Training for The Three Peaks – Month Three

I’m not sure where that last month went, but it absolutely flew by, and that means I am a little late in writing you a training update. If you’re new here, I am going to attempt to climb The Three Peaks – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – at the end of July with a small team of friends and within 24 hours to raise money for Men’s Mental Health. Me and my sister have chosen to do this after our Dad went through an incredibly difficult time, hitting rock bottom and seeing no way out. With the help and support of family, friends and the amazing team in a local psychiatric hospital, he was thankfully able to come through that bleak time and see a future for himself. We thought this would be a fantastic way of celebrating how far he has come, whilst giving back to those who helped him so they can continue to help others. You can read our full story over on our donation page here.

So, a little recap – in my first blog I covered what the challenge is, what training is suggested and what I started out doing to improve my fitness – lots of walking and exercise videos. In my second blog, I showed the walks we had been on and shared that it was becoming quite tiring trying to fit it in and that I definitely needed to focus on building some strength…

Month Three Training

I’ll be honest, the strength training didn’t happen. The increased walks from month two took their toll on my body, which led to stiffness, tight muscles and, unfortunately, migraines, meaning I needed to see my chiropractor. On top of this, school activities ramped up as they so often do during the spring/summer term (sports days, plays, etc), which meant I had less time for my exercise plan. It wasn’t how I was hoping the training would go, but that is life, and when you run your own business, have 2 kids and lots you are committed to, you simply cannot do it all.

On the plus side, I am feeling so much fitter than I was a few months ago AND the team finally got together for the very first time to take on an 11.3 mile walk around Alton, Hampshire… At night! This was the perfect way to test everyone’s paces, cover a lot of ground and a variety of terrains, do 6 hills (yep, 6!) at once and experience what it will be like to climb the mountains as the sun goes down (we will be starting the first one at 6pm).

The Team Hike

We got so lucky with this hike, the weather was warm and dry, golden hour was simply stunning, there was so much wildlife to enjoy, and I saw parts of this area I’d never come across before.

The pace was set quite fast for me and it didn’t help that I was constantly stopping to watch a butterfly/deer/moth/badger which meant I often had to play catch up but it gave me some insight into how the climbs may pan out and how keeping up and taking those rest moments will be really important. Walking at night was actually really peaceful and I guess all those evenings on toad patrol paid off because my eyes adjusted quite easily to the change in light. However, I must get around to buying a head torch because there definitely won’t be any light on the mountains.

I have to admit, I surprised myself in the fact that I did all those miles and didn’t get out of breath at all, proving that my fitness has definitely improved – something I was really pleased about.

My only worry was my leg because by the end, I had a lot of pain behind my knee which I think stemmed from my calf muscles tightening so I really do need to watch out for those signs come the challenge and be aware that stretching, reacting to the issue and being open with my team mates are all things I must do. Despite the pain, I made it and that made me feel a little more confident about taking this all on.

Next Training Steps

As I write this, we have 23 days until we kick off The Three Peaks Challenge, so my main aims are to a) Not get injured!! b) Keep up my walks, c) Get the team together again for a hill hike, d) Use yoga for recovery and to prevent any injuries. I also just keep telling myself that “I can do this!” Sometimes it’s all about mind over matter, isn’t it?

So, that’s it, just under a month to go so I expect my next update could well be me posting from up a mountain somewhere in the UK!! Eeeekkk, wish us luck!

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