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Thursday 23 December 2010
Lapland Adventure
Thursday 23rd December
We have now been in lapland for 4 days and its been an amazing adventure so far.
With all the delays at the airport and the continuing freak weather conditions we decided to leave earlier than anticipated and am i glad we did. I have never seen the M40 like this before only 2 faint tracks to guide you the other lanes all covered in deep snow overtaking was an adventure in itself, but we made it after 3 hours which is good as some families who we have met took 2 days to get there.
Delayed at Gatwick but only 2 hours so pretty good really although the kids didn't think so, we arrived in lapland at about 8pm straight off the plane onto the tarmac into a nice cool -29 the back of your throught literally burnt if you breathed to hard or deeply.
So deep into the winter wonderland for another hour and we arrive at Jerris Hotel time to get the cold weather gear and then on to our log cabin which surprise surprise is the furthest away from the hotel, we are however greeted by the most amazing sight 3 reindeer in the woods outside our front door digging in the snow looking for food, the kids think were in narnia, the surroundings are truly breathtaking, and you have to see them to believe them.
Day 1
Were late for breakfast and lost in the woods not a good start but we finally make it back to the hotel a quick drink and were off snowshooing into the woods only a mile or so to a open camp fire where we have hot chocolate and the kids roast marsh mallows over the fire, the afternoon consists of sledging down a very steep slow and trying to avoid the trees great fun.
Day 2
We visited a reindeer farm today and learnt all about the traditions of the lapish farmers, a traditional lapish lunch it seems a bit harsh eating the animals we came to see but thats life.
Then a sled ride through the forest pulled by te reindeer again more spectacular scenery.
Day 3
By far the best day so far Huskie sleding through the forests 9km absolutely amazing everyone should do this once in there life. The raw power of these dogs is unbelievable they have 2 speeds very fast and stop, one of the most amazing days of my life and i want to do it again.
No northern lights yet but conditions are good tonight so fingers crossed.
Sent from my HTC
We have now been in lapland for 4 days and its been an amazing adventure so far.
With all the delays at the airport and the continuing freak weather conditions we decided to leave earlier than anticipated and am i glad we did. I have never seen the M40 like this before only 2 faint tracks to guide you the other lanes all covered in deep snow overtaking was an adventure in itself, but we made it after 3 hours which is good as some families who we have met took 2 days to get there.
Delayed at Gatwick but only 2 hours so pretty good really although the kids didn't think so, we arrived in lapland at about 8pm straight off the plane onto the tarmac into a nice cool -29 the back of your throught literally burnt if you breathed to hard or deeply.
So deep into the winter wonderland for another hour and we arrive at Jerris Hotel time to get the cold weather gear and then on to our log cabin which surprise surprise is the furthest away from the hotel, we are however greeted by the most amazing sight 3 reindeer in the woods outside our front door digging in the snow looking for food, the kids think were in narnia, the surroundings are truly breathtaking, and you have to see them to believe them.
Day 1
Were late for breakfast and lost in the woods not a good start but we finally make it back to the hotel a quick drink and were off snowshooing into the woods only a mile or so to a open camp fire where we have hot chocolate and the kids roast marsh mallows over the fire, the afternoon consists of sledging down a very steep slow and trying to avoid the trees great fun.
Day 2
We visited a reindeer farm today and learnt all about the traditions of the lapish farmers, a traditional lapish lunch it seems a bit harsh eating the animals we came to see but thats life.
Then a sled ride through the forest pulled by te reindeer again more spectacular scenery.
Day 3
By far the best day so far Huskie sleding through the forests 9km absolutely amazing everyone should do this once in there life. The raw power of these dogs is unbelievable they have 2 speeds very fast and stop, one of the most amazing days of my life and i want to do it again.
No northern lights yet but conditions are good tonight so fingers crossed.
Sent from my HTC
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Heading Home
The one thing you always look forward to on finishing a challenge is going home, its the best place to gather your thoughts and get back into a normal routine. Although I am a bit nervous about this trip as I have been up all night with sickness and dioreea not pleasant at all, the last meal we had at the farewell party was a curry at an irish bar, and that just tipped my body over the edge even more.
One thing i have learnt over these 99 days is that you have to give a little respect to each one of the challenges you are doing and with the right preparation and mental attitude anything is achievable. Yes your body is telling you its had enough but its the mental toughness that see's you through.
It has also taught me that life doesn't have to be this way and by that I mean the ease in which we all get stuck in our daily routines and if we all just stepped back and took a few minutes we could enrich our lives so much more by just doing something different every now and again.
Looking forward to coming home.
One thing i have learnt over these 99 days is that you have to give a little respect to each one of the challenges you are doing and with the right preparation and mental attitude anything is achievable. Yes your body is telling you its had enough but its the mental toughness that see's you through.
It has also taught me that life doesn't have to be this way and by that I mean the ease in which we all get stuck in our daily routines and if we all just stepped back and took a few minutes we could enrich our lives so much more by just doing something different every now and again.
Looking forward to coming home.
Monday 8 November 2010
The Day After
Having slept reasonably well last night, my legs feel like they are not part of me its weird as I felt nothing like this on the mountains even after the Month Blanc descent once I'd spent the night in the oxygen chamber I felt fine, this time I suspect my legs will take a lot of time to recover.
So my 99 days of physical exursion are over and on many occasions I had felt like quitting particularly on Mont Blanc and the NY Marathon. When I look back though it wasn't just the 99 days it was the training we had to put in to stand a chance of pulling this challenge off, this started way back in March of this year and then really intensified in June the Month before our first departure, most of this training was enjoyable the only part I can truly say I Didn,t enjoy was October when the marathon training really kicked in, but I am glad I did it as without it I would have never have finished in under 5 hours. I am also aware of the personal sacrifice you have to dedicate to make such challenges achievable I am eternally grateful for my family's support during this past year, I know they are proud, and my dad well I miss him dearly but truly believe that when I needed him during some dark times he was watching over me.
A good friend sent me a congratulatory text simply stating I had achieved more this year than most people attempt in a lifetime. I guess I can relate to that in as much as in today modern world its very easy to settle back and fall into routine and forget about the things you could be doing to enrich your life.
For me now well rest is the order of the day, my body is well and truly Knackered at the moment and suspect it will take some time to recover.
Oh and one last point April, Simon and myself managed to get our names in the New York Times all finishes under 5 hours did. I finished in 30250th place out of 45000 but for me it wasn't a race for places just a race to finish.
So my 99 days of physical exursion are over and on many occasions I had felt like quitting particularly on Mont Blanc and the NY Marathon. When I look back though it wasn't just the 99 days it was the training we had to put in to stand a chance of pulling this challenge off, this started way back in March of this year and then really intensified in June the Month before our first departure, most of this training was enjoyable the only part I can truly say I Didn,t enjoy was October when the marathon training really kicked in, but I am glad I did it as without it I would have never have finished in under 5 hours. I am also aware of the personal sacrifice you have to dedicate to make such challenges achievable I am eternally grateful for my family's support during this past year, I know they are proud, and my dad well I miss him dearly but truly believe that when I needed him during some dark times he was watching over me.
A good friend sent me a congratulatory text simply stating I had achieved more this year than most people attempt in a lifetime. I guess I can relate to that in as much as in today modern world its very easy to settle back and fall into routine and forget about the things you could be doing to enrich your life.
For me now well rest is the order of the day, my body is well and truly Knackered at the moment and suspect it will take some time to recover.
Oh and one last point April, Simon and myself managed to get our names in the New York Times all finishes under 5 hours did. I finished in 30250th place out of 45000 but for me it wasn't a race for places just a race to finish.
Finished
For me the time wasn't important well as long as it was sub 5 hours that's all that matters and that was going to be a challenge with my torn hamstring, the guy from the New York Fire Department advised me it was possible I just needed to take small strides so that's what I did.
I managed to keep up with Simon and April to mile 8 but after that my leg was hurting so I dropped the pace. I also made a mistake with my gel packs in that I hadn't run on them previously, they ended up giving me stomach cramps which was very unpleasant.
At mile 12 I just wanted to pack in everything hurt and it was at this stage I started to worry I couldn,t complete this challenge, especially knowing I had more than half the race to do.
Still I kept plugging away and when I hit mile 18 I started believing again and as I said its the crowd that brings you home. I thought it was going to be lonely crossing the line on my own but everyone was congratulating each other afterall we had all gone through the same torture.
So 3 the challenges in 99 days are now complete what next, nothing is the answer my body is Knackered and I intend to spend quality time with my family.
Sunday 7 November 2010
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