I also received my acceptance info pack in the post from 'Walk the Walk' yesterday, so this seemed like a suitable time to write my first blog entry, now I am an official marathon-walker-to-be!
So here's what you need to know about me:
The Hare's Vital Statistics:
I'm 25; have very long hair; love ALL things chocolate very much; love animals (thank God because my mother owns 30 of the damned things!); love chocolate; love music, gigs and festivals; love chocolate; love nature/the countryside; love chocolate; love shoes; hate mushrooms & coconut; love chocolate; hate kids; love flirting; love the sun; love chocolate; hate not having any money ...oh, and did I mention I quite like chocolate?
I did a degree in Philosophy, then thought 'what the hell do I do with my life?' (oh the irony!) so I became a secondary school teacher. I'm now in my 3rd year of teaching, and while it scares me every day, and I regularly think to myself "why?"... but despite my hatred of small human beings and the British educational system, I LOVE IT! No 2 days are the same: something bad always happens, something weird always happens, and something funny always happens. Although, I have wondered if I might be some sort of masochist, as I'm always mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted; by comparison the Moon Walk should be a breeze!
So why am I doing this marathon you ask? I ask myself the very same question. Well, exercise is NOT my friend, running is NOT a word in my dictionary. But I love the countryside, and love walking! Although I'll be honest - I have lived in East Anglia all my life, where the land is either totally flat or gently undulating. Walking up a flight of stairs is hard work; the thought of walking up proper hills scares me. Does Edinburgh have many of those...?
On the plus side, I did Duke of Edinburgh at school (yes, Justine did rope me into that as well - noticing a theme yet?) and I loved it! Don't get me wrong, that week was hell, and I think everyone cried at some point, but the experience formed some of the best memories of secondary school. It was also on returning from that I was my lightest weight of 8 stone 3 pounds. FACT: You must never ask a lady her weight, but lets just say I'm not quite that small now, and my mission is to return to that weight by the end of this Moon Walk! It's also been 2 years since I last had a boyfriend, and yes lads, I am on the look out! So I'm hoping that this will be motivation enough for me to crawl my way around Edinburgh.
Training so far:
1. CARDIO: I moved to Cambridge in January, and I have been going to aerobics 'Jazzercise' once a week most weeks. (Since signing up to Moon Walk I have made it every week.)
2. LITTLE & OFTEN: I walk to and from school each day - a mile in each direction.
(This is a good start me thinks: a bit of gentle exercise to keep me toned up and not totally out of practice...)
3. MOMENTS OF INSANITY: Last weekend I went out Friday night, got drunk, then got woken up 7.30am. On Saturday night I went out again, got even more drunk, got woken up again at.7.30 am. Now a normal person at 7.30 am on Sunday morning after a weekend of much alcohol & little sleep may well think "Groan. Must sleep more....zzzzzzz....." But I thought "wow, this is such a glorious day! The sun is shining, I'm wide awake, nothing to do today... I know, lets go for a walk!" So I got myself ready, headed down the stairs to find a map to find my housemate was planning on going for a run...
So together we plan a route around Cambridge (literally a big circle!) and set off in the sunshine. 4 hours later, we stumble home, legs aching (in a good 'wow I feel toned' way, not in a 'my body is broken' way!) and ate chocolate cake! We found a great website www.gmap-pedometer.com on which you can trace your route work work out distance and calories burnt. We had walked just short of 10 miles, and burnt c.1000 calories! WOOP WOOP!!!!!
I was absolutely buzzing for the rest of the day. It's great to know that with 13 weeks before the big event, I can already comfortably walk 10 miles with a hangover and little food inside me.
Training plan from now on:
1. CARDIO: go to aerobics once a week without fail.
2. LITTLE & OFTEN: walk to & from school each day. Walk somewhere on Saturday & Sunday.
3. THE BIG PUSH: go for a longer walk each weekend of at least 5 miles, but throw in the occasional 10-miler ever few weeks.
4. TEAM TRAINING: meet with Justine 3 times for a 10/15/20mile practice. One of these will be a walking weekend on Snowdonia!
Even writing about it I feel excited, this is going to be a mission, sure, but I feel confident we can do it. I just hope I can keep up this will power, as it's so unlike me! The only way to encourage me is to sponsor me and Justine LOADS of money, so watch this space for our online sponsorship page.
I'm going to sign off now - it's Sunday, and the plan is to drag my sister out for a 5 mile walk!! mwahahahahaaaaaa....
Jess
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