What did you do with your Easter weekend??

So here we are , back  in the office again after the Easter break. As we ususally do on a Monday morning we all asked about our weekends and what we had filled our four days off with. For the rest of the team it was trips to the pub, breakfast with girlfriends, a rave in an old church, killer hangovers; both alcohol and chocolate induced. My weekend?? Well, if you must ask, I walked 50km. Not bad going eh? Only thing is I couldn’t put shoes on for two days afterwards! Oh and the back of my milky white legs are now a nice shade of pink. Gotta love the irish pallor!

Doesn’t stand up to my usual easter weekend celebrations which is usually centred around pub sessions and chocolate breakfasts. But it does feel much more satisfactory.

I’ll admit, I had aimed to do 75km on Friday but only did 50, something which I berated myself for most of the weekend. After 25 km, I stopped for something to eat in Hersham. I was around 14km from Woking, my initial destination, but instead of continuing I decided to return to home. What I didn’t realise was that despite my best efforts the walking and the heat had left me dehydrated. It was only when I was 5km into the return journey and I stopped to use the toilet that I noticed how sunken my eyes were. I quickly drank a reydration sachet and a bottle of powerade and within 20 minutes, my mood had lifted and I was regretting not continuing to Woking.

However 50km is my longest distance yet and not to be scoffed at so I have to look at the positive side. It also taught me some invaluable lessons which will no doubt stand to me on the day.

Pre- hydrate, hydrate, rehydrate! Not just with water either. Sports drinks are needed to replace electrolytes. I had hugely underestimated the damage that dehydration can do not just to your body but to your overall mood. It was the first time whilst out training that I came anywhere near to giving up!

Sun cream is now an essential part of my training track. It seems that if temperatures go above ten degrees then I’m at risk of cooking whilst out and about.

Now though, the battle against the blisters is on. Blister powder, different foottape and some freakin expensive socks have all been ordered this morning. Although I really enjoyed two days of watching netflix, with just over a month to go, every day counts so I can’t afford to laze around anymore. Everything in my life is now dictated by this challenge. What I do, what I eat, where I go.

I’m not sure if I’m excited about the challenge or actually getting my life back… I actually do know what I’m really excited about. A nice cold pint when I get across the finish line! Delish!!

Ouuuuch!

So I promised to share with you the highs and the lows of training for the London2Brighton challenge. This blog post is mostly filled with lows. Also if you’ve got a weak stomach/ are eating or are feeling a little queasy then step away from the computer, put down your phone. This blog post is not for you!!

This weekend saw me take on on of the longest distances of my training so far. 36km in around 5 hours. I was pretty happy with that. My feet it seems were not so delighted but battled on until I got home and took my shoes off.

I have been getting blisters a little bit so I had taped up my heels to prevent any further damage. Unfortunately this time it was my toes and the side of my foot that seemed to take the brunt of the damage. My baby toe and the joint at the base of my big toe were raw and blistered. I’d also fallen prey to what is known in the running world as ‘black toe.’ So when I took off my right shoe I was greeted by a blood soaked sock. Nice, huh? Basically this is caused by bad socks and downhill walking where the toe hits the top of your shoes.

Despite all this I felt slightly smug that my heels were unmarked. This quickly wore off the minute I untaped my feet. I realised that my previous blisters had not healed as fully as I thought and I had ripped the skin off with the foot tape. Ouch!!!!

So today I’m back in my pointy-toed, stilletto work shoes and I am feeling the burn! I can think of nothing more blissful then sticking my feet in a bucket of ice water. I might just do that this evening.. I have some huge walks planned for next weekend so I will need to get my feet back into peak condition!!

Just under six weeks to go!! Arrrrrrgh!!!

Let’s get started

I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. Better introduce myself then. My name is Anita. I’m twenty-two years old and I am one of many Paddy’s who work and reside in London. Unlike most of my peers, I didn’t leave Ireland as a last solution. I was offered a job and decided to grab the opportunity with both hands with little time for much consideration which seems to be a recurring pattern in my life. Act now, think later. However in this case it all worked out well. After spending a year and a half living in Surrey, and getting to know some of my favourite people in the world, I’ve now made the move to the big city. London baby!

But there’s one person in particular in Surrey that I need to tell you about. Sir Daniel Eley.

Ok so he hasn’t had the title of ‘sir’ bestowed on him yet but he is pretty incredible. Dan is an all-round good guy so it makes sense to me that he decided to take some time out of his life to work in Colombia with street children. However, Dan’s time in Colombia altered the rest of his life in a way that is unimaginable to us. On New Year’s Day 2010, Dan went on a diving trip in the Colombian Amazon. Dan dove into a deceptively shallow pool of water. He is now paralysed from the chest down. However this is not what is incredible about Dan.

In 2012, Dan set up the Dan Eley Foundation, this charity allows Dan to continue the work he did prior to his accident. The charity funds apprenticeship styled programs for young people in Colombia, giving them the skills to gain employment and to build a better life for themselves. The charity is 100% volunteer run and Dan is very much the driving force behind it all.

So now it’s my turn to play a part. Anyone that knows me will know that I have always been heavily involved with charity and community organisations and they will also know that I am a total sloth when it comes to physical events. However it’s time for a change and what better way than to take part in the London2Brighton Challenge. What better way to ease myself into physical exertion than a 100km run!! Oh and it’s on my 23rd birthday. Holy mother of sweet divine and sacramental baby Jesus…..what have I gotten myself in to!! *facepalm*

It’s all for a good cause though so please take a minute to make a donation by clicking on my fundraising page. https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/anitamaguire2

If I don’t cross the finish line then all monies will be returned. So it’s all about how good you think my chances of finishing are!!

If you just fancy a giggle at my expense then keep an eye on my blog and I’ll keep you up to date with my torture…or as athlete’s call it…Training!!