A sprint round Benington...

Date: Sunday 27th January
Distance: 13km – Easy
Location: Benington/ Arderley/ River Beane Valley
Conditions: Mainly Flat, a few rolling hills
Weather: Dry, Chilly, Blue skies
Participants: Nik, Phil


If you keep reading my blog entries you will see a pattern forming. Mainly involving me harassing Phil into joining me on a walk when he would rather be down his allotment!

Today we went for a walk or perhaps I should say sprint from Benington to Ardeley, Walkern and return. This was an enjoyable walk on a sunny day and there were some early signs of spring with the flowering of snowdrops and daffs. What a difference a week makes.

The guide book said allow 3 ½ hours, we completed it in just over 2. It’s amazing how quickly you can walk when Phil has something he wants to get back to. Note to self - need to make sure there is some urgent allotment business that Phil needs to attend to and we will finish trailwalker in half the time!

Nik

To Ware and Back....

Date: Sunday 20th January
Distance: 12km – Easy
Location: Hertford to Ware, return via Bengeo
Conditions: Flat, one muddy field courtesy of Phil’s detour
Weather: Dry & Mild, Grey skies
Participants: Nik, Phil

Saturday was a write off due to the non stop rain outside, so by Sunday morning I was like a caged tiger pacing up and down. Phil had no choice but to agree to go out for a walk. I could tell he really wanted to be down his allotment instead of being dragged to Ware and back. I think he got his own back by suggesting a detour which involved walking through loads of mud.

Nikki

Doctor's Report....

Event: Visit to the Doctors

Date: Friday 18th January

Distance: 0km – Very Easy (went in the car)

Location: Hertford

Conditions: Flat Roads

Weather: Wet and Grey

Participants: Carl, Doctor

Good news from the doctor. Ankle injury is nothing worse that a sprain so should be able to get stuck into training in the next few weeks. I was getting a bit worried that 3 weeks after the event it's still not right, but with some simple physio, should be right as rain. I suppose I can use this period of time to research some good local walks for the team. Maybe.

Carl.

The first few steps of many....

Event: First training walk
Date: Saturday 12th January
Distance: 10km – Easy/ Leg stretcher
Location: Waterford Marsh/ Stapleford and Sacombe, home via Bengeo
Conditions: Mainly flat, muddy fields, some footpaths flooded
Weather: Dry & Cold, Blue Skies
Participants: Nik, Phil, Gee and Burnsie

This is the first time most of us have walked together, other than down to the pub. A strange experience for Phil & I as we have done a lot of walking but mainly on our own. The idea of this gentle walk was just to see what we’d be like in a group and to start to get new boots worn in (my dearly loved boots finally gave up in October last year) Although Carl wasn’t there due to an over-turned ankle, I’m sure he was with us in spirit.

Within two minutes the bickering, or should I say banter, had started. This was mainly aimed at Burnsie due to his attire. Gee’s description of local farm hand wasn’t far off. Burns gets full marks for innovation though – using a baby’s milk container as a water bottle. I feel a trip to Millets coming on…

For Gee I think the whole experience was a bit of an eye opener. Don’t think he quite believed any of these places existed around Hertford. His most over-used phrase of the day was ‘nope, never been here before either’. How long have you lived in Hertford Gee?

Overall the walk was enjoyable as it was nice to be out and about with friends, however having done this route several times before, I’m itching for new ground and something a bit tougher. Hertfordshire hardly has the scenery of Scotland or the Peak District! At this stage though we just need to rack up the miles and stop the new boots from rubbing so much before we start intensive training in April.

Nikki