I was recently asked by a lady who has just started out walking, how I got from zero walking to climbing mountains! Re-igniting my love for walking started slightly differently to most I guess, as I was recovering from a horrendous MS relapse & diagnosis. Luckily my legs themselves were unaffected by the relapse. My battle was with balance and dizziness, overshadowed by a thick black cloud of fatigue. Looking back now, I really was starting from zero. After 3 months of being practically bedridden, needing help to take baby steps from my bedroom to my bathroom, holding on to doors and walls, my body was weak, my muscles had almost forgotten their roles. Thankfully, most people that want to start hiking aren’t finding themselves quite in that position as their starting point. As time bought recovery with it, I became more confidently able to move around my house and I even take to outside. Small walks around my back garden and to the car, with a walking pole as a leaning companion, I then progressed to walks to my local shops and eventually into my local town. With each walk, I had to stop and rest along the way, regain composure and most importantly, allow myself time.
I had to factor in rest breaks after every walk due to fatigue, which was severely kicking my butt back then. So, my progress was little and often, small pushes, inching myself forward each day. There was frustration of course, but I tried to focus on the positives of what I had achieved and not what I hadn’t. If that little negative, nagging inner voice started, I’d remind myself of the wall surfing from bedroom to bathroom and around the house. I’d shine a torch on just how far I’d moved on since then and I’d tell myself that tomorrow was another day, another chance to try again.
With this mentality and the belief in myself growing, I encouraged myself to do some kind of walking or exercise every day, no matter how small it was or how I felt. My body grew stronger, until luckily for me, general walking and bustling around in everyday life became second nature again. On the advice of my medical team, I enrolled in a weekly Pilates class to assist with strengthening my core, which would ultimately help with my balance.
With my Pilates lessons well underway, my next push was to join a friend on her dog walks. With no pressure on myself, I’d head out two to three times a week with her as, when and if I felt able. I’d apply the tips I’d learnt in Pilates whilst I was walking, pulling up tall from the crown of my head, engaging my core and with that, I could ensure I was strengthening all the right muscles whilst maintaining good posture, which all helped to power me along. At this point, my walking was with no greater agenda than to get some fresh air, gentle exercise with a change of scenery whilst my body continued to repair. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I knew it had to be good for me, right?
As it happened, I absolutely loved this 45 minutes to an hour of walking even if afterwards it meant that I needed to rest for most of the day. Fresh air and exercise was making my mind, body and soul feel great even though it didn’t occur to me that the miles were adding up. When checking my iPhone Health App one day, I noticed we’d cover 2.5 to 3 miles with each walk! With this perspective, I felt an enormous sense of achievement. I rushed out and invested in one of those watches that measures your fitness rate and distance walked, you know the sort. Looking back now, that’s where it all started again for me. Being out walking was something I loved and now, clocking my miles was adding fuel.
Embracing my achievements at this point, I signed up for a charity walk for the Alzheimer’s Society. 6km (approx. 3.7 miles) it was flat walk around picturesque parkland. I felt confident I could do it and it felt like it was a next step of progression for me, a little challenge! It was also raising money for a cause close to my heart. Why not eh? I completed the walk and raised a wonderful amount for the charity. That was an inspiring feeling that served to propel me forwards.
Not long after this we made the decision to add a dog to our family unit. Of course, as a pup we were under the ‘5mins lead walk per month of age’ rule so my walking reduced from the 3 miler’s a couple of times a week to 15-20 mins twice per day, but every day. Rather than the yo-yo effect of a 3 mile walk and then nothing for 2 days whilst I crashed with fatigue, I was able to conduct a walking routine in a more manageable way, proving much better for me. In hindsight, I would recommend this approach to others; little and often, gradually building up time, pace and distance (the dog is optional!). My dog and I built up our walking stamina together and by the time he was a year old we were up to one hour walks, twice per day.
This is where the miles really started to clock up. We could easily fit in 6 miles of walking per day. I still had to maintain a careful balance, mind you. Although health-wise I was as ‘back to normal’ as I could be or was going to be, fatigue still made itself known here and there if I tipped the balance too far.
I was using walking apps on my phone, local walking guides and recommendations from others to try out new and interesting routes. We explored the local countryside every day. I’d always have my iPhone with me and to take photo’s capturing the moments I was enjoying so much. A beautiful sunset, wild flowers, views, crazy dog antics, and nature at its best. A lot of the time I’d be on my own, bravely following the map or a text guide, but the sense of accomplishment afterwards was always worth it, knowing I’d navigated my way and completed a 3, 4 or 5 mile walk. I could then bank that one up to use again another time, building myself a nice little portfolio with varying distances over the next year or so.
I signed up for a charity walk for the Alzheimer’s Society. 6km (approx. 3.7 miles) it was flat walk around picturesque parkland. I felt confident I could do it and it felt like it was a next step of progression for me, a little challenge! It was also raising money for a cause close to my heart. Why not eh? I completed the walk and raised a wonderful amount for the charity. That was an inspiring feeling that served to propel me forwards.
Not long after this we made the decision to add a dog to our family unit. Of course, as a pup we were under the ‘5mins lead walk per month of age’ rule so my walking reduced from the 3 miler’s a couple of times a week to 15-20 mins twice per day, but every day. Rather than the yo-yo effect of a 3 mile walk and then nothing for 2 days whilst I crashed with fatigue, I was able to conduct a walking routine in a more manageable way, proving much better for me. In hindsight, I would recommend this approach to others; little and often, gradually building up time, pace and distance (the dog is optional!). My dog and I built up our walking stamina together and by the time he was a year old we were up to one hour walks, twice per day.
This is where the miles really started to clock up. We could easily fit in 6 miles of walking per day. I still had to maintain a careful balance, mind you. Although health-wise I was as ‘back to normal’ as I could be or was going to be, fatigue still made itself known here and there if I tipped the balance too far.
I was using walking apps on my phone, local walking guides and recommendations from others to try out new and interesting routes. We explored the local countryside every day. I’d always have my iPhone with me and to take photo’s capturing the moments I was enjoying so much. A beautiful sunset, wild flowers, views, crazy dog antics, and nature at its best. A lot of the time I’d be on my own, bravely following the map or a text guide, but the sense of accomplishment afterwards was always worth it, knowing I’d navigated my way and completed a 3, 4 or 5 mile walk. I could then bank that one up to use again another time, building myself a nice little portfolio with varying distances over the next year or so.
I’d walk twice per day, every day, rain or shine, summer or winter. I invested in good walking boots, walking socks, waterproof coat and waterproof trousers so that I was prepared for all weathers. Along the way I also purchased base layers and sweat-wicking t-shirts as I learned that cotton is not a comfortable material to walk in. Being warm, dry and comfortable makes such a big difference to the overall enjoyment of walking, so I’d recommend investing in the right gear as you go, otherwise it’d be easy to be ‘put off’. I kept a log of the total number of miles I walked each day, along with my photos, all building the sense of competition within myself. I’d enlist other people to walk with, often a friend or two wherever I could or family members or other dog owners.
The next big challenge for me was to climb Mount Snowdon in Wales with my brother (read ‘Snowdon at Midnight’). Taking place almost 3 years after I’d received my MS diagnosis. This was for charity again and we opted for the midnight challenge as we felt we needed to do something a little different, and a little tougher to justify asking for the generosity of sponsorship again. By signing up to walk with a group or for a charity you are making a commitment both to them and to yourself. You ARE going to complete your dream on a certain date, you ARE going to raise money for your chosen charity or worthy cause and from a health & safety perspective, you are going to do so safely, in experienced hands. When starting out or inexperienced, I highly recommend either an organised group walk with a reputable company (for which you could organise your own sponsorship if you wanted to) or a walk hosted by a reputable charity.
The route we were taking for the Snowdon climb was a total of nine miles. I felt capable of the distance but knew I needed more training on steeper gradients, therefore it was still very much a challenge but was one I felt confident to undertake. Training is always of utmost importance. Warm up, stretch out your muscles and then get out there and walk as much as possible, taking into consideration not just distance, but different terrains, varying gradients, weight you may be carrying in your rucksack and the muscles you’ll be working. Not to mention testing your kit and those oh-so-important walking boots. For me personally, planning in the appropriate downtime or recovery time afterwards is also key.
Following the success of my Snowdon climb I was actively looking for the next challenge. Something big. I wasn’t sure what…. until I saw it! One day, browsing through the ‘Wowcher’ website of all places, there it was. The Yorkshire 3 peaks…! Advertised as a 24.5 mile, 3 peak, 12 hour guided challenge. It just grabbed me and I couldn’t shake it off….all I needed to do was convince my walking buddy, my brother, that he wanted to do it too!
And that’s a whole new blog! Like anything and any hobby, once you begin, if you nurture and water it well, it will grow.
Get your walking boots on and follow me…
