On your marks, get set, GO!

Days to go: 169

Miles this week: 12
Miles total: 12
Other exercise: Football training and a Football match
Money raised this week: £20.00
Running Total: £20.00
Still to go: £1,480.00

 

This week has seen me fret more over which mobile phone to upgrade to than how many miles I should be covering… bad I know, sorry guys *bowing head in shame*. Having said that, I have been keeping the old legs ticking over this week by doing three runs. I did two small ones of three miles each and then added them together to decide what my long run should be… Not sure there’s much science in that logic, but it seemed like a good idea.

So as well as going running I have also managed two football sessions, one being an hour-long training session (where I picked up a nice little dead leg for my troubles) and the other was a Sunday League match with a 2-0 win and 90 minutes under the belt for me (get in there!).

This week I have turned my attention to where the hell I need to start my training because, as I divulged in my first blog ‘So am I Crazy or Stupid?’, this will be my first ever marathon. It’s safe to say I had no clue whatsoever about where to start and didn’t want to get bogged down with the millions, if not billions, of results Google

Kindly supplied me with…..

Err surely it’s just a case of lacing up my trainers and running……isn’t it?!

 ….So I decided to speak to my very good friend Jane as she ran this marathon a couple of years back and was lucky enough to get in through the ballot this year. She provided me with some very useful tips/information for training and what to expect on race day. So on the recommendation of Jane, I purchased a book called ‘The Non-Runner’s Marathon Training’. Now this book has been broken up into an introduction and then a sixteen week training program, based around running 4 times a week. You are meant to read the training program week by week, in order for it to help you overcome any of the psychological aspects of endurance activities.

So a sixteen week programme means I don’t have to do anything till end of December…….RESULT!!

Sadly not, as a person I am far too restless to not do anything until then, and I still need to maintain the base level of fitness I have already achieved this year. So with that in mind, I have devised a plan for throughout November.

Oh I nearly forgot to say, I upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 - I am sure this question has been playing on your mind through the whole of this blog!

As you can see from the start of this blog, the fundraising is going… well, erm… it’s pretty much non-existent. I know it’s still very early days, but I think next week I will be trying to come up with ways to help me hit my target of £1,500.00. I do, however, want to say a huge thank you to everyone that has sponsored me so far! Though I say everyone... really my thanks go to my wonderful girlfriend Sara Shaw.

So guys, let’s get this sponsorship snow-balling towards my target this coming week! I thank you in advance.

 

Please be sure to visit my fundraising page at

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LeighFleming

 

Leigh

Who are Sense UK

Well, with the first blog out of the way I thought for my second masterpiece I would inform you guys about the work that Sense UK actually do, to let you know what will be spurring me on to cross the finish line after a long 26.2 miles through the capital.

Sense is a national charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deafblind or multi-sensory impaired, as well as those who have a single-sensory impairment with additional needs.

 

 

• Deafblindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss that affects a person’s ability to communicate, to access information, and to get around.
• Deafblindness is not just a deaf person who cannot see, or a blind person who cannot hear. The two impairments together increase the effects of each.
• People of all ages can have a sight or hearing impairment. It may have been from birth (congenital), or due to deterioration later in life (acquired). But most deafblind people have some vision and hearing.

The charity was established out of a family support group that was started in 1955 by parents whose children were born with rubella, and the experience, skills and views of families remain central to their work.

The guys at Sense offer high-quality, flexible services across the UK, using skilled staff and a dedicated network of volunteers. Sponsoring my marathon will enable Sense to continue their work with children, young people, adults and older people who have progressive sight and hearing loss, allowing the charity to carry on offering a range of housing, educational and leisure opportunities to those who need it.

Please be sure to visit my fundraising page at

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LeighFleming

 

Leigh

So am I Crazy or Stupid?

It’s only been six days since I received the phone call from Sense UK where they agreed to take a chance on me and welcomed me into their running team for 2014.

 

Then the task at hand finally hit me…….I have to run 26.2 miles!!!

 

So on Sunday 13 April 2014 I’ll be lined up with the rest of the 35,000+ runners, in our over-priced running shoes, ready to take on the streets of the capital in the London Marathon.

 

Yep, that’s right; I am running the London marathon for charity.

 

 

Now, I am by no means a seasoned runner. Before this year I had not run more than a few miles, unless you count school cross country (yep, me neither!), so I set myself a challenge this year to do my first half marathon. Well, it was more like “I’m turning thirty and it’s something nice to do”… you know, a milestone.

 

That lovely milestone resulted in me competing in three half marathons (Wokingham, Reading and Windsor), all coming in under the two hour mark. Just for fun I also did a Tough Mudder event, which was an 11 mile army assault course… So my thinking for 2014 was to do something bigger.

 

As this is most likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I thought I would share my progress over the next seven months by doing a weekly blog of my tales, living and breathing marathon training, where I’m sure even my cat will make the odd weekly story!

 

Whilst I hope to have some fun writing this blog and in achieving this huge milestone, it's nothing compared to what others have to go through on a day to day basis. This is why I have chosen to run in aid of Sense UK. For someone to lose two major senses and still be able to live an active life thanks to this charity is amazing and, because of this, Sense deserve all the money my legs can handle!

 

I know you guys will give generously and I thank you in advance for this.

 

So the question I am asking is ‘am I crazy or stupid?’

Only time will tell I guess, but please feel free to let me know which one when you kindly sponsor me.

Please be sure to visit my fundraising page at

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LeighFleming

 

Leigh