Shin Splints Day

So last night, I could tell that my legs were used to walking - now there is a slight predicament. Due to "car strategy" I didn't go to the gym Monday am as normal, so by the evening the fronts of my legs had stiffened up considerably, this morning when I woke then I had quite a bit of pain in them.

The pain is good pain, i.e. the sutff that comes after a good exercise, so I know I am doing the right thing :-)

Anyway a session at the gym this morning has helped stretch them out. On Sunday Rob, who was the person who challenged me for this trip did the Manchester 10K run, he was trying to encourage me to try that as well. Thankfully I declined but thought, I will give a 10K run a go this morning in the gym.

Well all I can say is, better in the gym that surrounded by thousands of people. I got about 2.5 miles done then had to give up - I blame the heat, no air conditioning on first thing this morning, but honestly, I need to build up my stamina.

Anyway small challenge to follow is to build up to 10K by end of June (could be interesting as I have a weeks vacation in the mid of June so no gym, and don't fancy taking my training stuff, but maybe I will need to!)

I mentioned kit purchase, so brief starting place, I managed to get two Berghaus Tech T shirts for £12 each, these are great for keeping moisture of your body, and they are supposed to be odour resistant, have UV protection, so make a good trekking T shirt for lower down the mountain, and can be used as a good base layer for when it gets colder.

Tried this one out on Sunday, definately kept me dry, it wasn't , yuck, as for odour - well the shirt smelt ok, don't think I want to comment on myself!

More tomorrow.

Outdoor Action

Saturday, I travelled to Blackburn in order to get some more kit for the trip, but also so that i could train in the kit I would be using. After lot's of searching on the web, I came across Outdoor Action who appeared to have a wide range of kit and also some good offers. However I didn't want to risk just ordering over the internet where comfort and fit were required, plus I was hoping to get some advice.

After an email exchange they agreed to meet any on line prices if I went to their shop in Blackburn. What can I say they are great, so helpful, lot's of advice, not only had the guy serving me, been up Killi, he also had several regulars who used the shop who were part of the support groups for such trips. Therefore not only could he advise on the best gear, he was also full of other good information.

Best thing I can say, is they wouldn't let me buy stuff that I could get cheaper elsewhere (don't but these, bob to M&S 3 for £15 just a good), and also some things I did need, they told me to come back in a couple of months as they would be able to offer a bigger discount.

So if you need any outdoor kit for any activity I can strongly recommend them http://www.outdooraction.co.uk/

So now with a load of new kit, I thought best to try it out, so on Sunday I kitted up and went for a 2 hour walk, leaving Broadbottom, up through Charlesworth, over Monks road to the Grouse Pub, then back down into Glossop and back to Broadbottom. (actually not quite, as I did grab a lift from Glossop home)

More about the kit later this week.

For more followers

Yesterday I announced my challenge to my colleagues in Brother, whilst a few of you were already aware, the fact that now there are a few hundred aware, I thought it best to provide a fresh starting point for the blog.

For those new to this blog, have a look at the early history to see why I am embarking on this challenge and what it entails.

My current training regime is still consisting of regular sessions at the gym to get my overall fitness levels up, and then some walking at weekends.

This weekend I am going to purchase the rest of my kit for the trip, a bit of a bit outlay, let's hope that I still do some walking when i get back from this trip!

So by Monday I expect to me a few hundred pounds lighter, but as a result of wallet fatigue as opposed to training !

Keep following, I will get back to week day updates from now to the run in.

Ian