19/5/12

We know we said our next update would be post race, but we thought one last update before race day was due, because if Naomi pegs it, Nicky can't operate the computer and Hannah won't have time!

First and foremost a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has sponsored not just us, but all those taking part on behalf of 'Love Running'. We have been overwhelmed with the amount raised! 

We had a pre-race de-brief in Coffee #1 this morning and this afternoon will be mostly bed resting as per manual, although the husband/waiter service aint up to much. Tonight will be body preparation, obviously a go-faster shave...do we go as far as shaving our heads?

Naomi has been swanning around in her new lycra shorts with go-faster stripes (I doubt they'll help to keep her upright) she's trying to impress us with her toned stomach, she's either had a tummy tuck or is constantly wearing a spandex girdle underneath.

Now a problem that has reared it's head is diarhoa or 'runner's runs' as we pro's call it. Nicky's already got it, Naomi's expecting it pre-race and well if there's something biologically unwanted going round Hannah will definitely have it. So, when to take the immodium?

On the plus side Hannah nor any of her family are currently in hospital, but 24 hours in the Alderson house is a long time in which any medical emergency could crop up.

We want to leave as late as we can tomorow morning, Nicky will have wanted to do an entire house clean, Naomi definitely wants to have a no.2 before we leave & Hannah will have wanted to do homework with three children, planned an entire weeks school lessons, proof read Rod's work presentations for the coming week, baked bread and put coffee on for potential house viewers........all before 8am!

If we have any medical conditions we are to mark our race no. with a large cross in red, Hannah can take her pick, there's usually a medical condition in their household weekly, does Nicky's OCD need to be marked with a red cross? Because that would look untidy and clash with the green no. so that could be a problem for her. And praise the Lord, Naomi's been cured of her medical conditions!

Thank you everybody! Speak to you on the other side!

5/5/12 Training Update

Two weeks to go! Well, the packs have arrived so no getting out of it now! What is slightly concerning is the inclusion of the mortuary toe tag. We are in the green starters zone which is just in front of the litter pickers. We also have a neat little gizmo, it's a tag which gets switched on at tick-o-tometer (we know what we mean) and switched off when we finish so we will be accurately timed, it's kind of like those tags you get inserted in the back of your pets neck - although we don't think we have to wear them in quite the same way.

Everyone who has sponsored us has really spurred us on and we are thrilled to have passed our target; but would love to raise more.

What has been dissappointing though is the heckling from the sidelines, when we are spotted out and about 'training' shouts of "you're s'posed to be running" and "stop eating doughnuts" are not conducive to runner's pride and can be quite hurtful - so either sponsor us or stop it. You know who you are!

Anyway, a certain Mr Jinadu who got us into this fine mess in the first place is speaking at our church again in the morning, we dread to think what hair-brained money raising scheme he'll be on about next, so our plan is do not sign anything and definitely no eye contact.

Finally we have studied the route in our race pack very carefully and by our reasoning why take the long way when there is very clearly a much more direct route to take us to the Hog roast on College Green at the end.

Our next update will hopefully be telling you that we completed the race before the roads re-open and we pray that the mortuary tag will not have been used!

29/3/12 Training Update 

Well, the 'running' part of Love Running is still eluding us, but we're wearing the t-shirts with pride so see ourselves very much as promoters for the cause. We're discovering parts of our local town we never even knew existed, such as the towns protected 'medieval ponds' quite why they're protected we're not sure - looks like a lovely site for a housing estate to us.  

Rambling across the open fields is not without its hazards. On Monday we bothered a farmer while trying to cross his field. We could see the Gazette headlines 'FARMER SHOOTS AT LARGE BIRDS SEEN ON HIS LAND'. Then when we were peeping through his hedges to see if there was a better way across we realised that the bright red t-shirts were not the best thing to be wearing, particularly if the field has cows of the male variety.  We will be suggesting to the Love Running board a nice camouflage green for next year’s t-shirts.

Sadly our team member Hannah missed all this excitement; she deemed preparing for a job interview more worthy of her time! And to make matters worse, she was offered a job, so that's going to take up more of her time! Some people just won't make the commitment; we're carrying her to be honest.

Nicky’s getting OCD about her clean white trainers getting dirty whilst traipsing across the Staley’s dirty fields.  This is no such problem for Naomi who has usually already trodden in something unsavoury on her kitchen floor (was it Tod’s dinner?)

The waterproofed gusset tracky bottoms have been unsourceable, and we have been advised by one of last years ‘Love Running’ competitors that the route ‘port-a-loos’ aren’t up to much and should be avoided at all costs.  Thank goodness our route detours via Harvey Nicks, whose ablutions are much more acceptable.

Thanks to all you lovely people who've sponsored us so far and if you've just read this but haven't yet sponsored - what are you waiting for!

 

On a final note, all our walks seem to conclude in Thornbury Cemetery…………..is this a bad omen?!........Oh, Naomi, pass me those doughnuts!

12/3/12 Training Update

Nicky has suffered a back injury while changing her bedding (don't ask). Naomi is struggling with sticking to the eating plan (see attached pic). And Hannah, well she joins us when she can in-between teaching, running a home, and looking after her gorgeous girls (did you know she's got four)! Apart from that it's going really well, we're following the walk 28 mins, jog 2 mins, walk 30 mins rule. We're pretty sure our timings for completing the race are going to be record breaking; we'll leave it to your imagination as to which records we're going to break! Anyway thank you so much to those so far who have sponsored, you're brilliant!

26/3/12

Some joker of a Pastor came to our church a couple of weeks ago to inspire us to take part in the Bristol 10k, in aid of 'love running'.

We do not run. But somehow this flamboyant preacher man had captivated our imagination. Maybe this was something we could do, even the elderly and infirm had signed up, and at the very least we could walk it? Couldn't we?

So before you can say "I need new trainers" we were signed up and committed to take part in the race on 20th May.

Well time is moving on, so we thought we better start taking this a bit seriously and finding out the necessary information; such as, 'where are the bus routes and is that an option? Is there a nice coffee shop part way round? And where can we stop for our picnic lunch?'

Then we realised we would need equipment, but what to buy? In our minds, if the answer to life's questions isn't Jesus, it's John Lewis, so that's straight where we headed to make the following purchases:-

·         Trainers - non blistery variety, preferably Velcro to avoid lace trippage.

·         Tracky bottoms - with waterproof gusset, it has occurred to us our pelvic floor isn't what it was, and Paula Radcliffe might be ok with relieving herself mid-race, but we'd like to keep our leakage contained.

·         Bum-bag/rucksack/weekend bag - we're thinking we need to carry a lot of stuff; iPod, phone, pedometer, water, energy food (cake), keys, money, plasters, quilted velvet loo roll, antibac wipes, Tena Lady, direct pager to A&E, Tom Tom, bus timetable, change of clothes in case of overnight stay, picnic rug etc.......

·         Breathable vest top - We've heard during physical exertion the body can release fluid, what's it called? Oh yes, sweat. We might, if we make it to a steady jog, sweat.

·         Sports bra - self-explanatory.

·         Hat - We're thinking one of those ones with the bottles on the sides that have straws so you can drink while you go.

Training starts next week so we will need to start upping our carbohydrate intake.  We’ve got a good rapport with the staff in Coffee #1, so they should be able to do us ‘high carb’ elevenses.  Then for dinner, a jacket potato with a pasta and rice topping – delicious.

So, we've worked out what we're doing en-route, what we need to wear and what we need to eat. All we need now is sponsors/Sherpa/pack-horse! And that's where you lovely people reading this page come in. So you can either sponsor us, or volunteer to carry our stuff!

To see exactly where your generously donated money will go you can check out www.loverunning.org and click on the 'causes' tab.

Essentially we are wanting to spread the love of God to our neighbours, however near or far, by running!

Love Running will be splitting the money 3 ways:

Partnering with World Vision to help: 

The Poor - Hurungwe, Zimbabwe

Partnering with Tear Fund to help:  

The Oppressed - Kigezi, Uganda

And the final 3rd goes to:  

The Needy - Local Bristol Communities

So, thank you so much for looking at our page and if you would like to make a donation to these worthy causes that would be brilliant, you would be part of making 'love' run towards the people that need it!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity