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My initial reaction to my pre-lockdown walk was very positive. Walking around the outer estate at the Eden Project is a very rewarding short walk. I recommend it.
I finished the walk, stroll really. It was just under 2.4 miles and took us a little less than an hour.
I felt ok, I even thought I could walk a bit further. Again the weather was kind.
With such short notice Tricia and I expected to walk alone. At 10 to 10 Tricia wanted to get started. We waited. At 5 to 10 again Tricia wanted to get going. We waited. At 10am there were 5 of us. No rule breaking here.
We walked, chatted, tested Tricia's new boots and I, as promised, regaled everyone with the occasional soupçon of my experiences whilst working at Eden.
At 11 we parted company, 2 were meeting us again later for dinner. The final walker popped back home with us for a coffee.
Eventually we both had some lunch then took a last minute trip to find a saute pan that'll work on our new induction hob. By the time we got home I was "fit to drop" so I did, I dropped into bed.
I slept deeply.
Now, one thing that's been a constant in my life is I can wake up and immediately get out of bed. No lying around dozing, I'm not fond of festering my life away in bed.
It was about 4:30. I was awake, barely, but I really couldn't move a muscle. I've heard about this fatigue problem when undergoing chemo but, so far, have taken the attitude of "just push on". Well I think I'd pushed on just a little too much. I really couldn't move.
Eventually I managed to drag myself out of bed but I think it would have been a better plan to just roll over and go back to sleep. I had to get up though, as Tricia had been busy cooking a "Last Supper". Don't panic, not my last supper. Last supper before lockdown!
We dressed for dinner, very formal in our house, and waited for our guests. Tricia had, as usual, excelled herself and had produced 2 fabulous courses in our temporary kitchen using the most rubbish mini oven we could have found. Asian Egg & Bean Salad followed by Golden Parmesan Fish Bake. My contribution was constructing the jelly and ice cream dessert. (Spot the Chef!)
The evening went swimmingly until I couldn't function a moment longer. I hit the sack only to wake up this morning with my skin burning and a mouth like a desert boot. I think a quiet day is on the cards.
So to summarise;
Did I manage a little walk 5 days into my chemo cycle? Yes.
Was it worth it? Yes, it seemed to be at the time
Could I have gone further? Yes, I thought so.
Was the weather kind? Yes fabulous.
Was the company good? Yes, as always.
Will I do it again? Yes, but I'll need to completely clear the rest of my day.
Will I really walk again so close to my chemo day? Probably not!
I'm going to try to "push on" next Thursday and continue with my 5 ish mile walks. My latest plan is to walk, I think, starting from Castle an Dinas at 10am. I'm saving Dunmere to Grogley Halt until we can all get together. Just be aware, you're not allowed to join me! If you happen to have the same idea however we'll just have to space out and only converge in pairs.
But on reflection I'll take it a bit easier early in my cycle next time. Eejit!