So, as I mentioned in the last post, I came up with a fundraising idea when we were out on a run. Introducing....the Twaffle! It's a social-media fuelled raffle, where everything is done online. I'm going to run one a month, starting on the 1st of February, and draw the winner on the 20th of each month (I thought I'd give people a break from it for the last third of the month!).
The prize will be a £20 Amazon voucher, to be emailed to the winner, and entries cost £1.
To enter, go to our Virgin Money Giving page and donate £1 per entry. In the message area, make sure you say that it is for the Twaffle entry, and leave a note of your name and/or Twitter username so I can get back to you if you win! All donations from 30.01.12 are eligible for Twaffle entry.
All entrants and their e-ticket number will be listed on the Twaffle page of the blog.
Good luck - hope you win!
Monday, 30 January 2012
Monday, 23 January 2012
Plans Afoot
Plans are starting to come together for the big event. I've been worrying terribly about leaving Izzy for two days. Her dad would be brilliant with her for the two days but she's still breastfed and won't take a bottle. I was just fretting so much about whether she'd be able to sleep and whether she'd be upset the whole time. I knew we would sort out a strategy in April (she eats plenty of solids and at a push she'll drink milk from a cup) but I realised today there was a simple solution - they should come too!
Izzy's dad is on holiday the week after the marathon anyway, so this makes it a proper holiday. The flights are booked, and by tomorrow the hotel should be sorted too, and instead of being away from Izzy for 40 hours, it'll be more like 8. Yes, I'm probably being terribly 'precious-first-born' about it all, but I feel so much happier now. It'll be fun taking Izzy on her first flight and taking her to see some of the sights of London, and while she won't remember being at the finish line to meet her mum after her first marathon, we'll have the pictures to show her when she's bigger.
Training is going well. We ran 10 miles on Saturday and I barely felt it until the last mile. I'm enjoying the long runs at the weekends, because they really do blow the cobwebs away. I'd had terrible insomnia on Friday night and worried that I wouldn't be fit for a run the next day, but it was just fine.
This week is a recovery week, with three 5 mile runs. It's amazing that 5 miles (about an hour) feels like a short run now. The prospect of running for nearly 6 hours doesn't seem that scary anymore either. The focus for now isn't so much the running (which is coming along nicely) but the fundraising. We've now got £100 of our £1600 total - not bad considering we've not event started canvassing for sponsors yet. We've got our fundraising night at the start of March so this week I'm going to start planning in earnest. All offers of raffle prizes gratefully received! I've also got the germ of an idea for some online fundraising, so watch this space...
My Barnardo's running vest came on Saturday. It's a little on the snug side right now, but I'm getting smaller every week so with a bit of luck it'll be a perfect fit by April 22nd.
Izzy's dad is on holiday the week after the marathon anyway, so this makes it a proper holiday. The flights are booked, and by tomorrow the hotel should be sorted too, and instead of being away from Izzy for 40 hours, it'll be more like 8. Yes, I'm probably being terribly 'precious-first-born' about it all, but I feel so much happier now. It'll be fun taking Izzy on her first flight and taking her to see some of the sights of London, and while she won't remember being at the finish line to meet her mum after her first marathon, we'll have the pictures to show her when she's bigger.
Training is going well. We ran 10 miles on Saturday and I barely felt it until the last mile. I'm enjoying the long runs at the weekends, because they really do blow the cobwebs away. I'd had terrible insomnia on Friday night and worried that I wouldn't be fit for a run the next day, but it was just fine.
This week is a recovery week, with three 5 mile runs. It's amazing that 5 miles (about an hour) feels like a short run now. The prospect of running for nearly 6 hours doesn't seem that scary anymore either. The focus for now isn't so much the running (which is coming along nicely) but the fundraising. We've now got £100 of our £1600 total - not bad considering we've not event started canvassing for sponsors yet. We've got our fundraising night at the start of March so this week I'm going to start planning in earnest. All offers of raffle prizes gratefully received! I've also got the germ of an idea for some online fundraising, so watch this space...
My Barnardo's running vest came on Saturday. It's a little on the snug side right now, but I'm getting smaller every week so with a bit of luck it'll be a perfect fit by April 22nd.
Monday, 9 January 2012
15 weeks and counting
It's really not long now until the big day. I've been pretty good at sticking to my training, although the weather (including Hurricane Bawbag, and Son of Bawbag to whom our greenhouse was sacrificed) meant a few missed short runs, and I had a rest/chocolate munching week between Christmas and new year to prepare for the big effort to come.
Yesterday Jen and I ran 8 miles. It was wet, cold and hilly, but it was brilliant. We chatted the whole way round and I felt refreshed rather than tired after. That might have had something to do with Izzy - and therefore me - sleeping for 6 hours straight the night before. What with night feeds preceded by pregnancy bladder, I think that's the longest I'd slept since September 2011!
We've booked a hall for a fundraising night in March and I booked the DJ today, so no turning back. Made sure we'd get a karaoke too - now just need to decide whether to sing Running Up that Hill or London Calling. We also made about £30 by selling little Christmas boxes (I say we - I sold 5, Jen sold the rest. I did make them though ;-) ) and we've had a few donations including a very generous Christmas gift from some good friends, so we're off to a solid start.
Last week I ran 16 miles, this week will be 17...just think, in a few weeks I'll be running more than that in a day, never mind a week!
Yesterday Jen and I ran 8 miles. It was wet, cold and hilly, but it was brilliant. We chatted the whole way round and I felt refreshed rather than tired after. That might have had something to do with Izzy - and therefore me - sleeping for 6 hours straight the night before. What with night feeds preceded by pregnancy bladder, I think that's the longest I'd slept since September 2011!
We've booked a hall for a fundraising night in March and I booked the DJ today, so no turning back. Made sure we'd get a karaoke too - now just need to decide whether to sing Running Up that Hill or London Calling. We also made about £30 by selling little Christmas boxes (I say we - I sold 5, Jen sold the rest. I did make them though ;-) ) and we've had a few donations including a very generous Christmas gift from some good friends, so we're off to a solid start.
Last week I ran 16 miles, this week will be 17...just think, in a few weeks I'll be running more than that in a day, never mind a week!
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