Three Weeks to Go…

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In a moment of madness I agreed to sign up for the Birmingham Half-Marathon in October and run 13 miles.

My physical state when I initially paid for my entrance fee in May was not exactly in brilliant condition. As someone who likes their food, along with the occasional cigarette and cocktail, my body has slowly increased in size to the point where I have easily gained 60+lbs in the last five years, and while I was fit enough to swim or run around for hours regularly in my youth, I could barely walk up the stairs a few months ago without feeling flustered and out of breath.

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A sweaty Suzie with the lovely Andrew… Gorgeous. I’m thinking of adopting it as my new look…

After a month (ok, two months) of procrastination, my friend and I decided that we would start our training, which began in July. That first run was awful – I hated every minute of it – and managed to walk/run just over a mile before I wanted to collapse. However, I was determined to continue, and regular encouragement from my friend meant that we were running four or five times a week, increasing our distance each time. I even started running with a bloggy friend, Andrew from Vokesy on a Sunday, and he has also helped to motivate me and give me techniques to improve my stamina.

After Barcelona my feet were so swollen and burnt I had to stop for a little while… I was grateful of the rest, but was worried that it would halt the progress I have made. However, with three weeks to go, I can now comfortably run about 6.5 miles without stopping. Granted, I have to do double that in the half-marathon, but with a little more training I’m sure I can do at least most of it. If I have to walk the rest of the way I will – my only goal is to get to the finish line.

And here is where you guys come in…

I have decided to use the run as an opportunity to raise money for two charities that mean a great deal to me. The first, Dementia UK, is a charity that is committed to improving the lives of people with dementia. My grandfather, the greatest man I ever knew, developed dementia when I was in my teens, and I watched him swiftly deteriorate from a strong, healthy and intelligent human being into a shell of his former self. Despite doing everything we could as a family, he didn’t receive the care and understanding he deserved from the professionals that were supposed to be looking after him, and when he passed away he weighed just half of what he should, and had contacted pneumonia. Thankfully, that awful place has since been closed down.

I have never asked for anything from the blogging world, but I am asking for your help with this…

I have set up a Just Giving page, and I am asking you lovely people, where possible, if you could sponsor me by making a donation. There is no fixed amount – any donation of any size will be greatly appreciated. If you can’t sponsor, please reblog and share across your social media – the more publicity my cause gets, the more money I can raise.

Here is the link to my Just Giving page:

http://www.justgiving.com/suziespeaks

I will also include the link in my sidebar for the next month.

Ideally, I would love to raise £750 – I figured with with over 13,000 readers I should be able to get somewhere close to that at least… Here’s hoping anyway! It’s for a good cause, and it will certainly make a difference!

I am also raising money for Bolton Breast Cancer Unit. A friend of mine, K, was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer last year at the age of 31, and received her treatment there. Thankfully, she is now in full remission, and I have been inspired by her strength and positivity throughout the whole thing. However, I am doing that through cash funds as I can’t set up a just giving page for it as it isn’t a charity.

As always, thank you for your support…

You can find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog. You can also find me on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks, and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks

34 thoughts on “Three Weeks to Go…”

  8. Reblogged this on Journey To Ambeth and commented:
    I met Suzie at the Blogger’s Bash in London this year, and she is as lovely in person as she is on her blog 🙂 Now she’s challenged herself to complete a half marathon, raising money for two very deserving charities – let’s get behind her and give her some support!

  9. Reblogged this on Journey To Ambeth and commented: I met Suzie at the Blogger’s Bash in London this year, and she is as lovely in person as she is on her blog 🙂 Now she’s challenged herself to complete a half marathon, raising money for two very deserving charities – let’s get behind her and give her some support! xx

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  15. Reblogged this on The Chicago Files and commented:
    I utterly adore Suzie from, “Suzie81speaks”. She is one of the most amazing bloggers in the entire blogosphere. Suzie is running in a marathon to raise money for two phenomenal charities that are near and dear to her heart. “Dementia UK” in honor of her beloved grandfather, and “Bolton Breast Cancer Unit” for her friend who at 31 was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer (she’s in full remission, thank goodness).

  16. Good Luck Suzie, try to enjoy every moment of the event, smile as much as you can, with people cheering you on as you go round the course you’ll feel like a superstar.

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  18. I should bloody think so. After going to all that effort, you’d be mad not to help a worthy cause (or two).

    Having run a few myself (and you may recall my philosophy about taking part), I know you don’t need to get all the way up to 13 miles before you run it, but it would help if you could get up to 10. And don’t run for a week before the race. It won’t make it easy, but it will make it easier.

    Looking forward to hearing how it all went

    • Thanks Graeme! I don’t know why, but my iPad always autocorrects your name to Gray Me for some reason… I think i might start calling you that instead to save time 😉

      I’m generally adopting the philosophy that I will keep going as far as I can, slow down if i need to and walk if it gets too much. My only goal is to finish the bloody thing haha!

      • I’ve been called a lot worse.

        As for your philosophy, it’s good enough. And much better than those who don’t bother. It’ll be a great day. There may be times when you wonder why the hell you’re doing it, but when you get to the end you’ll get a great sense of satisfaction. And then you might just start planning your next one…

      • I found that if I didn’t have a race lined up I wasn’t as motivated to train, so I would generally have a number of races throughout the year. But I was happier with 10ks, and usually only did three or four a year. I only did a half marathon because I fancied being part of the spectacle that is the Great North Run – and ended up doing it twice.

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