Thwarted by the Tea Rooms

Day 46. Today was a struggle after all the mince pies, turkey and general Christmas over indulgence. Clearly the occasional bout of charades is insufficient to keep active over the festive season, so today Andrea and I took our usual Bradford/Avoncliffe/Turleigh route. It was a struggle towards the end as Hartley Farm was closed so the usual refreshments weren't available at the top of the hill, and when we went to our emergency tea room in Bradford, we were turned away as they were expecting a large party and could we come back in an hour? We were thwarted at every turn like the Thunderbirds by The Hood. As I said on day 26 (?), someone needs to open a café in Turleigh. They are failing in their public duty to provide tea and cake to to the occasional passer-by.

Walking Backwards for Christmas

Day 45. You may think I haven't been out for a walk for 23 days. Blimey, I didn't realise it was 3 weeks since I last got on here until I counted back. Trust me, I have walked. I have the mud soaked boots and the worn out blister plasters to prove it.

But its been the run up to Christmas so I've been a bit busy to get onto the laptop. But now all the cards have been chosen, written, posted and displayed; the presents have been bought, wrapped, delivered and opened; the food has been deliberated over, bought, prepared and eaten; and the house has been cleaned, cleaned, cleaned and dirtied. Its been a hectic few weeks but it was well worth it as we had a wonderful day with the family.

So back to the training programme. I know its traditional to go for a walk on Boxing Day, but we will procrastinate until tomorrow. After all, its been dry for a few days so we need to ensure those paths have had the chance to get muddy and slippery again with today's rainfall...

A picture may follow soon of me on my latest acquisition to prepare for this walk: a gym ball to tone up those infamous core muscles. So far its been a useful seat in a house full of family, and a prop for charades. Who knows what it will used for next? Exercise? Surely not!

In the Dark

Day 22. Did the 40 mins round the block again, through the picturesque trading estate.  Hadn’t realise how dark it was, so by wearing black trousers and dark brown coat I was well camouflaged from those walking and cycling home from work. I need to put ‘torch’ on my Christmas wish list! 

                                                    Me walking in the dark

Into the Morning Mists

DAY 19  Went out early today for a 40 min walk. Maybe 9am on a Sunday isn’t early for some enthusiasts, but it was pretty quiet out there. And such a beautiful morning with Keats mists. Passed 3 dog walkers and forced a good morning from each of them. Well it was more of a guffaw from one as I commented on his bitch (female dog, not female companion).

 So 40 mins was a pretty easy walk. The plan requires 2 of them this week, and then a 7 mile walk at the weekend. So far so good.

Well, maybe this isn't quite the view I had. The mists were covering up the view of the train track and the industrial estate, but as visibility was pretty poor, it could have been like this underneath.

One Small Library...

DAY 18 Time for another 'long' walk, so Andrea and I did the Avoncliffe/Turleigh route again. Although we didn't have any personal encounters with electric fences or raging bulls today, we also failed to encounter a toasted tea cake at the Avoncliffe cafe. I was mortified. The café was closed with a sign saying that they had a leak! Don’t they realise how important it is for us to keep up our energy while walking? To say nothing of the  effect on our morale?

So we soldiered on to Turleigh. There’s no café there (why not? They’d have sold 2 teas this morning. Clearly missing out on a profitable business…). However there is a library! And a very cute dog.

 

One small joke

DAY 16 of the amazing training plan! So Connor came with me again for another midweek walk, a slightly longer one of 30 mins. You see, you have to build up gradually, and I am certainly doing this gradually! Not much can happen on a suburban walk around the block, however, we walked past a bus stop which prompted this hilarious joke from Connor: What's the difference between a dirty bus stop, and a lobster with breast implants? One is a crusty bus station, and the other is a busty crustacean!

To avoid further bad jokes, please donate to ME Research UK or to Katharine Cheston's Just Giving page!

Four small rests!

DAY 14. The training programme suggests 2 midweek walks, so I dragged Connor out with me again to walk around block. That’s not really true, I’m the one lagging behind because Connor walks at a casual stroll while I am practically jogging to keep up with him. He may be my son, but he is at least a foot taller than me. It was a busy week, so only managed one midweek walk. The programme is crumbling already and I’m only 2 weeks in to the 18 week plan. Whoops.

On the other hand, I did go salsa dancing and do some yoga poses, and the programme says it’s important to have rest days too. So I’ve had 4 weeks’ worth of rest days this week. It’s good to get ahead of some things!