Last Thursday I had planned to get out for a walk, but got stuck at work, so when I got home I thought a run round Douglas was the next best thing. I set off from Bray Hill and within a few hundred yards it started spitting and I bumped into Vinny, who said "rather you than me", but it didn't look like the rain would get too bad. I headed down to the promenade, past the Sea Terminal and along Peel Road. By the time I reached Waltons the rain was getting considerably heavier, but rather than take a right turn at the Quarterbridge, I decided it was ok and continued on to Braddan Bridge and up towards Braddan School. At this point the heavens really opened, the rain was bouncing off the road and getting home was the priority, as I didn't want to get a chill. Running by the Test Centre the road had turned into a river and a work colleague of mine drove past, flashed his lights and gave me a wave. All very nice, but a lift would have been the best idea!
On Saturday we met up at 7am for a 10 miler round Baldwin, which was my last walk before the Parish. Last year on the Saturday before the Parish Walk we did the same route and it was probably the slowest 10 miles I had walked round Baldwin. This time around Vinny and Michael didn't have the same idea, so whilst Dave W and I strolled round chatting they raced off on a couple of occasions. I tested the GPS tracker that will be handed out on the day and historic data can be viewed on the following site - http://parishwalk.manxtelecom.com/trainingsessions. Dave W said that on Friday he had gone on the site that you can use for live tracking on the day (http://parishwalk.manxtelecom.com/Mapping/race) and 'followed' Vinny and I, only to find out that our tracking devices had us wandering aimlessly around the back streets of Douglas all night!
On Saturday night Kyley and I were out for a meal and I couldn't resist a pint of Guinness and a glass of wine, that turned into a bottle, but it wasn't too late a night. We were out again on Sunday evening for a Father's Day meal at La Piazza and on the other side of restaurant was one of the competition - Michael George and his family. Michael was having a few beers, so being the committed athlete I stuck to the diet cokes.
Tonight was a sports massage and I'm feeling ready to go now. It's going to feel weird over the next few days not training and trying to keep busy, whilst trying not to constantly think about the walk. This is when you have to stop irrational thoughts creeping into your head; such as:
- Have I done enough training? It's too late to anything about it now!
- Have I got the right kit? Don't wear any new clothes or trainers now. If you haven't tried the item out in training then don't use it on the day.
- Trying out new food and drinks on the day. As per the previous point if you haven't tried it in training then don't bother.
- Listening to other people's plans and changing yours because it worked for them. Stick to what you know at this late stage.
- Walk your own race to Peel. Don't get too carried away the start and get dragged along far quicker than you expected. With the great atmosphere and support early on it is very easy to set off at a fast pace and when it gets a bit quieter later on, you run out of energy and motivation. It's easier to set off slowly and then pick up the speed after Peel, if you are feeling good. If you have been by yourself the second half of the race is good to find someone to walk with, who is going a similar pace and you can encourage each other.
- Plan your approach with your support driver and make sure they keep you hydrated and fed on a regular basis. They are also there to keep you focused and to drive off if you have any thoughts about packing in and trying to get into the car!
Saturday 23 June 2012
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South west
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