My new ones got christened last night along with my new walking boots, and it seems Indiana Jones was right… no blisters. To be fair, they were tested with a small ‘t’, in that I only walked around three miles…the walking boots felt weird. They weren’t uncomfortable exactly, it just seemed like they made my legs ache more than normal which isn’t helpful but then I suppose I’m used to walking in trainers which are much lighter. Fact is, I can’t wear lightweight trainers to climb a mountain so I’ll just have to suck it up and get used to them even though I feel like I’ve got tractor tyres under my tootsies.
I had some lovely messages yesterday from folk keen to help…one of our posse is even going to invite a bunch of friends around for coffee and cake in exchange for a small donation which she’ll then pass on through my sponsor me page…you’re all awesome and I’m so touched by the fact that you all have my back in this way. There’s no feeling like it, genuinely and I’m here to tell you that you’re pissing the Asshole voice off at every turn…his best advice is quit now because you don’t have a cat in hell’s chance of making it over that mountain range, but your voices are louder and clearer than his ever was.
I’ve had a few messages to say that some of our posse overseas are struggling to make their donation through the sponsor me page, and Veronique came up with a brilliant idea – if you prefer to send your sponsorship money through PayPal, you can send it directly to dellibop@mac.com with whatever message you’d like me to put on the sponsor me site, and I will load it on for you at this end – that way you’ll be able to view your donation and your message on the site.
Shall I tell you what else happened? One of my friends set up a Facebook page linked somehow to the Kingdom of Pain, and loads of my new friends from there are supporting me by setting up walks over the coming weekends to spur me on and help me get ready for this challenge. It’s just incredible, I feel like the whole world is standing shoulder to shoulder with me on this…I’ve never known anything like it before. How lucky am I 🙂
You know the biggest fist-bump moment of the week for me happened in the outdoorsy shop, whilst Indiana Jones was standing over me with several pairs of shoes. She handed me a sock, and in one uninterrupted movement I lifted my foot onto the bench, bent down and pulled the sock onto my foot and then stood up again, holding my hand out for a shoe. And I didn’t even grunt! That could never have happened when I started this journey…I couldn’t even reach my feet.
So I have a walk arranged tomorrow with my Kingdom of Pain buddies and I’ll be wearing my backpack with God of Pain’s weights in it, with my new walking boots on. My steps will be heavy but you know what, inside I will feel as light as air. You guys are all pushing me to a new place, and I feel like I’ve won the lottery.
Have an awesome weekend everyone, and a million thank yous for having my back 🙂
