My @LondonMarathon 2010 Sponsorship Only at 60%, PLEASE Sponsor Me & RT
Desperate times call for desperate measures: It's less that 2 weeks until race day and I call upon my Twitter Followers... with a dynamic tweet before sending out the DM's!
I need to hit my sponsorship target of £1,000 and raise money for The NCT (National Childbirth Trust) in the UK, as this could be my 3rd and final London Marathon. I'm only at 60% and people are pretty elusive at the moment. Please. please sponsor me.
Race Day: VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON 2010 is on Sunday 25 April 2010
Go to www.justgiving.com/jimhaysom and you can donate anything you want, knowing the money is going to a great charity and cause.
The NCT are the UK's biggest parenting charity, and any parent will know, having children is one of the toughest challenges that life throws at you. Having a charity that can provide advice through pregnancy, birth and the early days of parenthood is so valuable, especially for first-timers. Their antenatal classes and the support they've provided were excellent.
You can also now pay with PayPal, so no excuse if there's some money sitting in your account, or you want to donate quickly with your preferred online payment method.
Go on, do it now, it's not difficult and will only take you a few minutes.
Remember, I'm the one who has to do the really hard work! A minimum of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 kilometres).
If you do make a donation, please write a comment on this blog post as you can fit in more text that the JustGiving message.
Thanks, and don't forgot to Share this Facebook or Tweet this on Twitter below.
Marathon training in jeopardy with another ‘itis and injury
I regret to say it, but my 3rd London Marathon is in jeopardy. An injury at the beginning of January was confirmed on Monday as pretty much Achilles tendonitis. I'd fallen over on the ice weeks back, and my right heel came down with some force into the ground. Suffice to say I'd just picked myself up and gone on with life, but three weeks of pain and natural healing not showing the leaps and bounds, the doctor was the next step.
It's ironic that it was the heavy snow that had disrupted the training, and put a stop to it. The video below was my first and currently last run of the year, until further notice.
Absolutely gutted. Having lost over a stone in weight from the other 'itis illnesses before Xmas, another knocks me six. Doctor diagnosed with a confident nod before I fully explained the incident and symptoms. At the injunction of the Achilles tendon and the bone, on the heel, the inflamation was causing every footstep to send those pain receptors a nudge. Worse of all, every morning was made worse as the tendon stiffened up overnight.
Faced with another month of rest days, the options were, 1) nothing, let it heal over next 4 to 6 weeks, 2) magic gel, 3) antiflamatory drugs, 4) physiotherapy, and 5) surgery with an injection and risk of rupture and 3 months in plaster. Well the options were obvious, drugs and physio. Question is how long will this all take? One to ask Liz on Friday afternoon.
Will have to make a judgement call in March on whether to run or not. But it leaves 2 months left of training, and a sponsorship target of nearly £500 to raise. Wonder if people will sponsor me regardless at my fundraising page on Justgiving.com. Or if I make it a sponsored walk.
Part of me doesn't want this second year of injury to mean deferrment. Not even sure if you can defer your place 2 years on the trot? This is a guaranteed place and not a Gold Bond place, but raising money for the NCT charity anyway.
Any marathon runners out there with the answers, please leave a comment. I've the parents telling me I don't have to do it, and shouldn't. Any of my friends or colleagues reading this, bloody sponsor me. I'll give you a signed beermat in return.
Warm up to the marathon training
This evening I ventured out into the freezing cold and took my first run of the year. In fact, it's more like the first run since I ran the London Marathon in 2007.
I can't believe it's been that long. Dressed for winter and a fleece hat, I can see how the next 16 weeks are going to be really hard work. Tomorrow will be the official weigh in, which will enable me to see how I'm getting along with the weight loss. I've not set myself a target weight, but it's fair to say I've enjoyed my eating and non-physical lifestyle for the last year. Call it somewhat of a 'fitness year out'. I think that's allowed, considering I've been a very busy person.
I saw on the front cover of Runners World this month a feature called Marathon Training Schedule For Busy People. That is certainly me all over!
It's a 16 week schedule, which starts tomorrow. OMG, it's starting to become a reality.