I've had some support for my friend Richard who still offers his time to help me train, but conflicting schedules have meant that we haven't been able to get as much as we've wanted to. My sister, Jo Healey has so far been full of false promises regarding training together, although she has promised to organise some time to train... Watch this space!
Anyway, back to the concerns over my commitment to walking... What happens if I get bored early on and end up quitting before the race has really got started? It never really occurred to me that since finishing in 2011, I may take it for granted that I can finish once again with relative ease. So far, I've not done as much as I would have liked and time seems to be going by pretty quickly! Since my ankle injury back in September, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to walk over long distances, but so far the furthest I've managed to walk in one go is about 16 miles. I promised myself that I wouldn't play football again, but since that 'promise' I've been persuaded by the manager to play 3 times (and tomorrow will be game number 4)! The plan for tomorrow's game against Marown is to get the ball and pass it off straight away, I can't take another 3 month lay off from training due to a dodgy challenge from the opposition!
So with my current crisis of confidence I now doubt my ability to finish the Parish Walk again... But maybe this is a good thing? Maybe the realisation that its not going to be a walk in the park (no pun intended), is a positive thing? Maybe it will help me focus on doing more training?... I hope so!!!
As a bit of fun and to check if anyone actual reads my blog, can anyone tell me what this is...
Tower of refuge?
ReplyDeleteCorrect James! You must be a regular walker along the prom... I've showed that picture to loads of people and nobody has got it right. Well done!
DeletePaul, stick with it, the nights are getting longer and the weather is improving it has a lot to do with it! James beat me to it as well ! its good to be nervous as well I reckon and have reservations lets face it 85 miles is no easy thing! :)
ReplyDeleteI try not to think about the 85 miles too much. Whenever I do it seems impossible. So, instead, I try to break it down. On my very first Parish (2009, I think) I strolled along the TT access road behind a fireman. He was chatting to the person next to him who was attempting to complete the Parish for the first time. Lots of people were shoving past them in a hurry and the first timer seemed worried that so many were passing them. The fireman told him to ignore them. "Most of these will be finishing in Peel. Peel is your start line and you want to get there using as little energy as possible". And he's right. The walk to Peel fly's by as long as you take the time to chat to people and enjoy the day. Save all the energy you can and then the real work starts, ticking off one church at a time. But try not to dwell on the whole 85 mile thing.
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