MY 100K CHALLENGE! - Weight Loss Part 21

It’s been just over two weeks since I completed my 100km walking challenge from London to Brighton and I can say I have no regrets! It was an amazing experience, but by far the most challenging. I came close to giving up, but I didn’t. I made it to the finish line! 

I would not have made it however if it weren’t for the support I had throughout the walk. I was doing the walk on my own, but I had a support team at the end of the phone in case of emergencies and in case I was in need of some extra moral support, which was needed towards the end. But my support team kept me going. This included coming out to meet me at a stupid hour in the morning when I was ready to pack it all in and walking the last 7km with me.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have support during such a challenge of this kind. Even if it’s just someone on the other end of the phone.

The walk was a massive physical learning curve! Not just in discovering how far I could push my body, but learning what it is like to walk a great distance in a heatwave. Although I followed the training guide and was confident that I could walk the distance, I had little experience of walking in such weather. I had walked in all other weather types, including 10 miles in continuous rain with soaking wet feet without any problems. But extreme heat was a new experience.

I was well prepared in terms of hydration and energy, making sure I drank water often and ate something every hour. What I was not prepared for however, was the effect the heat would have on my feet!

I trained in the same socks and shoes I wore for the event and only got a couple of blister between my toes. I didn’t even get any blisters during my longest training walk of 43km. 

On the big day however the first blisters started to appear on the balls of my feet after the first 30km. And they only got worse! I have never had blister here before and I think it’s safe to say that the heat was the main cause!

One of the first aiders told me that they had dealt with a lot more blisters than usual this year, and that it was definitely down to the heat. I also met a man who was doing this challenge for the fourth time who said he had never experienced this heat during the challenge before. 

But is there anything I could have done to reduce the seriousness of these blister? Had I had more experience, definitely yes!

From the moment my blisters started to appear I started to talc my feet and change my socks at every checkpoint. There’s a reason they advise you bring so many spare pairs of socks! Later on I noticed the inside of my shoes were a bit damp too, so started to talc them as well. But I wish I had talced my feet and shoes from the start and changed my socks at the first checkpoint, even though they were still dry at the time.

I don’t expect this would have prevented them appearing, but it may have prevented them appearing so soon, and they might not have gotten so bad.

I would also definitely use different sock! Ones specifically designed for long distance walking or running in hot weather with a double layer to prevent rubbing. The socks I had were cool enough, but they rubbed a bit, and possibly contributed to the blisters.

Now that I know where I’m most likely to get blister, I would also tape up before I start walking. I had tape on my toes as this is where I had blisters before, but nowhere else. Not being prone to blisters actually put me at a disadvantage I think. It meant I had little prior knowledge on how to prevent or reduce the likely hood of getting them.

Because of the forecasted heatwave, I was concerned about getting heat stroke and did everything I could think of to avoid it. Luckily it worked!

As I said earlier, I was well fed and hydrated throughout and I was satisfied I had chosen the right foods to take with me. I also used electrolyte tablets during the heat of the day to ensure I definitely didn’t suffer from dehydration. I wore a cap to keep the sun off my face and topped up my sun cream at every opportunity.

Another thing I did before the walk was fill my hydration pack with ice in order to keep my water as cool as possible for as long as possible. My support team also brought me more ice half way through the walk. This turned out to be a stroke of genius as the water provided was not kept cool and without the ice I would have been drinking very unpleasant warm water…

Looking after your mental state during any challenge is very important and we all have our own ways of doing that. My methods during this challenge failed me somewhat however. Not because there was anything wrong with them particularly. They had never failed me in the past. It was more to do with my expectations and inexperience.

Part of what keeps me focused during a long walk is knowing the distance of my walk, how far each stage is, and how long it will take me. I was provided with a trek map, which included the distance between each checkpoint. Guarded with this information I made very modest estimates of how long each stage would take me. The distances provided however, were not accurate and were anything from 0.5km to 2km longer.

Unfortunately, because I was tired, had bad blisters and was beginning to feel a bit sore all over, by the time I’d been walking for about 17 hours, I let it get to me and started to feel very disheartened. Not having any clue how long each section would now take me. Feeling like I was walking blind, even though the route was very clearly marked. My mood became very low.

Fortunately, by the time I started the last two stages I had accepted that the distances could be as much as 2km out and I was able to focus more. I have to say though that this was mainly down to my support team talking some sense into me and making me realise that it didn’t matter if the distances where incorrect, I just had to keep walking. This is one of the reasons why support is vital.

I will need to rethink my focus methods for any future challenges!

If you are thinking of taking on a walking challenge here are my tips on how to tackle your challenge.