Macmillan Coffee Morning

Two members of TRFGR were up till the wee hours Thursday night doing their bit for another charity. No we weren't walking, jogging, running, hiking, swimming or anything that could remotely be called exercise or fighting the flab. We were baking. But baking hard and baking good. Every year my work support the Macmillan Coffee Morning and it's always an event to behold. I've never seen such wonderful cakes and with Sarah Lays help I managed to rustle up a few batches of scrumptious cupcakes to add to the feast. I took the morning off to help and donate my own cakes and pennies, my Blog has pictures and more details. It was awesome, bring on MCM2010!

Race for Life Reflection

So the race is over for another year.

We did it!

Im so proud of all the girls for overcoming everything thrown at them in the weeks preceeding the race and for making it another proud year for the team! We all did it, we ALL did it, we RULE! Im so proud of Team Run Fat Girl Run!

It was ideal weather for the race this year, Hellfire was replaced with overcast, cool, damp conditions. There was a good turn out and it all got a little emotional again, it really hits home at these events just how many people are touched by Cancer and how important the race is. Spurred on by this, Vena and advice from the running bible I got my jog on and both Vena and I made it round in 27 minutes. Im so chuffed with this, i never thought i'd really do it in under 34minutes. And im pleased to say Nick is staying true to his word and coughing up the sponsorship he bet me!

A MASSIVE thanks to everyone who supported us by coming on the day and by sponsoring a Fat Girl. It meant so much to us and Cancer Research UK. We're proud to have done our bit in the fight to beat cancer, so thankyou on behalf of all the Fat Girls, we did it together xx

So anyways, i know i said before i'd never do it again, im too fat and certainly too unfit to undertake such a challenge. But you know what i cant wait for next year. It's true that i got the usual 'i can conquer the world' rush after finishing the 5k, but it's been a week since we did it now and i still want to do it all over again! I suprised myself and maybe if i did have a plan and stuck to it then i could be fit enough to beat 27 minutes?.... have i heard that before?

But first things first we have a whole year of other charity events to try! So what's our next game plan..... watch this space!!!! Or send suggestions to our Facebook group!

Lauren xx

Latest tally of funds for Race for Life '09

I've had a quick add up this morning and the current team total stands at £1,264! This is a great amount and there may even be a little bit more as sponsorship is still trickling in.
A week on from the race and muscles have almost stopped aching but the sense of achievement is still in the air. Well, I am guessing about that given I can't actually successfully take on air given I got myself a chest infection from limping round the course last week!
So while I wheeze like a Lynda Le Plant serial killer we're gathering in the pennies and starting to think about what the team can take on next.
We're open to suggestions for events and charities - so let us know what the Fat Girls should turn their athletic prowess to next :)
And thank you - again - for supporting us. Fat Girl followers rock!
S C-P (or should that be C-I for Chest Infection now?) x

Race for Life 2009: Done!

Yesterday Team Run, Fat Girl, Run gathered at Holme Pierrepont near Nottingham and took part in the five kilometre Race for Life in aid of Cancer Research UK.
The team was down to seven members on the day and one of them was in the early stages of recovering from swine flu so wasn't really any use!
However, the girls gathered and we all tackled the course at our own pace. Lauren and Vena were speedy superstars and completed in less than 30 minutes, followed by Kelly, Sarah B and Toni with Sarah H and myself bringing up the rear. The whole team finished in under an hour and all the girls should be very proud of themselves for taking part!
And our sponsors should be very proud of themselves too. The team are still totting up how much cash we got but the total stands at over £1000 already! If you didn't manage to sponsor us before race day there is still time - links are on the right of the page, just pick your favourite Fat Girl and off you go!
Now all we have to decide is what our next challenge will be!

T-19.5 hours

Image by deadheaduk via Flickr

Last year I earned myself the nickname Champagne Perspiration for running (OK, walking) the Race for Life mere hours after stepping off a wedding dance floor.
This year I will be running (OK, walking) mere hours (alright, a day) after rising from my sick bed having succumbed to the disease de rigeur, swine flu. I'm still a bit sniffly but most definitely not contagious. This will not stop me from joining my band of Fat Girls and getting our active on for 5km in order to earn the money people have so generously donated via us to Cancer Research UK.
As an overweight asthmatic (and a great self-promoter I am sure you will agree) undertaking five km isn't as easy as it sounds. But that is part of the ethos of Team Run, Fat Girl, Run - to do it even though we know we aren't super-honed athletes!
I've been pretty ill for a week...more ill than I have been in a very long time. But that is nothing compared to the fight people put up against cancer every single day. By supporting causes like Cancer Research UK we can help more of them win.
I'm already feeling emotional about tomorrow. That may partly be down to it being the first time I will have left the house in a week. But mainly it is because, and get ready for the cheese, the hero that is every woman taking part tomorrow and the heroes whose stories are told on the dedications on their backs.
Thanks again to everyone who has supported a Fat Girl so far - the team total is now nearing £1000. And that makes all of you Big Damn Heroes too.

The race is...on?

Image via Wikipedia

Ok - so it is T-4 days now until Race for Life 2009 (I think). I sort of lost count as I've been hit with swine flu (second team member to contract after Sarah B) and to be honest I have doubted I would make it *to* the Bowl of Hellfire nevermind round it.
But, despite my melodramatic proclamations to my darling husband last night that I was soon to be carried off by the pig flu I am feeling marginally better this morning. Well enough that I can believe a few more doses of Tamiflu and some rest and good food and I will be non-contagious and at least able to limp round.
It means the training I've put in over the last few months is all but worthless. Yes, that's right, I am holding swine flu responsible for a poor performance now - not my laziness and general un-fitness! But I am still gonna do it! Well, probably.
So -I'm taking the actual decision on whether to race or not up to the line. I clearly won't be there if there is any doubt that I am still infectious. I may not be able to run/walk/stumble if I can't get my lungs to work better than they do right now. What I can definitely do is support the girls who are going to be there for sure - and will my immune system to keep fighting so I can be with them come Sunday!
Watch this space...
S C-P
News Just In: We're another team member down - Ace can't make the race :( Hopefully she will be able to transfer to another event as she still really wants to take part. We'll miss you on the day Ace!

Race For Life: T-6

Righto then, it's 6 days till Race For Life 2009. Im so proud of all our friends and family for really stepping up to the mark these last few weeks and digging deep to sponsor us all! Late minutes sponsorship is more than welcome as we need a last burst of encouragement as race day literally races towards us! If you want to support us and help beat cancer follow the links on the right of this blog and donate to your fav Fat Girl. No matter what you can afford it all goes to an amazing cause, see what Cancer Research UK do with your money.

I've done NO training since my last post, and i've no time for any training till 'Race For Life: T-1' aka Saturday, which is taking shape as a fun filled afternoon of poolside chitchat and munchies with TT dvds in the evening at Mrs Sarahs house. We'll be working out those core muscles through a strict schedule of belly laughing till it hurts and dancing our carbs off to our boys! It's exhausting training but we're dedicated! You'll have to wait to hear if we're sweating alcohol like the Sarahs valiant effort last year!

REMEMBER you can not only support us with money but with your presence at The Bowl of Hellfire on SUNDAY 26th JULY. The Race starts at 11am and as we found out last year the traffic gets worse the later you leave it so pack a drink and some suntan lotion and get there early, we'll be limbering up from about 10am so come give the Fat Girls a wave!!

Photos will be posted here and on our Facebook group so check back for those on Monday!!!
Do i sound more jovial about race day? It's a lie, im bricking it!

Race For Life: T-13

So it's less than a fortnight till Team Run Fat Girl Run will be limbering up and taking their place at the start of the Race For Life. Granted we wont be first out the blocks when the whistle goes but we've all got our own goals for how we'd like to complete the race. I have my own challenge, set down by Nick who knows my stubbon and competitive side only too well. If i do it in under 34:01 minutes (his time doing 5k/3.1miles with injury) then he'll give me a considerable donation. Now this seemed ridiculous at first thought because last year we did it in over AN HOUR! So i'd need to cut that in half to be able to stick two fingers up at Nick. So i was thinking, can i do it? Will the smug satisfaction of getting under that time push me round the course; will the blood, sweat, tears and lung collapse be worth that...... bloody darn right it will! So that's the target, i'll fight hard for that time. If i dont do it fair enough, it's a pretty high bar for me to reach but i'll give it a bloody good go, all in the name of raising more money for charity (and in no way just to stick two fingers up at Nick.... you reckon?)

For the last few weeks i've been down the gym quite regular. Dont misconstrew this as enthusiasm or dedicated training... its been purely to balance out the fact i've been eating like a horse and smoking like a trooper. OK so i've resembled a lame asthmatic donkey whos left her artillary and marbles back at base. But i have been jogging a mile a time and doing it in a smudge under 10 minutes. It hurts but it's possible now without too much loss of vision and coughing up blood. So if i can keep this pace up for 3 miles i might just make it under 34:01 minutes. So THE Plan has been revised and crammed into 2 weeks of panic training. 1 mile in 10 minutes is achievable. This weeks phase will be to jog 2 miles in 20 minutes and then final weeks phase will be 3 miles in 30 minutes.

Hang on. Reality check! This reminds me of something.. oh yes.. this reminds me of THE Plan i had when i signed up for the race, the first time and the second time. I had a plan to increase my fitness slowly over the year so it wasnt such a panic in the first few weeks before race day. Which, I believe, is exactly where i find myself now and i suddenly feel a little reflective...

Oh how we had such enthusiasm, we were driven, we were determined..... ''we'll do the race again but this time we'll write a blog, have a plan, stick to it, i know we said that last year but this time it'll work, come rain or shine we'll train hard, we'll get fit, we'll do it proper, we wont leave it all till the last fortnight...''

So when im sat there after the race next Sunday, with my heart hammering through my chest, sweat pouring down my back, lungs bleeding trying to smoke a fag and choke down a greasy burger with my final breaths...... PLEASE stop me. Stop me, Stop me, Stop me. And i dont mean the burger or the fag but from repeating all this again! The Plan didnt work, it failed, again. Im not race fit, im terribly unprepared, and im actually going to attampt 5k in 30 minutes! Im a Fat Girl in a two week training panic! AGAIN! So remind me after the race it's just adrenaline making me feel good, explain to me this is a near death experience and my body is in shock, it is not feeling good it is in shock, it doesnt want to do it again and it will hate you for it. Dont let me sing the praises of The Plan and suggest all this again in 2010. DO NOT LET ME SAY THIRD TIME LUCKY! And never never let me talk to Nick again!

Final countdown

Blogging has been kind of slack of late, I know. We now have two weeks to go until Race (for Life) Day so expect a flurry of posts about training (right girls?).
My own training has taken a back seat for a while but kicks off again this weekend with practice runs and gym sessions pencilled in. I'm counting much walking, dancing and moshing (thanks to Take That and Blur on their support on this) over recent weekends as training though!
As for the rest of the team - well, we have one member down with swine flu. Sarah Barker has succumbed to the virus but is fighting a good fight against it so should be race fit :)
Keep an eye on the blog for more news and don't forget you can still sponsor a Fat Girl through the links over there --->
Mucho love, S C-P (not in anyway consuming chips while writing this) xxx

Katie's Midnight Walk II

Last night member's of Team Run, Fat Girl, Run gathered in Somercotes to take part in Katie's Midnight Walk.
If you've seen previous posts you'll know this is a walk organised by my husband's aunt, uncle and cousin in memory of their daughter (sister), Katie Taylor. Katie contracted malignant melanoma and died days before the first walk, aged 15, on 17 June 2008.
The walk is intended to highlight the dangers of skin cancer and raise money for research into treatment and ultimately a cure.
By walking at midnight it matches the theme of Melanoma Awareness Week - walking from darkness into light.
There was a small number of people who gathered and, led by Katie's father Wayne, completed the five mile circuit around the area where Katie lived in just under two hours.
The Fat Girl's don't just turn out for anything and when we do we always think of safety and style (not necessarily in that order) so last night we turned out in neon. Sarah, Lauren and Sarah neoned up with added glo-sticks and got their walk on.
As the walkers returned to cups of tea and sausage cobs the total raised (so far) was revealed - more than £4,000 - which will go directly to Dr Patel at Nottingham Hospital. He was the doctor who treated Katie and by funding his research there is a better chance of a cure being found and this disease which affects one in 50 and kills one in four will be eradicated.
If you haven't given and would like to do so you can still make a donation online here: http://www.justgiving.com/katiesmidnightwalk/
The Fat Girl's would like to thank everyone who supported them - thank you!
S C-P x

Katharine Alison Taylor 1992-2008

This post is in memory of Katherine Alison Taylor, or Katie as I knew her, my husband's cousin who died a year ago today, aged 15, from malignant melanoma.

To be honest, I don't really know how to write this post. And if I don't know how to write it with the distance of 365 days and of only knowing Katie briefly and mostly through family gatherings I can't imagine how those closer to her feel today.

I wish more than anything I didn't have to write this post. That Katie was about to complete her GCSEs and dreaming of what the future might hold for her. That her adventure was just getting underway. That today was just another day in the year. But it's not, so I do have to write.

Let me start with telling you what I know: Katie was a beautiful, brave young woman, who inspired me with her attitude to life well before and of the bad stuff hit, and even more so after it did.

Perhaps you feel you've heard all about the brave fight and the tragic ending before, about people who have contracted terrible diseases and fought long and hard against them? Maybe, but I truly believe with Katie it was never a truer word.

She was not a sunbather or reckless tanner. She was outdoorsy but never careless about looking after her skin. She lived in a quiet part of Derbyshire not in the glare of the desert sun. But she still contracted skin cancer.

She was treated quickly and expertly but despite valiently fighting with a smile on her face and compassion for those around her she didn't survive.

I feel honoured to have know Katie through my husband. Even though I didn't know her well I feel blessed that she touched my life and proud that she obvisouly touched the lives of so many others. She was wonderful to be around. She was happy, she was kind, she was positive, cheeky and full of personality and dreams.

There is no way to justify this loss. Katie being gone is indeed senseless. But if there is one good thing to come out of Katie's death it has to be raising awareness of this disease (which now strikes one in 50 people and one in four will die as a result) and the funds they (you) donate help to pay for prevention and research into a cure.

So, I am going to tell you should now do. I want you do to at least the first if not both of the following:

• Give your money to Katie's fund. This goes toward vital research into malignant melanoma being undertaken at Nottingham, where Katie was treated. Every penny counts in stopping more lights like Katie going out and more families and friends having a big hole in their hearts and lives where a loved one used to be: you can give your donation online on the Just Giving website.
• If you are around the East Midlands area and at a loss for how to entertain yourself at midnight this Saturday (20 June 200) come and join the second Katie's Midnight Walk. The first took place days after Katie died and we want to do her proud this year. It takes place in Somercotes near Alfreton and is five miles long. All are welcome to join in and there will be early morning refreshments for walkers at the pub afterwards. Message me on Twitter or comment here if you want more info.
  

And if you're still wondering why this is so important to me, and the other Fat Girls, read the honest account of this brutal disease written by Katie's family on the Katie's Midnight Walk

Thanks for taking the time to read this, for sharing in Katie's memory, and on the assumption you will donate thank you for that too. S C-P x

Katherine Alison Taylor - 1992-2008 - Per aspera ad astra

Fat Girl goes public!

Just thought i should update the Fat Girl blog with some exciting news. I awoke on Saturday morning with a bad case of dieters guilt brought on by late night munchies of the flapjack/supping vino variety! Thinking something must be done to quell the guilt and reduce the monsterous effects of a whole night of binge eating, i adorned my leggings, popped on the mp3, laced up my trainers, waved good bye to a open mouthed dad and started my morning jog! Yes that is right TRFGR followers, i took my jogging public! Granted it was 8am on a saturday and Folkestone is quite sleepy at this time but there were people in cars who passed me and im proud to say i wasn't spectacle enough to cause any traffic accidents. And in a town recently famous for earthquakes i didnt even make the local news with a tremor!!

I do have to admit that I purposefully didnt check the time when i left, i decided the sweat produced was a greater measure of the activity than the time it took. And sweat i certainly did, it was a struggle the entire way! To start my leggings disagreed with their position and fought to be in the more favourable location near my ankles. I took a break from cursing my leg wear to complain loudly (in a language constructed from painful wheezing) about the stupid stupid nature of hills. I strongly dislike the UP part of any hill. Unfortunatly i started half way up a hill and in my enthusiasm to tackle the jog i'd confidently started the jog heading UP. This proved unwise as half way round the block i realised i'd be finishing the gruelling jog in the same stupid stupid direction. I greatly enjoyed the DOWN part of the jog, wind in my hair, air forced into my collapsed lungs, what could be better. Then with heavy legs and a drastic change in pace i hit the UP section again, but dispite my complaining and cursing i did it all again.

So i went round the block twice! In my defence it is a big block and the UP is significantly UP. I finished it still jogging and as im measuring its success in sweat and not time i can report that i did very very well! So yey for this Fat Girl who took her jogging public and lived to tell the tale. So far i haven't seen any clips of it on YouTube so mission successful. But don't think for one minute this means im going to start jogging on the streets of Derby! Oh no! I have to actually live in Derby, so now it's back to the air conditioned gym for a nice secluded jog :)

Is Facebook trying to tell me something.....

I just uploaded my latest blog entry ':Confessions of a Fat Girl' and as usual i added the link to my Facebook profile so all my friends can read and laugh along with/at me!! And what should the security check words be.......

I kid you not. it asked me to type in THINKING BLUBBER!!!! Uploading to Run FAT GIRL Run and it asked me to think blubber! I swear on all that is true and dear to me that this is no word of a lie! Im outraged with Facebook, i need no more proof that it is evil and against me!!!

Confession of a Fat Girl

I meant to go out jogging ...... i had a whole evening set aside for Fat Girl training, i was going to the Bowl of Hellfire!! I had a bagged packed up with jogging clobber, a fully charged MP3 and TWO bottles of water! Sounds good so far doesn't it? Well, dont get too excited. I'm not sure if you remember what the weather was like on monday but it was blazingly hot..... BLAZINGLY HOT! And with memories of the skin blisters i got after burning at RFL2008 i hung my head in disappointment and wimped out of the run. In my defense i didnt have sun cream and what with Katie's Midnight Walk II only a few weeks away i thought it foolish to risk it.

The guilt at maybe using malignant melanoma as an excuse to avoid going jogging has led me to hit the gym three times this week already. OK so i'm not exactly doing much whilst i'm there but it all counts. I've even developed the confidence to really jog on the treadmill.... even when other people are present! I know!!! Progress or what!

So i've jogged about 1 mile in 10 minutes each day as well as using the bikes and rowing machine to combat those calories (kitkat craving is back, bad times). I really need to increase my time and pace on the treadmill but it's so hard, my stamina is poor and my knees burn almost as much as my dirty smokers lungs!

What's a Fat Girl to do?? Perhaps organise another training session...?? Well low and behold it's only my ruddy birthday soon and i think it only right to celebrate it in true TRFGR style....... DANCING! So grab your gladrags Fat Girls and our beautiful supporters, it's your duty to come train with me....... :D

Oh and there's a theme, and it's electric blue. Be it a bangle, belt or bow i want you all wearing it and being Eclectic in Electric!!!!

Slight return

A bad workman blames his tool and a bad athlete blames her sports bra. And her stupidly thermal jogging bottoms. And possibly the contents of my Shuffle too.
But these are but excuses and things that I mutter about, barely keeping my angry ramblings out of ear shot of other gym goers. The truth is, and this I must face, is that I was not born to run. I'm not even sure I was born to jog. I may be destined for more of a stumbling pace and gait.
I've not trained since Lauren and I (with honourary Fat Boy Michael and the toddler) braced ourselves against the elements of HellFire around a month ago. Life has conspired to make it far to easy for me to find a reason to duck out.
This morning though I forced my Fat Girl ass out of the house, through the sunshine and into the artificial ambiance of the gym.
I then proceeded to walk / run / jog / wheeze for 15 minutes in which I completed a paltry 1.6km. Using my (shaky at best) mathematical skill I calculate that this still brings me in around the 50 minute mark for the full 5km (ok, you got me, I didn't calculate that at all I guessed). I rate myself Poor to Lame.
Race day is eight weeks today (which means I hit the big 3-0 nine weeks today - there is nothing positive about this post). I'm not sure how I will manage to get any faster or any more stamina but I'll give it my best.
If you sponsor me I will try to be better than my best.

Tactical training: Liverpool

Team Run, Fat Girl, Run Tactical Team Training Liverpool

This was the training session which nearly wasn't after much trouble with original plans, coordinating the diaries of eight social butterflies and then last minute illnesses.
But in the end, half of us got there. And we had a wonderful time!
Toni, Lauren, Kelly and Sarah headed up to Liverpool with the sunshining and the laughter filling the car. We managed to get to a car park without much trouble and headed into town and straight into Primark.
We checked out options for race day outfits and think we have finalised the theme but then the shopping was verging on the practical rather than the tactical. So, off we headed, down Matthew Street where we were enticed into Reminiss - the '90s bar. Neither the music or the decor was from the '90s so it was all a bit odd. One quick (soft) drink and off we went again.
A brief, lustful, glance in the window of Vivienne Westwood and then comedy photos with the statue of John Lennon before wombling off in the direction of Pier Head. We admired the architecture, we wondered at the marvellous weather and how quiet it was down there. Then we realised we were hungry so headed down the waterfront to grab some nosh at Albert Dock.
Here some serious team work went into devouring scrummy food and chatting away as a Fat Girl supporter (hello Sefton) put in a cameo.
Then we were off again and took in the culture of the Tate (not all rules were obeyed): a forthcoming team activity to look out for is our entry to the Turner Prize, we could so win that baby.
We all enjoyed the Saturday Night Fever-style dancefloor in one of the exhibitions, especially as we were given headphones and encouraged to dance! There is no greater joy for a Fat Girl than a dance and certainly training would not be real training without it.
We headed back out of town through the revamped streets distracted by spotting Lauren's sock soulmate and some amazing shoes.
Then it was back in the car for a candy cigarette and a game of top trumps and home.
A long but lovely day in Liverpool. We just wish the other Fat Girls could have come too...next time ladies!

Support Katie's Midnight Walk!

All our Fat Girl followers have been very generous in supporting us as we undertake Race for Life but we also want to remind you we are supporting Katie's Midnight Walk.
The walk takes place on Saturday 20 June in Somercotes, Derbyshire and is memory of Katie Taylor and raises funds for research into Malignant Melanoma.
Katie was my husband's cousin and died last June from this form of skin cancer. She was 15 years old.
Research now shows that one in 50 people will contract a melonoma during their lifetime and so this research and quest for a cure is invaluable. It may one day help you or someone you love.
If you'd like to join us on the walk we'd love to see you there! It starts at midnight (you might have guessed from the name ;-D ) from St Thomas Centre in Somercotes. If you're unsure then get in touch and meet up with the Fat Girls first (our team theme is neon so we're easy to spot wombling about in the dark).
Or, even if you can't join the walk, please consider making a donation. You can do this online through the Katie's Midnight Walk Just Giving page.
You can read Katie's story, and the story of her family, on the website they set up.
Cheers muchly,
S-CP x

Here we go again

Another yomp round the Bowl of Hellfire - which is totally failing to live up to its name. The weather was horrid. Blustery rain coming straight at us no matter which way we were facing. Not decided whether I prefer being sweaty and damp or just sweaty like in the hot hot heat of race day.
The same rowing people were there being shouted at by sporty types on the bank. The geese were there, inhibiting us slightly by being all over the path and hissing as we tried to pass. The bloke who rows up and down in a canoe in Hawaii 5-0 position (down on one knee) was there as well...it's all becoming very familiar. So to spice it up we went round in the anti-race direction.
I made a bit of a stab at jogging again. At one point both Lauren and I completed a 500m stretch at a reasonable jog. However, it made no odds and final time was 47 minutes, so slower than two weeks ago. Or maybe about the same. Still, for me, could do better.
Factual reporting over I feel entitled to let out a bit of a whinge...my right leg REALLY hurts. I have various pains all down it and after first mentioning it somewhere around the halfway mark formed a hypothesis that it could be down to an injury I sustained to my kneecap some 12 years ago. I think it is making me run gammy and therefore my right leg is now all out of whack. I don't really know what to do about that...
It's not gonna stop me running that's for sure. Just under three months to go and have a clear 15-20 minutes to knock off my time in order to come close to achieving my goal time on the day.
For now though - totally physically tired out. S C-P x

Playing around with training

"We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing"
Someone much wiser than me said this, I can't recall who, but I think there is more than a grain of truth in it.
I'm supposedly resting this week and not really supposed to be doing any exercise (part of an experiment which is too dull to go into) but that's left me feeling kinda fidgety.
So it was good that the sun shone this weekend and I could use my toddler as an excuse to do pseudo-exercise on play equipment around Derbyshire. This weekend I have mainly been sailing on a large wooden pirate ship in Matlock Bath and monkeying around in a frankly amazing adventure playground at Chatsworth. My toddler enjoyed it too.
Technically then, no further training to report. But I am really great at slides and wobbly walkways so if they throw any of these in as a surprise on race day I am well prepared.
Back to the bowl of hellfire this week with Fat Boy Michael and Fat Girl Lauren (plus motivational coaching from P in his pushchair - nothing like a screaming child to make you want to get finihsed and go home)- anyone else want to take on the course???
And thanks to recent sponsors too - the team is now just shy of £300 in all which is a great amount. However, I think we can do better. We've just under 13 weeks to go until race day so get your fundraising on girls! Let's break last year's £800 total!!!
Keep runnin' (and raisin')
S C-P xxx

Exercise down south

So while I haven't been to the gym today i did walk from Dover to Folkestone and back again, i'm predicting that is about 8 miles in total. Im not saying i jogged it or walked any quicker than a stoned snail but it's better than nothing i say! I also went swimming.... well i ran in the English Channel, dunked my shoulders in, three breast strokes and then flapped out as fast as my frozen body could manage. Ursula Andress out of Bond it was NOT. Oh and i do have slight sunburn from today but compared to after the Hellbowl last year i'm still anemic !!!

Hopefully im going for another few walks this weekend and im staying off the booze so i should be able to hold my head up high and tick the 'exercise' box off my list of thing to do! Also looking forward to trip to Bowl of Hellfire on Thursday with Sarah (queen of all things), anyone else coming??

...2.....

....1 ..
is the time it took me in seconds before i was sweating and wishing i had kept up a more regular gym routine! Darn it that hurt and i was only walking at 4mph, seriously lame and my lungs HURT! Right that's it smoking is officially bad, because it wasn't official before but now i say it is! Bad bad bad and smelly and dirty. So i'll just pop out for one more and then that's it. I quit!! Until someone cuts me up on the commute home and then maybe just one more, then i quit!

Regardless of my weakness for nicotine i am certain that i need more practice and im going to bully my mum into coming walking with me round the cliffs when im at home by the sea this weekend. She'll love it and i certainly need it!

So a wheezy goodbye from me and i hope your training is going better than mine this month!! If anyone fancies a trip to the Bowl of Hellfire during the week let me know, nights are longer and it's only a stones throw from work... why have i never thought to go there before?? Ah yes... the clue is in the name

Gym... in 5... 4.... 3....

... 2 hours. Very nervous about this visit to the gym. I've slipped back into dirty chain smoker habits and my lungs are really feeling the abuse over the weekend. That combined with minimal gym attendance and SC-P's sterling efforts have got me a little paniced about race in July. I may have lost 10lbs but im no more fit than i was a month ago. I plan to blog after im back from the gym... if you hear nothing expect the worst!!

Katie's Midnight Walk - 20 June 2009

A little reminder about the other event the team is taking part in - Katie's Midnight Walk II.

Katie Taylor died in June 2008 from malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. She was just 15 years old.

She and her family and friends were already campaigning to raise awareness and fund research into the disease when she died and the first midnight walk took place just days after her death. More than 200 people took part and raised a phenomenal amount - more than £8,000. This is an important cause to the whole team but particularly to me (S-CP) as Katie was my husband's cousin.

This year the walk will be held again on Saturday 20 June - the first week of Melanoma Awareness Week and a few days after the first anniversary of Katie's death. Many of Team Run, Fat Girl, Run will be taking part and we'd encourage you all to come and join us if you can or consider making a donation.

The five-mile walk is in Somercoates in Derbyshire and begins at midnight - to follow the theme of melanoma awareness of going from dark into light.

Please take a moment to read Katie's story and find out more about the walk and how you can support it on Katie's website.

If you'd like to come and join us on the night walkers meet at St Thomas Hall, Somercoates at 11pm with the walk getting underway at 12 midnight. Team Run, Fat Girl, Run will be rocking a neon theme so we can be safe while walking about in the dark so feel free to neon-up and join our gang. We hope to see you there!

You can also join the Facebook group if you want to show support and get hold of a paper sponsorship form!

S-CPx

Jogging through Hyde Park, London

Patch of Daffodils!
More photos from the jog are here!

The thought of jogging down polluted noisy streets of London is far from appealing. Unless ofcourse you are no stranger to the city and are aware of the numerous beautiful parks sprawling through the centre of the city!

One Sunday, several weeks ago, the sun decided to be generous and was shining so bright. I decided the day was brilliant to be out and about and train for the RFGR pledge. Very surprisingly, I didn't even have to coax Mark to come out with me. A simple “Would you like to go jogging with me in the park?” yielded a prompt “Sure!” (I am used to hearing a loud groan instead).

We jogged down to the main road i.e. Bayswater Road, past the famous Sunday art-displays and entered Hyde Park. I had checked the map for areas of the park we hadn't seen. Come on, follow the map, and jog with me!

• Down Bayswater road to Marlborough Entrance
• Then further to the right past Buckhill's lodge and victoria gate lodge
• Across the road and the yellow 'dirt track for horse riding'
• Down the diagonal path that goes past the Central Royal Parks Nursery and then down to the Sheep Trough. There is a hand pump at the sheep trough and Mark tried to pump water out of it but it appeared to be no longer in use.
  
• Further on to the new lodge, we took a look at the information centre then ran back up and to the right and stopped between new lodge and reformer's tree to exercise (jumping, skipping, cross-touching toes, jumping jack/ star jump). You name it, we did it. Ofcourse, the exercise routine was filled with laughs and giggles because Mark was a little stiff from lack of exercise - all the more reason to do it! Especially, if you sit at the computer all day the way we do.
• Then we went on to reformer's tree and headed down south to the river Serpentine, and back up towards the east, along the river path.
  
• We stopped at the boathouse which has a tourist shop = children's paradise = parents’ hell and decided to update ourselves on the latest ‘cool kids’ paraphernalia. Fancy-pants pencils, erasers, pens, and toys in bright colours and all shapes and sizes were overflowing from every shelf.
• When a kid started crying, probably due to a demand unmet, we quickly took leave and continued jogging. A gust of wind blew my cap off and luckily I was able to save it in time before it flew off into the river. By this time the breeze was very strong and it was starting to grow cloudy and chilly.
• So we headed back north again. Mark stopped at the 'Norwegian War Memorial' which is literally a giant piece of 'natural rock' with a plaque. The Norwegians gifted the rock to the British as a token of thanks for saving their lives in World War 2. There was a plaque at the back of the rock as well. While Mark was peering at it, I to play a trick on him. I took off quietly, up the hill, towards policeman's path, turning occasionally to see if Mark had noticed. He hadn't but by the time I turned again, he had noticed and was laughing helplessly. He started chasing me and knowing that Mr. Super Long Legs would reach me in no time, I stopped at a patch of spring daffodils that were just starting to bloom. Mark told me had no idea I wasn't right behind him and had to say something to me only to find that I was 250m away, running at top speed. Oh, we laughed for the longest time (and continued to laugh about it all day).
• We then jogged down to the main road (west of policeman's path) and jogged up the bicycle/foot path and exited at Victoria Gate.

What followed after? A scrumptious brunch of eggs, bacon (not for me, I’m vegetarian!) and fresh bread, cooked by Chef Mark. By the time it was over, we were so tired and full, we fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon as a storm cast itself on London city in full swing.

Do you reckon you will go for a run in your city this weekend? If this post has entertained you or better still, motivated you to go and explore hidden delights about town as you jog, please sponsor me!

Cheers,
Aakanksha/ Ace

Practice makes...

...for a shorter time!
Headed out to the grey, wet and windswept Bowl of Hellfire again today for another practice lap, this time dragging my own Fat Boys (M and the Boy Prentice).
Making good time into a full on headwind I was motivated enough to put the jog / walk / jog / walk theory into practice. And I think it paid off.
Completed the 5km circuit in 45 mins or just over...hard to be precise, reasons why to be explained. This time is around seven minutes faster than Sunday's Hellfire practice and around 20 faster than last year's race day performance.
So, I feel pretty smug but also spurred on to keep training going for the next 14 weeks in order to make it round in 30 minutes or under on the day. It seems ridiculous to think that me, a non-runner if ever there was, may actually run most if not all of it.
Anyway, the reason for slight guess work on the time is because not being fully knowledgeable about my equipment (a hoodie) I didn't realise my phone fell out of my pocket around the 3.5km mark (top left corner of rowing course) until we got to the end and I tried to check the time.
However, my Big Damn Hero of a husband duly jogged off back the way we'd come while I took Prentice to the playground.
Phone back with me and M having completed around eight km in less than an hour we fed some ducks and a couple of rather pushy geese and then left Holme Pierrepont to the misty rain and lacklustre rowing practice.
Considering making trips out there a frequent thing over the next couple of months so if other Fat Girls fancy it give me a shout. I shall make sure all belongings are secured about my person from now on so no one has to go further than they should.
Surely this kind of progress is worth a few extra pennies in sponsorship? Remember - free badge for every sponsor!
Keep runnin'
S-CP x

Practice Run

A depleted Team gathered this morning at Holme Pierrepont for the Easter Sunday practice run.
No longer the bowl of hellfire, the watersports centre was overcast and damp as Vena, Sarah L and Sarah B crossed the start line and 58 minutes later crossed it again, knocking a full seven minutes off last year's Race for Life time.
The drab weather and missing team members did nothing to dampen spirits though and motivational talk covered last night's Dizzee / Prodigy rave; Manchester apartments and TT; the weirdness of boys and individual race training plans and progress. Oh, and shoes, obviously!
So the time may not have been world record breaking but at this point in our training and after raving for a full three hours (in this style - see from 1'43" for our dance inspiration) not long before we were pretty pleased with ourselves. We feel sure we can knock more minutes off when race day does appear on 26 July.
One thing which will surely spur us on to speediness is more sponsorship. Please use the links over in the side panel to support a fat girl - Sarah B; Vena; Sarah L; Lauren; Toni-Anne; Ace; Sarah H or Kelly. Every person which sponsors us is entitled to wear the badge of honour, which is, in fact, a Fat Girl badge.
We'll probably head over to Holme Pierrepont again at the start of June to have another practice run. If not, next on the Fat Girl calendar is 'tactical' training on 23 May and then Katie's Midnight Walk on 20 June.
'til then - keep running.
S-CP x

The great outdoors

Five things about training today (I love top fives for those who didn't know):

1. I ran outside today for the first time since Race for Life 2008. For saying I don't like to be spotted choosing to do it in the middle of a sunshine-laden Sunday does seem a bizarre choice in retrospect. Still, made the transition from gym to field.
2. The insulating properties of these M&S jogging bottoms is still totally baffling one year on. Why, oh why, Mr Mark and Mr Spencer would you line such a garment with what can only be a fabric facsimile of the tiles from the nose cone of Saturn 5??? I am sure Toni will back me up - I just don't get why anyone wants to feel like their legs have been set on fire when running is hard enough anyway.
3. I really need to start taking my inhaler out. Clinging onto a five bar gate trying to get even the smallest amount of oxygen into my struggling lungs totally ruins any chance of looking like a keen jogger.
   
4. While my athletic prowess has someway to go before being described as 'honed' the tracks on my training playlist do not: Hadouken! - Crank it Up; The Prodigy - Omen; Groove Armada feat. Mutya Buena - Song 4 Mutya; Bodyrox - Yeah Yeah; Kano - Typical Me.
5. I have no idea how far I went or how many calories I burned so not only am I breaking with my Statto persona but not helping me gauge how I might cope with the practice run next Sunday or ensre I am within the strict limits of calorie-burnage allowed on my current eating plan. I guess I did about a mile and it took me 20 minutes at run / walk / wheeze / walk slower.

See you all next Sunday for the practice run at Nottingham Holme Pierrepont around 3.30pm.
S-CP x

Fat Girls get thanks

Looking back for a moment Aspire have been in touch to thank everyone who took part in the Channel Swim in 2008, including Team Run, Fat Girl, Run!
The Team completed the 22-mile swim between September and December last year to help raise funds for the spinal injuries charity.
Altogether more than £400,000 was raised for Aspire and they say: "The vital funds you worked so hard to raise have already been put to good use throughout our projects. Some of these projects include our Human Needs Fund which provides grants for people to buy specialist equipment and our specially adapted short term housing for patients newly discharged from hospital.
"Aspire also have Independent Living Advisors and Assistive Technology facilities at Spinal Injury Centres across the UK providing practical support and advice. The Aspire National Training Centre in Stanmore is the first fully integrated leisure centre leading the way in accessible and inclusive fitness training and sporting activities."
Thanks to everyone who sponsored us for this event - and well done girls!

And she's off...!!

So I'm back from Texas, and after shaking off my jetlag I've managed the incredible walking total of .......(cue foghorns, drumrolls & angels singing)....ZERO minutes! I know, I'm a terrible person, but I was officially still on holiday & didn't go back to work until today so I kind of didn't bother. Although, all that walking around Texas & running from the police after trying to kidnap Graham Coxon must surely have had an effect.
Anyway, I am back at work now & have sent out my "please sponsor me" email this morning. I have had my first donation of £10....yay! I am now (sort of) back on my healthy eating plan - I even got up early this morning to make an extra healthy packed lunch, and the wii fit will be making an appearance shortly.

K xx

Practice run!

Team Run, Fat girl, Run have decided to return to the Bowl of Hellfire for a practice lap on the afternoon of Easter sunday (12 April 2009).
At least six members of the team will be training together at the location of the actual race with the idea that not only can we jolly each other on in our continued training but alos work out how fast we're completing 5k in at the moment to spend the next two and a half months getting that time down.
Exact time to be decided but this is an open invitation to all Fat Girl supporters to come along and burn off some calories while watching the team in action!

We'll be running round the rowing course as this is the route of the Race for Life and handily measure 5k. We'll meet by the building at the bottom end of the course (ie the start / finish line)!
S-CP x

It's all about feet

We're all trying in our own ways to get ready for the walk and race but for some it seems the deck is stacked against them? What hope, really, when even stationery attacks?

I speak of course of the freakish, and yet squimish, accident befalling Sarah H. I can't tell you the full story but I can tell you what I know and what I know is this: Sarah H was stabbed in the foot by a Biro.

I don't know if the Biro is magical and did it of it's own free will (and if so whether the attack was premeditated or provoked) or if someone else, or Sarah herself, was wielding the brand-name-writing implement at the time.

Who can say for sure? Well, probably Sarah H. She was there at the time afterall.

Anyway, I am certain that this picture doesn't do justice to the pain that Sarah H is surely in. I am also certain that if our fundraising total shot up (find the links in the side panel) it would mystically swiften the healing process allowing her to to get back to training asap while we all bask in the warm fuzzy of do-gooding.

What news of other Fat Girl feet? Well, the most comments on our tactical training night out were about the wonderous shoes we adorned our tootsies with. There were high heels, mid heels, sparkly heels, animal print heels but all very cute.

We strutted and danced in them and then we wobbled slowly away into the night. But if there is one thing a Fat Girl loves, it's a good pair of shoes.

If you don't want to donate because you think we are awesome for putting ourselves through 5k for Cancer Research UK then do it in honour of our footwear.

And in non-foot news: the practice run (or possibly walk) will take place on the afternoon of Easter Sunday (12 April) at the Bowl of Hellfire. Please feel free to come along and cheer us on or burn off some of those delicious Easter egg calories while keeping pace with us and providing motivation, water and quite possibly medical support.

The next 'tactical' meeting is lightly pencilled in the for end of May and there are high hopes that all eight team members will make it. Fabulous shoes are guaranteed.

Total currently stands at £154 but we need more folks. If you haven't sponsored us yet please take the time to click a link on the left - you can donate as little as £2 online, make a Gift Aid donation (if you're a UK taxpayer) and know you've made the Fat Girls and Cancer Research UK happy.

Keep runnin' - S-CP x

Team meet

The first 'tactical' training session of Team Run, Fat Girl, Run has been held for 2009.
I'd love to say we talked tactics and got a plan underway but in reality we had fun with the badges, relived last year's stagger around the Bowl of Hellfire, and then got down to the serious business of pulling shapes. All while wearing fantastic, beautiful shoes - which hopefully has helped to tone our leg muscles.
We blessed the, er, Bless with our hospitality but after losing out to Noel Edmonds on the quiz machine headed off to Mosh to pull some shapes. And what shapes they were! Some frankly stunning synchronized dance routines reminiscent of The Supremes (but with better shoes and adorned with Fat Girl badges) stunned the other punters.
I'm convinced that the effort it takes to perform such a technically demanding creative flow of dance moves counts as training, especially when heel height is taken into account.
Unfortunately, the effort was detrimental to some as early doors were called for the team when Sarah B's back problems of last year threatened a painful reoccurrence.
Thanks must be given to the Street Pastors who complimented our footwear before fulfilling the role of team support with the handing out of free flip flops; much needed by the team at this point.
A few pictures are available in the Facebook Fat Girl group so get over there and check them out. Hopefully a few more will be added in the next few days.
And so with Lauren strutting away to home Fat Girl Cabs (as driven by Sarah C-P) called through the all-night Maccy D's and delivered fat girl's back to their beds. Excellent meeting and we can't wait for the inevitable frolics to be had when all eight of us manage to get together in one place!

Which brings us nicely to a quick round-up of team members:

• Sarah C-P is 10lbs down and has had a couple of week's off training but made a return with Body Pump today - whatever wasn't hurting from dancing in six inch stilettos last night is definitely feeling the burn now;
  
• Sarah Barker was making excellent progress with her running but will now be resting her back for a few days / weeks / hopefully not long;
• Lauren is still battling the treadmill for superiority, and starting to win;
• Vena plans to begin training on 1 April and is spreading the sponsorship word;
• Sarah H was training hard but now will be limited by a foot injury;
• Ace is showing dedication to the cause with plenty of training in Londinium and living healthy too;
• Toni is in training and hoping the foot pain of last year stays in the past;
• Last but not least is Kelly, currently at SXSW in Texas most recently understood to have had a chat with Graham Coxon about Sarah C-P wanting to kidnap him. Sorry about that Graham.
  

See the pain that we go through - the least you can do is donate a few pennies :-) I am sure both injured Sarah's would welcome the healing power that comes from people sponsoring us (see side panel for links to online sponsorship sites).

In other news:

• Badges (not badgers - there has been some confusion) have arrived and will be passed out / sent to all those who have sponsored us so far. Please model your badge in a way you feel is a fitting tribute to the team and post pic to the Facebook group - there may even be a small token of recognition for the one that pleases / shocks us the most! Big thanks to Badges for Bands for making our buttons a reality.
• The total raised by the band so far stands at £149. A Blue Peter-style totaliser is over in the side panel for your pleasure.
  

Next team meets are a practice run around Holme Pierrepont over the Easter weekend and a 'tactical' meeting in May, possibly at St Pancras Champagne Bar (if V gets us all on the train for cheap!) or Derby / Notts way.
For now...keep runnin'
S C-P (hoping that injuries to Fat Girls called Sarah don't come in threes)
xxx

Now fully open!

Just a quick note now all the Fat Girl team member's have their online sponsorship pages up and ready to receive.
You can find the links in the side panel over there >>>>>>
Pick a girl and give what you can. And to show how much we appreciate your support we'll send you a little Fat Girl memento!
Look out for blog posts from Sarah B and Ace in the near future and thanks for all your support so far!
S-CP
xxx

Stage one of sponsorhip: complete!

I'm very pleased to announce that thanks to the generosity of those who have already sponsored us the Team has now raised more than £100! This is already one eighth of our target stats fans!!!

So let's start the week with a woop woop for our sponsors. Woop Woop!

We've had a little gift made for everyone kind enough to show us the money. We like to think of it as a medal awarded for kindness. And it's completely secondary that by wearing the 'medal' the Fat Girl word will be spread and potentially garner more money!

But it is for a very worthy cause - vital funding for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. By sponsoring the team now you can help more people survive cancer.

You can find links in the sidebar to the online sponsorship pages for the team which are up and running. Pick a girl and within minutes you will have joined the fight against cancer!

S-CP x

PS - check it out >>>> you can now choose to sponsor seven out of the eight Fat Girls! Vena just opened her page and would gladly be the conduit for donations to the cause!

Sweaty Betty not just in name...

Just been down the gym at lunch, boy what a sweat i've got on! Hot.... but not in a sexy way!

Wish I'd done a little more work to earn this 'healthy glow' though, just a minute of quick walking is enough to get the beads of perspiration rolling down my forehead. I have to use the treadmill under the AirCon machine else I'm likely to cause a site wide melt down with the heat radiating from my beetroot face.

I took a big step today (well a few actually but i meant that more figuratively).... I measured my progress on the treadmill in distance and not calories! This took some big determination and although I'm pleased I now can measure my pace like a big girl, I'm also very disheartened by what the numbers told me today. I walked 1.5 miles in 20 minutes, that's a pace of 4.5mph. So I think if i can at least maintain that then i can do the Race for Life in a little less time than last year. This is good but not great. I'm going to have to put a lot more effort in and make that treadmill my bitch if i want to seriously improve on 2008, bring it on!

I'm loving the merch designs by S-ChampPersp, good work fellow FG. I'm brimming over with other ideas of themes and tshirts, and im sure we'll discuss these over a good few glasses of wine at the first TRFGR MEET on 21st March! Not long now till we can swap training tips and dance moves, see you then ladies. I hope we'll get a few of us to meet at Holme Pierrepont for an Easter practice walk/jog/run too, (top idea Sarah!) it'll be good to test out the gym training in the field. It'll probably be the kick up the wobbly rear I need!

One (still) Sweaty Betty signing off x

Running on the spot

And I was doing so well! Alas, my training needs to be cut back for a couple of weeks due a totally forseeable circumstance which I did not factor in. My bad...
Anyway, while my training turns light and frequent I may as well get my Statto kicks elsewhere by bringing you a round up of our current total.
This total is only from online sponsorship and is calculated by my not-completly- foolproof method of visiting each girl's site.
So - from the six site's currently available we have raised a total of £97!!! Round of applause please...
BUT this is nowhere near enough! Thankfully there is still 19 weeks left until race day so lots of opportunity for more people to show their support for the Fat Girls while getting the warm fuzzy glow that comes from joining the fight against cancer.
Many thanks to those who have already given us cash...the free gift I promised to all supporters will be with you, sometime...possibly even before race day!!! Now I'm not pitched in a battle of wills against a treadmill (and the music policy person of my gym) I can get on with the Fat Girl merch! Swings and roundabouts you see...
S-ChampPersp x

JUST ADDDED: A little sneaky peak of one of the designs for the free gift soon to be adorning our kind supporters. Whaddya thinks?

I am not a number

Actually, I am. I am number 684. Or 648 I can't remember now.
Anyway, the postal pack came yesterday with my race number (down from 2557 last year! Although it bears no relation to ability merely the order in which you register), the dedication thing for my back and ye olde fashioned paper sponsorship forms. So it is all official. Very, very official.
I assume that all other Fat Girls received a similar gift from their postie???
Back to training then.
Back at the gym this morning and feel somewhat stupified by the leap in effort and endurance required for today's session.
Yes, the walk/run ratio has increased (now four mins walk followed by two mins run) but you still have to repeat this five times. FIVE. Yes, FIVE!
So yesterday I was quite pleased with my own self being able to complete 10 mins alternating between one min walk and one min run. Then suddenly *wham* 30 full on minutes. If Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories (almost makes up for the Annie Lennox faux pas yesterday gym music policy person, almost) weren't soothing my sweatsome soul I may well let out a few choice expletives.
But, hey, I did it.
(NOOOOOOOOOOOO...Annie Lennox is back. Expletives coming up like word vomit. I don't deserve this kind of aural punishment after such supreme physical effort, surely?)
Statto facts for today; three km in 30 minutes, 137 kcals burned.
And when I am in charge of the music what did I listen to in order to spur me on?

• Justice V Simian - We Are Your Friends
• NERD - Rock Star
• Prodigy - Omen
• The Massed Pipes whatsit from Help album ('95) - The Magnificent Seven
• MIA - Paper Planes

Not sure how I am going to cram those other two kms into (this is the most random music playlist - it's only ruddy Lional RichTea now) the 30 mins but hey, I guess I'll find out as the weeks go on and the training increases in intensity.
Right, I'm off to stuff myself with all you can eat Chinese food for Fat Girl-supporter Stuart Lydon's 30th. I am sure my 137kcals will account for my consumption.
S-ChampPersp x
Any of the Fat Girls fancy a practice run at the Bowl of Hellfire sometime over the Easter Weekend (April 11/12)???

Week one progress / lessons

To say there has been progress may be slightly misleading. However, I have just completed another training session following my schedule (off t'internet) and managed to do five sets of walking for a minute and running for a minute. Covered just over one kilometre in the ten minutes so not really getting much faster (maths gives me 5k in 50 minutes so perhaps 2 minutes faster than last week).
This also only burns a rather meagre 44 kcals. But maybe this is because I just pressed quick start on the machine and didn't give it my real information. It may have assumed I was Linford Christie (on a bad day) so more efficient at burning calories? I feel sure given my Fat Girl status my body will panic at the merest exercise and burn like there is no tomorrow. Burn Baby Burn!
Anyway, for the moment the run / walk cycle is getting better. Although I should probably get round to finding my inhaler just in case. And stop relying on the A Team theme tune to get me to the end of the session.
Followed the run up with a cool down in the pool - first time swimming since completing the Aspire challenge at the tail end of 2008. I would have done longer but the gym played the Annie Lennox version of Shining Light and I had to get to a place of safety quickly.
So now, it's 8.50am and I feel I have done something with my weekend already! Am moving onto the next step of training tomorrow morning with a shorter walk to run ratio!
S-Champ-Persp (or Statto given my obsession with distance / speed / calorie burn)
PS - Two Ash references in this entry...what do you think that means???

Howdy!!

Well I have finally managed to sort out my fundraising page, although I can't get a photo to upload. I think the organisers are probably offended that all of my photos seem to have beer, vodka or food on them - not really the greatest images for a 5k run !
I got myself a wii fit to start my training on, I set it up but was then mortally wounded when the little mii of me was made fat after I got weighed, so I have packed it away again haha.
Seriously though, I am a member of the gym so I will be making full use of the facilities to try & hit the target time (instead of just bobbing round in the pool then going for a sauna). I also need to invest in a super strength sports bra, as my bosoms are not used to exercise more strenous than walking to the bar.
I'm loving the idea of a theme, but I'm struggling to think of one. (although 2 members of the team will already have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles outfits haha)
Kelly x

Sponsorship begins...

Just a quick note to give some kudos to our first sponsors - Michael Reek and David Bull pledged support to Sarah Reek-Lay and Vicki and Pete showed Lauren Noakes the money. Team total already stands at £55!!!

Obviously thrilled by the news that Team RFGR will run again they were quick to pledge their monetary support as soon as sponsorship opened.

Don't get left behind - sponsor a Fat Girl NOW!!!

S-ChampPersp

(links in side bar to sponsorship sites which are now open)

From this point, forward I go

Fresh from my first training session I now know from where I start and what I have to improve upon for race day.
Last year we walked the 5k at a decent pace considering the heat (and the hangovers) and completed in 65 mins. We thought we'd done alright considering none of us had trained, we ran out of water and at least one team member lacked proper trainers.
I've just done 2.5k in 26 minutes so using the power of maths (a mysterious force over which I have no grasp) I can extrapolate this time / effort and hypothesise I could currently do 5k in 52 minutes. Which is clearly 14 minutes faster than last year.
Not so impressive when I count in factors such as it being much cooler in the controlled gym environment, me being 21lbs lighter and the lack of hangover. In my head I did think I could easily run the whole 5k in 30 minutes by now.
But, alas, that was fanciful thought. I now aim to spend the next five months getting my time down and my run / walk ratio up so that I can get nearer my goal time.

Other things I found out during the course of my training session:

• Las Ketchup is quite a good BPM for my current jog-ability
• Completing 5k in a pack is much more fun than going lone ranger
• I need a new sports brassiere as my bosom is clearly where some of the weight has dropped from.

Anyway, will try and get some cardio training in tomorrow with a one mile swim (which I know I can do in 30 minutes) and then on with the dedicated run training in the week.
If any Fat Girls want to keep me company I am making use of a little known establishment - the Virgin Active. I am sure Mr Richard Branson (proprietor) will find his fledgling business flurishes now he has the endoresment of Team RFGR.

S-ChampPersp x

I'm off the blocks and my Race For Life page eagerly awaits it's first donation! Have a look at it here, Lauren Noakes, I chose the photo very carefully to reflect the overwhelming accomplishment I felt last year!!

I've set the target at £100, double the target for last year, i hope you are all as confident as I am about it this year, i need your support and your cash. To illustrate how determined i am im off into town at the weekend to buy some running shoes and then the training seriously begins!

Anyone had any ideas about a theme yet? I'd also like to see our supporters on the day co-ordinated in some way, i'm thinking 'Run Fat Girl Run' tees!!??

On your marks...

As the poignant strains of M People's What Have You Done Today echo through the minds of all team members we can inform you we are officially registered for Race for Life 2009.

The training and the fundraising begins here (no more chewwy cornflake tart goodness for me for a while) so get ready to get your support on.

Two team members streak into an early online-fundraising lead with their sites already open for business.

• Sponsor Sarah Lay (or Sarah Reek as she is sometimes known)
• Sponsor Sarah Barker

Other team members will surely be on hot on their heels with online sponsorship so pick a girl and give us your money (or if you can't pick a favourite Fat Girl then just give us all some cash)!!!

S-ChampPersp x

PS - Five months until race day!!!

It's the final line-up

Right, we've now doubled the size of the team for the Race for Life so the recruitment drive will now be ending!
It is with great pleasure I introduce the latest member - and our first international member - Aakanksha Chhikara. Or Ace to you and me!
So one final time - let's hear the role call for Team RFGR for Race for Life 2009 and Katie's Midnight Walk II:

• Sarah Lay
• Sarah Barker
• Toni-Anne Sanderson
• Lauren Noakes
• Kelly Race
• Vena Wheeldon
• Sarah Hutchinson
• Aakanksha Chhikara

Last year the four of us raised more than £800 for Race for Life so with twice as many of us let's try to double the amount we gather while also managing to get round the Bowl of Hellfire faster than anyone on crutches.
(Please feel free to sing the post title to the tune of Europe's Final Countdown for the rest of the day).
Thanks to Carl Bembridge for clever Photoshop skillz!

Katie's Midnight Walk 2009

With extra members falling over themselves to be in the team (falling over? that bodes well) we're in the process of signing up for Race for Life 2009.

As well as a stringent and very cutting edge training programme (fnar) we'll be fitting in another event as a team as well.

Katie's Midnight Walk will take place on 20 June 2009 and is a five mile walk in Alfreton, Derbyshire. The aim is to raise awareness of malignant melanoma (a type of skin cancer) hence the walk from dark into light.

As well as raising awareness of this disease and making a team donation to Professor Poulem Patel's research project into malignant melanoma we will also be remembering Katie.

Katie Taylor was my husband's cousin and died last June from malignant melanoma, aged 15. The walk is open to all and we'd encourage Team RFGR followers to join in if you are able. While the Race for Life is a girl-thing we'll be encouraging blokes, thin girls and even our four-legged friends to join KMW too!

Please take a few moments to read Katie's story and we hope to see you at midnight on 20 June 2009.

S-ChampPersp

(If you can't take part please consider making a donation to help fund research into the disease)

And one more makes seven

More new member news just in:

The team are welcoming another new member to the squad for the Race for Life 2009.

Sarah Hutchinson will be joining us on the run / walk / crawl in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

So we now have a full starting line up of seven for Team Run Fat Girl Run Race for Life 2009!

Joining stalwart FG's Lauren Noakes, Sarah Lay, Sarah Barker and Toni-Anne Sanderson will be new girls Kelly Race, Vena Wheeldon and Sarah Hutchinson.

More girls surely means more money folks - so get those donation digits at the ready to encourage us on our wobbly way!

S-CP

And then there were six...

Just a quick note to welcome another new addition to Team RFGR - Vena 'Hammond' Wheeldon! Hello V!

Along with Kelly, Vena will be in the starting line up with original Fat Girls (myself, Sarah, Toni and Lauren) as we take a second sprint (for sprint read wheezy stroll) around the Bowl of Hellfire.

We're very pleased our numbers are expanding as not only are there more of us to carry a theme (have your say on what it should be over on our facebook group) but also means we can raise more money for Cancer Research UK.

I would love to say that training has started in earnest but it hasn't even started at all. It's nearly 1pm and I am still in my PJs. Still, as soon as one of us moves a muscle we'll be sure to update you here Fat Girl fans!

S-CP

and so it begins.....

The challenge is being signed up to as we speak. 5km of power walking and puffing lungs is on the horizon. The clock is ticking and the blogs begin. Race for Life 2009 is now offically under way and I begin this momentus day with an evening of chinese and cider! Maybe i'll call Monday the first official day of training and put this weekend of naughtiness down to a fond farewell party for my fat and flab. Smoking is at a minimum but kitkat consumption is at a maximum, the two are not unrelated. So it's down the gym with religious gusto and a firm shake of the head to the kitkat cravings. This time it's serious, we're aiming for a better time round Holme Pierrepont (otherwise known as the Bowl of Hellfire) and to beat the pegleg. I hope we get the same level of support this year as we were truely humbled by the amount we raised in 2008. A big thanks again to everyone who helped us and Cancer Reasearch UK and we hope we'll do you proud again if you're so kind as cough up some cash this year. I'll be updating with training photos and progress reports asap!!

Here come the girls

I'd like to say that we are back from a planned hiatus over the winter months but truth is we just haven't done anything much since completing the Aspire swim challenge at the start of December.

We are starting to plan in our events for 2009 now though and where better to start than, well, where we started from - Race For Life!

Team RFGR will be participating at Nottingham HolmePierrepont again, sweating round the five kilometre course on Sunday 26 July. This year we aim to finish before anyone on crutches, use sunscreen and take plenty of water with us!

We've already gathered a new Fat Girl to our collective bosom and so we welcome the rather marvellously-named Kelly Race (marvellous because we're racing see...oh forget it).

In the next few weeks we'll begin with training (no, seriously, we will this time) and then pestering you all for donations!

Saira - AKA Champagne Perspiration