Day 4 of UK trip but Day 1 of Hadrian's Wall walk. And I'll be honest, it was a rough day. After getting absolutely ZERO sleep last night, I was worried how the day would go. And I was right.... doing almost 24km on no sleep is a challenge.
But after a light continental breakfast (the thought of eating this morning was not great but I forced down some food.... which is telling with me, I do love to eat!), I left Bowness-on-Solway at 8:48am and started the walk East. I've got lots of videos to narrate my experiences but walking along the marsh and coastal trail was beautiful and I was thinking, this is going to be a great day! The storm that was supposed to come, didn't, so I thought I had the first day in the bag. Wrong.
As you leave Bowness, it's a lot of walking on tarmac. Almost 4 hours of it. So my feet were not happy, even with great shoes and comfort insoles and all the right sock layers. Add to that a 25lb backpack and I was feeling everything at the halfway mark.
But I persisted. Mostly because I literally had to. But also because I refused to let the walk win on the first flippin day.
The day was filled with joy (cows and sheep, need I say more) and many more tears (Mom, thanks for the well timed message of encouragement... I was literally contemplating why I thought this was a good idea when I saw your message... thanks for letting me ugly cry to you) but it all felt very cathartic.
Was I cursing every step in the final hour? YES! Am I rethinking why I'm doing this? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
But I will say, this is a serious walk. The long days of questionable terrain (mud and slippery wet slate sections, those were a challenge today) require a lot from each walker. And I have a feeling the walk is going to take a lot from me. But I also want to say, my body did what I asked it to do and for that I have profound love. I have not always loved or been kind to the body I have, thinking I needed to change parts of me to make me better or stronger or more capable. But let me say this, today, my body was strong and capable. It did what I pushed it to do. And I know it will be there tomorrow to do it all over again. So, thank you to my body.
I'll end today by saying thank you to everyone for your encouragement and support and love. There were many moments today I said out loud words of love and appreciation to each of you. I was never alone today!
Oh, and dinner was a delivery of Sunday Roast (it is Sunday) and chocolate cake which I am so looking forward to!
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