So there are just 89 days to go until I embark on my challenge to trek the Great Wall of Charity in aid of Derian House. Today is the last Sunday of the year and as such another trip up Rivington Pike was necessary. The mist was low but hey ho onward and upward.
Somewhere in the distance is Rivington Pike.
One obligatory selfie of me at the top, not the best view it has to be said.
The view of the path just climbed up, Back down was a tad windy.
Fitness Level
Today's walk was about 3.5 hours, nowhere near long enough. A concerted effort and focus now needs to be applied for the next 11 weeks to get me to the level I ned to be at. It is quite scary just how fast the time has gone by and how little is left to get up to speed.
New Year's Day a planned walk up Ingleton Falls in on the cards but after that 2 walks every weekend and harder ones will be needed. I have one more booked in for Snowden at least but still need to do so much more.
So the trip that I was booked on through Charity Challenge was cancelled due to lack of participants. However, the company offered me an option to join another one, great except that it is 3 weeks earlier! aghhh the time is getting closer and closer so today I have 111 days to go, April Fools Day is the flight - that says something.
Today, another very wet 4 hour walk around Rivington Park and up Rivington Pike, found yet another new path with lots of steps which is helpful. Still so much more training still to do.
Fundraising
This has still not properly started but I think this will be just as challenging as the actual trek. Asking for money is never easy from anyone but as soon as the New Year is here it will commence. I chose Derian House Children Hospice as it is the only children's hospice in Lancashire and in terms of size is small by comparison to many and as such doesn't get the same level of grants. Hopefully, I will be able to find enough people to sponsor me to raise my target of £5,000.
Since my last post I have managed to go for one long walk every week. To be fair I am impressed that I have managed to keep it up but when you know you have a challenge to prepare for you somehow keep going. I have however, got very very wet on occasions. I have to say though it is enjoyable :)
Hills and flat speed walking
I decided it would be best to alternate between a hill climb and a long long walk on flat ground, in part to alleviate boredom but also as my unofficial training partner (hubby) is helping the hills have few Pokemon Go stops. On the flat long, speed walks he can play to his hearts content.
I have found lots of walks through searching Google and have found some really inetretsing places to visit including:
Rivington Park with Rivington Pike Tower, the remnants of the zoo and the grounds host Liverpool Castle!
Nicky Nook in Scorton with its great views and the fab apple coffee shop
Pennington Flash around a reservoir
Snowdon the big hill in Wales.
Snowdon
We booked into the hotel the night before so we could be up and out first thing. the downside of pre booking is that you have to go regardless of weather. The day started OK, overcast and cool but by the time we ended we were soaked through to our skin literally.
I was prepared though, rucksack complete with a 7 litre water bottle, lunch, protein snacks and layers of clothes. Shame the rucksack is not waterproof, everything was soaking by the time we got back. No where to have lunch due to the weather so gave it a miss. Did find a great pub though once we got back to the car and changed into dry clothes :)
Snowdon is a mountain and an ideal training ground for the Great Wall of China Trek. We took the Llanberis path which is the easiest it seems... We expected it to take about 7 hours and had we completed it we think we would have done it in 6.
We got 3/4 of the way up but then we were in 60/70mph winds and a lot of rain with no visibility. I did not feel safe continuing and it would have been stupid to do so. Even so we did well considering we are not used to this amount of walking. 4 hours in the wind and rain for no views is something else. In the picture below the drop to the left is some way down, no idea how far as couldn't see anything but you will die if you blew over the edge.
Next steps
Due to the weather, the weekends will still involve a walk and up some of the hills but Snowdon v2 will need to wait until March when the weather will be improving, hopefully she writes.
So, today it seems it is 250 days until the challenge. Not sure what happened to the last 50 to be honest but training is not in full swing.
I have today bought walking boots suitable for the event and have time to break in. Good timing as they were in the sale at Cotswold and they had an extra 15% off today :) Still another £75to add to the cost though.
I have started extra basic walking though 2 evenings a week half an hour and 1 hour at the weekend. All on the flat and around the normal streets but it's a start (at least that what I am telling myself).
Not started any fundraising yet though as it seems too early. Still just in the early days of prep.
Tonight is the first step in raising £5,000, not a small challenge in itself.
My Virgin Money Giving page is the place to donate. By using Virgin Giving any tax payer that gift aids means that tax can be claimed and added to the money raised. In the words of a famous supermarket 'every little helps'.
Shared on Facebook and Twitter and now the hard work begins, it is much more than getting physically fit but more importantly raising money for such a great cause.
Yesterday I visited Cotswold Outdoor in Manchester to purchase walking poles. Cotswold give a 15% discount for those partaking in a Charity Challenge event hence my visit. Never having used walking poles before I had no idea on the difference and which ones to buy. I opted for the Grasmere T7 Antishock poles. They are quiet light weight and telescopic.
Grasmere T7 Antishock poles
Lancaster Canal
Maybe not hilly but as we were there today made sense to try the new poles out. I can say they are very useful for moving brambles out of the way! I did walk for 4 miles on the hottest day of the year so far, on an uneven surface. I learnt that I need to invest in a bigger water bottle and one that is easier to use than a normal one. What a faff with walking poles stopping to open ruck sack to get a drink. Oh the simple things.
Yesterday, I took my first visit to Derian House to meet with Mick Croskery, the Community Fundraiser. I wasn't sure what to expect and to be honest I don't think many people do when they first visit a children's hospice. Although a children's hospice the services are for children and young people up to 25 years and as such it is suitable for a wide age range.
On arrival as I got out of the car, a hearse was leaving and I later found out that it was a little girl that had recently died.
The Hospice and its Facilities
That being said the hospice is a happy place as it should be, all the walls are decorated with bright artwork. That may seem odd to anyone that has never visited one but it is a place that is designed with children in mind to make them feel happy not sad and depressed.
It goes without saying that the rooms are large and full of the latest technology and comfort, specialist beds, wheelchairs and equipment. There is also a sensory room, lounge area where the children spend much of their time. The older children spend time in the lounge where there are computers and gaming machines such as play-stations and xbox's plus televisions. The hospice also has a number of flats so that parents can stay close to the children and spend what ever time they need with them.
Soft play room
Sensory room
Bedroom
Specialist bed
There is a pool room that is specially adapted for the children that can be used by them and also their family on weekends. This may not mean much until you realise that going swimming as a family is a non starter at a regular pool. They are just not suitable for many reasons, but include the temperature (this one is heated) and the equipment to get in and out. This pool is booked during the week for the sick children and then families can book in at weekends, each one hour session costs £40 to run but the free to the families of course.
Pool
The gardens are beautiful and of course with children in mind, there is a seaside area as well as a play area. All designed specifically for wheelchairs.
Garden
Play area
Memory pebbles
Play area
Seaside area
Respite Care
Respite care is generally seen as help for parents and this is true, but respite care can also be a big benefit for the children. I was interested to learn that some of the older boys arrange to go in together for a 'holiday', this may sound odd but they need a break from their parents. Again simple things come to light, they want to get together as they are friends all in a similar situation and they want simple pleasures such as going to bed when they want to. At home, bed time is at the latest when mum and dad go to bed, if they want to watch something on TV they can't. Why? Because they need their parents to help them to bed. They go there to stay up until 2am and eat pizza and have fun with friends.
One other thing that came from this was the inaccessibility of the kitchen. When designed and built it was done so as a commercial kitchen but when asked, the older children want to be able to be part of making their own pizza as 2am and as it stands they can't. The cost of a new kitchen though is £27,000!
Sibling Support
This is the service that really surprised me and equally impressed me. I expected a children's hospice to help look after sick children whether it be at the end of their life or respite care to give parents support and a much needed rest and this they do. The one thing I did not think about though was the affect a sick child can have on siblings. Parents naturally have to give more attention to a sick child and this can leave any other siblings feeling left out. It is more than that though, the siblings don't get a childhood the same as their school friends, simple pleasures such as going to the cinema, a theme park or for a pizza with family is not possible as the venues are not suitable for wheelchairs.
Yes, they may go out with school friends but they do not understand the home situation and what it is like living with a very sick brother or sister.
The hospice has a sibling support team that help the well children to be children, They arrange trips to theme parks and crazy golf for example and take them out for pizza. Sometimes on their own and sometimes as a group as they can all have fun together and support each other knowing what each other is going through. Needless to say this costs money!
I decided to look at the kit list today, there are quite a few things that are required and some things that are optional. To be fair most things are inexpensive and as such make for great gifts. With this in mind and with having plenty of time before the adventure begins it made sense to me to add to my Amazon wish list. What this really means is that my mum, sister and son can buy them for me for Christmas.
As I have already mentioned I have not done any fundraising before, well not unless you count the sponsored something or other I did in primary school, and I don't. This means I need to learn the best way.
Today's challenge therefore, is to compare donation sites Just Giving and Virgin Giving, then set up an account. I chose these two simply as they are the two most well known. As with anything there are pros and cons of each one. Having looked at both I have opted for Virgin, the main reason being that they are not for profit and do not charge any fees for gift aid.
The account is now set up, but not yet promoting until I visit Derian House and truly understand what difference funds form this challenge will make.
So tonight after dinner, I made the first effort in training. 298 days to go and I went for a 2 mile walk with hubby around the local park. Granted not a big step but hey I started, now need to download the training plan...
Now that I am committed to doing this, my blog is to document the training and fundraising as it goes over the next 299 days! To start with a little bit about me (very little).
Who am I?
Recently my boss called me a 'middle aged cheerleader', closely followed by a question asking if I was OK with being called middle aged. Of course I am as that is exactly what I am. I am 47 and will be 48 1/2 by the time I do this charity trek so no spring chicken let's be honest. And yes that 1/2 is important to me!
Married and a mum to a 24 year old. I am a fan of American TV Box Sets, NASCAR and concerts. I love live music and a big fan of Guns n' Roses and Depeche Mode. I also love to read especially books on East Germany, no idea why but I love anything to do with Germany.
My life
I work, I love to work and as such I work a lot. I am in at 6.15am and leave at 5.30pm at the earliest. Why, because I love working.
Other than work I do manage to get to the gym twice a week but other than that not one for exercise to be honest.
So today I made a decision to trek across the Great Wall of China. It sounds like an easy decision to have made some might say but I have been toying with it for a number of years but never quite managed to go ahead and do it, until today on my lunch break.
Why now?
Well realistically I need to be doing things like this before I am 50 which is not that far off (19 months from when I come back). The lunch time decision though came about as I was sat eating my tuna salad browsing and went to fill in the form to get an idea of cost and thought well if why not. This is where it could be argued that there is a downside of knowing the cvc number of my credit card, it was so easy to press submit. I did and then it hit me as the message popped up and said 'Congratulations you have 300 days to go'. It may have said that but what I read was 'Hey you have 300 days to get fit' and then the OMG state of mind kicked in.
My first time.
I am new to this and when I say this I mean a virgin of any form of physical event and fundraising. I have not done a 5k walk, run, sponsored silence or cake bake. Well, not since school and even then not sure what I did, but have a recollection of a sponsorship form for something or other. I am not what you would call a fitness freak, I do go to the gym twice a week though :), and am kind of banking on this being a decent starting point (I accept that I could be deluded here).
Which charity?
I spent 5 hours (no exaggeration) researching which charity to do this for. This was so hard, I now know quite a lot about how much key charities raise each year and how much of year £1 goes to the good work versus the general expenses. I decided that even though I donate to some of the big ones generally this time it had to be for a local charity that would actually benefit from a decent chunk (hopefully she says) and that would make a difference to them. I opted for Derian House, a children's hospice based in Lancashire that covers the whole of the country and the South Lakes.
I am fortunate that I can self fund this trip which means that every single penny I raise will go direct to Derian House.
My personal challenge.
So I have 300 days to get fit, train, learn to walk with poles. On top of that when I get there I need to give up social media and work for 14 days! 14 days I mean that is unheard of, that is a heck of a challenge for me not working. I am a workaholic, not knowing what is going on will kill me if the trek doesn't. On top of that I am intolerant to gluten, so meals should be fun lots of boiled rice and no sauce springs to mind. Equally, known for 5 star hotels on my normal trips the basic lodges will also make for an interesting time for me.
All in all this should make for some good fundraising as anyone who knows me knows there is more than the actual trekking here that is challenging for me.
What next?
I now need to get my act together and get a training plan together, visit Derian House and find out more of what they do (need to pull on those heart strings), and buy my kit list.
