A tough week

The week I've been pretty much dreading for the past few months has arrived. On Thursday I'll be heading back to the hospital for my next colposcopy and to start another couple of weeks of waiting for results. 
People have asked me if it gets any easier, my answer 'No'. If anything because you know what to expect it's actually harder. The procedure isn't the nicest of things to go through but worst than that is the waiting. Your future is in the hands of someone in a lab somewhere who you will never meet! That is the scary part for me. 
Having said that, I've kept myself healthy & fit for the past couple of months so there is nothing more I can do than that, it's all out of my hands. 

This week my wonderful friend Caroline is the chosen one holding my hand through it all, it helps so much to have someone with you so take note, if you ever need to go through something like this, never try to soldier on alone, it does not help anyone, least of all you! Caroline, as with most of my friends, has been an absolute tower of strength for me throughout all of this and that really goes a long way to helping me keep my chin up, stay positive and smile on through it. 

I'll be resting up for a few days after the colposcopy so the training will need to ease a little, I've re-arranged my schedule for this week so that I am still running the same distance just on different days and thankfully I've saved my rest days for Friday & Saturday. Sunday will be a tough run as it's 1 hour 50 minutes but I'll be taking things slow and only doing as much as I can.  
If you are friends with me on Facebook, please 'like' my Nike+ update on Sunday morning, that's when I'll be needing all the cheers and support I can get. 

What is really motivating me throughout all of this though is that I am supporting two amazing charities and that by me putting myself out there, my kind friends, family, colleagues and even complete strangers are donating to something I feel very passionate about. 

Thank you all so much! 

Raising Awareness

January is Cervical Health Awareness Month. It's the chance to raise awareness about how women can protect themselves from HPV (human papillomavirus) and cervical cancer. 

Since having cervical abnormalities I try to talk to as many women as I can about it and encourage them (if they haven't already) to attend their routine smear tests. It really can save your life. 

Next Monday (19th January) sees the start of Cervical Cancer Prevention Week. This is a European wide initiative to focus is on all things to do with cervical cancer including information about symptoms and causes of the disease, ways to prevent it and supporting charities like Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust. 

This Saturday the company I work for (ITS) are putting on a Fundraising Day to support my marathon campaign with all proceeds going to Cancer Research UK & Jo's Trust, this will be how I am supporting and raising awareness of Cervical Abnormalities & Cervical Cancer. How will you raise awareness?...

See more at: http://www.jostrust.org.uk/get-involved/campaign/cervical-cancer-prevention-week#sthash.MwGUu1Fl.dpuf

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I took a bit of a break over Christmas & New Year from posting, instead focusing on spending time with my family and friends. It was a really lovely time & reminded me once again how lucky I am to have such great people around me. 

One thing I didn't take a break from though was training! 

I've been hard at it and upping my times and distances each week, I even ran on Christmas Day!! It was actually really refreshing to be out nice and early on Christmas morning and meant I was feeling really good (if a little achy) even after stuffing my face with all the usual festive treats. This Christmas was a first for me too, I actually lost weight instead of putting it on. It's all the training, it just seems to fall off, I suppose it's my metabolism.

I've decided to do a different training plan now which fits better for me, it was suggested by Cancer Research UK. I'm now running 4/5 times a week and giving myself a few rest days. This is really working for me as I now feel like I'm actually getting somewhere and giving my body a well deserved rest. 

I'm up to 90 minutes of running on my longest day now which feels so rewarding, I never thought I'd be able to comfortably run for 30 minutes let alone 90 so this is really giving me the boost I need to keep it going. 

With only 96 days until the London Marathon the challenge I've taken on is starting to really kick but I'm still as motivated as ever & am definitely already in better shape than I've ever been. 

So although it's a new year, the training continues, the commitment continues & thanks to some great support, the donations have continued to roll in for my chosen charities! 

2014 - The year I run the London Marathon! 

Run The Right Way

My colleague, Ian, emailed this link to me this morning. Two really interesting videos that could make you run more effectively and the right way! 

It's only 3 minutes long & could make a whole heap of difference to your running. I'll certainly be trying out the different stance on my next run. 

http://sanjayguptamd.blogs.cnn.com/category/cnn-lifestream-video/page/2/#lifestream

The Big Event

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments about my story and the fundraising video, it means so much that it's really touched so many people. 

Now for my next announcement!! 

As mentioned in the video, ITS have kindly offered to put on a fundraising/celebration day with all proceeds going to the two charities I'm supporting. 

The one day event on Saturday 18th January will be held in London & I'm really very excited about it. 

I'd love it if you are free & can join us, for full details click the image below. 

http://www.itsnlp.com/celebration-day-living-generously/

Presenting...

I mentioned previously that a colleague had kindly offered to make a fundraising video for me, well thanks to Brian Smith that video is now out there for the world to see. 

After watching it for the first time & being incredibly emotional, I'm proud to share it with you...

If you'd like more details on the ITS Celebration Day that is referred to during the video please contact me & I'll be happy to provide some further information. 

Keep Glowing!

What a great surprise to come home to a delivery today from Virgin Money Giving with probably the most useful running accessory you can have - a hi-vis running vest! 

I was one of the first 5000 runners to get donations on the Money Giving page so got sent this. 

What a nice letter too! 

Thanks Virgin Money Giving!