I don’t know about you, but I only feel inspired to write things if it’s something positive and upbeat. With that in mind I should apologise for not having posted any blog updates for a while. Lots of people have been asking about my progress so I felt it time I should write.
The last month has been a real challenge. At the start of February I began to suffer from shin splints. For those of you that may not know, shin splints are aggravation of the soft tissue that connects the muscles to the shin bones (I’m not a doctor so forgive me if that’s not a great explanation). In laymen’s terms it hurts when I walk and even more when I run. Causes vary between increasing training too quickly, over use, tight calf muscles, incorrect shoes and other factors.
The recommended treatment in my case is rest, so I haven’t been able to run. At such a crucial time in training this has been particularly hard to bear. I’m seeing a running injury physio and following his advice with regards to exercises to do to, and he’s reassuring me rest is the right thing. Fortunately he’s been very positive but still it’s hard.
Doing a marathon for a charity adds so much pressure as you have to publicise you’re running it to raise awareness and get sponsorship. In doing so you build up a lot of hype. With that hype comes questions. People ask you how you’re doing, and when you’re doing well that’s great. But unfortunately when you’re not doing well it’s not nice to have to tell people that. People’s reactions can be very different, some are very positive and reassuring, whereas others can worry you with talk of 'running out of time' or telling you horror stories of other runners who have tried and failed. I know they have good intentions but it still adds to the pressure. Training for a marathon with its highs and lows really is like a rollercoaster ride I’ve not experienced before.
As time has gone on the pain in my shins has decreased. There’s still a mild ache but following the physio’s advice I will try my first short run tonight. I’m full of fear. With any luck tonight’s run will go well and I’ll get back on track soon, but I’m scared running again will make things worse. This is probably the tensest time in my training programme so far.
Keep your fingers crossed for me.
X
http://justgiving.com/paul-raybould
Showing posts with label AIDS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AIDS. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Halfway through training - 25 January 2010
As 25th January will be exactly halfway through my marathon training programme I wanted to send an update to say:
A) Thank you again to everybody who has sponsored me
And
B) To give you an update on my training progress in advance of my reaching the halfway mark in my training programme.
My first day of training back in October already feels like so long ago. At that point the most I had ever run was the occasional 20 minutes on the treadmill.
In December I was fortunate enough to go to the Terrence Higgins Trust's pre-Christmas drinks party. It's an annual event to thank individuals who have donated over £1,000 and also their top fund-raisers. I was really pleased that night to discover that I am officially THT's biggest fund-raiser. At that point donations were already at £3,500, so almost double the total amount their marathon runners usually manage to raise. I even got to meet Dannii Minogue that night, and seeing how grateful and happy the staff at THT were with my fund-raising progress made me so happy and buzzing with pride, so thank you again to everybody who has sponsored me :o)
Since then the weather has gotten increasingly worse, but I'm very pleased to say it hasn't stopped my training. As well as the occasional run home from work and regular mid-week treadmill runs, I've been fortunate enough to be able to manage most of my long runs outdoors at the weekends. It being the coldest winter in decades does add an extra level of challenge, but I always knew winter training wouldn't be easy, plus my friend Humberto has joined me on a few long runs too which makes them more bearable. My weekly Sunday run is now 7 miles, and my total mileage each week is around 18 miles. That is still increasing every week until I run the Brighton half marathon on 21st February, and will of course continue to grow each week after that until the marathon on 25th April. I'll continue to provide updates nearer the time to keep you up to date on my progress. In the meantime, if you're aware of somebody who was intending to sponsor me but hasn't gotten round to it yet, please feel free to forward this link to them and encourage them to sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/paul-raybould
I'm currently at £3,800 of sponsorship but I'm aiming for a grand total of £5,000 to make a massive difference to the Terrence Higgins Trust charity and the lives of every HIV+ person who is relying on their support. Thank you again for the sponsorship and support you have given me to help me achieve this xxx
A) Thank you again to everybody who has sponsored me
And
B) To give you an update on my training progress in advance of my reaching the halfway mark in my training programme.
My first day of training back in October already feels like so long ago. At that point the most I had ever run was the occasional 20 minutes on the treadmill.
In December I was fortunate enough to go to the Terrence Higgins Trust's pre-Christmas drinks party. It's an annual event to thank individuals who have donated over £1,000 and also their top fund-raisers. I was really pleased that night to discover that I am officially THT's biggest fund-raiser. At that point donations were already at £3,500, so almost double the total amount their marathon runners usually manage to raise. I even got to meet Dannii Minogue that night, and seeing how grateful and happy the staff at THT were with my fund-raising progress made me so happy and buzzing with pride, so thank you again to everybody who has sponsored me :o)
Since then the weather has gotten increasingly worse, but I'm very pleased to say it hasn't stopped my training. As well as the occasional run home from work and regular mid-week treadmill runs, I've been fortunate enough to be able to manage most of my long runs outdoors at the weekends. It being the coldest winter in decades does add an extra level of challenge, but I always knew winter training wouldn't be easy, plus my friend Humberto has joined me on a few long runs too which makes them more bearable. My weekly Sunday run is now 7 miles, and my total mileage each week is around 18 miles. That is still increasing every week until I run the Brighton half marathon on 21st February, and will of course continue to grow each week after that until the marathon on 25th April. I'll continue to provide updates nearer the time to keep you up to date on my progress. In the meantime, if you're aware of somebody who was intending to sponsor me but hasn't gotten round to it yet, please feel free to forward this link to them and encourage them to sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/paul-raybould
I'm currently at £3,800 of sponsorship but I'm aiming for a grand total of £5,000 to make a massive difference to the Terrence Higgins Trust charity and the lives of every HIV+ person who is relying on their support. Thank you again for the sponsorship and support you have given me to help me achieve this xxx
Friday, 16 October 2009
This marathon training ain’t hard! – 14 October 2009
Having accepted my place running for THT (and then having told as many people as possible about it so I can’t back out) I figured it was now time to focus on fund-raising. The training bit is pretty easy at this stage, just three 20 minute runs each week, so whilst people are still on a high from my having been offered a place it seemed like the perfect time to get their sponsorship.
As far as I was concerned I had all the necessary elements to raise funds:
1) A worthwhile cause
2) A good contacts list
3) My job is marketing
4) I've never asked for sponsorship before (except for maybe once or twice at school but nobody apart from mum will remember that)
5) I'm running a marathon, not a little fun run, an actual 26.2 mile marathon.
People should be falling over themselves to give me cash. Right?
Telling people you’re running a marathon and asking for their sponsorship is a bit of a rollercoaster ride really. Since starting my collection I’ve had some massive highs and some dips too.
When you ask people to sponsor you, you can’t help but have a figure in mind that you think they’ll offer and how supportive of you they’ll be. It’s a complex equation that takes in to account your relationship with them, how well they know you, their financial circumstances, and their attitude towards the cause.
Some people who you’d expect to have no interest send fantastic emails congratulating you and giving generous amounts of money. They tell you how amazing and brave they think you are, and show real enthusiasm and passion for what you’re doing. Some of the emails friends have sent to me telling me how proud they are of me and how much they want to support me have quite literally moved me to tears.
Just saying you’re running a marathon for charity gives you a strange superhuman-like status. It’s actually quite ironic really as all I’ve done so far is say I’m going to do it and a small amount of training, and yet people keep telling me how incredible I am. This stage must be one of the high points!
In my recent blog I listed my motivations for wanting to do this. There’s one more thing I’d add to that list now, and that’s the support of others. I genuinely never realised the scale of how supportive people can be, and it feels fantastic :o)
You can show your support by sponsoring me at http://www.justgiving.com/paul-raybould/
As far as I was concerned I had all the necessary elements to raise funds:
1) A worthwhile cause
2) A good contacts list
3) My job is marketing
4) I've never asked for sponsorship before (except for maybe once or twice at school but nobody apart from mum will remember that)
5) I'm running a marathon, not a little fun run, an actual 26.2 mile marathon.
People should be falling over themselves to give me cash. Right?
Telling people you’re running a marathon and asking for their sponsorship is a bit of a rollercoaster ride really. Since starting my collection I’ve had some massive highs and some dips too.
When you ask people to sponsor you, you can’t help but have a figure in mind that you think they’ll offer and how supportive of you they’ll be. It’s a complex equation that takes in to account your relationship with them, how well they know you, their financial circumstances, and their attitude towards the cause.
Some people who you’d expect to have no interest send fantastic emails congratulating you and giving generous amounts of money. They tell you how amazing and brave they think you are, and show real enthusiasm and passion for what you’re doing. Some of the emails friends have sent to me telling me how proud they are of me and how much they want to support me have quite literally moved me to tears.
Just saying you’re running a marathon for charity gives you a strange superhuman-like status. It’s actually quite ironic really as all I’ve done so far is say I’m going to do it and a small amount of training, and yet people keep telling me how incredible I am. This stage must be one of the high points!
In my recent blog I listed my motivations for wanting to do this. There’s one more thing I’d add to that list now, and that’s the support of others. I genuinely never realised the scale of how supportive people can be, and it feels fantastic :o)
You can show your support by sponsoring me at http://www.justgiving.com/paul-raybould/
“Sh*t, I’ve got a place in the marathon!” – 6 October 2009
I’ve wanted to run a marathon for a long time now, mainly for three reasons:
1) It’s the most effective thing I can think of to raise money for a cause I’m passionate about
2) A sense of personal achievement from having conquered a massive physical challenge
3) Because it might give me the opportunity to dress as Wonder Woman in public and be openly applauded rather than ridiculed.
I’d applied to run for the Terrence Higgins Trust HIV charity for the 2009 marathon, but was declined a place. If I’m completely honest I was ecstatic with relief when they emailed me to tell me I had been unsuccessful for the 2009 event, but ‘running a marathon’ remained on my ‘to do’ list for life.
2009 has been a very inspiring year for me, and I’ve met some amazing people that have really made me want more out of my life and given me a sense that I could achieve anything. I recently met a guy called David Cunningham who had fought for gay rights in the 70s, and helped pass the first child protection laws in the US, amongst many other inspiring things. After spending time in his company it reminded me of some of my ambitions and made me feel like I wanted to make a difference. I thought of my marathon again. I’d missed the opportunity to get a place through the ballot, but I still had the chance to apply through my favourite charity the Terrence Higgins Trust.
To be honest I still never expected to get a place. I know how competitive it is, THT is a big charity that lots of people must apply to, I’d put the amount I expected to raise at a modest £3,000, but a small part of me also thought that maybe they might be more receptive this time with it being my second year of applying?
On Tuesday 6th of October 2009, I opened my email inbox after finishing my lunch. The first thing I saw was an email from Heidi Leybourne. I recognised her name as the ‘Running Events Co-ordinator’ for THT. I was overcome with feelings of both excitement and dread. As I opened the email the words ‘Great news’ jumped out at me.
My first thought? “Sh*t, I’ve got a place in the marathon!”
Immediately my mind filled with a million objections. Could I do this? But I don’t even run! What if I get an injury? What if I die in the process?
There was only one way to cope with this flood of reservations. Reply to confirm the place so I couldn’t back out. So I did! I’ve got a place in the London Marathon. Hooray! F*ck!
Sponsor me now at http://www.justgiving.com/paul-raybould/
1) It’s the most effective thing I can think of to raise money for a cause I’m passionate about
2) A sense of personal achievement from having conquered a massive physical challenge
3) Because it might give me the opportunity to dress as Wonder Woman in public and be openly applauded rather than ridiculed.
I’d applied to run for the Terrence Higgins Trust HIV charity for the 2009 marathon, but was declined a place. If I’m completely honest I was ecstatic with relief when they emailed me to tell me I had been unsuccessful for the 2009 event, but ‘running a marathon’ remained on my ‘to do’ list for life.
2009 has been a very inspiring year for me, and I’ve met some amazing people that have really made me want more out of my life and given me a sense that I could achieve anything. I recently met a guy called David Cunningham who had fought for gay rights in the 70s, and helped pass the first child protection laws in the US, amongst many other inspiring things. After spending time in his company it reminded me of some of my ambitions and made me feel like I wanted to make a difference. I thought of my marathon again. I’d missed the opportunity to get a place through the ballot, but I still had the chance to apply through my favourite charity the Terrence Higgins Trust.
To be honest I still never expected to get a place. I know how competitive it is, THT is a big charity that lots of people must apply to, I’d put the amount I expected to raise at a modest £3,000, but a small part of me also thought that maybe they might be more receptive this time with it being my second year of applying?
On Tuesday 6th of October 2009, I opened my email inbox after finishing my lunch. The first thing I saw was an email from Heidi Leybourne. I recognised her name as the ‘Running Events Co-ordinator’ for THT. I was overcome with feelings of both excitement and dread. As I opened the email the words ‘Great news’ jumped out at me.
My first thought? “Sh*t, I’ve got a place in the marathon!”
Immediately my mind filled with a million objections. Could I do this? But I don’t even run! What if I get an injury? What if I die in the process?
There was only one way to cope with this flood of reservations. Reply to confirm the place so I couldn’t back out. So I did! I’ve got a place in the London Marathon. Hooray! F*ck!
Sponsor me now at http://www.justgiving.com/paul-raybould/
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