100 Days of Running: Day 7

First week complete! Today ran 10 miles, so total miles for first week is 70 miles, which hits the average I need to do to complete 1000 miles in 100 days. It's also the most miles I've ever run in a week, and the most days I've run in a row. And everything still works. Smashing.

And fundraising is going well, which is more important. Thank you everyone! And thank you for all your positive words and wishes you have wished to my Aunty....we are all thinking of her and wishing good thoughts and things her way!

Today's run was beautiful. Am in London now. So ran along the canal to Victoria Park, then realised that all of my runs so far, bar the races, have been on the canal, which is going to start sounding boring, so took a detour and ran around the park 3 times. I was talking yesterday about spring coming, but today it feels like it is here for sure. First day running and feeling warm, like actually really properly warm, not just feeling less cold than usual. The flowers are all out and the blossom is on all the trees, there is so much it looks like the branches will break. 

And it smells like the seasons have switched. Funny how smell can be so evocative, out of all of the senses, to me it is the one that stirs the deepest memories and emotions. Sometimes you don't even know what it is. You just catch a scent on the wind, that sends a glimmer of a memory dancing through your mind, but before you catch it it's gone, leaving only the emotion rippling through your heart. And then there are the old familiar smells from the past, that are easy to remember, like the lilac tree from our old garden, that bring back all those memories, running around in the sunshine and playing hide and seek and hiding on the secret wall behind the lilac tree...

...good memories. Lucky to have them. 

But enough reminiscing! To the task in hand. Week 2 begins tomorrow, and I will attend my first ever Park Run. I have fought with the printer, and won, and now have printed a personal barcode meaning I am part of the Park Run community. Can't wait to join in! 

Stats
Runs: 7
Total miles: 70 

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

100 Days of Running: Day 6

Day 6 - 10 miles today, including popping to the polling station to vote on the way.

Feels like spring is considering turning up (hurrah!)....

 

Ducklings!!!!!!!!! Sleeping ducklings!!!!! This made me happy for the rest of the day.

Spring is here, and feels like anything is possible.... 

"If you can dream it, you can do it!" - Walt Disney

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

100 Days of Running: Day 5

Day 5 dawned bright and sunny. Just kidding. Studied weather forecast last night, and the least terrible option seemed to be to get a run in early and cling to the hope the rain might come late. I made it to the end of the drive. Then it rained the rest of the time. Conquered another 10 miles in it though, not bad.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people" - Bill Bowerman

I disagree.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing" - Sir Ranulph Fiennes 

I kind of disagree less, but, if it wasn't for the bad weather, you wouldn't require appropriate clothing, therefore there's got to be some bad weather in there, somewhere. 

However, a bit of wind and rain is not the end of the world, and is not even worth mentioning, when you think of what a lot of people have to deal with weather wise. Therefore, in very un-British fashion, this will be my last weather rant for the next 95 days.

I won a prize for coming 3rd in The Cake Race! £25! Totally made up with this news. This will go towards my sponsorship total.

Macmillan have sent me a sponsorship pack. Been reading about what they do. Sounds silly, as I know they are a charity, but didn't realize what that really meant I suppose. Over 98% of their income in 2013 was from voluntary donations/ fundraising - that's £186.9 million! That's a lot of money to raise to do their work. And fundraising events raised £37.2 million of this! 

And I found out that £27 can pay for a Macmillan Nurse for an hour, so they can give essential medical, practical and emotional support to people living with cancer and their families.

What a great charity!

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

100 Days of Running: Day 4

15 miles today along the canal, same as yesterday, but a bit further. Back on track now with my average mileage (10 miles/ day) and feeling good, better than yesterday which was quite difficult.

Have got Spotify on my phone now. One of the questions that people ask me the most about running is, what do you think about when you do long runs? My answer is quite rubbish, as I am genuinely not sure what I do think about most of the time, from which I conclude that I must think about not a lot. Which is boring, and quite worrying. What a waste of time. So in preparation for the next 97 days I this morning got Spotify, so  at least I can listen to a wide variety of music, and by the end of the challenge be able to answer quiz questions all about music. So today I listened to a single Lord of the Dance album, for the entire 2 hours and 16 minutes of running, and for about the last half an hour, listened to The Lord of the Dance theme song over and over on repeat.

I know. That's embarrassing. I'm not sure why I've written it down. I defy you though, to listen to that song and NOT speed up as your Riverdance down the tow path, faster and faster as the song goes on, finishing with a final over-enthusiastic heel kick and scattering the nearest group of ducks flying into the sky.

Got some more donations in - THANK YOU all!!! Very touched by the kindness of everyone in donating, and by the things people have told me about how cancer has affected their family too, which has moved them to donate.  The world is full of positive and kind people - thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting us :-)

Geek stats
Runs: 4
Total miles: 40

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

100 Days of Running: Day 3

Day 3!

First half marathon today!

Just Andrew and me today, down the hill from my parents house and along the canal towards Blackburn and back.

Sun shone for the whole time, for the first time!

Enjoyed the 10kms at the weekend, but have done some maths (so having a lie down now) and have concluded that if am going to get to 1000 miles, am going to have to run more than 10km a day....so am having a catch up few days. It's more complicated than I thought, figuring out how far to run each day. Off to make a spreadsheet.

Having put in what feels like 3 solid days work, I don't seem to have got very far. Feeling disheartened, I searched for inspiration. And! I remembered! Running legend Ron Hill is 76 years old, and his running streak is now in it's 50th year and he has averaged 7 miles per day over that time (a "run" for him is at least 1 mile and he has continued his running streak during times with a broken sternum and then following foot surgery, when he ran 1 mile on a crutch). True legend indeed!!! 

Geek stats
Days: 3
Total miles: 25

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

100 Days of Running: Day 2!

Day 2 = The Bluebell 10 km, Yarrow Park, Chorley. Organised by Mad Bull Events, whose moto is "Take the race by the horns".

Alrighty then. This is proper cross country! Mud, hills, bluebells, woods, lodges and 2 x river crossings (but no bridges)!

Very beautiful, the bluebells were just coming out and carpeting the woods in a deep velvet blue. The paths were muddy and steep and riddled with tree roots. So lucky to run in places like this, feel completely immersed in the beauty of the world. At one with nature.

My parents came to watch and got recruited into helping marshalling -  jolly good sports!

Apart from seeing them twice, favourite moments were the two river crossings - the river was about 2 feet deep, and we went straight through it, holding onto a rope. Exciting! And cleaned the trainers. I also saw a photographer walking right up the middle of the river, which is pretty dedicated to the job.

Favourite quote of the day from the nice marshal at the start who looked after my jacket for me, with the warning "I can only watch it 'till 12. If you're back after that, you'll find me in the pub."

And another from the marshal at the end:
Marshal: "100 days of running. What day is this."
Me: "2"
Marshall: "200?"
Me: "No....2, just 2"
Marshal: "Oh! TWO! (pause) Well, only 98 left. That'll be easy from now on."

Yes. Well. Day 2 complete! Although Andrew beat me. Well done, and all that,....it's not the winning but the taking part that counts etc etc blah blah blah.  It's 1-1 now. Rematch tomorrow.

 

Only kidding! Great running.

 

Fundraising has been going well, and a massive thanks to everyone who has donated :-)

 

uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

 

 

Thanks for reading :-) x 

 

100 Days of Running: Day 1

So, day 1 of 100 Days of Running started yesterday!

100 Days of Running is an fundraising event I am doing to show support for my Aunty Ursula, who is currently having chemotherapy treatment. She is amazing, she has had cancer several times, but is so positive and strong. I know that chemotherapy makes her feel rubbish, and I know that there's not much you can do to stop that. But I thought that if I could raise money for charities she supports, that would show that we are all thinking of her, and might help a bit in that way.

So, from 02.05.15 - 09.08.15 I am going to run 100 days in a row, and hopefully raise sponsorship for the following charities along the way:

• Clatterbridge Cancer Centre: The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in the Wirral is where my Aunty has treatment. Money raised for The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity helps them offer the most up-to-date treatments and equipment, undertake research, and provide support services that wouldn't be available without them.
• Macmillan Nurses: Make sure there's always someone there to support people affected by cancer.
• Jospice (St Jospehs Hospice): Is a hospice in Liverpool and one which my family have always been involved with and supported...even when I was little I remember my Nana was always knitting blankets for them to send overseas, as they also have hospices in Honduras, Guatemala, Peru and Equador

FANTASTIC CHARITIES.

Here is my fundraising link: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

So I started with Day 1 yesterday = a 10 km Cake Run with the Manchester Frontrunners at Boggart Hole Clough Park : http://cakerace.uk/ which was celebrating the clubs 10th birthday - Happy Birthday Manchester Frontrunners!

I'll be honest. It was the mention of cake that first attracted me to this. But I'm glad it did, because it was a cracking race, with the friendliest marshals and runners and supporters I've ever seen!  Loved every second! It started around the athletics track with lots of hooting and cheering and then off around the park three times (beautiful park, but big hill x 3). Andrew did it too, so we had a bit of a (fairly healthy) competition going. And had a bit of a sprint finish at the end with a fellow runner which is always fun! Then we got a goody bag, which was awesome - medal (!), chocolate buttons (!!), OJ and a banana (for a balanced post run diet):

And then there was cake:

(Note: obviously that wasn't all mine. Promise promise promise)

Got some positive comments on my fundraising top!

Day 1 = done! Hope the rest of the runs are as good as this! And hope this race is on again next year. Will definitely be back, and I recommend it to everyone!

(this was a "1" to symbolise the first day, but the bottom bit fell off/ got eaten - can't confirm which, or who was responsible).

Just in case you missed it, here is my FUNDRAISING PAGE again! uk.virginmoneygiving.com/100days

Thanks for reading :-) x