Anyway, I am back into the training regime now and putting the miles in ready for the Firefighters' Walk (don't forget your entries - https://www.firefightersmemorialwalk.com/).
I went on holiday with the intention of relaxing and recharging - as much as you can do when you are on a ski trip. That didn't happen!
I found that I was getting very jumpy and tetchy with not being able to train and so I ended up going for training walks each morning before breakfast. I would walk down to the local town and back up via some very obscure roads. I did get to see some of the most amazing posh hotels, chalets and lodges though. We have been to Courchevel several times before and I had no idea that these places existed. In fact, the hotel just down the road from where we stay does not use minibuses to move their guests around the resort. Instead they have a fleet of Lamborghini Urus!
The training wasn't really a hardship when you have lovely views to keep your mind occupied
The one draw back was that I had not taken any kit with me. So my training clothes were thermals, ski trousers, jacket and hiking boots. That lot coupled with the altitude made for very challenging walks.
So no rest was had and I did more than I would at home when I added a day of skiing onto the end of the training.
That said, I think that it is the best thing that I could have done. I have come back feeling fitter than before and I am sure that this is due to the altitude effects. Normally I train around Laxey at between 30ft and 450ft above sea level. On holiday I was training between 5,500ft and nearly 7,000ft!
So now it is just a case of getting back into the routine of training weeks. Following the same patterns with training and food with the hope that I stay fit and injury free - and coronavirus free!!!
I am doing some research into the theory of "proper" tapering in the run up to events now and I am looking at the advice that is out there from ultramarathon runners. That is the only event that I can see that comes close to the Parish. Marathons are a starting point but from what I can tell there is quite a big difference in the taper phases of each.
My focus is training hard and well, up to a point, but then getting the pattern of backing off and fueling right to make sure that my muscles are properly rested and full of good glycogen on that Saturday morning.
I think the best way to describe the current phase is the "boring phase". Each week follows the same pattern and it is just a case of getting on with it.
One thing that I do want to highlight is that everyone has a "bad" training session once in a while. I had a dreadful session last Sunday where I felt tired, empty, sore and every bit of me wanted to stop after just one mile.
I walked the following Tuesday and felt a million times better and was back to full speed and feeling refreshed.
Do not get down hearted as there are many factors that can cause you to have a bad session every now and then. These things happen. Draw a line under it and move on to the next session. It is just a temporary blip and you should never let it get you down.
Also, I come back to the weather again. It has been pretty awful recently but do not let that stop the training. Just get the sessions done, dry the kit and trainers out and keep going! You will really appreciate the effort that you put in during the winter if it ends up being a wet and cold day come 20 June.
I have been reading the other blogs this year from Lorna and Lesley. It goes to show just how different each person is when it comes to walking.
I am the complete opposite of Lorna in many ways, aside from the obvious being a 14 stone bloke!
I have invested in some kit for my walking. I have covered a bit of this before but I thought that I would go through the complete kit in case anyone can pick up some new ideas.
I use Under Armour clothing mostly as I found that cheaper alternatives end up rubbing, do not fit me as well and are simply not as comfortable.
My main outlay is on trainers. Chris at Up and Running put me on to Brooks Glycerin when I first started looking to seriously try and finish the Parish. They were like putting on a pair of soft slippers from the off but they are not cheap!
They work a treat though. They are reasonably hard wearing and have great cushioning. I always have 3 pairs on the go usually, to allow a couple of pairs to be drying out from the rain at any one time.
When the tread gets a bit low and they have taken a battering then they are retired to become gym trainers. This is much to Madeleine's annoyance as we always seem to have an abundance of old trainers knocking about in the house.
My socks are always Hilly Twin Skins. I have tried other brands and types but none work for me as well as the Hillys.
I never vaseline or chamois cream my feet or trainers. Wet and slimy feet are my enemy! I know it works for lots of people but zinc oxide taping is the thing for me.
I have put the work into developing delightful hobbit feet that are full of hard and crusty bits. It has been several years of intensive neglect to get them in this state and no podiatrist is allowed anywhere near them with a pumice stone or industrial sander!
I wear gloves for every walk - rain, shine, hot, cold. I have found that they help the circulation in my hands so that they do not swell too much. They also have the benefit of allowing you to put more chamois cream on with your hands but then the gloves allow you to still eat without worrying about getting any cream on your food.
I take spares of everything in the car. I take far far too much. I usually only end up changing my tops on the Parish at the time when I put my head torch on. However one day I am sure that I will need to call on some spare clothes and so they will keep coming out of the drawer and going back into the drawer each time.
Finally, my biggest single outlay was my GPS watch. I invested in a Garmin Fenix 5 last year and it has been brilliant. I found previous watches would not last the distance for the Parish or the 100 mile. This does, so long as you turn the heart rate monitor off. In fact, it lasted for the whole of the Parish and then most of the following day. This meant that I had accurate times and averages right through the walk, rather than swapping watches and trying to work out where I was up to as in previous years.
I think that the key message to take away is to try everything out and try a variety of clothes, socks and feet treatments well before the day so that you can be comfortable of what will work for you. Do not turn up to the start line with a new theory or brand new base layer that could cause you problems.
I hope that this gives some people a few new ideas to try.
I think that my next entry will be about one of the most important elements of walking long distances - your support team!
Until the next post, here's to lighter mornings and evenings and hopefully some improved weather.
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