Only a week to go before my fundraising run between Bournemouth Hospital and Wave105 in order to link the two charities. Tricia 'offered' (well, actually she was coerced into agreeing but in reality, as there were pubs involved she didn't take too much persuading!) to come out with me last Friday in order to drop off the posters / flyers and charity tins to the 6 pubs who had kindly confirmed they would support my idea :
- for Saturday this would be The House Martin in Barton-on-Sea then The Gun Inn at Keyhaven finishing at The Turfcutters in East Boldre
- for Sunday, The Waterloo Arms in Lyndhurst followed by The Platform Tavern in Southampton before hitting The Victory Inn down in Hamble
We hoped to do impromptu collections at the same time and the landlords and ladies didn't let us down...amazingly we collected a total of £229.37! One guy graciously dropped a £50 note in the bucket once I had looked him in the eyes and told him what I was doing was for real.....it was a real 'lump in the back of the throat' moment when we realised what he had done : again I'm gobsmacked at how generous and trusting a lot of people are.
The awful news was that despite rushing round the 6 pubs, not a drop of liquid passed our lips nor did we manage to have time to grab anything to eat! It was a long drive back home and can't believe that I'll be running that same distance in a few days time (gulp!).
My 'support crew' has been finalised : Saturday will be Ellen and Liz as the double act in the car then Lauren (doubling up as my official FaceBook photo taker), Debbie, Tricia and Debs on the bikes. For Sunday, Ellen in the car and Lauren, Caro and Tricia on two wheels. I'm really looking forward to it but scared at the same time - I just hope that the weather sorts it's act out and doesn't rain on us. I've even asked everyone to wear the charity t shirts over the top of their waterproofs if this does happen!
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Wednesday 13 June 2012
Marathon # 6 - South Downs
So the weather has decided to play ball with us today as dawn broke to blue sky and fluffy white clouds - haven't seen either of those in quite a number of weeks. The wind was still keen and chilly and would be against us for most of the route but, beggars can't be choosers!
Just Caro and I representing BJs today so after picking her up at the crack of dawn (6.15!) we headed over to Queen Elizabeth Country Park just outside Petersfield. As soon as we started chatting with others we both felt a little over shadowed - many were mega ultra marathoners and even my 20 in 2012 appeared to fade into insignificance! Some were using this run as training for the South Down 100 miler or the UK Trailwalker 100k and indeed whilst we were on the course, we saw the Ghurka's training for the latter.
Anyway, we caught the coach shuttle to Slindon College where we tucked into (cold) bacon sarnies, (squashed) pastries and (weird tasting) tea and then watched the earlier runners start on their journey. A couple of runners were obviously members of CanniX (where you run with dogs) and their canine companions were dragging them along...maybe a bit of an unfair advantage when they get to the many hills?
Anyway, soon we were off and heading along country lanes (where we were told to slow down by a couple of riders on very nervous horses!) and then hit the tracks uphill...and continued to run uphill for the next 3 miles!
Despite the horrendous weather we've been having, the going underfoot was perfect - very little mud or puddles (boo hoo) and hard going. The course was in 4 'parts', each with a stiff uphill then undulating for miles before a sharp drop down into the valley and the checkpoints then up we went again. The views from the top of the downs were absolutely stunning : green fields and woodlands with pretty little villages dotted here and there.
Caro and I ran together for the majority of the route, maybe one of us going ahead and then waiting for the other at the top of an incline or at a checkpoint. Constant chatter about how we were enjoying this. The finish was back at QE Park and after a final drag uphill, the last mile or so was gradually downhill on gravel and tarmac - easy running for tired legs. However, the last 800m was back in the woods with exposed tree routes. Caro suddenly stopped running here and told me to go on but I was sure that she would catch me up. She didn't and I waited for her to finish after I had crossed the line in 4.05 (almost an hour quicker than I had run it last time, although I had been jet lagged on that occasion!). It was another minute or so before she appeared and sporting blood injuries having hit the deck in that last bit unfortunately. So first stop after collecting our goodie bags was the first aid tent!
Fantastic event, well organised from start to finish including sorting the weather out for us.
I've now got a break of nearly 9 weeks before my next marathon but then they get really serious...4 in a week to kick off the 2nd half of the year!
Just Caro and I representing BJs today so after picking her up at the crack of dawn (6.15!) we headed over to Queen Elizabeth Country Park just outside Petersfield. As soon as we started chatting with others we both felt a little over shadowed - many were mega ultra marathoners and even my 20 in 2012 appeared to fade into insignificance! Some were using this run as training for the South Down 100 miler or the UK Trailwalker 100k and indeed whilst we were on the course, we saw the Ghurka's training for the latter.
Anyway, we caught the coach shuttle to Slindon College where we tucked into (cold) bacon sarnies, (squashed) pastries and (weird tasting) tea and then watched the earlier runners start on their journey. A couple of runners were obviously members of CanniX (where you run with dogs) and their canine companions were dragging them along...maybe a bit of an unfair advantage when they get to the many hills?
Anyway, soon we were off and heading along country lanes (where we were told to slow down by a couple of riders on very nervous horses!) and then hit the tracks uphill...and continued to run uphill for the next 3 miles!
Despite the horrendous weather we've been having, the going underfoot was perfect - very little mud or puddles (boo hoo) and hard going. The course was in 4 'parts', each with a stiff uphill then undulating for miles before a sharp drop down into the valley and the checkpoints then up we went again. The views from the top of the downs were absolutely stunning : green fields and woodlands with pretty little villages dotted here and there.
Caro and I ran together for the majority of the route, maybe one of us going ahead and then waiting for the other at the top of an incline or at a checkpoint. Constant chatter about how we were enjoying this. The finish was back at QE Park and after a final drag uphill, the last mile or so was gradually downhill on gravel and tarmac - easy running for tired legs. However, the last 800m was back in the woods with exposed tree routes. Caro suddenly stopped running here and told me to go on but I was sure that she would catch me up. She didn't and I waited for her to finish after I had crossed the line in 4.05 (almost an hour quicker than I had run it last time, although I had been jet lagged on that occasion!). It was another minute or so before she appeared and sporting blood injuries having hit the deck in that last bit unfortunately. So first stop after collecting our goodie bags was the first aid tent!
Fantastic event, well organised from start to finish including sorting the weather out for us.
I've now got a break of nearly 9 weeks before my next marathon but then they get really serious...4 in a week to kick off the 2nd half of the year!
Monday 4 June 2012
Been to London to see the Queen!
Training has taken a bit of a back seat these last few days as I've been exceptionally busy, out with friends! Ran on Monday (and the good news was that I was back to my normal sprightly self so yesterday was definitely an 'off' day). Speed session on Tuesday at work as usual : again that was absolutely fine. Wednesday, out with Tricia and Ellen for pizza. Thursday I coached BJ's in a FHAB speed session over at Hengistbury Head then on Friday, Pat, Ellen, Tricia, Helen, Gill, Di and I all took part in a Twilight 10k Walk for Jigsaw along Bournemouth seafront and back. Didn't stop gassing for the whole journey (nothing new there then!) and it definitely felt really weird pinning a number onto my shirt yet not running!
Saturday John and I took the train up to London to watch the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames the following day. Staked out the best spot on Saturday...in the sunshine! We were then up at 6 and in situ by 7.15, in the first row, opposite the Shard and between London and Tower Bridge. Unfortunately, just one hour before the 'off' and after we had been standing for more than 7 hours, we had a 3 level 'party' boat moor right in front of us - to say we were annoyed was an understatement and listening to the BBC1 coverage later, we could hear all of us chanting 'move that boat'. He wouldn't so we lost most of our vista although we could still see the boats coming under London Bridge and then were able to pick them up again once they were parallel to us.
It drizzled most of the morning but around the time the pageant started way up the river, it had stopped and was looking hopeful of a dry journey. Not so....just as the boats came into view the heavens opened. But it didn't dampen our enthusiasm one bit. The sight was amazing and we were able to get a really good view of the Royal Family aboard the gold barge which was huge and even though the sun wasn't shining, you could still appreciate the colours. Flags were flying and the crowd screamed and the rain poured down!
Once it was all over, there were huge queues to get back into the tube station and once back at Waterloo, the train was chocca with standing room only! We had already been standing constantly for over 12 hours, so decided to grab something hot to eat and drink and catch the next one home. Another two days without any running!
On a positive, the upcoming 'training' run between Jigsaw and Wave is now coming together nicely. I've got 6 pubs confirmed as willing to help including one in Lyndhurst so I've had to slightly amend the end of the first day and start of the second in order to maximise fundraising opportunities! Plan is to pop over to see all of them w/comm 18 June and drop of flyers / tins etc and hopefully, do an impromptu collection too.
I've now added up all the gift aid contributions for the sponsors on my paper sheets and added that to the offline total and the great news is that I've virtually hit £3,000 so have had to up the total AGAIN to £3,500.
A great weekend and congratulations Her Majesty!
Saturday John and I took the train up to London to watch the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the Thames the following day. Staked out the best spot on Saturday...in the sunshine! We were then up at 6 and in situ by 7.15, in the first row, opposite the Shard and between London and Tower Bridge. Unfortunately, just one hour before the 'off' and after we had been standing for more than 7 hours, we had a 3 level 'party' boat moor right in front of us - to say we were annoyed was an understatement and listening to the BBC1 coverage later, we could hear all of us chanting 'move that boat'. He wouldn't so we lost most of our vista although we could still see the boats coming under London Bridge and then were able to pick them up again once they were parallel to us.
It drizzled most of the morning but around the time the pageant started way up the river, it had stopped and was looking hopeful of a dry journey. Not so....just as the boats came into view the heavens opened. But it didn't dampen our enthusiasm one bit. The sight was amazing and we were able to get a really good view of the Royal Family aboard the gold barge which was huge and even though the sun wasn't shining, you could still appreciate the colours. Flags were flying and the crowd screamed and the rain poured down!
Once it was all over, there were huge queues to get back into the tube station and once back at Waterloo, the train was chocca with standing room only! We had already been standing constantly for over 12 hours, so decided to grab something hot to eat and drink and catch the next one home. Another two days without any running!
On a positive, the upcoming 'training' run between Jigsaw and Wave is now coming together nicely. I've got 6 pubs confirmed as willing to help including one in Lyndhurst so I've had to slightly amend the end of the first day and start of the second in order to maximise fundraising opportunities! Plan is to pop over to see all of them w/comm 18 June and drop of flyers / tins etc and hopefully, do an impromptu collection too.
I've now added up all the gift aid contributions for the sponsors on my paper sheets and added that to the offline total and the great news is that I've virtually hit £3,000 so have had to up the total AGAIN to £3,500.
A great weekend and congratulations Her Majesty!
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