Tag: challenge

Why I Haven’t Been Around + Goals Update

by  on  in Musings • 0 Comments

Yorkshire Dales walk

Well, hello there! If you keep an eye on my blog, then you may have noticed that I’ve been posting less recently. For this, I apologise, but I wanted to give an explanation. You see, the last year has been pretty busy. I know, I know, everyone is busy all of the time. But sometimes, when you’re so busy that you struggle to see how you can to get through the next day let alone the next week, and you’re constantly falling behind on your ever-extending to-do list, it’s hard to prioritise what’s really important in life.

In the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of clients writing on some fascinating topics. I’ve also been working hard at growing the author side of my business: I’ve published one full-length novel (with a second coming soon in June), two novelettes and two novellas. I’ve also organised a wedding and started co-hosting a podcast.

When I look back on it, I’ve achieved a lot. But it has come at a price, and that has been my outdoor time. It’s ironic that, by writing about outdoor activities and adventure, I’ve actually ended up spending less time doing them myself. I suspect I’m not the only writer and entrepreneur to have fallen into this trap…

So, I decided on some changes. I will be continuing with my client work – no change there. (If you need a hand with copywriting or content marketing, get in touch!) And I’ll still be blogging, but not every week. I’ll post something as and when I have something I really want to write about and share with you. This will still probably be once or twice a month – I’m not disappearing completely!

I’m also going to be consolidating my social media channels in an effort to rationalise my social media addiction. I currently have two Twitter accounts, one for the author side of my business, and one for the outdoor copywriting side. Moving forward, I’m only going to be using this one, but I’ll be chatting about everything. The outdoors and writing about the outdoors is as much a part of me as writing novels or podcasting, so why should I try and tear myself in two?

Update on my goals for 2018

At the beginning of the year, I posted my outdoor goals for 2018. Whenever you’re setting goals, I always think it’s worth reviewing them every couple of months. Life changes, what we are able to do changes and, perhaps most importantly, what we want to do sometimes changes.

Ironically, given everything I’ve talked about above, my main aim for 2018 was to spend more time outdoors. I’m pretty sure I’ve achieved this, though based on the end of last year, I was working from a pretty low benchmark!

The main thing that’s forced me to spend more time outside is the Isle of Wight Challenge. In a week and a half, I’ll be walking 104 km around the Isle of Wight (over two days). I’m pretty sure this is the toughest challenge I’ve set myself, and I’ve been training hard for it. Many of my weekends over the past few months have been spent walking, come rain or shine. And until recently, there has been very little shine and rather a lot of rain, hail and snow.

I’m feeling reasonably well prepared for the walk. Or at least, as prepared as I can feel. (I don’t think you ever really feel ready for challenges like this.) I’m raising money for Mind, a mental health charity here in the UK, which is been a huge motivator to get out and train even when the weather has been, quite frankly, miserable. If you’d like to sponsor me, you can do so here.

My second goal of the year was to hike the John Muir Trail. My husband and I had planned to do this for our honeymoon. We may have underestimated the logistical challenge this presented… I also discovered while doing all these long walks, that while I LOVE walking, I don’t really love having to go out walking for 8 hours in the rain. We’ve also both found that we’ve missed climbing. Really missed it. With work commitments and busy lives, there’s just not the time to do everything and because I’ve been spending every weekend training for the Isle of Wight Challenge, this has meant we’ve done next to no climbing.

So, we changed our plan! We’re still planning on going out to the States, but we’re hoping to do a month long climbing trip later in the year. We haven’t been on a climbing holiday for ages so I’m really looking forward to this. 😀 I’m also looking forward to getting some strength back and exploring more of the crags around where we live.

This will also finally force me to face head-on my incapacitating fear of falling. I haven’t quite figured out how best to do this yet, but I’m working on it. More on that another time…

I would love to be a superwoman who is able to do it all, but I’m gradually coming to realise that I’m not. We all have different pressures on our lives and time and have to prioritise what’s most important to us. And if there’s one thing I know, it’s that being outdoors is important to me.

The 7 Podcasts That’ll Make You Love Long Runs

by  on  in Hiking, Running • 1 Comment

Running-and-headphones

Your choice of listening material when running is a very personal thing. Some people prefer to leave the headphones at home and embrace the sounds of nature during their runs. Others need a good fast beat to help them keep their pace up. And some people look to podcasts to provide a distraction from the pain and hard work of running.

I fall somewhere between the first and third camps. On some days, particularly when it’s sunny outside and the birds are singing, I just feel like running in silence. But when the weather is a bit grim and I’ve got a long run ahead, I generally turn to podcasts to help keep my spirits up and make the miles go past faster.

I’ve got a half marathon coming up this weekend (the Northumberland Endurancelife if anyone’s interested) and my husband is already prepping his podcast list for his ultra run. If you’re looking for some new inspiration, here are some of my favourite podcasts to help make long runs fun. But a word of warning: you may find some of them so addictive that you won’t want to stop…

If You’ve Got an Ultra Coming Up: Limetown

I was struggling to find a podcast that was as gripping, well-produced and addictive as Serial. Then I found Limetown. Although it’s a fictional story, the investigative journalism style makes it feel more like a true-crime podcast.

The story itself – the disappearance of 300 people from a model town in Tennessee – is intriguing and each plot twist pulls you deeper into the story. Once you’ve started, you won’t want to stop listening so download all the episodes and plan a three-hour run.

For Binge Listening: Serial

If you haven’t listened to the award-winning podcast, Serial, then you’ve probably been hiding under a rock for the past few years. But if that’s the case then great! You’ve got all the fun to look forward to.

Serial is a non-fiction podcast that investigates the murder of Hae Min Lee in 1999 and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend Adnan Syed. It’s easy to forget when you listen to the serialised narrative that this is a real story, with real people involved, and that there may not be a happy ending.

It’s a gripping show and the best news is, once you finished season one you can move onto season two which is a whole different story. Hours of entertainment to keep your legs moving.

To Get You Through Long Runs: The Tim Ferris Show

Tim Ferris interviews the great and good from all walks of life in a show that was seemingly devised for long runs. Episodes frequently exceed two hours in length making it a great choice for long workouts. Although it’s branded as a business podcast, the interviews are wide-ranging and cover many aspects of lifestyle, productivity and work.

For Inspiration: The Tough Girl Podcast

If your legs need some inspiration to keep running, then the Tough Girl Podcast will provide. Host Sarah Williams interviews women who are pushing the boundaries in their outdoor adventure challenges. From epic adventurers to Olympic athletes, this show will make you realise how many endurance challenges there are in the world and what it takes to complete them.

Be warned: if you listen to too many episodes then you may find yourself dreaming up your own challenge to escape the regularity of day-to-day life.

To Learn Something New: Crypto News Podcast

Okay, this is a bit of a cheeky entry as I co-host the podcast! (But hey, it’s my blog, so I can give it a shout-out, right?) If you’re bamboozled by bitcoin and confused about cryptocurrency, but feel like it’s something you should know more about, then join two crypto newbies as we navigate our way through the world of cryptocurrency.

Each week we talk through some of the top crypto news stories to find out what’s hot (or not) in the crypto world. Download the 12 boot camp episodes to get a simple overview of what Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and the blockchain are all about and finish your run better informed than when you started.

For a Quick Fix: The Other Stories

If you’re looking for a short fiction podcast with a nod to the dark side, then check out this podcast from the team at Hawk and Cleaver. The stories cover the genres of horror, sci-fi and thrillers, and will leave you with a definite chill down your spine. The episodes are generally between 10 and 20 minutes long so enjoy them on a quick lunchtime run or stack up a few for a longer session.

If You Enjoyed Limetown: Rabbits

Like Limetown, Rabbits is a fictional podcast presented in a true-crime style. And if you thought the events narrated in Limetown were weird, then Rabbits takes things to a whole new level.

Rabbits is the story of the search by the podcast host, Carly, for her missing friend, Yumiko, who she believes disappeared because of her participation in a mysterious alternate reality game known only as “Rabbits”.

The first couple of episodes are a little slow going, with a lot of backstory and information on video game culture and alternate reality. But after that, the story quickly picks up pace and the plot twists come thick and fast as the suspense builds. The ending is as weird as weird can be, and personally, I found it not quite satisfying, but don’t let me put you off. Rabbits will make you forget your tired legs and burning lungs while you listen to find out what happens next.

What are your favourite podcasts? Let me know in the comments below or get in touch on Twitter – I’m looking for some new shows to listen to!

5 of the Best Mountain Challenges in the UK

by  on  in Climbing, Hiking • 0 Comments
Best mountain challenges in UK

The Cuillin Ridge – one of the UK’s toughest mountain challenges

If the grey days and dark nights are draining your motivation for getting outside, then you need a challenge! While we may not have the towering snow-capped peaks of the Alps, the UK has a surprising range of mountain challenges for everyone from casual weekend walkers to skilled mountaineers and fleet-of-foot fell runners.

This isn’t a comprehensive list but if you’re after for some inspiration or itching for a new challenge, why not book in one of the UK’s best mountain challenges for 2018…

Yorkshire Three Peaks

The route linking the ‘Yorkshire Three Peaks‘ of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough is an ideal first mountain challenge for fit walkers. The route starts and ends in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and is 24 miles with 1,585m of ascent. To complete the ‘challenge’ you need to walk it in under 12 hours.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks is very popular with charity groups and can get busy in the summer, so a good-weather day out of season is your best bet for avoiding the crowds in the car parks as well as on the hills. There are no technical difficulties, but it’s a long day and if the weather’s bad, you’ll need to be confident navigating in low visibility.

The Welsh 3000s

If you want to step up from the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the Welsh 3000s, also known as the “14 Peaks” will challenge the fittest hill walker. The official challenge requires an ascent of the 15 (yes, 15 not 14…) Welsh peaks over 3,000ft in 24 hours, without using any form of transport.

The traditional route starts on the summit of Snowdon (sometimes with a bivvy) and finishes on Foel-fras. It’s around 24 miles long but the approach walk and final descent take the total up to 30 miles. There aren’t many technical challenges, but you’ll need to be comfortable with the scrambling on Crib Goch and Tryfan and a very long day in the hills.

The Bob Graham Round

The Bob Graham is to fell runners what the Cuillin Ridge is to mountaineers. The 66-mile circuit of 42 of the highest peaks in the Lake District includes 8,200m of ascent and, to officially complete the Bob Graham Round, the circuit has to be done in 24 hours.

For many fell runners, completing the Bob Graham is a lifetime achievement requiring years of preparation. Only around 1 in 3 attempts are successful and most take place in the summer, to make best use of daylight. I’ve spent long days in the Lakes hiking just a handful of the 42 peaks and I actually struggle to comprehend HOW people can be fit enough to complete the challenge within the 24-hour time limit.

For those who’ve completed the Bob Graham Round, more challenges lie ahead in the Welsh and Scottish equivalents: the Paddy Buckley Round and the Ramsay Round.

The Cuillin Ridge

The Cuillin Ridge is the most prized of all British ridge climbs and arguably one of the best mountaineering challenges in Europe. It requires stamina, excellent navigation skills and the ability to move quickly and safely on complex terrain.

The ridge itself is 12km, but including the walk in and walk out you’re looking at a 25km route with 4,000m of ascent and descent. Although none of the climbing is harder than ‘Very Difficult’, there are large sections of exposed scrambling and easier climbing and to have any chance of success at the traverse, you’ll need to be comfortable soloing most of the ridge.

If you’re super fit then it’s possible to do the Cuillin Ridge in a day but many parties take two days and bivvy overnight, either at the start of the ridge or part-way along. On many British ridge climbs, route-finding is fairly straightforward — you just keep to the crest of the ridge. On my one excursion into the Cuillin (to date) I was surprised at the level of technical route finding required. For this reason, if you’re looking to attempt the ridge it’s worth reccying different sections of the route in advance.

The Munros

This one may take you more than a year! The record for completing all 282 Scottish mountains over 3,000ft is an impressive 39 days and 9 hours (set by Stephen Pike in 2010) and the women’s record of 77 days was set in 2017 by Lisa and Libby from Beauties and the Bog. For most people, bagging all the Munros is a lifetime achievement, but if you have a lot of time on your hands or easy access to the Scottish Highlands, it’s possible to tick them all in a year.

While most Munros aren’t technical climbs (only one — the Inaccessible Pinnacle — involves a graded rock climb), many involve long days in the remotest parts of the UK and mountain skills are a must. Find out more about the Munros in our guide to Scotland’s ultimate ticklist.

My Outdoor Goals for 2018

by  on  in Musings • 0 Comments

My Outdoor Goals for 2018

Around this time last year, I wrote a post about how I wasn’t setting any New Year’s Resolutions for 2017 other than enjoying being outdoors. This was partly in response to my failure to complete most of the goals I’d set myself in 2016!

So, how did I do with my non-resolution resolution? Not bad… And not great. I DID enjoy the time I spent outdoors – very much so. There just wasn’t enough of it. Looking back, 2017 was an incredibly busy year. We moved into a new house (okay, technically this was in 2016, but right at the end!), I left my job and went self-employed, we got married and I published my first book. I worked hard. Really hard. And my outdoor time suffered.

So in 2018, one of my main aims is to spend more time outdoors. I’ve learned that, if I don’t get enough exercise or time outdoors, I start to get grumpy. I’ve also had more aches and pains in the last year than ever before – I’m putting this down to not exercising and stretching my muscles enough and too much time in front of a computer!

Enough of my waffle! Without further ado, here are my goals for 2018.

Goal 1: Complete the Isle of Wight Challenge

This is my big outdoor goal for the year. I’ve signed up to join a group of authors and creatives tackling the Isle of Wight challenge in May. We’ll be aiming to walk 104 km around the island over two days. Now, I love walking and have done some multi-day hikes in my time but this is harder than anything I’ve done to date and I have to admit that my legs are quaking slightly!

To give me some added motivation, I’m raising money for Mind, a mental health charity here in the UK. I’ve written before about how walking helps my mental health and it’s a cause that’s close to my heart for a number of reasons. If you’d like to sponsor me and give me an extra nudge to get out training, you can do so here.

So, ummm, training… I’ve entered a 15-mile trail run at the end of February to get my general level of fitness up. After that, I’ll be planning lots of long walks at the weekends (ideally back-to-back days) and trying to get out during the week. One of my goals for my author business this year is to master dictation, so I can get out walking and still get lots of stories written!

Goal 2: Hike the John Muir Trail

This is a tentative goal at the moment, as, to hike the JMT, you need to get a permit and these are in hot demand! If it goes ahead, it would also be me and my husband’s ‘proper’ honeymoon. Yup, three weeks hiking with no showers is our idea of a romantic holiday. 🙂

If we can’t get a permit, then we’ll rethink our plans and come up with an equally exciting alternative. Whatever we choose, it’s likely to involve a lot of hiking, so all that walking training in the first part of the year will come in handy.

Goal 3: Get Back Into Climbing

For various reasons, I didn’t get much climbing done last year. For the first part of the year, this was largely due to not having enough time to get out, or even to the wall. (DIY weddings, it turns out, are a LOT of work!) Then I developed RSI and my wrists and forearms were so bad that I couldn’t climb for most of the second half of the year. (I tried, but it meant I struggled to work the next day.)

Needless to say, after this long break, I am as weak as a kitten! I had my first session back at the wall this week and couldn’t even manage an hour on easy routes! But I have really, really missed my climbing, so even though I may not achieve any climbs of significance, I want to get some strength back.

Goal 4: Tackle a Long-Distance Cycling Challenge

This is a bit of a vague goal! But I’ve really enjoyed getting into cycling over the past few years and I’d like to take this a step further and take on one of the UK’s cycling challenges. Because I need to prioritise walking and running at the start of the year, this is likely to be an autumn goal, so I’ve got plenty of time to come up with something.

So, that’s it! Four goals for 2018. Some more challenging than others… What are your goals for this year? Post them in the comments and we can all check back at the end of the year and see how we did.

Why a Digital Detox Can Make You Happier and More Productive

by  on  in Musings • 0 Comments
Sitting-on-beach-journalling

Enjoying some creative time during my digital detox

Last week I had a digital detox. Ok, so just saying those words makes me feel rather poncy and hipster-ish. Like I’m some new-age hippy who lives off green juice and rises at 5 am for an hour of meditation. Which, I’m not. (5 am starts are reserved for very special occasions, like watching the sunrise in the mountains, or flying somewhere exciting.) But, somewhat accidentally, I spent a full seven days with no internet access (bar one hour to check our hiking routes), no social media and talking to almost nobody apart from my new husband.

New husband? Oh yeah, I should probably mention that … Two weeks ago I got married! Which is why there’s been a yawning gap in blog posts this month, for which I apologise. (Oh, you didn’t notice? Okay then …) I had planned to schedule a pile of articles in advance, but I was so busy finishing off client work, setting up my new author website and frantically trying to get everything ready for our DIY wedding that, well, it just never happened. But the hard work paid off; we had a fabulous wedding day and our friends and family appreciated all the personal touches that had gone into making it extra-special. More on that in a future post!

After a crazy six months of going full-time with Windswept Writing, writing my first novel and prequel novelette and planning the wedding, I was pretty exhausted come W-day. We’ve got a super-exciting (and energetic!) honeymoon planned next year (more on that in a future post), but we had no time to plan anything for after the actual wedding. So we decided to pack up our biking and hiking gear in our campervan, Sadie, and head to wherever the sun was shining.

I should probably make it clear that I did not in any way plan to have a digital detox. I did think I should probably separate myself from my phone and Twitter for a day or so to look lovingly into my husband’s eyes and all that jazz. But taking a full week away from the digital world and my computer? Well, that was completely accidental. A whim of fate perhaps, that the place with the best forecast in the UK happened to be the north-west coast of Scotland. Where, if you happen to be on EE’s network, you get absolutely zero mobile phone signal.

A Whole Week Without the Internet?

Why, yes! And not just without the internet, but without contact with friends and family. No text messages. Or WhatsApp. And it was bliss.

We walked in the hills, went on gentle cycle rides to deserted beaches, swam in rivers and the sea and slept a lot. I read a book and got half way through a second and scribbled down ideas for a new book, the words tumbling from my head through my pen and out onto the pages of my notebook. We wild camped on the beach and drank wine by our campfire.

It took me back to my childhood. In the days before the internet, or when you could only access the internet through your desktop PC at home. (Showing my age here!) Smartphones hadn’t been invented. Social media wasn’t a ‘thing’. There was no pressure to showcase your perfect life to the world, or to be in constant touch with online media. There’s a reason I read many more books as a child than I do as an adult. The internet has changed our world – in many ways for the better – but there are two sides to every coin.

The Benefits of a Digital Detox

The internet is the world’s largest city. The city that never sleeps. Where everyone and everything is on show. Where things move at a hundred miles an hour and even if you learn to work faster and smarter, you can never keep on top of it all. I will admit to being a bit of a perfectionist at heart. I want to know everything, be good at everything and achieve more. The internet feeds these desires. But it can also distract from what is really important to me. The love of my family and friends. Spending time in beautiful, remote places. And a lot of the time, rather than promoting my creativity, the internet detracts from it.

Do you ever feel as if you’re permanently attached to your smartphone? Like you need an extra pair of hands and eyes to manage that as well as day-to-day life? Like me, you may feel guilty for spending so much time online, away from your loved ones. But social networking is necessary for your business right? Right. But your business is YOUR business. And that means you can make it what you want.

When we finally got phone and 4G signal back, on our drive south, I was strangely reluctant to check my phone and connect with the real world. But we could stay in our bubble of escapism forever. But I could feel the benefits of my time away from the internet and social media. I went away exhausted and overwhelmed. I came back relaxed, revitalised and determined to get a better balance in my life going forward. Part of this was down to having a long-overdue holiday. But part of it was also due to my digital detox.

How to Make the Most of Your Digital Detox

If your earn your living online (or are simply addicted to Facebook), the thought of unplugging yourself from the internet may fill you with horror. But it’s easy enough to plan for. Schedule your social media posts and any publications in advance. Tell clients you’ll be away for a bit. Put an out of office on your email, or, if you can afford to, employ a VA to check and respond to anything urgent on your behalf. And accept that life will not end if it takes you a few days to get back to people, or respond to tweets.

Then leave your computer behind. Lock your smartphone in a drawer (or go somewhere where there’s no phone signal!) and enjoy having time to yourself. Whether that’s walking in the hills, going on a mammoth bike ride, meditating by a river or reading a good book, do something that makes you happy.

Many people escape the internet to have a period of time for reflection. Sophie Radcliffe, of Challenge Sophie, took time out to think and plan where she wanted to take her business. Tim Ferris freely admitted that one of his priorities for 2017 was to take long periods of time away from the internet. Everyone needs some space to breathe. To be themselves.

Coming Back Down to Earth

Or, should I say, back to digital life! Of course, it’s inevitable. But there are things you can do to build moments of digital detox into your everyday life. Some people meditate, others journal. Morning and evenings are good times of day to focus on this. Here are some ideas for morning rituals that can help set you up for the day. You probably don’t have time to do all of them (unless you’re one of those 5 am risers), but choose something that works for you.

I took some time to reflect whilst on my digital detox and made a few of my own resolutions for how I wanted my life to be. In the interests of accountability, here they are:

  • Have a minimum half a day digital detox each week (I.e. no internet or phone!)
  • Have one weekend a month where I go completely offline, and ideally off-grid
  • Let my body sleep. When I’m exhausted, my creativity drops
  • Prioritise outdoor time with my man!

Have you ever taken a digital detox? Do you feel the need to? And what resolutions did you set yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts!