At 6:45am on Sunday 15th May, I boarded the red funnel ferry in Southampton and headed to the Isle of Wight. The team had decided the take part in Walk the Wight, a 26.5 mile walk across the Isle of Wight, which seemed like the perfect training opportunity, except for the fact that John had failed to tell us about the mountains on the Island! Unfortunately Sophia and Jos had to be replaced by two other members of Blake Lapthorn, Ruth Johnson and Simon Burge, due to prior commitments. Our chauffeur, John Hepworth, was waiting to meet us at Cowes where we proceeded on to our starting point at Bembridge.
We set out at 7:55 from Bembridge with the sun shining and a light breeze. Within ¼ mile into the walk we faced our first everest, Culver Down. Although no more than 100 yards long, the hill was incredibly steep and I felt like a mountain goat climbing to the top. However, once at the top, the views were absolutely stunning. From the top of Culver Down we were able to see all along the coast of the Island and out to the Solent and mainland in the distance. We ventured on across the island through lots of dirt tracks, fields and farming land. There was a definite country smell in the air.
We plodded on and reached our first check point without any hassle. We were averaging a good 3 miles an hour, thanks to John's military time keeping and I was still feeling pretty motivated. The next part of the course took us on lots of wonderful downhill sections, through shaded woods and out onto sandy tracks. We reached mile 9½ with the sun still shining, however, by this point I was looking a little more glum. The muscle in my left hip, which has been a recurring problem, had started to ache and I was conscious of trying not to compensate with my right leg.
After some stretching we carried on to Carisbrooke Castle to reach the half way mark. By this point I had started to break the route down into sections to try and focus my mind away from the pain in my hip. Flat, hill, down hill, flat, hill, bend. The thought of lunch helped me clamber up the last hill to the half way mark. We stopped at 11:40 for a 20 minute lunch break, devouring sandwiches before heading off again.
Disaster struck shortly after we set off. As I had stopped for a rest the muscle in my hip had tightened causing me to walk with a limp. After a quick intake of ibuprofen we ventured on. Needless to say however, after 100 yards of limping along I decided to pull out of the walk rather than do any further damage. I very reluctantly hobbled back to the half way mark whilst the team continued on to the end.
The remaining walkers continued down to Mottistone, along to Freshwater and in to Alum Bay, completing the walk at 16:30, a total time of 8 ½ hours including stops. A good time and a great training session, bar my attempt.
The injury worries are starting to really set in now, so it's off to a sports masseur tomorrow to get the hip sorted. Fingers crossed she can eliminate the problem quickly and for good!
