Moonwalk training - 23 miles and twice around Grafam Water

The maiden voyage for the bum bags. You can get a serious amount of stuff in a bum bag, but you also have to push through the barrier of social stigma. We have been to Grafam so many times that now we know where to park for free, especially at 7:30 in the morning! We parked in Perry and did our first circuit of 9 miles, with a first stop at a closed visitor centre. I have to admit it, but I like Gafam Water without people, it's so incredibly peaceful.

One loop down, lets do it again. This time with an espresso stop. Bum bags really are amazing, although I called it by it's American name for an hour before Ali realised it was actually true and that is what they call them. She wanted to curl up when I said it loudly at the visitor centre. Our last huge walk done, ready for the big event.

A wander around Kimbolton

We haven't been on walk with Sailor and Penny in ages because they can't do Moonwalk training. So, we took them on a 3.5 mile walk around Kimbolton, a very quaint village. A typical village high street and Kimbolton Castle which is now occupied by a private school. It was great to see Sailor and Penny out and about again.

Moonwalk training: 22 miles of bluebells

I really don't like that feeling before you set off for a walk, but luckily once you get going, it fades. We started at Spaldwick and another gorgeous village sign. We took a big loop to get to Grafam Water. Ali is trying to keep her hip going through the intense training and she now has a solution, to have the occasional split squat to stretch. I hope she does this in central London for the moonwalk.

Ali is full of a cold so was blowing her nose all the way around. We got to Grafam Water visitor centre at 10 miles and it was time for lunch. What really puts me off Grafam is the number of bikes passing you, but luckily Ali took is on paths away from people and through multiple woods that were full of bluebells. A stop for coffee in a grubby visitor centre and then the final stretch, 7.6 miles where I hit the wall at mile 21. I've learnt that I hate mud but I really hate dried mud, it hurts your feet something chronic. I do love walking through the gorgeous villages with their thatched roof and signs.

We intended on walking 20 miles but in the end walked 22 in 8 hours, only 2 weekends until the real thing!

Scaring Michel Roux Jr during the London Marathon

Ali has completed a few marathons but has yet to get a place for the London Marathon again, so instead, we went to cheer everyone else. We got to Canary Wharf just in time to see the elite women sprint past. London was heaving, there were people everywhere. We found a good vantage point but alas it was in the shade and we didn't realise we would be stood there for over 3 hours, the time flew by. We saw Richard Whitehead, Paralympic athlete, the elite men and then the noise went up ten fold...Go Mo!!!! The muscles in his legs were so pronounced!

I loved the posters and supporters that went to lots of vantage spots. My favourite poster was 'we've literarlly JUST seen Mo Farah, run run!'. We saw a pink lady apple, tiger, the classic rhinos, wind turbine, bottles, almost naked man, someone with a fridge on their back, a trainer, Thomas the Tank, elvis and a lighthouse. A friend from scouts was running so I was looking out for him. Oh my gosh it's so hard to spot people but I found him an shouted like a banshee.

Michel Roux Jr looked petrified when he was directly in front of me and I yelled his name. The man next to me said that I knew a lot of people, I loved shouting peoples names. They would smile or say thank you. As the time went on, the crowd dispersed and people looked in serious pain. A quick café rouge stop and then we cheated and got the tube to mile 23 and walked to the end. We were mainly with walkers as they had been going for about 7 hours by this point. Some were limping and in so much pain. Alas, most of the mall was covered by spectator seating so you couldn't see the finish very well but we had completed the last 3.2 miles and then played dodgems with people to get to the tube in time for the train.

I had a glimmer of a ridiculous thought that i'd like to complete it, but now I've thought twice.

Moonwalk training - 18.4 miles around Tempsford, Great Barford and Everton

What a day of walking, especially after doing lunge walks yesterday and not being able to move properly today. It started in Everton, back down the Greensand Ridge Walk and the incredibly muddy hill, back past Gibraltar Farm (for the third time). Today was a big day for rape seed, the smell as we walked was so springy. Our walk included crossing the East Coast Mainline. At Tempsford we found a very handy bench in a very quaint place, we loved the animals on top of the thatched cottages. Then a not so nice thing, walking on a bridge over the A1. Neither of us like heights.

We then walked past the anchor pub and Vanilla Alternative club, that we then googled. I thought it was a pub but nope, it's a swingers club. We walked over weirs, locks, a field of cows, a cross country horse route at Tectchworth Hall, through a field with a bull...then back to the car. With 11.5 under our belts, it was time to see our doggies for lunch.

The next walk started at Great Barford which has a gorgeous bridge over the river. We walked along the Ouse Valley Way again, Environment Agency land time and time again where I had to take the obligatory picture. We walked past Danish Camp with it's multiple breeds of duck, black swan and chickens. It was really noticeable that at Danish Camp we stopped greeting fellow walkers. The tarmac path was most welcome though and we got another 6.9 miles under our feet.