In the run up to Los Tres Picos this June, I will be taking part in numerous training walks in order to get my fitness up to scratch for the main event! Some of these will be personal, others are arranged walks with fellow EY Foundation fundraisers.
This past Saturday was our first arranged training walk! Though I was looking forward to meeting the trekkers I will be enduring three peaks in Spain with, I was actually a little disappointed as the walk was around Edinburgh – a city I already walked through every damn day. But the walk was both more interesting and more challenging than I originally thought it would be.
We started by meeting in Edinburgh Waverley train station, and after learning (and probably initially forgetting) each others names and what event we were partaking on, we set off towards the North of Edinburgh. Chats commenced, as there were participants from three different EY Foundation events: Los Tres Picos, Annapurna Base Camp and Sahara. We headed along part of the Water of Leith walkway that I had never been to before, and, not unlike the rest of the walkway, it was a peaceful escape in such a busy city.
From there, we continued through Stockbridge and up towards Princes Street, passing through the shoppers and tourists, and right down to The Meadows. These parks are a green haven in the centre of the city, and provided a beautiful view upon Arthurs Seat: where we were headed to next.
Having climbed Arthurs Seat numerous times, and using various routes, I was pretty confident in the climb. Being fully aware I’m carrying Christmas weight and that I am no where near as fit as I was the last time I climbed Arthurs seat, I expected the incline to be a bit of a challenge. But turns out I’m not even as fit as I first thought! The first stretch of incline absolutely shattered me! But at least the sun was out and there was a decent view. The second stretch – which led to a very foggy peak! – and from thereon forward I found was better, so I’m thinking the first part was just a bit of a shock to my system having not exercised properly in so long – however this is exactly what training walks are great for, giving you motivation to train your ass off before the big event!
Having conquered the main incline, the last part of the training walk was a wander up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle, before circling around Princes Street Gardens. All in all, the walk took us 3 hours, over 9.4 miles and enduring 60 floor and 28,000 steps!(Source: FitBit)
It was incredible to meet fundraisers from around the country, tackling different events but all for the same wonderful charity, the EY Foundation.
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