How do folk do it?

[yorkiesauctions]

Blimey!, how do folk write stories?

My nephew and a mate have both asked me to write an account of my challenge training and of the actual walk. They have both been caught up in my efforts and have been following everything since the week more or less. Both are gutted that they didn't join me and do the walk at the weekend. So now they've both got it into their heads that they want to do a challenge walk but don't know anything about the training orwhat to expect, which is why they have asked me to write an account to they have something to follow and which will alert them to any pitfalls.

So I started to write it in a sort of story format but it was rubbish, it's a lot harder to write a story than I thought. lol. So I deleted it and am now just writing it as I remember and in my own words, it's much easier. lol

I've told them that I'll send them a copy each if they donate a couple of quid. Never miss a chance to boost the charity funds. lol

How the heck do folk write stories like Lord of the Rings and stuff like that?!

[astral276]

Try outlining what happend. Just a few lines containing the key events in the order they happened. Then go back and fill in between each pair of key points the main events between those two points. Repeat until you are satisfied that you have everything and then rewrite it in a style that flows and is more personal.

[PoppyGrove]

Wehever I'm messing about writing military themed articles for the REA and when I did a small write up of my trip to Nepal for the REA - I usually write it as I'm thinking it or as I would normally say it. Don't worry about spell checking at the start, but do a spell check after each stage so you'll know you haven't got any spelling errors.

Using a computer is very easy cos it saves having to cross out what you want to change, and its easy to move paragraphs / sections around to put them in the right order - for doing things like that, my mind doesn't always put things in the right order so they have to be re-shuffled to make sense.

When its typed up read it out as if you're reading it to a third party, and as your reading it, you'll find you'll want to change sentences or add words to it - nice an easy with a computer.

I hope that helps.

[yorkiesauctions]

Cheers Mel and Babs.

I've almost finished it now and it does'nt really matter how I've written as they both just want it as a guide to help them prepare for a challenge walk. They both can't believe that, A) I completed it, and B) I've no aches and pains afterwards. They want to know how I did it. lol

Cheeky bleeders.

When I tried writing in a story format it just made me realise how bloody hard it is to write a story.

[FairMaiden]

Write as you post. Your posts are very readable. Go for a day to day blog type thingy then when finished it may be easier to edit in bits to make more of a story

[TexasAda]

At the simplest, just write down ALL bits and pieces of facts, opinions, impressions and "notes to yourself" regarding the walk. Make a point of NOT worrying about grammar, spelling, organization and typos while you're doing that. The quest is to capture on paper all possible thoughts, which are the nutrition of the finished story, before they fade.

[Teddyrose54]

Just write as you speak.
That's part of the charm and appeal.

[yorkiesauctions]

This is the bit I've done about the training....

My account of my training for the challenge walk and the walk itself.

One - Mindset.

There is no big secret to my training I simply found what works for me. The first thing I did was get myself into the right frame of mind so that I would push myself and train hard and not take any easy options. I did this by going to the NSPCC's web site and reading up on what they do and how they help children, young adults, and families. Until I visited their site I never realised that they ran Childline without any funding from the government, I always thought that it was a 50/50 arrangement between the NSPCC and the government. When I had read through their site I understood a little better just how much the NSPCC do to help children and how much they rely on our support. So that gave me motivation and helped me concentrate on what I wanted to do, to help the NSPCC put an end to cruelty to children.

Two - How fit was I?

I had to see if I was fit enough to walk 25 miles and climb a 2,400ft mountain. I did this by doing a few 6 mile walks for a week. I discovered that at my current fitness level there would be no way that I could complete such a gruelling 25 mile trek in the Yorkshire Dales, so I started setting myself targets. When I was going for a walk or walking the 4 miles to work and the 4 miles back home I set myself a target time to do it in, as I started to get fitter I reduced the target time so that I had to push myself harder to hit the target. After just three or four weeks I found that my fitness level had much improved and I judged that I was fit enough, or would be soon, to take on the challenge walk.

Three - Endurance.

It was all well and good being able to do the 6 and 8 mile walks without taking a break and in faster times each time but what about endurance?, I needed to find out if I had the stamina and endurance for the challenge walk. I did this by doing several 10 and 18 mile walks with a weighted backpack and only allowing myself one 10 minute break at the halfway point of each walk. This was very tough at first but the more walks that I did and the harder that I pushed myself to reach the targets that I had set the easier it became. Eventually I decided that both my fitness level and endurance were good enough for me to take part in the charity challenge.

Four - How can I help myself?

Obviously I wanted to give myself the best chance to complete the challenge, so I started reading up on what hikers and endurance athletes do to increase their energy levels. This turned out to be easier than I thought and I soon knew roughly what to do to improve my chances. Basically I ate the right foods when training, banana's for a slow release of energy, pasta the day before to build up my energy levels so I had something in reserve on the day of the walk, and energy drinks to give me that short burst of energy when I needed it. I had to read up about energy drinks because some of them are packed with caffine and can cause you to have palpitations, especially if you are training hard, so I decided on using the safer options of Powerade and Gatorade instead of the fizzy versions. I also found out that you don't have to actually drink them, you can just swill the drink around in your mouth and spit it out. The reason for this is that the receptors in your mouth do 90% of the work and sends a signal directly to your brain, doctors are now starting to believe that when it comes to training the brain is more important than phsyical strength, although you obviously need that too.

Five - equip myself.

I had to buy myself several things for the challenge because there was no way that I would do it wearing jeans, trainers, and my leather jacket, it would be stupid to try doing the walk without the right equipment. So I bought some walking boots and wore them in within a couple of weeks by wearing them to work and on the shorter training walks. Then I bought two pairs of walkers trousers and a lightweight rain and windproof coat, believe me the trousers and coat make a massive difference. Then I decided that I needed a new backpack because after a while my current backpack cut into my shoulders, I also decided to buy a compact digital camera too because my camera was big and heavy and would get in the way or get damaged as I climbed the mountain. The last thing I bought, because it was the last thing that I thought about, was a few pairs of thick socks to help prevent me getting blisters. Blisters only occur when there is friction between your skin and your boots, the thicker your socks the less chance there is of blisters, as long as your boots still fit properly with the thicker socks of course.

Six - Think!

I used my longer training walks to help me work out what I would need for the challenge walk and to try things out. For example what exactly should I wear?, the books and web sites told me to wear plenty of thin layers which I knew was because if you wear thin layers then you can put more on or take more off as you got colder or hotter, but that didn't work for me as I felt very uncomfortable. I ended up wearing a short sleeved shirt, a denim jacket which has a quilted lining, and my new lightweight rain and wind proof coat. You have to do what feels better for you but you must also think about the conditions that you will be wearing them in. Also, when you've worked out what you will need to take with you - such as food, water/drinks, bananas for the energy, first aid kit, maps and a compass, change of socks, your mobile phone, snacks for energy (such as chocolate), and so on, you should think carefully about how you pack then into your backpack. You don't want things digging into your back so put something flat and soft at the back when packing (many hikers take small towels so they can dry their feet properly before putting on a fresh pair of socks when their feet get wet, it helps to reduce the chances of blisters), and pack things that your going to use the most in the easiest place to get to them - like side or front pockets of your backpack. All this helps things run more smoothly when you are on your hike.

I trained hard and as often as I could (work and family commitments permitting) and within the space of about a month I went from a bloke who couldn't walk 5 miles before needing a rest to a bloke who walked 18 miles with a heavy backpack without a rest. I started to feel a difference in my fitness and stamina in less than two weeks, that spurred me on to train even harder. The key for me was simply targets, I set realistic but difficult targets for myself and everytime I hit a target I changed it to make it a little harder next time, by doing that I was making sure that I had to really push myself everytime I trained. I felt good when I hit my targets and it proved to me that my fitness levels were getting better all the time.

Seven - Mind games.

This part was easy for me as I have always been a determined lad and I have always been a man of my word. So I used my determination to push myself that little bit harder when out walking and when I felt like giving up I reminded myself that I had signed the papers for the NSPCC and in doing so I had given my word that I would do the challenge. So these two things kept me focused and helped to fuel my walks. A good trick that I now use when I feel I have reached my limit is mini-targets. If I feel like stopping to rest I will pick out a point in the distance and tell myself, "I'll keep going until I reach there and see how I feel.", then when I reach that target point I will look for another point in the distance and do the same again. I have kept myself walking for an extra few miles before taking a rest by using that trick, it work well but you have to stay focused on your target for it to work. One other thing helped my determination, the brilliant support, kind words, and generous sponsorship of my family and friends (offline and online). I felt that if I didn't complete the challenge then I would be letting them down as well as the children, and that is something that I would have hated to do.

[yorkiesauctions]

And these two post are the account of the walk itself....

The day of the walk.

I couldn't afford to book a room in Clapham so unfortunately for me this meant that on the day of the walk, Saturday, September 5th, I had to get up just before 1am. I'd had roughly 6 hours sleep because I obviously went to bed very early. I had some breakfast and then double checked that I had everything packed into my backpack that I would need. Karen, my ex, picked me up at 3am and we made good time getting to Clapham because the roads were empty, so we got there for around 4.30am. We sat about in the car and had a cup of coffee, I had packed some food and a couple of flasks in a seperate backpack, and killed time until 5.30 when we went to the starting point to see what was going on. After registering I started the walk at roughly 6am, I had decided to follow a group of young walkers who were all members of the same hikers club, I figured that if I could keep up with them to at least the first checkpoint then that would give me a good start, timewise, to the walk. I did keep up with them for the first 6 miles to checkpoint one, but as we headed up towards Ingleborough Massif they started to pull away from me. By the time I reached the foot of the mountain I was quite tired, SO I stopped for about two minutes to take a drink and catch my breath and then I started to walk up the mountain. It was a steep climb and seemed to go on for ages, then I reached the part where I had to climb more than walk. At this point I was really struggling, I was gulping down air and panting more than breathing, so I got both my inhalers out of my backpack and used them and then had a mouthful of water. As I climbed a little further the wind was blowing me away from the rocks, it was blowing my backpack and forcing my body to twist, it made climbing very difficult. The drizzle had turned to rain and the wind was forcing it through all my clothes, I could feel the rain running down my chest and spine, I was soaked to my skin. Every now and then the strong winds would catch me full on in my face and take my breath away, I was reall struggling and had to stop several times for couple of minutes rests. I was very disappointed with myself and I felt that I couldn't go on and that there was no way that I could climb this mountain, so I started to think about heading back down out of the wind and back to safety. My breathing was really forced by now, my asthma was letting me down, so I took my inhalers again and had a drink of an energy drink. I looked up the mountain and I could only see for about twenty feet because I the clouds were low and I was climbing through them, but I could just see what looked like widening of the route up the mountain so I decided to head for that because it was a lot safer than where I was at the moment. The wind was so strong and the rocks were slippy from the rain so it took me several minutes just to climb that twenty feet or so. I eventually reach my target point and sat down to work out what I was going to do next, I could hear people climbing above and below me and every now and then I would here people let out short screams as they slipped or got caught by the strong winds, it was a bloody nightmare. Because of my acute fear of heights I was scared stiff, I again thought about calling it a day and heading back down to safety, I was wet, tired, cold, and having problems breathing. I took another drink of the energy drink and tried to motivate myself to continue, I thought about all the time I had put into training and fundraising and about how much everyone had given me their encouragement and how generous they had been when sponsoring me. Eventually I decided to stop being a big wuss and just get on with it, the sooner I get to the top the sooner I can get back down I told myself. So I started off up the mountain again, it took me quite a while and several short breaks to get to the top but I eventually made it.

When I reached the peak I was surprised to see three soldiers stood there, they were there to help anyone who was struggling and to show us the route back down the other side of the mountain. One of the soldiers was not very happy, he said that he couldn't believe that they had let us do the challenge in this weather, especially since there had been a lot of rain in the area over the last couple of weeks. The wind at the top of the mountain was amazing, I've never experienced wind that strong before, even the soldiers were having trouble standing up in it and it blew the legs from under a couple of the walkers. Eventually we reached the other side and a solider told us the route to take back down. We had to climb down the first quarter of the moutain and then it changed from rocks to a very steep grass banking, well it should have been grass but it was mainly mud now. Everyone was slipping and falling, even though we were taking it at a snails pace to try and make sure we had secure footing. The problem was that if you lost your balance even slightly then the strong wind just blew you over, so everytime someone slipped slightly in the mud then ended up falling. It was at this point that my left leg slipped in the mud and shot out in front of me, but my right foot was stuck in the mud and I couldn't bring it round so I ended up falling backwards and my right leg was up my back. I let out a very loud swear word and rolled onto my side, I reached round and got hold of my right leg and carefully pulled it around to the front of me. My right hip hurt like hell and at first I thought that I had broken it, but after a couple of minutes it eased off a little and I felt a mixture ot pain and a tingling sensation. Someone saw what had happened and came over to me and asked if I was okay, I said that I'm not sure yet but I think so. He said that he would go and find a marshal or a soldier but I told him not to because they would stop me continuing on the course. I got a couple of Ibuprofen out of my
first aid kit and swallowed them with a mouthful of water, I waited a few minutes while the pain seemed to ease off a little and then I very slowly got up out of the mud. My hip till hurt but nothing too bad so I set off down the hill again, I slipped and fell five or six times more as I made my way down, everyone was having trouble staying on their feet, I've never seen anything like it. But I eventually made it and decided to have a five minute rest to compose myself and get my mindset in the right place again.

I had several miles to go before I reached the second checkpoint, I walked up and down steep muddy hills and splashed my way through waterlogged valleys and climbed over walls, and visibilty was still very poor because the I was still walking through the clouds and most of the time I couldn't see anyone infront of me or behind me. After an hour or so I heard some shouting, it was someone at the second checkpoint fooling around. he cloud had lifted slightly and I could see the checkpoint a the bottom of the hill, I was relieved. I had a drink and a choclate bar at the checkpoint but decided not to take time for a
proper rest because the mountain had taken me much longer than I had expected so I wanted to make up some of the lost time, besides I thought if I rested too long my sore hip might seize up on me and I might not be able to get going again. I asked one of the marshals how far had we come and how far was it to the third checkpoint, he said you've done 12 miles and it's 7 miles to checkpoint three. I looked at my watch and I was devastated, it was already 11.30 and I'd only done 12 miles in five and a half hours, admittedly I'd been up and down a mountain as well, but it had taken me much longer than I thought it would. So I set off for checkpoint three, mumbling at myself as I walked. I was so wet and tired and my hip had started to throb that I almost asked the marshal to take me back to Clapham, I'd seen several folk call it a day already and I'd heard one of the marshal's telling the ambulance men to get ready for a bloke who had had a nasty fall and the marshal's bringing him down weren't sure if he had broken his leg, so I was feeling a bit down. But on I went.

[yorkiesauctions]

The next seven miles were pretty uneventful, more mud, more rain, more splashing through waterlogged valleys. It was tough but the visibility was a bit better and my hip was now just a dull ache rather than a throbing pain. I climbed more hills and admired what views I could see through the mist and cloud and chatted with an ex squadie most of the way. It was still very slippy and the mud was still trying to pull the boots off my feet, so it was difficult walking conditions and very tiring. Then as I walked over the peak of a hill I saw roads and buildings, my eyes scanned the roads and I spotted checkpoint three, the final checkpoint. I remembered reading in my welcome pack that we had to reach checkpoint three by 3.30pm or we wouldn't be allowed to continue, so I looked at my watch and it was only 1.45pm. I carried on down the hill and then up a long road until I reached the checkpoint, I checked my watch again and it was 2pm. I was exhausted by this point, so decided that for the first time during the challenge I would take a proper 15 minute break and get myself ready for the final six miles of the challenge. I had a milkshake and a couple of fudge finger things and then propped myself up against a wall and had a smoke and listened to all the chatter from the other walkers. Everyone was going on about the mud and how hard it had been and about people sat crying in the middle of nowhere because they couldn't go on, it felt more like I was in the middle of somesort of disaster rather than a charity walk. While I was just about to finish my smoke three people approached a marshal, one of which was a woman who was sobbing, all three people asked to be taken back to the village because they couldn't do any more. I felt like saying something to them, I was gutted for them because there was only six miles left to do. The marshal took them to a car where someone was already sat in the back, he asked them if they were sure about going back and they said yes, so he set drove off with them.

I looked at my watch and it was just after 2.15pm so I picked up my backpack and headed off to the finish line. I asked a marshal which way was I heading and they pointed at yet another bloody big hill, I can't believe that one area needs so many chuffin hills!. So off I go, still wet, now so cold that I'm shivering, still sore, and still tired, but this time I'm feeling good and happy, despite the hill infront of me. The ex squadie shouted me from behind, so I waited for him to catch up, and we walked the last six miles together, chatting as we went. Almost all of the first four miles was uphill, we were back in the clouds again and it was still raining. We slipped and slide our way up hill after hill as we passed other walkers who were really struggling, and we had other walkers pass us who were obviously not as exhausted as we were. I was starting to think that we had taken a wrong turn somewhere because we had not seen a marshal for ages and usually they're dotted around every few miles, but as we rached the peak of the umpteenth hill I spotted two bright orange jackets at the far end of a field, it was two marshals. When we reached the marshals we saw someone sat in their Landrover, he was a walker who was receiving
some first aid for badly blistered feet. These marshals were an elderly couple. As we approached them the woman shouted, "Well done boys!, only two miles to go and it's all downhill too!". I could of kissed the old lass, it was music to me ears. So for the first time all day I lit a cig and had a smoke as I walked, I was a happy lad. The squadie was having trouble with his legs, he was desperate to get to the finish and sit down with a cold beer and a cooked meal. So we picked up the pace a bit and did the last two miles in double quick time.

We finally reached the finish at 4.45pm, I was tired and my hip was hurting but I was chuffed that I had managed to keep myself going. My time wasn't brilliant but I wasn't bothered about that, I had set myself a target of 11 hours and I had beaten it by 15 minutes, but I had secretly wanted to do the walk in 10 hours. I just wanted to get home now, so I went and signed the register thingy so they knew that I was back safe and they gave me a certificate to say that I'd completed the course and I headed of back to the car. When I got to the car I had a quick cup of coffee and we set off back home, I was so glad that it was all behind me now.

I have to say that the 25 mile walk combined with the mountain climb was the toughest physical thing that I have ever done. And I was amazed that I didn't suffer the following day apart from a tender right hip, which is easing off now as each day passes.

That was one hell of a challenge, especially considering it was my first ever challenge walk.