I haven't written one of these posts for a while, mostly because they were getting to be boringly repetitive. In the intervening weeks I've had four more walks, a couple of interesting advocacy appointments (fewer than usual with the Fringe being in town this month!) and an email from Kiltwalk that has meant a slight rethink to my planned target. Plus my training regime is getting help from mechanical failure...
Three of the walks took the same route I've done before, from home to the tram stop at Murrayfield Stadium, and that seems to have become my default 'short route'. It's good as it's mostly away from roads, follows the second part of the actual route I'll be doing on the day, and has a lengthy slope to climb. Each time I've managed to improve my time by a minute. Today, as the photo above suggests, I finally got the kilt out and wore that for the walk. No unexpected chafing, and it was good to feel the breeze round my nethers.
Last week's walk took the Water of Leith path again, from Balerno to Leith. And showed an improvement of ten minutes over my previous effort. Three hours and thirteen minutes to cover about twelve and a quarter miles. Last year the same walk usually got close to the four hour mark, so maybe I am a bit fitter this year?
That ties in with the news from Kiltwalk. They've moved the starting point forward, deeper into Musselburgh, so the total distance is now only fourteen and half miles. That makes a lot of sense. Last year the start line was only a hundred metres from a busy road to be crossed, then went into a single file section that caused a big bottleneck. This time the start is on a wider expanse, allowing people to find their own pace more quickly. But it does mean that my stated aim to complete the course in four and quarter hours is now meaningless. However that slight reduction in the distance to be covered, and the time I managed down the river last week, has me wondering if completing the walk in under four hours will be possible? So now my target - wind, rain, hail, snow and injuries permitting - is to beat four hours. Who'll give me extra money for the cause if I do it?
Speaking of which....
With little more than a month to go it's about time I started pestering people for cash. Who's going to be first to donate? Click on this sentence for the link to the donations page.
By way of incentive here's a bit about one of my recent experiences doing advocacy work. I was asked to accompany a woman to her Universal Credit assessment. She came from one a war torn country in Africa, and, although she spoke very good English, she was clearly very worried about the process. We met a few days before, and I took her through the kinds of information she might be asked to provide. It's an awkward situation, having to ask someone you've never met before for extremely personal information, and it never ceases to amaze me that people are willing to do so despite only meeting me ten minutes before. I always like to ensure I've asked someone all the worst questions they might face. Better to be prepared in this less stressful situation than to have it sprung on them during an interview that will do much to determine the quality of their lives.
But, for once, the assessment process itself proved less difficult than usual, largely down to a sympathetic and intelligent assessor. He concentrated on asking all about her physical disabilities (severe back pain meant she walked with crutches, and chronic incontinence is a constant worry for her), reckoning they were more than enough to demonstrate to the DWP that she was incapable of working. That spared her having to discuss her mental health issues, and we were out in about thirty minutes (most assessments seem to go on for more than an hour). So all credit to this particular assessor. I wish they were all like that.
As we left she still thanked me profusely, despite my having had very little to do during the assessment. I think it's just having someone there who's on your side that seems to make a big difference to people, especially those who have difficulties expressing themselves or react badly to stressful situations. Advocacy works. So give us your money!
PS I mentioned mechanical failure had proved to be a help to my walking preparations. We live on the fifth floor. The lift has been out of action for about three weeks now, and they can't get the necessary brake part. It looks like we may need a new lift, but we'll be lucky to have it by Xmas. Doing all those stairs a few times each day must be having some fitness benefits, eh? Even it is very slow progress. (This news may make anyone considering visiting us want to reconsider for a while!)
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