Kilt Walk Training

As usual it's a long time between posts.  Our training has been sporadic lately due to the stress of buying a house!  We should have been getting keys to a house on the 29th of March, then the date was changed to the 12th April (tomorrow), now the date has changed again to the 24th of April.  I had visions in my head of getting the house move done during the school holidays, but this hasn't happened.  Instead just some packing and cleaning.  After stressing about it, I've just given in to it, it's out of our control and we'll get it eventually.  It would have been ideal to move in the holidays, as I'm starting a new job near the house and Isla is due to start her new pre-school.  It just means extra travelling for 2 weeks.  Life has dealt us worse blows.

Back to training.  One recent walk that we did was the 16 miles from Fochabers to Aberlour, just like one of the walks for the Speyside Kiltwalk and the one that we did last year (see earlier post).  It is definitley not an easy walk, there's not much flat, either up or down hill with some corkers of hills at Cafally, Boat O' Brig and Ben Aigen.  My Dad who has just turned 70 joined us, and it's fair to say he's much fitter than us (still working as a Builder's Labourer makes sure of it).  My Dad is joining 'Logan's Tartan Army' for the Hampden Kiltwalk and possibly the Speyside one too.

One thing that has NOT been enjoyable on every single one of our walks has been the weather.  It's always cold, sometimes wet, sometimes windy and sometimes snowy.  I'm just thinking that we're definitely due the sun on our actual  Kilt Walk's.  If not, we're used to walking in bad weather is still nothing compared to what sick kids have to put up with.

The walk out of Fochabers up to Ordiquish

 Snowing up the hill.

 My view most of the walk.

 Spring Lambs

 Ahead for once after Boat O'Brig

 The difficult part

 The magnificent view

Dad happy, we've done the climb.

 Criagellachie - the home stretch

Nearing the end!

The Speyside Way is not an easy walk, and we'll try to get plenty training done throughout the summer before the Speyside Kilt Walk so that it's not so difficult, although during the summer there is planned work at Ben Aigen so a diversion will be in place.

When we walk we use an app on our phones to track distance, speed etc.  We've discovered that although we have identical apps, Ross phone is more accurate, mine must pick up my GPS less, and ends up cutting a couple of miles off my walk as a result.  We have one more large training walk to do before our first Kilt Walk on the 21st of April.  The weather has been forecast to be nicer, I'm hoping that will improve our speed.  It's only 10 sleeps until our Hampden to Loch Lomond Kilt Walk, and 4 weeks after that we tackle the Edinburgh Kilt Walk.  We have a good gap before the Speyside one in September and lots of opportunities to tackle the Speyside Way, and hopefully no more snow on the route!

I will try to blog again before our first Kilt Walk.  If not, this is what my 70 year old Dad will look like at Hampden stadium doing the Slosh!

Oh, I almost forgot, we're still looking for donations.  You can do so here!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=simpsons4logan