AS DEBBIE HARRY ONCE SAID...
You know the old joke about hospitals - you go in with one thing and come out with something worse? Turns out the best jokes are based in truth.
In 2018 and 2019 I did the Kiltwalk charity walk, of around fourteen to fifteen miles, to raise funds for Advocard. In 2020 there was no mass walk, but I did my own virtual Kiltwalk, down the Water of Leith Walkway, for the same charity. The 2021 walk only took place in Glasgow, so I skipped last year, but was quick to sign up again for 2022. Maybe too quick.
I've already posted a couple of times about my efforts so far, here and here. In previous years there would usually have been about half a dozen posts, all pleading for your money. My relative reticence is, as the previous posts suggested, a reflection of my own doubts, and lack of faith in these steadily declining physical abilities. I've mentioned the breathing problems, which continue to make it hard work up even gradual inclines, and the minor heart problem. This week has brought new revelations. Some more heart tests on Wednesday unveiled another problem, potentially more serious. Fortunately walking, and the aerobic exercise it provides, is beneficial in holding this at bay, so that's a relief.
But another walk today also reminded me how slow I will be. I still haven't done the full fourteen and a half miles - twelve and a half is my longest so far, so there remains a nagging doubt about my ability to complete the distance. Today's efforts suggest that rather than the three and a half hours I'd hoped to be aiming for, I might struggle to make four and a half. Oh well...
In the past I've always done these walks solo. This year, on the day, there will be three or four of us. All considerably younger than me so I have no intention of trying to compete! They might even walk with me for a bit until they find themselves bored with crawling speed.
So here I am again, looking for sponsorship along with the motivation that provides. And come the eighteenth of September I will make it to the finish line in BT Murrayfield - one way or another.
