Chasing Barbie

Wow what a weekend.

I just completed the Moonwalk 2010 for Breast cancer awareness. It has come round so quickly. It seems like only a couple of months ago I was signing up for it.

I must admit walking would not be my ideal choice of exercise. It’s ok in groups, with friends etc but walking on my own was soooo boring. Hence the lack of training!

I had my bra and kit ready though and had some lovely trainers to go with my outfit but made a school boy error of forgetting one!!!

The bra is supposed to be cupcakes and the skirt had cupcakes on it.

Luckily my mate and her husband have the same size trainer so I nicked Richards! Thanks love!!

I got some much needed advice from a fellow Kenya cycler, Jackie and thanks to her I was more prepared.

I have been training since January for other events so it wasn’t quite as bad I it could have been! The atmosphere was great and there were thousands of people there (lots more toilets needed!!).

I had to be in the Moonwalk ‘village’ (large pink tent surrounded by a metal fence) by 21.30 so had to hang about a bit before the start. It was bloomin’ freezing but the space blankets and plastic rain macs helped. The weather was great though and I was very thankful it didn’t rain!

The food was also rather nice. The whole event was extremely well organised.

I set off in the second group around ten to midnight. The first few miles through Edinburgh city and in the dark through Hollyrood Park, seemed to just fly by.

It didn’t even really get dark. I’m used to staying up all night so felt fine being awake. After a few miles I plugged in my head phones and kept up a good pace.

By mile 13 I started to feel a bit tired and was surviving on energizing bars and glucose shots (YUK). There was plenty of water handed out on the night so never had to carry too much.

But the loo thing was a problem. We weren’t supposed to pee anywhere other than the loos but it put a good 3/4 of an hour on my time in the end. I just wanted to pee and move on. Mind you whilst waiting to pee I saw Lorraine Kelly! Woo

After mile 13 it got really hard work and miles seemed to stretch out but the sun rising over the sea was just gorgeous and worth the pain.

My feet felt fine, it was my hips and knees that hurt.

I was needing the loo again and as luck would have it I nipped into a public loo and got straight in no queuing.

The bad thing about breaking was that you had to try and over take all the people you had spent the last few miles overtaking!  Even stopping to sort out a foot, saw loads of people speeding past I had already passed before.

One particular girl who was skinny as and speeding on kept passing me so I endeavoured to catch her. And did, somehow. Then She would be in front again! By mile 20 i gave up trying and no matter how hard I willed my legs to go faster they wouldn’t and managed to finish in just under 8 hours.

Next year I’ll be faster!!!!

I feel ok now and raring to go but we’ll see what I feel like tomorrow. Post exercise fatigue usually skips a day!

Thanks to Rich Broadley for the trainers, Trude and Rich for putting us up, Bruce for driving me there, meeting me and bringing much needed coffee!!

Thanks to the organisers and the poor volunteers who had to clean up after the lazy buggers who threw their rubbish everywhere!!!

Doh schoolboy error

I thought I'd try out my 'Moonwalk' kit whilst in the comfort of the house. Whilst searching through my bag I realise I've forgotten one trainer!!! Doh.
Thankfully my best mate and her husband take my size shoe! So after a rush of trying on various trainers I finally settled on Richard's new Brooks trainers!! Nice.
It's bloomin freezing! So wearing a bra and little else is not a wise idea still no pain no gain!
:-)

Emotional high

Well, what’s been happening?

I managed to get in the paper, the Derby Evening Telegraph ran a piece on me doing the Race for Life at Darley Park. Which was good. Hope it managed to generate some interest to other readers and got them to sign up!

I’ve also booked a cake sale at the hospital and a friend from work volunteered to help me with it! Got some groovy things to help sell the cakes too.

Hopefully for the leg waxing night we will be having a band and I have sent out begging letters asking for raffle prizes. Nothing back yet but it’s early days.

I’ve also bagged a bike’athon at my gym when they have an open day in August.

I made some cakes the other day and got about £10 in my tin for them! Someone asked if Hope had helped decorate them! 'Nope ‘twas I! I need some lessons!

I was pledged £50 yesterday too. I was very touched but alas was thinking about it so much and fundraising etc that I knocked a guys wing mirror off his car so now have to pay for that :-o

Darn it.

A colleague gave me a bag of clothes his daughter wanted rid of and most of them were very ebayable so I sat last night doing that. Let’s hope it brings in some dosh!

I’ve just reached over £200 now so am chuffed.

Hopefully the leg wax, cake stand and cycle thon will add to that total nicely!

Also hope Spain or Argentina win the World Cup as they are the 2 teams I have left over in the sweepstake!

hehe…….

Moonwalk next Sat eeek but at least I’ll get to see the Broadleys:-)

Phew at last back on the bike!

I didn’t think I was ever going to get back on it!

The bruises are finally subsiding thanks to arnica!

Day one and painful.

Day 5 and looking awful and feeling painful!

Day 6 and thankfully pain is subsiding at last!!

 

Think I had the equivalent  of a ten  mile an hour car crash! Sure I had concussion too. Felt really weird for days. Nothing new there.

Wasn’t sure I’d get back on the bike for ages but finally managed it on Monday.

Hope and I zipped off to my brothers and we headed down the canal from Stretton to Shobnall and had a tootle round Branston water park and the kids had a play on the swings.

The banks were strewn with lots of fowl babies. So cute.

so lovely to see. And of course we were very respectful and passed them carefully and didn’t frighten them.

We had lunch at The Bridge Inn at Branston.

Beautiful real Italian food made by the Italian owner. Wonderful.

The trip was enough for Hope’s little legs as we headed back to Stretton via Shobnall playing fields.

I’m looking forward to getting back on track with my fitness regime. It’s the moonwalk in Edinburgh in 3 weeks time so when that is over I can concentrate on biking full stop!!

I’ve had the local media ringing me about being in the paper which is cool. For the Race for Life, so hopefully I’ll be in the paper for that really soon.

The fundraising isn’t going too well but people are trying to help out which is nice. A colleague made a cake at work and charged 20 p a slice which went down really well. How lovely is that?

Next year will be full on fundraising as people think it’s too far away just yet to even part with their money I guess. Plus I have so many other events coming up they can’t keep track!

I’m looking for a mountain bike now so I can do the Chase properly and hopefully not injure myself this time!

What a numpty.