Nothing like being prepared apparently...
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.
An odd thing to be saying in the middle of June!
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
Tuesday, 26 June 2018
Fundraising plan for Derian House
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.
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.
Monday, 25 June 2018
First bit of exercise
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...
Sunday, 24 June 2018
Lisa Spann (that will be me then).
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).
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, 23 June 2018
The Great Wall of China Challenge
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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