Footloose

After my mammoth 12.5 mile run Friday my feet hurt... lots! So I waddled off to the local running shop to get my "gait" analysed. For the uninitiated, this means filming you running on a treadmill and then analysing the footage to see how your feet land and take off, helping identify where you need support and thus the right shoes!

So feeling like a real pro in my Nike 15s on I hopped, proudly proclaiming "my pain got worse at mile 8 of my 12.5 mile run this morning", and "Yes! I am in training for The London" (I am learning the running lingo!). As the treadmill came to a halt, I smugly sauntered over to the screen to watch the footage (in my mind I looked like Jessica Ennis, in reality I was more Jessica Fletcher (AKA Mrs Murder she Wrote)). Oh how reality bit in that moment and I wanted to cry. Why?

• Firstly (and most humiliatingly), the camera is angle was arse to ankle... from behind! Now I don't know about you but I have never seen myself from behind, apart from those strange angled changing room mirrors, and it’s a traumatising experience I never want to repeat!
• My beautiful fluro Christmas present shoes (can't get used to calling them trainers) were so obviously not supporting my right hand ankle. This was leading to the inside of my arch taking the full brunt of every step causing the pain.

The long and short of it is that I am now £100 lighter and I have another pair of shiny shoes. The silver lining is that the fluro Christmas pair is not wasted and can still be worn on shorter runs and for cross training!

So tonight whilst whiling away another hour on the treadmill I was trying to analyse whether the new shoes felt any better (there is still residual pain so probably too soon to really tell). Anyway it got me wondering what a battering my poor plates of meat are being subjected to. My tootsies are normally lovingly housed in fluffy slippers and buffed and loved and painted on a regular basis in various shades of hot pink, cherry red and black cherry purple. But since the training began they have become horrors; I have already lost big toenail and have a blackened second toe and that is just for starters. The only upside is thank goodness it is not flip flop season... yet!

Anyway I decided to do some mental arithmetic so counted the number of steps I took in a minute and then used this to calculate the total steps I am likely to take during my 100 hours of marathon training.

160 steps per minute x 60 minutes per hour x 100 hours = a MASSIVE 96,000 steps! No wonder they are not happy!

Naturally my podiatrist has been way ahead of me as usual and procured a myriad of foot loving items to help my tootsies recover and keep pounding the streets and here are my 3 foot loving criminals (see what I did there... and yep Scooby Snacks is on the running pod – click here to remind yourself)

3rd criminal

2 pairs of super special, anti blister socks. Hardly Jack Wills in the fashion stakes but they lovely and soft and cushion my ball and heel and so far NO BLISTERS! If only they came in a colour way which was a little more on trend and coordinated with my running outfit!

2nd criminal

£200 of trainer wear - who knew I could spend this footwear and it not have heels and sparkly bits?

1st criminal

Like us you have probably seen the advert, chuckled at the naffness, and wondered who bought these items? Well now you know! The only moan is you only get one; what you really need are two so you can tickle your tootsies together!

So with that chav admission shocker I have one final bit of cheese to add.... yes Footloose is one of the cheesy songs on my running pod – click here to enjoy a bit of Kenny.

F off!

I am suffering today from what I believe to be runners fatigue; this is a term I have completely made up to describe a combination of:

- Five weeks of hard training
- Foot pain caused by the repetitive and constant pounding foot on tarmac (or ice!) for hours and hours, week on week
- Fuel deficit
- Fatigue

And if that is not enough Fs for you it feels like Flu! So Thea and I spent a hour this morning creating our very own nutritious "energy bars" which I have to say are delicious; sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, raisins, apricots, flax seeds, oats, coconut, honey..... yum! That should see the Fs off!

I have also awarded myself a very deserving rest day and am sat on the sofa with a hot water bottle doing some much needed venue research for the charity ball. Let's hope I get some positive responses so we can book in the date and begin the task of selling tickets, bombarding requests for auction items and researching the perfect frock!

Hot on the heels of yesterdays post, I have also drafted a lovely fetching label which will adorn my copper banks (see relevant post here).

What do you think? Wouldn't it look fab on your desk / in your staff room / propping up the bar in your local establishment...? So far I have only had one request for these copper banks, but I am positive that now you have seen the beauty of these beasts you will all be begging for one! Just comment on this post that you want one and I shall put your name down. And remember there are only 100 of these unique and desirable collectors items so grab one before they go - they will one day be worth a few hundred (pence) and that is when I will be around to empty them into the 1,000,000 pence coffers.

Top of the Pops

Like most busy parents of young children, contact with my family is usually a hurried call in between bath and bed routines, or whilst cooking supper. Sound familiar? Anyway today my family got lucky. Having finished my 12 mile run and eaten a nutritious lunch of poached eggs on toast I tackled the ironing mountain (oh the glamour that is my life!). As usual just as I started the job in hand the phone rang and I immediately recognised the number as my folks. Answering the phone "Hi Mum" I was surprised to hear the deeper tones of a male voice on the end; Pops!

Now I don't know about you but it is very rare that my Dad calls me and it always makes my heart skip a beat immediately imagining the worst! I am delighted to reveal that on this occasion nothing serious was being reported, indeed the opposite.

It transpires that my dear pops had taken the concept of one million pence on a roadshow. Today he went about offering to relieve acquaintances of their loose change all for the 1,000,000 pence cause.  Two pockets later my cause was 252 pence richer. Now whilst this is nothing to write home about but as is our unofficial slogan (borrowed and tweaked from a household supermarket where horseburgers are all the rage) every penny helps!

Now the exciting bit (on the edge of the sofa yet?) is that 2 or 3 people mentioned that, like most people, they have a change jar at home. Apart from the occasional raid of silver for school dinners or parking the dull coppers are left lonely in the jar. So it transpires that these lovely people have pledged their copper jar contents to the 1,000,000 pence cause which is great news. I mean who really EVER pays for anything with a copper? And do you know anyone who actually cashes it their change jar? They (and the annoyingly little 5ps) just clog up purses and pockets across the land, rarely being passed into a till, let alone reaching the heady heights of a bank safe!

And so it got Pops and I chatting about how we can give a home to these lovely tarnished coins. A few hours later and I am the proud owner of 100 x 8oz paper cups (minus the tea bag!).

Now I plan to fashion a "piggy bank hole" in the lid and brand with 1,000,000 pence for colleagues, friends and acquaintances to pop on their desks/ in their staff room/ by their change jar so they are constantly prompted that we are more than happy to accept the brown stuff. Their insignificant change is one step closer to the million. So if you want one please add a comment to this blog and I will be sure to deliver one in person!

So where some dads seeing their daughter take on a challenge similar to mine, might sign up to the run the marathon, others might pledge huge sums of money, and some might simply smile and mutter "that's nice dear", in my Pops together with his creative might and confident quirky approach to everything really is Top of the Pops!

Going for gold

It's official. My golden bond place is now confirmed and I am an official entrant of the Virgin London Marathon 2013 for Breast Cancer Care - GULP!

Up until today all my training advice and support has come in the guise of friends, previous marathonites experience, books and magazines (that is a whole other blog believe me - bet you can't wait!). However now I am an official entrant with a golden place I have the opportunity to attend a "Golden Bond Meet the Experts" training seminar taking place next weekend in London.

So whilst I would normally scoff at spending the day listening to "Expert Speakers" discuss training techniques, diet, injuries and clothing but I am (whisper) really excited and am already thinking about what I can quiz the experts on; How can I calculate my marathon time? What should my marathon pace be vs my short run pace? What is the difference between an ache and an injury? Can I increase my natural stride length? Are short sessions like Kenyan hills / Fatlek / Interval training really helping me as they seem too short? yadda yadda yadda

Who knew that the term "pacer groups" would grab my attention? And, even though I realise that this context of "clothing" doesn't mean the latest from Paris, but rather the latest from Lycra, I am still itching to get a day pass to attend and get my foot scanned my Adidas. Seriously where has my life gone? It appears there has been a keep fit queen hidden within this couch potato all this time... fancy unlocking your closet green goddess?

Little pricks

Having been inspired by Alice Pyne (see previous blogs here and here) I signed up to the bone marrow registry a week ago. The requirement for my age group required that I do it via the blood donation route. No problem, this is something which has sat on my to do list for many, many years, particularly when I discovered whilst pregnant with my 7 year old that I was “special”. It seems my blood is quite rare (like the rest of me I hear you cry) and it can be used on any blood patient regardless of blood type; ideal in an emergency before "cross match" has happened.

 

My blood donation appointment arrived a couple of days ago; it appears the vampires were due to visit our local town today and so I agreed to a hot date with a needle. So off I went with a spring in my step ready to do my thing smiling inanely at the receptionist... only to be told I had already registered 5 years ago at an old address but never turned up. At this point my face reddened and I felt the need to give the most over embellished story to justify my actions. To be honest some feeble excuse such as the dog ate my registration letter would have actually been more believable.

 

Whilst waiting for the nurse to call me I sat people watching (ie being nosey) and checking out the competition other donors. What surprised me most was that I was one of the youngest, and believe me that happens less and less these days. I would estimate the average age must have been fifty something whereas I had been expecting the room to be full of other harassed working parents doing their bit. But if I am a classic example of my age group maybe that explains the empty seats and missed appointments. Darn dogs eating those registration letters!

Anyway I was called after only a few minutes and given a form to read about how to keep blood pressure high during the extraction process (squeezing your butt checks and then relaxing them) I swear at this point the old chap next to me gave me a wink as he clenched his rear! Next thing I am hearing the immortal words "little prick" and my middle finger was attacked and squeezed in order to test my iron levels. A couple of "hmmms" later and another middle finger prick. Another "hmmm" was followed by the nurse informing me that she would need to take another blood sample, this time from my arm, in order to establish a more accurate reading of my iron levels. In short, normal, non-anaemic blood has a minimum iron reading of 115. In order to donate blood the exact reading must be 125 or more. In simple terms it appears that this allows for 10 units to be removed and not compromise the existing iron supplies of the donor by taking them below normal levels.

1 minute later I had a plaster on and was offered a cuppa tea. REJECTED! My reading was close by not close enough: 124! I have rebooked for three months’ time and have been given instructions to eat lots of dark chocolate and drink red wine... apparently both are good for increasing iron. Silver linings and all that!

 

S'no joke!

This recent deluge of snow has had me in a real quandry. Usually I am the first one chanting for snow and building snowmen but this week I have watched the weather reports in alarm. The forecasted snow reports put my carefully devised and systematically followed training plan in danger. Seriously I have become the type of running bore (AKA big brother) that I used to tease!

Having missed yesterdays run due, in part, to the 3 foot of snow that lay on the ground but also as a precaution from an injury sustained during my extreme sport class on Monday (ballet) I spent far too much time last night pondering my options instead of sleeping:

1) accept a missed weekend of training
2) undertake a short training programme on the treadmill
3) attempt 2 hours on the treadmill

None of these were proving acceptable options as I have become paranoid that missing just one long run will undo all my training thus far. And so in true Mad Dog and Englishmen style I donned my gear this morning and went on my 12 mile run. 2 hours later I had perfected the art of ice-running ... which looks very similar to i've-had-an-accident. In fact some sledge pulling, baseball cap wearing teen even shouted out a less polite version to me which was quite some highlight. It seems I have reached the age where I no longer provoke wolf whistle reactions but rather suggestions of incontinence. Wow how rock and roll.

Anyway it was such a beautiful run I stopped to take some pics (another reason for the poor pace I like to think)

Yes I ran along these and managed to get home intact. And having read the importance of ice baths I decided to use nature and ice al fresco!

And before you ask... yes my luminous shorts do match my luminous trainers and yes they did look  ridiculous but gave me some derrier warmth. And yes those are leg warmers - normally only used  for ballet (and fancy dress naturalment) so it was good to get some additional wear from them. I have to admit I do look rather fetching and would have blended in perfectly at an 80s keep fit convention. Talking of which it did prompt me to add "Let's get physical" by the gorgeous Olivia Newton John to my running playlist. Hilarious video - click the link above.

And whilst I think about it I have added one more beaut to the running playlist. "We Speak No Americano" by Yolanda Be Cool. Doesn't ring a bell? If you have watched the Inbetweeners Movie and the hideously embarrasing dance scene in the club... link here for those of you who want to watch it again. I actually do some of the arm moves whilst running and then start laughing... oh dear me.

So my determination is keeping me focussed and the donations are slowly coming in (we are now at £180 thanks to a recent donation from Karen - thank you!) but if you haven't already sponsored me then please think about the hours and pain and commitment this marathon is and click here to sponsor me. I promise to refrain from closing each and every post with a plea for cash but today I have even impressed myself with how deep I dug but it is not just me who is impacted; Tom and Thea lose mummy for a portion of the weekend whilst I train, Mark supports me in every way possible and more, friends have agreed to have Thea so Mark and Tom can come and support me in London without having to amuse an inquisitive 2 year old, other friends have arranged my pre marathon shelter at their brother in laws in Greenwich and many more people. I know this just the start of a year where my friends and family will amaze me with their love, support and generosity. So thank you!

With friends like these...

After my unexpected high of achieving 10 miles last weekend - I had no idea that getting into double figures would give me such a sense of achievement. Until now every long run was just met with me doing the mental arithmetic causing mass huffing and puffing about the mountain ahead (26 miles less 9 miles = 16 MILES WTF!)

Anyway as I was saying, after my unexpected high of achieving 10 miles last weekend I was amazed and touched to find the following on my desk Monday morning (and it is Gluten Free too!). Thanks Kate.

The power and immediacy of the internet has enabled the 1,000,000 pence pledge to swiftly be absorbed and, hopefully, enjoyed. This has created an unexpected and most appreciated tidalwave of support, questions of my sanity and general love. I am amazed that my most popular post (Size does matter... I wonder what people were expecting with that gem!) has received 84 views. Now I know that for most people that is a very small number but to me I find it overwhelming that I have generated so much interest in just 18 days... how I hope this trend continues.

It is also thanks to the wonder of the interweb all my friends, family and colleagues are being kept (whether they like it or not) up-to-date on my progress via Facebook. As I have mentioned before this keeps me focussed and stops me from dropping training sessions as I am under the, probably deluded, impression that my friends are actually keeping tabs. Someone commented not long ago that I am the equivalent of a diet angel; every time they go to eat a pork pie / slice of cake / cheese board they do the Facebook check and immediately get faced with yet another Smug Map My Run posting from me forcing them to replace fattening food item and go in search of something far healthier. Maybe I am on to something. Forget excruciatingly, humiliating public weigh ins and just "Like" me and I can guilt you into eating better...

Sign up TODAY and pay £5.99 for the rest of your life and get access to your very own personal Diet Angel.

Dragons Den QVC here I come.

Now if you are struggling with the January diet please don't hate me but I am scoffing for England! Now that isn't because I am the size of a flea or because I am one of those hateful people who "can eat anything" but because all (and I mean ALL) the training manuals, books and experts underline the importance of not losing weight during marathon training. For those of you that know me, it is rare that I actually listen to (or indeed seek) advice but on this occasion I realise that EATING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT is good with me and advice I ought heed... What are the chances of me becoming the world’s first Marathonite to actually put on weight!

 

 

A day of reflection

I awoke this morning raring to go. Having already completed 16 miles in the last few days and with the prospect of my first "Kenyan Hills" session today I was feeling positive, on track and ready. My marathon ambitions are slowly becoming a reality and, whilst I fully expect a set back at some point, I am taking the good while it lasts.

So during my Kenyan Hills training session (sprinting up killer hills, resting for 90secs, jog back down and repeat = knackering) I was thinking about today's post. I was going to write some flippant prose of how the Western world seeks "Kenyan Hills" (in rural Oxfordshire... seriously they are nothing close to terrain of Kenyan Hills) to build stamina whereas those who live in the Kenyan Hills cope with the steep terrain day in and day out, not through choice, not for vanity and marathon training, but as part of their hard and gruelling daily lives. And then I checked my Facebook page and my mood evaporated.

"Our darling girl, Alice, gained her angel wings today. She passed away peacefully with Simon, Milly and myself by her side. We are devastated and know that our lives will never again be the same.

#NightNightAlice

Vicky 12 January 2013"

For those of you who read my Sober Up post this will mean something to you (if not I really recommend you do - click here). Alice was a 17 year old girl who had terminal cancer having been diagnosed at the tender age of 12. I only discovered her a few days ago through my pledge to raise 1,000,000 pence for cancer charities, but in those few short days, reading her posts was an inspiration and she has become a daily feature in my online social world. A friend if you will. I can't even begin contemplate her family's loss in comparison to my own but suffice to say I will miss Alice. The poignancy of this amazing woman being robbed of her young life from Hodgkin’s lymphoma (a form of cancer) only spurs me forward with even more determination and gusto. Whilst £10K is nothing compared to the huge sums some people raise it all counts towards finding a cure and potentially stopping another inspirational 17 year old being robbed of their life too early.

But the million dollar question is did I support her cause and sign up to join the bone marrow register. I am ashamed to admit that despite the blog and my plea for others to sign up that, in fact, life got in the way and it became another thing on my ever increasing "to do" list. Sadly Alice's life has stopped but her "bucket list" was thankfully complete, thanks to strangers making it happen today, not tomorrow when it might be too late. And so I have now signed up. Due to my age I have to go via blood donation but this was something else on my "to do" list so two birds and all that.

Can I now please urge you to all consider giving a little; be it bone marrow ( Anthony Nolan register here or the British Bone Marrow Registry here). or pence (click here to donate). Do what you can and together as indivduals we will conquer the challenge ahead.

Little steps, big mountain

Since announcing my marathon ambitions most people have assumed that I must be an avid and long term running nut. In fact the truth is that until last July I had a lovely life where "pounding the streets", naturally, meant hitting the high street.

That was until we booked a summer holiday and I was faced with a choice familiar with women across the nation; burkini or bikini. Now whilst I respect Nigella’s attempt at making the burkini this seasons must-have-item it is, frankly, the most horrendous what-was-she-thinking outfit which probably lost her the adoration of many of her male fans. Indeed my nutritionist who was watches Nigella TV for its deep cuisine related editorial (NOT its soft porn innuendos) quickly removed Nigella from his desktop wallpaper.

So likemost females contemplating the annual summer bare-all, I resigned myself to a pre-holiday keep fit / diet regime in the hope that 4 weeks would be enough to take me from Elmer Fudd to Elle Macpherson.

So on 15th July 2012 I signed up to Map my Run and began to record and share my workouts (sharing kept me motivated and removed the ability to make excuses; no one likes a loser!). Now I have been sad enough to use the mighty excel to produce a graph which represents my, until December, pathetic running regime (both in terms of distance and quantity).

You will notice a steep step change (scuse the puns) in December. This is directly related to the phone call I received on 30th November informing me of my marathon place with Breast Cancer Care. This was no longer something to tinker with!

Now whilst I am the first to admit that most of my months are paltry, the total is a staggering 148.42 miles and 14,248 calories; See even the most small of starts can combine to make something huge. Now think of all the coppers lying around your home, in old purses and bags, back of sofas, change pots etc. Every single one of them could reduce the 1,000,000 pence total... now go on dig around and pledge some copper to a good cause. I am sure it would be happier supporting the cause than livings its life in a dark place together with odd buttons and saftey pins.

BTW: by the time I run the marathon I should have clocked up over  500 miles in training which equates to a massive 60,000 calories; that’s a silver lining of over 200 snickers bars. Now where are my trainers?

More cheese!

Another day and another "short run" (6 miles). I am actually beginning to find these 6 milers relatively OK... I am not aching all day and am therefore able to continue with "business as usual" once showered and dressed which is great progression (in fact getting dressed rather than wearing a onesie is progress). A little daunted about the prospect of 10 miles tomorrow but I am sure the magic shoes will carry me around.

As I clock up more miles I am realising the importance of music on my pace. It is now that I wish more than ever that I had amazing taste in music and could therefore share a list of amazingly "fab" songs which would epitomise me as the queen of all things cool... however for those that know me I am more the queen of cheese! So, without further embarrassment, explanation or justification I am coming out. Here is my cool wall of running toooons (click the pink words to link to the You Tube video):

• My all time favourite it has to be S Club Party, seriously once your laughter dies down try listening to the track without doing the "S" move with your finger!
• My close second is Olly Murs’ Dance with Me Tonight. Fab beat and instantly reminds me of my son, all his friends and his teacher and their morning wake up shake up routine... and there goes another 3 minute and 22 seconds (just over 1/3 mile).

The next few are in no particular order but as with the two above I have added links for your own pleasure!

• I like to move it move it ...Madagascar version obviously; visualising dancing cartoon animals definitely gets your mood up and feet pounding. 
• Jai Ho” ...brilliant for the hills. Naturally it has to be the Peter Kay Children in Need version. If you haven’t watched this you MUST. Who can't resist Paddington Bear on the electric guitar, Wendy (together with her bit on the side Bob the Builder), Fifi Flowerpot, Fireman Sam, Thomas the Tank Engine, Postman Pat (Note: Emily Charlie will love it!), Iggle Piggle, Sooty and Sweep and many more kids favourites rocking out to a medley of tunes. 
• Biology ...You can’t mistake my biology!
• Big Girls...Big girls you ARE beautiful  
• Chasing Pavements...The lyrics mean a different thing when your feet are pounding the streets (Should I give up, Or should I just keep chasin' pavements? Even if it leads nowhere)
• Do you thing ... another corker in my opinion gotta love Basement Jaxx
• Alphabeat's Fascination... listen to it and you will certainly remember it. Cheese tastic!
• Psy Gangnam Style... I try not to Gangham Style dance whilst running cos I get odd looks when I do especially when I fall over (not that I admit to that of course)
• Girls, Sugababes... It reminds me of Boots and the fact I really ought go stock up on Vaseline, anti blister plasters and other such delightful products!
• Mr Brightside, The Killers... rather left field for me but love it!
• Praise you, Fatboy slim... the original flash mob 
• Rock your body, JustinTimberlake... my besties and I love this and it reminds us of some fab times in our twenties pre children
• Sexy and I know it ... I try not to sing out loud to this one especially past the pensioners (the video link listed even comes up with an "inappropriate content" warning!)
• Beyonce’s Single Ladies... check out her thighs in the video link. It's enough to get me training hard in the hope that maybe one day I might have similar limbs!
• Wham Rap... seriously am I the only one that doesn’t know all the lyrics?
• What makes you so beautiful, One Direction... see I am down with the kids! How scary is it that I am old enough to be their mother!

So there you have it, my cheese ball running chart. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I have.
One more cheese themed nugget...

Q: What cheese do you use to get a bear down a mountain?
A: Cam-on-bear (Camembert!... get it?)

Size DOES matter...

It's official... yesterday I became the proud recipient of the BIGGEST parcel ever... HR even took a picture of the box to excite me until I got home. Check out its proportions - it only just cleared the roof.

Honestly no word of a lie it was as large as a single bed (our 7 year old wants to keep it for a den) and it contained my lovely new shiny treadmill. So guess what we spent a few hours doing last night? Yep setting the puppy up – a few nuts and bolts, a smattering of swearing and a kick or two was all it took between the facilities manager and myself before the beast was ready. I can now train come rain or shine, day or night, babysitter or not. Let’s hope I use it as much as I had promised procurement (it will not become an expensive clothes rack, it will not become an expensive clothes rack, it will not....).

However I confess all: in true female form I might have upgraded the model bought at the last minute (I didn't think Iogstics would notice but it seems I was wrong). What was the rationale for the upgrade? Well I could talk of the additional programmes, increased incline, larger run bed but, I can't lie, it has speakers and MP3 adapter. Who could resist such gadgetery?

So this evening I excitedly popped my training gear on and entered what is going to become my second home: the garage. My lovely new shiny toy awaited its virgin voyage and to ensure I was suitably focussed and motivated coach pinned inspiring images at eye level.

If you can't work it out they are colour print outs of the London marathon to keep me focussed. I think this might have been a joke and it had the appropriate response... I couldn't help giggle and think what a great team I have behind me. This is absolutely a team effort; my coach is the best (facilities manager, procurement and logistics aren't too bad either)!

5 weeks down 15 to go gulp!

Climb every mountain

I am broken! I have notched up 22.09 miles since Friday, burnt 2,075 calories and run for 3.89 hours... and still have would not have finished the marathon!!! My thighs are no longer my own... have I really got another 14 weeks of this? To be honest I am feeling like I am not sure I can climb this mountain today. It is such a huge challenge (did I not realise this before I signed up?) and the donations are slow in coming in. This is absolutely not a moan... people are so generous and no one twisted my arm to do this. I am doing this off my own back and will somehow keep fregain my focus. I set myself this challenge so there is no backing out now.... but seriously me and my big mouth!

On the up side logistics have been busy clearing a space in the gym (aka garage) for my shiny new treadmill to be installed into when it arrives tomorrow. Luxurious huh!

I hope it is a good as I am expecting and that I can add in another few training sessions mid week when the children sleep, and then MAYBE I can get a whole day off at the weekend to see the family. Poor Thea sees my trainers and says "mummy run again".

Sober up

My ponderings during my 9 mile run today were inspired by an amazing young lady called Alice Pyne. I stumbled across her through setting up this Blog and searching for other Blogs with similar tags, sadly our matches were cancer and charity so you might well see where this is going.

In short Alice is a 17 year old girl who has terminal cancer (she lists her occupation as “full time cancer fighter”), having first been diagnosed at the tender age of 12. But instead of wallowing, at the age of 15 she set up a Blog as a way to communicate with her friends and to share her bucket list; things she wanted to achieve before she left our world. Unlike your average cider swilling 15 year old Alice’s list included the following as her top three:

• To get everyone eligible to join a bone marrow register
• To get EVERYONE to have a bucket list
• To get to the Royal Garden party in May

Sobering isn't it. Now think back to your 15 year old self and I dare you not to swallow hard.

When Alice launched her Blog back on 6^th June 2011 no one, least of all her and her family, could have predicted the turn of events that followed. Through the magic of the interweb in just 2 days Alice's Bucket List had over 7,000 followers and lashings of comments from around the world with many promising to join bone marrow donation schemes in support of her wishes. By 9^th June she was mentioned on This Morning and the Anthony Nolan bone marrow charity web site received 17 times its weekly web traffic over night which could only be attributed to Alice. 10th June and following a postscript on her Blog for people to sponser her sister in her Race fo Life taking place that Sunday, donations topped £10,000, the majority of which came from generous strangers touched by Alice and her story. Staggeringly by the 11^th June this had reached the substantial figure of £30,000!

But as we know there is always evil around the corner and on 14^th June there were countless clone sites claiming to be Alice and taking generous donations from innocent people for their own pockets. Seriously I still can’t believe this as I write it but it gets worse. On 19^th June her charity was hacked and funds were stolen. Thankfully some wonderful strangers donated their time and skills to help Alice and her family secure and protect their Blog and charity site from further hacking.

What I find most remarkable is that what started purely as a means of communication and diary for very poorly 15 year old resulted in registrations for bone marrow donors increasing from 6,000 per year to over 40,000. A legacy to the wonderful and inspirational Alice.

But Alice isn’t alone. There are sadly thousands of other children fighting the cancer battle; some will make it but many won’t.

If this has touched you I ask you to please consider joining the Anthony Nolan register here or the British Bone Marrow Registry here. It is easy: apply, spit on a stick that they send to you, post it back, sit back and have a cuppa!

Whether you are eligible or not (there are varying criterias for the two registrys above) I really urge you to follow Alice's blog or Facebook page.

If you are left wanting to do more then how about you consider supporting me. I have a Vigin Money Giving site set up in aid of my two chosen cancer charities (Macmillan nurses and Breast Cancer Care) click here to donate.

Still want to do more? Then send me a message. Come watch me stagger around London and cheer me on. Or offer to help me organise my various charity raising balls, quiz nights and more; I need so much help from designs for invitations and more, help obtaining auction and raffle prizes, idea generators to come up with innovative ways to make everything more than just fabulous, ticket sales and coordination and much much more.

You could also share this page via your Facebook, Tweet about it, email it to friends and colleagues, talk about it... as Alice has proved the power of the Internet is huge. Everything counts and helps raise awareness, and funds, for an amazing cause.

One final thought. Cancer is a term we are all familiar with (some sadly more than others); something we live in fear of; and one day may need to fight.

Zone in and out and in and out

Another day another run. Just a mere 6 miles today but it felt really good and I could have carried on. As usual the first mile was the hardest but miles 2 - 6 flew by! It appears I have found the "zone" that they speak of. The combination of beat bopping, camp music to keep the legs moving, and free brain space to unleash ideas of how in 361 days I can raise a staggering, but slowly reducing £9,940 (thanks Jo for my third donation) just seemed to make the miles pass in a blur (less blur and more slight haze considering the speed I plod at.)

So today I gave some more thought to the charity ball idea and ways in which I can subtly (and not so subtly) draw pennies and pounds from pockets. I am hoping a certain family member (and professional chocolatier) might consider making after dinner chocs (as tempting tasters) which might lead tipsy diners to part with £10-15 for a full box of chocs to take home. Assuming we have 100 - 150 guests I figure 50 would buy a box so that is £500-£750 in an instant. What do you think?

But I need to get myself in check. First things first: when and where. From here the rest will follow. So my task for the next fortnight is to agree location (Oxford is most obvious) and begin to draw up a short list of potential venues which I aim to approach before end of the month. I am also hoping that another family member (and charity ball organising connoisseur) might be able to give me friendly tips (and time seeing as he is retired and has lots of time on his hands - albeit poolside in Portugal most of the time!). Once this is nailed I can begin to put the rest into action. Watch this space...

As always any ideas , inspiration, support and suggestions welcome.

Back to work

Like most of the country I returned to work today and was more than a little heavy hearted kissing Thea goodbye at nursery. From today until April 21^st most of my daylight hours are going to be spent either at work or running. Now there’s a daunting thought!

This may seem extreme but my training plan comprises of 4 running sessions per week and I only have available daylight time on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Evenings are out due to both our village location, and its complete lack of street lighting, and my irrational fear and paranoia of the bogey men who come out at night. So you can probably see why my training plan is so strict and allows for absolutely no “force majeur”.

It was whilst contemplating this that I realised how impossible this rigid plan is going to be to commit to, especially when my priority is undoubtedly being a dedicated partner, mother, daughter, employee, sister, cook, cleaner, ironer, friend, taxpayer, PTA treasurer (!)…  rather than would-be-marthonite.

And so it seems my options are simple:

-          Accept failure to complete training to the letter

-          Join a gym

-          Buy a treadmill

In true Hellie style I look at the pros and cons of each and quickly come to the conclusion that the most expensive option (ie treadmill) is the solution. My rationale is that a gym membership for 4 months would cost in the region of £150 and for “not a lot more” I could be the proud owner of a shiny new piece of machinery that I can use as and when I want without having to consider opening hours, childcare or even what I look like. I did ask a friend whether it would be wrong to use sponsorship money to fund the machine and it appears “yes it would!”. Of course I knew that but it was worth a game of scrupples just for the second!

And so I passed my well thought through, considered decision over to procurement for consideration to which I received the following response

“I think it's an OK idea to be honest… What's the objective? i.e. is a home workout the right choice for you?  ….. I guess I'm concerned that we're spending cash on what might end up as being an expensive clothes horse.”

Initial response was “He knows me so well” followed by “Clothes horse – I am going to have to buy more clothes to drape on this piece of furniture”. Who knew buying exercise equipment could be so exciting!

 To be continued...

Oh so pretty?

If you have visited before you will realise that the Blog design has had a face lift. The "concept" is to visually represent the 1,000,000 pence but as pennies are brown it looked really dull. So with some image wizardary we have shocking pink.... I am certainly no designer let's be honest but I think this is an improvement... but your thoughts are really very welcome!

To Ball or not to Ball

It is officially day 1 of my 1,000,000 pence challenge and I already have £30 (plus gift aid) pledged. What a fantastic start (thanks Joy, Johnny and Sam for donation number 2) but the hard work really starts now and I am not simply referring to my marathon training but also to the serious fund raising I need to begin to plan and formalise.

So last night (New Years Eve) whilst sat around the dinner table, having followed the dress code to the letter (slob clothes), with dear friends, gossip and drinks flowing, the subject of how I might reach such a significant target was raised. Having just streaked (I assure you it was an accident - but you wouldn't believe me if I told you the story so I shall leave you intrigued) it was suggested by the caveman in the group that I could simply raise money that way. Luckily, despite the drink, I had enough sense to realise that a 37 year old streaker was probably not the inspiration I was intending for the children and so I declined the suggestion. And then hope appeared in the form of my lovely girlfriends (having wiped the tears of laughter following said streaking incident) who suggest a charity ball as a good one hit wonder which should get my target hit (and possibly exceeded).

Now this is something I have considered on and off over the past few weeks but always dismiss due to a reoccuring concern. What if I don't sell enough tickets and make a loss - it is not my money to gamble with? How can I be sure to make it a fantastic night (we've all been to lacklustre charity events) so that the money raising becomes almost a by product rather than the purpose. Or am I missing the point? Maybe I am being terribly British in my embarrassment to openly ask people to open their wallets and spend. Maybe people expect auctions, raffles and alike and am I trying to fix something that is not broken? Maybe I am asking too many questions at this stage?

And so I close with my new years resolution; to make a decision and run with it. As someone very special always says to be "you always get it done... somehow"