Tuesday, 20 May 2014

People Watching In New York...

Whenever I visit a new place, it's the people that I find the most fascinating, and New York has more than its fair share of wonderfully funny, friendly people. Everywhere we went, we struck up conversations with complete strangers.

With apologies to the random people captured here in my shots...


Morning rush hour in Grand Central Terminal




Traffic officer on Fifth Avenue



Chess players in Washington Square Park



Saxophonist in Washington Square Park



Trendy couple in Greenwich Village



Fashion shoot in Chelsea



Chess players in Union Square



Musicians in Union Square Park



Street dancers in Union Square Park



Street dancers in Union Square Park



Wedding in Brooklyn Botanic Garden



Fashion shoot in DUMBO



Joggers in Central Park



Picnicking in Central Park



Baseball players in Central Park



Baseball players in Central Park

Thursday, 15 May 2014

I Walked The Walk...





I did it!!! Possibly the hardest thing I have ever done.... but I did it!

It was cold. Very, very cold. And windy! Like a gale blowing at times. 

And the start was delayed. And there were serious holdups and bottlenecks - because contrary to what anyone watching the latest series of '24' might be led to believe, the traffic never stops in London. Not even at 3 AM. 

And all those delays in the cold gave me cramps in muscles that I didn't even know I had....

And I had to give myself a lot of serious talking to over those 8 hours, and remind myself just why I was doing this seemingly crazy thing...

Because a few brief hours of discomfort is nothing compared to the pain that people with cancer are going through. 

Because being a part of The Moon Walk, and helping Walk The Walk raise over £3.5 million for breast cancer charities is one of the most awesome things that I've ever had the privilege to do.






Best moment ever... seeing my darling husband waiting in the crowd at the Finish Line, the biggest grin on his face. The same darling husband who bundled me into a warm car and whisked me home...picked me up off the drive when I collapsed, in epic style and in full view of the neighbours, as I got out of the car the other side... 

A hot bath, a tonne of comfort food and a good night's sleep... and I was absolutely fine the next day!

Saturday, 10 May 2014

Getting High (Legally) In New York...



Hey everyone

I've been back from New York a while now.. just haven't had the time to get on here very much. Mostly thanks to that little marathon I'm walking TONIGHT!!! I can't believe it's finally here... weather is looking absolutely awful for London tonight - heavy rain, wind, then a bit more rain...

Oh well, all part of the challenge!

I have loads to show and tell about my recent trip to New York.... soon, I promise! Just a quick taster for now, of some of the high spots (literally!)....

Saturday, 12 April 2014

Signs I May Be A Tad Obsessed With My Marathon Training Plan....




  • My week and especially my weekends are arranged entirely around my walks and how I'll fit the necessary mileage into the hours I have.
  • I install not one but two Apps on my phone to track my mileage - best to get an average of two!
  • When, around 9 miles into a 12-miler and I realise I have dropped my phone, the first thought that pops into my head is not "Oh no! I may have just lost my fairly new, £200 phone with all my contacts!" but rather "Darn it! Now I won't know how far I've walked!" *
  • When I spy a load of police officers lined up on the pavement, their van parked across the road, my reaction is not "Hope nothing serious has happened!" but rather "Hope they are not going to mess up my planned 14-mile route!" **
  • I've committed to memory the mileage of all the paths in Central Park... just in case I can fit the odd 5 miles in-between the 10 miles per day we'll be walking all over The Big Apple next week!




........................
* This tale does have a happy ending... a lovely lady picked up my phone, checked my address book and phoned 'Home'. I was so impressed with her honesty and so pleased to be reunited with my phone that I bought her the biggest bouquet of flowers I could find on Mothering Sunday.

** There is also a happy ending to this tale... it turns out the police officers were in training, learning how to set up a road block - on a quiet road, much favoured by runners and walkers.


Sunday, 30 March 2014

A Walk In The Peak District

After basking in unseasonable warm (for Spring), sunny weather for almost two weeks, our luck ran out last weekend for our long-planned meet-up with friends for some walking in the Peak District.

In case you're wondering, the Peak District National Park is found here...


Not to be confused with The Lake District, which is further north!



Wind, rain, hail and then sleet hammered us from all directions most of the way! I didn't bother even taking my camera with, but I did get a few quick shots using my phone...



















A brief ray of light



It's lambing season!







Friendly donkey

Sunday, 16 March 2014

Still Here...

What's happening in the Life of Nat? Frankly, not a whole lot! When I'm not working, I'm walking... when I'm not walking, I'm working... you get the picture...

My marathon training is going to plan, helped immensely by the gorgeous Spring weather and lighter evenings that have brought beautiful sunsets, like these...






Photos taken with my phone camera

Sunday, 23 February 2014

One Step At A Time




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.