LEJOG 2017

LEJOG TRAINING 1,000 miles in 6 weeks. That is my aim, and the aim of my training.  Background The plan was to start my LEJOG attempt on Thursday 29th March 2018. I therefore planned to train for LEJOG from January onwards. As often happens to plans this one got shelved on Friday 14th April - one month ago - when my employer intervened with an unexpected summer holiday allowance for all members of staff. They knew about my plan for 2018; even so, I thought that requesting a minimum of 6 weeks off would be pushing the boundaries of acceptability. I was mistaken. I got a yes. The revised start date is Saturday 29th July, with a predicted finish in the first half of September.  This has prompted me to bring everything forward: route planning, gear testing, gram counting and most importantly fitness. One month has disappeared already. What emerged from this first tentative month was a  question of singular significance: will I be physically fit enough to walk 1,000...

1 year becomes 3 months This was unexpected. I'd planned on LEJOGing in March/April/May 2018. Because it was so far away, my thoughts turned to existential matters and my reading material took the form of travelogues, biographies of explorers and accounts of expeditions in far flung places.  Then the unthinkable happened: my boss told me to take a holiday in August. 'How much holiday?' I asked. 'How much can you take?' she said. 'How about all of August and half of September?' She looked at me in surprise. Was this a holiday request too far? My boss already knew about my LEJOG plan for next year but it didn't occur to either of us that it could happen at much shorter notice. I jumped at the chance - and I got a yes.  My next thought was 'Oh shit...'. Now it's really real. I've got less than three months to prepare, get fit enough to stand a chance of walking the end-to-end in a reasonable time, trim my gear to its bare minimu...