Lovely on Thursday this week to catch up with a former work colleague, one who was invaluable to me and my team for a number of years. This was our third attempt at a walk in the last month, the first two thwarted by the weather and likely underfoot conditions. We had our eyes set on Queen Elizabeth Country Park, which you might be surprised to hear is a place I had never previously visited.
The first half had us aiming for Buriton and we took the off-road option, encountering plenty of steep hills and some muddy patches. It was great to chat about old times and catch up generally. It is fair to say that we got lost and at times relied on our phones, a paper map and looking up at the sun for the direction to continue. The scenery was predictably dominated by trees.
We literally couldn’t see the wood for the trees but somehow (just like Mr Benn in my childhood about 55 years ago) suddenly a gate appeared to the road. As time had got on, and I had an appointment in the late afternoon, we decided to move to the solid path for the return. After a less strenuous homeward bound trek, we had a good further chat over coffee, tea and cake. 6.23 miles and, remarkably – as my phone was informing me, a record number of ‘floors’ (55). Mind you, I have only been using the Samsung Health app for a few months; surely one or more of the Ultra Challenges I’ve done would have had more. The distance was worth a bit more to me given I rarely take such hard terrain. The only rain we saw was in the two minute walk back to the car but there was more on my drive home.
Saturday is my walking day of choice and I went round the houses a bit at first with half an eye on the future A to Z challenge that I will no doubt take on at some time, casing the joint on the H to M stretch in Park Gate and Locks Heath. Ultimately I ate up about seven and a half miles reaching Stubbington for coffee. At least this time the coffee machine was working.
I feel that this happens more than it should but a couple of blokes sat down at the table next to me and blow me if they didn’t start talking about themselves and if they could I’m sure they would have whipped out their appendages and argued that their one was bigger than the other’s. I felt my brain cells committing suicide one at a time and I couldn’t talk to them in case stupidity is contagious. As this continued, one of them was blabbing on that he was so streetwise, but what he didn’t say was that street was Sesame Street.
Despite that, I was feeling extremely upbeat. I passed through Hill Head, the whole length of Lee promenade and up the long and boringly straight Station Road after the Cocked Hat Roundabout. It felt a long wait until the Pompey game at 3pm, and to say the match at Peterborough was a massive one would be to say Brian Blessed could sometimes keep his voice down a little. It all took my mind off a couple of aching calves and a blister on the inside of my right foot near the heel. I have had that blister for a couple of weeks and patched it up but a walk of 20+ miles will always test something like that.
So followed an hour and a half of intense nervousness and then exhilaration when we scored late on. It had been an even game but a 1-0 win against the team in 4th was just what the doctor ordered. Most of the afternoon had been shrouded in dark cloud and the final whistle appeared to coincide with the first drops of rain, with me around a mile and a half from home. It was like the Gods of Peterborough were crying but I didn’t care. I felt like Andy Dufresne when he reached the end of his tunnel in The Shawshank Redemption though, unlike Andy, I didn’t then swan off down to Mexico and set up my boat.
Even further than last week as I reached home with 24.16 miles on the clock. Yes, I can still do it. Not bad at all, not bad at all. Very happy indeed despite being mildly damp. Who cares when you’re still top of the league.
Spiceboy's Very Long Walk 