JefferStow's Road to the Marathon: Post 4: FUNdraiser

As I mentioned in my first post, there are only three reasons for humans to run. Especially long distances. Those involve only food, danger and good deeds.

However these three motivations can also be combined in order to be one huge reciprocal motivation to get the job done.

The last month or so has given me sudden anxiety and fear not about somehow running the distance from my house to the Dartford tunnel (ohdearlordwhydidIworkthatout?!), but how I'm going to make it to my colossal £2,500 for a charity that means more to me than I ever dreamed it might before I found out my Uncle was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease last year.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in the power of good. I have amazing friends, family and colleagues who are incredibly generous and who will give for the good cause and also because they admire the feat I am attempting to conquer... However I also know that many people firstly have lots of people asking for money for similarly excellent causes for similarly difficult challenges... and also that asking for money 9 months in advance when I can only run 4 miles is a big ask.

However I've been so far in awe at people's generosity. I've reach £400 of my target on the power of annoying people on Facebook alone. But the fact is I agreed to get £1000 to MNDA by the end of October, and a further £1500 by the end of May when I've completed the race... and sadly Facebook has a hide button for annoying sorts just. like me.

So this is where the three mighty powers of motivation shall combine together to make one huge pyramid of motivation, where not only do I get into my training but everyone is inspired enough to dig deep and throw lots of cash at me.

This formula roughly translates as me being terrified of not getting to my target, so I bribe people with FOOD which results in money for charity... which motivates me to run run run.

This is a very long winded way of telling everyone I threw my first fundraising event this weekend.
I'm not going to lie... I've been absolutely terrified in the run up. The premise was simple. I buy BBQ food. You come and eat the BBQ food. You put some money in the pot. Emma goes home happy.

But despite being the Fun Coordinator at my university's Operatic society, where I threw event after event with apparently no regard to how annoying or was or caring if people turned up, or even enjoyed themselves because I was just obliviously and unshakably convinced that they would. 

I am a very different person to who I was at age 21/22. My husband and most people I know will probably let you know it's definitely a good thing. I'm also much happier than I was at 21. The only downfall is that I've managed to develop this little thing called empathy, which currently makes me constantly terrified about what impact I'm having on other people...and whether or not I am making them happy (I desperately want to make everyone happy all the time. It's pretty much all I want for everyone in life).

This irrational fear nearly lead me to cancelling the BBQ a few weeks before because I wasn't sure I had enough yes's to make it worth it, and I didn't want attendees to think it was lame... So my husband jumped to action and invited some extras and motivated me to actually bug those who haven't replied for a response. Slowly but surely people realised they didn't have anything better to do, so agreed to rock up to my little shin dig.

Once the weatherman announced sunshine for the weekend, my anxiety slipped away as I got down to doing my favourite thing in the world... LIST WRITING!

I got everything organised, ordered some colour coordinated napkins and painted my nails to match. I spent a happy hour in Tesco buying a tonne of food and took it over to parents who kindly agreed to host.

Admittedly I was still a little anxious on the day and my husband (who is so supporting and awesome for standing in the midday eat over a fiery BBQ to make everyone's food) will tell you that I sometimes slightly over estimate how much time is needed for things like blowing up balloons and making salad. But he's wrong.

At 3pm on the dot the first guest arrived and for the next four hours around 24 of some of the loveliest people I know came, relaxed, ate food, drank Pimms and had a jolly good afternoon.

After everyone left I found I had raised £207 for my marathon pot, which means several people donated more than the recommended £5 for the afternoon of entertainment, and have increased my current fundraising pot by 50%.

I am so overwhelmed with gratitude, happiness and Pimms for everyone who came and even more glad for the fact everyone had a lovely afternoon. I don't know why I was so worried.


Thank you again to everyone who has contributed and joined in so far. My next event is a buffet meal in Southend., Essex, on the 20th October, and is open to all due to me not being the one to pay for the food! If you don't yet have the details please let me know!

A third of the way there and a third of the way through my journey

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jefferstow-runs-the-marathon

  

The last picture is there to prove it wasn't just me and a skipping rope.

JefferStow's Road to the Marathon: Post 3: The Pain Addiction

I am now officially 3 weeks into my new shiny gym time table and not only have I stuck to it I have achieved the below:

- ran fastest 5km (sub 30 minutes if you minus traffic light waiting time)
- knocked 90 second off my swimming time for 40 lengths (1km)
- increased interval runs to 24 minutes 2 weeks ahead of schedule AND could have done more
- can tell 6kg weights (improvement from 2.5 - my arms are spaghetti)
- can touch the floor with fingertips and straight legs, and can reach mid-calf (in back with leg in the air, improve from only reaching back of my knee)

Three more weeks and the timetable will be a habit and I can build on everything towards the marathon. So easy. Generally I feel awesome but I wanted to share with you the best fitness tip I've ever picked up, but its only for the brave and those who, like me, have developed an affection for exercise that can only really fit into the BDSM category.

Everything about exercise hurts from your 5am alarm to the lock jaw you develop from straining during weights. But like with having children, the euphoric joy from that momentary, fleeting sense of achievement seems to completely extinguish the negatives from your memory and trick your mind into thinking you want more of that.

So, what is that tip I hear you cry?

FOAM ROLLING*

*to be pronounced only in loud booming voiceover voice

I was shown this technique by a personal trainer and bought my own mini roller at home and have never looked back.
The horrid thing one of the many horrid things about running is that it seems to make all the muscles in your legs contract and seize up, no matter how much you stretch.  The pain can be excruciating and it knocks you about ten steps back on any beneficial yoga you might be partaking in.
FOAM ROLLING* is basically a self inflicted deep tissue massage which (if done properly) is only for the brave and slightly sick in the head.

Here's a little video of me in my Aladdin pjs doing it wrong:

Now I can't film myself doing it right because:
1. I couldn't film myself as it takes every ounce of concentration and all four limbs
2. If I asked my husband to film me all you'd hear would be his excessive giggling at my grimacing and self inflicted pain

So to FOAM ROLL* properly you have to do it slowly. You have to use your other leg to put more weight on it and SLOWLY* work your way up each section of your leg, And every time you fine a tight muscle (which is every centimetre after a decent run) you have to rotate from side to side.

To know its working you need to feel like you have the thumbs of a thousand tint Eastern European women from your local spa digging their thumbs into that one section of your leg in perfect unison.

It hurts. So. Much. And you're doing it to yourself so you have to keep going. You have to torture yourself until your leg is white hot with pain. Because afterwards...

IT. FEELS. GLORIOUS.

Your legs will feel lighter than air and you'll want to immediately run again thanks to all your new found leg energy (legergy).
Exactly like childbirth.

That's all for now. Happy FOAM ROLLING* everyone.

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jefferstow-runs-the-marathon