Steve bought a book…

on tips for  walking the 3 National Peaks.

Tips like.. .’Don’t do it in 24 hours because you might die’! Mmmm well I was expecting to get a few blisters and feel a tad tired but not sure I was expecting that!!

The guy on the front cover, who I can only suppose was the author, did look very old. Maybe he was just advising other ‘old’ people not to do it?  Surely he can’t be talking about me and Kirsty- two young women in their peak of fitness?!  Or maybe he was just trying to sell more books by being a drama queen- nothing sells like sex or tragic death! Maybe Chapter One gives you all the boring advice on health and safety and how not to do in 24 hours because it will kill you,  and Chapter Two then maps out  all the places you can nip to if you fancy a crafty quickie on the hills of Snowdon or Nevis.  Who needs the Karma Sutra when authors like Slieve Donnard can tell you all the amazing things you can get up to with a pair of walking sticks and a headtorch J I jest of course, Slieve is very serious about his peaks and gives some great advice. And as one of the reviewers on Amazon reveals, the book fits in your pocket and everything. Not sure where I will put my bible for someone to read me the last rights on Scar fell though if that  little gem is taking up all the room?!

So I started to panic. Have I set myself a ridiculous challenge?

It’s totally right to consider all the pros and cons and worst case scenarios. What do we do if Kirsty falls down a crack in Ben Nevis trying to retrieve her tin of Special Brew? What if I have some massive reaction to an overdose of Kendal Mint cake and end up telling everyone, including random passers by, that I love them, whilst crying uncontrollably and singing Wind Beneath My Wings at the top of my voice all the way up Snowdon, with so much effort I can’t get back down because the others have buried my legs under a pile of rocks!   What if the bus breaks down- or our driver Iain gets lost; or falls asleep at the wheel and kills us all.  What if there is a freak snow storm in July and the only person with a bivvy sack is Steve- who all of sudden becomes one of those horrid characters in the films who hides all the health and safety stuff for himself whilst pretending he is a really good guy- like those guys in Lost.. Who can you trust?!  Matt will freeze to death in his hoody and trainers, he is a young boy still, he has all his life to live! Steve- look at that face… give him your bloody bivvy sack! 

It could happen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t panic yet though- we are all upping our game in the training game now. Well everyone apart from Matt who has just spent the last 10 days in Corfu- drinking, eating and topping up his tan! But as said before- he is young- and if nothing else- we can sell pictures of his tanned body later to raise money if he doesn’t finish the walk! Kirsty has even had to invest in some earphones that don’t fall out of her ears due to her super walking speed. Well when I say invest, I mean borrow Steve’s, who insisted far too keenly that they were ‘clean’. Thanks for that information Steve! I have been mainly eating BBQ food and drinking wine- but have invested in a personal trainer and being doing some pretty good walks and runs over the last week. The weekend was a blip.. I hope!

So I think we will be ok. I hope we will be ok. Actually I am determined that we will be ok!

Apart from the fact I have told my dad and everyone reading this that I will do it. Here is another reason why..

The http://blf.healthunlocked.com.

A week ago I was introduced to this online community by my mum. She has been routed to it by someone who felt that it would be a good place for her to chat to folk about my dad’s illness. Somewhere she could ask all those awful questions without my dad overhearing and somewhere that could give her those awful answers- and then offer her the space to deal with them by herself, in her own time, void of people watching for her reaction.

Aside from the amazing support, the site also made me get a grip and given me a taste of what a real challenge looks like. What real pain is. And what a real ‘worst scenario’ actually looks like.

The people on BLF health unlocked are amazing. I obviously can’t give any names on here- but there are real people on there with real big problems. There are people younger than me- coping with the fact that by the time they are 40, they will have the body of a 90 year old. They are living every moment like it is their last- because it might be. These folks have children that depend on them and wives and husbands that adore them. They probably won’t see their children get married. They probably won’t see their grandchildren.

I stress at hitting 40 because I might get fat(ter)- or grey(er). They stress because they don’t know how their children or spouses will cope without them- or worry that someone will take their place when they are gone. I stress because my size 10 jeans don’t fit anymore. How trivial does my shit sound!

The BLF advised me to post my blog on this site just for readership but I got more than I bargained for.  I got £30 in sponsor money; money from people who don’t know me or my dad. These people donated because they feel the cause- every day. I was truly inspired by this.  And I had to recall these feelings whilst in my moments of doubt- brought about by ‘the book’. The people with lung diseases like COPD and Pulmonary Fibrosis have a far bigger battle than I do.   I will be aching and knackered for 3 or 4 days after the walk… they don’t see an end to feeling battered and bruised!  In fact- they don’t have an end to that. Not until the BLF find some way of curing or preventing their illnesses.

And that is what this walk is about; helping the BLF to do that. Because that is the only way I can help right now and it helps me to stop whining about my approaching 40^th birthday because whilst that birthday is only 18 months away it might be the first birthday that I receive a card, signed, ‘Mum’.  My dad may not be around to take the p*** out of me getting older or at least stressing about getting older. So I will give him the opportunity to laugh at me trying to do a 26 mile hike up some bloody great big hills- and allow him to remind me of the days that my mum used to have to drag me to school 5 minutes up the road because Wiggan Lane was too steep!

So I will prepare for the worst for the walk but hope for the best. The book will give me all those little tips that might make the walk a little easier and I will shove it in my pocket along with my bible, my kindle mint cake and my lyric sheet to the Wind Beneath my Wings….

I wonder if the book tells you all the best places to pee?

donation page is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DionneCoburn

and the support page is  http://blf.healthunlocked.com.