Playtex Village
In the Village
What a fabulous evening! Rosie cooked a high protein tea at 5pm, then we caught the train up to London. From boarding the train at Andover, the sea of pink (full mooners) and white hats (half mooners) increased at every station. By the time we got the tube to Hyde Park Corner, all you could see were MoonWalkers. Luckily we arrived at the ‘right’ entrance and joined an ever growing queue to enter Playtex City. The queue moved in a steadily, but organised fashion taking us nearer & nearer the Pink tent! It was fascinating to see what a huge effort everybody had made with their bras & decorations, there was so much to see. Once in the Walkers enclosure, we made our way into the Village, which was humming. Food was being served – a high carb organic meal with a delicious organic flapjack for pud! We deposited our bags at the very efficient bag store then queued for the loos (this was probably the longest we had to queue all night!) We had a quick warm up in the tent, then the first group were sent to the start. Fifteen thousand people were walking, racers were colour coded and started in four groups at 20 minute intervals. We had orange numbers and were in the second group to go! Lucy & I managed to get right to the front of the start line – the atmosphere was electric; when the hooter went – we were off! We started at an amazing pace of 15 minute miles, carried along by the excitement. It took us 3 miles to get out of Hyde park and into the walk proper.
- Exiting Hyde Park
We managed to keep pace quite comfortably except when we had to stop for traffic! We had lots of support from the general public and local traffic, a highlight was a passenger in a passing car, who had a selection of printed cards, as I passed he held one up “great tits!” I’m easily pleased! The route took us past St James Park, along the embankment where we crossed the river to come back past the Globe and Tate Modern. We crossed the river a further 3 times along the embankment, through Battersea park, past Knightsbridge & Harrods for some window shopping, with the dawn chorus at 3.45am! Back along Chelsea embankment, where we passed walkers going in the other direction, initially we thought these walkers were ahead of us, then realised they were at the 13 mile mark on the way out; we were at the 20 mile mark, well on the way home – phew! From here it was a quick 5 miles back through St James Park and into Hyde park for a very long last mile back to the finish. Lucy and I had kept up the four mile an hour pace, without a loo stop to complete the 26.2 miles in 6.5 hours, we were very chuffed with this achievement. We refreshed ourselves, grabbed a hot drink & a bacon sandwich, then sat ourselves in the sun, on our foil blankets to cheer Rosie & Paula home. They joined us a short time later. It was quite emotional to cross the line, shattered but very happy with what we had all achieved. Katie (Sticky Kt, with the neat sewing, who had decorated my bra!) met us at the finish, and kindly drove Paula & me to Waterloo. The younger girls (Lucy & Rosie were staying up in London to dance the evening away at a Michael Buble concert!).
The MoonWalk was a brilliantly organised event, with a huge number of volunteers, that kept us motivated along the route, handing us water, feeding us fruit & providing sweeties; they frequently went the extra mile and encouraged you by name. (Most walkers had these written on their chests!) It is a fabulous event to participate in that raises millions of pounds for breast cancer charities. If you are looking for a challenge – get involved with this one!
Charlie and the Blues
My song of the moment is The Climb by Miley Cyrus. It’s keeping me focused! My immediate support networks (husband & parents) have abandoned me for 7-10 days, and I am getting a little frustrated about the amount of time I can give this project, which obviously has to be fitted around the kids and Simply Stuck but to quote my song ” I got to be strong. Just keep pushing on” even if it is with tiny footsteps for a few weeks! Hence the slight delay with this post.
The training is going well, Charlie and I are up with the birds, enjoying some very early morning starts (circumstances explained!) Which mean that we are frequently up at 5.30am… Still we often get the best of the weather and see a lot more of the local wildlife. The blue bells really are out in full splendor. I walk past this bit of hedge row quite frequently, and was blown away by the fragrance from this mass of blue.
I have now walked over 600 miles since the end of January and my average weekly mileage is up from 40 to 45 miles; I should get this to nearer 70 miles/week by the end of June.
I have now found someone who is prepared to help me with some personal training, building up strength in my hips and shoulders. Tommy Gentleman, has recently started his own fitness business and he is going to put me through my paces. I have mixed feelings about this. I know it will provide huge benefit, but it is going to really hurt when I first start…
It is the MoonWalk this Saturday (15th May).
- MoonWalk Bra – Stage 1
A 26 mile walk through the night in the centre of London in my bra! Katie (Simply Stuck Kt) has taken on responsibility for decorating my bra (Kt is very creative and can sew much neater than me!!) All walkers have been supplied with a white Wonder Bra! As you can see mine is now pink with spotty straps and ‘glass’ icicles. Lights have now been fitted & there are a few final decorations to add for finishing touches. More pictures after the weekend!
The Climb – Other suggestions for music to keep me on track would be very welcome!
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