will help us to keep on track to complete the course within the allotted 12 hours.
How are we doing?
Well, with all our new knowledge and change of equipment we managed to walk just under 20 miles non-stop, except for stretching breaks. Was it easy? No, to answer that quickly. Our feet were killing and my legs were so tight they seem to be curling up on themselves. That said we doubled our distance and we are now the latest fans of long distance walking and are really looking forward to our challenge on the 9th of May.
Navigation
Before we finish on such a high note there is another side to our challenge that I have glossed over so far and that is orienteering. Have we practised using a map, compass and the stars to guide us effortlessly from peak to peak? Well the short answer is no and the long answer is noooooooo. As it stands at the moment we will be able to walk the distance but whether we manage to find all the peaks is another question. We will cover 24 miles but we may never find our way back or even worse, we may miscalculate the route so badly that we cover 50 miles and miss our 12 hour challenge! So there is no doubt in my mind that we will be practising orienteering this weekend.
Please Donate
Thank you to everyone who has donated and so far we have raised a brilliant £200 to help our charity. If you have yet to donate and you like the information we provide you for free then why not show your appreciation by helping us raise money for the WSPA? If you would like to donate please click on the button below:
