7th Parish Finish

Well the day soon came round, and passed just as quickly!

We had a lovely meal on the Wednesday before, with a group of people I met mainly through running who all had decided to have a go at the Parish. We had been doing various group walks since the beginning of the year so it was a great opportunity to get together and talk about any last minute bits before the big day. We all went to Just Pizza and Pasta and I think everyone will agree it was a lovely meal. (check out the chef in the picture)

The day before the walk wasn’t the best preparation made worse when my youngest Dotty appeared to have the “bug” never the less all of our kit was packed up and split into two piles - day and night support! Then after tea our two support teams arrived to collect their bags (great service not only did they drive around after us all day and night but they also provided a collection service too) after a couple of glasses of Prosecco we were all set ! Kerry probably didn’t need any top ups as she had come straight from a work night out!

Lee and I were in bed for 11, and whilst he slept like a baby I just couldn’t nod off - it’s like I visualise the whole route out in my head. I must of nodded off at some point as it felt like I had only just closed my eyes before The 6 am alarm was going off and lee and I were out for our run.

Once back I went to get my shower, standing in the shower probably day dreaming and without thinking I noticed the water dripping down my face, the last thing I had wanted to do was wash, dry and straighten my hair before an 85 mile walk but the damage was done, so whilst it did throw me off schedule having to dry my hair, the rush took my mind off what was ahead of me!

We drove down the NSC with Jack from next door, it was his first entry in the Parish and being under 21 he was walking to Peel, I believe he had only started his training the Saturday before, but it worked for him as he got to peel in 7.40! Well done Jack!

When I arrived I saw so many familiar faces, there were lots of hugs and well wishes passed on to everyone. The only photo I got was of Me and Steph

We all lined up and before we knew it the gun went off and we were heading out on the Parish Walk ! Lee and I set off where we were joined by Steph, we happily walked along and chatted till we hit the new Castletown Road and Steph picked the pace up.

I never really remember much about the first 19 miles they always go pretty quickly, but this year I started to have a bad patch around 17 miles, I wasn’t sure what caused it but I just didn’t feel right. Our support Kerry and Charlie turned up and by the time we were heading out of Dalby and my bad patch had gone. We were getting back into a nice rhythm and I started to enjoy the walk again.

German, Peel, Kirk Michael and Ballaugh flew by, but by the time we were coming up to Jurby Lee had started to have a bad patch - we just tried to crack on and I kept saying it would pass just like mine had and it was just a matter of riding it out.! It had been such a hot day, so no doubt the sun had played a part in making the walk so much harder. About 4 miles after Jurby the vomiting started for Lee, ( with me when I’m sick I usually start to feel better) but this didn’t happen for Lee he just couldn’t keep anything down. We carried on but after a while Lee told me I had to carry on without him, a few people had taken over us when we were stopped but I told him it was fine we would get back into it when his bad patch passed, we carried on but it wasn’t long before the vomiting started again at which point Lee insisted I left him.

It broke my heart leaving him behind, as he had stayed with me through numerous bad patches the year before, and we are a team - but lee told me that feeling he was stopping me wasn’t helping him either. Michelle and Allan and just arrived at this point, but Charlie and Kerry said they were happy to stay out all night if we were to separate, so with the tears flowing I walked on ( it still upsets me thinking about it now).

I was really looking forward to getting to Ramsey as my friend Jamie would be there with her famous soup, which I have to admit was just as good as I remembered from last year!

I carried on at first in a good speed, I walked from Andreas with Graham Jackson, a lovely man who was being supported by his cousin Paul Jackson, and it was lovely to keep seeing Paul’s friendly face. I enjoyed chatting to Graham and his ready salted crisps! I did try to tempt him to walk to the finish with me, but he was adamant Maughold was his goal, he doesn’t live in the Isle of Man and was going on holiday on Monday and he didn’t want want to be wrecked for that ! By the time I arrived in maughold all my school friends waiting for me, and they followed me all the way to the finish. It wasn’t long after Maughold till I was experiencing another bad patch, whilst I didn’t think about stopping but I wouldn’t say I enjoyed any of the walk from Maughold home !
In Laxey Helen was waiting for me in the bus shelter with some soup, and some sugary tea for Lee in a flask ( I had left soup in my fridge at home to be heated up, but there was some confusion about this and Helen spent the whole day panicking about what soup she was going to make for me - it was however so tasty she did a good job so may have to make it a regular thing now).

Lee had managed to get to Ramsey but the sickness was so bad and he was dehydrated he had to stop, I didn’t know this though as everyone kept telling me how well he was doing! I kept expecting him to catch me up! Helen even bringing his tea threw me a surely she wouldn’t of made up a flask of tea for someone who had stopped hours before? No she really did!

Coming out of Laxey I asked again how Lee was and I noticed the response was he is still doing really well, so I asked where he was and Michelle said oh I’m not sure I haven’t heard from Kerry in a while .. I looked at her and said he has stopped hasn’t he? She said he had, she hadn’t really fibbed as technically he wasn't having a bad patch any longer but this was probably due to him being asleep in bed at home 😂 I understand they didn’t want to upset me, I was truly gutted he hasn’t made it, but in a way I felt less guilty for leaving him as he had known how ill he was feeling and he had ensured that I had carried on!

I got to the finish in 18.32 not a bad time given the conditions and was surrounded by all of my favourite friends so it was a great end to what felt like a never ending walk !

A massive thank you to all of my Amazing Support Crew! New and old especially Michelle, Allan, Kerry and Charlie for their constant trips between each other to collect things from each other’s cars. (as the kit had got muddled up by the split!) Especially when I had my little hissy fit about having the wrong head light! Being the support is as hard as being the walker, constantly in and out of cars waiting on us hand and foot ! Everyone always says how well I have done but I truly couldn’t of done it with out you guys, you all did a fantastic Job!

Also the friendly faces who came out to See me! Nelson, Ali, Sarah, Caitlin, Amy, Anne, Paul, Margie, Eamon, Lou Lou, Caroline, Helen, Jamie and Alice. Knowing people have made a trip out to see you when they could be in bed at home really lifts your spirits !

I got home and found Lee asleep in bed with his hat on, he said he was freezing I on the other hand was so hot I couldn’t even get under the covers I just climbed on to the bed and rested my head on Lee and Caitlin brought her blanket to cover me and I had a little nap! Not for long though as I was adamant I would see my friends walking.

At 6 am I drove out to lonan to find my friends, and I have to admit driving up Whitebridge I got quite emotional it’s a very different sight seeing people walking still at 6 am and the road was so busy with people. When I went past the LA walking through to the prom I didn’t see another person or light but this was incredible ! There were people and Cars everywhere ! I saw Liz, Anne Marie, Dee, Denise, Chloe and Rachel and stopped to say hi to them all before driving back to Onchan to sit with Caroline and Rob to wait for them to go through ( yes I was the crazy girl in flip flops and PJ’s)

You could see the pain in the faces along with a the relief of getting to the last parish before the finish line ! So much hard work goes into getting to the finish line but they were all about to finish it!! Such and amazing day that I was proud to be a part of !

I think I put a lot of work into training for an event but I can only try to imagine the kind of work that goes in to putting on an event the size of the Parish Walk, so a great big thank you to all of the organisers and marshals that put this amazing walk on!

Looking forward to the presentation tomorrow night !

10 days to go...

I can hardly believe how quickly the big day is coming round ! It’s been a while since my last post, and I’m glad to say that my training hasn’t been as slack as my writing skills!

Sunday night saw my final long walk before the day! Me and the two Lee’s did a lovely loop down south starting in Ballasalla walking out past the sea side of the airport through to Castletown, Port St Mary, Port Erin and back the parish walk route from Rushen to Ballasalla. It was a lovely evening, similar to when I last walked it just before last years parish - very different to the weather that the Island experienced during the TT! It was a comfortable pace and I felt great at the end which is always a bonus.

We missed the bad weather by escaping to Alcudia and it was really hot! We decided to have a week off training, and just enjoy some sun and relaxation with the girls. So whilst we were there, there was no walking training, we still kept up our run every day, often after a few glasses of Prosecco (I was surprised to see that miles got quicker the more I had drank - but I’ll not try this in the parish). Dotty also let me take her for a daily walk down the seafront, it was a 3 mile walk to the marina and back and was supposed to be for her to nap, but she didn’t agree that she was supposed to sleep. It was an amazing holiday and I definitely came back feeling rested.

At this stage in training I always find it hard not to stick to my usual routine, and rest is something I am not very good at! I find that I start thinking about the course and how I am going to walk 85 Miles, it’s such a long way! All this time that I would usually spend training gets replaced with thinking about the walk.

Some one asked me how I count down the miles on the day, and I don’t as such nor do I count down the parishes. I split the walk into three to Peel, Ramsey and Home it sounds shorter this way! Each section I have walked many times before so it’s just a case of putting them all together.

It’s now time to get everything ready for the walk, it’s always hard to know what you will feel like on the day so in my experience I take lots of things, just in case! My trainers had their first walk on Sunday and after 17 miles they felt great, which I’m really glad off as my others are pretty worn out!

It’s now time to say bye to the trophy I have been holding for the last year, I am very proud to have my name on it, where it will always be, but it is all ready to go to a new home and I know the person who receives it will enjoy having it as much as I did!

10 days to go..

4 days to go...

Thank fully not till the big day, but there Is only 4 days left to enter the Parish Walk 2019, so if you haven’t got your entry in you should do it now!

I am starting to get things ready, may seem a little early but we are away on holiday for TT so I want to make sure I have most things sorted before I go. I think I have finalised my outfit for the day, and I have my food sorted so I am half way there.

Training has gone fairly well over the last couple of weeks, it has been good to get back a regular walking night with Kathryn who will be aiming for her 5th Parish walk lap this year. The miles fly by when walking with Kathryn I think having someone to walk with helps keep the pace consistent, and to be honest makes the walk much more enjoyable.

I had a slight injury the Wednesday after the firefighters walk, about 3 miles into a walk I felt a sharp pain in my hamstring, I eased off the pace and still finished the 5 mile loop a little slower than planned. I was unsure what to do as I had planned a 20 mile walk on the Friday, in my head I thought I should give it a miss but I was torn as my eldest daughter Caitlin had planned to drive me out to Ballaugh and follow me round for the 20 miles in practice for support, she had even agreed to get up at 7am so we could get an early start as much as I was looking forward to the walk I was also looking forward to spending some time with Caitlin, she was looking forward to her first go at driving support so I taped my hamstring and decided to give it a go.

We were up an out early, Caitlin is keen to drive anywhere having only passed her driving test earlier in the week, we took a quick pit stop to buy her breakfast at Mcdonalds before heading up North, it was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining. I set off from Ballaugh and soon realised that I hadn’t put the tape in the right place, but there was nothing I could do about it. I took the first mile slow at around 13 minute mile pace with the idea of picking it up once my legs warmed up. Caitlin would wait 25 minutes and then drive on to find me and repeat the wait and drive. It was easier to do it this way then expecting Caitlin to know where 2 miles was and it stopped me from worrying she may take a wrong turn. It worked perfectly the only time I stopped to wait for her was at Bride church to check she took the right turn into Andreas. I took a moment to check my phone and saw Lee had text to ask how I was getting on.

I replied to Lee to say so far so good, but I wasn’t pushing the pace. As I turned the corner on the road to Andreas everything started to feel better, I felt I got into a nice rhythm and in turn the pace picked up quite considerably. Caitlin was still seeing me every 2 miles or so, I had to laugh as when we started Caitlin was in her PJ’s yet every time I saw her it was like spot the difference one time she had eyebrows, the next she had jeans on the next she had changed her top in the hope that by the time I got to the end of my walk she would be fully dressed with all of her make up on. Just before the 15 miles I felt a really sharp pain in my hamstring and it caused me to scream, I knew then I had pushed it as far as I could and stopped. Caitlin drove me to Ramsey where lee and the little ones met me. We had chips, and the girls had a little bike ride and play in the park before we drove home.

As soon as I was home I called John Barton, who agreed he could see me on Monday morning to look at my hamstring. I am not going to lie, it was agony, John said it was ok, I hadn’t done any damage as I had stopped at the right time, and it was just that my hamstring was so tight that the pulling had caused a huge knot in it. He worked it out, and reminded me the importance of stretching, something we all know is important yet I always say I don’t have time to stretch which is ridiculous as I can find time to run every day but I can’t find time to stretch. I hadn’t walked since Friday and don’t like to have too many days off so I asked the question I hate to ask, do I have to stop running and walking? He said running was fine as my hamstring was only put under stress when I was extending my leg in walking so I could run, and I could walk as long as I took it slow for a few days. I was glad to hear this as I had planned to do 5 miles on Monday night with Liz and the Gang.

Monday nights walk was not like I had thought, firstly Liz wasn’t able to make it, I can’t remember the excuse she gave me, but in reality we had been out on Sunday night for food and drinks Liz had stayed out till I believe 4 am with Kerry! There was 4 of us who walked the 5 mile loop of Glen Roy, for the first time in any of our group walks the pace was slowed because my hamstring was just too sore, thankfully no one minded as it was a lovely night and we all had a good chat enjoying the nice weather.

I booked another appointment with John for the Saturday, he wasn’t sure I would need one but I wanted to be 100% sure it was sorted. I decided to try another longish walk before I saw him to access it, so lee and I drove out to Jurby on the Friday night we walked to Bride, Andreas and then back to Jurby covering 13.5 miles walking before we then ran our daily mile. I was happy to report no pain in my hamstring and we had managed to keep all the miles well under 12mm pace. John confirmed that my hamstring had improved and said that as long as I keep up with my stretches I shouldn’t have any more problems.

On Sunday we went to a London Marathon Party at the Patridges, it was great to catch up with everyone and track our friends who were running London, I do admit I had a little bit of run envy on the day, the conditions looked much better than I had the year before on the hottest London Marathon ever! I must say a massive well done to all of my friends who ran the Marathon, Tony Patridge, Brian Butler, Ann-Marie Clucas, Helen Taylor, Jackie Moore, Dawn Yates, Kirsty Arnold, Nikki Brannan and Steven Quayle you were all awesome! My friend Dee is training for Edinburgh marathon, and was set to do her longest run so I planned to meet her for the last 8 miles of her 21 mile route, she was going to slow down and I would walk with her. Dee did Amazing, she completed her longest every run, and pushed me to walk the fastest 8 miles I have in a long time.

Lee is away at the weekend so I will have to try and get a long walk in before he goes and when he is back, so the girls and I can enjoy a nice relaxing weekend! I hope everyone’s training is going well.. only 52 days to go !

Support

When you cross the finish line, you know that all your hard work has paid off and to an extent that is true .. but for me there is also the hard-work of all the people that make it possible for me to achieve what I do.

Firstly Lee, my husband we train together and walk together on the day, through the years we have both had ups and downs on the day, good and bad patches and having each other I honestly feel makes us stronger.

Me and Lee on his first Parish Walk

Shell and Alla (AKA Michelle and Allan) they have been our Shell and Alla since Caitlin was a baby and couldn’t pronounce their names. - they have been my support since my very first attempt in 2007 I don’t know how I roped them in, but I’m glad I did!

Michelle and Allan will come out anywhere from Peel to Bride - depending on if I can rope someone else into, they patiently drive along waiting on me hand and foot. Nothing is ever too much trouble for them. They are perfect for me, I don’t like to know how others ahead of me are doing, so they don’t tell me. I give them a guide time I like to be at each church (usually scribbled on the race booklet at the respective church) they make no comment on how I am doing unless I ask.

They do not force me to eat if I feel sick or drink but they know if they suggest I have something I usually will take it from them as I realise they are more of aware of what I am eating and drinking than I am. They know if I’m struggling because I go quiet and stop smiling - and they will just reduce the distance they drive ahead of me so they see me a little more often.

They drive around through the night just to help me finish the parish walk, they get no trophy or awards for themselves, I honestly couldn’t do this without them!! They are as important to me as the training!

I also must mention Lynne, who usually supports through the Barclays stand before driving out to meet us at Roundtable and staying with us till the night team takeover. Lynne is always a welcomed sight, she helps keep us in good spirits up towards my least favourite part of the course.

I have tried support before, yes it’s easier in the respect that you don’t have to walk but harder in every other way, it’s boring as you sit in your car for long periods of time, you have to keep getting out of your nice warm car to pass over refreshments, you get tired and fed up as it is a long way ! So remember when you are coming through Maughold in the middle of the night that your support are tired too and don’t forget to speak to them how you would like to be spoken too. There is nothing I hate more than hearing people bark orders at their support, or forget basic manners as no matter how tired you are if you can keep on walking you can at least do it politely.

There will be times when you walk when your support have driven on a bit further than you will of liked, or not got you what you asked for quick enough but this is part and parcel of it (obviously this doesn’t happen to me as Shell and Alla are perfect) but it helps not to get annoyed by it, just think you have got a bit further down the road and passed a bit more time!

Obviously since I started taking part in the parish walk I have gone from 1 daughter to 3, so arranging care for them is no easy task we have a team of people who help including friends and my sisters ! We are very lucky to have such a great support team.

This week I have done a couple of walks 4 miles before the gym on Tuesday and 6 miles last night with Kathryn!

Happy Training only 65 days to go !

Fireman's Walk

This was my longest training walk to date, and I was super happy with it! Lee and I decided we would treat this as a training walk as we had both done a lot of running, but little in the way of walking training compared to other years!

We started very casually at the back of the pack - it was nice and relaxed, albeit a little cold as we didn’t bring any jackets ... we had a plan to stick to 12 minute miles for the distance and just get the 50k completed.

I’m not a huge fan of the route (it’s the middle section of the parish and from Ballaugh to at least bride, I just never seem to enjoy it or have a good time). Whilst I didn’t feel sick in this walk I was massively under prepared. I blame the fatigue I have felt since last weeks Marathon.

Normally with any long events, I do all the planning including race entries, including what we will eat and drink, I do all the shopping, pack the clothes , medical supplies and anything else we may need, however as this was a training walk in my head I let Lee get on with it, whilst I made a lasagna to go in the oven when we got home, along with a new pasta recipe for tea.

Lees packing for the day reminded me exactly why I do it all, I air on the side of caution I take a lot of things just incase .. Lee on the other hand packed the bare minimum and we didn’t even have a drop of water left at the end, all energy gels were used and there were no alternatives if I didn’t fancy his pre-mixed drinks.

My shoes disappointed me slightly as I got a blister on the inside of my left arch and I found the Ball of my right foot uncomfortable. I did think I had a blister there while I was walking but when I got home there was nothing. But it has left me wondering about what shoes to wear for the parish. I don’t know if my feet have got used to the luxury of brooks cushioning, that I wear for running! I used to wear the Asics DS racers, which have been discontinued. Then I moved to the Saucony Fastwitch so now I’m unsure .. (Lee will say this is just an excuse for me to buy new trainers!)

I’m sure in the walk I was not the only person to notice how awful the pavements are from Kirk Michael to Ballaugh and Sulby to Ramsey, although I did enjoy a stroll down the new cycle lane..

Normal training will resume now with a couple of short walks this week, and a long walk at the weekend. We finished the walk in 6.04 not a PB but about 15 seconds quicker a mile than we had planned, we couldn’t of done this with out Nicola supporting us and Vicki looking after the mini Johnson’s - Thank You !

Also I must mention the amazing walking from James Quirk and Jayne Farquhar on winning the firefighters Memorial walk - what incredible times.

Not forgetting my Husband and my good friends Liz, Leanne, Angela, Caroline, Denise & Lee Cowin who are all doing amazing in their parish training! And a special mention to David and his bloody feet, I guess that’s what happens when you walk zero miles in training! David is getting married later this year, and has a special reason for taking part. His wife to be Sophie, is the daughter of Sara Killey, the race is held in her memory.

Not to mention my eldest daughter just passed her driving test! Safe to say I have a new support member!
Happy Training !

67 days to go

Sub 4 Club

Lee and I travelled over Saturday afternoon, we had a lovely child free meal on Saturday night, before catching the train to Runcorn where we were staying.

Our friends Hayley and Dave picked us up at 7 am and we drove to Manchester, we found a park straight away and started walking to the starting area.

Dave was supporting us all so we all said our goodbyes, wished each other luck and went off to find our respective pens ! Lee went off to the front, and Hayley and I set off to find ours. We decided we would just start together, as we were in different pens, Hayley moved forward to mine. Time went really quickly and we were soon moving over the line.

Hayley and I separated when the run started as we hadn’t planned to run together, we didn’t see each other again until about the halfway point when Hayley took over me!

The run was very busy, in training I found it easy to stick to a pace but it was much harder on the day as I found you were either speeding up to get round people or getting stuck behind people. The first half went pretty quickly for me, but I did hit a wall around the half way point, I felt I needed something so took an extra gel!

I found the second half quite tough, my legs felt heavy and I was craving something sweet like Lucozade. I wondered if my legs were heavy after having a bit of rest period, due to injury in the 3 weeks leading up to the marathon? But who knows.
At around 19.5 miles I had started to talk to a guy and I pointed to him there was £10 on the floor. You could tell we were both struggling as neither of us could be bothered to pick it up! Not long after this he told me where he was from not that I can remember, but he also said he had forgotten his wallet and was hoping the petrol station would take Apple Pay. I laughed and said he should of picked the £10 up as it would of got him home.

Soon after I caught up to Nelson (Sarah Curphey) and she was struggling. Like me, she had been ill the night before and hadn't been able to take anything apart from water on board. It was great to see her, she was the first friend I met when I moved to the Island in 1998. She was Sarah Nelson back then, hence why I call her Nelson. We ran 4 miles together, she managed to take a little of one of my energy gels on, and an ice pop that a lovely lady was handing out - it was the most refreshing thing I had during the run! Nelson told me to run on at 24 miles as she knew I had my target of under 4 hours in sight.

At mile 25 I was over the moon to see Kathy and Michael ! It was the second time I had seen them on course, and each time it has lifted my spirits (I had missed them once). Our other supporter Dave I only saw once despite him being in 3 places too! It’s hard to explain how much it means to see a friendly face, mixed in with the millions of other spectators, but they definitely made my day!

The last mile went fairly quickly. I could see that, unless I had a massive issue, I was going to get my “sub 4” marathon time! Which I did crossing the line in 3 hours 52 minutes and 52 seconds .!! Such a big achievement for me, knocking 23 minutes off last years marathon and over an hour off my first marathon.!

We had arranged a place to meet at the end and Lee and Hayley were waiting for me. I asked them how they had done and Hayley casually said 3.52..! I thought she was joking I said no I did 3.52 ! She actually did it in 3.52.35 I couldn’t believe we were only 23 seconds apart at the finish line yet didn’t see each other. Lee did and incredible time of 3.17 !! People kept asking me when they were tracking lee what his number was as there were two Lee Johnson’s running - turns out it didn’t matter which Lee they were tracking as they finished less than 1 minute apart !

I still can’t believe that Hayley and I got into the sub 4 marathon club, and Lee got a sub 3.20! I’m so proud of us all !

Bit of rest this week, Parish training will resume next week.!

72 days till the parish ..!

Hardest walk of my life... Part 2

Shortly after the e-mail about the cancellation a second email arrived advising us that there was a new venue ! Bellville Stadium, it was to be hosted on a 400m track !! The furthest I had ever walked on a track was 10k and that was far enough ! So whilst I didn’t relish in thought of 402 and a quarter laps it was a lot more favourable than travelling home without even attempting the 100 miles !

We arrived in plenty of time, probably too much time, it took all of 10 minutes to set up in the gazebo they had provided for International walkers and found a couple of chairs for Caitlin and Linda to base them selves.

It was so hot, we tried to find a little shade to sit and wait for the start, the stadium was very busy as the relay was a popular event.

As it was 100 years celebration for Nelson Mandela before the race everyone was invited to walk a lap of the track, I guess to do it before the walk was sensible as I wouldn’t of fancied it if they had added it on the end.

After the lap of honour and a short speech the race got under way, i started off with Andy and Jantinus.. it was a good pace, but I was worrying about the heat .. Andy left the group first to go to the toilet he then seemed to speed off we thought he was trying to catch up the little distance he lost but when he caught us up he just carried on motoring round. Next it was my turn to leave as I needed the toilet too ( the toilets were set about 50meters inside the track - I remember thinking I would of preferred it if they were right on the side of the track)

I felt ok just very hot for the first couple of hours but at around the 13 mile mark I started to feel very sick, I don’t normally suffer with sickness so this was a bit alien to me but I remember the thoughts going through my head, should I stop ? Was it acceptable to travel all the way to South Africa to walk a half marathon? - I decided it wasn’t so kept on going slowly .. at the 30 mile mark I started vomiting at the side of the track, I’m usually quite phobic about sick but it was a relief. The medics came over on their bicycles and told me I looked awful and asked if I wanted to stop. Stop? I smiled and said "no way I feel great now!" They made me drink some water and then I carried on.

I would say I had a good next 20 miles, just getting the laps in. I was happy and I would say I was enjoying it. At around the 50 mile mark the sickness came back and I was vomiting again at the side of the track (an attractive sight I’m sure) the medics came back, but thankfully let me continue. Caitlin was an incredible help she would come running to find me when I didn’t make it to her in the usual time. For the first time in any event I had a little break and sat down I saw Stew Jones from the Isle of Man, and he looked in as good spirits as me, so I asked if he wanted to walk with me and we could feel crap together but we didn’t last long walking together as Stew decided to a break and I just carried on slowly plodding.

I can’t really recall much of the rest of the walk it was a bit of a blur, I know I visited the toilets a lot, as I kept feeling I needed a wee but I didn’t and each time it would frustrate me more as I had to keep detouring off the track - I don’t think it was dehydration as I did drink a lot.

The organisers provided Coca Cola and salted potatoes. I don’t normally have either when I’m walking but I did drink quite a lot of the Coke and at the time it tasted nice, it probably didn’t so my sickness any good but I just kept drinking it.

I kept my head down and carried on through the night was a relief from the hot sun, but the dark didn’t seem to last long and before I knew it the sun was rising !

I did eventually finish the walk in my slowest time of 23 hours 32 minutes and 51 seconds in the position of 3rd Lady and I was the 35th person to gain the African Centurion Badge!

Andy Green walked a phenomenal race, he didn’t appear to ever slow down - it was just incredible to watch! Andy was the overall winner finishing in a very impressive 20 hours 57 minutes and 39 seconds ! It was Andy’s first ever Centurion!

I got to the presentation which was held 2 hours after the race, I sat down at the table and just as the presentation started, I started to feel terrible I got up and managed a few steps out of the tent where I collapsed and passed out, I woke up having the medical team testing my blood sugars and force feeding me a banana and some awful drink! Caitlin thankfully took my place in the presentation and had her photos taken with my certificate and badge !

I started to feel better and we decided to get an Uber back the apartment, it was hot in the car I nodded off but not for long I awoke feeling sick yet again I said to Caitlin I was going to be sick and I believe I tried to open the car door whilst we were driving, Caitlin stopped me and Linda found me a bag, (the only bag she had was a food bag) thankfully the driver has noticed I wasn’t well and was pulling over just in time for me to get the door open before I stared vomiting again! When I had finished I laughed at the food bag .. I didn’t get back in the car, thankfully we weren’t far away from the apartments so Caitlin and I walked back ! I did feel much better.

When we eventually got into out apartment I had a shower and fell asleep still wrapped in my towel I remember waking up a few hours later thinking what just happened ? I couldn’t even remember if I had finished or not so after a quick scramble around the room I found my certificate and badge and got back into bed hardly able to believe I had actually achieved it !

Caitlin and I travelled home the next day, we popped to say good bye to Andy and Linda who were amazed at how well I looked after the day before. We were super lucky the flight home was so empty and we were able to have a row of 4 seats each and slept the majority of the way home !

Africa Centurion complete .. 3 down - 3 to go

That’s all for tonight, tomorrow we are travelling Across for the Manchester Marathon on Sunday!

78 days to go ..

Hardest walk of my life .. Part 1

To date I have completed 6 Parish Walks, 3 - 100 centurion’s and ran 3 Marathons. Up until my last 100 I would of said the hardest event I had completed was my first Marathon.

My third 100 was in South Africa - training had gone well after the parish and I was really excited and nervous to go.

The week before I started coming down with a cough, cold and sore throat - I’m not usually one to come down with illness so it was a real worry. I travelled with my eldest daughter we flew in to Manchester and had planned a relaxing day with some shopping ! In reality it was hard going we visited a few shops, not as many clothes shops as I would of liked but more chemists trying to find the best cough and throat medicines I could ! Feeling the way I did I wasn’t at all looking forward to the 2 long haul flights that would take us to Capetown.

We arrived at Manchester airport in plenty of time with all my medicines decanted in to bottles of under 100m for the flights, I was nervous checking in as there are extra requirements if you are flying into South Africa with a child under 18 without both parents being present. I had to have a signed affidavit by the courts, in which her dad gave permission to travel without him, along with copies of his passport, her original birth certificate and my original marriage certificate ! When we checked in all documents had to be checked and approved by a supervisor so if was a great relief when we were given the ok to fly.

The flights went pretty quickly it was a busy flight out but Caitlin was happy she had WiFi and thousands of movies to watch.

When we arrived in Dubai we met up with Andy and Linda Green who were on the same connecting flight as us. It was great to see them and made me relax a little. I has last seen Andy when he was supporting the 100 miles in the Isle of Man, I had told him I was going to try the African Centurion and at the time I was the only person from the IOM going, so the gent that Andy was felt he couldn’t let me go alone so he decided he would take on his first 100 Mile challenge too, it was the day before a special birthday for him.

We all stayed in the same apartment complex - which Andy had found it was lovely. I had 2 days before the race so Caitlin and I decided that we would visit table mountain on our first day, and visit the waterfront on the second day which was also where the race sign on was. Table Mountain was incredible, even with my fear of heights in the cable cars. Caitlin and I spent ages up there walking round and looking a the picture perfect views, I loved seeing Robben Island and was so excited about the walk despite still not feeling 100% but I was definitely improving.

That night we had dinner with some of the other International Walkers Sharon and Justin Scholz (Sharon And Justin are incredible walkers and runners and this was to be their 6th Centurion)

Jantinus Meints (this was his 5th Centurion Badge), Trudy Geldhof (no Centurion badges) and Andy (1st Centurion badge) and Linda Green

There is only 1 person in the world who holds all 7 Centurion badges and that is Sandra Brown she has completed a 100 Miles in The UK, Europe, United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia. The Malaysia Centurion is no longer held, so unless it is ever brought back Sandra will remain the only person in the world to hold them all! She is an incredible walker and one whom I’m privileged to say I walked with for part of my second Centurion race in the Netherlands

Link to multiple centurion badge holders Thanks to Rob Robertson

The day before the race Caitlin and I shared and Uber to the waterfront with Linda and Andy. Caitlin and I had a lovely walk around and decided to get some lunch before going to sign on, we found a lovely restaurant and whilst I was waiting for my Thai curry to arrive I thought I would check in with my emails on the waterfront WiFi. I opened my email account and waited for them to download and my heart sank when I saw an email from the African Centurion organisers with the title .. event cancelled on Robben Island !

The Parish Walk is a long way...

No matter which way you look at it, 85 miles is an incredible distance to walk, for anyone! There are things I have picked up along the way, so below is a list of things that I find help ME make the walk a little more comfortable (This is a list of what works for me, it may not work for everyone else).

- Vaseline … the advice I was given was if it moves oil it! So this is a must.
- Remove your rings as your hands will swell, and it’s uncomfortable if you have a ring digging in! (I wear no jewellery on the day) – Gloves can help with the swelling if bothers you.
- Don’t wear anything NEW, this is so important you have to test your kit out first. I have quite sensitive skin so normally wear my baselayer inside out as seams hate me.
- Don’t eat going up hill.
- Keep moving forward, try to keep stops to a minimum, any long stops can make you stiffen up.
- If you feel sick try eating.
- Make sure your support know what you have packed so they can offer you a variety later on when you forget what you have.
- If you have blisters try not to alter the way you walk, just keep walking on them and they will pop and feel better.
- Pack baby wipes they are perfect for freshening up and cleaning sticky hands, I keep mine in the cool box so they are nice and cold.
- I have a radio I play out loud from Maughold – this really helps lift me – absolute 80’s all the way home, or till the battery runs out whichever comes first.
- Salt tablets are great if you get cramps – (Up and Running have some great ones called salt sticks that you can chew).

Sleep – I find the Wednesday and Thursday before I get my best sleep, the night before I used to find almost impossible to get to sleep, worrying if I will make it round, will I oversleep and miss the start? Talking to Nigel Maddocks walking up the Sloc on my 5th parish walk he told me his secret was to have a glass of wine the night before, this seemed crazy to me, but he said it helped him get to sleep! So every year since on the Friday I will have 2 glasses of wine, and it actually works for me! I’m not suggesting a heavy night as that is ridiculous but for me it is part of my preparation!

One of the most important things to me after the training, is my support! They are the ones that will keep me going through any bad patches, they never make me feel like I am keeping them up. They spend the whole night (although in recent years the night has started to get shorter) driving round after me, filling up my drinks bottle and offering me whatever I ask for. I count on them to keep me going. Your support are a vital part of your success! Without them there would be no parish walk finish! Mine are simply the best.. I will do another post about them, and the little routine we have! But I have to say, Michelle, Allan and Lynne you are all amazing and I am very grateful for all you do for me.

We did a good 22 mile training walk last week. It was an 11 mile loop that we did twice, incorporating Ballakillowey and the Sloc TWICE! I walked the second lap quicker than the first which was nice. And despite the change in weather on the second lap I didn’t struggle and even managed to complete my mile run at the end of it as the clock had struck midnight so it counted for the next day.

I am looking forward to the Marathon and getting back to doing more training walks than runs!

90 Days to the Parish walk, 65 Days to our Holiday, 14 Days to the Marathon!
Happy Training Everyone!

A good week for the trophy cabinet

Since my last post we did a group walk from Ramsey, 8 of us set off on the bus to Ramsey for an 8pm start. We all arrived fully kitted out in lights and reflective gear, as it is a very dark route. Overall I have had better walks, this wasn’t down to the company but more to do with me throwing myself a the pavement just over a mile into the walk, when I got up there was no serious damage, my new 2XU leggings that were a gift off my daughter had survived so I carried on walking. Its not my first fall in a walk, I remember the last time I walked the Firemans Memorial walk I fell for my training partner Kathryn’s husband in the last mile, and wow did that hurt. We all finished the 18 miles and a few even managed a takeaway, and a glass or two of wine.

Another route I have done is a 5 Mile Hilly loop around Glen Roy, I think I went the least hilly way so I will need to go back and try it the other way. I think that for the parish it is good to put hills into your training as let’s face it the Parish walk route isn’t flat. I think this will be a regular route in this year’s training.

I do have some regular routes that I run or walk frequently, but with my longer ones I try to change them a lot so they are not too repetitive. I have been walking for a long time so know the roads on the Island pretty well, and I im quite good at working out distances from memory. If you are looking for some help with planning your routes the desktop version of Strava is great.

I also took part in the IOM Vets 20 Mile road race at the NSC last Sunday, it was 40 laps of the perimeter road. This is my second time of running the course, on the morning of the race I exchanged a few messages with Áine who is in the same running club as me, in the messages we decided we would be aiming for 8.30 pace so we would run together. We actually hadn’t ran together before but it worked well on the day, and we stuck together finishing with a PB for me of just over 2 and half minutes (around 25 seconds a mile quicker than planned) in a time of 2 hours 41 Mins and 42 seconds finishing as Joint 1st Lady.

This week saw the finale round of the Ramsey Bakery Fireman’s Runs, I ran the 5 Mile course which is 3 laps. After the run there was a presentation in the Mitre pub, where all the finishers of the league were awarded their finishers t-shirt and I even picked up a trophy for being 8th overall.

We have entered the Firefighters Memorial Walk on the 14th April, this is great practice for the parish as it is the route from Peel to Ramsey, it also gives you a chance to test out your trainers, food and clothing before the big day!

105 Days to go…

RunEveryDay

Firstly, apologies for my delay in posting, I have had a really busy couple of weeks, which included my daughter Dotty’s 2nd Birthday. When it comes down to training or writing about training, the training has to come first. It is one of those things in life that I just can’t delegate I have to do the training myself.

As the title of this post states RunEveryDay you may have noticed that I am running a lot, which is mainly down to my upcoming marathon but it’s also due to my Runstreak and No, this does not involve running naked through any public places. The official definition of a running streak is to run at least 1 Mile (1.61 Km) within each calendar day. Today I completed my 110th day of running. I was also surprised on Saturday with this lovely t-shirt from up and running that Liz and Tony bought for me, so I guess I won’t be stopping my RunStreak any time soon.

Back to Parish training, I have been putting in a few mile over the last couple of weeks, concentrating on shorter walks at pace, as my legs are starting to feel the effects of the ever increasing distance in my marathon plan.
I have scheduled an 18 Mile walk on Friday night, with some friends. We will be walking from Ramsey, Parish Walk Route to Onchan. I like this section of the walk, and it’s a regular route in my training. now I find it almost easier and shorter on the day as I know it so well But it hasn’t always been the case. Rewind to my 2008 parish walk attempt when I retired at Laxey, officially Maughold as I refused to continue to Lonan Church. My heavily pregnant sister got out of the car to try and help me as I was sitting on a wall at the side of the road, when I quickly moved to sit in her seat in the car, the next thing I know I am waking up outside my friend’s house in daylight. I said to our Marie wasn’t it dark when I stopped she kind of laughed and said that it had been, and for the last few hours they had been trying to wake me to get me out of the car so she could go home to Port Erin .. Sorry Marie.

In 2008 I was really surprised how quickly I went downhill, I had walked for around 70 miles feeling great, no bad patches but when I hit the wall, I hit it hard. There is only one word to describe how I felt after my second attempt and that was Gutted, I had really wanted to finish. I spent the following 12 months thinking of little else apart from completing the full 85 Miles.

I learnt in 2008 that if my support were to see me struggling, under no circumstances should they stop the car, let alone get out of it leaving doors opened or unlocked, so for my 2009 attempt I prepped my support that if I looked like I wanted to stop they were to drive on a mile and see how I felt then.
124 days to go

A week of celebrations

We had lots of celebrations with Lee’s Birthday and my 50th parkrun!

This week saw my earliest ever training walk on Tuesday, Lee and I set off at 5.20am to get 10 miles in before breakfast. Neither of us are morning people so it was a very quiet walk I don’t think we even spoke a word to each other till the half way point. This could of have been a bonus for Lee having a bit of peace and quiet. Overall I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, but I was definitely glad I got it done.

Wednesday was long run day! It was also the coldest night of the year so far. 16 miles I set off from Douglas and Craig set off from Onchan, we met somewhere in the middle. It was really cold out, I had forgotten my gloves and energy gels, I thought I would be fine but I was wrong, just after we met Kathy at the 7 mile mark I started flagging she said she could tell I wasn’t right as I wasn’t talking. At around the same time Craig had started suffering with stomach problems, which he said was from the gels. Craig had a spare energy gel that he wasn’t using so he kindly let me have it, within a few minutes, of taking it I felt great! And carried on happily. At around 10 miles the temperature seemed to drop again, I asked Kathy if it was possible for my fingers to drop off in the cold, she laughed and said she often wondered this about her ears. Thankfully none of my fingers did actually fall off and I survived the distance in a good pace, but I learnt I need to refuel better on these longer ones.

Saturday saw me and Kathy run our 50th parkrun, it was lovely we had cakes and prosecco at the finish line. I was very proud that my eldest daughter Caitlin ran with us on her first ever parkrun. Kathy and I met at the first parkrun practice run so it was great that we hit the milestone together.

Sunday nights have become our main group walk night, Liz had chosen the distance of 16 Miles. We were lucky with the weather, that was until 13 miles, when I said “we have been so lucky with the weather today” and it pretty much turned immediately to the wind in our faces and rain belting down on us. It could have been worse and reminded me of the parish walk I 2008 (I think) when it rained pretty much the whole day.

138 days to go..