The big one.....

How glad am I that this is over.................
Tracey & I started our 20 miles just after 6.30 this morning &, lucky for us, it was mild & dry. Our first two miles were a bit slow.....my old banger legs again! But, we soon made it up during our third mile. Off came my jacket as the temperature was now rising fast.
It's funny that we won't be walking this route & other long evening ones anymore.......we have got used to seeing the same things over the past few weeks, some quirky such as a couple sitting in their camper van in their front garden drinking wine (yes, it's true!), changes in the gardens we pass & even the same people on some routes!
The walk was going really well, my legs weren't causing me too much trouble & I avoided thinking about the huge distance we were facing, choosing instead to just take each mile as it came.
We were soon walking along the High Road & I strode through that awful twelfth mile, not completely ok, but better than normal. It was really very warm & sunny now, a refreshing change for us. However, it was during the fifteenth mile that my legs suddenly ached, more than last week as well. I felt quite low & with still over five to go, my legs felt like lead. I just had to keep going though, stopping, even just to stretch is not an option as I would worry that I wouldn't get going again!
I had to dig really deep, which is something I haven't had to do for a while. I started thinking about those reasons for doing this again. I also remembered my son saying to me yesterday how proud of me he was....little things that keep me going. So, I set myself little targets to help...get to the bridge, get to the church, get to the traffic lights.....take each mile as it comes.....
Tracey has since told me that she was quite worried about me at this point as the colour had drained from my face....
At the 17th mile we carried on instead of turning for home & walked along the cliff top. This turned out to be a bit of a blessing for me.......it was soooo peaceful with just the sound of the sea & only the occasional car passing us......I felt so much better & although there were still almost three miles to go, I knew I could do it. When we reached the 18th, I got that spring in my step again, it seems unbelievable to say this after walking 18 miles!!
It felt fantastic to walk those last two miles knowing what we were achieving, getting through the hard times & getting home!
We walked the last two miles in 25 minutes...faster than we had walked the first two miles earlier!! I couldn't believe that. Tracey's hubby & children were waiting for us at the end of their road & their welcome was very much appreciated! I even raced Tracey home!! Amazing after 20 miles!
However, more amazing to me was the fact that we had walked the 20 miles in 4 hours 13 minutes.......what an achievement, especially after my struggles of the day.
I do ache now & am very tired, but know that I can cross that finishing line in under two weeks time & feel fantastic.......
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