AND THE JOURNEY BEGINS AGAIN!

Well, the Parish Walk 2020 entries have opened this morning and I have signed up. The commitment has been made and it’s time to begin the hard work once again.

I have been asked to produce a blog of the “journey” through the year to the Parish Walk. I am not sure whether anyone will find it interesting or whether they will even bother reading it but I am sure it will help me in keeping focused on the goal of finishing the gruelling 85 miles again.

My plan is to start off with some background as to where I have come from to get to this point. The entries going forward will be some updates about my training and what I am up to but also I want to include a topic in most entries regarding my thoughts and how I approach various elements of walking. If someone can take one little snippet from one of the blog entries that helps them then that would be great. I am in no way an expert in long distance walking but I have tried various things over the years and made plenty of mistakes - some caused blisters, some made me physically sick and one in particular nearly made me pass out!

My name is Paul Sayle. I am 40 years old and I live in Laxey with my wife and 5 year old son.

My first attempt at the Parish Walk was in 2010 I think. I started the walk with the idea of finishing but I was sorely disappointed when I stopped in Peel. Despite what I thought was plenty of training, I was shocked at what a monumental task walking 85 miles in 24 hours is. Wrong shoes, wrong socks, wrong fitness and wrong mental attitude all defeated me on that first attempt.

In 2011 I tried again and this time, in my infinite wisdom, I gave blood on the Wednesday before the walk. Well who knew that you need all of the red stuff to help with energy! This time I only managed to reach Patrick and how I did that I will never know. I was virtually passed out and stumbling around on and off the pavements through Glen Maye.

Fast forward through 2012 (stopped at Jurby), 2013 (stopped at Maughold) and into 2014 when I finally managed to finish the course for the first time in 22 hours 22 minutes. It did take 5 years of trial, error, experience and mental preparation for me to be able to finish. Nothing would have stopped me from finishing that year and I was stubborn beyond belief. Falling asleep whilst walking, sickness and general discomfort were not going to stop me.

Our son then came along and I had all manner of excuses not to try the Parish again. I piled on weight but just ambled to Peel for the next few years.

Then in July 2017 I had a “lightbulb moment”. I decided that I wanted to prove that my 2014 finish was not a one-off. I decided that I needed to try and sort out the issue of persistent sickness on long walks and I contacted Angela Clucas at Next Level Nutrition for some advice.

Angela was great during our initial meeting and subtly managed to get the subject round to weight loss. She managed to get me to suggest that I should lose weight when trying to finish the walk again.

That started a year of hard work. Following a strict nutrition plan and taking my training really seriously for the first time. Angela helped me to understand that the protein intake is the key to my training rather than piling in the carbs for energy. She explained that the protein builds, strengthens and repairs muscles which all help when you are punishing yourself in endurance sport.

By the start of the Parish 2018 I had lost 30kg and I was feeling ready to have a real go.

I can honestly say that without the help and support of Angela with my nutrition I would not have achieved anything near to the success that I have seen. She really has been fantastic.

In no way was that year’s walk easy - the Parish can never be easy. However, not lugging the equivalent of 30 bags of sugar up Ballakillowey and the Sloc made a hell of a difference. Oh and the sickness seemed to clear up as well. The level of effort that I had to put into the early part of the race was reduced which left so much in the tank for later in the day.

The end result was that I finished in 18th place in a time of 18 hours and 14mins. I was astonished and even more so when I found that I had won the most improved finisher award.

I continued to train and follow the nutrition advice through 2018 and 2019. I decided that in the year of my 40th birthday that I would have a crack at both the Parish and the 100 Mile walk in Castletown in August of the same year.

Until 2018 I did not know that there were bronze, silver and gold awards for the Parish. I had a bronze award for 2014 and a silver for 2018. I wanted the set now, so gold was the 2019 target. That meant a finish in under 18 hours.

Another 10kg in weight lost and I managed to finish 4th in both the Parish and the 100 Mile. The main objective was also achieved - the gold award. I had taken another 1 hour and 21 mins off my time - a finishing time of 16 hours and 53 mins. I was blown away.

I suppose the main thing that I want to highlight is that with commitment and effort anything is possible. This former fat bloke is proof of that.

I will try and give some insights into what I get up to and what methods I use. I am currently doing my long walks at 4am over the weekends so that I do not impact my family life too much. Our son would really not notice that I train as he is just waking up when I get home. I realise that this regime is not for everyone but it works for me currently so that I get as much family time over the weekend as possible. Early to bed is not an issue for me after a full day of chasing a 5 year old!

So here we are again. The process starts, the miles begin to rack up, the trainers begin to wear out and the prospect of the cold, dark and wet training walks through December, January and February (and March, April, May and June) looms. 

The main thing that I would say is that if you are looking to finish the Parish in 2020 then it is never too early to start the training. Preparation is key and the more miles on the legs and feet, I find anyway, the better.

I hope that you find my musings of interest going forward and I am always interested in getting feedback as to what people want to read and know about.

The next “thrilling” instalment will hopefully come in a few weeks time when Christmas will be upon us and the prospect of too much food and general over indulgence should be motivation to get the trainers on and get pounding the roads.