Some of you may recall that one balmy night last May.... it was about 3 C with a gale force wind and rain.... I took part in the Half Moon Walk. The Half Moon Walk is a half-marathon, which takes place... you guessed it... through the night. Participants power walk their way through the streets of London, wearing a decorated bra with the aim of raising funds and awareness for breast cancer charities.
Half marathon? 13 miles/21 kilometres? Insultingly easy!
This year, I'm going the Full Monty... no, not walking through the streets of London in just my altogether (I think that's illegal).. .but rather doing the Full Moon, the full 26 miles/ 42 kilometres. This is a whole new challenge!
My training plan officially kicked off last week, and I have three 3-milers and a 4-miler under my belt. I also did a quick 6-miler over the last weekend, just for good measure. I don't think it's a good plan to over train on the long walks, but a couple of extra short ones will hopefully go a long way to conditioning my legs for that Big Walk on the night of 10th May. All in, if I follow the training plan to the letter, I will walk a total of 243 miles before the Big One of 26.2.
That's a fair bit of walking. Even for an ardent walker like me, that could get a tad boring. Especially as come rain or shine...and judging on the Great British Weather's past performance, there'll be a load more rain than shine... I've got to push myself to get out there and just keep walking.
So, as I always walk with music, my plan is put together the most amazing, inspiring training playlist for my ipod to keep me moving over the next 12 weeks. Here's what I have so far...yes, an eclectic selection...
Obviously, there's OMD's 'Walking On The Milky Way'; Aerosmith with 'Walk This Way'; Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Were Made For Walkin'; Katrina and The Waves 'Walking on Sunshine'; Dire Straits 'Walk of Life'; The Bangles 'Walk Like An Egyptian'; Green Day 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams (I Walk Alone)', The Proclaimers 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)', Martika's upbeat version of Carole King's 'I Feel The Earth Move', and The Police 'Every Breathe You Take (Every Step You Make)'.
Inspiration comes from Journey with 'Don't Stop Believin'; David Bowie's 'Heroes'; Kelly Clarkson's 'What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)' and Script with 'Hall of Fame'.
Then just for their upbeat tempo, there's Eurythmics 'Sweet Dreams'; Iggy Pop's 'Real Wild Child'; Abba's 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme'; David Quetta's 'Titanium'; Guns N'Roses 'Paradise City'; the Bee Gees 'Stayin' Alive'; Enrique Iglesias with 'I Like It'; the Black Eyed Peas 'I Gotta Feeling'; Coldplay with 'Viva La Vida'; KT Tunstall's 'Black Horse and a Cherry Tree', and Emeli Sande with 'Next To Me', just to name a few.
Any suggestions?
The links should take you to the music videos but You Tube does have funny international restrictions.
