2011- The year of achievement!

Wow, what a year this has been. At the start of the year my goal was to make sure turning 30 wasn’t the end of the world, and I think I succeeded by achieving more this year than most years. 

The year started off well on the 1^st January with a good walk, followed by hot chocolate at a little country pub then home to have Champagne in front of the fire… 3 days later we hit the Pyrenean ski slopes in Cauterets for a snowboarding weekend. Ok the snow wasn’t great, in fact it rained, the slopes were reached by a long and rather windy gondola ride and the entire trip lasted 3 nights- 2 of which were on a sleeper coach, so tiredness was ever present- but the chance to snowboard with only 1 day off work definitely made it worth while. Thank you Geoff and Jersey Ski Weekends!

Following our ski trip it was on with the walking boots and hitting the cliff paths to start our training for the ITEX walk. Another of my New Year resolutions was to attempt this 48.1 miles walk around the coast of Jersey. Many people fail in their first attempt and I had never done anything like it before. Ben was fairly confident, he has taken part in cycle races and of course the 2010 Deloitte Ride Across Britain so knew how the body is so more capable than the mind.

Our training went well ( for a very funny training plan readour friend Keith’s experience of attempting and training for the walk) until my knees, which I have suffered with for a while finally decided it was time for a trip back to the doctors. Bad news, I needed an operation, but the good news was I couldn’t do too much more damage in the short term so it was back on with the training- and lots of physio and painkillers!

The highlight of the year though for both of us had to be our trip to Finland with Exodus. For 2 people who love snow and outdoor adventure, Finland – and in Particular Basecamp Oulanka – was just perfect. I could write reams here about our trip, but having already done that read our blog pages here. The husky sledding though is something that will stay with me forever. 

Back from Finland, it was on with the training again for the big day in June. Nerves didn’t even begin to explain how I felt the morning of the walk. I was so determined to finish yet I knew the chance of me finishing was low on my first attempt. I also had the fear that Ben was going to leave me on my own. We had agreed that if we hadn’t reached Grosnez by 2pm Ben was heading off alone as he knew he had it in him to finish. Suffice to say that sheer determination and a lot of encouragement from Ben dragged me round in a hideously long 18 hours and 46 minutes. Here’s the full, painful account. 

A quick recovery was needed after the ITEX before it was time for me to turn 30 and for us to hit Scotland and the West Highland Way. Yet another achievement on that holiday, we summited our first mountain together- Ben Nevis in a very respectable 6 hours 40 up and down. We were extremely lucky with the weather and our waterproofs and woolly gloves thankfully stayed in the rucksack while we plastered on the factor 20! 

Back from Scotland and it was time for me to spend several weeks on the sofa and hobbling around after knee surgery. A frustrating time, but I did find lots of exciting challenges for the future and read lots of inspirational stories to keep me motivated and soon I was back on my feet and at Hot Yoga. This is something else that 2011 has given me: Hot Yoga and Ashtanga Yoga, both a great work out for the body and for the mind. 

Our final challenges of the year have been the ChristmasTrio Challenge, the walk and run were not really putting us too much out of our comfort zone, but were extremely good fun. The Christmas Day swim however was yet another great achievement, for me anyway, for Ben getting in the water in the freezing cold was just another walk in the park!

So that’s our 2011 round up. We may not have scaled the highest mountain or trekked the most remote path, but I personally have realised one big important thing- the human body is tougher and more capable than the human mind thinks. We trained hard for the ITEX and I knew physically I was in the best shape I had been in for while yet the mind kept telling me it was impossible.

So with that lesson learned it’s onto 2012. We have a big project in the planning, but that will have to stay under wraps for a while longer. In the meantime Ben is heading off to South Africa for a family visit in January, whilst I spend a few days with my parents taking them climbing and to yoga. In March we hope to spend another week up in Scotland, hopefully with some time on the snow. 

In terms of challenges, we have the Run for All Leeds half marathon to train for in May, the ITEX will be attempted again I’m sure, we are aiming for 15 hours or less this time round and I have my eye on the Scotland Coast to Coast in September… I just need to learn to mountain bike- or at least stay on which is more than can be said for my last attempt in Italy!

We hope everyone has had a great year, and all the best to our readers for 2012!


The steeper the mountain, the harder the climb, the better the view from the finishing line!

Christmas Trio Challenge Round Up

Our three challenges are now complete and we succeeded in them all!

Following the Mid Winter walk (see our last blog here) the week after was our Santa Dash. This was the first year there were to be a whole gaggle of Santas dashing through the streets of St Helier at lunch time, and we obviously took a lot of people by surprise- we over heard many comments of ‘what on earth is happening’ and the such like, very amusing! Anyway, it was a short sprint, probably about a mile and seeing as half of the group were kids I thought it would be easy. Unfortunately, wearing running gear with a felt Santa costume over the top, including beard, made running (or sprinting) a bit harder than the kids that only wore reindeer antlers and I ended up puffing and panting around, although Ben seemed to managed it ok and dragged me round the last bit.

As a reward we had mulled wine and minced pies and got to walk into the office dressed as Santa. We also ended up on the front page of the local newspaper!

Our final Christmas challenge was the one I dreaded the most, and by Christmas Eve when the wind was blowing icy cold, I almost backed out but Ben insisted he was still going ahead with the swim so I felt compelled to give it a go. Thankfully Christmas Day morning was dry, but there was a strong, cold wind blowing directly into the bay… that was once we got into the bay! We actually missed the official swim, as it took nearly 40 minutes to drive down the hill. The swim, it turns out, is more popular than we thought and the car park ended up with one car out one in, so as we pulled round into the car park everyone was just getting out of the sea.

Queue a massive sulk from me and an annoyed phone call home, before being told by everyone sat in the warm living room back in Leeds to ‘Man Up’ and go jump in anyway. Ben had said this too, but having 4 people shouting down the phone seemed more encouraging, so we jumped out of the car, whipped off the clothes and made a cold run down the beach.

The water was freezing- well actually 11oC- but it was cold enough to be painful, lose feeling and I was unable to catch my breath. Ben ran in, dived in head first and was fine. I stood waist deep whimpering- not proud of my pathetic-ness, but I lasted longer than the girl next to me J I finally got my shoulders wet and after posing for more photos made the dash up the beach to warm clothes and mulled wine.

Photos of both events will follow!

We need to total up together but I believe we have raised about £150 for the 3 charities- Headway Jersey, Jersey Hospice Care and the Motor Neurone Disease Association. 

So that’s it for our 2011 challenges and adventures. We’ve had such a great year that before the Year’s out I will be writing a review of things done and things learned.

Christmas Trio Update- 1 day down, 2 to go!

Saturday was the first of our Christmas Trio Challenge, with The Jersey Christmas Walk - an 18 mile walk along the cliff paths and beaches of Jersey.

The morning started lovely and dry with a spectacular sunrise, although we should have heeded the warning ‘red sky in the morning, shepherds warning!’ A coffee at the La Fontaine pub nearly scuppered our plans as it was far more tempting to stay in front of the roaring fire than head out for 18 miles of walking, but we were soon gathered for our pre-walk meeting and at 8.30am on the dot we were off.

Over the first few miles of cliff paths our pace was determined by the walkers in front of us and at times it was pretty slow, but once we squeezed past a few groups we were off and made good pace to check point one at Greve de Lecq, 4.5 miles in a respectable 1 hour 20 minutes. The weather stayed dry to this check point and was warm enough to be in just a long sleeved top. Feeling good we put our heads down and trekked on to check point two, 4 miles away.

It was in between these two check points the rain decided to make an appearance, just a slow, steady drizzle but enough to put the rain coats on, then the sun came out and it was nice and warm so the coats came off again, then the rain came back… that’s how the rest of this part of the walk went!

Anyway- check point two at the picturesque site at L’Etacq appeared just 2 hours 55 into the walk, then came the part most people dread on the ITEX Walk - St Ouen’s Bay. A long stretch of nothing but sand for almost 5 miles down the west coast of Jersey. The walking is easy, nice and flat but that’s where the problem lies - there’s nothing interesting and the fact you can see the end makes it even harder to keep going (especially with lots of nice eating places along the way tempting you to stop!)

The next point was at the farthest end of the bay another 5 (rather boring) miles along, but we were there in 1 hour 10 minutes, so had managed to skip along at almost 5 miles an hour! I think this may have something to do with the fact Ben wanted to get the flat bit out of the way as boredom prompted me into several renditions of the 12 days of Christmas, if we had trainers on I’m sure he’d have run…

It was just after this point the rain started again so the jackets went on, then a beautiful rainbow (the 3^rd of the day) led us to believe it was going to dry up again so off they came just in time for a heavy downpour that lasted all the way from Corbiere to the start of St Brelade’s beach. By this point we were wet, a bit chilly and really looking forward to our free drink in front of the fire at the Smugglers Inn at the end, a great motivation to get into gear and crank the pace up again.

By the time we hit the half way point of St Brelade’s Bay a little jog to ease pain on knees, toes and hips meant we were aiming for a sub 5 hour 15 time, a great personal achievement seeing as since the ITEX Walk and my knee op we have done little in the way of proper training walks and we were aiming for 6 hours best!

Finally we were welcomed at the Smugglers Inn with a round of applause, a photo and our free drink token. As in Scotland all I craved was an ice cold diet coke - a bit of a waste of a free drink voucher but it went well with the steak and onion baguette we managed to devour in record time!

Total time 5 hours 12 minutes, only a few small blisters (probably because of the rain) and very pleased we beat our estimated time by 45 minutes!

Next up this lunch time- the Jersey Hospice Santa Dash, in about 45 mph winds, hail and thunder. We are going to be rather soggy, wind blown Santa’s, here’s hoping it’s at least a tail wind…. Report will follow in the next few days.    

Our Christmas Trio Challenge

Well not content with entering the Leeds half marathon next year, we have decided to test ourselves a bit sooner with a “Christmas Trio” of events in aid of Jersey Hospice Care, Headway Jersey and Motor Neurone Disease.

Our 3 challenges kick off with an 18 mile walk on Saturday 10^th December. Ok not much compared to the 48.1 mile walk earlier this year but a. it’s winter so probably cold/wet/snowing and b. it’s the day after Ben’s Christmas party so he will have his own issues to deal with!

Next up is Jersey’s first Santa Dash. Included in our registration fee is a full Santa outfit ( hat, boots, coat, trousers and even the belt!) so on the 16^th December we will be ‘dashing’ through the Jersey's capital St Helier dressed as Santa, having a laugh and raising money for the very worthy cause,  Jersey Hospice.

Finally, while most people on Christmas morning will be opening presents around a fire drinking bucks fizz, we’ll be taking a chilly dip in the Atlantic Ocean at Ouaisne Bay on Jersey’s south west coast, yes we have lost all leave of our senses, but it’s a Jersey tradition and seeing as this is our first Christmas in Jersey it seems rude not to partake.

So there we are 3 challenges in 3 weeks. The Charities we are raising money for are very worthy causes; find out a bit more about each below:

Jersey Hospice does an amazing amount of work on the Island and receives no funding from the States. It costs £6000 per day to run the hospice and they rely on fundraising and donations to keep the hospice running. Although, thankfully, neither of us have had to use the facilities or services the Hospice, both myself and Ben’s families have been touched by cancer in the UK and South Africa so know the devastating effect it has and how much support can help get both the patient and the families through such a tough time.

Headway Jersey supports those who have suffered brain injury through accident or illness and their families by providing a day centre to drop in and have a coffee or a chat as well as organised activities- golf days, aerobics and yoga classes and craft sessions. This is all designed not only for an opportunity to socialise, but also to stimulate the brain. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to visit the day centre a few months ago and met a few of their members including one gentleman who had recently completed the Jersey Triathlon only 18 months after his life support machine was nearly switched off following a head injury. 

The Jersey branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association was formed in the spring of 1991 during the illness of Miss Rosemary A'Court of Motorneurone Disease. Their role is not only to provide equipment and advice but also to provide qualified volunteer visitors who will call on a regular basis and give support both practical and emotional to people with MND and their families. With this in mind, they support local nurses who are likely to come into contact with people with MND by financing their attendance at Study Courses on the Mainland.

First Training Session

Well our training has started for next years half marathon. It may be 6 months to go but I’m keen (even if Ben is less so!) to get out running as early as possible as I would like the event next year to be more enjoyable than painful.

So Saturday morning we donned our running shoes for the first time in over a year and headed to Queens Valley Reservoir in St Martins.

There seems to be a common misconception that paths around a reservoir are flat and whilst we didn’t have any mountains to run around it certainly wasn’t flat- in fact it started with quite a nasty hill that I opted as our warm up- walk up hill J

Quite impressed with our first lap though, managed to keep jogging all the way around and felt ok for a second lap which to start with was more of a walk-jog but soon got into a rhythmic pace.

Two things I learnt from Saturday.

1.       I need to take my iPod- ideas of jogging around chatting to Ben were dismissed within the first half a lap when trying to answer a question all that came out was a wheezy grunt.

2.       I need new running trainers- as I set off for the 2^nd lap I could feel the instep starting to blister and by the end of the lap I couldn’t wait to get my trainers off and inspect the damage… of which there were some nasty hot spots and a blister.  

So 3.8 miles and 47 minutes isn’t going to break any records and there is still a long way to go (thankfully also 6 months!) but it’s put my mind to rest I am still reasonably fit and should be able to get back in shape ok, shame it’s got to be over the cold winter months though!

As a footnote- well done to Sarah's Mum and Dad- Julie and Phil Kelly- for completing the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k last Sunday in 1 hour 6- whilst feeling under the weather with a cold!

What a Fabulous Weekend!

Like public transport, you wait ages for one to come along then you get two at the same time, just like our blog at the moment!

This weekend was fantastic though, I couldn’t help blogging about the beautiful autumn walks we had. Saturday was a blue sky sunny day and we chose to walk the ‘Beaumont Circular’ and an 8 kilometre walk, starting on the south coast of Jersey and walking through St Peters Valley and round past the Jersey War Tunnels. We set off in fleeces as it is the middle of November so it’s going to be cold of course… but we were soon down to t-shirts and zipped off trousers to ¾ length.

Autumn and spring are my favourite times of year for walking, I love the changing colours of the leaves and the crisp sound they make when walking though them. I also can’t help but kick them like a child which Ben finds highly amusing/ irritating, not sure which. J

It felt good to be out on a proper walk again, I was wearing my heart rate monitor to see how my fitness levels are going and I was pleased to see my average heart rate stayed fairly low.

On Sunday we took a walk through another of Jersey’s valley’s- Waterworks Valley, so called because there are reservoirs from top to bottom linked by streams and little aqueducts that run to the Jersey Water plant at the bottom. The valley is always quiet and peaceful with the foot path climbing from road level up into the woods.

Sometimes when I’m on my own thought the quietness can freak me out a bit after reading the story of the ghost bride. Jilted at the alter she committed suicide on her wedding night. There have been several ‘witnesses’ on a full moon night, of the sound of galloping horses coming down the valley, a horse drawn carriage comes round the corner with a bride in the back but when she turns around her face is a skeleton. It may only be folklore, but it still plays on my mind when walking alone!

Thankfully on Sunday I was walking with Ben and the ghost bride didn’t cross my mind. It was another blue sky sunny day warm enough to be out in t-shirts although a keen wind was picking up. We walked at a good pace but had to stop often to pick dandelion leaves as our pet house bunny is now on a ‘natural’ diet so we are regularly seen in the garden or hedgerows picking grass and dandelions, I think our neighbours think we are slightly mad! There were some enchanting patches of wild mushrooms, some were real fairy tale style...

 During our walks we decided it was time to focus on our next challenge. I blogged a while ago that I was setting myself the challenge of a marathon next year, which I am still keen to do and so far have decided that it has to be either the Edinburgh Marathon (flat-ish) on the 27^th May 2012 or the Marathon du Medoc (wine and oysters- yum yum!) on the 8^th September 2012 but we are going to be aiming to do the ITEX walk again in June- 48 miles around the Island of Jersey. This year we completed it in a painful 18 hours 45 minutes, next year we are setting ourselves a goal of sub 15 hours, so the marathon training will definitely be coming into play! Our final plan of 2012 or 2013 is to do the Rat Race Scotland Coast to Coast, 15^th & 16^th September 2012- 2 days of running/ walking, cycling and kayaking from the East to West coast down the Great Glen. Would love to do it next year… but we’ll just have to see for that one!

Update...

We have decided to start a little smaller than a marathon and will be taking part in the Leeds "Run for All" 1/2 Marathon on the 13th May 2012. Read more about the inspirational Jane Tomlinson charity here...

Why I love Hot Yoga

In May this year I came across a wonderful thing- Hot Yoga. I have enjoyed yoga on and off for a while, but whilst I enjoyed the stretch and the quiet that came from Hatha classes, I often felt that I should have spent that 90 minutes doing something to burn calories as weight has always been issue with me. 

So when I heard that a Bikram class can burn an average of 600 calories per session I was interested, but stories of instructors shouting ‘feel the pain’ and people passing out because of the heat scared me off. Then I came across Absolute Hot Yoga- kind of Bikram but without the shouting, you’re only expected to go as far as you can and they will open the windows when 40oC gets too much.

Turning up to my first class, I was nervous to see that a lot of the class were rather fit, slim, gym bunny looking people and the heat really hit you as you walked through the door- how was I going to cope with 90 minutes of this heat! Carefully positioned at the back under the watchful eye of the tutor- and near the windows- the 90 minutes passed quickly and I left feeling energised, and although sweaty, like I’d had a really good detox session. 

As part of the Absolute yoga offering you can get a 10 day pass for a set amount to try as many classes as possible in those 10 days to check you like it before signing up. 4 classes later and I was signed up to monthly membership. 

The yoga is 50 hatha asana’s (rather than Bikrams 26) with many being the same or a variation on the Ashtanga Primary Series and even though it’s the same sequence every session, the fact that I could feel and see the difference week on week stopped it being boring. My first class I could hardly reach my toes in Paschimottanasana, now my forehead is merely centimetres away from my knees, I no longer need a strap to connect my hands behind my back in The Sage Twist (Marichyasana) and l though I still can’t quite touch forehead to knee on the standing, at least I can stay stood on one leg (most of the time) 

If you are looking for a sedate class then Absolute Hot Yoga is not for you, there is plenty of relaxation at the end and the focus throughout the class is on the breath, but it is a fairly fast paced class, and with the heat expect your heart to be pounding by the end of the standing series, if not before! 

I am currently on a break from Hot Yoga, an office move to a different part of the Island has made it difficult to get to evening class, so I have been experimenting with other styles such as Vinyasa Flow and Dynamic Yoga which are just not for me. Although I have found I enjoy practicing the Ashtanga Primary Series almost as much and will definitely be continuing my practice, I am planning a way to get back to my regular Hot Yoga practice as well!

There are Hot Yoga studios springing up all over the world- I attend the Jersey Classes at Central Yoga, I know of one in Durban South Africa and there are several in Thailand, including the Absolute resort on Koh Samui where I hope one day I may get to spend a month doing my teacher training… Edinburgh has finally got it’s first Hot Yoga classes- not quite the same as the Absolute Yoga, but offering Barkan, not tried it yet, but going to try and get to a class in January when we are up there on holiday. 

So if you want a good stretch, workout and detox all in 90 minutes I recommend you find your nearest Hot Yoga studio. Have a look here at some of the Absolute Hot Yoga graduates and where they are now offering classes.