Poles it is then....

Heya!
The usual stuff has been happening; training is going well, fundraising has slowed to a trickle but have taken steps to rectify that - watch this space.
I'm blogging today coz I have just spent the last hour or so tearing up and down Kilvey hill and feeling all fit and stuff. Anyway, coming back down the 2nd time, on a particularly muddy yet rocky part of the hill when my footing just goes and I end up falling over scraping my knee. No skirts in work for me for a while then. I'm just glad the weather is crap! I digress - the reason I'm telling you this is not because it's funny that I fell over, it's because of what I was thinking about when I fell: Walking poles. And whether I should purchase some for Great Wall trekkin'. I kid you not, I was weighing up the pros and cons of walking poles. I think it's safe to say that my stingy knee has made up my mind for me; I'm going shopping.

Cake Sale Day!

Howdy!
I am one tired bunny. I spent the entire evening last night (and into the wee small hours of this morning) baking cakes for a Cake Sale that I held in the reception area of my place of work today.
I made my speciality fresh cream, fresh strawberry Victoria sponge cake which sold before I even set up the stall! My lovely boss bought it for £15 then charged the guys in the office £1.00 per slice so that alone made me £22.00! Fab! I also made cookies and a millionaire shortcake (which looked a mess but sold well!). My lovely friends made fairy cakes, muffins, chocolate Guinness cake (yum!) more millionaire shortcake, carrot cake, spiced ginger and treacle cake, lemon cake and more cookies. My mum made fairy cakes and her infamous fruit cake and I sold it as 'a taste of my childhood'! That went down well. And my mums friend made some lovely Welsh cakes. I had a queue of about 40 hungry workers before I'd even set up the table! It was a huge success and I raised £227.01 towards the cause! Amazing! Thank you to all who contributed and supported me with this!
I'd also like to say thanks to a couple of people who have donated on my just giving page who are not on facebook - Alun and Steven - thank you!
Well, No rest for the wicked so I'd better go and do some of my daily walking training stuff.
Feeling good about the whole thing though!
:O) 

I've given up trying to figure out waht day it is....

For those who are interested - I have still been training and raising money. Doing a cake sale on Friday that should be fun.
That is all.

Day.... Uhhhh...... Dunno. Soz.

Hello you poor long suffering blog readers. (If indeed there are any!)
Thought I'd let you know that I am now up to 26% of my total target and I'm still walking like a million miles a week. I'm feeling fit and confident and really looking forward to the actual event now. (I've always been looking forward to it but more so the closer it gets).
There's nothing really to report to be honest. My life is same old same old and I don't want to bore you all silly with it. This is why I have been uber lame with my posts.
Oh and I thought I'd better let those of you who are sponsoring me for my blog know that I intend to put £1 per missed blog into my just giving account with a note stating 'blog fail - I am rubbish'. Hope that is sufficient?!
Anyway, I'm going to send an email to my lovely friends now to see if they would be willing to help me out with a 'bake sale' type event for this.... Yum!
Ta a lot. A very lot.

Day 31, 32 and today, Day 33 - the longest day in the history of man.

Hiya.
I don't really know what to say that's funny and original and stuff because the 'training' has been much of a muchness this week; a few miles each day etc.... my back has been feeling a bit better today - did some serious flexing of the spine yesterday and it has been feeling easier for it so I'll have to do those exercises regularly methinks.
I have hit the 25% mark on my fundraising and would like to thank another non-facebook user, Glyn for his kind donation - what a star he is eh?!
I'm really so very bored of writing this stupid blog now. It's made me realise quite how boring my mundane little life is. Meh.

Day 29 (little bit of fail) and Day 30.

Yo yo yo wassup?
Yesterday I took a nice long nap and a nice long walk with pooch - about 8 miles on the beach. Nice. I ate some Chinese food too. Gotta start practising that too I guess.
Today I cleaned my house, went for a lovely barbecue at my next door neighbours house then went to the beach again. It was freezing! We walked about 5 - 6 miles. My back has been really aching this weekend so I've been trying to take it easy. Shouldn't be too long now before my elbow is well enough for me to be able to see the osteopath and get my back cracked. Seriously, I'm falling apart. 
I'm so bored of writing this blog now. Can you tell? 

Day 28 BONUS!

I didn't drink any tequila - in fact I was really well behaved on the alcohol front... however, it is nearly 5am.... I'd like to say I was sober...

Day 25, 26, 27 and today Day 28. Rubbish.

Hey y'all
I know, I know - I'm crap. Well this week I have been mostly walking a minimum of 5 miles per day. In the rain. Apart from today where I walked 2 miles. In the rain.
I'm off out tonight for my lovely neighbours birthday and I should have been over hers 20 minutes ago so that's it for today. I am crap, it is true.
No tequila for me tonight..... 

Day 24. ...Is it because I lied when I was 17?

What odd weather we have had today; Sun, rain and thunder, sun, wind, sun and wind, sun, thunder and rain, sun, thunder and hail and sun, bit more wind, a rainbow... you get the picture.
I had my elbow looked at by Nursey today - she was brutal with the cleaning. That's right, Love. Get in there, it's only a GAPING WOUND. I mean seriously there was no need. At one point she even started picking. I kid you not. I had to tell her that what she was pulling on was still live and that I'd hit her if she carried on. OK, I lied about the 'hitting her' part but trust me, I thought it. Still, it's healing well and I'm a bit more able with my right arm every day. (Can't wait to be able to straighten my hair.)
Dog and I did a couple of circuits by the river this evening. Approximately 5 miles. The weather was in a 'sun' phase when I got home and quickly descended into 'thunder and rain' so I donned my very old waterproof trousers. I say they're very old, I've had them years and worn them about 3 times. The reason being they are WAY too short for me. I have to wear them low so they cover my boots and then the crotch is by my knees... anyway - it was belting down - I didn't care - I put them on. I also put on the only waterproof jacket I have which is a battered old ski jacket. Got down the to the river just as it stopped raining and the sun came out. I must have been 110 degrees in that flipping coat! We walked a few miles, dog chased her ball and I was starting to feel like a right numpty for being waterproofed to the max. However, I actually saw (only) 2 other dog walkers while we were out and they were waterproofed and looking like they felt like numpties too so that was OK. This is when 'thunder, hail and sun' kicked off. Holy moly! That was one moment in my life to find myself glad that I was roasting in my ski jacket whilst wearing a stupid looking pair of waterproof trousers. It was actually kinda fun. I stayed totally dry (yey!) and dog was belting around like a loony, loving the rain and getting a little freaked out by the thunder. That downpour actually added about another mile and a half onto our walk because we were both just having too much fun to go home yet. It was cool. We then got blow-dried by a gusty wind on the way back to the car. Which was just as well because it occurred to me that I'd get my car seat wet when I got back in it. I know what you're thinking; "take them off". I know, I know but I couldn't without removing my boots and... well it would just get messy. So anyway that wasn't an issue because I was dry so we jumped into the car and headed home. This is where 'rainbow' phase of today's weather kicked in - it was a full rainbow right over Kilvey Hill. It was pretty.
Anyway. I'm boring myself so I'm going to bed now. Night.

Day 22 and 23. Drenched much?!

Hiya
For some reason 'blogspot' was not letting me in to my account in order to post a blog yesterday - they must have known that it was an exceptionally boring day and therefore would've been a boring blog. I'll leave it there.
Today I took dog to Pembrey Country Park for a mega-walk. We arrived just as it started belting down with rain but it's OK - I was testing out some of the kit I have acquired/bought recently so the rain was welcome. I had my little rucksack with my 'water-bladder' in it to keep me hydrated, (note to self - wash it out better next time - my water tasted of rubber. Messy.) a tub of mixed fruit, a mars bar, some crisps and my waterproofs. I will NOT be taking the waterproof jacket with me to China. Waterproof my arse! I will however be taking the new Bridgedale socks and old Ripcurl trousers I was wearing. Anyhoo - got 'waterproofed' up and headed out. Within seconds of being out in the elements the rain turned to hail the size of maltesers, the wind picked up and a thunderstorm ensued. Dog was proper scared of the thunder at first but she soon got used to it. It hail/rained for the first 20 minutes we were out and I got soaked. However, within 5 minutes of the rain stopping my fab Ripcurl trousers totally dried out and all was well with the world. Until dog rolled in poop. Why? Why? WHY?!
Well we walked for 4 hours and having got home and looked on a map at the route we took, I estimate it to be approximately 10 miles. Go me. My big toe on my left foot is feeling a little tender but there's no blister. Another 3 miles and I'd have a cracker I reckon. Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. I could do with crashing out on the sofa now (like what dog has) but alas, I have to mop my kitchen floor. *sigh* To coin my cousins phrase: My life is average.

Day 21. I hear thunder. Hark! Don't you?!

Yo.
Day 21 was all rather nondescript. I went to work and used the stairs and lifts in equal measure. (Up the stairs, down in the lifts) I had a lovely market salad and got LOADS of work done (as usual).
Well, my back was feeling all wonky again (I'm so going to get it 'cracked' when my elbow is better) so I attempted Kilvey Hill - got about 100 yards up the hill and the gradient really wasn't helping so I made my way back to the car with a very disappointed looking dog and headed to the secret beach instead. By the time I got there, the sky was black and there was a thunder-storm taste in the air but we didn't let that stop us. We're double-hard. We walked for an hour and a half watching the sky get darker and the clouds get thicker while I hoped it didn't belt down because I was wearing jeans and a non-waterproof jacket. Dog chased the waves while I hobbled along the sinky sand with the pain in my lower back making me walk like I had a pole up my butt. That was fun. As we made it back to the car the first spots of rain were falling. Now that's what I call good timing.
I got home and lay down on a hard floor with some pillows under my belly desperately trying to 'clunk' my back. It didn't work. So I'm sat here writing this now with what feels like a dislocated hip and burning in my lower back... I'm going to bed. It's half past 9. What a raver.
UPDATE: In my haste to get to bed I didn't actually post this blog. D'oh!

Day 20. Now that's a FIRE!

Hello hello!
Well as I have been exceptionally crap lately, I decided today that I really would get back on it and start proving myself worthy of such a mammoth trek... so I took the stairs twice in work, (that actually hurt again - how quick your muscles forget eh?!) I ate well by having cereal for breakfast, a grilled BLT baguette for lunch and will be munching some scrambled egg and beans on toast as soon as I've finished this.
Oh - and I went back to the hospital about my elbow today too - I have Super-Human-Healing-Powers apparently! Nursey was ever so impressed with how quick it is healing. She told me that she was expecting to give me stitches (and even had the suture kit ready) but all it needed was a new bandage. I'm Amazing!
Anyhoo all weekend Kilvey Hill has been on fire so today, after the first day of rain Swansea has had in nearly a month I thought I'd get up there and check it out.
So once again with dog in tow I headed out. I decided that I would take the same route in the opposite direction today so the what is normally 40 minute down hill route would be my way up. (I guess as a bit of self punishment for being so crap lately.) My GOD that's a steep and long way up! Well, I kept a steady pace all the way up but I have to say that the fire damage to the entire one side of the hill is so bad that I very nearly cried. It really was heartbreaking to think of the amount of wildlife that have lost their little homes and the lasting damage that has been done to the woodland by some little sh*ts with matches. I'd kick their asses if I caught them, bad elbow or no bad elbow. I did my bit for nature though by clambering into the charred skeletons of the trees and stamping out areas that were still smouldering. With all this in mind, I got to the radio masts in 28 minutes. It normally takes me about 40 minutes to get down from there! How can that be?! Well, I did anyway - I'm not lying. Dog didn't roll in anything this evening either. (Yey!)
We did it in 49 minutes.
I guess a weekend on the beer hasn't had too negative an effect on me eh?!

Day 19. Holy Moly! People are generous!

Hi y'all
Just a quick one today to let you all know that I have the most generous friends and family. I hit another milestone today - 20% of my overall target of £3,000 has been met! In fact while I'm writing this I had another very generous donation from another lovely friend taking me to 21%! I'm landed! Thank you so much for your kind donations to everyone who has dug deep and helped get me here in such a short space of time. THANK YOU!
Today I have mostly been tired from a lack of sleep thanks to a combination of pain from my elbow and weird nightmares/aural hallucinations courtesy of the penicillin I'm taking. So I hate to say it but the extent of my 'training' has been a few miles along the river with dog. I know - I'm gonna end up dead on the Wall if I don't buck up my ideas. I will. At some point.... I'm sure. :O/

Day 18. The pain. THE PAIN!!

Yes I know - I've been really crap with this blog lately. Let me start with Day 16 - Sunday. I walked dog by the river - approximately 4 miles at a fast pace on even terrain. That's the extent of my 'training' since Sunday. Feeble effort by me. I then had some lovely friends come from Cardiff early evening to help me and some other lovely friends from Swansea celebrate my 27th birthday. (Ahem). We drank wine, Bud and tequila (well I did anyway) we had a lovely burger at Eddie Rockets - coz there ain't no finer diner and we danced the night away. That was all good. We all then piled back to my house where I 'fell over' in my kitchen and ended up with a big gash in my right elbow. Ouch. My house ended up covered in blood as did my guests but I was double hard and only cried a little bit!
Day 17 I asked my lovely neighbour to take me to Boots to buy plasters and antiseptic stuff. I was, at this point, unable to bend my arm and my elbow had a big lump on it and my right hand was puffy. Needless to say it was extremely painful. Around tea time I realised I needed something more than a plaster as I was still bleeding everywhere so I rang my other lovely friend who lives by the stadium and asked him if he could pop to boots for me and pick up some butterfly stitches. He did and came over and stitched me up. He's a star. I was unable to move freely by this point and was finding myself in a whole new world of hurt so I went to bed. I didn't sleep a wink which brings me on to today, day 18. I woke up and my entire right arm was swollen, my fingers were like chipolatas and the pain in my elbow was such that I thought - hospital.
The thought of having a nurse get in there with swabs and antiseptic was the only thing that stopped me from going yesterday but I figured it had to be done.
The doctor took a look at it and commented on the fact that she could see bone. Nice. She also commented on the fact that it was infected which was causing the swelling in my arm. She cleaned it without any anesthetic and my GOD she got stuck in there! I really thought she'd have to peel me off the ceiling by the time she was done! She left the wound open (yak) and put an iodine dressing on it and prescribed me a course of strong antibiotics and have to go back on Thursday for a check up and possibly stitches. Messy.
I did take dog out for a walk this evening though. We had an hour down the beach and walked probably about 2 miles. She wasn't happy with me though because my throwing arm was lame and had to throw her ball left handed... generally landing about 6 foot away from me. Rubbish.
I've eaten quite well though but I guess that's all been cancelled out by the copious amounts of alcohol consumed. I really am quite crap.

Day 14 fail and Day 15. Fail.

Yesterday was busy. I spent the morning watching the Royal wedding. As you do. I then spent the afternoon running around a back garden playing catch and Frisbee and various other energetic stuff with children and dog. I ate cereal and a sausage bap and drank lots of tea. I meant to do my blog when I got home but ended up rearranging my spare bedroom instead. I then got ready to go out with a bunch of old workmates - some of whom I haven't seen for years. I drank a silly amount of lager, danced like an idiot and had a late night.
Which brings me neatly onto today; an epic fail of the highest order. I have slept, eaten Chinese food and not left the sofa. I am crap. It is true. I clearly had a workout yesterday though because every muscle in my body aches so I deserve a day off... That's how I'm justifying it anyway.
I'm hoping to be back on form at some point. Honest.

Day 12 Fail and Day 13.

Do you know what? I don't actually know why I'm doing this blog. Nobody reads it.
Well, yesterday was my birthday! Yey! I turned the ripe old age of 27.... :O/
I took the stairs in work twice (although I did find myself in the lift heading back up to the office after lunch. I blame my colleague - he was distracting me by talking to me and my 'muscle memory' took me to the lift. I was sailing past the 2nd floor when I realised. Oops. Well, it was my birthday...) I ate a sarnie from Boots for lunch with 2 cookies and a doughnut. (Well, it was my birthday...) I took pooch out alongside the river for an hour - nothing too strenuous. (Well, it was my birthday...) I was then taken out for a lovely meal by my buddy where I had a lamb steak and veg. (and a couple of glasses of wine - Well, it was my birthday...) Then got back to my house and my lovely neighbour joined us for a bottle of rose fizz. (Well, it was my birthday...! Haha) I failed on the blog front and I don't think anybody noticed. Meh.
Today I felt a little wobbly (my 27 year old liver can't process alcohol like it used to!) so I got up (late), went to a funeral then went to work in the afternoon. I had more sarnies and a packet of crisps for my lunch and got stuck into the remaining tin of fruit salad in my drawer in work. IT HAD ACTUAL FRUIT IN IT! Not just pears! Yey! I felt so special!
I took the stairs once (not easy with a mild hangover).
Tonight I decided that I would walk dog on the secret beach purely because I would like at least one night where she's not smelling of poo. So off we went. I think we'd been on the beach 2 minutes when she found a lovely rotting fish to roll in instead. I think I prefer the poo. She is humming! The tide was right out too so I couldn't even chuck her in the sea. She did have a swim in the river but that was about 45 minutes later - the smell was dried on and there to stay by then. Marvellous.
We were out for 1 hour and 38 minutes walking on sinky sand. Hard work on the legs that is!
So, now I've just put some bangers and mash on for my tea and I am watching tv for an hour before bed. Nice.
Yawn.

Day 11. I fell asleep.

Woke up to an alarm this morning (after sleeping through it for over an hour), absolutely shattered, a little achy and more than a bit grumpy.
I took the stairs in work. 4 times. I actually ran up the first few flights on the first trip up them this morning. Check me out! OK so I felt sick and hot and unable to breathe but I wouldn't have been able to even think about that without dying last week. Rock on! I didn't do that again today.
I ate a healthy Market salad again. This one wasn't as nice as previous salads though - I must confess. Too much raw onion hidden in it and a funny tasting noodle layer. I ate it all though so it can't have been that bad. Dammit! I forgot about my last tin of fruit salad.... I'll have it tomorrow. It is my birthday after all.
Had a donation towards my cause by another non facebook user today so a big fat thanks to John for his kind donation. What a star! 
So got home from work (late) and went straight to Kilvey hill with dog. She rolled in poop again only I don't think it was of cow or horse origin. It was... how do I describe it? Meaty? Rank is probably a better word. This happened towards the end of the walk though (I assume). I'm jumping ahead of myself.
Made it to the radio masts in 21 minutes at a steady pace. Let me remind you - 4 x 160 stairs during work time.
It was all rather incident free, or so I thought until we got back to the car. Dog jumped in, a got in and shut the door. That's when I noticed the smell, turned around and saw poo-dog with a stinky neck. Why do dogs do that? Urgh. Anyway she went straight in the river. She still smells bad. Thanks, dog.
We did it 52 minutes.
Sorry this is late but I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up thinking "BLOG!".
Anyway - it's now officially my birthday so I'm going to bed. What a raver.

Day 10. I'm so tired...

All you need to know is that today I have walked miles, I've climbed a silly amount of steps, I've walked miles, I've driven miles, I've walked miles, I've eaten good stuff and crap. Oh and did I mention that I've walked miles?!
Had a really fun day with the family on the beaches of Devon. I've caught the sun and laughed a lot. I'm now back in Swansea - got in about 10 minutes ago (11.50pm ish) and I am knackered.
Bed for me - got work in the morning. They say there's no rest for the wicked. All I can say is I must have been an axe murderer in a former life.

Day 9. A day late... Soz.

Hiya!

Well, today was officially the only full day of my holiday. I was woken at 6am by my youngest niece. Whose stupid idea was it to stay in a tin can with 2 other adults and 2 children under 5?! Anyhoo – I got up feeling a little wobbly from last night’s wine and beer, but felt much better after a luke warm shower in a draughty campsite shower block, a gallon of tea and 3 toasted buttered hot cross buns. It is Easter after all.

Today we decided to have a little explore around Ilfracombe. My GOD! We walked miles!! Any guilt I have been feeling in the last couple of days for not doing much in the way of exercising has totally been cancelled out by the MILES we covered today. Seriously, I have a Border collie, you know, a ‘working dog’ that can generally walk, run and play all day and she is currently comatose at my feet. That’s how far we walked.

I was very good today too – I haven’t touched any of my Easter eggs. I had a healthy lunch of bacon, egg, chips and beans (I even ate my salad garnish) and a mint choc chip ice cream with a chocolate flake... Oh hang on – that’s quite fattening and crap isn’t it?! Well I’m not on a diet and I’ve walked a million miles so I’m not beating myself up!

I’m now sat with a glass of wine – surrounded by my sun-kissed family feeling all warm and tired, waiting for pizza to cook and enjoying my last day of freedom before I am forced to climb a million and one steps in the morning as penance for enjoying myself for the last couple of days. Thanks for the motivation, Dad. I think.

UPDATE – I’m now sat in the pub (10.30pm) with only HALF a lager – desperately trying to connect to the internet to post this stupid blog but stupid Devon has no stupid internet connection so it’s gonna have to wait til the morning. Sorry for letting you all down....  :O/

UPDATE UPDATE - no wifi on the beaches in Devon apparently so the posting had to wait til I got home. ie now. 11.52pm.

Day 8. I'm officially on holiday.

I'm gonna have to make this quick coz I'm sat outside a closed bar (gutted and cold) with only a crap battery on this laptop for company.
This is officially the 1st day of my only holiday this year and I spent it driving to Devon in convoy with my family. It was fun. Roof down, sun shining, music blaring... gotta love that!
I have done no exercise to speak of - a bit of walking around the campsite, a bit of chasing after dogs and nieces. I have however eaten ice creams, BBQ burgers, (I'm gonna be ill tomorrow) a lump of melted revels (left over from last night) and have drunk several beers and a couple of glasses of wine. I'm amazed I can type.
I am pretty much sat here on my own while all of my family is having fun half a mile down the campsite just for those who are sponsoring me for this daily blog.... I hope you're happy!!
My crap battery is on 'almost empty' so I'd better post before my laptop dies.
I'm having fun, I'm doing no exercise and I'm eating and drinking to excess.
Loves it! :OD

Day 7. The guilt is setting in...

Hiya.
Today is the first day of my Easter bank holiday weekend and I was up early in order to get myself organised for a weekend break in Devon with the fambly.
I had a banana for breakfast and had every intention of a quick walk up Kilvey Hill before setting off. I loaded up the car with all of mine and dogs holiday stuff so we could just be gone as soon as the walk was done. This is when I realised that I had no cat food in the house... I can't leave for the weekend knowing that there's not enough food for my house-sitter to feed my cat. So by the time I went to Tesco and bought some moggy-mush (and a case of beer) I'd run out of time for the walk. Self inflicted guilt trip number 1.
In order to relieve some of the guilt, I justified my general crapness by thinking that as I would be spending the day with my sister and nieces shopping for holiday food and BBQ stuff etc, I would probably end up walking miles around supermarkets and the like. I was right. I don't think I have ever spent so long in Tesco before or have I ever pushed such a heavy trolley for so long. The good news is that we bought some lovely barbecue food (and even picked up some salad!) and I had a 'Special Easter Turkey Roast Dinner' in the cafe. You'll be glad to know that I ate all of my veg (except for the black carrot).
My youngest niece fell asleep in the car on the way to the garden centre so I had to wait in the car while my sister and eldest niece went shopping for a dog cage. However I didn't have to eat half of the 'sharing' bag of Revels I ate while I was waiting for them. Self inflicted guilt trip number 2.
So we lugged all the food back to my sisters fridge, I played with the girls for an hour then we all went down (the slight hill) to the local pub for tea.
I had ham, egg and chips. Self inflicted guilt trip number 3.
I also had a couple of bottles of bud. Self inflicted guilt trip numbers 4 and 5.
The long and short of it is - today I have been utterly crap.
So to celebrate my crapness, I am working my way through the rest of the bag of Revels I started eating earlier. Self inflicted guilt trip number 6.
Meh. Sod it - I'm on holiday.

Day 6. I feel wonky.

Today I worked. I took the stairs this morning alongside a lady a good few years older than me. (She was going to the 4th floor) and quite frankly, she put me to shame. While I was puffing and panting she was chatting away with all of her breath in tact. She was lovely and even gave me the email address of her organisations communications team to raise awareness of my plight! Nice.
My esteemed colleague (and bezzy mate) was uber supportive at lunchtime and took the stairs with me both down and back up. And that was after walking around town for half an hour looking for sunnies. That was quite an effort. Cheers, Bird! :O)
I ate another lovely mixed salad with loads of good stuff in it from the Market for lunch and thought I would take a chance on another tin of (hopefully) fruit salad. I cracked it open and it was a delight to look at. In all it's glory there sat a cherry AND a grape! On top of an entire tin of crunchy chopped pears. I'm hoping that the next (and last) tin has a slither of pineapple too...
Anyway - I've been feeling a bit wonky today. Some of you may know that I broke my back recently. (Not literally broken - a couple of rotated vertebrae in my lower back was all it was. But it felt broken I can tell you.) Well today I've felt like I need a damn good clicking. Doesn't hurt but... I just need to be clicked. With this in mind I made a judgement call on my training.
Got home from work 4:15 ish, sun was warm... Alright, alright, we went to the secret beach. I actually felt guilty for not taking on a hill tonight but that guilt quickly dissipated when I stepped onto a warm beach totally devoid of people. Just me and dog. Lovely. 
We walked for about an hour and a half... yeah I was slack on the timings today too. Sorry.
So now, I'm sat in my kitchen with a glass of wine. I figured it's allowed because I've had a 'bad day'. I'll get back on it tomorrow. :O)
I'll be back tomorrow evening to inflict more of my lameness on you.

Day 5. Bored now.

Ah. Another beautiful day in Swansea and my muscles are healing nicely. Or at least they were.
I was in the office all day today which meant some serious stair action. My morning stairs nearly killed me again. I found myself walking on jelly legs from the top of the stairs, down the corridor and into the office. (Singing the Softmints 'Mr. Soft' tune off of the 80's all the way.) That was fun.
I sent out a mail shot to everyone I come into contact with through my job, alerting them to my mission, my Just Giving page and this pile of dribble. I had some very generous donations as a result! Thank you to those who sponsored me - your names are at the end of this blog! :O)
At lunchtime my lovely colleague (and bezzy mate) took the lift down to the ground floor, I took the stairs and I don't think I kept her waiting too long... Actually, I think that she should be taking the stairs with me. You know, for support like... ;O) 
So had a walk into town at lunchtime and bought myself a really special mixed salad from the market containing rice, pasta, egg, potato, olives, beetroot, peppers and various other nice salady type stuff and a pack of 3 mini tins of fruit salad for aaaafters.
You'll be glad to know that the 2nd trip up the 160 stairs was actually a little easier and I wasn't puffing and panting and feeling (as) sick at the top. I'm getting all fit n stuff! Yey!
So I ate my lovely salad (and I think I ate a prong off a plastic fork too - I had 4 prongs when I started eating and only 3 when I finished.... I never did find it and my plate was clean so I'm guessing it's in my belly somewhere...) and cracked open a tin of fruit salad. Seriously disappointing times - my tin of fruit salad was very quickly renamed a tin of chopped pears. Crunchy chopped pears at that. With one tiny chunk of peach or something. (I couldn't actually tell you what it was because it tasted like pear.) Don't get me wrong, I like pears but I wanted mixed fruit - you know, a cherry or 2, some grapes, pineapple.... you get the idea. But no. Just pears. Bummer.
About 3pm I needed to pop to the car, so I got up, walked to the lifts, pressed the button, stood there for about 3 seconds when I remembered that I am not using lifts until September! Dagnammit! I very nearly didn't go to the car. 3 times up and down those stairs today. 3 x 160 stairs.... This is going to kill me.
So Got home from work and unfortunately Kilvey Hill was NOT on fire tonight so there was no excuse not to walk it. (D'oh!) So me 'n' dog got on it. It was a painful slog all the way up to the radio masts (22 minutes) but the sun was shining and my music was loud so it was all gravy. I don't think dog was really feeling the love today, mind - she was dragging her paws and I had to keep stopping to let her catch up. At one point (the bottom of the steepest section of the hill) she stopped, looked at me as if to say "You're joking, right?! I'm knackered!" then turned around and started heading back to the car! Today it was like having a stroppy toddler in tow. I felt like I was saying "Come on, Mills!" like every 30 seconds! In fact I probably was. She perked up a bit on the way down though after she had had a little lie down in one of the streams to cool her belly. It can't be fun having a fur coat on in warm weather. Perhaps I should clip her...
We did it 1 hour and 4 minutes.
Now after eating a bacon and mushroom omelette and drinking a gallon of tea I'm gonna join the dog on the sofa and reward my good work with a bag of mini eggs. Shush! It's allowed!!
Big thank you to:
Anonymous (you know who you are!), Allan, Neil, Debs and Maynard - you guys ROCK! :OD x

Day 4. (Oh Man! Is it only day 4?!)

Howdy peeps.
Day 4 eh?! I'm amazed I'm still blogging!
Anyhoo today was fun - beautiful sunny day and a jolly to Cardiff for work, that was nice (no stairs. Yess!) I kept the healthy diet on an even keel at lunchtime by having a chunk of cow and a jacket spud with a buddy. And I only used the 2 packets of butter on my spud. Good, me. Although it's just occurred to me that I didn't eat the salad garnish... I ate all my fried mushrooms though, do they count towards my 5 a day? Oh and I had a couple of deep fried onion rings too - they were slightly overcooked and crispy but they were tasty in all fairness.
Anyway - I hit a milestone today - I reached 10% of my £3000 fundraising target! Yey! Thank you to everyone who has generously got me here in less than a week! You're amazing! For those who haven't donated yet - why not?! ;O)
So - training.... urgh. Today I have been aching like an achy thing from Achesville. I'm sure I've been walking funny as a result. Well, after my healthy and balanced lunch I drove back to the office. (With the roof down. Sweet!) As I put my rucksack with my laptop, papers, chargers and various other work related stuff on my achy back I remembered that I am not using lifts until mid September... 160 stairs mind. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY stairs from reception to the floor I work on. And that's not counting the 9 or so steps outside the building! It nearly killed me - I don't mind telling you.
Going back down - I thought my shins were going to fall off.
So Kilvey hill was certainly NOT on the agenda. Actually - I wouldn't have been able to walk up Kilvey hill today even if I'd wanted to - it was a little bit on fire...
Secret beach was calling. We love the secret beach, Dog and I. So we walked for about an hour and a half on soft (sinky) sand with my legs killing (approximately 2.5 miles) but it really was pleasant. Dog was belting back and forth chasing the waves, the sun was shining and some tunes were pumping into my head via my mp3 player. It was good.
*sound of bubble bursting*
Back to the tiring hilly leg-aching stuff tomorrow then. Meh.
Oh my god! It's 10 past 11! I'd better get this hair dye off my head before I end up bald!!
Lataz!

Day 3.... oh my GOD!

Hallo!
Blimes! Well, back in work after the weekend today and I decided that part of my training regime would be to no longer use lifts and take the stairs wherever I am. My office is on the 8th floor.... *shudder*
Fortunately for me I had a meeting in Pencoed this morning and only had to tackle one flight of stairs (18 stairs in total - I counted them!! Oh dear.)  and this afternoon I was at a meeting in Velindre Cancer Centre... no stairs to tackle. Shame.
I also had grand plans of getting a salad of sorts from the local pub in Pencoed before leaving for Cardiff but alas, I ran out of time and HAD to have a McDonalds in the car on the way.... Only the chips were deep fried... oh and the southern fried chicken in my deli sandwich... but it comes with a strip of lettuce and 2 slices of cucumber. That counts, right? (I removed the cucumber - can't stand the stuff.)
The way I see it is I didn't drink any alcohol on the weekend so I'm allowed some crap, surely?!
Anyway. Got home and into my 'walking gear' (pair of jeans, a sleeveless hoody and my walking boots - not officially 'walking gear' apart from the boots but who's arguing?) and headed out to Kilvey hill with dog once again. Seriously! My muscles are rubbish! My backside and thighs WRECKED all the way up (20 minutes to the radio masts) and my shins were on fire all the way down! I'm clearly working them too much. I think tomorrow I'll have a walk on the beach to 'rest' my poor little self!
I did it in 1 hour and 6 minutes. (And that includes 10 minutes looking for the ball that dog lost within 5 minutes of being out.)
Time for pasta and a brew.
My life is riveting.

Day 2 of the Training Ordeal...

Today I figured that training without adopting the healthy diet to go with it would be a little silly so I headed to Tesco *shudder* and bought a shed load of pasta, meat, fruit and veg... Got it home, ate half an Easter egg (It was looking at me! What can I say?!) then made some homemade tomato sauce to go on my pasta which I then ate. It wasn't as good as the Easter egg.
I watched an hour of the Chinese Grand Prix when I decided I should get out there again.
So once again, with dog in tow we headed for Kilvey Hill and took the same route we took yesterday. My dog is so thoughtful - about a third of the way up she found a nice fresh cow pat to roll in covering herself in poofume. Just for me. You smell delicious, dog. Thank you. Well, this encouraged me to walk a little quicker in order to create as much distance as possible between us and I made it to the radio masts in 15 minutes. Speedy Gonzalas, me! Ok so I thought I was going to puke by the time I got there but that's irrelevant. As I'd made such good time to the top I figured we'd take a slightly longer route back down in order to stop at the pond so dog could have a swim (and wash off the stench!). And that's what we did. Little did I know that it would be so busy at the pond... about 15 people all hanging out and throwing random stuff into the water. But it was cool - as soon as they caught a whiff of 'poo-dog' they cleared off leaving me to soak up a few rays and chuck the dog in the pond. Very pleasant it was too. So we hung around there for about 10 minutes and headed back to the car. And that's it. Another anti-climax!
I did it in 1 hour and 7 minutes.
Now, sat in my kitchen there really is an overwhelming stink of cow poo. Great. I love my dog.
Come back again some time for more of my exceptionally boring ramblings!! :O)

Great Wall of China Challenge

Well, as my 'about me' section states, I am going to be walking the Great Wall of China in September and thought that it may be fun to share my training woes with you lot!
So Day 1 of the new fitness kick was today... I must be honest, I wasn't feeling particularly motivated this morning so I went back to bed until 11am (good start, Kel!!) However, when I did drag myself up I decided that given I'm so unfit  I'd start 'small' and take a stroll up Kilvey Hill in Swansea and time myself in the process to monitor my general fitness levels.
So with dog in tow we started the ascent to the radio masts at the very top. Half way up we were almost run over by a nutter tearing down the path on his mountain bike! That was fun. So adrenalin pumping, legs aching and my lungs burning we continued onwards and upwards. I was actually quite impressed that I made it to the top in under 20 minutes! Go me! So we stopped to admire the view for a couple of minutes and have a bit of 'stick time' then headed back down along a much longer route than the ascent. I nearly lost a shoe in a boggy area halfway down (note to self - dont text and walk at the same time - it's perilous!). And that's about it really! Haha What an anti-climax that story was!
I did it in 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Come back soon for the next thrilling installment!!