Fundraiser in memory of John, our great friend

Challenge No.2 - Killarney Half Marathon

The build up to the half marathon was not the best as I had to go a month without any running due to the state of my feet after the Jurassic Coast hike. The furthest I had run before the day was 11km while I had run/walked 12k so I was a bit worried about how I was going to fair. I certainly thought that I would be running/walking it.

The weather on the day was just about perfect and the 8am start was very welcome, althought the down side was I got eaten by midges! Four of us started together and we said before it started that we would also finish it together. The day was about John and we were not worried about how long it would take us. I remembered John all the way around. It was quite emotional at times and I wish he had been there to run it with us, although he would have been miles ahead! I was a bit lazy (as noted in previous posts) while John was alive and I know he would never have thought running a half marathon is something I would ever do. I'm sure he would have had a good laugh at my earlier struggles to get fit but I know that he would also have been very proud of all of us.

We took our time going around, chatted about John and different things, stopped for toilet breaks and to take photos (some added below). Apart from those stops we managed to run the whole course and didn't need to walk at all, finishing in around 2hrs 17mins. I am very proud of all of us for getting through it and running all the way. Thankfully I was a lot less sore afterwards than I thought I would be also.

The fundraiser has now raised more than €2k for which I am very grateful to everyone. It's much more than I expected to raise and I have been blown away by the generosity shown by everyone. Thank you so much.

It is just over 5 weeks to the final challenge and the trip to EVerest Base Camp. I have no doubt that it will be tough but I am really looking forward to it. It's not something which I ever thought I would be doing. It's also 1 month to the first anniversary of the death of John. It will be an emotional time for everyone. Hopefully the money raised in his honour will go towards helping somoeone else in a similar situation to get through it. Fighting depression can be a constant battle and it's so important to have someone there to help and to talk to when needed. The service provided by Pieta House is a vital one so thank you again for all of your generous donations. It really makes a difference.

First Challenge - Hike along the Jurassic Coast

Almost 2 weeks ago on the 8th June (also my birthday!) I began my first challenge of attempting to walk 100km over two days, from Poole to Weymouth on day 1 and then from Weymouth to Bridmouth on day 2. Unfortunately it didn't go quite to plan.

I began my hike at 07:40 on the 8th and was going great until around 30km in. My feet had started getting sore and then both went at exactly the same time. The soles of my feet started burning up and I couldn't walk any further. I had to stop for a while, I changed the compeed plasters I had and used some foot cooling spray I had. But at that stage nothing would work but I was determined to continue on and complete the challenge.

At the 42km mark there was a medical tent where I went and got some attention although all they did was change the plaster on one of my feet and tape them both up. They didn't want to change the plaster on my right foot as they felt it would have taken the skin with it! From there I continued on for another 16km with extremely sore and blistered feet. I had began walking on the sides of my feet which was causing further problems.

At 22:30 I arrived at the finish point of day 1 in Weymouth by which time I could barely walk. I hoped a good nights sleep in my tent would see everything ok to carry on the next morning. Unfortunately when I woke up the next morning I still could barely walk and the blisters had grown. I went to the medical tent again to see if they could possiby help. They burst a couple of the blisters but that was no help. At this stage I felt that to continue would be silly and detrimental as my feet would only get worse and I still have a half marathon to do next month! It is now almost 2 weeks since the hike and my feet are almost healed. I worked from home for 3 days last week and barely left the house!

It is very disappointing that I didn't get to finish the challenge. Fitness wise I felt fine. I had no aches or pains (apart from the feet) and could have easily continued otherwise. I wore the boots on many long walks previously and the socks just a few weeks before when climbing Snowdon, all without any problems. But it's time to put the disappointment behind me now and concentrate on the half marathon and making sure that I finish it. I'm not worried about a time but just want to ensure I finish it.

All the pain and blisters are worth it if the money being donated by you very generous people means that even one persons life can be saved, and that persons family and friends can be saved the pain and can hold on to the person they love.

I will update again next after the half marathon.

Snowdon & First 10k

The training has continued but been mixed. Hayfever has slowed down the running a bit but things are back on track.

On Sat May 4th I, along with 2 friends climbed Snowdon. One of my friends wanted to climb via Crib Goch. He did it as a teenager and said it would involve some scrambling but wasn't too bad. If you know me you will know that I don't like heights so I was a bit apprehensive and  it turns out I had every right to be. It was frightening. We were walking along the top of a ridge for ages with drops on both sides of us. In another part we were going along ledges with sheer drops beneath us (picture of one area added below). I don't know how I managed to hold things together, there were times when I was breathing really loudly and quickly, about to cry and fully expecting to freeze but I managed to talk myself around. I kept telling myself that this would be the worst possible time to freeze...if you freeze you're probably done for! Any, we managed to get by and reach the summit and I'm sure the experience will stand to me for the future not least on my trek to Everest Base Camp.

As moetioned above running has been difficult with hayfever lately but on Sunday morning past (12/05) I decided to give it a go. I didn't know how I would fare, hoping to at least get a few km in but I managed to run my first ever 10km which was a great sense of achievement. It wasn't fast (58:18) but it certainly felt like progress. Then yesterday (16/05) I managed to surpass this and run 11km, reducing my 10km split by two minutes (56:10). I have my first 10km event this Sunday (19/05) at The Royal Berkshire 10k and havig now done it twice already it gives me great confidence that I can do it and push on to be able to get in the necessary training to be able to finish the half marathon in July.

It is now just 3 weeks until the fist of my challenges, 100km hiking along the Jurassic Coast. Time is flying but I am really looking forward to getting stuck in. I'm doing all this in memory of my friend John and hopefully I can help some people in his name but the exercise is doing me no harm at all. Even two years ago having given up smoking after 18 years and having had very little exercise for a lot of that time this would have been inconceivable so it certainly is a journey for me allbeit one I really wish would have happened under different circumstances.

I will give my next update after the 100km hike.

Progress and new challenges

Since signing up to the half marathon I haven't done quite as much running as I would have liked but I have been trying to keep active. Every week I have a PT session and a pilates class and I have tried to go for a run or a hike once a week (laziness still sometimes took hold though!). Yesterday (03/04) I started a 10 week training plan so that I am up to speed come July time. So at least twice a week I will need to go for a run as well as having my PT and pilates.

Since signing up for the half marathon I have also now taken on some extra challenges which I hope will help to raise even more funds. This also means that I need all the training I can get! The challenges I will be undertaking are:

8th/9th Jun - 100km ultra challenge (hiking) along the Jurassic Coast

20th Jul - Killarney half marathon

4th - 21st Sep - Everest Base Camp

For someone who has done very little exercise over the last 20 years and smoked for a lot of it (giving up over 2 years ago) it has certainly been a bit of a shock to get back into training. It is and will be a massive challenge but I am determined to get through it for John but also for myself and my own health, both physical and mental.

This is week 1 of the training schedule. The first two weeks involve two 5km runs a week, it then moves up a bit and adds in sprints and hill training and by the end of week 5 I should be able to run 10k at which point I will give my next update.

Until then, look after yourselves and your mental health