Wow, so it’s been more than 4 years since my last post, huh?!
Why haven’t I posted in such a long time?
What have I been doing in the past 4 years?
Why start again now?!
Well, I guess I’ll try and answer those questions as best I can.
Why Haven’t I posted in such a long time?
Well, the easy answer is that I’ve been all kinds of busy, and hiking has fallen a little to the wayside. It’s not that I haven’t done any at all, more that it’s been infrequent at best. Similarly, although the love of nature and wildlife has not (and I don’t think ever could!) waned at all, the time I’ve been able to dedicate to it has taken a bit of a beating. I guess that leads us to…
What have I been doing in the past 4 years?
The short answer to this one is – Getting fitter. I’d say getting fit, but I still don’t think I’m all the way there.
In 2017, I completed my first Triathlon. It was the London Triathlon, and it was an unmitigated disaster. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong!
To sum the story up…
at the start of the swim, I got kicked in the face, which resulted in me having a panic attack (first mass participation swim and all that!). I clung onto one of the safety kayaks for dear life until I managed to sort myself out… by which time I was way behind the pack. In fact, by the time I was finishing the swim, I was being overtaken by the faster swimmers on the next wave. That’s actually a bit of a good thing, as it gave me a little confidence for future.
When I finally got out of the water and onto the bike, everything seemed to be getting back into place. As I was nearing the end of the first (of 2) laps, I caught up with my partner, Natasha, who had the incredible bad luck of getting a double puncture. I figured my race was ruined, so I might as well keep her company and walk her back to the transition area before going off on my second lap. As we’re walking along, all of a sudden… WALLOP! as a girl cycles into the back of me (she was kinda forced that way by a couple of assholes who forget what it’s like to be a newbie). She ends up on the deck, and I’m stood there in total bewilderment. I helped her get her bike back into shape (her saddle had rotated 90 degrees with the force of the impact) and then decided the best thing for me to do was get back on my bike and get this done. Surprisingly, the second lap of the bike course was uneventful!
Then came the run… it started so well. I was feeling quite fresh (not surprisingly, as I’d not done anywhere near as much as I’d expected), but as I came out of the Excel and down the slope, my calves decided that it would be good to cramp up and go into a little bot of spasm. I managed to fight through that, but it did mean that the run ended up being a bit of a run/walk .
So… I expected to complete the Sprint triathlon in about 1hr 45 mins… i ended up doing it in 2hrs 15 mins or thereabout. In a weird way, I’m still quite happy with it. I could easily have quit, and I doubt anyone would blame me for it, either, but I managed to finish it, despite the obstacles!
What else have I done?
I’ve now completed 2 half marathons (Great Scottish Run – 2hrs 30 mins, Great North Run – 2hrs 45 mins). Neither results are particularly impressive, and on both occasions I know I could have done better. I just didn’t put enough training in.
I did the Tour de Yorkshire Ride in 2016 with a friend Stephen. That nearly killed me, as I’d done little to no training for it!
I’ve completed multiple 5km, 10km and 10 mile runs, too (5km PB of 28:40, 10km PB of 1hr 2mins). My times ain’t brilliant, but I’m happy enough that my fitness levels have improved.
I’ve also been spending a fair bit of time supporting Natasha at a variety of races and events that she’s participated in, which has let me visit some amazing places and give me plenty of inspiration for the future. Seeing the Dorset coast when she was doing Ironman 70.3 Weymouth was amazing, as was the visit to Tenby in Wales for the Long Course Weekend. We both loved the Keswick Mountain Festival, too and are going back again this year.
So…
Why start again now?
Over the past 4 years, to fund some of the cool things I’ve been doing, necessity has dictated that I sell some of my gear… so I no longer have some of the cool and expensive backpacking items, like the Scarp 1 tent, the Clikstand stove or the Mountain Equipment Supercell jacket. I’ve had to look for cheap replacements of these, so I’ll be revisiting my previous Backpacking on a Budget post for 2019, as there’s a whole lot more out there in terms of cheap options!
As Natasha has moved to England to study for the next 3 years, I find that I’m now free at the weekends when I wasn’t before. We manage to see each other once a month, but the other 3 weeks I kinda need to find something to help keep the fitness levels up and stop the boredom of modern life. As such, I’ll be hiking and backpacking again!
I’ve already got my first trip planned. in fact, when this post is published (I actually wrote it back in February, but decided to hold off on publishing until now), I’ll be making my final preparations for hiking the Great Glen Way. I’ll be doing that over 4 days from Monday 22nd April.
I’m really looking forward to getting back out on the hills and getting some backpacking in… and this time, It’ll be done on a budget all the way. I’ll be using existing gear where possible, but if I do make any purchases, it’ll be based on value for money, rather than weight, brand, etc… this time I truly will be backpacking on a budget.
Walking in the Wilds of Scotland 