Mud glorious mud!!

The pace was upped this week on the Moonwalk training and it's amazing how much difference an extra two miles makes. That's not the whole story though........

The last training walk was mainly on pavement and on the flat so as well as increasing the miles, it was time to introduce some hills and rougher terrain. Although the Moonwalk itself is pavement, I firmly believe that variety is important and as a good day was forecast I choose to take the girls on one of my favourite walks through Epping Forest.

I bless the fact that I live so close to this forest on a regular basis, it's just such a wonderful place to walk. It's also where much of the training for the Breakthrough Walk took place that I know it really well.

We started at 9.30 from Leytonstone Tube Station and headed off towards the Flats. Here they are still wrapped up but striding out on the first leg of the walk. As we walked, Teresa was texting from her home base, sad to be caught up in a conference. We exchanged some fun comments with me reading them out as we walked.

Just look at that blue sky.

The theme of the day was mud and the photos really tell the stories without much need for explanation from me. Our first taste was near here and then it was everywhere. Got to say though it didn't deter us in the least!!

There are many bridleways in the forest and numerous people mountain bike there too so the ground gets well churned up. Sometimes, as in this picture the mud was right across the path and once you choose your route you just had to keep going.

Below, Gill has to use her arms for balance to keep her upright - what a laugh we all had.

....and more mud.....

There were signs of spring around too. Here Cajsa's holding up the branch to show the numerous buds.

We also saw Pussy Willows and the temperature reached about 13 degrees with a blue sky overhead most of the time.

The girls had to work hard - here they are in the mid part of the walk where the forest is very undulating and where what goes down, must go up again.

Great for the buttocks as I kept reminding them. I can see a few smiles there.

And now very near the end, only about a mile to go and a very handy tree to hug or lean against.

We made it to Epping at 3.00 where we treated ourselves to a well earned lunch and pastry!!

Layered dressing

In the last few months we've had just about everything the weather can throw at us and even though it's been milder here and even the sun has appeared, who knows what's still to come. So how can walking remain a pleasure while the weather changes regularly? Solution - get into layered dressing and then you can take off/put on and always be dry and comfortable.


So what to wear? A light layer close to your skin, then a long sleeved top and finally a fleece. If very cold, a light fleece under the main one. If raining or very windy, a cagoul/waterproof instead of the fleece will keep the weather out. Hat, gloves, and scarf keep your extremities warm which make all the difference.

As you can see from the photo, gloves are in use and a hat and as it's an early part of the walk, jackets are still done up.

You don't need to have all the top gear at once, in fact in the wardrobe and drawers you probably have all you need. However, if you're going to get into walking seriously though, it's worth building up the gear bit by bit.

Go shopping at sale times and get yourself a bargain, hunt through the sports clothing at TK Maxx. I got all my summer walk tops there and a fleece or two and one of my walking group got a fabulous light but very warm North Face jacket there for less than half the price and she's really got her money's worth this winter.

Here are four of us in Peru? This photo was taken at the highest spot so there had been a fair amount of energy used and people were feeling warm, hence the fleeces tied round the waists. Hats on due to the sun and I'm wearing shorts and Teresa has cropped trousers on. Both these are actually parts of full length trousers, we've just zipped off bits as the day warmed up. For a walk/trek somewhere like Peru these trousers are ideal as the day starts off cold and warms up so you want to be able to make changes to what you're wearing.

When I first started developing my kit, there were very few specialist women's walking wear, now it abounds and the materials get lighter and lighter but warmer and more efficient all the time. There's so much choice.

Your boots or walking shoes are the things that you do have to go to a specialist shop for especially at the beginning. It's vital to get the right ones. Later when you know what suits you can grab a bargain.

Elaine & Gill Mid-Life Crisis!!!!

I asked a couple of the ladies who I am training for the Moonwalk, how they felt things were going for them and whether the training was helping. I was so humbled when I received this.

"We felt that we had reached the time in our lives where we needed a challenge. Nothing so simple as a half marathon walk, no, we decided to go for the big one - 26miles to be exact. The Moonwalk!

We contacted Heather who undertook the task of training us both (still don't know if she is regretting it!). All jokes aside, we have had the experience of our lives.

Like most people, we thought that doing 26 miles was going to be easy and we would not have to do any training - how wrong we were. The training started gradually and is now more intense as the walk approaches, and Heather has given us so much information, help and advice on how to approach a walk of this length. Without this we would not be at the standard we are at present.

We have meet some fantastic ladies from the EEG (East End Girls) who made Gill and I feel very welcome from the first day we meet them, and we walk with this group every month which also helps with the training.

We are looking forward to the Moonwalk now and who knows, this year London next year New York!!!!

We would recommend anyone who wants to achieve a goal like Gill and I to contact Heather as soon as possible, you will love every minute."

Not much else for me to say except http://www.walkerscoach.com/

Moonwalk Training steps up.

We're now on the longer walks and and the target for yesterday was 10-12 miles. Cannot throw Gill and Elaine off at all, they're doing so well. Here they are with some of the other East End Girls along the Thames Path. Gill's on the left and Elaine on the right.

We set out from Mile End about 9.30 to walk down the canal and into Tower Bridge and then see what the mileage was from there.

When I plan walks, I take into consideration, the weather, the terrain needed, the fitness of the group, the getting home access points, the loos and the places to take breaks. Having fun and walking through inspiring places is important.

On this walk there's a great Italian Deli in Wapping which you came to after 50 minutes. It's become a must to visit and all the food they do is wonderful.

Leaving there you walk along the streets of Wapping where there's loads of history but where very few of the warehouses are used as such. Most are now luxury flats.

There's also a lot of new build apartments like those in the photo, as many as possible on the waterfront. I just love the Dove, great public art and fun to play around with for photographs.

Once we reached Tower Bridge we crossed over to the South Bank. There's so much to see here and so much going on. London's such a great city, not sure how people get bored, you just need to walk and people watch.

Sun had come out by now and on we walked.

What a great view of the Houses of Parliament you get from the other side of the river and what about this view from Vauxhall Bridge?

This is not a regular site you see but there's the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament again and a very high river. We decided to cross here and find some lunch as mileage was around 8 miles and we were hungry.

Great choice of cafes in Pimlico so a well earned break there and then up to Buckingham Palace, through Green Park and then a walk to Bond Street tube and home, just over 11 miles.

The only thing people had to remember was to stretch, put your legs up against the wall for 15 minutes and have a hot bath or shower. I even got home in time to watch the rugby and what a great bath after that.

No aches at all today, home everyone else is feeling the same .

The fun of snow.

Snow virtually gone from my home area in East London/Essex border but not sure about the rest of the city. It's quite nice to see the green again after a couple of days slidey, slippery slush - my least favourite part of snow. The only bit surviving is Ellie's snow man.

It was beautiful though when the whole area was covered in that mantle of white, just made me want to play and it was so good to see so many people out enjoying it.

n my way to a few meetings on Wednesday I took the route through the forest. Perhaps not the wisest move but I had time and the road looked clear.

The following photos are all taken at High Beach where I often walk myself and use as a training ground for my Charity trek walking groups. Isn't it beautiful?

Wonder what the weather will bring tomorrow, out walking with my Moonwalk ladies and those training for the Pink Ribbon walk too. There's no get out as their events will run whatever the weather and they need to be prepared.