Wind, snow & rain - No Pain no gain

The timing of the London marathon always means a lot of Autumn & Winter training, which inevitably means short days and cold,wet and windy weather, although this year hasn't been as cold it certainly has been very wet & very windy (as I write tomorrow brings winds up to 70 mph tomorrow) just as well it's a non training day :-)
The picture doesn't really show how waterlogged the ground is but gives a flavour anyway

So Inverness half marathon looms on March 13th (First time for me at this one) looking forward to a new race and route http://www.invernesshalfmarathon.co.uk/
Have a couple of leisure days in Aviemore beforehand with some light training and swimming.
Swimming, Badminton and an extended gym  session now in training regime too. So all looking positive for the first race of the season. The day after on the 14th is the start of the John  Muir Way and I finally managed to get a suitable rucksack for the walk but with no tent or other camping paraphernalia I will be travelling fairly lightly.

As far as fundraising goes  I have just passed the 25% mark and have sold a few more pics and items on ebay (it all helps) I will also be spreading the word again via social media sites and will hopefully get another slot in the local paper in a few weeks time. So don't forget if you want to sponsor me follow this link to my JustGiving page.

https://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Ward55

Thanks for reading and check back in a few weeks for another update......Mick/Michael/Vinyl_Spurs

Happy New Year Everybody!

Welcome to my first blog update of 2016 and a catch up on what's been happening in my preparations for my 2016 John Muir Trust triple challenge.

I have now sorted out my itinerary and accommodation for the John Muir Way walk which takes me from West coast to East coast through some of Scotland's most interesting countryside, towns & cities

I will be staying in a combination of hotels & B&B's I am sure to encounter some of Scotland's legendary hospitality along the way. Follow my daily blogs from March 11th - March 22nd, I have managed to squeeze in a weekend with my wife in Aviemore, a half marathon in Inverness, gig on the Glasgow Ferry and Kilomathon in Edinburgh, as well as 134 miles coast to coast.

 

As well as sorting out the itinerary I have been updating my equipment, some of which was long overdue, as I haven't had a new pair of walking boots for something like 15 years or more!!!! I know I know should have been updated long since. At least my running shoes are being changed more regularly (after about 600 miles) My last pair of running shoes were Brooks but I have returned to Saucony guide as I find them more comfortable. 

So here they are ready to rock 'n' roll, will be working them in across next few months ready for March & April respectively. My training plans/mileage has been pretty poor recently with various ailments dogging me, the latest being a dodgy back yesterday, but I am hoping to put all that behind me and avoid a repeat of last years broken toe!!! At the moment I feel like a hamster stocking up for hibernation busily trying to get through all the remaining festive booze, chocolates and snacks, before embarking on the Runkeeper 16 week sub 4hr Training Plan

I dropped in again to the John Muir Trust visitor centre in Pitlochry last week to remind myself of the projects they are undertaking and pick up some more leaflets to distribute. As part of my fundraising I now have 10 pictures on the wall in the Boathouse at Rouken Glen which are available for sale at £15.00 (mounted 10" by 8" images) see below for some of the ones sold already.

Boathouse - Rouken Glen

Path up to the old man of Storr - Skye

Plockton - Kyle of Lochalsh Highlands

So there we are a brief update of progress for my 2016 John Muir Trust triple challenge and as it stands so far I have raised £140 for the trust. To donate follow the following link 

JustGiving fundraising page

Once again Happy New Year to you all and come back again later in January for my next update.