OK, so it's on to the final preparations now. I had a trial pack of my rucksack tonight and guess what... it doesn't fit :(
I've got some choices to make now about what not to take. Oh well, I sort of expected this so I guess it's all par for the course. More importantly though I finally have the information on how you can follow my progress while I'm in the desert. These instructions have been sent today by the organisors.
To send me a message go to http://www.darbaroud.com/index.php?lang=en
and click on ‘Write to a competitor’ or ‘Ecrire aux concurrents’. My running number is 445. Please do not try to send attachments
or anything other than plain text, or the email won’t be delivered!
THIS FACILITY WILL NOT APPEAR
ON THE WEBSITE UNTIL 7 APRIL AND WILL BE REMOVED ON 13 APRIL!
There will
also be a finish webcam on the above page, so you might spot me crossing the finish line each day!
Daily results will be posted
here: http://www.darbaroud.com/resultats/participants.php?epreuve_id=2012&langue=en
Last
year, it was possible to follow arrival through checkpoints – I’m not sure if
this will happen this year. These results may take time to update – mostly they are quite good, but
occasionally someone’s results get missed.
I hope you all take a look and keep your fingers crossed for me. I'll need all the luck I can get!
Peace, out.
Pity My Feet is a training and fitness blog that chronicles the misadventures of an aging demotivated wanna-be athlete with a penchant for making bad exercise related life choices. Currently in training for Iron Man Wales 2014. Don't ask why.
Monday 2 April 2012
Friday 30 March 2012
Friday 30th March 2012 - Radio Ga Ga!
I had a great time talking about all aspects of the challenge and I hope that I may have inspired one or two listeners to donate some money to Mencap.
You can listen to a recording of the interview here. It'll only be available for the next two weeks so be quick!
Finally a quick word about Calon FM. They are a community radio station serving Wrexham and the surrounding area based in the Glyndwr University campus. They provide a great service to people like me who need a voice in the local community and a quick look at the list of guests they have had on shows what a help they are to charities and other good causes in the area. Dave told me that they will shortly be applying to extend their licence for another five years. I would urge you to do all you can to support this to make sure we don't lose this important asset to our community. They are selling some raffle tickets and you can join in and buy some here. Finally I have to say, they play some great music! Thanks guys - great work! :)
Peace, out.
Thursday 29 March 2012
Thursday 29th March 2012 - 10 sunny miles!
So after the shock this morning of finding out that it's hotter here than it is in the Sahara I figured I might as well take advantage of it and get myself out in the sun for a little loosener. I did 12.5 miles with a fairly light pack. It was pretty nice really although my right achilles was really tight and around mile 8 on the way back I feared I might actually do it some damage. It seems looser now so hopefully it was just one of those quirks that happen from time to time. I also felt a little wheezy but it's hayfever season for me so that's to be expected. I'm hoping that the pollen count will be low in the desert!
I also took the opportunity to dive into the tanning salon to put a little more in my skin. I think that another two sessions (Monday and Wednesday me-thinks) will be enough to send me to Morocco with a tidy base tan and hopefully I'll delay the onset of sunburn for a bit. Assuming there is actually any sunshine to burn me!
Other activity today; I counted some change that had been generously donated to me and went to the bank to pay that in. After spending about two hours this morning sorting it out into bags I got there to find they had all torn during the run and all the change was rattling around loose in the bottom of my rucksack. The young lady working the middle desk in Barclays Whitchurch deserves a special mention and perhaps a "Friendly and Patient Person of the Year" award for quietly and cheerfully helping me count out the hundreds of coins I dumped on the counter. I did make a point of reading her name plate so I could send in some feedback but having the memory of a goldfish I have forgotten it.
I spent some time sending emails to various large companies again this morning and received some highly efficient rejections from most of them. But I know that there are some wonderful people out there and it's just a matter of finding them! I'll be having an early night tonight to prepare for my radio debut in the morning. Wish me luck folks! I'll be Calon FM some time between 8:30 and 9:30 tomorrow. I'm really excited! And also a little nervous...
Peace, out.
I also took the opportunity to dive into the tanning salon to put a little more in my skin. I think that another two sessions (Monday and Wednesday me-thinks) will be enough to send me to Morocco with a tidy base tan and hopefully I'll delay the onset of sunburn for a bit. Assuming there is actually any sunshine to burn me!
Other activity today; I counted some change that had been generously donated to me and went to the bank to pay that in. After spending about two hours this morning sorting it out into bags I got there to find they had all torn during the run and all the change was rattling around loose in the bottom of my rucksack. The young lady working the middle desk in Barclays Whitchurch deserves a special mention and perhaps a "Friendly and Patient Person of the Year" award for quietly and cheerfully helping me count out the hundreds of coins I dumped on the counter. I did make a point of reading her name plate so I could send in some feedback but having the memory of a goldfish I have forgotten it.
I spent some time sending emails to various large companies again this morning and received some highly efficient rejections from most of them. But I know that there are some wonderful people out there and it's just a matter of finding them! I'll be having an early night tonight to prepare for my radio debut in the morning. Wish me luck folks! I'll be Calon FM some time between 8:30 and 9:30 tomorrow. I'm really excited! And also a little nervous...
Peace, out.
Thursday 29th March 2012 - Weather Update
Firstly, it's my Mum's birthday. So... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Mum!
Secondly, IT IS RAINING today in the Sahara Desert. It is also colder right now in Tazarine (where the race finishes) than it was yesterday in Wrexham. What a crazy world. The forecast for this afternoon is for the Sahara to reach 18 degrees C. Woopee doo!
I'm not changing my preparation in terms of the sun adaption of my skin and the heat adaption of my blood (more plasma please!). But if the weather doesn't improve I may have to take the precaution of carrying a throw-away fleece to keep warm. A few years ago the race had to be delayed, and ultimately diverted, because of floods across part of the route but this was considered a freak event. Hopefully 2012 will not be another 'freak'!
If it is indeed going to be a cold wet one then I'll reach into my bag and pull out a little of the "Spirit of Glastonbury Festival" that's seen me get through several cold wet festivals in years gone by!
Peace, out.
Secondly, IT IS RAINING today in the Sahara Desert. It is also colder right now in Tazarine (where the race finishes) than it was yesterday in Wrexham. What a crazy world. The forecast for this afternoon is for the Sahara to reach 18 degrees C. Woopee doo!
I'm not changing my preparation in terms of the sun adaption of my skin and the heat adaption of my blood (more plasma please!). But if the weather doesn't improve I may have to take the precaution of carrying a throw-away fleece to keep warm. A few years ago the race had to be delayed, and ultimately diverted, because of floods across part of the route but this was considered a freak event. Hopefully 2012 will not be another 'freak'!
If it is indeed going to be a cold wet one then I'll reach into my bag and pull out a little of the "Spirit of Glastonbury Festival" that's seen me get through several cold wet festivals in years gone by!
Peace, out.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Tuesday 27th March 2012 - Last minute kit buying!
Pretty lazy day on the physical side of things today. I was working away so a 4:30am alarm call followed by a six hour round trip sandwiching some meetings and no lunch. I got home about 8pm and had to set about some housekeeping and kit buying, more of which in a moment.
First though let me quickly bring you up to speed on yesterday's training; if you can call it that. I started with a quick session in the tanning salon. These places get a bit of a bad press and I think the whole tanning culture is derided slightly but my experience has been good. The prices are really cheap; in fact I've wondered whether my tiny fee even pays for the electricity those giant machines use! I guess it must because they seem fairly succesful. Anyway, if you're looking for a good salon in Wrexham follow the link and tell them I sent you. They won't know who I am but I'm sure they'll be happy to know that some random customer has recommended them.
After a quick 5 minutes frying in the vapouriser I headed off to the gym. I spent a long leisurely time in there alternating between the pool, the sauna and the steam room. All together I swam 1,500 metres and spent about an hour in the heat. Roughly 45 minutes in the sauna and 15 minutes in the steam room. It was a good session but I found some new blisters from my training walk on Sunday and frustratingly the ones from the night I got hypothermia (which are six week's old now) are still deep and fresh. I now fear that they will not have healed fully when I reach the desert. I wonder if I'll be the only person in the race to have blisters before I even start!
So on to today. I still have a few items left to buy. The main one causing me worry was the sunglasses. It is important to buy 'goggle' type glasses, or ones with some kind of foam to the side because sand can blow in under the lense and be very unpleasant, particularly in a sand storm. I had feared that I'd be paying over £100 for them but I found these little beauties online.
The other thing I've done tonight is buy myself a blood testing kit. For my medical form I need to know my blood type. It's the kind of thing I've been told in the past and never had the common sense to remember. Or even write down! Anyway, this nifty little number should sort me out.
Blood testing kit
That's it for today folks. Peace, out.
First though let me quickly bring you up to speed on yesterday's training; if you can call it that. I started with a quick session in the tanning salon. These places get a bit of a bad press and I think the whole tanning culture is derided slightly but my experience has been good. The prices are really cheap; in fact I've wondered whether my tiny fee even pays for the electricity those giant machines use! I guess it must because they seem fairly succesful. Anyway, if you're looking for a good salon in Wrexham follow the link and tell them I sent you. They won't know who I am but I'm sure they'll be happy to know that some random customer has recommended them.
After a quick 5 minutes frying in the vapouriser I headed off to the gym. I spent a long leisurely time in there alternating between the pool, the sauna and the steam room. All together I swam 1,500 metres and spent about an hour in the heat. Roughly 45 minutes in the sauna and 15 minutes in the steam room. It was a good session but I found some new blisters from my training walk on Sunday and frustratingly the ones from the night I got hypothermia (which are six week's old now) are still deep and fresh. I now fear that they will not have healed fully when I reach the desert. I wonder if I'll be the only person in the race to have blisters before I even start!
So on to today. I still have a few items left to buy. The main one causing me worry was the sunglasses. It is important to buy 'goggle' type glasses, or ones with some kind of foam to the side because sand can blow in under the lense and be very unpleasant, particularly in a sand storm. I had feared that I'd be paying over £100 for them but I found these little beauties online.
The other thing I've done tonight is buy myself a blood testing kit. For my medical form I need to know my blood type. It's the kind of thing I've been told in the past and never had the common sense to remember. Or even write down! Anyway, this nifty little number should sort me out.
Blood testing kit
That's it for today folks. Peace, out.
Monday 26 March 2012
MDS Information Shot - No 8
Hi All,
From time to time I get these information shots from the organisors of the MDS so I thought I'd share one with you today. Maybe I'll post the rest over the next week or so as I ramp up my preparations (and my blogging I hope!).
This one is Number 8 and refers to the efforts taken by the organisors to maintain the pristine desert environment through which I'll be running.
Enjoy!
Peace, out.
• documents printed on recycled paper,
• ban on throwing numbered bottles and miscellaneous packaging on the course, with penalties imposed,
• use of ecological bin bags,
• waste collection and destruction,
• self-combustion incinerator to destroy waste,
• installation of very efficient, fully hygenic dry toilets
Ever keen to respect the environment all bottles have been numbered since edition 3 and penalties levied on competitors if their bottles are found
on the race route, between start of race and finish line check-in point (ART. 27 and 28).
In addition, the MARATHON DES SABLES is once more calling up the services of an incinerator lorry. Aimed at destroying waste created by runners, the lorry is equipped with an auto combustion furnace, capable of burning not just organic matter but plastic and light metal.
Several kilos of ashes are collected at the end of the race, corresponding to the daily waste of more than 1,300 people.
Since 2007, GTR Maroc is in charge of transporting the incinerator furnace weighing 8.5 T.
Portable ashtrays are distributed during the race. Remember a cigarette butt left in the desert takes 2 years to fully degrade.
• Complete renovation of a water conveyance system for 150 villagers living in Taright (running water). Water meters were fitted to finance maintenance.
• Solar water heater fitted at a health clinic in the small village of Jdaid.
• Install a solar pump on the well of Naam Oued near Mhamid. This guarded site will serve the region’s nomads and their herds.
• Create a ford on the Rheris Oued. This significant construction will link several villages by allowing vehicles to cross the river safely.
This is a gesture of solidarity and ecological awareness. This simple action could reduce the number of bin bags to be collected threefold.
This will make work less arduous for the teams in charge of this task and avoid the incessant circulation of vehicles around the bivouac. T
his ecological gesture requires no effort.
All you need to do is empty your bottle completely, unscrew the top and push on each end before throwing it into the containers situated at the CP exits
or the bags fastened to each tent.
Thank you in advance on behalf of the people who will work to keep the desert clean.
From time to time I get these information shots from the organisors of the MDS so I thought I'd share one with you today. Maybe I'll post the rest over the next week or so as I ramp up my preparations (and my blogging I hope!).
This one is Number 8 and refers to the efforts taken by the organisors to maintain the pristine desert environment through which I'll be running.
Enjoy!
Peace, out.
Operation keep the desert clean
Environmental protection is part of MARATHON DES SABLES’ ethics, translated through several practical actions:• documents printed on recycled paper,
• ban on throwing numbered bottles and miscellaneous packaging on the course, with penalties imposed,
• use of ecological bin bags,
• waste collection and destruction,
• self-combustion incinerator to destroy waste,
• installation of very efficient, fully hygenic dry toilets
Ever keen to respect the environment all bottles have been numbered since edition 3 and penalties levied on competitors if their bottles are found
on the race route, between start of race and finish line check-in point (ART. 27 and 28).
In addition, the MARATHON DES SABLES is once more calling up the services of an incinerator lorry. Aimed at destroying waste created by runners, the lorry is equipped with an auto combustion furnace, capable of burning not just organic matter but plastic and light metal.
Several kilos of ashes are collected at the end of the race, corresponding to the daily waste of more than 1,300 people.
Since 2007, GTR Maroc is in charge of transporting the incinerator furnace weighing 8.5 T.
Portable ashtrays are distributed during the race. Remember a cigarette butt left in the desert takes 2 years to fully degrade.
“The Earth does not belong to us, we leave it to our children”.
CARBON BALANCE & ACTION IN 2011
• Over 25 000 euros spent on carbon compensation.• Complete renovation of a water conveyance system for 150 villagers living in Taright (running water). Water meters were fitted to finance maintenance.
• Solar water heater fitted at a health clinic in the small village of Jdaid.
Targets for 2012
• Install a solar pump on the well of Naam Oued near Mhamid. This guarded site will serve the region’s nomads and their herds.• Create a ford on the Rheris Oued. This significant construction will link several villages by allowing vehicles to cross the river safely.
Decreasing the volume of waste
Everybody is asked to contribute: runners and organisers are encouraged to compress their mineral water bottles to reduce the volume of rubbish in the bins.This is a gesture of solidarity and ecological awareness. This simple action could reduce the number of bin bags to be collected threefold.
This will make work less arduous for the teams in charge of this task and avoid the incessant circulation of vehicles around the bivouac. T
his ecological gesture requires no effort.
All you need to do is empty your bottle completely, unscrew the top and push on each end before throwing it into the containers situated at the CP exits
or the bags fastened to each tent.
Thank you in advance on behalf of the people who will work to keep the desert clean.
Sunday 25th March 2012 - Sunshine kit test
Hello World!
What a glorious weekend of sunshine that was; and what a glorious week of sunshine ahead of us here in North Wales. Amazingly the temperatures here in the UK are currently on a par with those in the Sahara desert. Somehow though I doubt my luck can hold for another two weeks to give me a cool desert experience so I'm still working on the assumption that I'll have some heat related challenges ahead of me.
Yesterday my training was more about testing some aspects of my kit that I hadn't tried before than about doing anything towards my overall fitness. I bought a 'belly bag' a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to test it out at the same time as my backpack. The new bit of kit is wonderful, with twin water bottle holders and two huge pouches for food bars, map book, safety kit etc to get me easily through the checkpoints and kit inspections. It fits quite nicely around me and works well with my rucksack, leaving a decent space for my number to be visible on my chest.
My training was good, twice up Moel Famau. It's not a big mountain and from car park to summit was about 25 minutes at a good walking pace. So in total only an hours climbing. Parts of it are pretty steep though and gave my calves and feet a good workout. I had 10Kg in the pack so a little more good practice under weight.
The weather was gorgeous and all in all it didn't feel like training at all. In fact it felt like a nice stroll followed by a hilltop picnic for one!
Now if only the Sahara Desert can be as pleasant as this I'll have a jolly old time of it!!
Sadly, my running-geek instincts failed me and I forgot to take my GPS watch so no distance, climb, or heartrate information on this one. At a guess I would say probably 5 miles distance, 1000 feet of climb, variable heart rate and VERY VERY VERY slow pace.
Less than two weeks to go now until the off. Please consider sponsoring me or donating to Mencap at www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet. All donations are gratefully received!
Peace, out.
What a glorious weekend of sunshine that was; and what a glorious week of sunshine ahead of us here in North Wales. Amazingly the temperatures here in the UK are currently on a par with those in the Sahara desert. Somehow though I doubt my luck can hold for another two weeks to give me a cool desert experience so I'm still working on the assumption that I'll have some heat related challenges ahead of me.
Yesterday my training was more about testing some aspects of my kit that I hadn't tried before than about doing anything towards my overall fitness. I bought a 'belly bag' a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to test it out at the same time as my backpack. The new bit of kit is wonderful, with twin water bottle holders and two huge pouches for food bars, map book, safety kit etc to get me easily through the checkpoints and kit inspections. It fits quite nicely around me and works well with my rucksack, leaving a decent space for my number to be visible on my chest.
My training was good, twice up Moel Famau. It's not a big mountain and from car park to summit was about 25 minutes at a good walking pace. So in total only an hours climbing. Parts of it are pretty steep though and gave my calves and feet a good workout. I had 10Kg in the pack so a little more good practice under weight.
The weather was gorgeous and all in all it didn't feel like training at all. In fact it felt like a nice stroll followed by a hilltop picnic for one!
Now if only the Sahara Desert can be as pleasant as this I'll have a jolly old time of it!!
Sadly, my running-geek instincts failed me and I forgot to take my GPS watch so no distance, climb, or heartrate information on this one. At a guess I would say probably 5 miles distance, 1000 feet of climb, variable heart rate and VERY VERY VERY slow pace.
Less than two weeks to go now until the off. Please consider sponsoring me or donating to Mencap at www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet. All donations are gratefully received!
Peace, out.
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Hi Honey I'm home!
Hello everyone.
Well, after about six weeks of the non-blogging malarkey I decided to come crawling back to you, with my tail between my legs. Yes, I confess. I have been running around not-blogging here there and everywhere. Having all sorts of not-blogging fun and doing not-blogging things whenever I liked, wherever I liked, and with whoever I liked. All the time shamelessly not-blogging.
This is a pity, since I have had a lot to blog about. I didn’t blog about a 30 mile training hike that culminated in me lying on the ground under a canal bridge at 5am with snow settling on me; excruciating blisters; and a dose of hypothermia. I didn’t blog about a subsequent three week break from running and a rumbling chest ailment that has lasted for over six weeks. I have run twice in New York and not blogged about it. I have had my medicals and my ECG (both passed against all the odds) and have not blogged about them. I have met Andrew Murray – ultra running machine – and not blogged about it. I have broken a bone in my hand and pulled a hamstring and not blogged about either of them. Finally, I have put together my nutrition and my equipment and not blogged about it. I am sorry for being such a bad and unfaithful blogger. If it is any consolation I can assure you that I did not post to any other blogs during this time of self discovery.
Anyway, hopefully I’ll be a little more organised now and get back to my routine of writing about my training and my preparations.
I want to do something specific about my food and about my equipment over the next couple of weeks. I’m waiting for my final items to be sent (some ziplock baggies for food; some new injinji socks for blisters) and then once I have them I will lay them out on something flat and massive and attempt to capture in one widescreen shot all the things that I will then attempt to cram into my little backpack. Wish me luck folks!
Oh, finally, the other thing that I have not been doing while not blogging is collecting money. So, for old time’s sake, here is a little bit of the begging that I know you love. Please please please sponsor me!!! :)
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Peace, out.
Well, after about six weeks of the non-blogging malarkey I decided to come crawling back to you, with my tail between my legs. Yes, I confess. I have been running around not-blogging here there and everywhere. Having all sorts of not-blogging fun and doing not-blogging things whenever I liked, wherever I liked, and with whoever I liked. All the time shamelessly not-blogging.
This is a pity, since I have had a lot to blog about. I didn’t blog about a 30 mile training hike that culminated in me lying on the ground under a canal bridge at 5am with snow settling on me; excruciating blisters; and a dose of hypothermia. I didn’t blog about a subsequent three week break from running and a rumbling chest ailment that has lasted for over six weeks. I have run twice in New York and not blogged about it. I have had my medicals and my ECG (both passed against all the odds) and have not blogged about them. I have met Andrew Murray – ultra running machine – and not blogged about it. I have broken a bone in my hand and pulled a hamstring and not blogged about either of them. Finally, I have put together my nutrition and my equipment and not blogged about it. I am sorry for being such a bad and unfaithful blogger. If it is any consolation I can assure you that I did not post to any other blogs during this time of self discovery.
Anyway, hopefully I’ll be a little more organised now and get back to my routine of writing about my training and my preparations.
I want to do something specific about my food and about my equipment over the next couple of weeks. I’m waiting for my final items to be sent (some ziplock baggies for food; some new injinji socks for blisters) and then once I have them I will lay them out on something flat and massive and attempt to capture in one widescreen shot all the things that I will then attempt to cram into my little backpack. Wish me luck folks!
Oh, finally, the other thing that I have not been doing while not blogging is collecting money. So, for old time’s sake, here is a little bit of the begging that I know you love. Please please please sponsor me!!! :)
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Peace, out.
Thursday 9 February 2012
Wednesday 8th February 2012 - Loneliness of the Long Distance Fundraiser
I like to keep this blog mostly about running because it's what I love to do. From the outside the runners experience can seem like a dubious pleasure, full of pain, fatigue, cold, hunger, danger at times! But it is also incredibly rewarding. We run through the rain on dark roads with aching limbs and cramping bellies because doing so fills us with a fire and a sense of being alive that the rest of our day sometimes fails to deliver. All of us runners know that the tough runs of winter build the fitness that will see us stride through the flowering of spring and into the joy of summer with strength and energy.
Running, like life, is full of ups and downs. Living in hilly North Wales I often feel like my running has more ups than downs, literally. The other side of my challenge, the fundraising side, also has it's ups and downs.
For every hard run with sore legs that I've done I've spent an equal amount of time trying to raise money for Mencap. Posing for unflattering photos in the local paper, walking around delivering leaflets, standing in the freezing cold in the town centre rattling a collection tin. These are tough times and I've been incredibly grateful for every single donation. To all of you who have sponsored me - thank you. I truly appreciate every single penny that is donated.
This week I have had my first corporate donations, one from a company called Berendsen who specialist in hygiene and workware products, primarily for the healthcare and hospitality arena; and the other from my mother's employer, Rowan Foods. I am so grateful for these donations and I hope to gain many more before I set foot in the desert.
In these tough times I am constantly humbled by the generosity of friends and strangers alike. Thank you.
If you would like to support my efforts and donate money to Mencap then please click on the "donate now" button in the side bar, or use the Text Giving details above to donate directly from your mobile. If you prefer to donate cash or cheque then please contact me at miffjacobs@hotmail.com and we can make the arrangements.
Thank you. Peace, out.
Running, like life, is full of ups and downs. Living in hilly North Wales I often feel like my running has more ups than downs, literally. The other side of my challenge, the fundraising side, also has it's ups and downs.
This week I have had my first corporate donations, one from a company called Berendsen who specialist in hygiene and workware products, primarily for the healthcare and hospitality arena; and the other from my mother's employer, Rowan Foods. I am so grateful for these donations and I hope to gain many more before I set foot in the desert.
In these tough times I am constantly humbled by the generosity of friends and strangers alike. Thank you.
If you would like to support my efforts and donate money to Mencap then please click on the "donate now" button in the side bar, or use the Text Giving details above to donate directly from your mobile. If you prefer to donate cash or cheque then please contact me at miffjacobs@hotmail.com and we can make the arrangements.
Thank you. Peace, out.
Monday 6 February 2012
Sunday 5th February 2012 - 31 miles
Total so far: £853.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
So, after yesterday's 29 mile effort I woke up in a little hotel room in Llangollen with the same distance ahead of me home. Actually a longer distance. For my own confidence and peace of mind I wanted to break the 30 mile barrier that had beaten me in Anglesey two weeks ago. So I made the decision to run on, past my home and down the road to my parents house for dinner, adding an extra two miles to the route and thus taking me over the psychological 30 mile barrier.
But as I got ready in the morning all that was a long way ahead of me. I ate a good cooked breakfast and drank four cups of coffee; a decision I would come to regret!
Like yesterday I decided to walk the first three miles to loosen up my muscles and avoid running on hard roads. I was a good minute per mile slower even on these early miles than yesterday and my legs were tired and painful almost from the off. At the start of mile 4 I leant forward onto my toes and began running. With the fatigue and the weight of my pack I ran like someone on a planet with far stronger gravity. But all the same I did 6 miles at sub 12 mpm before the Chirk tunnel forced me to walk and a stop to re-fill my water bottle gave me a 21 minute mile. I ran/walked for a couple of miles then at about 15 mpm before upping the running for 3 miles of 12 mpm before another water stop at 17 miles slowed me down again.
I ran on until the 20 mile mark by which time my ankles and calves were so painful and weak I felt certain that I was one mishap away from an injury. I am so determined to avoid injury at this stage that I was walking way more than running by this point. As is evidenced by my pace records, showing me averaging around 17 or 18 minute miles.
The final two miles were on busy, darkening roads with no pavements so a lot of time spent avoiding the traffic.
At the finish I had done 31 miles on the day and 60 miles over the weekend. I was broken. At dinner I just sat in a heap of pain and exhaustion. My brain was befuddled and my enthusiasm gone. I feel like I've taken a huge leap forward though in my preparation for the Marathon des Sables. I've proved to myself that I can do long distances, albeit very slowly! I took on the biggest physical challenge of my life and I did it. Without any fuss or external motivation - just me, and my determination not to give up. I am actually rather proud of myself.
It was also great fun. The kind of adventure you dream about as a kid. At one point near the end of the run I got a view back over the plain from Hanmer to Chirk and the smoke rising from the Cadbury Factory, far far in the distance. To think that my own legs had carried me here from many miles past the other side of that smoke. It was quite humbling.
My plans now for this week are Recovery Recovery Recovery. I will probably have some sauna time and maybe a few short runs but mostly I want to allow my body to repair the damage inflicted this weekend and come back stronger for the next escalation in two weeks. I haven't yet decided what it will be but at some point I want to break the 50 mile mark in a single run so I may hit that in two
week's time.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 31.0 miles
Time 8:05:00 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 464.22 miles
Time 90:24:53
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:35 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs
and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
So, after yesterday's 29 mile effort I woke up in a little hotel room in Llangollen with the same distance ahead of me home. Actually a longer distance. For my own confidence and peace of mind I wanted to break the 30 mile barrier that had beaten me in Anglesey two weeks ago. So I made the decision to run on, past my home and down the road to my parents house for dinner, adding an extra two miles to the route and thus taking me over the psychological 30 mile barrier.
But as I got ready in the morning all that was a long way ahead of me. I ate a good cooked breakfast and drank four cups of coffee; a decision I would come to regret!
Like yesterday I decided to walk the first three miles to loosen up my muscles and avoid running on hard roads. I was a good minute per mile slower even on these early miles than yesterday and my legs were tired and painful almost from the off. At the start of mile 4 I leant forward onto my toes and began running. With the fatigue and the weight of my pack I ran like someone on a planet with far stronger gravity. But all the same I did 6 miles at sub 12 mpm before the Chirk tunnel forced me to walk and a stop to re-fill my water bottle gave me a 21 minute mile. I ran/walked for a couple of miles then at about 15 mpm before upping the running for 3 miles of 12 mpm before another water stop at 17 miles slowed me down again.
I ran on until the 20 mile mark by which time my ankles and calves were so painful and weak I felt certain that I was one mishap away from an injury. I am so determined to avoid injury at this stage that I was walking way more than running by this point. As is evidenced by my pace records, showing me averaging around 17 or 18 minute miles.
The final two miles were on busy, darkening roads with no pavements so a lot of time spent avoiding the traffic.
At the finish I had done 31 miles on the day and 60 miles over the weekend. I was broken. At dinner I just sat in a heap of pain and exhaustion. My brain was befuddled and my enthusiasm gone. I feel like I've taken a huge leap forward though in my preparation for the Marathon des Sables. I've proved to myself that I can do long distances, albeit very slowly! I took on the biggest physical challenge of my life and I did it. Without any fuss or external motivation - just me, and my determination not to give up. I am actually rather proud of myself.
It was also great fun. The kind of adventure you dream about as a kid. At one point near the end of the run I got a view back over the plain from Hanmer to Chirk and the smoke rising from the Cadbury Factory, far far in the distance. To think that my own legs had carried me here from many miles past the other side of that smoke. It was quite humbling.
My plans now for this week are Recovery Recovery Recovery. I will probably have some sauna time and maybe a few short runs but mostly I want to allow my body to repair the damage inflicted this weekend and come back stronger for the next escalation in two weeks. I haven't yet decided what it will be but at some point I want to break the 50 mile mark in a single run so I may hit that in two
week's time.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 31.0 miles
Time 8:05:00 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 464.22 miles
Time 90:24:53
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:35 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs
and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Saturday 4th February - 29 miles to hotel
Total so far: £853.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
When I reflect back on my training I think I will come to view the Anglesey Ultra two weeks ago as the start of a new, more extreme, phase. And after what was essentially a two week respite of fewer miles and more rest today marked another escalation in my efforts. My plan was simple. I booked a hotel room just the other side of Llangollen and I would run there on Saturday, and run back again on Sunday.
So it was that I set out about 8:30am from Hanmer. The first 3 miles were on roads and I chose to walk over that ground to avoid aggravating my injuries (which were still painful despite the relative low mileage of the last two weeks). I kept a reasonable pace of under 16 mpm walking and then I started running once I got on the canal. I felt really good and strong and barring a couple of stops to re-fill my water bottle I kept around 11mpm all the way until mile 18 when I took an enforced walk break through the Chirk tunnel.
I took a stop at mile 19 because I was getting too cold and I boiled my kettle and had a pot noodle and a big mug of coffee before moving on at walking pace for a while to let my belly catch up. From there on it was run/walk for the last 10 miles and my average pace fluctuated from sub 12 up to 20 mpm. Mostly it was around 15mpm.
The route was beautiful. From the bucolic tranquillity of the Ellesmere lakelands to the drama of the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct. I love running along the canal. It's always so peaceful and the people are so friendly. Everyone says hello! It's also very flat!
The temperatures were low and I was getting cold very quickly at every stop. The paths were occasionally slippy with ice and I had some trouble keeping my footing, especially once my legs began to tire at around 15 or 16 miles.
Eventually I got into Llangollen and after a quick stop in the Spar (because I'd forgotten my toothbrush) I headed up the road to the hotel. The last mile was not so nice because it was on narrow roads with no pavement and thus every approaching car brings fear. People, please slow down for runners... it's scary for us when you drive so fast and so close!!
So that was it, 29.2 miles. The longest run of my life so far. I knew that in training for an event like the Marathon des Sables I would push myself to my limits and so this was part of it. But even after 29 miles I felt that I'd kept within myself. I was tired and exhausted at the finish but not broken. I knew I had more to give and that will be essential on the event itself; where every day will bring a challenge greater than the day before.
I felt wonderful at the end of the run although a hot (well, warm) bath revealed that I had rubbed away some skin in a place where no man should ever be injured. That blinding agony aside I felt fit, strong and sure. It's a nice feeling. I had a couple of beers in the bar at the hotel and a game pie (frankly, the word pie gave it a dignity and credibility that the food itself did not deserve). It was early to bed then for some active recovery ready for the challenge of running home the next day.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 29.2 miles
Time 6:55:32 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 20 mins
TOTAL
Distance 433.22 miles
Time 82:19:53
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:35 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
When I reflect back on my training I think I will come to view the Anglesey Ultra two weeks ago as the start of a new, more extreme, phase. And after what was essentially a two week respite of fewer miles and more rest today marked another escalation in my efforts. My plan was simple. I booked a hotel room just the other side of Llangollen and I would run there on Saturday, and run back again on Sunday.
So it was that I set out about 8:30am from Hanmer. The first 3 miles were on roads and I chose to walk over that ground to avoid aggravating my injuries (which were still painful despite the relative low mileage of the last two weeks). I kept a reasonable pace of under 16 mpm walking and then I started running once I got on the canal. I felt really good and strong and barring a couple of stops to re-fill my water bottle I kept around 11mpm all the way until mile 18 when I took an enforced walk break through the Chirk tunnel.
I took a stop at mile 19 because I was getting too cold and I boiled my kettle and had a pot noodle and a big mug of coffee before moving on at walking pace for a while to let my belly catch up. From there on it was run/walk for the last 10 miles and my average pace fluctuated from sub 12 up to 20 mpm. Mostly it was around 15mpm.
The route was beautiful. From the bucolic tranquillity of the Ellesmere lakelands to the drama of the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct. I love running along the canal. It's always so peaceful and the people are so friendly. Everyone says hello! It's also very flat!
The temperatures were low and I was getting cold very quickly at every stop. The paths were occasionally slippy with ice and I had some trouble keeping my footing, especially once my legs began to tire at around 15 or 16 miles.
Eventually I got into Llangollen and after a quick stop in the Spar (because I'd forgotten my toothbrush) I headed up the road to the hotel. The last mile was not so nice because it was on narrow roads with no pavement and thus every approaching car brings fear. People, please slow down for runners... it's scary for us when you drive so fast and so close!!
So that was it, 29.2 miles. The longest run of my life so far. I knew that in training for an event like the Marathon des Sables I would push myself to my limits and so this was part of it. But even after 29 miles I felt that I'd kept within myself. I was tired and exhausted at the finish but not broken. I knew I had more to give and that will be essential on the event itself; where every day will bring a challenge greater than the day before.
I felt wonderful at the end of the run although a hot (well, warm) bath revealed that I had rubbed away some skin in a place where no man should ever be injured. That blinding agony aside I felt fit, strong and sure. It's a nice feeling. I had a couple of beers in the bar at the hotel and a game pie (frankly, the word pie gave it a dignity and credibility that the food itself did not deserve). It was early to bed then for some active recovery ready for the challenge of running home the next day.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 29.2 miles
Time 6:55:32 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 20 mins
TOTAL
Distance 433.22 miles
Time 82:19:53
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:35 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Saturday 28th January 2012 - 13.5 Miles and Town Centre Collection
Total so far: £850.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
A little late with the blog again. This was my collection day in Wrexham. I had originally devised a 30 mile route via Ellesmere and along the canal to Trevor then down the road to Wrexham but when the alarm went off (at 2:30am!) I felt dreadful and decided to lower my target for the day! And so it was that I set out at 7:30 with 8Kg in my pack and a much shorter run in mind.
I took a slightly unusual route to avoid some of the more scary bits of the A525 and these extra twists and turns down the lanes made the total up to 13.5. I ran all the way and kept up a reasonable pace, averaging less than 11 minutes per mile. I'm very conscious that runners reading this will be appalled at how slow I am always, even on short runs. It's the pack folks. I blame the pack. Running with a backpack is a nightmare. It completely changes your form. I find myself shuffling along, barely lifting my feet. Considering how much exercise I do I make for a very un-athletic site plodding down the lanes!
So I made it to Wrexham just before ten o'clock and after a quick freshen up and change in the Tesco toilets I went out and hit the streets for my second collection. It wasn't as busy as the first time I collected (in November) and my efforts were hugely undermined when some people came out of a shop in fancy dress, giving out balloons and collecting for a different charity. Oh well, I'm not one given to bitterness and so I did try to be friendly and say hello but hilariously they blanked me at close quarters FOUR times! The final time they did it (after I'd made eye contact, smiled, and asked how they were getting on) I just started laughing. Maybe they were intimidated by my fancy-pants council license badge?
Anyway, I combined the day's takings with some money that had been donated when Grace and I were dropping leaflets and also with some loose change I had in my pot at home. It came to £98.99. We quickly found a 1p piece to make it up to £99 and I'll add the extra pound myself to round it up to £100 paid over to Mencap. Not bad really given the frustrations of the day and it moves me a little closer to my target.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 13.5 miles
Time 2:25:59 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 404.02 miles
Time 75:24:21
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
A little late with the blog again. This was my collection day in Wrexham. I had originally devised a 30 mile route via Ellesmere and along the canal to Trevor then down the road to Wrexham but when the alarm went off (at 2:30am!) I felt dreadful and decided to lower my target for the day! And so it was that I set out at 7:30 with 8Kg in my pack and a much shorter run in mind.
I took a slightly unusual route to avoid some of the more scary bits of the A525 and these extra twists and turns down the lanes made the total up to 13.5. I ran all the way and kept up a reasonable pace, averaging less than 11 minutes per mile. I'm very conscious that runners reading this will be appalled at how slow I am always, even on short runs. It's the pack folks. I blame the pack. Running with a backpack is a nightmare. It completely changes your form. I find myself shuffling along, barely lifting my feet. Considering how much exercise I do I make for a very un-athletic site plodding down the lanes!
So I made it to Wrexham just before ten o'clock and after a quick freshen up and change in the Tesco toilets I went out and hit the streets for my second collection. It wasn't as busy as the first time I collected (in November) and my efforts were hugely undermined when some people came out of a shop in fancy dress, giving out balloons and collecting for a different charity. Oh well, I'm not one given to bitterness and so I did try to be friendly and say hello but hilariously they blanked me at close quarters FOUR times! The final time they did it (after I'd made eye contact, smiled, and asked how they were getting on) I just started laughing. Maybe they were intimidated by my fancy-pants council license badge?
Anyway, I combined the day's takings with some money that had been donated when Grace and I were dropping leaflets and also with some loose change I had in my pot at home. It came to £98.99. We quickly found a 1p piece to make it up to £99 and I'll add the extra pound myself to round it up to £100 paid over to Mencap. Not bad really given the frustrations of the day and it moves me a little closer to my target.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 13.5 miles
Time 2:25:59 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 404.02 miles
Time 75:24:21
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Friday 27 January 2012
Thur 26th Jan '12 - Four miles under starry skies
Total so far: £720.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Just four miles on the plan tonight as I am supposed to taper for big mileage at the weekend. When I say 'supposed' to taper I mean I 'am' tapering. When I say 'big mileage' at the weekend I mean 'some mileage' at the weekend. Honestly, not laziness. Just lots more pain. This is new pain with a subtle twist. Same muscle, different leg. Now I feel pain in exactly the same spot on my left leg that I've had on my right leg. My right is also quite painful tonight. So I haven't yet finally decided on my training for the weekend. I have some ideas; running to Wrexham to start my collection (I probably will do this because I like the poetry of it); running up and down Moel Famau near Mold to get used to the hills. I'm not sure yet. I will decide at bed time on Friday night.
So on to tonight's run. As the mileage was low I figured I'd compensate by piling another 2 litres of water in my pack, taking the weight up to 12.5 Kg. It sounds such a small number but by 'eck it takes some carrying when you're running up and down the lanes. Right from the outset I could feel a huge difference in my form and a far greater sense of impact on my feet. I expect to start the MdS with around 10 or 11 Kg in my pack and so if I train with 12.5 Kg then I should be better adapted. But of course, that is easier to say than to do. Especially when I want to stay injury free from here on in. An injury now would be a massive blow and that loss of form and heavy impact makes injury more likely.
It was a beautiful night to be running. Cold for sure, but clear and crisp with a beautiful starry sky. I ran first in a North West direction and scanned the horizon for any sign of the Northern Lights but saw none. If it was there it was probably somewhere behind the orange glow of the industrial estate on the horizon. But I enjoyed looking for it and saw a wonderful fizzy shooting star heading out of the east and burning so briefly northwards. I made a wish - yes, same one as always. After a good, downhill, two miles I turned and headed back up the hill facing vaguely South East. Running at Orion's belt and the bright beacon of Sirius.
On the fundraising front, I was delighted with a great write up in the Whitchurch Herald and saw a reasonable spike in hits to the blog. One new sponsorship (thanks Claire!). I have a meeting with Tesco in Ellesmere this morning to see if they can help me and then tomorrow is 'Collection Day' in Wrexham once more. Please call in and see me if you're in the area.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 4.12 miles
Time 0:46:30 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 391.52 miles
Time 72:58:22
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Just four miles on the plan tonight as I am supposed to taper for big mileage at the weekend. When I say 'supposed' to taper I mean I 'am' tapering. When I say 'big mileage' at the weekend I mean 'some mileage' at the weekend. Honestly, not laziness. Just lots more pain. This is new pain with a subtle twist. Same muscle, different leg. Now I feel pain in exactly the same spot on my left leg that I've had on my right leg. My right is also quite painful tonight. So I haven't yet finally decided on my training for the weekend. I have some ideas; running to Wrexham to start my collection (I probably will do this because I like the poetry of it); running up and down Moel Famau near Mold to get used to the hills. I'm not sure yet. I will decide at bed time on Friday night.
So on to tonight's run. As the mileage was low I figured I'd compensate by piling another 2 litres of water in my pack, taking the weight up to 12.5 Kg. It sounds such a small number but by 'eck it takes some carrying when you're running up and down the lanes. Right from the outset I could feel a huge difference in my form and a far greater sense of impact on my feet. I expect to start the MdS with around 10 or 11 Kg in my pack and so if I train with 12.5 Kg then I should be better adapted. But of course, that is easier to say than to do. Especially when I want to stay injury free from here on in. An injury now would be a massive blow and that loss of form and heavy impact makes injury more likely.
It was a beautiful night to be running. Cold for sure, but clear and crisp with a beautiful starry sky. I ran first in a North West direction and scanned the horizon for any sign of the Northern Lights but saw none. If it was there it was probably somewhere behind the orange glow of the industrial estate on the horizon. But I enjoyed looking for it and saw a wonderful fizzy shooting star heading out of the east and burning so briefly northwards. I made a wish - yes, same one as always. After a good, downhill, two miles I turned and headed back up the hill facing vaguely South East. Running at Orion's belt and the bright beacon of Sirius.
On the fundraising front, I was delighted with a great write up in the Whitchurch Herald and saw a reasonable spike in hits to the blog. One new sponsorship (thanks Claire!). I have a meeting with Tesco in Ellesmere this morning to see if they can help me and then tomorrow is 'Collection Day' in Wrexham once more. Please call in and see me if you're in the area.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 4.12 miles
Time 0:46:30 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 391.52 miles
Time 72:58:22
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Thursday 26 January 2012
25th Jan '12 - Six miles of cow-less lanes
Total so far: £700.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Back on the road tonight. Away from the gentle bouncing of the treadmill, and instead on to a butt-whooping from the unforgiving tarmac. No science behind this decision, I just couldn't be bothered to drive to the gym. I really should be putting more thought into this!
Anyway, it was on with the head torch and lovely high-vis yellow jacket and out of the door. It was odd being back on the lanes; almost six weeks since I last ran around here at night. It hasn't changed much. Obviously not as many Christmas lights as there were in mid-December. And oddly far fewer cows and sheep by the hedges with their scary glowing eyes. Even though they spook me a little I felt quite sad about this because they've probably gone to a place so wonderful that no animal ever thought to come back from. Namely a butcher's. I did see a cat hiding in a hedge though. Cats never end up in butchers shops despite the fact that no animal would deserve it more. (Cat lovers: I'm joking, I love cats... honestly!)
Anyway, this is a running blog so I'll talk about that. Just six miles on the plan and I did a boring out and back to Tallarn Green. It was a nice evening but no sign of the Northern Lights. Only the orange glow of Wrexham Industrial Estate on the horizon. I had 7.5 Kg in my pack and I wasn't all that comfortable despite the slow pace. One of the lessons from the Anglesey Ultra was that I need to get more used to weight in my pack.
On the fundraising front I got a 20 Euro donation from a colleague visiting from Germany. I'll pay this into Just Giving from my account and credit his name on it. I'm very grateful for it. Things have stalled a little again on that front over the last week but hopefully I'll be able to kick some life into it this weekend when I do another town centre collection in Wrexham. If you're in the area then please come over and say "hi" and put a pound in my pot!
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 6 miles
Time 1:09:19 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 387.40 miles
Time 72:11:52
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Tuesday 24th January 2012 - 10 miles treadmill
Total so far: £700.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
So, after two days of rest following my failed attempt at the Anglesey Ultra I got back onto my feet for a treadmill session. Not much to say about it really. It was on a treadmill so the pace was quite consistent. As was the view. Actually if I turned my head to the right I could watch TV. Which I did. Until they showed open heart surgery on Casualty and I decided I'd rather watch the wall.
I had a lot of pain in my legs and a lot of fatigue. I could probably have done with at least one extra rest day but rest is a luxury I won't have in the desert so I guess it was a reasonable thing not to rest any more now. I was pretty pleased actually to have been able to do the ten miles without breaking down. The pace was definitely slower than I'd have liked but it's not about pace for me. It's all about relentless forward motion and I did show that.
I didn't really talk much about injuries in my post about Saturday so I'll mention the state of play here. The site of my torn muscle survived the ordeal pretty well and is still holding up OK. It hurts when I poke it but there's a pretty simple solution to that. Don't poke it. I don't think it's a problem because my shoulder still hurts if I poke it and it's been ten months since I fell over doing a ridiculous Dad style hand stand. Perhaps there are some things that will always hurt when poked? Eyes for example. Nothing wrong with my eyes but they do hurt when poked. Other parts of me did hurt a lot though. My back hurt from the pack bumping around. My thighs and calves hurt everythere. My knees too. Oddly, also my elbows hurt from keeping them in that crooked "running but could be about to shadow-box" posture that makes me look so athletically challenged.
The other thing I noticed on Saturday was that other ultra-runners tend to be a little taller than me (not much I can do about that) and generally a little slimmer than me (something I can do about that). So I am now on a diet. The first one of my life! Early views on dieting? Miserable. I'm always hungry. Even writing this I'm thinking that I would find the words much easier to come by if I was eating a Snickers bar.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 9.94 miles
Time 1:51:00 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 381.40 miles
Time 71:02:33
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
So, after two days of rest following my failed attempt at the Anglesey Ultra I got back onto my feet for a treadmill session. Not much to say about it really. It was on a treadmill so the pace was quite consistent. As was the view. Actually if I turned my head to the right I could watch TV. Which I did. Until they showed open heart surgery on Casualty and I decided I'd rather watch the wall.
I had a lot of pain in my legs and a lot of fatigue. I could probably have done with at least one extra rest day but rest is a luxury I won't have in the desert so I guess it was a reasonable thing not to rest any more now. I was pretty pleased actually to have been able to do the ten miles without breaking down. The pace was definitely slower than I'd have liked but it's not about pace for me. It's all about relentless forward motion and I did show that.
I didn't really talk much about injuries in my post about Saturday so I'll mention the state of play here. The site of my torn muscle survived the ordeal pretty well and is still holding up OK. It hurts when I poke it but there's a pretty simple solution to that. Don't poke it. I don't think it's a problem because my shoulder still hurts if I poke it and it's been ten months since I fell over doing a ridiculous Dad style hand stand. Perhaps there are some things that will always hurt when poked? Eyes for example. Nothing wrong with my eyes but they do hurt when poked. Other parts of me did hurt a lot though. My back hurt from the pack bumping around. My thighs and calves hurt everythere. My knees too. Oddly, also my elbows hurt from keeping them in that crooked "running but could be about to shadow-box" posture that makes me look so athletically challenged.
The other thing I noticed on Saturday was that other ultra-runners tend to be a little taller than me (not much I can do about that) and generally a little slimmer than me (something I can do about that). So I am now on a diet. The first one of my life! Early views on dieting? Miserable. I'm always hungry. Even writing this I'm thinking that I would find the words much easier to come by if I was eating a Snickers bar.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 9.94 miles
Time 1:51:00 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 381.40 miles
Time 71:02:33
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Saturday 21st January 2012 - It's all fun and games until someone runs the Anglesey Ultra
Total so far: £700.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Well, it's taken me almost a week but I think I'm ready to write about my first ultra-marathon attempt. I went into it quite blindly and didn't really know if I was prepared or not. I guess I got the answer. I wasn't prepared. I was organised and on top of things, arrived early, hydrated and with a belly full of food. But physically, I was not ready.
I shouldn't be too down about it. After tearing that calf muscle in December I had actually only run twice in almost a month. And both of those runs were on the treadmill with no weight on my back. So to step out to the start line of a 33 mile off road ultra-marathon in a hilly location with an 11 kg pack on my back was always going to be a big ask.
I started out feeling awkward under the weight and treading gingerly with my right foot; always waiting for a tell tail stabbing pain. I didn't have a chance to easy myself into stride because by mile 2 we were climbing and mile 3 was basically mountain climbing! I did a 17 minute mile, recorded a HR of 178 and was largely goosed by the time I crested a 500 foot climb. However I negotiated the descent with relative ease and finally hit some form. Steadying my pace around 11 mpm; even coming down to sub 10s on mile 8. I kept it around there for the first half marathon but if I'm honest I never felt comfortable. I just had enough strength and determination to push it. This began to bleed away after mile 13.
I started to walk more and to find it harder to lift my feet under the weight of my pack. My pace began to drift out, 13s, 14s, and by mile 21 I was clocking 15 minute miles with long spells of walking. But still I was dragging myself forward despite me knowing that I simply hadn't been prepared to carry the weight up that hill and over that distance. But I still harboured a hope of making the cut at 5:45 to allow me to finish the ultra.
And then mile 25 happened. A look at the course profile and my pace record below shows pretty clearly what went wrong. It was three things at once.
- Firstly I 'bonked'. I'd had a bad stomach throughout the event and this meant I hadn't eaten enough food (though goodness knows I was carrying enough!) nor had I drunk enough water. I suddenly lost all energy and became deliriously empty and exhausted. Just desperate to stop.
- Secondly my legs cramped up. I'm pretty sure it was the combination of the weight of my pack, the severe climb right at the start and most of all, the time away from running due to injury. So now every step was agony to my thighs and my calves. And I mean every single step. I buckled many many times and stumbled over the slightest obstacle.
- Thirdly a mountain happened to me. At 25 miles in we turned off the road and ascended to the very top of a very big mountain. I could barely walk over the flat let alone climb a mountain. I did a 30 minute mile which is surely a record for anyone who writes a running blog?? Coming down the mountain, mile 27, was a blistering 22 minutes. Honestly I could barely move.
So that was my first attempt at an ultra marathon. I learned a huge amount and my weaknesses were brutally exposed. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I now have a very strong idea of what I need to focus on in my training. I will attempt the distance again shortly but for now I am working on my strength. Strength to lift the bag and strength to lift myself up big climbs. That is what killed me. My aerobic fitness is good. At the end of the day I did 27 miles with an 11 Kg pack and didn't die. So cheer up Jacobs. There's still time to turn it around and meet my goal.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 26.98 miles
Time 6:20:50 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 371.46 miles
Time 69:11:33
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Well, it's taken me almost a week but I think I'm ready to write about my first ultra-marathon attempt. I went into it quite blindly and didn't really know if I was prepared or not. I guess I got the answer. I wasn't prepared. I was organised and on top of things, arrived early, hydrated and with a belly full of food. But physically, I was not ready.
I shouldn't be too down about it. After tearing that calf muscle in December I had actually only run twice in almost a month. And both of those runs were on the treadmill with no weight on my back. So to step out to the start line of a 33 mile off road ultra-marathon in a hilly location with an 11 kg pack on my back was always going to be a big ask.
I started out feeling awkward under the weight and treading gingerly with my right foot; always waiting for a tell tail stabbing pain. I didn't have a chance to easy myself into stride because by mile 2 we were climbing and mile 3 was basically mountain climbing! I did a 17 minute mile, recorded a HR of 178 and was largely goosed by the time I crested a 500 foot climb. However I negotiated the descent with relative ease and finally hit some form. Steadying my pace around 11 mpm; even coming down to sub 10s on mile 8. I kept it around there for the first half marathon but if I'm honest I never felt comfortable. I just had enough strength and determination to push it. This began to bleed away after mile 13.
I started to walk more and to find it harder to lift my feet under the weight of my pack. My pace began to drift out, 13s, 14s, and by mile 21 I was clocking 15 minute miles with long spells of walking. But still I was dragging myself forward despite me knowing that I simply hadn't been prepared to carry the weight up that hill and over that distance. But I still harboured a hope of making the cut at 5:45 to allow me to finish the ultra.
And then mile 25 happened. A look at the course profile and my pace record below shows pretty clearly what went wrong. It was three things at once.
- Firstly I 'bonked'. I'd had a bad stomach throughout the event and this meant I hadn't eaten enough food (though goodness knows I was carrying enough!) nor had I drunk enough water. I suddenly lost all energy and became deliriously empty and exhausted. Just desperate to stop.
- Secondly my legs cramped up. I'm pretty sure it was the combination of the weight of my pack, the severe climb right at the start and most of all, the time away from running due to injury. So now every step was agony to my thighs and my calves. And I mean every single step. I buckled many many times and stumbled over the slightest obstacle.
- Thirdly a mountain happened to me. At 25 miles in we turned off the road and ascended to the very top of a very big mountain. I could barely walk over the flat let alone climb a mountain. I did a 30 minute mile which is surely a record for anyone who writes a running blog?? Coming down the mountain, mile 27, was a blistering 22 minutes. Honestly I could barely move.
So that was my first attempt at an ultra marathon. I learned a huge amount and my weaknesses were brutally exposed. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I now have a very strong idea of what I need to focus on in my training. I will attempt the distance again shortly but for now I am working on my strength. Strength to lift the bag and strength to lift myself up big climbs. That is what killed me. My aerobic fitness is good. At the end of the day I did 27 miles with an 11 Kg pack and didn't die. So cheer up Jacobs. There's still time to turn it around and meet my goal.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 78.9 Kg
TODAY
Distance 26.98 miles
Time 6:20:50 hrs
X-Trainer 0 hrs
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 371.46 miles
Time 69:11:33
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Friday 20 January 2012
Friday 20th January 2012 - Anglesey Ultra Preparation
I wrote a bit yesterday about my preparations for the Anglesey ultra; mostly in terms of what I've bought for it and what I intend to eat. Today I'll bang on a bit about my approach to it and about what I think will happen. If anyone is reading this for tips to help their own ultra-marathon experience then you should probably look away now or at least take all this with a pinch of salt (or other electrolyte) because I've never done this before. My preparation might be fine. Or it might be recklessly incompetent. I should have a fair idea which it is by this time tomorrow.
To start my preparation, earlier in the week I began carbo loading. That is eating lots and lots of carbohydrates at every meal. So the result is that now, on the eve of the event, I am feeling a bit heavy and sluggish. But that's no bad thing considering what I face. Actually, I should be honest with you. I didn't start carbo loading earlier in the week. I started carbo-loading in 1976 and now, after 25 years of preparation I should be just about ready. I've had an early tea tonight of liver, spinach and swede mash. No real science about that, I was in tesco and liked the look of them!
Sleep wise it hasn't been a good week. In particular last night was a really disturbed night and I have been tired all day. But I'm not too worried because hopefully that fatigue will allow me to sleep early tonight. I intend to be in bed by 8pm with lights out by 8:30. My alarm will be set for 3am so hopefully I can get something over 7 hours tonight.
As for right now, well once I've finished writing my blog I'll pack my bag. Then I'll decide that I've packed it wrong and pack it again. And again. And again until the final time when I decide to leave it as it is without realising that something crucial has rolled under the sofa and will be missing tomorrow despite my certainty that I packed it. It is by such events that my life remains continually on edge. I have my torch batteries charging, my phones charging, and my watch charging. The Sat Nav is programmed and the car is full of fuel. I am scarily organised for this!
So, a 3am alarm call tomorrow. I'll have some Barocca with water to start my hydration off the right way and hit the road for 3:30. Even with a few inevitible toilet stops this should get me there for about 6am. Enough time to light my cooker, make some black coffee and be ready to go for registration at 7am.
The race goes off at 8:15. I haven't found any information about cut off times but I think I will make an initial grab for a 9 hour finish so I come in before the head torch is needed. Assuming the 33 mile distance is correct that makes for an average of about 16:20 mpm. I intend to walk up the hills and run down them and over the straights. It's quite an undulating area so I hope that this tactic will give me enough rest. If not then I will walk some straights too. I will aim to run around 12 mpm pace; nice and slow and certainly sustainable. The sections I walk (realistically probably walking most of the last 5 or so miles) will be around 18 mpm on the uphill and 15 mpm on the flat with some run/walking. I'm estimating 1/3 of the course to be uphill and that would give me 11 miles at 18 mpm, probably 15 at 12 mpm and then probably 7 run/walking at 15 mpm. The arithmatists amongst you will see that this would bring me in around 8 hours; with an hour spare for toilet stops etc to meet my 9 hour target. I have a bad feeling that last place beckons but to be honest I don't care. If I finish it then I have won it in my own mind.
If I get a mobile signal I might tweet some updates as I must carry a phone for safety. If you're interested in my progress then follow @miffjacobs (or click the follow button on the sidebar - it's easier). I won't bother with a hashtag because I know I'll forget it so just check my feed. I have noticed that once I'm beyond about 18 miles my brain starts to become like mush and I can't work out my split times. It'll be interesting to see what happens to me tomorrow and I probably won't enjoy reading the tweets back on Sunday!
Right then, time I got that bag packed and thought about settling for a very early night.
Keep everything crossed for me to tomorrow folks. I have a feeling I'll need all the luck I can get!
Peace, out.
To start my preparation, earlier in the week I began carbo loading. That is eating lots and lots of carbohydrates at every meal. So the result is that now, on the eve of the event, I am feeling a bit heavy and sluggish. But that's no bad thing considering what I face. Actually, I should be honest with you. I didn't start carbo loading earlier in the week. I started carbo-loading in 1976 and now, after 25 years of preparation I should be just about ready. I've had an early tea tonight of liver, spinach and swede mash. No real science about that, I was in tesco and liked the look of them!
Sleep wise it hasn't been a good week. In particular last night was a really disturbed night and I have been tired all day. But I'm not too worried because hopefully that fatigue will allow me to sleep early tonight. I intend to be in bed by 8pm with lights out by 8:30. My alarm will be set for 3am so hopefully I can get something over 7 hours tonight.
As for right now, well once I've finished writing my blog I'll pack my bag. Then I'll decide that I've packed it wrong and pack it again. And again. And again until the final time when I decide to leave it as it is without realising that something crucial has rolled under the sofa and will be missing tomorrow despite my certainty that I packed it. It is by such events that my life remains continually on edge. I have my torch batteries charging, my phones charging, and my watch charging. The Sat Nav is programmed and the car is full of fuel. I am scarily organised for this!
So, a 3am alarm call tomorrow. I'll have some Barocca with water to start my hydration off the right way and hit the road for 3:30. Even with a few inevitible toilet stops this should get me there for about 6am. Enough time to light my cooker, make some black coffee and be ready to go for registration at 7am.
The race goes off at 8:15. I haven't found any information about cut off times but I think I will make an initial grab for a 9 hour finish so I come in before the head torch is needed. Assuming the 33 mile distance is correct that makes for an average of about 16:20 mpm. I intend to walk up the hills and run down them and over the straights. It's quite an undulating area so I hope that this tactic will give me enough rest. If not then I will walk some straights too. I will aim to run around 12 mpm pace; nice and slow and certainly sustainable. The sections I walk (realistically probably walking most of the last 5 or so miles) will be around 18 mpm on the uphill and 15 mpm on the flat with some run/walking. I'm estimating 1/3 of the course to be uphill and that would give me 11 miles at 18 mpm, probably 15 at 12 mpm and then probably 7 run/walking at 15 mpm. The arithmatists amongst you will see that this would bring me in around 8 hours; with an hour spare for toilet stops etc to meet my 9 hour target. I have a bad feeling that last place beckons but to be honest I don't care. If I finish it then I have won it in my own mind.
If I get a mobile signal I might tweet some updates as I must carry a phone for safety. If you're interested in my progress then follow @miffjacobs (or click the follow button on the sidebar - it's easier). I won't bother with a hashtag because I know I'll forget it so just check my feed. I have noticed that once I'm beyond about 18 miles my brain starts to become like mush and I can't work out my split times. It'll be interesting to see what happens to me tomorrow and I probably won't enjoy reading the tweets back on Sunday!
Right then, time I got that bag packed and thought about settling for a very early night.
Keep everything crossed for me to tomorrow folks. I have a feeling I'll need all the luck I can get!
Peace, out.
Thursday 19 January 2012
Thursday 19th January 2012 - Anglesey Ultra Kit Prep
No training for me today. I'm on a two day taper in readiness for the Anglesey Ultra on Saturday. I've never been beyond marathon distance before (well, other than by plane, train, car, or bike at any rate) and it's fair to say I am approaching it with some trepidation.
So far the Marathon des Sables has seemed like a jolly adventure; an excuse to get myself fit and to lose sleep over some charity fundraising. (Incidentally, I am losing a LOT of sleep over it... if you have a few quid please sponsor me because I'm getting desperate!!!) But with a tough 33 mile off road ultra-marathon looming in my very near future suddenly things look a little more serious. I am, of course, treating this as simply a training run. But it's a big step up and I have plenty of worries. What if my leg doesn't hold out? What if my fuelling or hydration plans are way off mark? What if my stomach plays up and I'm caught short in the wild? Biggest of all though.... what if I am not even close to being fit enough for it? I've done a lot of training but not enough to make me confident of achieving this. I'll give it my very best though.
I guess the only thing for it is to make it to the start line and then put one foot in front of the other over and over again until I either finish the race or it finishes me! I have, for once, put my laid back haphazard approach to life to one side and am getting myself organised. As illustrated in this photo.
This is the equipment and food I have ready so far. It looks a lot but I'm still a little worried it won't be enough and may supplement it today or tomorrow.
Listophobics.... look away now. Listoholics.... time to rub your thighs.... this will be a doozy!
ANGLESEY ULTRA MARATHON KIT LIST
Food for the race:
500g mixed fruit (1500 cal)
24x Belvita breakfast biscuits (1392 cal)
2x PowerBar (312 cal)
2x Clif Bars (390 cal)
3x Energy Gel (295 cal)
5x ISO sports drink (705 cal)
5Ltrs Water
[Total calories for consumption in-race: 5,594 cal]
Food for recovery:
2x Wild West Beef Jerky (300 cal)
1x packet Cous Cous (555 cal)
1x pot noodle (383 cal)
1x All Day Breakfast in can (450 cal)
[Total calories for consumption post-race: 1688 cal]
Emergency food:
1x packet Dates (696 cal)
1x Protein recovery shake (262 cal)
Clothing:
Brooks Ghost 4 trainers
Socks
Compression shorts
Normal shorts
3x T-shirts/tops
Jogging bottoms (in case of cold)
Gloves
Hat
Beanie
Water belt
Phone carrier
Windproof jacket
Safety kit:
First aid kit
Pea-less whistle
Foil Blanket
Head Torch
Spare Batteries
Ankle and calf strapping
Stretch fabric tape
Mobile phone
Creams and tablets:
Berocca
Electrolyte tablets
Vicks rub
Vaseline
Deep Heat
Nurofen
Deep Freeze
Halls vapour tablets
Ibuprofen gel
Miscellaneous equipment:
Swedish army cooker
Metholated spirits
Matches
Air Zone 35 backpack
Water bottle
Fork
Heart rate monitor
GPS watch
Tin opener (not pictured)
Sleeping bag (for after the event - not pictured)
Duvet (for after the event - not pictured)
All told I will have about 7,500 worth of calories of food in my pack when I set off although this can be added to by simply having more of the isotonic drink supplement I will be taking. I will also start the event with a good breakfast in me that should carry me through the first couple of hours. I hope that this will be enough. I have a real fear of feeling hungry and empty as this will affect my mental stamina too so I may add one or two more 'fatty' items to my pack before I start. The advantage of having some fat in the diet is that it produces a feeling of satisfaction and fullness that you just don't get from these high impact, low volume energy bars etc.
Tomorrow I'll talk a little about my other preparations, carbo-loading, sleep, plans for the day etc.
Until then, thanks for reading! Peace, out.
So far the Marathon des Sables has seemed like a jolly adventure; an excuse to get myself fit and to lose sleep over some charity fundraising. (Incidentally, I am losing a LOT of sleep over it... if you have a few quid please sponsor me because I'm getting desperate!!!) But with a tough 33 mile off road ultra-marathon looming in my very near future suddenly things look a little more serious. I am, of course, treating this as simply a training run. But it's a big step up and I have plenty of worries. What if my leg doesn't hold out? What if my fuelling or hydration plans are way off mark? What if my stomach plays up and I'm caught short in the wild? Biggest of all though.... what if I am not even close to being fit enough for it? I've done a lot of training but not enough to make me confident of achieving this. I'll give it my very best though.
I guess the only thing for it is to make it to the start line and then put one foot in front of the other over and over again until I either finish the race or it finishes me! I have, for once, put my laid back haphazard approach to life to one side and am getting myself organised. As illustrated in this photo.
This is the equipment and food I have ready so far. It looks a lot but I'm still a little worried it won't be enough and may supplement it today or tomorrow.
Listophobics.... look away now. Listoholics.... time to rub your thighs.... this will be a doozy!
ANGLESEY ULTRA MARATHON KIT LIST
Food for the race:
500g mixed fruit (1500 cal)
24x Belvita breakfast biscuits (1392 cal)
2x PowerBar (312 cal)
2x Clif Bars (390 cal)
3x Energy Gel (295 cal)
5x ISO sports drink (705 cal)
5Ltrs Water
[Total calories for consumption in-race: 5,594 cal]
Food for recovery:
2x Wild West Beef Jerky (300 cal)
1x packet Cous Cous (555 cal)
1x pot noodle (383 cal)
1x All Day Breakfast in can (450 cal)
[Total calories for consumption post-race: 1688 cal]
Emergency food:
1x packet Dates (696 cal)
1x Protein recovery shake (262 cal)
Clothing:
Brooks Ghost 4 trainers
Socks
Compression shorts
Normal shorts
3x T-shirts/tops
Jogging bottoms (in case of cold)
Gloves
Hat
Beanie
Water belt
Phone carrier
Windproof jacket
Safety kit:
First aid kit
Pea-less whistle
Foil Blanket
Head Torch
Spare Batteries
Ankle and calf strapping
Stretch fabric tape
Mobile phone
Creams and tablets:
Berocca
Electrolyte tablets
Vicks rub
Vaseline
Deep Heat
Nurofen
Deep Freeze
Halls vapour tablets
Ibuprofen gel
Miscellaneous equipment:
Swedish army cooker
Metholated spirits
Matches
Air Zone 35 backpack
Water bottle
Fork
Heart rate monitor
GPS watch
Tin opener (not pictured)
Sleeping bag (for after the event - not pictured)
Duvet (for after the event - not pictured)
All told I will have about 7,500 worth of calories of food in my pack when I set off although this can be added to by simply having more of the isotonic drink supplement I will be taking. I will also start the event with a good breakfast in me that should carry me through the first couple of hours. I hope that this will be enough. I have a real fear of feeling hungry and empty as this will affect my mental stamina too so I may add one or two more 'fatty' items to my pack before I start. The advantage of having some fat in the diet is that it produces a feeling of satisfaction and fullness that you just don't get from these high impact, low volume energy bars etc.
Tomorrow I'll talk a little about my other preparations, carbo-loading, sleep, plans for the day etc.
Until then, thanks for reading! Peace, out.
Wednesday 18th January 2012 - 90 mins X-Trainer
Total so far: £700.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
After getting some pain after 15 miles in two days on the treadmill I decided to go back on the elliptical. Or, as I have realised in the last day or two, the Cross-Trainer. It seems I am the only person in the world to call it an elliptical trainer. Or maybe there is such a thing as an elliptical trainer but I have not been on it. What I have been on is the cross trainer, or X-Trainer to save space. Anyway, whatever it is or isn't, I spent 90 minutes on it tonight. I find myself zoning out when I'm on it and I used the time to read some more (I'm reading a book about Shackleton's ill-fated mission to Antartica).
My legs were tired and weak by the end after three days of hard work but I feel good. I did a quick set of 15 reps on some machine that you sit on and pull things down to you. I won't attempt to name it. Then I went down and did 20 minutes in the sauna, unbroken. Usually I have to get out at about 15 minutes and cool down but I saw all 20 through. Then I jumped in the pool for 30 lengths and then back into the sauna for another 20. I didn't do this second twenty unbroken, I had to get out and grab a cold shower and re-fill my water bottle. By the end of the 20 I was drizzling water over myself from my bottle and feeling pretty dreadful. But I'm glad I pushed it a little and got to the 40 minutes.
That's the last training I'll do before the ultra on Saturday. My thoughts are now bending entirely to the challenge ahead. I bought my provisions and have made my plan but more about that in the next post.
All quiet on the fundraising front. It's been a week since my last donation so I need to step things up a little. I will spend some time today contacting more businesses and maybe see if I can use my Linked In or anything like that to promote it. I was supposed to be in the Whitchurch Herald but they didn't print the article. Oddly I did see a spike in hits to my blog but no donations came of it.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0 hrs
X-Trainer 1:30 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 500 m
Sauna 40 mins
TOTAL
Distance 344.48 miles
Time 62:51:43
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over
£9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
After getting some pain after 15 miles in two days on the treadmill I decided to go back on the elliptical. Or, as I have realised in the last day or two, the Cross-Trainer. It seems I am the only person in the world to call it an elliptical trainer. Or maybe there is such a thing as an elliptical trainer but I have not been on it. What I have been on is the cross trainer, or X-Trainer to save space. Anyway, whatever it is or isn't, I spent 90 minutes on it tonight. I find myself zoning out when I'm on it and I used the time to read some more (I'm reading a book about Shackleton's ill-fated mission to Antartica).
My legs were tired and weak by the end after three days of hard work but I feel good. I did a quick set of 15 reps on some machine that you sit on and pull things down to you. I won't attempt to name it. Then I went down and did 20 minutes in the sauna, unbroken. Usually I have to get out at about 15 minutes and cool down but I saw all 20 through. Then I jumped in the pool for 30 lengths and then back into the sauna for another 20. I didn't do this second twenty unbroken, I had to get out and grab a cold shower and re-fill my water bottle. By the end of the 20 I was drizzling water over myself from my bottle and feeling pretty dreadful. But I'm glad I pushed it a little and got to the 40 minutes.
That's the last training I'll do before the ultra on Saturday. My thoughts are now bending entirely to the challenge ahead. I bought my provisions and have made my plan but more about that in the next post.
All quiet on the fundraising front. It's been a week since my last donation so I need to step things up a little. I will spend some time today contacting more businesses and maybe see if I can use my Linked In or anything like that to promote it. I was supposed to be in the Whitchurch Herald but they didn't print the article. Oddly I did see a spike in hits to my blog but no donations came of it.
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0 hrs
X-Trainer 1:30 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 500 m
Sauna 40 mins
TOTAL
Distance 344.48 miles
Time 62:51:43
X-Trainer 17:41 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 13,000 m
Sauna 7:15 hrs
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over
£9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Wednesday 18th January 2012 - 6 miles treadmill
Total so far: £700.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
A solid 10Km on the treadmill tonight to give my calf another workout. I felt some soreness in my legs through the run and also afterwards but just tiredness, not injury (I hope!). I do have some pain in my right ankle and I think I will invest in a support for the ultra on Saturday. Before the treadmill I did some core strength work. I put more effort into this than I normally do and my heart rate was high even before I started on the treadmill.
Over the last week or so I've focused a little on my kit list. Most of the equipment I need has a pretty obvious safety function and some of it will be helpful on Saturday. I have bought a foil blanket; anyone who has ever wrapped one around themselves at the end of a cold marathon will testify how warm they are! Also, a pea-less whistle (great phrase!); a desert hat with neck shield; and a tiny first aid kit that seems to weigh only fractionally more than the air that surrounds it. I've also bought some gaters to keep the sand out of my trainers. This is an essential precaution as I am told that having sand in your shoes is a sure fire way to rip your feet to shreds in the desert.
The exotic nature of the Marathon des Sables is evidenced by the fact that I've also had to buy an anti-venom kit to suck out snake or scorpion venom quickly in case of a bite. The possibility of being bitten by a snake or a scorpion fills me full of dread and yet also a sort of boyish excitement. I hope I never have to use it but you have to say, it's kind of cool to need one.
I intend to write much more about each of these precautions as I get closer to the event (and learn how to use each of them!).Tonight I may go back on the elliptical just to give my calf and ankle a full three days to rest before the 33 mile ultra on Saturday but I'll see how I feel when I get to the gym.
On the fundraising front I emailed the PR departments of all the companies listed in last week's New Scientist recruitment special (random I know, it was the first thing that came to hand!). I have also listed out all the companies in the FTSE100 and the FTSE250 and over the coming days I intend to write to the PR departments of all of those firms asking for sponsorship. If you work for a company who might be willing to sponsor an honest and hardworking Welsh boy to do something a little useful with his life then please get in touch!
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 6.25 miles
Time 0:59:15 hrs
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 15 mins
TOTAL
Distance 344.48 miles
Time 62:51:43
Elliptical 16:11 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:35 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
A solid 10Km on the treadmill tonight to give my calf another workout. I felt some soreness in my legs through the run and also afterwards but just tiredness, not injury (I hope!). I do have some pain in my right ankle and I think I will invest in a support for the ultra on Saturday. Before the treadmill I did some core strength work. I put more effort into this than I normally do and my heart rate was high even before I started on the treadmill.
Over the last week or so I've focused a little on my kit list. Most of the equipment I need has a pretty obvious safety function and some of it will be helpful on Saturday. I have bought a foil blanket; anyone who has ever wrapped one around themselves at the end of a cold marathon will testify how warm they are! Also, a pea-less whistle (great phrase!); a desert hat with neck shield; and a tiny first aid kit that seems to weigh only fractionally more than the air that surrounds it. I've also bought some gaters to keep the sand out of my trainers. This is an essential precaution as I am told that having sand in your shoes is a sure fire way to rip your feet to shreds in the desert.
The exotic nature of the Marathon des Sables is evidenced by the fact that I've also had to buy an anti-venom kit to suck out snake or scorpion venom quickly in case of a bite. The possibility of being bitten by a snake or a scorpion fills me full of dread and yet also a sort of boyish excitement. I hope I never have to use it but you have to say, it's kind of cool to need one.
I intend to write much more about each of these precautions as I get closer to the event (and learn how to use each of them!).Tonight I may go back on the elliptical just to give my calf and ankle a full three days to rest before the 33 mile ultra on Saturday but I'll see how I feel when I get to the gym.
On the fundraising front I emailed the PR departments of all the companies listed in last week's New Scientist recruitment special (random I know, it was the first thing that came to hand!). I have also listed out all the companies in the FTSE100 and the FTSE250 and over the coming days I intend to write to the PR departments of all of those firms asking for sponsorship. If you work for a company who might be willing to sponsor an honest and hardworking Welsh boy to do something a little useful with his life then please get in touch!
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 6.25 miles
Time 0:59:15 hrs
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 15 mins
TOTAL
Distance 344.48 miles
Time 62:51:43
Elliptical 16:11 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:35 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Monday 16 January 2012
Monday 16th January 2012 - 9 mile treadmill
Total so far: £700.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Another big step on the road to recovery tonight. And also a big step on the road to the Sahara perhaps? I gave my calf a proper test in the gym, running 15km. I wanted to run 10 miles and my usual combination of confidence and ignorance meant that I didn't check how many Km it was. Turns out it's not 15. It's a little more. So in the end I only did 9.32 miles but I didn't know it until just now when I checked. Never mind. I'm happy with 9 miles at roughly 10 mpm pace.
My leg held out pretty well. I had some pain in my right ankle before things got warm and loose. Then, at about the 70 minute mark, I got a growing pain directly at the site of the muscle tear but it only lasted about five minutes and it eased off as I slowed the tempo a little to prepare for my warm down. I'll wait and see how it fares over night. Right now (about 2 hours after the end of the run) it feels fine and I have no pain :)
I'll have another short run tomorrow and Wednesday but then I intend to take two full days off before the true test on Saturday. The 33 mile Anglesey ultra-marathon. It'll be the longest event I've ever competed in and I'm really looking forward to seeing how my body copes with it. I'm targeting a time of 10 hours to finish although I don't know if there are cut off times that are quicker. Ten hours works out to about 18 mpm and I think I can maintain that as long as I don't linger too long at the checkpoints etc. It's nice to have a target but of course my main focus is just on finishing it at all!
On the fundraising front I got knocked back by tesco locally. I have to go through a central organisation in London to collect at a tesco so I'll give them a call. I also want to find locations for some collection boxes this week and get them in place and collecting money as soon as possible. As I've mentioned before, if you know of anywhere suitable to house one for a few months please let me know!
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 9.32 miles
Time 1:34:22 hrs
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 338.23 miles
Time 61:52:28
Elliptical 16:11 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:20 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Another big step on the road to recovery tonight. And also a big step on the road to the Sahara perhaps? I gave my calf a proper test in the gym, running 15km. I wanted to run 10 miles and my usual combination of confidence and ignorance meant that I didn't check how many Km it was. Turns out it's not 15. It's a little more. So in the end I only did 9.32 miles but I didn't know it until just now when I checked. Never mind. I'm happy with 9 miles at roughly 10 mpm pace.
My leg held out pretty well. I had some pain in my right ankle before things got warm and loose. Then, at about the 70 minute mark, I got a growing pain directly at the site of the muscle tear but it only lasted about five minutes and it eased off as I slowed the tempo a little to prepare for my warm down. I'll wait and see how it fares over night. Right now (about 2 hours after the end of the run) it feels fine and I have no pain :)
I'll have another short run tomorrow and Wednesday but then I intend to take two full days off before the true test on Saturday. The 33 mile Anglesey ultra-marathon. It'll be the longest event I've ever competed in and I'm really looking forward to seeing how my body copes with it. I'm targeting a time of 10 hours to finish although I don't know if there are cut off times that are quicker. Ten hours works out to about 18 mpm and I think I can maintain that as long as I don't linger too long at the checkpoints etc. It's nice to have a target but of course my main focus is just on finishing it at all!
On the fundraising front I got knocked back by tesco locally. I have to go through a central organisation in London to collect at a tesco so I'll give them a call. I also want to find locations for some collection boxes this week and get them in place and collecting money as soon as possible. As I've mentioned before, if you know of anywhere suitable to house one for a few months please let me know!
Thanks for reading folks! Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 9.32 miles
Time 1:34:22 hrs
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 338.23 miles
Time 61:52:28
Elliptical 16:11 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:20 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Friday 13 January 2012
Thursday 12th January 2012 - Another treadmill test
Total so far: £695.53
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Well I gave my legs another tester on the treadmill. This time I did a mile at roughly 11 mpm pace. The good news is that I did it. The bad news is that I felt some pain in my lower right leg. I just don't know if this is a sign that the leg is not healed or whether it's just that I haven't run on it for a month and that I'm now stretching around the scar tissue after the muscle tear. I wasn't limping and the pain wasn't severe and didn't linger long after I finished. I have a rest day today and I think I will avoid the treadmill at the weekend and stick to the elliptical just to be safe and then next week I'll test it again. However, I have booked myself a "do or die" challenge the following weekend. The Anglesey ultra-marathon. It's a 33 mile off-road course. I know, I know. I never was the sharpest pin in the cushion but it's all off road and I intend to walk a lot of it and use it to test my kit out (cooker, dried food, etc). I will probably have three or four days of complete rest afterwards and see where I am after that. Keep everything crossed for me!
So anyway, after the mile on the treadmill I did 77 minutes on the elliptical (eqiuvalent to 7 miles at 11mpm) and then went home. I didn't even shower at the gym because I was worried about my legs so instead I got home and sat in a deep hot bath for a while. As I write this (7am the following morning) I have no pain and can stand easily on my toes.
On the fundraising front the fund I got another £41 in donations. Thank you Zoe & Pyme and thank you to the two folks who donated via SMS. With the uncounted money that is sitting in the collection pot I'm using for leafleting I know I now have over £700 in the total. Thank you :)
Lastly, I got my photo taken for the Whitchurch Herald. Hopefully they will feature it in next week's edition. I made some changes for the photo though after the unflattering one that was in the Leader. I lost the hat! Fingers crossed that it generates some more sponsorship. I also sent some text to the "Essentially Yours" magazine and with any luck I'll be in the next edition. Rest day tomorrow!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 1 miles
Time 0:11 hrs
Elliptical 1:17 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 328.91 miles
Time 60:18:06
Elliptical 16:11 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:20 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" (without quotes) to 70070 to donate £5 to Mencap. Change the amount to whatever you are comfortable with.
Click on the "Donate Now" link in the sidebar or visit www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet.
Thanks!
Well I gave my legs another tester on the treadmill. This time I did a mile at roughly 11 mpm pace. The good news is that I did it. The bad news is that I felt some pain in my lower right leg. I just don't know if this is a sign that the leg is not healed or whether it's just that I haven't run on it for a month and that I'm now stretching around the scar tissue after the muscle tear. I wasn't limping and the pain wasn't severe and didn't linger long after I finished. I have a rest day today and I think I will avoid the treadmill at the weekend and stick to the elliptical just to be safe and then next week I'll test it again. However, I have booked myself a "do or die" challenge the following weekend. The Anglesey ultra-marathon. It's a 33 mile off-road course. I know, I know. I never was the sharpest pin in the cushion but it's all off road and I intend to walk a lot of it and use it to test my kit out (cooker, dried food, etc). I will probably have three or four days of complete rest afterwards and see where I am after that. Keep everything crossed for me!
So anyway, after the mile on the treadmill I did 77 minutes on the elliptical (eqiuvalent to 7 miles at 11mpm) and then went home. I didn't even shower at the gym because I was worried about my legs so instead I got home and sat in a deep hot bath for a while. As I write this (7am the following morning) I have no pain and can stand easily on my toes.
On the fundraising front the fund I got another £41 in donations. Thank you Zoe & Pyme and thank you to the two folks who donated via SMS. With the uncounted money that is sitting in the collection pot I'm using for leafleting I know I now have over £700 in the total. Thank you :)
Lastly, I got my photo taken for the Whitchurch Herald. Hopefully they will feature it in next week's edition. I made some changes for the photo though after the unflattering one that was in the Leader. I lost the hat! Fingers crossed that it generates some more sponsorship. I also sent some text to the "Essentially Yours" magazine and with any luck I'll be in the next edition. Rest day tomorrow!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 1 miles
Time 0:11 hrs
Elliptical 1:17 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 328.91 miles
Time 60:18:06
Elliptical 16:11 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:20 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Thursday 12 January 2012
Wednesday 11th January 2012 - Back on my toes
I ran tonight. For the first time since the 17th December I got on my toes and ran. OK, it was only for half a mile and it was on a treadmill and it was very slow. But I ran! I had a few natural twinges and pains but nothing specifically in the area of the torn muscle and nothing that has lingered to the morning (I'm writing this the day after). I think tonight I will risk taking a mile of my plan and doing it on the treadmill to see how it goes. If I can get off the elliptical and back on my toes it will do my confidence a lot of good. For all the nerves I had stepping on the mill; it felt fantastic to be running again!!!
The rest of the workout seems a little irrelevant but I'll relate them anyway. I started with some core exercises (bridges etc - how boring they are!), then the treadmill for half a mile, then an hour on the elliptical (I finished Lord of the Rings!), 60 lengths in the pool, and finally a quick ten minutes in the sauna to finish off.
On the fundraising front I contacted a couple more newspapers and also one radio station to see about publicity. Oh, and I asked Mencap for a branded t-shirt to wear when collecting so I look less like some dodgy geezer embezzling fag money from passers by and more like a dedicated and hard working charity fundraiser trying desperately to meet his target! The fund went up by £35 today. Thank you Joe and thank you Joanne (great advice about my feet!!).
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0.5 miles
Time 0:06 hrs
Elliptical 1:00 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 1500 m
Sauna 10 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.91 miles
Time 60:07:06
Elliptical 14:54 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:20 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
The rest of the workout seems a little irrelevant but I'll relate them anyway. I started with some core exercises (bridges etc - how boring they are!), then the treadmill for half a mile, then an hour on the elliptical (I finished Lord of the Rings!), 60 lengths in the pool, and finally a quick ten minutes in the sauna to finish off.
On the fundraising front I contacted a couple more newspapers and also one radio station to see about publicity. Oh, and I asked Mencap for a branded t-shirt to wear when collecting so I look less like some dodgy geezer embezzling fag money from passers by and more like a dedicated and hard working charity fundraiser trying desperately to meet his target! The fund went up by £35 today. Thank you Joe and thank you Joanne (great advice about my feet!!).
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0.5 miles
Time 0:06 hrs
Elliptical 1:00 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 1500 m
Sauna 10 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.91 miles
Time 60:07:06
Elliptical 14:54 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 12,500 m
Sauna 6:20 mins
Contact me: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be cool and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Wednesday 11 January 2012
Tuesday 10th January 2012 - 2:48 hrs elliptical
Fourteen miles on my plan tonight so I translated that to 2hrs 48 mins on the elliptical. I forgot my ipod and so it was gym dance music all the way again. Like alcohol, I think your tolerance increases through exposure so the impulse to claw my ears from my head was lessened this time around. Although the version of "With or Without You" they played should be criminalised.
Anyway, I took my kindle and so I was able to take my mind off the effort and the music by reading more of Lord of the Rings. Gollum fell into Mount Doom with the ring last night so to be honest the time absolutely flew by. In fact I came to the end of the session before I came to the end of the book and was a little disappointed to have to leave it! But on the whole I was very pleased with the work I did. I found it much easier than the 14 miles I did last week with no 'wobbliness' when I got off the machine like I had had on previous sessions. One problem I did have though is that my jogging bottoms have rubbed the front of my thighs so much that they are red raw and stung like crazy in the pool.
After the elliptical I went down to the pool and eeked out 20 minutes in the sauna although I had to have several cold showers to get me through it because my body was still hot after the workout. Finally I threw in 10 lengths to cool me down. It might have been 12 though, after the depressing realisation that I had lost count. Quite a feat considering I was only counting to ten!!
A great day on the fundraising front too. The total has gone up to £619.53, plus I have some uncounted money in my pot from the weekend to add yet. Thank you Bridget, Nigel and those who donated anonymously through SMS. I'm very grateful. I got my event featured on my work's intranet and had a long talk to a journalist from the Whitchurch Herald. I am going on Thursday to have some new photos taken (note to self.... pull tummy in for photo!). Hopefully they will run a story on me next week. Fingers crossed! I also wrote letters to the managers of Tesco, Sainsbury, ASDA, and Morrisons supermarkets in Wrexham, Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch. The letters ask for donations and also ask for permission to run collections at their sites. Fingers crossed again!
Phew, busy day!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0 hrs
Elliptical 2:48 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 20
Swimming 250 m
Sauna 20 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.41 miles
Time 60:01:06
Elliptical 13:54 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 11,000 m
Sauna 6:10 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £619.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Anyway, I took my kindle and so I was able to take my mind off the effort and the music by reading more of Lord of the Rings. Gollum fell into Mount Doom with the ring last night so to be honest the time absolutely flew by. In fact I came to the end of the session before I came to the end of the book and was a little disappointed to have to leave it! But on the whole I was very pleased with the work I did. I found it much easier than the 14 miles I did last week with no 'wobbliness' when I got off the machine like I had had on previous sessions. One problem I did have though is that my jogging bottoms have rubbed the front of my thighs so much that they are red raw and stung like crazy in the pool.
After the elliptical I went down to the pool and eeked out 20 minutes in the sauna although I had to have several cold showers to get me through it because my body was still hot after the workout. Finally I threw in 10 lengths to cool me down. It might have been 12 though, after the depressing realisation that I had lost count. Quite a feat considering I was only counting to ten!!
A great day on the fundraising front too. The total has gone up to £619.53, plus I have some uncounted money in my pot from the weekend to add yet. Thank you Bridget, Nigel and those who donated anonymously through SMS. I'm very grateful. I got my event featured on my work's intranet and had a long talk to a journalist from the Whitchurch Herald. I am going on Thursday to have some new photos taken (note to self.... pull tummy in for photo!). Hopefully they will run a story on me next week. Fingers crossed! I also wrote letters to the managers of Tesco, Sainsbury, ASDA, and Morrisons supermarkets in Wrexham, Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch. The letters ask for donations and also ask for permission to run collections at their sites. Fingers crossed again!
Phew, busy day!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0 hrs
Elliptical 2:48 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 20
Swimming 250 m
Sauna 20 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.41 miles
Time 60:01:06
Elliptical 13:54 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 620
Swimming 11,000 m
Sauna 6:10 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £619.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP.
There are 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability. Most are treated as ‘different’ however with the right support people with a learning disability can have access to education, jobs and an independent place to live. Mencap works with people with a learning disability to help them live the lives they want.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Monday 9 January 2012
Monday 9th January 2012 - Evening Leader article
Today is a rest day on my schedule so nothing occuring on the training front (apart from 100 press-ups done to punish myself for more lapses of motivation work-wise). However it was a very good day for fundraising. I got my photo and a great write up on page 3 of the paper. I'm really grateful to the Wrexham Evening Leader for the help they gave publicising the effort. Hopefully it will lay the ground for when I drop leaflets around the Wrexham area over the coming weeks. I think I look really fat in the picture but hopefully that will help the sponsorship as people look at it and think that I need all the help I can get!!
I saw the benefit of the leaflets I dropped yesterday with Grace and it pushed my fundraising up to around the £600 mark! I'm absolutely delighted! A huge thank you to all those who sponsored me today and yesterday; especially Liz who generously donated £50, increased to £62.50 with Gift Aid - awesome, thanks Liz!! I'm grateful for every donation, large or small. They all help me to get closer to my target.
I have the remaining leaflets to drop and then I'll get a new batch made up. I think for the second set I will try to push for business sponsorship. I can include the logo and perhaps a small advertising message on the leaflets so that for a sponsorship at a certain level I can give firms a free leaflet drop to 2,000 homes in the area. If you are reading this and you know of a company who might benefit from this then do let me know. I would love to be able to help some local firms out at the same time as growing my sponsorship fund.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 100
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.41 miles
Time 60:01:06
Elliptical 11:06 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 600
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £597.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
I saw the benefit of the leaflets I dropped yesterday with Grace and it pushed my fundraising up to around the £600 mark! I'm absolutely delighted! A huge thank you to all those who sponsored me today and yesterday; especially Liz who generously donated £50, increased to £62.50 with Gift Aid - awesome, thanks Liz!! I'm grateful for every donation, large or small. They all help me to get closer to my target.
I have the remaining leaflets to drop and then I'll get a new batch made up. I think for the second set I will try to push for business sponsorship. I can include the logo and perhaps a small advertising message on the leaflets so that for a sponsorship at a certain level I can give firms a free leaflet drop to 2,000 homes in the area. If you are reading this and you know of a company who might benefit from this then do let me know. I would love to be able to help some local firms out at the same time as growing my sponsorship fund.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 100
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.41 miles
Time 60:01:06
Elliptical 11:06 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 600
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £597.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Sunday 8 January 2012
Sunday 8th January 2012 - Leafleting
Today was leafleting day. I hadn't been too sure where to start really. A part of me was a little nervous of doing it in the area where I'm from because it felt a little awkward dropping leaflets introducing myself to people that I'd known my whole life. So even as I went to bed last night I was planning to go to an area where I know no one. However when I woke up I realised that I would get more sponsorship from people who knew me than I would from strangers and it would be crazy to focus on areas where I would get less sponsorship. And also I knew that once I had done the areas where everyone knows me then I wouldn't be nearly as nervous when it came to leafleting in areas where I don't know anyone.
So it was that I set out this morning and started in Penley. I was blessed with a very able assistant, my eight year old daughter Grace. She was a little star and took to leafleting like a duck to water. However her participation has slightly limited my blogging options. I had intended to elicit sympathy and admiration by writing about how tough leafleting is and how much physical effort I put in. But I can't now because Grace stayed with me almost the whole day and her legs are much shorter. I guess that pro-rata she probably covered nearly double the distance that I did!
I think we dropped around 1,000 leaflets and a look at my Just Giving page tonight shows that it has generated some new, and very welcome, sponsorship. I also got some donations into my tin. Leafleting is quite tough work but it's more than compensated for by the lovely folks you meet. We found many friendly and lovely people and I really enjoyed chatting to all of them.
It's a rest day tomorrow but I might do a couple more hours of leaflet dropping if I get a chance. Then it's back to the elliptical on Tuesday and also on to a 'media watch' to see when they use my piece in the Evening Leader. I forgot to mention in the blog that I got my photo taken on Friday. Fingers crossed that the pictures are OK. To be honest I'm not the most photogenic person in the world so part of me is dreading it! But hopefully it will generate some more interest and thus some more sponsorship.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 12.13 miles
Time 5:10:28
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.41 miles
Time 60:01:06
Elliptical 11:06 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 500
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £521.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
So it was that I set out this morning and started in Penley. I was blessed with a very able assistant, my eight year old daughter Grace. She was a little star and took to leafleting like a duck to water. However her participation has slightly limited my blogging options. I had intended to elicit sympathy and admiration by writing about how tough leafleting is and how much physical effort I put in. But I can't now because Grace stayed with me almost the whole day and her legs are much shorter. I guess that pro-rata she probably covered nearly double the distance that I did!
I think we dropped around 1,000 leaflets and a look at my Just Giving page tonight shows that it has generated some new, and very welcome, sponsorship. I also got some donations into my tin. Leafleting is quite tough work but it's more than compensated for by the lovely folks you meet. We found many friendly and lovely people and I really enjoyed chatting to all of them.
It's a rest day tomorrow but I might do a couple more hours of leaflet dropping if I get a chance. Then it's back to the elliptical on Tuesday and also on to a 'media watch' to see when they use my piece in the Evening Leader. I forgot to mention in the blog that I got my photo taken on Friday. Fingers crossed that the pictures are OK. To be honest I'm not the most photogenic person in the world so part of me is dreading it! But hopefully it will generate some more interest and thus some more sponsorship.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 12.13 miles
Time 5:10:28
Elliptical 0 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 327.41 miles
Time 60:01:06
Elliptical 11:06 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 500
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £521.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
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