I have taken over the house, my stuff is everywhere. Deciding what to take is proving quite a task. The bulk of my packing seems to be the massive first aid kit I have assembled. We need everything you could imagine. And I always like to be sure I have enough so I may have gone overboard on the quantities, for example what if I have a headache, not just for a day but for a whole week, and what if I drop some of the headache pills before taking them and lose them, and what if someone else needs to borrow my headache pills, and what if I get stuck on that mountain for an extra 3 weeks with a headache – I will need more pills! Dad always said we take too many pills, but I’d rather be safe than sorry right? So in goes 6 packs of paracetamol (not to mention Neurofen sometimes works better so need to double up on those).

Do I sound paranoid? Well it’s possible I am slightly. Nervousness is kicking in, and I have to take sleeping tea in the evenings these days (ooh I should really pack that too), it helps me sleep at night – lots of valerian.

The poor porters are going to have to carry much of my paranoia on their backs, I am trying to keep that in mind.

So it is exciting and invigorating to know I’m leaving in a couple of days, to brave the streets of Africa. Keep me in your thoughts and feel free to send texts to push me along the road (speaking metaphorically – it’s definitely not a road!).

I’m sure I’ll be back with a load of photos and stories to tell so watch this space…

The countdown is on, 10 days to go, and I’m on the last part of my training regime. I have done the last walk in the Peak District (7 hours of it). Then I will have my last jog (1 hour), and my last 3 gym sessions (1.5 hours each), as well as my last physio appointment.

The boots need to be cleaned and then they need to be waterproofed, the pack needs to be stitched up (after some of the more rough excursions), the batteries need to be charged and the memory cards need to be wiped. The documents need to be copied and kept in a safe place. The US dollars need to be purchased. The medical supplies need to find a safe waterproof place to hide. The last of the washing needs to be done, and the poles need to be cleaned. The last of the dextrose food (high sugar) needs to be bought. The last of the kit needs to be tried out, in the comfort of my own home. The last of my parcels need to arrive in the post and then I need to pack everything into my bag.

Finally the cat needs to be fed then I’m off.

Adrenalin is high, nerves are tingling, and hopefully the rush will stay with me for the climb. The mountain that glitters is calling - rain, hail, wind, snow I will be there, there to experience what this enormous mountain offers, to admire the sunsets, the views, the hot African sun (my Piz Buin SPF 50 is packed) and basically have an extremely fun but extremely hardcore trip.

Slowly but surely getting all my kit together, I hadn’t realised how many little things you need like sleeping bag liner, toenail clippers, tips for the porters, drybags to put everything in so it doesn’t get wet, it’s exhausting just thinking about all the things that need to be packed.

Donations have been coming in too, just a little bit more needed before I hit my target.

I thought I would be amping with the last 2 weeks of training but I think I’m coming down with the flu and am doing everything to fight it off. I feel tired, sore throat etc so training is not at its prime but I’m hanging in there.

I have been allowed a one week rest in training before I leave WAHOO!! to help my muscles recover so they are in tip top condition to be getting out there. Nathan has been a great trainer and has really been the driving force behind getting me this far. Admittedly I’ve been having problems with my left calf muscle and I think a week’s rest will do it loads of good. It will be a proper holiday before I go!

But at the moment I’m just keeping on doing the required exercises, plugging at it day by day. All the good work has been done I just need to sustain it for these last couple of weeks. The strength phase I am doing is an 8 week phase so it’s starting to become less interesting but it’s amazing how much weight you end up lifting. I am doing 110kg leg presses at the moment and reckon I’ll be at 130kg before I finish.

The countdown has begun, bring it on!!

We had fun walking in gale force winds across the Malvern ranges on the weekend. There wasn’t any protection from the wind and we were almost flying away. I managed to get a fabulous sideways hairdo, while the others complained of windburn to one side of their face. Having encountered a baby snake, which I was assured wasn’t poisonous, I began to freak out at every twig and leaf lying on the ground, thinking it might be a snake. They have beady eyes and funny shaped noses, yuck even the little ones are scary. I’m staying in my fantasy land that maybe Africa doesn’t have any dangerous species.

I am getting tired of all this training, but have been told that the final week before I leave I can just rest and relax – can’t wait! Some much needed sleep awaits.

I’ve had a few knocks here and there, and my bones/muscles are feeling a little sore. I have had to book in some physio sessions for the various niggles, just so they don’t get any worse before I set off to Africa. Nathan has said that it’s all pretty expected when training hard like that.

We had a nice sunny day walking in the Peak District last weekend, didn’t quite make the full length of the walk before it started getting dark as we had some early setbacks, and several detours (I wouldn’t say we were necessarily lost, but we did seem to be going round in circles at times – I blame the boys, no sense of direction!).

This weekend we are exploring the Malvern Ranges. Another set of fairly minor peaks but it should be good fun. These weekend trips are taking it out of me but it is exhilarating see other parts of the UK from the top of mountains. I think I carried a bit too much weight in my pack on my last walk as my calves are still recovering. I am supposed to be carrying weights and I have noticed the days which I don’t are so much easier, glad my bag won’t be particularly heavy on Kili.

I am being a bit of a sook about getting cold up Kili, I was offered loan of a sleeping bag that went down to -10 but I’m thinking I may need something even warmer. I’ve been looking in the shops and a goose down bag that goes to -20 degrees seems far cosier. So will just check in with my new buddies at Ellis Brigham outdoors store for some further advice before proceeding. In the last week I have bought waterproofing, insulated bottles, water purification tablets, inner thermal socks and earplugs; all essential items for the big climb. I think my Ugg boots are going to take pride of place in my bag as well, can’t have my toes freezing off!

Did I mention that we won’t be having showers or washing for at least 6-7 days. Ugh, that means not washing hair, or shaving legs or cleaning myself at all. Apart from the use of wet wipes, and a tiny amount of water to wash your face each morning. Ewwwwwwwwww gross.

So Mt Snowdon was great on the weekend, I had a good time with some of the other Kilimanjaro team. Felt like my fitness was right up there which is good. We couldn’t do the ridge walk because of cloud cover but here is a sneak preview of what it looks like (imagine that at 3500 feet):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELdijJpGcyc

We are contemplating going another weekend to try and get the ridge in. Hopefully without breaking our necks!

On the second day we did this crazy scramble up some mountain nearby that appeared to have no trail. From a distance it didn’t look steep but it was almost vertical. Got in a bit of rock climbing as well as swamp crawling and vegetation burrowing. Didn’t get my camera out as was trying to stay upright but photos would have been hilarious.

Going on some more day walks with the Kili crew which is nice…Peak District this weekend, maybe Malvern’s next weekend, it’s all on. We load our bags up with jelly babies, and Kendel Mint Cake – which is a block of mint flavoured sugar. Helps keep the energy up. Apparently you have to do carbohydrate loading and take heaps of this sugary stuff to keep energy and calories up. At altitude you are not hungry or thirsty so you have to force yourself to eat and drink as much as possible. Scottish tablet is another block of fattening stuff that helps you when up mountains; its ingredients are sugar, butter, condensed milk, and vanilla. Hmm yummy!

Did you hear that the billionaire owner of  Chelsea football failed to summit Kilimanjaro the other day? Oh dear, I hope he wasn’t very fit (he does look like he works out though!).

He may not hack the pace but I’m sure I can…

I have now had zero alcohol for over a month and am keeping dry until after Kilimanjaro. They say to abstain completely for at least 2 weeks before departure as it can have negative effects at altitude. So I just extended that time frame somewhat. I even had non-alcoholic communion yesterday.

Feeling fitter and healthier now. Gathering together the last of the items I need, with approximately 5 weeks until departure, I need to get myself sorted. Anyone got a 4 season sleeping bag lying around they could lend?

I did the Boxhill circular walk on Sunday, approximately 15km with a few hills. I’m getting these boots well worn in. Now the weather is cooling down I often wear my boots into work so my feet are fully adjusted to having these clompers on them!

I will be off for my shots this week, there is a bunch I need to get and Yellow Fever is apparently painful. Malaria pills and altitude meds are also on the ‘to do’ list in case I decide to take them.

Off to scale Snowdon with the fellow Kili climbers on Saturday. I will take my poles, which are such fun to walk with. Once you start using the poles you never go back! Training is now on the Strength phase with added cardio. I seem to be constantly aching. My muscles don’t seem to get a rest these days. It’s harder to do all this now I’m older, my body takes longer to get into gear than it used it, can’t imagine what it would be like if I was 50 or 60!

6 days a week of training, I really don’t know how I end up motivating myself to do this. Even the trainers at the gym find it strange that I am always there even if I look dead tired. I am doing 4 gym days, one hike day, one run day but I may switch one of the gym days for a run day making it 2 run days. I feel like upping my cardio levels. Hike day includes carrying weights and doing a minimum of 10 miles walking with some hills. I usually catch a train out of London to somewhere less flat. It’s a good way of exploring England. Run day is an hour jog. Gym days are a mixture of weights, core work and cardio.

I enjoy the running quite a bit but the first 15 minutes is always a killer with my mind telling me to stop and how could I possibly continue on for an hour. But once I bypass that pain threshold and force myself through the mind battle, the last 45 minutes is almost easy. One foot after the other just keep going. I think that will be my mantra up Kili.

There are 2 more potentially large-ish climbs to do before Kili. One is Mt Snowdon in Wales, set for 2 weeks time. I am heading there with some of my comrades who are coming to Tanzania with me. It will be a chance to test each other’s fitness and see how much fundraising everyone else has done. We will do a couple of days walking in the mountains before heading back to London – and back to my cat who seems to be missing the attention with all this training I’m doing. The amount of washing that piles up too is amazing. I feel like I’m the local laundrette woman.

The third prep mountain is Scafell Pike in Yorkshire. It should be a toughie; the biggest problem around here seems to be the weather, which makes these relatively small mountains rather dangerous. Hoping for some fine days in there but I won’t hold my breath.