Hedge your bets!

I have officially 66 days left of training left before the big 26.2 miles and I still have a few more goals to achieve before then:

- Increase my longest run by a mere 7 miles (up to a max run of 22 miles on 24th March)
- Reduce my average mile pace to my ideal marathon pace of 10 mins 30
- Raise another £1300

The pace issue is just about running faster - who knew? So on Tuesday's 6 mile run I focussed on setting a fast pace and achieved an amazing average pace of 9 mins 44  per mile which was a huge improvement on my previous PB of 9 mins 59. However there is no way I can keep that kind of pace up for a whole marathon but I would like to improve my average long run pace of 11 mins 17. Sadly though the faster I run the more I look like Phoebe from Friends (click here if you want a preview), which when coupled with my really appalling running wardrobe (80s legwarmers, child's high vis jacket, luminous shorts over supermarket leggings and ski sweatband) you can see why I have been avoiding it until now. Hey ho London must have seen worse...?

The money raising, though, is more of an issue. My penny pots are slowly infiltrating friends' mantelpieces, desks and kitchens and the two I have already had returned have raised a staggering £29.45... although I am fully expecting this average to be drastically reduced.

So I have stolen borrowed a great fundraising idea from the remarkable Ms Johns and have created a human version of "guess the number of sweets in a jar"... I can tell you are on the edge of your seat now.... which is "guess my London marathon time". Riveting huh! I have listed 240 time spots between 4:30:00 through to 5:29:45 and loaded the document onto Google docs (click here) so feel free to dive in and nab your best guess (or guesses) cos you could be a winner! For just £1 per go the winner will be the guess closest to my official marathon time and they will receive 26.2 pence for every time slot bought. So if all 240 time slots get bought the winner will win a staggering £62.88.... that has got to be better odds than the national lottery! So go on buy a time slot, pay your £1 (or multiples of as I am sure you want to buy more than one) via my just giving page here or give me the cash when you next see me and you could be set to make a small fortune (small being the operative word).

The confessions of a novice runner

I knew today's run was going to be hard. 15 miles is a crazy amount of miles to run and I approached it with more caution than my previous runs and I am sure this mental doubt certainly hindered my efforts, along with the snow, sleet and rain that had me soaked to the bone by mile 4!

For the past 7 weeks, my weekly long run has increased week on week, never allowing me to simply plateau for a week and repeat the distance with confidence. Whilst I know this is an important part of the marathon mental preparation as I will never actually run the full 26.2 miles before the big day, it is really hard going. Thankfully, next week I get to repeat my 15 miles before increasing to 17... gulp!

However today's run did have a few highlights including a row with a dog walker (and I admit I might have been in the wrong for which I must pass blame to my obviously low Glycogen stores)! Now before you read the following please also consider that I had spent a good few miles being "shot" at by the Saturday shoot. Seriously they were out in force today and at points I was leaping around so my fluro jacket was seen (in my mind through a gun sight) and I wasn't mistake for a plump Partridge. Many times I nearly pooped my pants as the shots felt like they were whizzing straight past my ear and that I was an extra in Saving Private Ryan!

So with no further excuses as I can tell you are itching for the goss here goes my-row-with-an-oldie in glorious technicolor detail. Imagine it, mile 11, cold, tired, wet and 4 miles still to go. At this point I had been running for nearly 2 hours and hadn't seen any sign off life for 6 miles, apart from being shot at which does very little to warm the cockles for humanity. So when I finally did I was so overcome with being back in civilisation that I think I experienced extreme acclimatisation (surely it is not farfetched?). So there I was going stir crazy, thighs aching when I saw a man a few hundred yards in front of me with two dogs, one of which was squatting. To my utter horror, when the squatting dog returned to the more traditional standing pose his owner failed to remove the offending item with a poopa scooper (lesson number one: not all dogs are male). So (and here is my second lesson) without removing my headphones I pointed to the spot and said "pick up the poo". Now I appreciate that seeing a crazy runner lady wearing a (slightly too small) boys Florescent jacket, orange shorts over running leggings, ski head band and 80s legwarmers shouting might be a little starting. Add to the equation that I was probably suffering from headphone deafness which amplified my "pick up the poo" comment to screaming banshee levels. At this he gave me a quizzical look (which I took as defiance) so I repeated myself and this time he responded. Now because I still hadn't removed my headphones I couldn't make out the response but was now close enough to lip read the word "bitch". At this I yanked my headphones out of my ear and said "there is no need to be offensive, I was simply asking you to pick up your dog poo" to which I got the reply "I simply said my dog is a bitch and had just urinated"... OMG please ground swallow me.... nope that didn't work so instead I picked up my pace and ran on.

Cringy huh! But it got worse when I realised that the song playing (and which was still belting out in clear audible tones to the poor man) was, you guessed it, WHO LET THE DOGS OUT. Seriously you couldn't make this stuff up!

I will be buying next months Cotswold Style to see if  "angry resident of Faringdon" has complained about crazy runner lady listening to tunes supporting the irresponsible release of dogs!

So dear readers... am I forgiven?

Loose change

What is it about handling coppers that make your hands smell? Why can't I stop smelling them even though I know the smell is really rather nasty - I don't need to keep checking! And do I really want to know or shall I just anti-bac and remain ignorant? Yep I agree ignorance (in this case) is bliss!

Now I can hear the tired, Friday evening cogs whirling in your heads wondering why I am playing with coins on a  Friday night (I do have a gin if that makes my Friday night social life slightly less tragic)? Well, this evening I have been doing some investigating as how much in loose mixed change (nothing over 20p) can fit in one of my Blue Peter copper pots.

Having now given out / posted over 25 copper pots the "Save the Copper" campaign has officially launched. At work I am even offering a whole tray of homemade (and delectable) pecan brownies to the person who collects the most pennies in February and, being a competitive lot, there has been talk of including a few golden nuggets to increase integral value! It's amazing heights people will go to for a tray of Brownies.

But instead of waiting for the pots to be handed back, and being of an impatient imposition, I couldn't wait to begin calculating what a full pot might generate. So, kids tucked up in bed, I emptied out the inspiration behind the campaign, our own loose change pot,  and filled a "Save the Copper" cup:

This totalled a staggering £5.53 and I still hadn't completely emptied the our loose change pot! Of course I also found a random array of oddities including a shoe horn, button, American cent, toy penny and a pen!

So whilst I am not expecting each pot to be filled to such levels as my example, this does fill me with excitement that, over the year, the penny pledge might reach £200! What do you reckon?

All things equal

Having set the alarm for 5.45am I was on the treadmill before 6 on ANOTHER training session. It's a surreal thing yawning whilst running... I am not sure I was fully awake until at least mile 2 and I found it really hard going and was definitely running on empty. But it felt great knowing my session was done by 7 and I could enjoy my day without it hanging over me. This will definitely be repeated however I will ensure my previous evening meal is carb central. Let's clarify I'm not thinking lentils. I am my very own pasta party with a mountain of pasta smothered in rich, yummy sauce and heavenly cheese, with a side of cheesy garlic bread (Six Bells recipe of course fellow Sussexites)  followed by uber pudding rations... after all there need to be some perks and as weight loss is most definitely not a recommendation for would be "endurance runners" I don't need telling twice.

I have also had another couple of donations taking me up to a total of £447 from 15 very generous donors which is amazing but still a long way to go. I am coming to realise that highs don't always last long and before long another friend had shared their own sad cancer story, agreeing "it's bloody horrible". And I ponder natures own quest to create a stable equilibrium and wonder whether, maybe, subconsciously, through onemillionpence I have unwittingly created my own stabilising equilibrium. The minute I get too confident I get a healthy reality check to keep me focussed on the overall purpose. Conversely the minute I get too exhausted and deflated I get my very own, personal pep up. Who needs a life coach when you have the challenge of onemillionpence? So being a (failed) maths A-level student I have created my own pledge formula:

(Another day, another request for a cup and another cancer story) + (Another day, another run and another donation) =  positive outlook

And I definitely need to apply this positive outlook to this weeks run. 15 miles just seems such a big number. So much more than 13 and I am totally in awe of it but am focussing on it "only" being 11 miles away from the big 26.2 once I have finished! The goal suddenly seems almost achievable and I am now upping the stakes and looking at my improving my marathon time but with one caveat; I know I won't win and, for once, that is good enough. At 37 years old getting around without my knees giving up will be an achievement in itself but if the kids think my medal is going to become dressing up box asset they need to think again. I will be wearing my "necklace" every day with pride.

Hidden meanings

Who knew doing something selfless could actually be so rewarding? I am genuinely loving the journey my onemillionpence pledge is taking me on and the amazing connections I am getting (I will need reminding of this in a few months).

For me it is another reminder that we humans are, in the most, really lovely decent people. It's simply society and the pressure to conform that inhibits us and wraps an invisibility cloak around us as we leave the safety of home. We shy away from eye contact, from chatting to strangers, from standing out in a crowd. However when I was pregnant things changed. Up until that point I had been a heavy advocate of the invisibility cloak, but suddenly strangers would talk to me in supermarket queues, they'd share their experiences and wait for my responses, some even stroked my tummy! I felt engaged and special and important (if a little weird when they stroked the bump!)

Similarly since launching onemillionpence I have had both a reason to actively engage with others and indeed them to me with their own experiences: Colleagues who have had their own personal brush with cancer, friends who have experienced the loss of a friend or family member, indeed my own family experience. Pretty much everyone has "a cancer story" which just shows how widespread this illness and the resulting suffering is. And it is not just the patient that suffers. It is their partners, family and friends who stand on sidelines feeling pretty helpless and, in my case, not knowing what to do apart from bake ginger cookies and sign up to a marathon (I recommend the baking route to others... far easier!)

Anyway tonight I received a delightful email from a fellow PTA member. Having sent out my initial "Plea" email early in January I had assumed my "peak" of responses had been and gone and was beginning to consider my next campaign wave into my "school mum chums". I really struggle with sending out pleading emails as I really don't want to just ask for money. In fact I actively shy away from the brash "SPONSOR ME" message. I want my blog, my emails and my pledge to actually engage with others; to raise a smile, possibly evoke a tear of emotion, rally support (I need bucket loads), and hopefully people will begin to look forward to the next chapter of onemillionpence. I am obsessed with the blog stats and get a real sense of pride when I get a comment or the blog is "shared" though social media. So if you read my emails and my blog and feel guilty about not pledging, please don't! Please enjoy this journey ... there are only another 329 days left!

Anyway back to my lovely PTA friend. She sent me a really lovely email praising my efforts for raising money for well deserving charities which, it turns out, are close to her own heart having had both parents, grandmother, uncle and friends all blighted with cancer and sadly not all ending with a positive outcome. In her own words "it is nasty". And I never knew any of this until today. It just really highlights to me that the face we all "put on" is not the core and we really ought not be judging a book by its cover or indeed take exception to a cross word or brash comment, after all who knows what is really going on in other people's lives?  

But here is a book whose cover is worth some attention and which my friend shared with me as another fundraising blog which her brother has been involved with. This unique art book (http://www.memories-book.co.uk/blog/) contains a collection of 144 stunning pieces of art and design and stories inspired by individuals as they battle their own cancer war. For just £10 this is a fantastic and positive way to raise much needed funds for Maggie's Cancer Care. Check it out and if your loved one loves art who can think of a better valentines day present? A gift which really does keep on giving and here is just a preview!

Halfway house

Today I am more than a little smug as I have finally achieved a milestone in my training. I have reached the halfway distance: 13.3 miles in 2:25 which means my original and ultimate I-am-a-supermum-marathon-running-beast target of sub 5 hours is actually possible. Tough but with a good wind, steady pacing, top notch carbo loading and a lot of cheering from the crowd, its do-able. Who knew?

I missed yesterday's first beautiful day of Spring as I spent the whole day in an auditorium in London listening to a whole wealth of specialist nutritionists , VLM directors (that's Virgin London Marathon to you and I!), sports scientists, Olympic marthonites (Liz Yelling) and celeb marathonites (Sophie Raworth) and much more. I know this is only going to compound my "running-bore" title but it was really interesting. So let me share some nuggets with you:

• £58.2mn was raised by VLM runners last year, that is a phenomenal £2.4K per golden ticket holder... and puts my current total £417.50 to shame!
• I really want to do the Silverstone half-marathon next year* - running around the track sounds fun and Tom would love it (although I think he would still prefer to watch Lewis Hamilton careering around the track in his go-cart!) Sadly this year it clashes with my hot date with the Bath half but a definite maybe for 2014
• This years celeb line-up includes Michel Roux Junior who's PB is 3 hours 19 - Harry Judd (he can be my pacer... I'll run just behind him!), Joey Essex (I hope he realises a marathon is not a chocolate bar?), Katherine Jenkins and Sophie Raworth (my new BFF... check out my first stalker pic)

 

• It can take 20 mins to cross the start line and up to 40mins to get through the finishing section... that is another hour before I can get my hands on a a Big Mac and fries!
• There are cold showers you can run through around course... must remember my shower cap!
• Despite being within view of Buck Palace you WON'T be arrest for acts of nudity so long as it is in context.... !
• It's all about cadence (!?!)
• There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in a human body and about a 1/4 are in the ankle or below (not sure why I like this fact but hey!)
• Pretzels are a must have snacking food in the week leading up to the marathon!
• It's imperative to understand your pre-run poo regime! TMI? It was a Liz Yelling comment and she knows!
• Last year's average race time was 4 hours 22mins... I have never been average and figure for £50 entrance fee I want to maximise the experience and so will be running at a below average pace!

Apart from the pretty useless facts I have trotted off above, it was actually a great day and I treated myself to a new running top (the merchandising hall might just have been my favourite part!).

Well at least I'll be seen whilst training.

So with January's training completed I am feeling pretty pleased with myself. I hadn't figured that marathon training was such a gruelling regime and I being someone who likes a short cut I struggled at first to realise there is NO short cut in marathon training. Maybe this is a life lesson?

February is about building the stamina and I have to admit that I felt really good running today. The high point (in more ways than one) was taking on a particularly gruelling hill just as the MP3 decided Eye of the Tiger would be appropriate listening (check it out here it's hilarious!). Before I knew it I was on top of a 295ft hill looking across the Cotswolds  landscape around Lechlade, punching the air in true Rocky style and jumping around. Thank goodness it was a deserted road, except from a beautiful red kite soaring above my head. I acknowledge that I still have a long way to with 15 miles next weekend and then up to a staggering 17 miler two weekends later but.... apparently it is all in the head!?

March then becomes about practice and my "easy" week encompasses the Bath half so I can practice my race routine and suss out strategies to help me find my cheerleaders in the crowd.

Then we hit April and I begin to taper before the big day...so that all sounds easy and as though I have an age but the reality is that in exactly 11 weeks I hope I am lying somewhere on horseguards parade, with my cheerleaders, being fed Big Macs and with a helicopter ready to fly me home... a girl can dream!

* Seriously I am already planning my running diary for next year... I got it bad!

Copper-bottomed

So very excited when I arrived home yesterday to see a parcel on my desk.... it was my long awaited take-away coffee cups (for relevance see previous post here). Now once upon a time (in fact only 31 days ago - is it really only 31 days?) this would barely raised a smile, let alone manic jumping up and down, however it appears my world (and sanity) has been turned upside down by fundraising fever.

So this evening once the kids were fed, I run up the stairs two at a time (my marathon training means I managed this without getting out of breath), raring to get the printer revving into action to spit out the hot pink labels to adorn the lovely, but currently plain, cups. But as predictable as "You've been framed" can you guess what happened next? Yep the printer was out of ink. Grrr. However someone was on my side as we actually had a spare sitting on the side. I can honestly say we have NEVER before had a spare and I suspect it will never happen again, and so I have decided to see this as a sign that my copper cups are destined to be brought alive with some hot pink.

A few hours later and the labels have printed and adhered and lids now have money slits cut. Well 25 out of 100 have been created but it is a start. I am so genuinely proud of my Blue Peter sticky back plastic action and really love my novel fundraising idea. But with a career in marketing I think I have a few creative ideas now and again although I am not sure the creatives would agree... heaven knows what they'd say if they knew I own a scalpel and spray mount!

Want a sneak preview?

Aren't they the cutest and most beautiful fundraising recepticals ever? Now I just need to find them good generous homes. I have only had 3requests so far from people who have a mighty vision and are clearly the innovators amongst my friends (Daddy Wolf, Fav cuz and lush bestie) but that means there are 97 still available to any early adoptors who, having now seen the fancy design, would rather like a receptical to house their ugly tarnished coins, annoyingly small 5ps, funny shaped 20 and 50s, gold (so last years colour!) or screwed up paper containing the queens head.

Roll up roll up - request a copper cup and get your friends, family, colleagues and even strangers emptying their pockets of lose change all in aid of a fantastic cause. And don't forget down the back of the sofa!

PS The lovely people from Breast Cancer Care dropped me an email today which has really encouraged me and I thought I would share it with you all. It is easy to imagine that £5000 to a national charity would barely raise a blink and it was refreshing to receive such a warm and genuinely appreciative email. Dig deep folks!

It’s lovely to hear from you.  I’ve just been reading your blog – it’s brilliant.  I love the layout, the content and especially the pink pennies!

We are so excited about your fundraising.  £10,000 is a huge amount of money and we are really pleased that Breast Cancer Care will be receiving half of what you raise.  £5000 will make a massive difference in enabling us to continue being there for anyone affected by breast cancer.  Thank you.