Coniston challenge completed

Yes! After months of training (4 weeks training for Paul due to a knee injury early on), we finally completed the Coniston Challenge on Sat 11th Sept 2010.

We opted to do hiking, cycling and kayaking in that order. I don’t think there is an easy order. Whatever you do first is the easiest and from there on, we just became more tired… as did the other teams too.

After heavy rain all night, we woke up in the morning to find the Old Man of Coniston mountain covered in mist and low cloud. In hindsight I think that was a good thing because at least we couldn’t see how high it was!

Here we are starting off the walk just before the timer was set! Looking quite cheerful (despite the pouring rain) as we have no idea how hard the day is going to be!

We started off from a school in Coniston village and the walk is 10km up the Old Man of Coniston, climbing via the shortest and steepest route and coming down via a longer easier route.

Most of the way up, we walked in low cloud so it was head down to avoid the rain.

As we climbed, the low cloud was lifting with us so behind us, when we paused to get our breath, we could see the views of Coniston and Grizedale Forest (where we would do the cycling in the afternoon). Ahead, all we could see was white swirling mist and a few metres of path ahead of us.

Marshalls along the route checked that we kept together as a team (we had to be within 100metres of each other at all times). Here is our first marshall pointing out where to go.

On we went. Sadly, the photos I have only show the easier bits… on the steep bits I needed to concentrate. There was no time for photos!

Here we are at the top in the cold, damp, windy mist. We didn’t stop long. It was time for a quick drink, an energy bar, find woolly hat and gloves and get moving again!

Coming down was an easier and longer route. We set off quite fast because it was so cold and we had already taken 2.5 hours to reach the top. The path was really slippery in parts as water was running down it and off the rocks so we had to be careful. It required total concentration to watch where we put our feet. The one time I allowed my concentration to slip (thinking about my pasta lunch at the bottom!) I slipped and slid a few feet down the hill.

Just to show that we did have some fun on the way… Sarah and I are pretending to be munchkins behind a rock! Call it fun… call it too much sugar from energy bars and drinks…. (I never want to drink another energy drink or eat another energy bar again)…  or call it altitude sickness at 800 metres!

We made it back to the school in Coniston after 4 hours and 18 minutes. We were one of the slowest teams. Ah well. Somebody had to be!

After stopping for pasta lunch, a quick stretch of my muscles and more energy drinks, we changed into cycling gear, got the bikes ready and we were off again.

The first part is easy round to the other side of the lake and then very quickly there is a steep climb up into the north end of Grizedale Forest. That was some climb and quite difficult after the tough walk in the morning. After about a mile, it was then 3 or 4 miles of steady climb up through the forest. I kept suggesting to Paul that he breathe through his nose and smell the pines which wasn’t exactly well received advice but they did smell amazing!  By this time, the sun was out and we could see across to the Old Man of Coniston and see how high we had walked in the morning. It was beautiful.

Then we made it to the top. 300m. This is Paul and me at the top.

Mark making it look so easy!

Then it was a mix of up and down, some technical off road cycling up and down. Everywhere was really wet so it made it quite slippery which added to the fun and the challenge.

The final stretch was down hill on a gravel path. Again, it was running in an inch of water because of the rain coming off the mountain. At times, it was quite steep and quite slippery. This was the highlight of the day for me as I came whizzing down the mountain, feeling totally at one with my bike, fuelled by adrenaline, sheer joy, a small amount of fear and getting soaked and splashed with mud. Well, it’s not mountain biking unless you come home with mud on every body part!

No time for photos by this point as we were so far behind which is a shame because the views across the forest, over the lake and over to the Old Man of Coniston where we’d walked were quite spectacular as the low cloud had completely lifted and the sun was shining.

We finally made it back to the school in Coniston in 2 hours and 43 minutes. Once again, we were one of the slowest teams. There was no time to change so we had to rush down to the lake on our bikes to get to the kayaking in time because we had been so slow all day. So still in cycling gear (I did take off my helmet!) and still wearing cycling shoes and gloves, we set off on the kayaks.

Now the kayaks are described as “sit on top, very stable two man kayaks”. What I will say is that they are stable for 2 people who are about 5 foot 8 and moderate build. But when one of you is 5 foot 8 and 70kg and the other is 6 foot 1 and 110kg, then they become very unstable.

Mark and Sarah had kayaked before so they quickly got into a rhythm and off they went. Paul and I got on a kayak and set off behind them. Within four strokes, I was catapulted into the air and began the fourth event of the day… the unplanned event which I’d been hoping to avoid… yes…  swimming. Yes, we both ended up in the lake. So the organisers told us to wade back to shore and start again. Which we did. With the same result.

This time, they suggested Paul sat on the front. It was still really unstable. The good thing is that this time I could see what Paul was doing. If he so much as turned his head to one side, the kayak rocked so violently, that we nearly went in again. So I realised at this point that it wasn’t what he was doing with the oars, it was just sitting still that made it unstable.

So we decided that the only thing to do was for him to sit really still and for me to do the paddling. Now this was not what I had planned. I’d expected to be exhausted at this point and to let Paul do all the paddling with me occasionally waving an oar around to show willing.

Sadly this was not going to happen as we did not want to risk falling in the lake again once we had left the shore because it was very deep.

So 35 minutes later, with very sore aching shoulders, I managed to paddle us back to shore.

In the end, I was glad it happened like this because I’d managed the walk and cycle without any trouble and I was feeling so physically strong at this point that I felt as though I had the energy to do either the walk or cycle again! So finally, I got the opportunity to work through the burn of sore shoulders and we made it back to shore to complete our challenge. At least I felt as though I’d worked hard by this point!

Here we all are after completing the challenge. Still smiling….

We did the whole thing in 7 hours and 36 minutes and came a very respectable 19th out of 22 teams. In the end, it’s not about the time, it’s about raising money for Guide Dogs, although my competitive streak wishes we could have been middle of the pack rather than bringing up the rear! We are currently at £2800 and I expect we will get to £2900 before we finish fundraising.

So a big THANKYOU to all of you who supported us by cheering us on in training and coming along to our fundraising events and donating your hard earned cash. We really appreciate it and more importantly, it helps someone who is blind or partially sighted have the freedom and independence in life that we take for granted.

Finally, I confess that I suggested to do the challenge for more selfish reasons. After struggling with a bad back for 10 years, I wanted to have a goal to focus on so that I could spend time getting it fit and strong. I’m proud to say that I achieved exactly that.

Thanks to my ostepoath Jerry who keeps putting me back together when I break and overdo things and Martin my newly found sports massage therapist who eased my poor hamstrings with only days to go before the event and showed me how to stretch my muscles properly so that they worked with me not against me, and thanks to the spin teachers who kept telling me to pedal harder in class and the people in the gym who gave me impossible exercises to do which hurt… ( I never did get the hang of the stepper!) I finally completed the challenge with so much energy to spare that I could probably have done it all again.

OK, so enough of the thanks… I just finished a challenge, not won an Oscar.

So, the old story of me having a back problem is history. I’m now fit and strong. I can walk 10km up a mountain, cycle 17km off road up a mountain and single-handedly paddle a two man kayak across a lake.

The day after the challenge, the sun was shining. This is a photo of the Old Man of Coniston, taken from the school which was our starting point for the walk.

And this is a photo of Grizedale Forest that we cycled up. 300 metres doesn’t look so high from this angle!!!

So what’s next?

 

Count down to the Coniston Challenge event

After months of injuries that wiped 3 of the team out temporarily and at different times and left us unsure about who was going to be able to compete, all four of us (Jude, Paul, Sarah and Mark) finally all got back together 4 weeks ago and we managed to do a 5 and 1/2 mile hilly walk, followed by a 12 mile cycle route in the afternoon. Wow. That was some tough day and we all managed it.

So we are all set for the challenge event on 11th Sept. With less than 2 weeks to go now, we are finally on the countdown to the day!

This last weekend, we did our most difficult cycle route ever… We did 12 miles up and down Ilmington downs in Warwickshire, climbing 300m in total (it was very up and down!). It took us 2 hours so when we add hills to our distance it slows us down considerably.

Today, we were out again. this time we did a 6 and 1/2 mile walk. Well, the guide book says it was 6 and 1/2. We are convinced it was more like 10 because it was so up and down and took us 3 1/2 hours. I need to measure the map again to find out!

It’s a reminder that the challenge we have set ourselves is definitely a tough one for our level of fitness. Still, we did have dogs with us and had to keep lifting them over stiles so that slowed us down considerably. Well, if I blame it on the dogs, I can convince myself that without them, we will walk faster! I hope that is the case!

So that’s the last of the major training as a team. I’m planning to rest Tues and Weds with a final spin class on Thurs, followed by a whole week of resting my poor aching body in the hope that it will have recovered by 11th Sept to allow me to charge up the hills! I’m so exhausted after all the training and I really feel as though I need some rest now and plenty of sleep.

Last Saturday, I went to see a sports massage therapist to ease my poor aching hamstrings. I lived to tell the tale (just… it was agony!) and my muscles definitely feel stronger and longer as a result of it, although still tired only 2 days afterwards.

I’m really proud of what we’ve all achieved in training and getting fit, especially given the injuries that some of the team have had. As for me, I have a stronger back, more muscle, more strength and greater fitness than I have had for 10 years. That really proves that the effort is worth it for me. It has been really tough at times, with constant aching muscles as each week I push myself harder and after 6 months of training, I now feel ready to tackle the challenge.

As for fundraising, thankyou to our wonderful family and friends (and even strangers Mark met one day on a walk) who have given so generously, we have now raised £2212. Only £300 to go to meet our target of £2500. It’s really thrilling to know that Guide Dogs benefit from what you have given and what we are doing as they perform such a life-changing role.

So this is the last post until after the challenge on 11th Sept.  Next update will be after the event when I post pictures of us, hopefully not all of them will involve us collapsed in a heap on the floor although many of them probably will!

Thanks for being with us as we train.

 

Another day, another injury

Well, health and wellbeing certainly seems to be playing a role with our training.

In May, Paul fell off a stile, badly strained a ligament in his knee and was on crutches for 2 weeks. After 8 weeks of resting his knee, he finally went back to training a week ago. He did a 7 mile walk a week ago and a 13 mile walk last Sat but he’s concerned that he’s too slow and that we will not complete the whole challenge in 10 hours if he is with us.

In June, Mark managed to get a hairline fracture in his arm near the elbow and was in plaster for 3 weeks. He’s back playing water polo again so I think that’s a minor setback.

Last week Sarah slipped and has hurt her shin. Fortunately, it’s not broken but she says it’s painful, swollen and bruised.

As for me, well, I’m fighting fit! Which is bizarre given that I’m the one with the history of major bone injuries!

So, having gone from 6 team members down to four and with two of the remaining four injured, our challenge team is looking a little wobbly to say the least.

We now only have 5 weeks until the challenge which really means we have 4 weeks of training because we should rest the week before to get our muscles strong. I’m starting to feel a little uncomfortable now. Whilst my own training has been going well and I’m getting fitter than I’ve been in a long time, I’m still unsure about my stamina and my ability to keep going all day.

Well we won’t know unless we try will we? So, I intend to keep focussed over the next four weeks to keep raising my fitness and hope that Sarah will soon be back joining us and Paul will increase his aerobic fitness enough.

Keep routing for us! We need all the support we can get!

Speaking of support, we have now raised £1745 thanks to our family and friends who have supported events and donated online so a big THANK YOU! to all of you.

And if you have not donated yet, we still need a further £800 to reach our target of £2500 so please go to the Justgiving website at www.justgiving.com/jude-jennison. Remember, every £1 you give helps train Guide Dogs to help people who are blind and partially sighted live a life of freedom. Many of them say having their first Guide Dog changes their life and  gives them the confidence to go out and live and work and have fun!

 

Guide Dog breeding stock play noughts and crosses

Guide dogs do noughts and crosses with Sits and Downs

One of the important parts of breeding and training Guide Dogs is the breeding stock. We are a group of volunteers who look after the studs and broods in our homes. The brood bitch holders oversee the pups being born and look after them in their homes for the first 6 weeks. We also like to have fun with our dogs when they are not doing their important work so a group of us have got together to form an agility team. It’s really a bit of fun as we can’t compete with the usual border collies at agility and because they also have their breeding job to do so can’t do agility for some of the year.

Yesterday, the Guide Dogs breeding stock agility team had a fun day. One of the games we love to play is noughts and crosses with the dogs. We have a team who ask their dogs to sit and stay and a team who ask their dogs to lie down and stay and some of us get very competitive! It’s always a challenge to see who has won as dogs will move from sit to down and vice versa. Two of the dogs in this picture are stud dogs and the rest are brood bitches so putting the dog in close proximity is a challenge for them (and us!!!)

This is a great example of the skill that goes into training Guide Dogs. All of these dogs were puppywalked for a year which is the groundwork that enables them to go on to be trained as Guide Dogs. Then, all of them were picked for breeding because of the quality of their breeding line as well as their temperament. There is so much science as well as thought and effort that goes into training Guide Dogs and the breeding stock are well looked after by volunteers like me who do this important work for the love of it and because it adds such value to people’s lives.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far by sponsoring us and attending events. Our summer bbq at the weekend raised a further £297.15 through ticket sales, quizzes and donations and for the first time in the history of Paul and I holding barbeques, it did not rain!

We have now raised £1334.25 of the £2500 total target. We had to raise £1250 by the end of July to take part in the challenge and a further £1250 by the end of the year so thank you so much for your generous support and donations. We are currently planning further events for Sept, Oct and Nov so we’ll keep you posted.

Thanks again for your support,

Jude. x

 

One team member down and I have back muscles

Unfortunately for us, Beth has had to pull out of the challenge so we are now definitely down to 5 team members.

Paul’s knee is on the mend. He managed a 4 mile walk on the flat yesterday which is good progress and a 6 mile bike ride last week. We now have 9 and 1/2 week before the challenge so the big question continues over whether or not he will be fit enough. It’s asking a lot of his knee to walk up and down a mountain and cycle off road all on one day. So we shall see. I’m trying not to get my hopes up.

As for Sarah and I, we are going great guns with our cycling. We managed a 14.3 mile cycle ride last week in an hour and a quarter which is pretty good going. Our longest and fastest route so far, although it was slightly flatter and probably less off road than previous routes. Still, we can feel our fitness improving so that’s good. I shall brush quickly over the fact that I had to stop half way up a hill because I nearly passed out!!!! I put it down to going faster and in a higher gear than usual. I call that progress!!!

I’ve started doing weights in the gym to improve the strength in my upper back. It will help with the rowing and also off road cycling which can be quite punishing on the shoulders. My back is starting to feel stronger than it has felt in the last 10 years so I’m so pleased with the way this is going. Paul can’t believe the things I am now lifting round the house where previously I would have called for help. Even my osteopath was shocked when he saw new muscles in my back!

I’d like to say that I have less pain with this new found strength but I don’t and I think it’s because I am doing so much exercise to get fit and having to constantly push myself to the next level. What is true is that I can do more exercise than I used to without pain and that is increasing week on week. So once I get fit enough for this challenge, my aim will be to maintain that level of fitness and strength without the pain and without the need to push beyond my comfort zone any more. Now, I’m looking forward to that!

Hope you enjoyed this update.

Jude. x

 

Fashion show for Guide Dogs is a hit!

Sarah organised a fashion show and workshop at John Lewis as part of our fundraising for Guide Dogs and we raised a total of £477. The workshop presenter was hilarious, the clothes were inspiring (note to self… need to review my wardrobe!) and everyone seemed to have a great time which is equally as important as raising the money. We were lucky enough to have had some really generous sponsors who provided some great raffle prizes.

We now have a total of £722 raised so far. We need to raise £1250 by the end of July in order to do the Coniston challenge with the target of £2500 to be achieved by the end of Dec 2010. A big thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. We really do appreciate your generosity and every time you see a guide dog working, you can reflect on the role you had to play in such amazing work.

And if you are thinking about supporting us and have not got round to it, please donate online at Justgiving.

Sarah and I are enjoying cycling each week. We’ve done 2 off road routes now – 9 miles last week and 12 miles this week and we are definitely seeing an improvement in our strength and fitness.

Sadly, Paul is still struggling with his knee… he can now walk a mere half a mile which is a long way off from the fitness he needs for the challenge. I’m still hopeful he will join us although it’s looking increasingly unlikely now.

Mark, Sarah’s husband, has fractured his arm and is in plaster for 3 weeks but we are confident that he will be back in training with us soon and fit enough.

Fingers crossed that the rest of us stay fit and continue to increase our fitness!

It’s interesting how a challenge like this reflects the ups and downs of life. Things happen in life and our ability to adapt to them and take them in our stride is the key to making life easy.

 

More ups and downs of training

Last week, I decided to up my training and I did my first spin class. Apart from nearly passing out after 15 minutes of exertion, I think it went well!!! My legs ached liked crazy the next day and Paul tells me that is good because the muscles are finally waking up. Not sure that having to go up the stairs on my hands and knees is quite what I wanted although now 4 days later, I certainly feel the strength developing in my legs.

I’ve now joined a gym to supplement the walking and cycling outdoors. So today is my first day at the gym and I’m looking forward to that. I’m also doing pilates once a week to build core strength. I know from experience that it really helps my back as well. My osteopath continues to put me back together when I start creaking!

So I’m feeling really positive about progress and my fitness and although there are only 3 months left of training, I feel as though I will make it.

Now for the bad news. Paul slipped off a stile, landed awkwardly on rough ground and has badly sprained a ligament in his knee. So he has spent the last 2 weeks hobbling around on crutches. The physio thinks he will make a full recovery so we are hoping that there is still time for him to recover and get back into training.

Watch this space!

As for fundraising, we did a car boot sale at the weekend and raised £205.10 which is a great start. We are now 10% of the way towards our target £2500.

Please support us by donating online at Justgiving or you can click on the Donate Now button on the Home page.

Thanks!

 

A major breakthrough and a minor setback

Last weekend, we had a great walk up the Malverns. We met with Beth (Sarah’s friend and our 5th team member) for the first time so it was great to get acquainted and for us to work as a team.

Previously, we’ve been doing 2 hour walk every weekend and my legs have been constantly aching. I was advised to push my body harder to break through this constant ache so that my body “woke up”.

So, we walked for 3 and 1/2 hours, with only a 10 min stop for lunch. As Warwickshire where we live is mostly flat, we have not had a lot of chance to do hill walking so our trip to the Malverns was our first climb as well as our longest walk. I’m amazed that once again, I coped aerobically really well and this time, I could really feel my legs pushing themselves.

Afterwards, I was totally exhausted and I developed a trapped nerve in my right shoulder overnight. Still, we had planned to go canoeing on the Sunday morning so I was determined to go. I’m not great with boats (I get sea sick on a canal boat… I kid you not) so I was really nervous and having a trapped nerve as well was a little scary.

Sarah, Beth, Mark and Richard canoeing

So Paul and I got into a boat and I started to paddle. At first we got the technique wrong and all we did was soak ourselves and each other. After a few minutes we got the hang of it and off we went.

I got tired easily… understandable I think with a trapped nerve so I just waved my oar about a bit to make it look like I did something. The key thing is that I started to get used to the boat rocking and started to reduce the amount I was shouting at Paul!

The even better news is that the following day, my trapped nerve was eased and although my legs ached a bit, they stopped aching after two days. So it feels like a major breakthrough last week in training.

I was keen to capitalise on this so we had planned an off road cycle route with Mark and Sarah for the next weekend. But once again, my body has given up on me and I have a cold and cough which is keeping me housebound. even the dogs have given up bothering me (ha ha, Paul is now getting all the looks at walk time instead of me!)

So I’m optimistic. We are making progress.

Sarah and I are now turning our attention to fundraising as we have a mammoth task to raise £2500 before the day. So we are starting to sell tickets for a fashion show and I plan to sell some stuff at a car boot sale in a couple of weeks time. Believe me, it’s not my thing so even this is a stretch for me!

Hope you enjoy keeping up with our progress and please support us by leaving your comments and donating at http://www.justgiving.com/jude-jennison

 

A small amount of progress is good enough

Now the good weather has arrived, we’ve started training together as a team.

3 weeks ago, Paul and I went for a 2 hour walk with Mark and Sarah. We kept up a good pace and I was pleased with how I managed and my shoulders held out for 2 hours without being in pain. Which is a bonus and is progress for me. I ached for 2 days afterwards. Nobody else did.

Last weekend we went for a 45 min cycle. I set the pace. The slowest at the front and all that. It was great fun. I just LOVE to feel the wind in my face and to feel my body moving physically. Once again, my shoulders were fine so I’m really pleased with that. Yet again, my legs ached for 2 days. Everyone else seemed ok.

On Saturday, we did a longer walk up a steep(ish) hill. I’m still aching 2 days on and this time my shoulders and neck are feeling it too. I definitely need time to recover.

I’m typically the slowest and I take at least 2-5 days to recover after each thing we’ve done. I find that hard. I know I’m the weakest one in the team and I’m not used to that. It’s taking some getting used to. I realise that I need to lean on the team for support, to keep me going and again I’m not used to that. I realise how independent I am, how mentally strong I am to keep pushing myself and I forget to show others that I’m finding things difficult.

I realise that this is a pattern for me in other areas of my life. I’m so flipping self-sufficient. Asking for help and support and encouragement would serve me well!

I still don’t know if I can actually achieve this challenge. What I do know is that I am having a lot of fun getting out in the fresh air with friends and that’s great.

And I’ve had to change my training plan again because it’s still too much! I realise that with all the dog walking I do, I’m aerobically quite fit. the challenge for me is muscle strength. So I need to find a way to build my back and leg muscles. And still be able to walk the dogs every day and that’s the challenge when my legs ache!

Any ideas out there for building muscle strength gently?

 

If your fitness training is not working, change it

I developed a training plan and for the last two weeks, I’ve failed to achieve it. I realise that I set myself up to fail when I had activities 6 days a week with one rest day. Well, that’s what everyone else on the internet recommended and it made a lot of sense.

Except, that it wasn’t working for me.

I walk my dogs every day so I already have daily exercise and I need to find a way to increase my fitness to achieve my goal whilst also have the energy to achieve it and still walk the dogs. It’s about balance.

The triathlon sites recommend you alternate between cycling, swimming and running and sometimes do two things in one day. Mmm. That’s ok if you’ve got all the time in the world and all the energy in the world and you have a strong back that can withstand all that exercise. And I haven’t.

Nor do I have the inclination to allow this to take over my life.

So I’ve changed my fitness plan.

The reason I am doing this is to have some fun whilst making health and fitness a priority. Right there… I’m doing it to have fun. And raise some money for Guide Dogs in the process.

In the past when I’ve cycled, I’ve tended to do too much too soon. I end up hurting my back, taking days/weeks to recover, regular trips to my osteopath and then I give up. That doesn’t sound a lot like fun.

So I’ve changed my fitness plan so it feels a lot more fun and a lot less effort. I’ve decided to cycle once a week and do a  long walk on Sunday with the dogs. I do qi gong on a Tues and anything else I do in the week will be a bonus.

Will it get me fit enough? I have no idea. One thing I am clear about is that it is increasing my fitness, improving my health and this way it is a lot of fun too.

So I started this morning. 20 mins cycling on the road and 10 mins off road through mud. It was SUCH fun! I was laughing so much and that is certainly good for my health. That’s more like it. What is more is that when I came home, I could still stand long enough to hose down my bike and have a shower… instead of collapsing on the floor like I normally do.

I wonder if this is what it means to live life in a balanced way?

So now I am focussed on having fun, improving my health and fitness and the 10 hour challenge is another 7 months away. I hope to achieve it. I really do. And yet, it is the process that counts, the next 7 months. I want to enjoy them, to have fun, to get fit. That’s what really matters.