I did it!

I completed Race to the Stones which is 100km or 60 miles. I walked it over two days so if you do the math that is 50km each day.

I shared a bit about the race here.

Our starting time was 8:45. We got to the start early to drop off our register, drop off our luggage, get a cup of coffee and be ready to go.

This are my feet ready to do serious steps. I had a small rucksack with me that had a bunch of things half of which I didn't use.

The path was clearly marked with arrows and signs saying, "not this way".

This is called the "field of dreams". At this point it is single file. It was raining a bit and we had to be a bit careful that we didn't slip in the mud.

There were pit stops approximately every 10km with food and drinks. The base camp was just over 50km. I made it there in 11:00 hours. Dinner was delicious and the shower refreshing. Then we had small tent to sleep in. The next morning we were up and on our way.

The trail was varied with woods and tree roots, to paths along fields to along the road. We walked along the Thames.

This was Sunday as we were walking. I loved the contrast. The clouds look like it might rain but thankfully on Sunday it didn't rain.

We did our training here and it is full of hills. Somehow I had it in my mind that it would not be as hilly when we did the Race but there were hills. The weather really was perfect for the event, not too hot.

On Saturday at the last pit stop I was tired and just wanted to get to the base camp. I walked through the pit stop, got a drink and kept walking. My friend was going to run and catch up but ended up enjoying a cup of tea. I was afraid that if I sat down I would not get up.

There were times that I was just putting one foot in front of the other. Doing that I had over 75,000 steps each day. One foot in front of the other is progress.

At one km before the pit stop there was a sign "Pit stop 1 km". I decided that km was the longest km ever.

The Race to the Stones did pass by the stones and we got a photo there but the race didn't end there. We had 1.5km to go to get our medal and a hot meal.

I did it. I walked 100 km over two days. I took a challenge, trained and prepared and completed it. I learned "more is in you".

On Saturday morning someone asked me why I was doing the race. I think one of the reasons was -- I wanted to take a challenge that might be a bit different from the normal things I do.

On Sunday the question was, "would you do it again?" I am not sure that I would. It took quite a bit of time to train and prepare. Most Saturday mornings we were out for 4-5 hours walking. It also took quite a bit physically and emotionally.

I decided that I can go the distance. Now I need to work on the cardio to be able to run so my next goal is a 10K run. I can walk 10K in about 1 hour 40 minutes.

Over the next few weeks I am going to share some of the lessons that I learned as I reflect on the walk.

Beth