The next challenge awaits!

Just a quick one as working.  Sorry I am reading comments but for some reason the site wont allow me to respond! will figure it out hopefully! (hello to my new follower by the way!) :D ok, so the next training run has been entered. 21st November, Conwy Half Marathon. GULP! tis a hilly one. a very hilly one.... I must be mad.. catch you all soon! :D

keeping the miles rolling

So, a question for you all. What keeps you motivated, now the nights are rolling in, and its getting cold outside, and you just want to snuggle on the sofa rather than get out and feel the fresh (ok lets be honest. cold) air in your lungs and getting soggy in the rain. What are your motivators?
I had a bit of an "unmotivated period" for the last week whereby the magnitude of what was facing me pulled my rug out as it were!! So i decided, and to quote the wise words of one of my best friends... Baby steps. I have dropped my distance right back, with one long run per week. I have increased my speed to push myself out of the comfort zone, I have decided that I can only do what I can do, within the abilities of my body and at the times I am able to do it. And as a result I am finding that the time to exercise is revealing itself more readily.
This last few days I have noticed the small acheivements and the motivation is coming in looking for many more. Like my personal best 5k time yesterday. I wanted to collapse but my god it made me feel like I had really acheived. The lb weight loss this week. tiddly to some but again, a motivating acheivement. Feeling the people that I am doing this for standing besides me when I am ready to hit the emergency stop button! (something that happens far to frequently!) motivating me not to be a quitter and to carry on, and the last? the warmth of a good gym!!

So remember, when its easier to sit on the sofa, or make an excuse to lay in if you are a morning runner, cut it back. notice the small acheivements, aim for the small goal and I am sure you will find that motivation sticking around for much much longer!!

Time for my MOT!

Quick update. looking for my next event!! preferably a half marathon some time in the middle of november? any ideas?

Well today is angela MOT day, leading by example and having a full health check at the doctors to ensure I am fit, well, medically if not physically!! to carry on!! So doctors appointment at 1720. wish me luck!! I was amazed to discover my doctors offer this service, including ecg free of charge. Your medical authority may offer a similar service too. :D

For now I have dropped my running distance right back and am concentrating on building speed while i'm running and toning this slightly flabby body!! I seriously and definitely need nutritional advice asap my diet is abysmal! sadly I have an exceptionally sweet tooth and find it hard to resist. oops!

And in other news, a while ago I volunteered to act as regional co-ordinator on a voluntary basis for help for heroes. Due to circumstances beyond control I wasnt able to progress this at that time. However now I am free, I know which direction I am looking to move in and am looking to progress this forward... Charity events a go go!! as if I needed to take more on!! LOL!! So, i am off to call them, pre MOT, whilst cooking Quorn casserole!! Whoop!!! :D

and miles to go before I sleep.....

Well, lots of news to impart to you all today!! Today is the 11th of October, the day after the 10th of the 10th of the 10th, the day that I ran a half marathon on the hottest october day I can remember! (and i'm a little bit sunburnt... oops!)
2 Hrs 36.33 was my time to beat, that time set in a very hilly half a good few weeks back. easy peasy I thought, Peterborough is a flat course, I can make it in 2 hrs 15!!! Ha! Yeah! whatever!!!
I  set off at a really good steady, comfortable pace, made it to the half way line feeling comfortable but achey, 8 miles in and I REEEEALLY ached. Heat and painful legs were the causes. And then the heat started to get to people, I saw people that had fainted being treated by paramedics, at one time 3 people in the same place!! I have to admit I was genuinely concerned and Just wanted to make it home to the finish line, so I abandoned thoughts of a target time and aimed instead for the "get me round safely" time. I ran 10 miles in 1 hr 57 and hurt hurt hurt!! 10-11 was mainly walking before stepping up the pace to 11-12. About 11 1/2 miles 3 ambulances shot past. At 12 1/2 miles a man, a member of a running club and seasoned HM runner I now know, was having CPR administered by the roadside. Today in the news I discover that he too fell victim to the same hidden cardiac complaint that Duncan did. Literally carrying a ticking time bomb in his chest that decide to explode. When will the medical profession make a basic ecg a compulsory part of life for every person every 10 years? to prevent more deaths such as my gorgeous friend and this poor man that died at the side of the road with his family and fellow running club members waiting for him to reach the finish line? How many people are out there with similar ticking timb bombs yet to go off? I made it home in just under 2hrs 35 and to say I was relieved to be there was an understatement!
Yesterday really hit home to me the magnitude of the events that I am taking on next year, Just how fit, trained and ready I will need to be to get through the year unscathed. all I can say right now is GULP!!! but also that the determination is so so strong to do it. I will I will I will!!! (and yes, I have booked for a basic ECG, just to make sure ;) ) 
I chatted to a trainer at the gym on saturday regarding some personal training to set me on the right route, turns out he is a triathalon trainer and sports massage therapist. Fab person to know then!!! :D I know that Cardio wise I can run any distance, I dont puff or pant at all, it is the pain in my legs that stops me and slows me down. So, sessions booked for massage, Ilio-tibial band release... Sounds painful and apparently it is!! to try to get my legs loosened and ready for the off!
To be honest I am thoroughly enjoying this journey so far... and it hasnt even started yet!!!! but for now I am off for a nice hip-loosening swim and jacuzzi bath.. bliss!!
10K target here we come!!! :D

https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/event.aspx?e=8a9ff4c4-450a-4aec-aec4-f3887a6973eb

aiming for the stars??

Morning!! Yay we have a follower! Welcome aboard the mad ship!! we are out of the starting blocks :D

Today sees the start of my logged training and right now I dont have a clue what i need to do! so a quick to do list so that I can see what i need to acheive is needed! also if anyone know anyone who can help out with the following areas please let me know!!!
Physical training, particularly in triathalon and ultra marathon, nutrition advice (being a veggie the usual training addage of "chicken n fish chicken n fish then more chicken n more fish!! cant fit!!) or anyone who would be interested in corporate sponsorship of my entry fees into some events in turn for publicity would be great. I currently have an interview with a radio station, local press coverage and am hoping for a fitness magazine to cover the events also so there would be plenty of publicity in return for a very small outlay.
To Do:- Get off my butt and go to the gym!! thats would be a good first step and one that will be taking place in about 15 minutes when i've finished posting here! an hours run (about 12k) and some weights should set me right for the day! :)
look up training plans on line to form a structure to my exercise. The distances I am covering usually are subject to people under specific professional training. I currently dont have that (gulp!)
research nearby clubs and whether they would take a novice like me.

Off to the gym!! will let you know how I get on :D

Thanks for reading everyone!! This is the diary of a completely mad person, undertaking 12months of utter madness, (make that 16 months along with associated planning and training) lung busting challenges, foot blisteringly long runs and bum numbing cycle rides. All in the aim of raising a few pennies, To keep alive the memory of a loved one and to keep alive a loved one currently terminally ill.
My name is Angela, I am a 33yr old normal woman, not particularly sporty, not particularly fit but with a great ambition to do great things over the next twelve months. So what are these crazy things i will be doing? I am planning to undertake a sporting event per month for 12 months, culminating in a trip to everest basecamp in december. Hence the title of the blog... starting off in January and February with a half marathon per month. Only a half!! I hear you ask!!! well this is a half with a difference! along, up and down cliffs, beaches and the rugged coastline of both the anglesea and dorset coast, and it isn't called a part of the "endurance life" coastal challenge for nothing!!! these halves are going to be toughies alright and will put my through my paces for sure!
March brings the london to paris cycle ride, organised and planned by me and the lovely, equally as crazy sammy (who I am sure will pop up to say hello) who will be undertaking many of the challenges with me. 240 miles cycled over 4 days, from London to Dover, then Calais down to Paris.
April is the world famous london marathon. Followed by Edinburgh marathon in May.
June brings the uk Three Peaks Challenge. Scaling the three highest peaks in the uk. Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours or less and then July brings the Mazda London Triathalon in Hyde park.
Anyone feeling tired yet!! :-D

So before I go on to detail the latter part of the years activities I would like to tell you a little about why I am doing this.
Occasionally in your life you meet someone who has an immediate impact on your life, someone who walks into your life, places footprints right over your soul and never walks out. that was my friend Duncan. An amazing man with a massive heart and a laugh to match, who made me smile without fail, who could tell I was sad before he even called and who had the time in the world for anyone who needed it. Dunc was amazing in the mountains, a natural born climber, caver and leader, someone who every time I spoke to him finsihed the conversation with "got to go babe i'm just off out for a walk" through the hills he loved and lived in. That massive heart was Duncans downfall and he left us last year in the hills he loved, doing what he did best. And my god I miss him. At the time of his funeral, requests were made for donations to help for heroes, in honour of the time Dunc served in the Royal Green Jackets. At the time, due to issues beyond my control I was unable to donate. So this is my way of giving back, and I hope if I meet my 10k fundraising target I will be doing Just that.

Further to this, my cousin Andrew has fought Leaukaemia 3 times in his short life. He was becoming a man, and a wonderful, polite, driven hard working man at that. He has been diagnosed now for a  3rd time and there is no going back. It has him in its grip and this time it wont let go. :-( It is heartbreaking to know that soon he will no longer be with us other than in spirit and as such I have decided to also divide my money between help for heroes and children with leaukaemia, to hopefully prevent even one young man or woman going through the trauma that Andrew is right now.

Ok, enough with the sad thoughts although they will be the drivers that will keep me going throughout the tough times. Many a time so far when I've been struggling Duncs voice has popped into my head giving me grief over wanting to stop!! :D I am specifically going to miss him on the three peaks, and everest base camp, they were things he would excell at, and I know that on the three peaks I will be walking the very tracks he walked 2 weeks before his death. That is going to be tough.

Right where was I? July, thats right. well August sees the coast to coast challenge, cycling from aberystwyth in wales across to Lowestoft in Norfolk. 280 miles in 4 days.
September, Now this is the biggy, and the painful one at that!! September will see me running from Clapham Common in London an entire 56 miles to the Brighton Coastline. blister plasters at the ready peeps!!!
October is a nice fun one, but still blimmin hard, the Royal Marines Commando 10k which is basically an incredibly muddy assault course over 10k with hardly any running in between the muddy bits!!
November sees the Yorkshire three peaks challenge before the culmination of the challenge, a trek to Everest Base Camp in December, Standing at the peak of Kalapathar, looking down the valley to Everest, raising a glass to My lovely friend, My courageous cousin and my acheivements of the preceeding 12 months will truly be amazing.

So 10k is my challenge, there are miles to be run and there is training to be done, follow me as I train, plan and take part in these amazing challenges, the support will be very welcome!!! :D

https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/event.aspx?e=8a9ff4c4-450a-4aec-aec4-f3887a6973eb
Please click this link if you feel you would like to sponsor me for my efforts. thank you from all of the people that will benefit from your donation :D