The Cardiff Half Marathon- Doing it for Week On the Street!

So holy crap! It is actually official! The money is paid and there’s no backing out!!!

 My Bezzie Nicola and I will be running the half marathon in Cardiff in October! It’s suffice to say that I’m crapping my pants-not to mention the fact that people have told me they’ve crapped their pants before while running the marathon! I am a novice runner! In fact I’m probably less than that so I don’t understand the pooping while running thing??If anyone can shed light on why during a run your body suddenly develops the urge for you need to, well, do that I’d be very pleased to hear it.

I get a text a few weeks ago from my good lady Nicola Harper. She wants to do a half marathon. Now it’s not like she just comes out and asks me to do it, no, no. The emotional blackmail that came before the question left little if no chance of me saying no to her. The length of the text took up half my evening just scrolling to the bottom. The point of it was that not only did our friendship rely on us making it over the finish line together, but she also touched on the fact that our friendship has had to span hundreds of miles since I left our home town Llanelli, so she never sees me. So all wrapped up in guilt, there was never a question, it was just a statement! “Let’s do a half marathon.” Little did she know, I had been thinking about this the last month or so and was planning a text ambush like that on her. Like I could say no to this girl anyway, even if I wasn’t into it! We’ve been through years of her saying yes to the majority of stuff I’ve ever wanted to do, no matter how much she knew better of it. Well that’s kind of the point of friendship I guess.

So we’re kick starting our health and fitness regime by giving ourselves a little 2014 challenge. Training began 3 weeks ago so we’re well and truly on the way. I’m not doing too badly. I mean I got this little app on my phone and you can see me most days running along East Dulwich, usually shouting at thin air, telling my virtual trainer he’s crazy! It’s something I’m chuffed with though, even now at this early stage when there’s a long way to go, I’m happy and I’m enjoying the challenge it’s going to bring. The feeling of achievement that we’ll feel when we cross that finish line is going to amazing! Not only for ourselves, but with the permission of Tom Shaw we will be raising money for his charity Week on The Street.

Tom stirred up a huge amount of media, and public support when he took to the streets of London sleeping rough for a week to raise awareness for Autism. Since he began his journey Tom has raised thousands of pounds, and is now helping local families who are in the painful process of discovering their child has autism. He is now dedicating his full time to raising awareness for children with autism. Seeing what this man has achieved in such a short space of time is seriously inspirational. He is now organising more extreme fundraising which includes 3 cycling challenges, one of which is the John o’ Groats to Land End cycling challenge, one of the most difficult cycling challenges to be taken on.

Unfortunately I couldn’t commit to any of these which was extremely gutting, as I promised Tom that I would definitely be involved in his charity work in 2014. This is why Nicola and I are so chuffed that he allowing us to help in another capacity by running the half marathon. As two self-confessed unfit birds this is going to be a personal challenge for both of us, so please watch this space and help support us. We want to help Tom as much as we can, so help us help him!  Anyone who would like to join in with us in more than welcome.

For more information of Tom’s Charity work.

www.weekonthestreet.co.uk

www.facebook.com/pages/Week-On-The-Street/1437636036463048

twitter.com/weekonthestreet

The Shorter Side of a Tube Ride

I have never really thought much about my height. I have always been short, though for a long time you couldn't tell me that. I once had an argument with my friend Chloe that we were the same height even though she’s a good few inches above me. To this day I think she’s had a growth spurt because I swear when we first met 7 years ago we were the same height. I can’t argue with fact though I guess.

I always thought I was roughly the same height as everyone, it’s because the majority of the people in my family are quite tall or at least average height. So I just assumed I hovered with them. My sisters and female cousins are all quite average in their height, but my male cousins. Shit the bed! They are all huge and tower over me. Something I noticed more at Christmas when we were all together, when I ended up face in a belly button. Its times like this I start thinking, yeah I'm quite short. Then I look to my Mum, who’s even shorter than me, and think yeah, we’re pretty short. Bless her tiny little size 4’s! Out of a family of trees we’re the two little shrubs!  But it’s cool, good things come in small packages and its lush being hugged by so many tall people!

I don’t have an issue with being short. Other people tend to comment more than I think about it. I get some banter from it, but nothing that would make me hate my height. I get the odd, “How’s the Weather down there?” , and people come down to my height and say “ Oh that’s what it looks like down here.” Classic huh! Some people sometimes use my little head as a leaning post for their elbows or drinks! This is fact! It’s like I said though, nothing had ever happened to make me hate being short. Except the one place where people dread stepping onto in the hours of peak time travel, the tube!

It’s one of the worst places you can be. You’re crammed into these tiny little carriages, pressed against one another. IT’s hot and all you can taste and feel is the breathe of the other people trying to get to wherever they need to go that’s making them endure this hell. You’re perspiring because you’re in too much of a rush to take off you’re jacket when you get into the underground, and your face is puffy and red. You’re looking around at a sea of heads, and outstretched arms trying not to hit into other travellers, enjoying the breeze that occasionally wafts through. Do you know what you can’t see though? You can’t see us little guys.

There is no hell like a tube ride for a short person. At peak times anyway. We look up at you desperately trying to gasp for some air. We can see the light through the joining shoulders, snaking our way around bodies as people simply try and stepped over us. For you guys, you have some sort of oxygen coming into your lungs, while the only thing we can breathe is the material of whatever you’ve decided to wear that day. Days of woolly cardigans or jumpers are the worst. That shit gets in your lungs! You turn you head from side to side to be crushed further by a man’s chest, or a woman’s boob, someone’s back or back pack even. The glasses I've lost, or the times I've had my nose crushed, been tucked under a sweaty armpit I cannot keep count of.

We have no counter attack from this though. No self-defence. We can go onto tip toes and try and meet you in the light, but we have to forfeit balance for this and risk falling everywhere. At least down in the dark material world you are wedged in enough to stay sturdy. The majority of the horizontal rails I can’t even reach, so on those beautiful days when you can move on the tube and it’s only slightly packed I always end up getting pushed away from the vertical ones I can reach and then struggle to reach the high ones. It’s always some tall guy as well that does it. They move you along so that they can get the rail, even though they can comfortably grab the high one, just to watch as you struggle like a kid on monkey bars swinging back and forth.  Don’t be greedy! Just give me the pole will you!!! You can grab the roof ones! I can’t! Be nice!

I’m not saying things are worse for short people in life. Just on the tube. So the next time you get on the tube and spot a shorty struggling for life just give them some breathing space. Don’t push your body directly into their face. Move aside from the central poles and hang onto the high bar. Let the little one through to have a go. It’s embarrassing having to struggle with the high bars. So whatever time you’re having, think about the short one next to you. No, not that one, look down. There they are!

Happy New Year One and All!

Well it’s that time of year again where I say to myself. It really is time to start doing some writing, pitch a few ideas, keep up with my blog, and maybe tackle that novel I’I've been working on since I was 15. Well, not the same one. I mean, it is the same one, but the ideas and premises have changed as I’ve grown up, and now it’s pretty different to how it started. You know how it is though. Everything kind of gets put on the back burner. That’s me all over. I’m an “I’ll get to it later” kind of girl. An “I just wanna relax for a bit” sort of person. Then before you know it your 15 episodes into Tru Blood, and your room-mates knocking on the door to ask why you haven’t been seen for two days!

Anyway, I ramble on. The thing is. I don’t write because I want loads of people to read it. I don’t write thinking I’ll get very far with it, or even that I want to any more. It’s just something personal that makes me happy. Therein lays my point. I think a lot of people in life are so bogged down and busy running around their  day to day week, doing the things that have to be done, that we ‘re all too tired to do the things we want. This is my New Years Resolution! To say yes to everything! Well not yes to everything, I’m not trying to be the “YES MAN!”. I think I’m just going to be more conscious of not letting my life go by, which I have a tendency to do. I’m going to stop complaining, and moaning, and just be a generally happier person. People who know me know that this is a difficult thing for me. I am King of the wingers, Mayer of the Misery, and Top Dog of the Depressives! But not any more kids!!

2013 was a pretty shit year for me, as it was for my family as whole I’d say. I had heart break, I lost someone I cared for very much, and some personal things that I need not bore anyone. So I spent the majority of last year crying, or sad, terrified, or anything other than happy. I stayed in A LOT. I withdrew into myself and looking back over 2013 I simply wasted my life. A terrible sin really when I knew someone who loved life so much but was taken very young. Even when I was smacked in the face with that I still just didn’t have it in me to move on and enjoy every second. There have been so many situations in my life where I’ve been dragged down, missed out, and threw away amazing opportunities because of being afraid. It’s sad that it’s taken me to get through some major hurdles of 2013 that now at 28 I’ve finally said I’ve had enough! 2014 is the year of taking risks, of saying yes to more things. Going to parties I wouldn't normally go to for fear of not knowing anyone there. Skydiving, because I haven’t done it before. Doing more for others, because if other people are happy because of something I'm doing then that’s going to make me happy. ( Rather selfish yes I know). Bungee jumping, because I haven’t done that before! Meeting new people. Going on more holidays, with the help of my credit card. Then paying off my debt because I wanna be a grown up. Pretty much try me, I'm gonna try and say yes to 90% of all things! That’s my attitude  right now!

Even while writing this, my best buddy asked me to do a half marathon and a 10K this year! I’ve said YES!! See, it’s time for yes people!

My point is. It’s easy to be too tired to go meet your mate at the pub, with this weather you want a duvet more than you want to go out and see someone, or do something for risk of being cold and wet. Everything feels like an effort. It’s all you see on Facebook really, and I'm the number one for that shit, but let’s have an emotional clear out! You don’t have to burn the candle at both ends; and have a nervous breakdown. I’m not going to be doing that. I’m just going to be more aware of what I'm doing with myself. Think outside the box for your New Year’s Resolution because the biggest one is to make sure you’re living your life to its fullest, and you’re enjoying every second because regretting the things you haven't  done is so much worse than regretting the things you have done.