MonkeyBlog

Last week i was up in the lake district in Windermere. some of the finest weather this year graced my team as we spent for days hiking the mountains. infact on day two we walked through the cloud base as we got to the top of high raise. i have wanted to do my gold for quite a while and i cannot believe that it's all done now. thats it finished. just awaiting my invitation to the palace to get my award.

so what next?

well i have just finish my Basic expedition Leader Award so i am now going to be assessing the bronze and silver awards on my squadron. i'm starting my Mountain Leaders training next. whoo. and just waiting to see if i got my place on the london marathon. my injuries are finally seeming to be getting better, yay. should be back to running very soon.

yay finally i am going to complete this award. i have been doing it for some years now, my squadron at cadets hasn't been the most organised. Finally i have everything done apart from the final expedition.

2 weeks time i go to lake windermere to do 4 days of intense hill walking and living in the same clothes for four days living out of my rucksack. heaven.

the only slight problem is that i have a couple of injuries. i have ITB syndrome, all runners out there will be wincing in pain as they will understand. imagine a hot knife being driven into the side of your knee. especially when going up hills. not good

plus i have achelle tendonitis because of my bloody boots from lst weekend. i thought they were broken in by now but clearly not as the pressure on the tendon was insane. so a hot knife being ripped through my left ankle. yummy.

apart from that it's all good. i have my assesment this weekend for my basic expedition leader award. yay. and i have some bouldering comps coming up. on the subject of climbing i was really hitting form last week and feeling very strong indeed, i just hope i don't lose my form in the time off that i need to have for my ankle.

fun fun.

You might be in the hotel industry, if...

* You sat at the same desk for 4 years and worked for 8 different managers
* "Going for cocktails and dinner" is NOT your idea of a nice evening
* When someone asks you your exact job profile, you lie
* You get really excited about a 2% pay increase
* You sit in a cubicle smaller than your bedroom closet
* It's dark on your drive to and from work
* Communication is something your "group" is having problems with
* You see a good looking person and you know it's a visitor/guest
* Food left over from a banquet or meeting is your main staple diet
* You forget what you look like in anything but a suit/uniform
* All the work you were hired to do gets done before 9 and after 5
* You're already late on an assignment you just received
* Your boss's favorite lines are
a. "When you get a minute..."
b. "In your spare time...."
c. "I have an opportunity for you..."
* 50% of the people in your company don't know what you do
* The other 50% of the people in your company don't care what you do
* Vacation is something you roll over to next year, if you are allowed
* Change is the norm
* Nepotism is encouraged
* Six months is considered to be substantial longevity.
* You dial "9" before the number no matter where you are calling from
* When you are walking in public, you have to fight the urge to pick up little scraps of paper and rubbish on the floor
* Your toilet paper at home is folded in a triangle on the first sheet
* You answer the phone at home "Hello this is....., how may I help you?"
* You eat in hotel restaurants for fun
* You inspect your hotel room when traveling

* Most of all, You read this entire list and understand it.

This time last week i was on a coach heading back to England.

i was staring out of the window, comtemplating what i had achieved. you set your self goals in life, well i don anyway. this one being a goal that has been waiting for five years. that whole time i have waited with a pen to tick that off my list.

so how come it is over so soon? i sit here now and struggle to believe it has been a week already.

i did the 100km in 20 hours and 2 minutes. This topped off with the fact that i walked two fantastic individuals.

It is a testimony to my strength both physically and mentally that i completed it so fast. i hadn't trained at all, i had only worn the shoes that i did it in once. This is incredibly stupid, especially from someone of my experience, i just had so much going on that i never really got around that what was important at the time.

i knew that i was physically fit enough due to my triathlons and i knew i was mentally strong enough because thats just how i am and so i felt it should be ok.

One thing that helped was when i got angry at my mum. i have never known anyone so unsupportive of their kids. Upon telling my parents that i was doing the death march dad didn't say anything because he has become accustomed to me doing these crazy things that he probably knew i'd do it and so didn't feel the need so say anyhting at that point in time, he did wish me luck before i went and that was great. my mum however was the first to chip in "well you haven't trained for it!" she said in a very harsh manner, and that was it conversation over, thanks mum.

one big think in my life is about making my parents proud of me, i can't tell you why but i just feel i need to. probably because they never say it. upon completing the march my dad txted me saying how proud he was and i cried because i have waited so long to hear that and it felt magical. i didn;t even get a txt off my mum and there wasn;t even a well done when i got home, just a "did you enjoy it?" as if you care mum.

sorry i could rant and rave forever because i am so angry with her and i am desperate to move out. i can't wait to get a place of my own.

i am going to train for it next year because i want sub 17hours, that would be magic.

In just under 2 weeks i will be off to Belgium to do the Belgium death march. it is 100km walking to be completed in 24 hours.

Now i know what your all thinking.

i have to agree with you.

so why do it?

"you see things; and you say, 'why?' But i dream things that never were; and i say, 'why not?" - George Bernard Shaw

"some of the worlds greatest feats have been acomplished by those not clever enough to realise that they are impossible." - Anon

Two of the most inspiring quotes i have ever come across and i follow them through life. yes its a bit mental to want to walk for 24 hours and do 100km. yes i know thats why cars were invented. nothing, however, rivals the sense of achievement you recieve from completing something like this.

so why do it, well, you shouldn't really be able to do something like this, hence the name of the march, it is a test of physical and mental endurance, only a special type of perosn shall complete it. i shall be one of those special people and collect my medal at the end for sure

Yep, here i am once more. stuck here at work and for the first time in ages it is sunny, i could be climbing in the peaks today or out on a long bike ride, but no im sat here again.

Just watched transworld sport and so i am feeling inspired to do something. ah well, just have to sit here bored out of my mind. not that i should be here; im rather ill at the moment with a bad cold, but there is no one else to cover so i couldn't not turn up. although my girl friend thinks i should just stay at home and she has a point. come and look after me please Ffion baby.lol.

time for more lemsip i think.....can you have too much of this stuff???? lol

10am read the clock; i looked out of the window of the minibus towards lake Bala. a thick blanket of rain continued to lash down and whip the lake into a torrent nightmare. large waves and swells coated the surface, being peddle dashed constantly by the rain. I opened the door and a bitterly cold wind bit into me.

welcome to Wales, well, i had asked for more adventure and certainly got it. For some this is their idea of hell and would have turned back long before now. not me however; even as i sat eating brekfast and staring out of the window watching the weather get worse i was itching to get onto the water.

So all my days at work counting the weeks, days and hours until Llanbedr camp have finally come to fruition and i find myself soaked to the bone and shivering uncontrollably; standing next to a vast expance of water known as lake Bala.

The joint forces open water dwimming competition was happening this morning and we were tasked with being safety boats and following swimmers. yet upon getting into the water we were washed downstream at a ferocious rate. the conditions were dangerous and the race should have been called off for sure. it was even questioning my limits of "normality."

sometimes it is the right thing to do to pull the plug on something and know when you're beaten. however, the race went on regardless. hypothermia was to prove to be the only winner of the day.

i felt gutted that i wasn't going to be able to do much canoeing; until martin the instructor came over.

"i hear you're good" he says to me grabbing two oars.

i can't help but agree with him because he was right.
"good, we are going out there, they need some help." he said looking out into the distance.

i followed his gaze out onto the lake, just in view you could see something yellow bobbing about.

looking at the condition of the water, the size of the waves and the speed of the current really awoke the caged animal. i began to contemple what would become of me if i capsize. this is now dicing with death breathing it's ice cold breath on the back of your neck.

finally, after probably two months i feel alive again. monotony is out of the window and i'm back in my world.

Fear, that caged animal is pacing now, up and downl; but i want to really piss it off and practically bite martins hand off for my oar as i hop into the canoe. as he pushes off we are hit by driving rain, thrashed about by powerful waves , currents and howling winds. the canoe rocks about unsteadily. the animal loses it and pounces at the cage rattling the bars.

yes, this is me, i am alive.

the adrenilin is coarsing through my body and the animal begins to settle, i get a feeling of invincibilty and power hard with each stroke of the oar. kneeling down right at the front to get a lower centre of gravity brings me closer to the water. the canoe rises up on a crest and slaps down hard, water breaking over the bow and soaking my face. i squint through the now painful rain and press on fighting the current.

"paddle right!!!" i hear martin shout above the howling wind.

we are heading off course and so as directed i flip my oar over to the right.

this is beyond an adrenilin rush, this is something different, something on a higher level. the lake tries its best to chew us up and spit us out but we fight on. the water tries harder so we fight harder.

The stricken kayaker managed to right himself as we got to him and we checked he was ok before he got powerboated back to shore. well, theres nothing left to do but head back, this time we were even more against the current.

as i write this my body is tense and ready for the signal, i want to go back.

i couldn't be happier.

Everything is back to normal, i have no skin on my fingers, i feel empowered and im climbing every ledge i can see, my fingers itch again and everything seems to make sense again.

i think i went a bit over board at climbing works in sheffield yesterday as i have lost vast quantities of skin. however, this place is beyond heaven, and so add to that, they have just built a new bit onto one of the walls and it is out of this world. the problems start at the back in the corner and you come outwards, completley upside down for a few moves, then big reachs are needed for the over hanging slope and lot of power to get up to the top.

It is by far the best bit of climbing wall i have ever climbed on, along with the two big buckets there. there is something so beautifully natural about hanging upside down, using your feet as hands. this type of climbing is not only the most aesthetically pleasing and most impressive looking, but it's the most impressive feeling.

once i onsighted the first problem i came off feeling slightly pumped due to the nature of the problem, but i felt powerful. i felt the strength coarsing through me and it showed as i got on to the next problem. my feet kept slipping off this one grip as it had become quite polished, instead of giving up and starting again. i continued trying to reset my feet and i must have been haging there for a long time in a crucifix position, but it felt good. finally getting my feet back on i continued on upwards.

there is also a sweet dyno in the main area. The problem was slightly more heinous than it appeared, but still not a problem. i got to the last but one grip, set myself for the dyno and pushed back and sideways. its amazing because as you catch the grip you have to hold on for dear life as your legs flick out, similar to the one at nottingham. mat gave it a great attempt and touched the last grip but couldnt hold it and ended up completely face planting himself. but im proud because his confidence is soaring all the time and before there was no way he'd even attempt the dyno.

so any of you into bouldering, that havnt visited the climbing works in sheffield, what are you waiting for. i can't wait until next time now.

Well not really, the escaped monkey is me.

climbing on tuesday was so good, considering i hadn't climbed for a month due to an injury i was impressed at my performance. it felt like home being back on the overhangs again. thats where i belong, upside down.

Anyway i am going to daydream alday because Mat and i are going upto the climbing works in sheffield after i finish work at 2. we havnt been there for so long and it really is the meccah of bouldering. i saw on their website that they have extended a wall and it looks burly.

i'll keep you informed.

I feel like the title says it all really, compared to last week, being back at work is as mundane is it can get. I'm feeling trapped, looking of the window all i can picture is the mountains and the beach, i blink, rub my eyes and see some fat slob smoking and scratching his bum on the forecourt. nice.

It was just amazing though, monday i was canoeing in the most torrential storm ever, i can't wait to put the blog of that down because it was truly out of this world. Tuesday was climbing and oh it felt so dam good to feel those grips again. wednesday we walked up cnicht and camped out on top of the mountains.

Now picture this for the utmost beauty imaginable. near the top of a mountain, sun shining down, no wind, beautifuly clear lake and nearby a stream running past. i found a spot away form everyone, a small little sheltered bit at the top, all you could hear was the gentle flow of the stream, the sun beating down warming me up. i mediatated there for well over half an hour, it was pure bliss.

thursday we came back down the mountain and friday we did mountain biking and high ropes, but i did mountain biking all day with both groups because i've done high ropes before and this mountain bike trail was like nothing i had ever riden before, despite two horrendous crashes and looking like i had been in a car crash with cuts everywhere and wrecking a bike. i got a new one and just carried on because it was just incredible. i can't wait to go again.