With my Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge only a few weeks away and no mountains on my doorstep, it’s hard to think of ways to replicate climbing 3 mountains 1 day!! It sounds difficult doesn’t it? Last weekend I decided if I couldn’t climb a mountain I would go for a long walk instead! 5 hours was my goal and I decided not to set one for distance.

As I set off from my home on my own listening to an audio-book with the destination of a local beauty spot, Virginia Water Lake in mind I did start to think ‘wow this might be a long 5 hrs’, however it amazed me how quickly the time passed. Maybe it was taking in the sights or a little people watching along the way or listening to a good book which made the time fly but I was pleased and surprised when I got home and saw I’d walked 15 miles.

I’m not going to say it was all easy as the last mile my hip was definitely telling me we weren’t friends any longer, but I felt such an achievement when I got home even with an aching hip! I might not have climbed a mountain that day but walking for a long distance definitely does help with training.

Now to decide where to walk next weekend! 🙂