Getting set for 2011

Happy New Year everyone! Made any new year's resolutions? Have you pledged to eat less chocolate, take more exercise, get off the fags & booze, marry a member of Take That??? Yeah, me too... (Howard Donald, obv).

My focus is on the first two resolutions - pretty much staples in my annual portfolio of good intentions. I'm no further back than I was last January, which is a relief seeing as I spent most of 2010 pregnant (my baby is now three weeks old) and seem to have managed not to gain any weight (this time, first time was a different story!).

So, I'm trying to wean myself off the Christmas excess and the cravings I gave into when pregnant and make a plan for when I get the exercise all clear in about three weeks. And of course my thoughts turned to setting a 2011 Team Run Fat Girl, Run goal for myself.

The obvious place to start is with Race for Life. This will be the fourth year I've signed up and taken part to raise money for Cancer Research UK. I'm sure some of the other girls will be running (walking / stumbling) alongside me.

Last year myself, Vena, Kelly and Lauren faced the monster 10km route at Kedleston Hall in Derby. We made it round despite having forgotten to train at all and I feel intensely proud of us all. However, I'm thinking of going back to where I started my Race for Life participation and tackling the 5km course at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham again.

With this in mind I'm also moving my blogging for NHS Choices from the pregnancy blog to the Couch to 5km blog. I'm going to give their training plan a good go and hopefully make it round the course in my best time yet! *

I'm also thinking about setting a goal for later in the year. I'm open to suggestions here - commitments mean I can't do any of those amazing challenges abroad but if anyone can suggest a challenge I could sign up for I'd love to hear it (leave me a comment, yeah?).

While I don't know what I'd like to do I do know why I want to do it. Last April my mum was diagnosed with a brain tumour, a cancerous brain tumour, a brain tumour for which there is no cure. She's undergone surgery and chemo and radiotherapy and all the side effects of those. However, we're now concentrating on whatever time is left. This situation haunts me at night while I'm awake feeding the baby so signing up for a challenge in which I can raise money for the hospitals or charities which are helping mum (and dad) is a way of creating positivity in a situation where there is no happy ending.

So - any ideas? Any body want to take a challenge alongside me? Anyone is welcome to be a 'fat girl' - you don't even have to be fat, or a girl! If you'd like to do a Race for Life or other challenge and blog about your progress here let me know. I'd welcome any support I can get - I have the feeling I'll be struggling with more than the physical training at times this year.

Leave me a comment with suggestions for challenges, words of wisdom or requests to be a 'fat girl'.

* You can see this pledge in posts at the start of every year we've been running this blog.

In the meantime I dust off the old Team moniker and sign off, yours with good intentions, Saira Champagne-Perspiration. xxx

Team RFGR Loves RaceforLife

There are less than 18 weeks until race day now (18 July) and I can't say that any of us are training as hard as we should be. But our lack of physical effort is completely outweighed by our enthusiasm for taking part in Race for Life.

So when the Race for Life Get Social team asked "what do you love about taking part in Race For Life?" the team smiled and shared their reasons.

We've all got a personal reason and seen lives around us be touched by this disease. Raising funds to find a cure is obviously important to all of us and is the reason we all signed up in the first place.

Race day itself is full of emotion; that for me is part of the glory and the challenge. Reading the stories on everyone's backs is incredibly grounding, a sometimes harsh reminder that this disease is indiscriminate but those words are also an uplifting, intimate and unifying motivator to breakthrough personal barriers.

The other girls said the same, Vena Redshaw described her experience running with the Team in 2009: "I found it extremely humbling reading all the stories and felt like had actually achieved something important when I finished.

"The fact my best girls were there too was amazing, the healthy and the sick, all made me feel very proud of us as a team and friends. GO TRFGR!"

Kelly Race also joined the team in 2009. She said: "I love seeing everyone dressed up – young and old alike. It makes me smile."

So the team loves taking part in Race For Life because it bonds us as best friends together in silliness and a worthwhile cause and allows us to be with a group of amazing, inspiring and sometimes equally silly women all fighting this common foe in a way that doesn't even fill like full on battle.

In other news: We all got our numbers and packs this week and have made new resolutions to follow the training schedule included with them. In the meantime if you'd like to show me your support in a financial way you can join the fight against cancer by sponsoring me online!

S C-P
xxx

London Loves

I never thought I'd see the day when I said this but London has managed to raise itself from loathe to like in my 'favourite cities' list.

Why didn't I like it before? Well, it's the Tube you see. I am simply not a creature meant to be transported at speed, in close proximity to strangers, beneath the ground. And that can really ruddy put you off a place.

But today I did the city a different way (and there is a Team RFGR point to this!); I walked.

Arriving into St Pancras station I had an hour to get to Barbican for a workshop I was attending. TfL journey planner gave me an estimated 25 mins on the dreaded Tube while a walk was estimated to take 40. A peek outside showed a favourable Spring sky and air as fresh as it can be in Kings Cross. I loaded up iMapMyRun on the new iPhone, stuck some tunes on (somewhat unimaginative of me but went with Blur) and off I went down the Pentonville Road.

Winding my way along to Angel and then down through Islington I really enjoyed the hotch potch architecture and effect of new buildings leaning on new. And strolling through Smithfields market, although it was way past it's rush hour, was pretty cool.

My heart was thawing for this city and I admit, it was a little disappointing to reach Barbican (great, brutal, 'cities in the sky' buildings) seemingly so soon. I perked up though when I realised I was not only far more relaxed than on usual trips but that I'd completed a 1.96mile route (and only 15 mins slower than if I'd gone underground).

I was so pleased with how well this had worked for me – no panicky escalator rides down, down, down into the depths or confusion about which line I needed or pushing or getting in the way – I decided to reverse it all and head back to St Pancras on foot at the end of the workshop.

So I've completed nearly 4 miles walking today and learned to like this place a little more. I also proved to myself that being busy or away from home for the day doesn't have to mean I'm entitled to excuse myself from training. It might not have been a run but it's all counting toward being able to make it round that ten km route come July.

I'm chalking today up as a good day – and thinking about when next I can come back and explore more of the capital on foot.

S C-P x

Total training fail

Well as per usual my good intentions have been scuppered by a hideous cycle of illness leading to mood lowering leading to lack of will power leading to further illness. In short I haven't done any training since I walked 5km with Kelly more than two weeks ago.

I don't feel good about it. Especially seeing as the Race For Life Get Social team have sent me a bag full of goodies (inluding the cute as anything rubber duckie) as a thank you for blogging, tweeting and generally yakking online about taking part. It's a shame that the effort I put in online won't help me survive the 10km race in July.

So, it's time to pull myself up by my trainer laces and get back on with training of some sort or another. I was feeling motivated 30 minutes ago but the discovery that my iPod is at work has diminished that get up and go somewhat. Running (alright jogging. Alright ALRIGHT walking) 5km on my own with no tunes really isn't appealing to me.

A failed attempt to hijack my husband's iPod means I'm expending more energy on sorting out this perceived problem than I am on actually getting on with training. If there is one thing I need no more practice in it is procrastination.

I need somebody to tell me to get out there. Someone to have some friendly competition with. Anyone about to administer a kick up the ass?

A lazy-as-you-like S C-P x

Training session #1

I'm not sure if this is the way that serious athletes do it but I started my training session by drinking two pints and talking about the money to be made from selling virtual nipple tape in Second Life with a great bunch of geeks.
Something powered me on though as I headed out into the twilight with Lauren and Vena for our first official training session for Race for Life 2010.
We did a short 1.6 mile circuit round my way but was mightily impressed that we jogged most of it - even the hills! It was certainly easier on my lungs that the 5k was last July as the pig 'flu ravaged them.
It wasn't a full throttle start to the training but we feel it is sensible to start slow and short and build up so we feel we've achieved something each time.
In fact, rather than feeling knackered and overwhelmed by the task ahead, I feel motivated and incredibly positive about making it round the 10k come July.
I've now mapped a 10km walk from my door and back again and plan to load my three-year-old into the pushchair and walk this route tomorrow morning. I think this will give me a good idea of the final distance and what lies ahead.
And then onward with the 12 week training schedule I've been recommended by a friend. I think training together is a great giggle (although everything we do is laughs-a-go-go to be honest) but I'm also looking forward to getting my music on and tackling these routes alone sometimes.
I don't think I could have hoped for a better start. The next 6 months of training are going to be challenge - but I'm ready to face it head on as part of Team Run, Fat Girl, Run.
S C-P x

On your marks....

So, here we go again.

I am not sure what magic is at work but each January when the registration opens for Race For Life the unwavering belief I can run (yes, run) easily, happily and fast by July takes me over.

Consequently, having overcome the challenge of completing 5km at Holme Pierrepont in 2009 with swine 'flu and a chest infection raging through my system this year I've registered for the 10km.

Yes, 10km. Which I am convinced I am going to run with the carefree smile and graceful gait. The image in my head looks like a BodyForm advert - the sun is shining and I am laughing, barely noticing that I am running at speed. Sweat, wheezing and moaning doesn't come in to it. Neither does the inevitable crying when I finish slower than the rest of the team.

Right now I am uninterested in the reality of what 18 July 2010 will bring. I am signed up and ready to become S Champagne-Perspiration again. I fully intend to get further along my training plan than merely printing it off this year.

So, yeah, 10km. Bring it on.

And if you could sponsor me that would be awesome: http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/sarahlay

The rest of the team are also ready to go again - I've already had news that superspeedy Fat Girls of 2009 Vena and Lauren will be taking on the 10km, as will self-confessed lazy arse Kelly Race while Sarah Hutchinson heads to Nottingham again to take on the 5km.

I am sure news of what the other Fat Girls are doing will feed through soon. So watch this space (and the roads of Derbyshire as I get training!)

S C-P xxx

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

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!

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

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!!!!

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

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

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!