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Page 1 of 9 Training for this one simply couldn't be the same as previous years, where personally, virtually zero training had been completed. I knew from the offset that we could potentially have a massive walk for the 5th Highland March (HM).
Since the completion of HM4 I had moved north of the border, cut down on my smoking habit and even better regulated my intakes of alcohol. I had therefore gained myself a firm footing to actually do some training, and it proved to be a god send.
Overview
My training consisted of mostly road walking, with distances of between 10 and 30 miles covered in each session. I would walk whenever possible, in whatever weather, and don all of the essential gear I needed for a full day. A full platypus, first aid kit (just in case), waterproof gear and high energy snack bars & sandwiches. Basically anything I would need to carry on any single day during the Highland March.
Due to my lack of personal transport and the public bus service being, lets say it, far from frequent, I found it difficult to do any sort of hill walking. I was pretty much just getting my legs and feet used to walking long distances over a time again.
I encountered many blisters during training, but nothing I might experience during a full week. I had the aches and pains that also come along with these sessions. But what I learnt was how best to rest up, what muscle creams best suited me, and finally how to deal with these pains back to back over a sequence of days.
Due to partaking in the walk with Team Yompa, I knew that a 70+ mile non-stop-overnighter was going to be tough. I had done no overnight walks before, and found little opportunity to do so in training, so it was certainly a new experience for myself. Yompa had prior informed my his ability to walk 40-50 mile overnighters to prepare, so I was already playing catch up.
For the first time ever, I felt like quitting, and indeed I did at the 57 mile marker at Clunes. About 45 miles in, I felt sharp shooting pains in both feet, and every step I took was agony. Certainly a pain I had never experienced before! It didn’t stop there though, as my legs turned to jelly and I could feel my bones getting more and more pressured - as if they would snap with the next step I took. I was in so much agony that I had to stop after every hundred or so yards, which resulted in me making the final 4 miles in 4 hours. If it had not been for the assistance of Chumba for that final leg into Clunes, I would probably still been there now. The track we took had no access for a ten mile stretch along Loch Lochy.
I thought I had ligament damage in my left ankle as it was so sore, but a lack of food throughout the night didn’t help matters in the slightest. A lesson learned here for sure.
To complete my 5th Highland March from 5 participated, I would have to use my mental strength to get through. Words of encouragement from Yompa assisted here, but I couldn’t help thinking that I was out of my depth with this years event. A decent scoff and a real ‘sit back and take a look’ here for me.
I decided to start the next day from the point I had finished at Clunes, and along with Chumba we made our progress towards Fort William. So happens we were now behind everyone else. It made a change for me personally, as I am usually the one who sets the pace!
Throughout the remainder of the week I found certain areas extremely tough going, as the pains in my left foot persisted throughout the week, and onwards for at least a fortnight after. I had gained a couple of tiny blisters, but these were just minor hindrances to what I claim to be the most difficult of Highland Marches so far. Many inclines, many descents’ including the Devils Staircase, To complete the Great Glen way and West Highland way in 7 days total is an effort in itself, but I couldn’t of done it without the training. He’s my account of the ups, downs, uppers and lowers of the 5th Annual Highland March.
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