35/100 - Reflecting on yesterday's walk

Today was a rest day. :) Yesterday, on the other hand, was not, and I have a slight ache in my legs this evening to prove it.... So, let me fill in the detail I couldn't find the energy to write up yesterday! (Note, you can click on any of the pictures to see them bigger.)

I've been saying for a very long time that I want to 'bag a munro' - or, climb a hill in Scotland over 3,000 ft. I'd asked a lot of experienced walkers for a recommendation for a good 'beginner' one, and the consensus appeared to be Ben Lomond. It's 974m high, and there's a very well laid out trail the whole way, which doesn't deviate or disappear, so it's easily navigated. I've been umming and ahhing for a while whether I had the required fitness levels to try it, and my friend Steve offered to come up and help me with the walk, so suddenly, I was actually going through with it!

On the drive out to Rowardennan, I have to say I was nervous. As we got very close to the car park and visitor centre, I was feeling a bit stomach-churny. Steve, thankfully, is one of life's Tigger people - i.e. the bouncy happy type, who infect you with their enthusiasm. (I seem to know a few of those people, and always end up achieving stuff outside of my comfort zone because of them!!!! *laughs*)

We started the walk at 11am, in beautiful late-October sunshine, and although there was a slight chill in the air, as soon as we started walking I was down to my t-shirt, with my jacket in my bag, and fleece-top tucked in the straps.

It got steep fairly quickly, and I was quite surprised that my heart rate monitor was showing 180+ after a really short time. Steve mused it was more my panic, and I should take deep breaths, but I also knew it's because my fitness levels are still not great, and I avoid the type of cardio in the gym which would help me for something like this... and of course, I'm still pretty overweight. :( But I found that if I counted my steps, focussed on where my feet were going, and looked down rather than up at the steep bits in front of me, I could get through the worst bits before stopping for a breather.

I stopped for a lot of breathers... (aka photo opportunities, haha.)

Steve basically kept me moving - thinking about it, I would absolutely have given up after the first hour, if I was on my own. One hour in, we reached the "Welcome to Ben Lomond" signpost which seemed a little unfair, I was already red in the face and slightly out of breath, lol, and the summit just seemed so far away....

We kept going. Every steep bit just seemed so demoralising, but I would keep my eyes down, count out 6 or 7 steps, then stop for a moment, assess my route, walk another 6 or 7 steps, etc. We stopped for a teabreak twice on the way up the hill (which doubled as a chance to put on another layer of clothing, as the wind picked up and the chill in the air grew). Lots of walkers passed us, everyone was so cheerful and friendly, and I look forward to being able to enjoy the effort involved, rather than just focussing on moving.

Every now and again, stopping and looking back, it was quite amazing how far we'd come, and how the outstanding view was spreading out below us. Just stunning, really. I found it hard to believe I was still moving, haha.

I was feeling the steep bits in my thighs, and my heart rate kept going up to 180 or so. My watch told me we were walking at around the rate of 1 mph - mainly, obviously, because I kept stopping. A couple of times Steve the Mountain Goat would bounce off upwards across the rocks, just for the pure joy of the run, but wouldn't go far, and would encourage me to keep walking at my own pace, to catch up with where he was waiting, but mostly he stayed with me - walking at my pace, chatting away, and helping me identify the easier/safer routes up a wee steep rocky bit.

The wind really picked up as we got closer to the top - and we could see thick clouds building to the, errr, north-west of us. Realising the wind was going to push them towards us, Steve made sure we kept a steady pace, and we reached the summit 4 hours after starting. 4 miles, in 4 hours, with two tea-breaks. Not too bad, for a first-timer. ;)

The view from the top was stunning, but even as we took photos and stood in awe of the scenery spreading out below us, we noticed a mist slowly starting to come in. We'd decided to go back down the same way we came up (the other route is supposedly a lot steeper in parts, and with the mist and heavy winds coming in, I wasn't too happy at the prospect) - so we put our jackets on, and headed back down.

We got a much better pace on the way down, especially with the strong wind pushing us - I commented at one point it was almost like the hill was telling us to p*ss off home now, haha.

I quickly realised, though, that it was just as important to get my footing right. The steep bits going up appeared even more steep going down, at times! I was kind of in awe of what I'd just achieved, so I kept turning to look at the summit; invariably losing my footing as I took my attention away!!! Amazed I didn't fall....

For the first hour (about 2 miles, going down), the summit was shrouded in thick mist, and the wind whistled angrily around us. It was tough going, but we kept a good pace, with Steve leading the way. Eventually the wind died enough for us to shelter and have another cuppa, before tackling the last bit of the descent. By now, the sun was back out again (albeit much lower in the sky, and in my eye-line....) and looking back up the summit just seemed unfeasibly far away! Can't believe I just climbed that... (and note the somewhat sarcastically cloudless sky, just as we nearing the end, haha.)

We made it back down at 5pm - 6 hours after we started. We'd done 8 miles (970-ish metres elevation) in that time, with three rest breaks, and my legs were a bit wobbly from the work! I was sooooo glad to get my boots off, and slide my trainers on.

We drove 15 minutes down the road to a pub in Balmaha, where I got haggis on a baked potato (yum) and could begin to actually bask in what we'd just achieved! I also finally caught sight of myself in the mirror - oh dear!!! To say I was windswept would be an understatement - must remember to tie my hair back next time, lol!! The food went down very well, and I was only a tiny bit jealous of Steve's full pint of cider that he drank as I downed a pint of diet coke!! I knew I had a bit of a drive home ahead of me, so the caffeine would be welcome, but the meal was a chance to quietly stretch my calf muscles under the table, so they wouldn't seize up.

I felt pretty damn good about what I'd achieved - though knew there was too much whinging and moaning from me on the way up!! I definitely need to believe in myself a bit more. Steve commented a few times during the day "you over-think stuff", and "this is really in your head, isn't it?" - to which I would reply lightly along the lines of "yeah, obviously!" - like it's perfectly acceptable to beat myself up all the damn time. Thankfully people keep reminding me to stop being so bloody stupid - eventually it'll start to sink in..... I hope!

As you can see, my Garmin watch data shows the elevation (felt even steeper than it looks, haha) and the 4 hours up/2 hours down split, showing a very clear distinction in my heart rate for the second half of the walk. I'm quite proud of what I achieved yesterday, but I need to do more cardio work to help deal with exerting myself - and I need to drop some more weight.

More than that, though, I need to do more hill-walking.... and that is something that I definitely will be doing. Watch this space. ;)