A week (and a bit) on...

So. The Walk is o.v.e.r.

And I loved every bloody minute of it!

Well, that is a bit of a lie. I loved it up until about 4am when we were walking towards Bondi Beach, gale force winds attacking us and I had what felt like a spiky golf ball stuck in my calf causing me gripe and I just wanted to cross the finish line.

Our preserves...all that was missing was the kitchen sink!

But other than that, I loved it!

So yes, I promised I would continue where my last blog finished and give you the lowdown on how the walk actually went. There was much speculation (and nerves) before we started, but I can honestly say, we all really enjoyed it!

The weather was utterly miserable leading up to it on the Friday. I arrived late to work (no surprises there) as rain in Sydney makes everything move at the speed of a snail...a snail with no feet. And a limp.

Anywho, there was a mixture of nerves, excitement and despair in the office as I arrived. With the rain pelting down outside the window, our thoughts turned to the ever-so-sexy ponchos that we had in case of emergency. God, I HATE Ponchos.



Sexy and we know it.



I was wearing said poncho about 20 minutes into the walk when I realised my trendy (Ok, trendier than a PONCHO, alright??!!) waterproof jacket was in fact, not waterproof at all.

I then stood in a big muddy puddle leaving me with soggy feet for the next 13 hours.

Ok, so I am really not selling you on the whole 'loving it' vibe, am I? It does get better!

We arrived at the start point at Balmoral Beach, and the atmosphere - althought drizzly - was electric. There were groups who had done the 50km day walk from Palm Beach finishing, and 100km teams powering through to the 2nd half. We all congregated at the start point and once the clock struck 6pm, we all turned into pumpkins.

Ok, we started the walk, but thought I would throw that in there to see if you were paying attention. Ha!

We lost sight of the 2 other ladies in our group within the first 10 mins (cheers dudes!) but SJ and I had a right laugh on our own....slipping through the mud and playing stupid games ("if you could invite 3 celebrities, living or dead, to a dinner party....")

Outside the Harbour Bridge...looking good ladies!

We crossed the Harbour Bridge at 9.30pm ish...I spoke to Gra who was coming to pick me up at the finish line the following day to say goodnight - he was going to bed early as he had to be up "sooooooo early" to come for me....humph. At least he was gonna get some sleep tonight!

A quick pit stop at the Opera House for a team photo (finally walking together!) and a catch up and chocolate treat from my buddy Emma and we were off again!



Going through Potts Point with cheers from local drunk people outside the restaurants were a highlight....especially as one of the blokes was about to pour some much needed vino into my sports bottle! Haha.



The dinner of champions.



Seeing Marty (Hazel's partner) at about 11.30pm at Double Bay reserve, with a picnic laid out on one of the tables - complete with table cloth and cheese butties - almost made me cry! A quick pee in the bushes, a spot of tea and a refill of water (no wine, dammit) and we were back on our way!

After our much needed feed, we attempted what can only be described as a muddy cess-pool of grimness between Watson's Bay and South Head Lighthouse....swinging on tree branches to avoid the mud (although there was no point for me, I was a big muddy mess....my feet have only just returned to their un-wrinkly former glory) It was so much fun though...made even funnier by a girl in a group behind us swinging off a branch, only for the branch to snap and drop her into a big muddy puddle! I would much rather have soggy shoes over a soggy bum!

Come on, girls!!

After some shin-splint trouble for SJ, we finally reached Bondi, knowing we only had the 10km coastal walk til Coogee. My mums' phone calls throughout the night had really kept my spirits lifted, knowing she was with all my family and my knackered, out-of-breath voice could be heard on loudspeaker (thanks mum!) but it was so nice to know I was able to chat to my mum 10,000 miles away whilst we were doing this crazy challenge and get some lovely words of encouragement.

I was desperate to run over the finish line, but team-decorum, and the fact that no amount of money in the world could of made me run after 13hours on my feet held me back. (I did a 7km walk this Saturday, a full week after the walk and I could almost hear my feet crying and hurling abuse at me)

This is me at the end
(leftover cheese butty in hand)
realising I would have to stand up soon!

As soon as it was all over....6:59am on Saturday 3rd march, we all breathed a big sigh of relief, sat down, and couldn't move again for at least an hour! Gra came to meet me, which was lovely and weird...we hadn't spent a night apart in a loooooong time. He drove me and Nikki home (she lives up the road in Avalon.) I would love to tell you we had a big de-brief and discussed all the details of the last 13hours, but I actually cannot remember a single part of that journey as I was passed out in the front seat!

A hot bath, 5 hours kip, a DVD day and a bottle of champagne later....and I was fully recovered.

Who's up for it next year??!!

K x