Friday 27 February 2009

energy levels set to stun!

Had a visit today from the new Area Volunteer Manager (AVM) for CRUK (well, returning AVM, back from maternity leave) ... bloody hell, Michelle, how can a new mum have soooo much energy?

She was really excited about the 365challenge and wanted to know what she could do to help promote it ... or what challenges she could take on ... one idea was that she could "iron the height of a mountain" (something local, not kilimanjaro ... her words, honest!), by taking in ironiing from her village for a donation to CRUK!!!

And she seemed to have lots of contacts and anything I mentioned, she thought she could work with ... and true to her word, within a couple of hours of the meeting, she'd emailed me a potentially useful link for widening the scope for this thing ... CRUK, you'd better make sure you hold onto this one, 'cos with that level of enthusiasm, she'd be an asset to any organisation!

Monday 23 February 2009

other amazing efforts ...

Since I started into this 365challenge year, I've been blown away by the support of those folk who have taken on their own 365challenges and become 365'ers too ... I'm not going to list them all here, but you can read about their efforts on my website on the "Meet the 365'ers" page. And expect more to be added soon.

And while these guys have been doing me proud as 365'ers, I've also come to learn of other wonderful efforts that other innovative fund-raisers have been developing, and I thought I'd share their details here too ...

Paul and Andrew are working on organising "Press Up for Cancer", a two day event in May, which is now gaining international interest, it seems, where they want to get as many individuals and teams together to perform 1000 press-ups each or per team to raise money for Cancer Research UK and MacMillan Cancer Support ... brilliant idea, but not one I could attempt, I fear!

And also in May, firefighters Lee Peyton and Garry Mackay will head to the Outer Hebrides to complete a 300 mile self-supported journey from the south of the island chain to the most northerly tip, the Butt of Lewis, cycling across the islands, running to the highest point on each and kayaking between the islands in a superhuman effort to complete the challenge in under 60 hours.

Their website is really good and they are a great example of how to use t'internet to promote their 300mile challenge ... they are raising money for CLIC Sargent, the charity that supports children with cancer, and are trying to raise a staggering £25000 ... go for it guys, I'll be right behind you ... em ... in Chester ... em ... on my virtual kayak ...

... well, I'll do what I can to promote your efforts, at least, and, and stick a link on my website at some point too. As Garry has offered to join me on one of my mountain endeavours, if he can walk after his own efforts, hopefully you'll hear more of the 300mile challenge on these pages as they progress their training and take on this truly heavyweight challenge.

As I hear of other similarly wonderful ideas, I'll share them with you, and maybe you'll be inspired to have a go too! Who knows, eh?

not forgetting the team effort

Nick also knocked off a logo for Team 365challenge, which you can access by emailing me on colin@365challenge.co.uk ...

This is for those of you who want to make a BIG, multi-person effort for your 365challenge ... get a few or a lot of bodies to join you and that way you can set a truly spectacular goal for your 365challenge year ... what about cycling round the world, or swimming/rowing the Atlantic ... or maybe running the coastline of the UK?

You are limited only by your imagination ... okay, and by your fitness levels ... and maybe by your available time ... and maybe by the number of team members ... but, hey now, stop making excuses, c'mon, get planning how you could develop your very own 365challenge team and raise a shed-load of money for this important cause ...

365ing all over the world ...

... and I like it, I like it, I ....

Doesn't really scan, does it? Hey ho. Anyway, I've been meaning to tell you that Nick, my logo designer, has gotten round to developing some extra versions of the 365 logo for me, as I try to promote this thing internationally now.

Well, in Ireland and Australia at least, seeing as there have been positive mutterings coming out of each country that someone over there is going to take on their own 365challenge. So ... what do you think of our new Irish and Aussie versions, then?


Cool or what? If you're based in either location and you'd like to take on your own challenges for your local cancer charities, get in touch and I'll forward the logos for you to use in your promotional efforts ... it all helps to raise the profile and generate interest from the folks out there who will ultimately be our sponsors!

So in the words of the great Joey Ramone ... Hey Ho, Let's Go!

Sunday 22 February 2009

adding to the pot ...

There I was over in Ireland to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday, when Fiona, my sister, lets me know that she has some donations from friends to add to the 365challenge collection pot!

So thank you to the girls at Carrickmacross Library (Breda, Anne and Mary), and to Betty and Bernie ...

Then Fiona announced also that her colleagues at work had made a collection before Christmas and wanted to present it to me while I was over too ... so it was off to the Monaghan Motor Tax office to meet the girls and collect a very healthy donation for Cancer Research UK. So it's a very big thank you to Marcella, Maura, Olga, Sara, Helen, Fiona, Louise, Denise, Susan, Phil, Kate and Madeline ... not everyone was there, sadly, but I managed to persuade those who were to join me for an official presentation photo ... so, meet the ladies of the Monaghan Motor Tax office:

From left to right, it's Louise, Fiona, Maura, Me(!), Sara, Helen and Olga ... thanks again ladies for your very generous donation.


And as if that wasn't enough, we arrived back from the restaurant we'd taken Dad to for his birthday meal to find an envelope through the door containing 200 Euros from my cousin Gerard and Uncle Benny for the cause!

So a big thank you to everyone in Ireland for their generosity, I brought back £473 to add to my total ... I'll have to come back again soon for more!!

back from the celebrations ...

Another gap between blogs ... what am I like? It's been a slow blogging month, hasn't it. Sorry about that, it's just that firstly work got in the way, but just this few days, I've been back in Ireland to help my dad celebrate his 90th year ... so I think that's a reasonable excuse, really.

And what do you think about this, then ... at the celebratory meal on Friday, one of my nephews, Peter, only goes and gives me a hard time for not blogging enough ... he's been off work recently following key-hole surgery on his knee so he's had time on his hands, and wanted more to read between changing bandaids on his knee! And he's not even signed up as a follower ... c'mon, Pete, gimme a break, I've been busy!

Anyway, there will be a bit more coming along soon ...

Friday 13 February 2009

A.W.O.L ...

January 27th 2009 ... busy blogging and 365-ing and fitting too many things into the day and then ... Silence ...
Nada ...
Nothing ...
No calls ...
No messages ...
No word ...


365'er went A.W.O.L.

And I really have no excuse, but hopefully you'll forgive me and keep visiting!

Have I really been out of it for 17 days? Sorry about that, I guess I just didn't have much to say!

But I've continued my challenge and even spent a day down near Cheltenham, at a CRUK event called the World Cafe, promoting the 365challenge to supporters of the charity. It was a smaller event than maybe they had hoped for, but I still met some great people and generated some interest, so now I need to wait and see if those seeds take fruit!

Also been supporting Debbie and Jayne and Rob as they move their challenges forward too, so hopefully I'll have more to tell you about their adventures soon.

I think I can say that Rob seems to have hit on one
very unusual part to his challenge ... he's going to "single arm curl the weight of X gallons of cider in 12.5kg reps" (X to be determined still) ... but what the heck is all that about Rob? I'm guessing that you're not suggesting that a pint of Cider weighs 12.5 Kg, now, are you Rob? (Though that WOULD be a challenge that would get a lot more people interested, especially if you could only lower the "weight" empty!!)?

Speaking of lifting weights ... I decided that as I've been spending sooo much time in the gym, that I needed to do more than just the cardio-vascular work that makes up the challenge, so I asked Adam, one of the instructors there for a weights programme to give me some variety to my visits. Now, I thought I was fairly fit and using my muscles fairly regularly ... not so, as it happens ... I completed one full cuircuit of the programme the other day, and actually felt good after it ... but 2 days later, it hit me ... hard! Oh my GOD! How can your sternum ache, please tell me? And just about every other muscle in my torso. Putting my coat on was a challenge and raising my arm to get something off a shelf! Ouch!

There was only one solution ... back to the gym and repeat ... and I'm so pleased to report that I'm feeling human again and those complaining muscles are once again aware of their roles and happy with it. But what a shock ... you forget that even though you are "exercising", you are only using a limited set of muscles, and the rest will have their say if you give them half a chance!

Lesson learned. So now need to fit blooming weight training in regularly too. What am I like ... I thought my days were full enough, but obviously there's always room for a wafer-thin mint!

Or is there?