Fund-raising Update

Only 4 days to go until the BIG day.  Our Metso sponsorship form in Basingstoke is slowly filling up and as at today's date (30/08), we have raised a total of £90.00 and our on-line sponsorship has increased to £125.

It is difficult to have an accurate off-line total as I do not have access to the other team members' information but I am quite confident that we will raise quite a bit for this good cause.  I would just like to ask everyone to give us that little bit extra. (I might need it for an ambulance!!)

I would just like to give a BIG thanks for all those kind and generous people who have donated so far.

Sharon's Midnight Walk 2011 : Week 2

Wednesday 17/08, the start to the second week of my so-called training program, once again walking home from work but doing a little extra distance. 

Everything was going well until the next day when the Heavens decided to open.  Should I walk home in the torrential downpour?  It was a very difficult decision, but I came to the conclusion that because I did not bring my wet suit and flippers to work and the fact that the Ark wasn't floating outside, I thought better of it and opted for a lift home in alternative transportation.

But once home, I felt a little guilty that I was not exercising.  So in a moment of pure and utter madness, put on a fitness DVD.  Decided to go with the combination exercises; yoga, tone & trim and energise.  How can anyone say these exercises 'energise'! I was in pain, out of breath and looking like a drowned rat.  Tony was having a good old laugh at my expense.  Just as well he did not take a video - knowing my luck it would have ended up on YOU tube and gone viral!!

Next day I struggled to get out of bed.  Felt like a bus had driven right over me but after awhile I regained some movement. 

No exercise on Saturday as I was looking after our granddaughter, Mikayla.  Oh well I suppose I will have to make up for it on Sunday.

8am Sunday all rearing to go on my trek.  Music for the ears, water bottle in hand, mobile phone (just in case I collapse and need to phone someone to scrape me off the road) and of course the pedometer which I made sure was not in pause mode.

I walked, walked and walked and finally arrived home.  According to the pedometer I walked just over 5.5 miles.  Nearly there! Got to keep this up only 13 days to go.  Feeling more confident though.  Bring on 3rd September!!

Day off from work on Monday but I still got up at 6:30am, got all geared up in my walking gear and off I went.  How is that for dedication?  It was actually quite nice as it was cool and refreshing.  Unfortunately as I had to go to the hospital for blood tests, my walk was cut short but I still managed to walk about 2 miles (according to pedometer).

It is the final day of week 2 of my challenge.  I wonder if I have achieved anything apart from an aching body! Another question is whether I am going to be able to do my walk home because of the wet conditions.  I know that they say in the 'tips & advice' section of the Midnight Walk brochure, that you should not let the rain put you off your training, but there is nothing worse than having your clothes sticking to your body (especially one like mine!) and squelching around in your trainers.

Right now onto the important issues like how many steps/miles have I achieved in the 7 days? Did I lose any inches/weight?  Drum roll please...................................................................................

Forgot to download the information from the pedometer for week 2, but the last time I looked, I had walked approximately 14 miles during the week.  Pretty good for me.  Lost 4lbs this week alone and since I started my walking 3 weeks ago, a total of 9 inches has disappeared (not all in one place).  I am a happy bunny!  Yipppppeeeeeee. 

Long may it continue I say.  Until next week

Fundraising update

We were doing so well to start off with, but things seems to have come to a standstill.  I am hoping that Team 'Street Walkers' are filling up their sponsorship forms.

We only have 12 days to go so I am pleading with all families and friends to generously donate to such a worthy cause. 

Thank you.

Fundraising

First day of fund-raising on the Virgin Money site and we are off to a good start. A total of £65 (£81.25 including gift aid) was raised on 16/08 on the website.

Today we started the ball rolling in the Metso office with a donation of £15.

Let's hope that people continue to be generous towards this very worthwhile cause.

Sharon's Midnight Walk 2011

Well here I am, about to embark on what seems to me like a very long walk!  The thing that keeps me going is the fact that we are going to be raising money for a very worthwhile cause, St Michael's Hospice.

Where do I start - from the beginning I suppose.

When this was first mentioned, I was unsure of doing this walk as I am not the fittest person in the world but I thought it would be a great incentive to get out and exercise (and hopefully shed a few pounds and/or inches before our son's wedding in October).  So after some soul searching and of course some convincing by Mel (Such) that I could do it, I decided to sign up and go for it.

What do I need first of all?  A good pair of walking shoes.  So I do some research on the web and the best shoes for toning and walking (or so they say) is the MBT which is based on the Masai Tribe in Kenya.  The shoe induces instability and makes your body try to correct itself.  Okay, so how much do these cost?  Anything between £75 and £120 - so guess we will have to settle for something else.  Anyway managed to pick up similar trainers (Avia 'Avi-motion) for a bargain.  Now I am almost set to start my training beginning with walking home in the evening and not taking the short cut either.

First day with my new trainers.  OMG is all I can say!  My calves, thighs and my great big bum were burning  just after a 20 minute walk. I finally arrived home and collapsed in a heap.  I then realised just how unfit I am despite walking home (in normal shoes) for the last few months.  Got to keep on otherwise I will never manage the 6 mile walk in September!

But how far am I walking etc?  Got to get this sorted.  My next purchase is a pedometer which arrived Thursday last week (11/08). So exciting until I realised that you have to put in your weight (and you have to be honest!).  How rude is that??! Now to work out the distance of my stride.  Out comes the tape measure and off we go.

Friday came around and we received our packs from the organisers of the walk.  Really happy with my T-shirt and looking forward to purchasing some flashing pink bunny ears on the night.  But hold on -just seen the route! My happiness soon started to dwindle and I definitely had self doubts about being able to achieve this.

Come on Sharon - you got to try.  More training/walking is now required.

Sunday get up early to go for a long walk.  All prepared with my bottle of water, music and of course the pedometer.  Off I set, a spring in my step, swing in my arms and singing along to some music by Pink. Walked and walked and walked for about one and a half hours.  Got home and although I was ready to collapse, felt good that I had done some exercise.  One step to losing those unwanted inches!  Now to check the pedometer and see what I had actually done, how many steps, what distance and what points I could add to my daily allowance on my diet program.  To my great surprise and disappointment, the silly thing was on 'pause' so nothing had been recorded.  I was totally gutted but had to laugh.  Tony jokingly (I hope) suggested that I turn it back on and do the walk again.  Me thinks I will leave that to another day and just be content that I survived.

Now it is my second week of what I call serious training but to those it is probably just a walk in the park.  My pedometer has now been set up properly.  Yes even with my correct weight!  So let's see how it goes.

Will keep you posted as to my progress.