Against medical advice I decided to do some of the walk whilst in the lakes on holiday. I decided to walk only 2 days in the week. At all times Lucy would be local should I need help.
Mel, who is doing a 25 mile walk as part of her fundraising for Amigos and her trip to Uganda is joining me today. She hasn't trained at all so I feel she is going to find it tough.
Beautiful weather as we leave Ambleside and walk along the side of Windermere to Bowness on Windermere. After 5 miles we meet up with Lucy and Becki in Costa Coffee (old habits die hard!)Mel is coping well.
We both stop for photos in Bowness Bay, Mel wants pictures near some signets feeding on the bay. After three miles I realise I have done the unforgivable and admit I have missed our turning. This adds 2 to 3 miles to the trip, whilst Mel says its ok, the face said a little differently.
I try to buy her off in a lovely old pub in Winster, I think the crisps may have achieved forgivness. We are now at 11 miles and Mel is looking shattered.
I text Lucy to ask her to stay close as I genuinely doubt if Mel will make it
Miles 11-14 go through big hills, very little flat, Mel is resting every mile and begins to start lying down for longer and longer.
Thankfully mile 14-21 completely flatten out. Sadly it also gets very warm and we lose the shade provided by the trees. Amazing, Mel just plods on but all the colour has sapped from her face. We chat continually in an attempt to distract her from the difficulties. Stretching now happens every stop and her calves feel solid, yet giving up is now off her agenda
As we walk up the long hill to Levens Village I begin to feel that its been a while since I walked this distance, fortunately Lucy and Becki are in the village with drinks and Ice Creams. This is the biggest test for Mel, the car is here and she could just get in. This rest stretches to 30 mins and when I asked if she was finishing I would have bet £100 the answer was no, it was a very good job I didnt place that bet.
We are now down to 2 miles per hour, poor Mel looks totally shattered and is stopping even more regularly. Then we pick up the 3 miles to go sign, then 2. As a Dad I simply want to stop her, but she will not allow that. At 6.35 pm having started at 9.30 am we walk into the pretty village of Milnthorpe
I really learnt something about my eldest daughter today. Under the lazy facade she has real guts. I realised that the Uganda trip is really important to her and she doesnt just see it as a school trip. She was willing to push herself really hard to raise the money.
I was really proud of Mel and delighted to have shared the achievement with her.
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