I settle down to write this after my 4th run this week. Admittedly I'm only going for 3 miles at a time, but today I didn't really notice it. Time to aim for 4 miles next week! The biggest change however is the massive increase in my fundraising total. In just 11 days I've managed to raise the £500 that Epilepsy Research UK set me, and I still have 17 weeks till M-Day.
It's been a very humbling experience reading through the names and comments on the justgiving site (www.justgiving.com/Ben-Wolfson in case you haven't donated yet!). There are people on there who donated because they're close family, and want a way to commemorate Patrick, there are my friends and work colleagues on there who want to show support, and then there are the people whose names I don't recognise, but who all say how much they miss Patrick and how they like the idea of being able to remember him like this. I've made it my mission to contact each and every one of these people (fortunately the website asks for your email when you donate) and ask them how they know Patrick and if they want to share memories of him. So far, I've got a 100% response rate (which is both surprising and unsurprising at the same time) and I also have a 100% rate for not really reading the emails. I sat down this evening with the intention of reading them, and I've skim-read 2, but at the same time it's going to be hard. Part of me thinks that almost a year on, thinking about and talking about Patrick would be easy, or easier at least. It isn't. His death is still very raw to me, and part of me feels relieved that it is still raw for others too. Each one tells a different side of this wonderful man, some are his university friends, some are relatives on his biological mother's side, and all talk about how friendly and gregarious he was, and how much they miss him. I want to collect all of these emails and comments and do something with them, but the only things I can think of (e.g. making a book) seem morbid or inappropriate. Any ideas?
In terms of the running, it's really good to be getting out there again. I didn't realise how much I missed it till today, when I had a lazy day, then went out for a short run because I could. Yesterday I went running with Mike Higgins, my long time on-off running partner at the Leeds parkrun (www.parkrun.com). When I say running with Mike, I mean we chatted on the way there and at the start line, and then I watched him gracefully bound through Hyde Park as I struggled round the 5k course. I remember a time when we'd run at the same speed, talking and nattering for miles on end. I guess I've not really run since August last year, so I'm feeling a bit sluggish, but I'd like to get back to being able to run alongside him again. Anyway, the 5k is timed with the results being posted online, so watch this space! I'll put my times on here and facebook, hopefully my time will drop over the weeks!
Right. 4 miles a run, 5 days next week. 3 weeks to go till official marathon training starts. 17 weeks today till the marathon itself. Bring it on!
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Saturday, 16 January 2010
126 days
So lots to think about today. First of all, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far, including the first American donation! It just brought a tear to my eye seeing the messages of support already on the just giving page (www.justgiving.com/Ben-Wolfson), as well as a awesome sum raised already! It's starting to seem more real now, even more real than on Wednesday when I set up the pages. I guess part of it is that I've started to talk to people about it (up till now it's been Christmas and New Year, and helping Phil fundraise for his trip) and looking at training schedules etc.
I'm not sure whether I'm nervous or excited about it. I've put in running time like this before, doing the 1000 mile run last year, and I've certainly exercised for longer periods of time, breaking the world record. I think it's the thought of putting those two together, and the thought that the furthest I've ever run in one stretch is 13 miles. Going for my first run of 2010 put things into perspective as well. To be fair, it was only 2.5 miles to go pick the car up from Jim and Claire's house, but it felt a lot longer. That may have had something to do with the sleet, the cold, the ice (oh and the hangover), but I managed it in one stretch, and felt pretty positive about it. I've got until the middle of Feb to get up to running for 40 minutes non stop (about 4-5 miles) to start the training, so that combined with swimming and badminton should be a reasonable target. It will just be a matter of finding time (and motivation!)
So that's that for now. I'll keep pestering people to donate, starting with an email to my family and friends in the states, and start running in ernest now that the ice has melted. Keep coming back fr more info!
I'm not sure whether I'm nervous or excited about it. I've put in running time like this before, doing the 1000 mile run last year, and I've certainly exercised for longer periods of time, breaking the world record. I think it's the thought of putting those two together, and the thought that the furthest I've ever run in one stretch is 13 miles. Going for my first run of 2010 put things into perspective as well. To be fair, it was only 2.5 miles to go pick the car up from Jim and Claire's house, but it felt a lot longer. That may have had something to do with the sleet, the cold, the ice (oh and the hangover), but I managed it in one stretch, and felt pretty positive about it. I've got until the middle of Feb to get up to running for 40 minutes non stop (about 4-5 miles) to start the training, so that combined with swimming and badminton should be a reasonable target. It will just be a matter of finding time (and motivation!)
So that's that for now. I'll keep pestering people to donate, starting with an email to my family and friends in the states, and start running in ernest now that the ice has melted. Keep coming back fr more info!
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
129 days
129 days, 14 hours, 17 minutes and counting, according to the Edinburgh Marathon website. That's how long I have until I cross the start line for 4 hours of physical and mental torment. It doesn't seem all that far away, and with all the snow and ice on the ground, I'm beginning to feel a little nervous about how to get my training started. My two options at the moment (besides trying to run outside and falling over) are buying a treadmill (something that Kelsey and I are looking into) and swimming (technically it counts as cross-training, right?). After completing my 1000 miles in a year last year, I took a bit of a break from running, with the aim being to be in good shape for the marathon. I'm not sure where taking a bit of a break becomes being lazy, but after my first swimming session yesterday, my body has been trying to define that line today.
Enough about the running, though there'll be more about it as the weeks and months go by. I've been planning on running a marathon for years now, and never quite got round to it. Then my cousin Patrick died last year at the shockingly young age of 30. We were all completely shocked, and now almost a year later it's still incredibly raw to talk, and even think about. I think that there was no warning at all (I had even forgotten about his epilepsy) was the most upsetting thing. I hate the fact that we were due to play in a softball tournament in Manchester the weekend after, and I had meant to call him to see if we could hang out and see his new house whilst we were in town. I put off the call, figuring I'd call him close to the time, and now can't get rid of the wish to have called him, even if I wouldn't have known it would have been our last conversation. Even writing about it now is hard. On the few occasions that I've been out running, I've thought a lot about Patrick, and in esssence I think that's why I want to run this marathon. Yes it'll be fantastic trying to raise as much money for Epilepsy Research UK (more of which in another post), but running gives me time and space to think, and there is certainly going to be a lot of running in my future, if my marathon schedule is anything to go by. It's going to be my way to commemorate this true gentleman and gentle man.
Enough about the running, though there'll be more about it as the weeks and months go by. I've been planning on running a marathon for years now, and never quite got round to it. Then my cousin Patrick died last year at the shockingly young age of 30. We were all completely shocked, and now almost a year later it's still incredibly raw to talk, and even think about. I think that there was no warning at all (I had even forgotten about his epilepsy) was the most upsetting thing. I hate the fact that we were due to play in a softball tournament in Manchester the weekend after, and I had meant to call him to see if we could hang out and see his new house whilst we were in town. I put off the call, figuring I'd call him close to the time, and now can't get rid of the wish to have called him, even if I wouldn't have known it would have been our last conversation. Even writing about it now is hard. On the few occasions that I've been out running, I've thought a lot about Patrick, and in esssence I think that's why I want to run this marathon. Yes it'll be fantastic trying to raise as much money for Epilepsy Research UK (more of which in another post), but running gives me time and space to think, and there is certainly going to be a lot of running in my future, if my marathon schedule is anything to go by. It's going to be my way to commemorate this true gentleman and gentle man.
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