Kilimanjaro Challenge : In The Press....

13. My Kilimanjaro Training: 6 Months In - Getting High at The Altitude Centre

Howdy folks!

 I'm coming near to the end of my Kilimanjaro training journey with just one week to go before I board the plane to Tanzania! Thank you to everyone who has followed the long slog over the last 6 months but the bigger journey is yet to come!

I've decided to braid my hair too! Just to keep it out of the way and make it easier not being able to wash it for days up on the mountain.

Despite training for 6 months and having the right gear on the mountain, many people don't reach the summit of Kilimanjaro because of the misfortune of genetics and biology with their bodies not being able to respond well to the thinning air as you climb higher up the mountain - Altitude

So, as luck would have it in this case - I won a voucher for a free altitude training session at The Altitude Centre  

Would be a waste to waste a taste of altitude right?

12. My Kilimanjaro Training: 5 Months in - Prime Ministers Chequers and the Ridgeway of the Chilterns

Howdy folks! 

Thanks for dropping in to see how my last few weeks are going in my training for Kilimanjaro next. I'm now just 3 weeks away from leaving for Tanzania and have been squeezing in more training walks in the lead up to the big 'K'.

If you've been following my training journey since the beginning (nearly 6 months ago in Richmond Park) you've seen me all over the Surrey Hills, North Downs, The Chilterns, West Sussex and a week training holiday trying to get some mountain climbing in the beautiful Lake District (highly recommend).

Many of these walks I've been doing by myself with the occasional walking buddy or group - so this time I returned to The Chilterns joining the largest international outdoor group in London The Outdooraholics for a 21km trek along the Ridgway and through the Prime Ministers 'Chequers' retreat.....sounds an adventure. 

10: My Kilimanjaro Training : 5 Months in - Ivinghoe Beacon and The Chiltern Forests

Howdy folks!

Fantastic news! I've finally reached over £500 for Action for M.E! Thanks so much to everyone so far for donating towards my climb but with one month to go I'm still welcoming donations to make as much as possible! 

Over the past 5 months of my training I've been having adventures all over Surrey, Sussex, the seaside and the majestic Lake District as I prepare for the epic trekking challenge which is Kilimanjaro next month - of course I'm terrified but excited at the same time!

So this training blog follows an 10 mile circular hike (which ended up being 12 miles) north of the city to Tring to follow the oldest road in Britain 'The Ridgeway' up to the Ivinghoe Beacon and back round to end in the village of Aldbury ...with my friend Nicky as a guest training buddy.

Shouldn't be too hard right?

9. My Kilimanjaro Training - 5 months in....Seaford to Eastbourne and the Seven Sisters

Hi!

Thanks for dropping into my latest blog from my Kilimanjaro Training - time is flying by and I now have only 6 weeks to go before I head out to the big 'K'.

So, let me fill you on my trip news and updates on my training - this time heading to Sussex and the South Downs, right to the seaside to take on the 21km hike from Seaford to Eastbourne over the Seven Sisters...

8. My Kilimanjaro Training - 5 Months In... - Steppin' it up, Chilworth Gunpowder and The Silence of The Pools..

Howdy folks!

Grrrr!!! My best Hannibal Lecter impression. With now just 8 weeks to go until I'll be in Tanzania at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro over the last couple of weeks, I've stepped up a bit of resistance in the sports mask - now sweatin' away with intake of half the amount of air. I now believe training with the mask maybe more beneficial for more my cardio fitness than preparing me for actual altitude but I find it better to train with the mask than without - psychologically anyway!

At this point, with 2 months to go I have done 54 gym sessions (which I'm really pleased I've strictly stuck to), 12 training walks and a 2.5 days steep mountain walking in the Lake District over summer (it rained the rest of the time!).

If this isn't a reasonable amount of training for Kili, I'm not sure what is!   


Hopefully its going to pay off!

7. My Kilimanjaro Training : Lake District - Lake Derwent and Climbing Stickle Ghyll

Hi Folks!

Welcome to my last training blog from the Lake District for my Kilimanjaro training. Like I said in my last blog, the weather here gave me 3.5 days of good weather (or dry weather that is) so I managed to get out of Kendal a couple more times and into the National Park for some last hiking.

So lots of photos and videos... 

Halfway up to Stickle Tarn in the Langsdale Pikes  

Lake District - Lake Windermere and In the Footsteps of Beatrix Potter...

Howdy folks,

Thanks for dropping by again for my next blog from the Lake District. If you'd read my last blog where I slogged my way up and down 7 mountains over 24km in one day, this is a little less intense post this time round. The weather in the Lake District over a week has been very changeable this summer, one day its fine and sunshine and the next you're soaked by shifting thunderstorms!

6. My Kilimanjaro Training - The Lake District - Kendal and The Lakeland Fells

Howdy folks!

Thanks for tuning in to my latest training blog for my Kilimanjaro Training from the Lake District!

Stunning....overlooking Lake Windermere 

Ever been? No, neither have I so as I'm training for Kilimanjaro, it would be a good opportunity to go up to the famous Lakes which had inspired many writers and artists for some more 'challenging' trekking...so I did.

5. My Kilimanjaro Training - 4 Months in... : Hittin' Sussex 26km Balcombe - Horsham

Hi! 

Thanks a bunch for taking an interest in my Kilimanjaro Training and my latest post about how its all going - this time around after my 'gap filling boot time' bi-weekend training trips to my nearest 'hill' around Box Hill, I decided to venture out of county Surrey into Duke Harry and Duchess Meghan's royal turf of Sussex with the Saturday Walkers Club again (but it was on a Sunday forget the namesake). This time, it was going to be a 26km walk from Balcombe to Horsham and the adventure would be a change from my regular trudging ground of Box Hill, however nice and steep it is - still it would be a good opportunity for long-distance endurance walking and break in those new boots of mine that I'm giving the treat of coming to Tanzania with me.

In just three months time!!!     

Yep, thats me there in the red hat, wandering behind through the forest of Sussex...

2. My Kilimanjaro Training - 2 months in - Saturday Walkers Club - Holmwood - Leith Hill - Gomshall

Hello!

Thanks for dropping in to look at how my Kilimanjaro trainings going. With 5 months still to go I've needed to branch out nice and early to practice walking in much tougher terrain if I'm going to get fit to take on the big mountain!

This summer is going to be all about walking, walking and more walking! at least two/three days a month, so what better time to start than a good spring walk out in the wilds of the rolling Surrey hills of England. 

So I began seeking out different places to get some hill walking in around London and came to know about the Saturday Walkers Club which organises free country walks about an hour or so by train from Central London. Feeling that it would be nice to venture into new territory to get some hill walking in, the walk would take us 17km from Holmwood through the Surrey Hills to Gomshall up 294 metres of the wooded hill to Leith Tower - one of the highest points in the Surrey Hills and the South East of England, couldn't beat that for a bit of uphill practice!

Here's a mid walk video from the top of Leith Hill Tower....

The Royal Baby - Awaiting The Heir to the Throne

It's the morning of Monday 22nd July 2013 in London, England and a historic event is about to ignite a spark in the slumbering world and the future of the British monarchy and Commonwealth. The morning news and tabloids are fired up with the unexpected headline that Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge has gone into labour....a baby is on its way.
  

But this is no ordinary birth that the world are ruffling their feathers over in colossal anticipation - its the birth of a baby that is destined to rule a nation and commonwealth. The future heir of England.

The Day Murray Won Wimbledon - My Video Blog

Our hearts were in our mouths, our knees quivering as we held our breaths in the rally of the final point....but after 77 years, 15 Prime Ministers and 3 Monarchs, a British Man FINALLY wins the Wimbledon Men's Singles Title...and I was there...here's my video blogs following me on the unforgettable day that Andy Murray made sporting history....

A Royal Encounter...The Queens 60th Coronation Day

4th June 2013. London, England.

Blue skies, warm weather - It can't be? really British Summer? Today, a somewhat unusually summery British day in the capital is championed by a special royal occasion -the celebration of Britain's long reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth's II 60th Anniversary of her Coronation in 1953. I wasn't even thought about then, but Queen Lizzie's the only British Monarch that has been a constant presence in my life; stamps, coins, T.V, Movies, Cartoons - c'mon she must be a real person.

You can pretty much tell there's a national occasion taking place in Merry Ole' London, which to give us credit, we do very well at staging, as we did with  the controversial National Funeral of Margaret Thatcher on that gloomy morning in April and of course the London 2012 Games.

The National Funeral of The Iron Lady - As I Saw It

The Iron Lady. The Iron Lady. Margaret Thatcher, Margaret Thatcher - now I'm not one that can sit and talk about politics all day but I don't have to be a political junkie to know who Margaret Thatcher was or 'The Iron Lady' as she was affectionately christened based on her nerves of steel and her strong and hearty manner. Love Her or Hate Her she was one tough lady, couldn't have been an easy job. I was only a toddler throughout her time governing the country at 10 Downing Street, so I guess I have no memories of her and know very little about her political lifetime. The news of her death earlier this month in the UK seemed to bring rejoice to certain societies and affectionate praise and blessings from others. So I thought it would be an interesting experience to hop on down to the streets of London to observe the atmosphere of this highly anticipated and controversial national funeral of the former Prime Minister. A historic occasion not to be missed.

Livin' London 2012 - My Short Life as a Games Maker Volunteer

Summer of 2012 - this short period of my hopefully long life I call my Games Maker Life.  I need to be at the Olympic Park by 7.00am for a morning shift as a 'GM' - my identity during the English summer. Afternoon shifts don't start till 2:00pm which gives me a little time to catch some of the morning coverage on T.V. Morning shifts means a 5:00am bus ride and hop on a summer mornings tube up to the Stratford, the home of the Olympic Park in the east of the city. Funny enough I actually enjoy the getting up early part, but I can never sleep very well knowing that I need to be up at the crack of dawn to travel into the city. I leave in my generously free special purple and poppy uniform, which only a handful of people have been selected to have. Looking very militant, I could almost feel myself totally out of character marching down the street like I'm on duty somewhere. That's just dumb.

Memories of a Games Maker - The Rehearsal of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

 

So London 2012 is over, the build up over seven years for hosting the Greatest Show on Earth has now climaxed. But man what a summer it was. I want to share my experience witnessing the rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony that shook the world on the night of 27th July 2012.