End of March 09 – Month 3 of 8

Yes I know I’m a little late, thanks for all the reminders that March ended 10 days ago. Thanks again for the great feedback on the monthly 5min blog – I’m glad it’s hitting the spot. I will keep posting each month. (No Tweets for those who asked!)

So before we begin, March’s entry is about pain (and some references to pleasure) so for those of you with a frail nature or are easily offended, stop here you have been warned do not read on at all….. I mean it - just wait for April which will be all about sunshine and safe things like bran flakes.


Fundraising:
I want to recognize and appreciate your continued generosity in donating your hard earned cash to support VSO. At the end of March we hit the impressive figure of £8,280 which is ever closer to my planned £12,000 total. What is even more heartwarming is that I now have 91 names on my expanding sponsor flag which I will carry up Kilimanjaro – Two newborns names have also been added which is truly splendid – Maxwell, son to my friends Jen and Dave from NYC and Sean son to my friends Marcia and Jimmy from Chicago. No new countries this month.

I have got more info on the funds usage from Charlotte at VSO, just ask and I will send the summary document – there is a particularly superb write up on enterprising ladies & crab fattening – even Sir Alan would be amazed!


Training:
So March was a month of two extremes - a bit of encouragement and also some painful home truths…

It started of pretty positive and encouraging…

More Sunday walking 7, 8, and even up to a 10 mile walk in 2hr.30mins on mothering Sunday – going well, even no blisters now which is a bonus. More free weight training, starting to see a few muscles poke through (no moobs, just well camouflaged pecs ). Hit my personal best of 30 press ups in a minute (I know you gym muffins think that is abysmal) but I could not even do 10, three months ago. Finally got some dancing training in this month, thanks Sunil, Clare & Liz for plucking up courage to be in the crowd to see me do my double speed Michael Jackson moves (anybody got tickets?) at a fab place called Gilgamesh in Camden.

I also had a ‘Well Man’ checkup, some basic stuff, blood pressure, blood chemistry, ECG, weight, body fat, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 lungs, 2 hands, 2 of those too! - other tests e.g. Antioxidant level (33,000 which is super or I had overdone the carrot juice that day), Spinal Flexibility of the highest category. But, Lung capacity (you have to blow out into a machine for something like 5 mins without fainting) – well I was done in 20 seconds flat – I have to improve my FEC, PEC which will increase my VO2??? Can someone translate? Please forward any ideas better than putting 3 old socks into my mouth and breathing please.

Also good progress on the Personal Trainer front – really really good. More on this shortly (as soon as we get the commercials sorted out) – thanks again for all the personal recommendations. For the 2 of you suggesting I will need at least 3 personal trainers at once to sort me out – very funny, huh the cheek!

To the pain…

Just to help me find out how far I still had to get, I shoved 20kgs into my rucksack, weighed down my legs and arms with 2.2kg each and tried to climb 500m in an hour walking up a treadmill 10% incline at 5kms. Oh dear, within 20mins I was flat on my back, hallucinating about my duvet still as a statue.

If this was not enough, this weekend with only a hurried 4 mile run for a warmup – I entered and ran the Kingston Breakfast run (8.2miles) to do a ‘surprise stress test’ on my body. So picture the scene, 2000 folks mostly using the run as a final prep session for the London Marathon. So pain, real PAIN, I would say probably nearer the childbirth end of the spectrum! At 2 miles in I was in a real state as to date I have concentrated on walking - My strategy was not prepare for this run, so I could figure out my physically weakest areas. So at two miles I was beat. After seeing two grannies (not the nice cuddly kind, but the sporty types that have even evolved some aerodynamic features) whiz past me, I just started to run. I blocked out my painfully stiff wooden legs, pins and needles and sick feeling to hobble home in 1hr.30mins – check out the pain on my face (click through to Kingston Breakfast run and then just enter my surname) http://www.sportcam.net/CompetitorSearch.aspx?RId=119. What did I learn? Well that preparation is key and that my lower legs, calves and foot muscles will need considerable work.


Kit:
Bought some ‘superfeet’ insoles to put into my shoes (impulse buy mostly) Strange electric green molded plastic insole that pinch the heels and help you ‘arch’– very expertly sold to me as a necessity for £19.99. Not sure if any ‘super’ things have come of it yet I must say… did have some super smelly feet on the last walk.


Mind:
So the Kingston run was this month’s mind over matter as I had to dig deep, I was in pain and had not prepared. Of the 1520 or so finishers, I think 1200 of them passed me at 2 miles when my legs were a mess, I felt sick and I thought I would have to give up. – so what happened? Well I just kept thinking of my 7 year old son Dharam, who stayed up late the night before and wished me well and he said ‘I hope you win Dad’. As I gently managed down his expectations on probably a lower midfield finish - he replied ‘Dad, what ever happens you must make sure you do your best and finish’. You can imagine how powerful those simple words… ‘do your best and finish’ became at that 2 mile point. I personally have taken great strength from this experience. (And I ended up beating few lycra clad grannies to the finish, but only just!)


March Highlights:
Most of you have already told me that you saw the red nose climbers successfully ascend Kili. Well, Immediately after that programme was aired, my mother called me and told me that it was too dangerous, I had children to think of – and I told her it was children that I was thinking of, both mine and those in the foothills of Kilimanjaro.

Quite a few of you said you enjoy my philosophical endings, that’s nice and thanks for sharing that too. Well March bought some good experiences – my daughters birthday, the Young Enterprise company - Incito getting through the Chiltern Area YE Final, watching England play with Dharam and seeing 85k people doing the Mexican wave etc. and some not so good - bad news from the economy mostly.

So one humbly tries to find order and meaning – this month the insight is about your state of mind and your personal journey … I see two clear alternative approaches, on one hand there are the individuals that set a course regardless of what they see and deal with the waves or challenges as they head toward their destination. On the other hand there are the individuals that see what waves and challenges are out there, spend the time tackling these as they arrive on their doorstep and waiting for calm before set their course.

I know where I am, do you? Remember yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift (quote taken from Kung Fu Panda) – enjoy the remainder of the Easter Break and I am done for this months installment.