Behind The Smile Of Confidence, Somewhere You'll Find The Wanted Man....

Over the last couple of weeks, I'd rarely thought about (let alone worried about) the BG, a stark contrast to last year when it consumed me. Life's in more perspective this year and, with so much to look forward to, my mind was concentrated elsewhere. I took this as a good thing. There's no need to worry, only to enjoy.

The last couple of weeks of rest had been frustrating though. I'm not a naturally inactive person! Add to that the fact that Kirsten had banned alcohol!! A lot of lying around went on, legs resting, body strenthening itself in preparation. Strangely though, the twitching in my calf muscles increased considerably. This is usually something that happens after long runs, now it started happening all day and night. It caused a bit of worry but, in retrospect, I think it might have something to do with the repair of those muscles and the flow of blood (and chi!) through the legs.

Kirsten was wonderful. She took all organisation off my hands, single-handedly ensured that everyone would be where they should be at the right time, put together all the food boxes, laminated instructions etc etc. You can't underestimate what a difference this makes. To be free of that stress makes it so much easier for the big day.

Finally, on Wednesday late afternoon, we headed off to the Lakes, the car packed to the brim! The tent was set up at Castlerigg and the views enjoyed. Thurdsay was spent mostly resting, but we went for a walk up Walla Crag (1-2-3-4!!), a lovely little Wainwright just above the campsite.

Thereafter, the order of the day was rest, eat and hydrate. Friday was a restless day, following on from the first restless sleep I'd had. I played through the route in my mind over and over again and visualised myself trotting down off Robinson towards Newlands, then trotting into the Moot Hall with just under 24 hours on the clock.

Dave A arrived late afternoon, and it was a nice distraction to chat to him. I headed off with Kirsten into Keswick to eat at the Pedlar and then, later, we went down the pub and had "stuffed peppers" which, in retrospect, was an excellent choice for a "last meal" and one which fuelled me through Leg 1.

It was turning into a beautiful evening, with a lovely sunset. This was a good sign, a good leg 1 would really set me up for the day.

I settled down for a rest in the early evening and was amazed that I managed an hour of sleep until I was woken around 10.15ish. Time to get everything together, make sure I had the right kit on, sort out the feet and then four of us squeezed into the car alongside the boxes and headed down to Keswick. Just as well I checked if my fell shoes were packed before we left the camp site ;-)

There was no turning back now...........

Down in Keswick, we made our way through into the square to be greeted by.....nobody!!! However, it turns out that Mark, Emma and Yiannis were sitting on the other side of the Moot Hall, eating chips!

The obligatory photos were required. I wasn't really up for them. I was itching to get going, looking up at the few stars, a thin veil of cloud having started to cover the sky.

Some good wishes, that "smile of confidence", the legs twitching, the head restless, straining at the leash........