First Official Training Session in the Bag!

This was to be the first official Team Tarahumara training session. With Haley called away to Ethiopia on short notice; the remaining troop of three set off this Saturday on a route through picturesque Oxfordshire countryside, with fingers crossed that they'd at least make it as far as the pub before their legs gave in!

We could not have hoped for a better start to the day in terms of the weather for our first team training walk, it was an absolutely glorious winters morning as the three of us (Dan, Richard and Chloe) arrived at Hythe Bridge St to kick off our first official training session.

We had given a few routes around the Shire consideration over the week, eventually deciding that one along the canal would be the smartest plan; there were a few drop out points along the way if it all got too much, and we shouldn't be able to go too wrong navigation wise as long as we had canal to one side or another.

Setting off at just after nine with the sun on our backs we soon fell into a nice steady pace, and before we knew it we'd reached the edge of Kidlington, and were being stared down by multicoloured lion and a rather sinister scarecrow.

As we pressed on along the towpath we found ourselves considering narrow boat living, the most important detail of course being the naming of our boats.

Dan was straight in there with 'Righteous Indignation' which unsurprisingly raised eyebrows at first, but when he revealed it to be the ship in Bucky O'Hare all was forgiven, and the scouring of memories for the theme tune began.

As you might expect this was quite a busy day on the canal, and not just with narrow boats, the sun had tempted everyone out to play.

At around 1 the grumbling stomachs were starting to drown out the sound of passing canal boats, so we decided to settle down for a bit of lunch. We stopped off at Dashwoods Lock under the watchful eye of the local residents.

Dan was outnumbered 2-1 (as you would be in a group of three) vegans to carnivores. Fueled by vegan friendly Nakd bars and flapjack from the good people at Blackfriars the 'two' were actually dining better than the meat eater! We'd all definitely recommend the flapjack (vegan or not), loads of good slow release energy in there to help keep you ploughing through the miles!

About an hour after lunch, we felt the need for a nice refreshing pint, before we had found a pub though, we stumbled across Kizzies at Lower Heyford. After overcoming the initial stumbling block of how to actually gain entry to the place (seriously, who makes windows that look like doors?), we were greeted by a man proclaiming to be the cake therapist. Dubious of this strangers qualifications, Dan tucked in to a healthy wedge of ‘vegan proof' coffee cake purely for the good of the team.

At around 4pm we passed a bit of a landmark, mile 20! Being the grown ups we are, we of course made sure to catch this achievement on camera -  then played around on the remains of a wind felled tree by way of celebration.

 

We continued to clock up the miles, and as our shadows grew longer we decided to make one last stop at Aynho for a refuel before ploughing on to Kings Sutton and the train home.

As Kings Sutton grew closer with each step, the idea of pressing on the extra few miles to Banbury was floated. With two “don’t minds’ and one ‘for the glory!’ the turn off for Kings Sutton came and went, and the race against the sun to Banbury began.


As the light began to fade, and the sugar levels started to drop, madness began to take a hold.

The sun soon beat us (not long after we caught the image above) and we were officially ‘night training’.

Surprisingly our pace didn’t seem to drop off much once the light had gone and we finally creaked proudly into Banbury a little under ten hours after we had set off from Oxford.

The route and pace for the day was all logged on a Garmin and is available for all to see here http://connect.garmin.com/activity/152573858 Although essentially a wiggly line following the canal from Oxford to Banbury, it does give some sense of scale.

Tarahumara Rich, Dan and Chloe with their 'victory' drinks at the Grand Union in Banbury, 27.73 miles start to finish.


So what did we learn that we can take to Trailwalker?

Well, Chloe has learnt that that the right clothes make a difference and although jeans, a Wonderbra and a bag you had when you were at primary school may get you through the day, they are far from ideal; Rich now knows that hurdling objects in the dark won't necessarily end in tears, but you can loose the remainder of your water; and Dan can confirm that a half dozen pints are not the best preparation for a day of walking.

This is not the Peak you were looking for.

Although not official Trailwalker training, Team Tarahumara Dan, Support Crew Chris and 'House mate Mike' headed North this weekend. Here's what happened.


The plan was so simple, Friday: Dan, Chris and 'House mate Mike' would head up to Fort William, spend the night at a bunk house. Saturday: they'd conquer Ben Nevis. Turns out Ben had a different ideas...

The bunk house had been booked, additional drivers put on insurance policies; ice axes and crampons purchased.

With bags packed full of thermals and socks a plenty Dan waited at the train station still daydreaming of crisp snow under foot and clear blue skies a top of a Ben

Nevis summit. Then the call came through:

Support Crew Chris "Have you checked the weather?"
Team Tarahumara Dan "No, not that recently, clear blue skies by any chance?"

Chris then went on to read from the MWIS weather report. Things along the lines of 50-60 mile an hour winds, with 75-85 mile an hour gusts. Temperatures of -8 feeling around -15 with wind chill. Rain, sleet, snow, visability zero.

It seemed Ben was not in the best of moods.

Begrudgingly, we decided that perhaps this was not the weekend to be taking on the highest summit in the UK. A plan B was needed.

Looking at the weather reports for the other ranges in the UK, nowhere looked that hospitable, Snowdonia looked happiest, we decided in the end, in keeping with Ascent of big stuff theme, that Scafell Pike in the Lake District on Saturday would be the next best shout.

We set off from Warwick early doors on Saturday and once on the M6 found ourselves short of at least two more wiper speeds, the weather it seemed, was still not playing ball.

After we had stopped for fuel and food, we left the motorway, and thankfully, the monsoon behind us.
 
We arrived and parked up just South of Wasdale Head around 12 and once out of the car quickly decided that it was definitely hat weather. We kitted up and began our ascent.


After the restart we made steady progress up until we met the dreaded never ending steps of doom, they for those who have not experienced them are some serious thigh burners.

When we met the fork in the road we opted for the route through Mickledore, although the guide book said it would be tougher, it definitely looked like more fun. Other walkers were few and far between on the day, we met a couple who proclaimed that "this isn't what we signed up for" at the frozen stream, and promptly turned back.

Once we had made it up to the ridge line (after a few tactical U-turns) we set our eyes on the cairns, and headed for the summit.

As we progressed, the more barren and empty the scenes became. Although the pure white of the snow was beautiful, the sight of the survival shelter through wind whipped snow clouds was a tad unsettling.


We finally topped the summit around three hours after setting off, we were promised a 70% chance of clear views from the summit, sadly though the 30% won through. It was crazy windy on top, we rushed the formal touching of the trig point, hurriedly took a couple of snaps then took refuge behind the biggest 'structure' we could find.

Dan cracked open the Jaffa Cakes with Chris and 'Mike opting for the classic Kendall Mint Cake.

The decent was sketchy in places although we had opted to take the 'easier' route down past Hollow Stones, the ice made it pretty treacherous under foot. We donned the crampons to make things a little positive under foot. However not long after we applied the grippy footwear, Mike discovered first hand that is possible to have too much of a good thing, getting both crampons wedged he elegantly pirouetted and flipped 'arse of tit'.

Ego and shoulder both bruised, Mike was fit to continue down, and that we did.

The decent seemed to go on forever, jelly legs all round weren't helping either.


After meeting back with, and crossing, the stream down to the lake, we took a break to admire the view -  Scafell made up for the foggy summit with a fantastic sunset across Wast Water.

We completed the round trip in around six hours in all, which considering the weather, and the zig-zagging around the really nasty stuff we were all pretty chuffed with.

Thank you for a great day out Scafell, Ben - We'll see you soon.

 Support Crew Chris, House Mate Mike and Team Tarahumara Dan.




Although this was nothing like what we'll (hopefully) experience the weekend of Trailwalker, there are definitely some points to take away:


1. Liner socks under thick socks are magic, blisters, what blisters?

2. Camel Packs / Platypus systems are the way forward,. Anything that will make hydrating easier and more natural, and not require a stop to get to a drink, will make keeping hydrated all that much easier. Definitely a worthwhile investment for the big weekend.

3. If you're going to insist on Tweeting in sub zero temperatures, then maybe a touch screen phone isn't the way to go (right Dan?).

Let the training (hopefully sans blisters) commence...

"Blisters love damp conditions. Keep your feet dry - experiment with talcum powder during training..."

So, the Trailwalker training pack has arrived at Tarahumara HQ - reminding us that, oh yeah, we've got 100km to walk in a few months... and so soon we are going to have to ratchet up the preparations.

Flicking through the guide, one word sticks out quite frequently - blisters. In fact, many a Trailwalker veteran has warned of these. They can be crippling. Apparently good boots (most definitely broken in before the big day) and socks (dry, frequently changed en route) are vital.

Do any of you have blister tips (or horror stories) to share? All welcome as our training gathers pace...