The (Bloody) Long Walk

I've always loved walking. If I had the choice, and the time, and a sherpa, I'd walk everywhere. Walking is when I feel calm and inspired; it's when I feel connected and present. I've dabbled with running, every now and again, but at some point I always remember that I really, really hate running. But I never, ever hate walking. 

So when I heard about The Bloody Long Walk a few months ago I got pretty excited, and I signed up for the Melbourne one without thinking too much about how exactly I was going to walk 35 kilometres in one hit. And I hadn't given it much more thought since then either. Until last week when my Bloody Long Walk buddy, Shannon, reminded me that it was coming up pretty bloody soon, and that we should maybe possibly start doing something about it. Message received, yesterday - in the glorious Sydney sunshine - I headed out for a 19 km 'long and steady' walk. 

The training program I'm following suggests these long walks are a chance to test out your kit and get a sense of what you're in for. Here's what I learnt: 

- Sydney has a lot of hills. And when you pick a random path through the eastern suburbs you are going to walk up and down most of them. 

- Sydney has some seriously great views. Seriously great. Stunning, even. Sail boats and sparkling water and golden beaches and that bridge... The views pop up everywhere, constantly surprising you as you round a corner or crest a hill. They made me swear out loud in appreciation many times during my walk. 

- I walk twice as fast without the dogs. Which makes sense as I'm normally carrying Ferdi whilst dragging Elfi away from eating some thing mouldy and / or trying to take on a doberman. Not very conducive to a quick pace.

 - And I walk even faster again when I'm wearing my sneakers (I have a bad habit of walking longish distances in my Havaianas...). Who would have guessed that shoes made for exercise actually help you exercise? 

- I need a back up, back up battery pack. If my phone (and therefore Map My Walk) crashes during the big one and doesn't save my triumph (assuming I make it) for perpetuity (or at least for Facebook and Twitter) I will be a bit sad. 

- I may be mildly allergic to sunscreen but it needs to be an essential part of my kit. I learnt this the hard way. 

- Same goes for a hat (though luckily I'm not allergic to those...) 

- My left ankle is a bit of a mess, as is my right knee. But between the both of them I have one really awesome leg. Yay? 

Next weekend is a 21km walk. I've started planning a path that's a bit more westward, I think there's less hills out that way. And then it's 25km, and then the taper before the big event. I'm excited, and a I'm bit scared. Okay, a lot scared. To be honest, I really have no idea what I'm doing; there is a so much I don't know.

So I've just signed up as an Operation Move member. I plan on bombarding the forums with questions, but in the meantime - have you done any long walks or other endurance events? What did you take with you? What did you eat before, during and after? Any other tips? 

ps. The walk is a fundraiser for the Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation. It's a bloody horrible disease, and a mysterious one too. If you feel like sponsoring me you can do so here. Thank you x

All iPhone shots, edited in VSCOcam.