Hurrah! On Sunday I completed the three mile run, 13 laps of the running track at the Mountbatten, and am thrilled that I've managed to rise to the challenge. Eight laps in and I was still feeling confident and fresh, but half a lap later the weariness suddenly caught up on me and my legs really started feeling stiff and unhappy with what I was putting them through! I managed to complete each lap at 50/50 walking and jogging and did have some bursts of sprinting despite the load and got a lot of encouragement from the other participants. I'm glad I managed to get the training in beforehand as this really helped prepare my muscles for the big day and meant I knew what to expect.
Many thanks to my friends John, Ilka, Greg, Carla, Graham and Dani who came to help out and cheer me on the day, my girlfriend Hanna who helped with promotion and provision of a (Sport) Relief kit and of course my sponsors who donated £291 to my efforts. Phew! I still feel the need to put my feet up three days later!
The final pictures and some videos have now been uploaded to the Pictures and Videos page.
I'm still here, honest! Did some more training yesterday and saw the boats being hosed down on the Heath so good weather must be on its way (always an optimist). I won't be out this morning but will be at some point, assuming the heavens don't stay open all afternoon.
Not much has happened in the last few days on the training front owing to having a few very busy days and wet weather. Doesn't look as if it will let off before the beginning of next week, but I shall be waiting with baited breath.
My face has appeared on several local newspapers which is very encouraging; let's hope it drums up additional interest. If it has - welcome to my web site! Training will restart tomorrow morning at a slow pace to keep blisters under control this time - this is a different sort of pacing that I'm not used to! I'd like to clarify use of the word "run" in the press - I am not planning to do any running on the big day! Jogging is going to be my limit, although I may try a short sprint for the last few yards.
I'll be back on the Heath tomorrow morning to show my face and pack to pester good folk with sponsorship requests, so beware!
On a more positive note: two more pictures up on the Pictures and Videos page, both sporting the new Sport Relief socks, which aren't enjoying this punishment. I may have to put them away until the big day or they might have fallen apart by then! Taken yesterday, as you can see it was a lovely day and the lake serves as a great backdrop.
According to the Sport Relief web site I have reached the "magic £100". I didn't think I had received any sparkling or magically-charged money - maybe I wasn't paying attention! £100 will pay for two workshops to help steer vulnerable young people away from gang violence. Thinking back on the UK's headlines for the past 12 months and how many terrible, tragic deaths there have been that were gang-related, this is an amazingly cheap way to help prevent recurrence of such events.
Had to pull the practise back a few gears today; only did two laps and didn't do any jogging as my feet and toes are not faring well. I'm going to have to give them a few days rest otherwise I won't be fit for the big day. I might take an unladen stroll around at the usual time to try and drum up some sponsorship, which is quite difficult to do when jogging past people. Some positive news though: the fisherman are starting to recognise me as I had a chat with a few of them today, and a stranger wished me luck on the run - I seem to be making my effort known!
As I was at a customer yesterday I did the practise session in the evening. My thanks go out to the wind, rain and the Sun, for being a slacker and being set by the time I got out at 8pm. That was the hardest session yet, as I had to include waterproofs which heated me up a lot. This morning's run was in rather more agreeable weather but still a challenge. Hanna appeared during the session to take some more pictures and videos and shoo me on. Afterwards she presented me with a "(Sport) Relief Kit" with all manner of energy drinks, sweets, medical supplies and associated apparel. I'm still not convinced she realises how much I appreciate all of her help!
I will be later than scheduled for the practise run tomorrow due to some urgent customer appointments. Urgent being my poor workbench is creaking under the new computers waiting to go to their respective homes. Rest assured I will not be shirking; as soon as my feet hit home turf I shall don computer and continue the unrelentingness.
Slogged another three laps - it wasn't quite as difficult, but I have the scourge of blisters starting to appear now which will add another level to the pain so far! Can't complain though, I'm sure it's much less painful than your newborn baby dying because your water supply is contaminated. Had some more time with the local press today, again got a positive response which is more impetus to keep going - which I shall!
I've made it to The Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth! Figuratively, anyway. I've carried the pack for over 15 miles now, which is about the distance from my house to the centre. I feel positively accomplished now!
Managed to keep up the three laps again today, which is promising. I'm hoping that after a week of three laps I'll be able to start pushing for longer jogging sections - I do want to jog the whole three miles on the big day without any walking. It's quite incredible how cool-down stretching really does unlock the muscles at the end of the session, despite running the risk I might not get up off the floor afterwards! Don't forget to check the statistics page to see how far I've flogged myself to date.
I've added some pictures of the "proper" pack that I'm using on the Pictures and Videos page.
The training went up a gear today as I pushed to three laps of the Heath, rather than two, which really did take some mind-over-matter. I know my limits when cycling but with this type of exercise I have to learn all over again - I think I've found my limit today. Blimey it was tough. I got a few strange looks whilst verbally convincing myself to keep going another few yards but I did a third full lap with the same walking and jogging lengths. I saw and met a few people this morning which really helps keep my spirits up and stops me falling down. Nearly 12 miles travelled so far.
I've beaten my fund-raising goal of £100! Hands together for everyone who's helped the red goo pop out of the money meter. I've added my fund-raising meter to the left side of the page, and there is more to add when I complete the challenge as I have had a few offers depending on how many miles I achieve.
The computer carrying pack arrived: woo-hoo! It's too late in the day to take a good photograph of the pack but I will try and get one tomorrow. As it has a shoulder strap I have spliced it to my camping rucksack to add the comfort and support to the computery-dimensioned straps. The deceased computer has been fitted to it's harness and has been on a practise session today which was, relatively speaking, comfortable and well weighted. I couldn't make my 10am appointment with self-inflicted jogging due to a customer emergency. Once I returned I wanted to get to town to invade the newspaper offices as soon as I could, and in my rush forgot about warm-up stretches. I decided not to do any jogging as I don't want to hurt myself, but did walk with the pack and clocked up a longer distance than previous sessions.
The response from the press was very positive and encouraging: accepting posters for display and arranging meetings. As with all of the other shops and establishments that have supported me by showing posters, I thank you!
You'll also notice I have turned the Sport Relief page into it's own site, as the content increased beyond my ability to keep a single page tidy. At one point it spilled out of my web page writer, onto my Desktop and into the Recycle Bin. It almost seeped into Network Places but I managed to scoop it up. Navigation links to the different pages are at top of the page on the left-hand side.
So much for Sunday being the day of rest! Second practise run finished and my legs are really starting to complain. Cardio-vascular is feeling better as I was more suitably dressed today. I've found a good list of warm up and cool down exercises which I am now following closely to help prevent any muscle pulling. To answer the strange looks I'm getting from people on the Heath I may put some posters up there, rather than stop and give out information personally.
My girlfriend Hanna and I went out with 25 posters into Petersfield which were all accepted encouragingly by the generous shop assistants, baffled with why I'd entertain such a crazy challenge. We also snuck into the inner sanctum of the office for Petersfield's shopping centre Rams Walk where two posters were generously accepted for adding to the noticeboards.
Just completed my first official practise run consisting of two laps of the Heath plus there-and-back, a total of 2.6 miles and one mile of that spent jogging. More jogging than I expected, I'm rather chuffed with myself. Carried about 3¼ stone. I've decided not to do any timing, as it's the distance that counts. For tomorrow I shall shed the jacket and probably don a tshirt and shorts, I was so hot! My little toe is complaining a bit - must have one foot bigger than the other! Many plans for advertising today so expect the plastering of Petersfield to begin.
Just escaped from the jaws of a spreadsheet and ready to crawl into bed, I thought I should appear here and mention that the rucksack was out of stock, so I found another supplier and it should be here on Monday 25th. I still plan to, in some computery way, encumber myself and circumnavigate the Heath a few times until then. Yesterday morning I did manage about two miles with a computer, albeit a miniature one, at walking pace and in two legs. I've found out computers are heavy. Even little ones. I've reached 60% of my fund-raising goal and one customer will be sponsoring me per mile so I think I will be bringing in quite a bit of money for Sport Relief, despite the fact my other advertising ideas haven't been put into motion yet. A friend mentioned, jokingly, about taking a wireless laptop with webcam to provide live a video feed. Now I'm wondering if it's not such a bad idea. (Techy to the very end!) Can't wait to get my Sport Relief socks in the post!
Sport Relief is an initiative of Comic Relief, registered with the Charity Commission, no. 326568.
