Welcome to this week’s blog post and this week it will be a fairly quiet affair.
One of the things you have to do when you go to a place like the Falklands for four months, is decide what you are going to do while you are out there. Now, it may seem like quite a simple thing to decide but whatever you choose to do will shape your tour.
Last time I was here, I chose to work hard and in my free time, visit the bars and socialise... and yes... there was much karaoke going on as well. This was all very well but I was lucky to get home without a massive beer-belly and a failed liver... not to mention the low times I had due to the depressive nature of alcohol.
This time around, I have chosen to focus most of my attention on getting fit and running a half marathon while I am here. As part of the fitness programme, I have started to undertake the Falklands challenge (which I will expand upon later). I also wanted to go on a couple of battlefield tours (Mt Tumbledown was the main one and I have already ticked that box) while I was here and have a proper visit to Port Stanley to have a good nose about.
There are other options; many clubs, volunteering, arranging trips, going on heli/aircraft flights etc... but you can’t do everything, can you?
The Falklands Challenge
This is a challenge to cover 574 Km on land and 62 Km on water. The land options are: running, cycling or cross training. The water options are rowing or swimming. Fortunately, you can use the swimming pool and the machines in the gym to complete the distance (which is representative of a trip around the islands). Unfortunately, I didn’t bring any swimming trunks with me so I am covering the water part of the challenge on the rowing machine. Since the 8th of Jan, I have covered 82 Km on land and 25 Km on water. I have also clocked up over 700 press-ups and sit-ups... so I am properly ticking along with the whole fitness challenge.
With all that, plus the fact that I am not sleeping at all well, you will understand that I haven’t even looked at my sculpting kit yet so I apologise for the lack of Squat pictures.
Hopefully, I will have something interesting to share with you next week as the weekend promises to be highly entertaining.
See you from the top of the wall!
4 comments:
Good luck on the challenge! I expect you'll be able to complete it during your time on the islands.
Hopefully your tour will go by quickly for you, and you can get some work on the squats done!
That's the trick to getting through deployment...find constructive ways to spend your down-time (when you have it). I'm envious of your being in the Falklands. I'd rather be where you are than where I'm at right now. I'm running three miles a day and I've lost a lot of weight. Haven't had as much time to paint as I'd hoped, but I've still managed to get some things done. Good luck on the challenge. Hope to see some of your squats soon.
@Nobody667 - I'll finish the challenge... I'm over a fifth through it now and still have three months. I actually finished sculpting the first of the Squats last night so there is progress there.
@Mouse - I hear you, man. I've been to worse places than here so feel your pain. Stay safe, occupy your time as best you can and before you know it, you'll be on your way home. Good luck.
Good luck with the swimming and rowing challenge, Inso! Good thing there’s a place for you to practice in the Falklands. Get all the rest you need to keep going, but don’t forget to enjoy your remaining time in this tour. All the best!
Peter Weiderman @ Guardian Pools
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