Trial Walk

 Part of Oxfam Trailwaker 2015 series...

The team being new, we decided to do a trial walk out together, not just as a test of our endurance but to get to know each other better.

After all, if we planned to spend 30-40 hours together on the trail, tired, aching muscles and all, it would be best to know our limitations, strengths and what keeps us going!

The morning started well around sunrise at Cubbon Park with a slow leisurely , a twinge of guilt ridden walk.

Seeing all the morning runners briskly running and training was definitely invigorating.

 After a slow walk, we decided to head on for a   much needed breakfast by 9:00 am!

So MTR it was and we felt our breakfast was well deserved.

Our long walk towards Lal Bagh started soon after.

Walking amidst Bangalore traffic is never fun and we gladly entered the cool, quiet garden.

We had a distance and time goal and we plodded on till lunch time.

We stopped to tape, stopped to hydrate and even enjoy the beauty of the garden.

The walk so far was still easy with sufficient breaks to help us recover from the slight aches and pains we felt.

A quick lunch at Kamat and we were back inside the garden.

The sun was scorching , the huge trees and canopy created definitely helped in keeping us cool.

The grand old mother of Lal Bagh

  The park offered plenty of juice and ice cream options and we treated ourselves to these after we hit our goals.

Always something to look forward to.

Felt good at 30 kms, but we felt our soles struggling to cope with the pressure it was subject to.

We carried on bravely, joking and laughing to keep our spirits high!

We met other teams of 4 walking and training together!

Glad that people take the walk seriously and have fun training together!

We completed yet another circle of the park and headed out in traffic towards Cubbon park again.

It was a wonderful feeling to have touched 40 kms and runkeeper was kind enough to keep us company!

The sun had set by then and we felt like we had achieved so much in just doing 40 kms!

 We felt good knowing we could do so much and we could push ourselves to do more.

Our learning during the training walk-

Do not carry huge back packs- water for the road should be enough if you have a support crew

Stay hydrated

Smile through the pain.

Find interesting topics to keep the conversation going.

Find a distraction to keep your mind off the pain.

Enjoy the walk, the surrounding and all that nature has to offer.

Laugh!

The Grand old Man of Lal Bagh