Mark McCormack, Malin to Mizen walk, Day 2
Day 2 – Well, that was painful…
I’m writing this at 11.50pm in Westville Hotel, Enniskillen and to begin with would like to acknowledge them for giving us a reduced rate for the night. The us in question is Shiv my wife who is leading the support team and myself. If it wasn’t for Shiv’s incredible co-ordination skills over the last two days, I wouldn’t have made it to Enniskillen.
The plan for today originally was to walk 49 miles but I finished up at 10.25pm after 43 miles, matching yesterday’s total. The last 10 miles were a nightmare. To say I had to dig deep and drag myself through them would be an understatement. Every footstep brought a burning in my calves and was prolonged by the fact that I was walking at the pace of a 97 year old arthritic man. The aim was 15minute mile pace originally; the reality on average was closer to 18. Dodging cars by stepping into ditches every 30seconds or so slows you down and having to constantly focus on not getting milled out of it is draining also. But enough of the moaning….
The morning started at 6.10am which had me on the road for 7.30am (the drop off point was a bit out of Derry), with Shiv dropping me in Bready (Tyrone). With the slower pace that I’m walking 7.30am starts are not going to cut it so I need to be walking before 7 if possible. It’s fair to say that the original plan to walk it in 7 days is blown at this point so I’m planning on using half of an 8th day (Saturday) to finish up the leftovers. Walking closer to 45miles a day is more likely and is sure to give my mother less palpitations (with me walking in the dark at almost half ten and there being cars on the road). The implication of this to the record I was hoping to set is none. The fastest crossing of Ireland by walking previously was 12 days and it’s not an officially documented. Once I complete this and have all my paperwork in order, Guinness World Records would be sending me a nice certificate of completion. That being said, with the ridiculous guidelines they’re trying to impose – getting that certificate will be very difficult.
Moment of the day goes to meeting a man whilst asking for directions in Ardstraw, Tyrone. He saw the daffodil I wear on this walk and asked if I was doing it for cancer. When I said I was, he said that ‘he had the cancer himself’. ‘The’ cancer. He said it as nonchalantly as if he was saying I have ‘the sky sports’ or something to that affect. Here I was thinking about my sore calves and there was a man in front of me who had accepted his current situation but wasn’t going to let it define him. He was getting on with his life and doing a bit of work in a farmyard. ‘The’ cancer wasn’t going to get the better of him.
On a lighter note, James Heffernan of Mullingar and his wife Marie came to meet us, with James completing almost 8 miles with me. The fact that it took him over 2 miles to offer to hold the 2kg bag I’ve been carrying for 2 days, is forgiven by their attendanceJ
Positives
Having 10miles of luxurious footpath at the start of today’s walk. This meant that I could listen to my ipod and not worry about getting taken out of it by a truck.
Negatives
Realising that it will take an 8th day to complete. I suppose this could be a positive also.
Contribution and contact details:
www.mycharity.ie/event/malin2mizenwalk
www.facebook.com/malin2mizenwalk
malin2mizenwalk@gmail.com
- See more at: http://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/news/roundup/articles/2014/06/22/4031083-mark-mccormack-malin-to-mizen-walk-day-1/#sthash.EOvUlS4g.dpuf