Day 5 & 6 - Goodbyes and baths

August 17, 2009

Day 5

The work that goes in to making the videos! Finding internet etc!

As most of you know, I had ME for many years. Getting out of bed this morning was genuinely as hard as it was when my ME Was at its worst. Every time I tried to move, I pretty much fell asleep. This trend continued whilst I was walking my first 10k of the day, I almost fell asleep twice. The route this morning was fantastic and the scenery great, but I really did feel awful. I hoped that this would not be the way of things to come and it was just a momentary blip. As has mecome increasingly evident, my calves dont like mornings. On the other hand, Aggie likes my calves, so all is well (sorry CVS!). One quick point; it didnt really take 36 years, but it felt like it.

The day continued to follow a depressing and sad path as we had to say goodbye to Dave(id)! Although throwing David out of the van meant that there was more space for the Melton Mowbray pies I was to collect later. I refuse to answer any questions on whether I would prefer David or pork pies in the camper…On a erious note, David was a rock this week. Whilst CVS would have loved to able to run with me, if we are all honest he might have died. David on the other hand came out with me every night to help me through my final run and to keep me going. For that my friend, I am truly grateful.

So, David has gone; cooking duties over to CVS.

Hang on…cooking duties over to me it seems. Using the forzen veg I had been rubbing my legs down with (!) and various other bits and pieces I came up with a meal fit
for kings. Well alright, it was a couple of cups of tea and a cookie each, but I tried!

Day 6

Day 6 dawned and I was feeling a lot more positive. This was because of a number of things. Firstly, I only had to do two runs today. Secondly, I was going to a party in the evening. Thirdly I was going to get a bath at Chris’s house. Fourthly I got to sleep in a massive, comfy double bed for the night. It promised to be a fab day. My first run of the day was quite good. My calves were not too bad and I did my distance in a decent time, well done me. The first stop off point of the day was Lowdham, a lovely little village. Again responsibility fell with Co-Op for our fundraising needs and again they did not fail us. They have been magnificent! Overall, Lowdham was hugely generous and we took over £80 in the morning - fantastic! One lady in particular was extremely generous. Not only did she give us as financial donation, she also provided Chris and I with a packet of chocolate chip cookies. In 30 seconds, the kind lady worked out what one of our (many?) vices was!

Not only was Lowdham generous, but I was too. Chris has worked hard all trip fundraising and this was the same in Lowdham. I took him out a cup of tea and some Soreen! Yum! Thats love for you. I keep having to remind Chris that the marriage laws in England have changed now and we do not have to spend a huge amount of money going to Vegas…

You may have noticed a recurring theme in the videos - actually there are a few: camp innuendo, calamities, eating cookies and cakes, breaking beds etc etc - but for the point of this paragraph, I am focussing on my directional sense. Pidgeons are widely known to have GPS like directional sense. Andrew Dobie is widely known as having PS directional sense: pretty ****. Every running session begins by me asking Chris, “where am I going?” He still has not shouted at me. We’ll see what happens when my mum takes over! But I did make it to Oxton - eventually.

Once I had arrived in Oxton, it was off to Chris’s house to freshen up, eat and go to a party/BBQ thing. This meant that I got to have a bath. This meant that I was excited. This meant that I needed lots of bubbles. Ok enough now, I don’t have Chris here to censor me. The bath helped no end in my quest for less leg pain and it set me up for the night ahead. The BBQ was fab and I met lots of nice people. I also met one complete tool who had a go at me for literally 15 minutes in front of about 10 people about how I should be running there quicker and that he could do it better, swearing at me and so on. I did manage to get £10 out of him though!

I have not mentioned or begged for fundraising too much in my videos or blogs so far and I know many of you have already donated, which is great - thank you very much. Whilst I can not force you to give me money (because i’m all the way over here - not because I wouldn’t punch you) any donations that you could muster would be very much appreciated by myself, the charities and the people who benefit from the work that they do.

That is all from me for now. I will post another blog on Tuesday. Ciao kids.