Juneathon Days 29 & 30: The End and The Overview

So, it's all over...

Day 29:

I woke up at 15:00 after a late finish at work. I had a few hours before my next shift and quite a few things to do.

I decided for today I'd do:

• 50Squats
• 50 Leg Raises
• 60 Bicycle Crunches

After all that I quickly showered and started getting ready for work...

Day 30: 

THE LAST DAY! 

Although it didn't seem that exciting to begin with... the day started in a pretty awful way - you can read about that HERE. 

After the bad start I headed to a surprise birthday BBQ for an ex-colleague's 18th. I had so much fun I almost forgot about Juneathon, until Jess brought it up.

She managed to convince our friend, Alex, to run around the field with me for my last Juneathon. However, he was drunk and then also ended up taking another drunk person to get safely home - so we lost him...

He met up with us later at about 11pm though, and after we'd got changed all three of us (Jess, Alex, and I) went for a run.

We started off all jogging together, but Jess kept running out of breath then stopping. I surprised myself by actually having enough breath to have bits of conversation with Alex along the way.

We stopped at one point when I mentioned I can now (sort of) do sit ups and Alex and I did them (again, sort of) on the side of the road. Alex is training for the RAF, so did sort of show me up.

The rest of the way after that I ran then stopped and waited for Jess and Alex who were now walking. Alex was impressed by how well I was doing, as was I!

It was also quite nice that we did it at night, it was cool and there were few people about.

Overview: 

I have lost weight, and I feel better in myself!

I have discovered that it is possible to exercise every day, even when working full time and on nights.

My work trousers aren't as tight any more and I can't tell you how much weight I may have lost, mainly because I don't own scales...

Juneathon has been a great way to force myself to exercise. The fact I have done this for Macmillan has actually made it doable. I would have given up by probably the third day if I didn't have the fundraising incentive.

I may have ached almost every day for a month, but I have raised over £100 and that's something to be proud of.

There's still time to donate: https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 28: Gross Content

Warning: may contain gross content. 

Today's exercise was done at about 4pm in pyjama bottoms and a sports bra, an attractive start. My curtains were drawn and in the darkness I cleared a space, turned on Spotify and began.

After the Burpees

I did 60 Burpees then after all that, and already sweaty, I did the 10-min Booty Shaking Workout.  During the booty-shaking I began to wish I'd done the the other way around, because when I started the video I had sweat dripping (literally) down my face. 

The order in which I'd done it also meant my legs really ached already and bending my knees for the long period of the video was very difficult. It really helped that the instructor counted down each section. 

After the workout video

Today was painful. Hopefully I am not in more pain later, as I have been, because I am working tonight. 

Two more days left! Still time to sponsor me: https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 27: Popeye Arms

If you've been reading my journey from the beginning (or even know me as a person) it'll come as a shock to you that today I did 20 push ups! 

You haven't fainted have you?

On the second day of Juneathon I was asked, among other things, to do 50 push ups - I couldn't even manage one. On Day 12 I only managed 5(ish) and yesterday I managed 10 and today 20.

It's a miracle. I am basically Popeye. 

I spent the afternoon (which felt like morning to me) doing... gardening! Not at all as I'd planned my day. It was a fabulous day nonetheless, and my planned exercise was replaced with taming a bush.

That's right, me and my house-mates spent the morning taming our bushes (heh-heh) in the surprisingly beautifully hot weather. The task left all three of us sweaty. The below picture doesn't quite do justice to what we've done:

Basically, that whole wall was covered in bush. With our massive gardening scissors we trimmed the whole thing down using strength we didn't even realise we had. As well as the above picture there were also two rose bushes to the left that were trimmed. 

I didn't quite feel satisfied that I'd done enough though, and as my house-mates are now asleep anything rigorous would be a little tricky. I sat thinking about how strong we were trimming the bushes though and thought, hmm I wonder - can I do more push ups? And I did! 

Tomorrow I have work at 9pm again so will get up and do some exercise tomorrow afternoon (I am staying awake tonight as otherwise my body will be even more confused). 

Just TWO DAYS LEFT! 

Not that I'm excited or anything...

Juneathon Day 24 & 26

Day 25: 

Yesterday I finished work at 7am. I got into bed at 8am and woke up at... 11am. I had three hours sleep! This means in two days I'd had only 5 hours sleep.

Somehow I managed to force myself to clean the bathroom and prepare for a new house-mate to move in, and then I did a workout video I had done before, mainly because I knew it wouldn't hurt until later and I figured I could deal with that. It was probably the easiest workout I could think of to do with no energy at all in me.

Instead of listening to the music and the instructor this time I decided to put on my workout playlist on Spotify. It made me more energetic but made my co-ordination slightly off.

After the exercise I had a quick shower before heading to a meal with my now ex-house-mates - which was lovely. However, I had to go straight to work afterwards and work from 9pm until 5am.

Day 26: 

I have never been so thankful for an early finish, ever. I got out of work just half an hour early at 4.30am.

And... I got 8 hours sleep! It felt amazing.

I had a busy day though, helping my new house-mate settle in. When we'd started relaxing at home I realised I only had an hour until I had to be at work again (9pm-5am shift again) and dashed upstairs to do the days exercise.

I did 60 bicycle crunches, 60 leg raises, crazily 10 push ups (my arms are getting stronger!) and 60 star jumps!

Must dash, or I'll be late for work...

Juneathon Day 23 & 24: Finding Time

One of the struggles I've had with Juneathon is finding time...

Day 23: 

Yesterday I woke up with more pain from the previous days workout video, as the instructor had promised. Instead of just a bit of pain in my lower back the whole thing hurt.

I'd planned to exercise when I'd gotten back to Canterbury before I had to get ready for work. That is what I did, but not as rigorous as planned. I only got back to my house at half 9 and needed to leave the house an hour later to get to work.

After making my bed and unpacking I had about 15 mins to do some exercise. I quickly settled on 100 squats. I was exhausted afterwards (well, I'd even been yawning beforehand) and immediately had to have the quickest shower of my life and get ready for work, completely unsure of how I was going to survive the night, and hoping I wouldn't ache too much during the shift!

Day 24: 

I left work just after 7am this morning and was in my bed at 8am. After around 5 hours sleep I awoke in a zombified state and headed for the kitchen for breakfast - it may have been after midday, but it was my morning.

When I had gathered some energy I dragged myself from my bed and headed to my sister's house to borrow her washing machine (ours is broken). We ended up watching the film Stepmom while I waited for the load to be done, and after it had finished her lovely boyfriend, Pete, drove me home as it was raining. It was then gone 7pm.

All I wanted to do, especially due to the weather, was spend the day/night (feels like daytime) snuggled on the sofa watching films. I couldn't get too comfy though, otherwise I'd never get to work!

I was putting off my exercise, anticipating an estranged housemate returning to get her belongings, but seeing as she is currently two hours late I gave up waiting and got to it. I found another 10 minute workout video on YouTube and gave it a go.

I used THIS video.

One thing I cannot understand after doing this, is how these women don't even look sweaty or out of breath! And they're so coordinated!

I struggled to remember to breath, to keep up with them, and not to trip over myself.

The hardest exercise in this workout was the plié jump. It hurt. I struggled. The rest didn't as hurt much, but I struggled to keep up.

Working until 7am again and start at 9pm tomorrow, hoping to find more time to exercise somewhere inbetween.

See ya...

Juneathon Day 22: Disbelief

Today I remembered to exercise, but almost forgot to blog!

Today's exercise was completed in the morning (please, try not to faint). I completed thee workout video I had planned to do yesterday before all of the drama occurred in my life.

I used THIS VIDEO on YouTube. 

It looked quite easy, even for me, so I had planned to do more another video this evening which is why the blog section was postponed.

When I got going, still wearing my pyjama bottoms, I thought 'You know, this is okay'. The only issue I had was my lack of co-ordination - I even struggled to breath in time!

In the video the instructor says 'This exercise is great because you don't feel it until the next day'. I wasn't sure I believed her, it felt too easy.

However, waiting until evening to post this has proven useful as I can now tell you it doesn't require 24 hours for the pain to kick in. My lower back has ached for several hours now. This, apparently, is a positive thing. Hopefully the pain is no greater in the AM.

Not long left of Juneathon now, and for the rest of the duration I don't think there'll be any more morning madness, as I am starting a week of night shifts tomorrow.

Nearly there though, and if you're lovely enough to help me through this last push click this link: https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 20 & 21: A Real Struggle

It has been a struggle the last two days...

Day 20:

Yesterday was a struggle, firstly to walk in the morning as I had walked way over 10 miles the previous evening but mainly because I nearly forgot about Juneathon altogether.

I went to visit a friend and stay the night. Early in the evening I had said I will do Juneathon before bed - said friend, Alice, is a dance teacher and very fitness savvy so I figured she'd put me through a rigorous workout.

However, after we'd eaten out we went back to hers and both got comfy and started watching a girly film and it wasn't until about halfway through that I remembered - I hadn't done any exercise yet (besides running to catch the bus, but I doubted that would count).

So we paused the film and as I had a belly ache we decided the best form of exercise would be to focus on my arms. I did a similar exercise to the day I used two Oasis bottles, except this time I did one arm at a time because the weight I was using was much heavier and more difficult to grasp - the most suitable thing we could find in her bedroom - an unopened bottle of Amaretto.

While she timed me I did the reps on one arm at a time. Amaretto proved to be much more of a struggle than Oasis bottles filled with water. My arms began resisting almost immediately. I manage about half the time in total as I had the previous time, but the weight used was much heavier.

Day 21: 

Today began very sleepily. We hadn't had much sleep as I was awoken by Alice looking out of the window while on the phone. Even though it was dark outside I sleepily assumed it was morning. I swiftly discovered it was not when I realised why Alice was on the phone - she was calling the fire brigade. A pub garden a few houses down was ablaze. She then also called the own of the pub after Googling their number and woke them and alerted them to the situation.

After all of that we still couldn't go to sleep straight away as we watched from the window to be sure the situation didn't worsen - as it happens, it was all okay.

On top of all of that I still had a belly ache this morning and when I finally arrived home I hadn't much energy to do anything.

After spending a while laying down and trying to get over the pain, I decided the best thing to do would be to get up and do the exercise as the quicker I did the quicker I could spend the rest of the day chilling out and not feeling guilty about it.

As I was about to get ready to do this my housemate, Emily, came home and said she was going to ASDA. I needed to get some bits so then went with her. I was then going to go upstairs and do a workout, I'd even found a video on YouTube to use, but as I was getting ready I received a phone call inviting me to an interview, an hour and a half from the time of the phone call.

I then had to put exercise on hold again and had to quickly get ready. After the interview a friend had visited and my rearranged plan was to workout after he'd left, but while he was there I received a phone call which made me have to make an unexpected visit home for unforeseen circumstances. 

In the drama of the evening I ended up doing exercise before bed again! At this point everyone in the house was asleep - earlier in the evening my step-dad suggested I do 50 star jumps, so I did that plus 50 bicycle crunches. 

Tomorrow I will try to begin and end the day with a workout video to make up for the two-day poor effort.

There's not long of Juneaton left now, so please if you have or have not thought to do it yet think and act now, click the following link and sponsor me! You are all the motivation I need: https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 19: "I Think I Know Where I am Now!"

I attempted to write this yesterday but neither me or my laptop had the energy...

I finished work at 3:15pm yesterday, then walked home got changed and left the house at 4:08pm. I didn't get back home until gone 9:00pm. 

My friend Jamie suggested to me that for Juneathon I should walk to Whitstable, and for some reason I agreed, but not without dragging him into it too. He knew of a bicycle path that leads directly from Canterbury to Whitstable - Crab and Winkle Way - finding it was another issue though. 

Firstly he said that this path was near Canterbury West station, and we didn't go anywhere near there. I saw places I never had before in Canterbury before we finally joined the pathway by the University of Kent campus. The path even led adjacent to a road we'd just walked along which was frustrating.

Jamie's catch phrase for the journey was: "I think I know where I am now!"

Mine: "My legs are going to fall off!"

It was about half 5 by the time we'd reached the path and my feet ached already. Once we were on the path though at least we actually felt as though we were actually getting somewhere.

Along the route we saw countless cyclists, runners and joggers and people who were just generally fitter than us. A lot of the journey we were walking on a gravelly path and we were thankful for proper tarmac whenever we happened upon it.

We had planned to get fish and chips when we got to Whitstable, and we were so hungry as we walked (I hadn't eaten since my lunch break at 11:30am) that through most of the journey we were planning what we were going to eat. Food was basically a driving force and motivation for this journey. 

Our feet and stomachs grew excited as we neared Whitstable and could hear civilisation (most of the route was past fields, farms and more fields). Before we'd left Jamie's Dad had told us that the route ended by a Tesco's and we were so hungry and excited to be there but the time we saw it that we practically ran in. We both bought snacks to tide us over until we could find a fish and chip shop.

When we walked out of Tesco though we noticed than the skies had opened. Heavy downpours had begun and being the responsible person I am, there was a hoody in my bag - Jamie however, not so organised. He got soaked. I wasn't too bothered by the rain, I was too fussed by my empty stomach and painful feet, legs, lower back, shoulders...

It was probably about another half an hour until we found a fish and chip shop along the high street, and as we sat there eating Jamie phoned his mum to pick us up and neither had the energy to walk to the bus station and wait as originally planned.

As we made our way to his mums car we were both walking like we had pooed ourselves. We were in so much pain. I even had to massage my own feet before bed as they hurt so much.

It was a nice walk though, albeit painful. If I were to do it again though I'd definitely prefer to have a bike! I think we worked out we walked over 10 miles, and all after being on my feet all day at work!

(Will be doing today's exercise later on today and posting tomorrow as I am staying at a friend's)

BYE.

P.S please sponsor me:  https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 18: Spontaneous Combustion

I hurt... everywhere. 

I finished work at about 17:40 and my feet were aching from standing up all day. I then did a quick shop and walked home, which caused my neck and shoulders to ache from the weight of the heavy bags. Then, despite all of that, I got home got changed and went for a run. 

I left my house at 19:00 armed with an iPod, bottle of water, and my house keys (so thankful I didn't forget those). This is the route I took: 

Kent Ave and Warwick Rd are uphill, so I didn't enjoy those - but St Martin's Hill was a downhill run, which was good! Along Littlebouarne before I'd hit the downward slops I felt like I was running and going nowhere.

At one point my face was so red hot, and I was so breathless and had such a mega fast heart-rate that I feared I was going to spontaneously combust - especially since (according to the BBC it was 21 degrees out there, proof:

But, I made it home and I wasn't as self conscious as I thought I'd be about people watching me run and I actually felt a great sense of achievement when I walked back through my front door, if not a little disgusted at how I look, I mean - look at the state I'm in:

(the above picture barely does justice to the grossness of my appearance). 

I am now going to go and eat dinner before I do pass out (I was even shaking when I started typing this post!). Come back tomorrow to see how my next post-work adventure goes, my friend Jamie and I are planning to walk to Whitstable from Canterbury. 

Byeeee. 

P.S that's gotta be worth some sponsorship, right? If you're feeling lovely click this link: https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 17: Falling Apart

Does anything ever go to plan, like, ever? 

Yet again I'd planned to get up and go for a morning run, getting Juneathon out of the way early in the day so I wouldn't have to worry later on. Especially since I was supposed to be working from 2pm - 11pm.

However, I got a phone call at 10am (as I had just finally managed to drag myself from my bed to get changed and ready) asking me to come in early. So instead of putting on jogging clothes I had to put on a uniform.

I ended up working from 11.30am - 8.30pm. Really my job which could be classed as exercise in itself - running about, carrying heavy things, mopping and sweeping etc. Unfortunately though, you lot won't sponsor me to go to work! 

I decided I'd get home, get changed and go for a jog/run. However, I am starting to learn I should not plan anything...

Instead I helped my future house-mate pre-move some boxes from her current house to mine, her future house. The walk normally takes 10 minutes, but with three girls carrying heavy and awkward boxes it took so much longer. So, that's my arm workout for the day! 

By the time we'd done all that I'd already sat down and had lost the energy to leave the house, let alone run anywhere. Instead I did 55 bicycle crunches before bed. Tomorrow I will DEFINITELY go for a jog/run after work (I finish at about 5.30).

Something I have discovered through Juneathon is that exercise makes my bones click a lot more than usual. I am not sure if this is a normal state of affairs, but I am just going to presume that exercise is bad and is making me fall apart, literally. 

See you tomorrow, when I may be in pieces... 

Juneathon Days 15 & 16: Power Walking and Power Napping

I'm playing catch-up again, but only because I have been super busy...

Day 15:

Remember how on Day 2 I finished all of my exercise with less than an hour to get ready for a hen night? Well yesterday was the hen's wedding, and this time I was determined not to be rushing about at the last minute...

My plan was to wake up early and go for a run, followed by a shower then a Doctor's appointment, and then popping to my sister's to borrow a dress before heading to the train station, travelling back to Medway, getting my eyebrows done and then getting ready for the wedding - I bet you can guess that it somehow ended up nothing like that.

What really happened was my sister needed me to go round before 12, meaning I would have to pop over before the Doctor's which then meant I had no time for either the run or the shower. A heavy application of dry shampoo and a super brisk power walk later I arrived at her house with only 15 minutes until my appointment. I was then roped into helping her edit her CV for a job application and even ended up doing it in the Doctor's waiting room and again afterwards at her house.

It was then twelve O'clock. I had four hours until my lovely eyebrow threading friend went to her retail job. Another brisk power walk later and I was back home. I packed like a crazy woman about to leave town in a hurry, which I kinda was. I then walked probably the fastest I have ever walked to the train station and made it to Chatham at 3pm, just in the nick of time really!

You're probably wondering where I found time for exercise in this day? There was certainly no time post-eyebrow thread as there was an outfit drama that I wont go into, but you see I've kind of already told you...

Yesterday's exercise may not have been an extravagant over the top workout, but I did exercise and it did hurt. After the 100 squats I'd done the previous day my above-the-knee-muscle (whatever that is) hurt, a lot. There's no way I'd have walked anywhere near as fast as I did had it not been for the severe urgency of it all!

On top of probably a total of 50mins (ish) power walking, there was also an entire evening dancing in heels which with achey above-the-knee-muscles is not an easy task.

Day 16: 

I think I have gone insane...

After about 5/6 hours sleep I dragged myself out of bed at 7am to get ready to head back to Canterbury to go to work.

Today I was thankful for ticket inspectors as if it weren't for the one today, I'd have missed my stop. Reading while tired while on a train is not a good idea.

It was a boiling and draining day and when I got home I lay on my bed and did something that used to be a rarity for me: nap. I'm not sure how long I napped for, but when I woke up I napped again.

After filling myself with tuna pasta and catching up on both How I Met Your Mother and New Girl I decided I should exercise before my comfort got the better of me.

Here's the crazy part - after all that napping and eating here's what I did: 

• 75 squats
• 60 burpees
• 50 leg raises
• 1 minute plank

... I can't believe that just happened. What has happened to me? Have I finally caught the Juneathon bug?

Here's some picture evidence #uglyselfie: 

I wrote the above bullet points out onto the blog before I'd even done them, because then I had something to strive for. The only amount left blank was the plank, because I just wanted to go for as long as possible.

When I started squating I could feel the pain from Day 14, but playing Macklemore's 'Can't Hold Us' seems to make exercise possible for me. I then did the sweatiest of the exercises - burpees. The  messy bun I had on top of my head ended up of the side (see above photo). The leg raises were a struggle after the 35+ mark, but I kept reminding myself I was over halfway and it was okay.

... Then came the plank. Previously it has taken a few seconds for my body to start shaking and giving in, but today was different. Today it felt I could bare it until about 40 seconds, which was when I allowed myself to check the stopwatch. Then I held on, and told myself I could make it to one minute and I did! Today I was my own cheerleader and it felt great.

Here's the stopwatch evidence: 

I have work tomorrow, so I hope today doesn't catch up with me too much! Come back tomorrow to find out...

Oh and before you go, just click this link for me and send me a donation? It would mean the world to me: https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 14: Got Dat Power

Going to sleep how I woke up - sweaty...

My bedroom was back to a sauna state this morning and while I didn't exercise in the AM as I had said in yesterday's post that I'd planned to I did get a lot done.

Today I tidied my bedroom (it was a state), and areas of the rest of the house too. By the time I'd finished I had missed lunch and was ready for dinner - luckily I wasn't having to cook as my future house-mate Mel made me dinner.

My hungry belly urged me to power walk to her house which is about ten minutes away. She made me a beautiful Bolognese and we watched a film.

I was hoping to complete my Juneathon on the way home, by running rather than walking, but I wasn't really dressed for the occasion. I did power walk my way home though (motivated by a need to wee).

But a twenty (if that) minute walk wasn't enough to qualify as my Juneathon for the day, so for some reason I thought that doing 100 squats would be a good thing to do.

I am not sure I have ever done more than maybe 30 in one go. I took off my shoes and jumper and put on some music and began. Unusually today I started off slow and got faster (it's normally the opposite). I think the speed had something to do with the fact I could see my bed and was wanting nothing more than to climb into it - it's where I am now as I write this.

Tomorrow I am aiming to go for a morning run, which should be interesting considering how hard I found running last time. I am determined to do better though and have found an admiration for runners everywhere because I now know it isn't as easy as it looks! Plus, if I do it in the morning I'll then have time for the million other things I have to do tomorrow!

See you then...

Juneathon Days 12 & 13: Aches and Pains

So I'm a little behind (but only on the blogging side)...

Day 12: 

Yesterday I was yet again travelling from Medway to Canterbury, but rather than spending some time doing things that needed to be done around the house I was whisked away from Canterbury East train station and it was all systems go! It was my sister Zoe's boyfriend's birthday and I was roped into helping set up for the celebratory BBQ.

Remember Day Nine's Garden Dash? This is the same sister and same garden, and typically I had yet to do my exercise before heading to Zoe's and typically she roped everyone in to participate in ideas and the exercise.

So at about 11pm on a completely full belly, having had a fry up at a cafe before leaving Medway and having been eating and drinking (albeit slowly) since about 3pm, I completed the following: 20 star jumps, 5ish sit ups, 20 laps of the garden and then 5 squats to finish it all off. 

Originally they'd suggested 10 star jumps but Zoe kept shouting "Do more!", and as they seemed easy I obliged.

The sit ups took about 20 minutes - and yes you read right, I only did 5ish. I say ish because after the struggle of Day Two (not even managing one) I was reluctant to even try and had BBQ guests showing me how 'easy' it is, pfft! It was literally so hard. What made it even harder was the fact I, and most people watching, were laughing.

The laps were okay (besides the common feature in me and exerise - breathlessness), and like the Garden Dash everyone joined in for a lap which was lovely. Well, apart from when a man who'd lapped me happened to collide with me and step on my foot. Happy to report though that foot is okay.

Three of us did the 5 squats to finish it all off together. One of which was my sister who sent me a message today saying "Every time you come to my house I ache the next day!" to which I told her that I currently ache every day.

A very lovely young man named Sam whipped a £10 note out of his pocket and paid me for the entertainment (sponsored me) and I felt more motivated than beforehand!

After my food baby and I had completed all of that I headed home taking advantage of the fact I was warm and not wanting to get too comfortable again. The walk took about 30 minutes and I went straight to sleep, apparently more tipsy than I felt (not sure how that happened...).

Day 13: 

After all of that yesterday I then had to (quite literally) drag myself from my bed this morning to go to work.

Exercise One of the day was walking to work - which was a struggle, not only because I was tired (I struggled to sleep last night), but because I ache (although am starting to get used to it, slightly). Exercise Two was standing on my feet all day and dashing about collecting customer's orders. While at work I discovered an ache in a new place - my left (and only my left) bum cheek - maybe due to squats?

Exercise Three of the day is walking home from work, which always takes a while as being homeward bound is less urgent so I dawdle.

My Main Exercise of the day, or Exercise Four, was dancing. More specifically Jiving. Whenever I manage to have a free evening on a Wednesday I attend Jive Nights, the night involves partner dancing and strolling. My friend Alice insured I was up on the dance floor as much as possible. After a blisteringly good evening (literally, my feet are now sore) my friend Jamie and I completed Exercise Five - walking home from Jive (rather than making use of Alice's car), which took about half an hour.

And so, my exercise for the day is complete. It was definitely a bit of a leg day with all the walking and dancing going on.

A new Juneathon mission of mine is to exercise in the morning, rather than putting it off until the end of the day!

See you tomorrow, wish me luck!

P.S please sponsor me and help me to support the amazing work of Macmillan: https://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon/

Juneathon Day 11: A Dreaded Run

I was dreading this day... 

The day someone would suggest I go for a run. I did say yesterday that my brother is planning to take me on a 5K run, but thankfully that didn't happen today. Today Jess suggested I go for a run and then Jo Dodson suggested I make it a thirty minute one.

Well, running has never been something I've desired to do. When I go to the gym I walk on the treadmill because I am scared that if I were to run I'd fall off (clearly watched too many slapstick comedies).

When I saw these suggestions dinner had just been started and I had as long as it took to cook to go for the first run of my life (besides forced P.E exercise in school and running around with children in my old job. Thankfully my sister, Jess, who is one of the Fundraising team and also one of those who suggested I should run, walked through the door a couple of minutes after I saw that I was having to change into jogging bottoms before dinner.

As soon as she walked through the door I expressed my dismay at having to attempt to run and begged her to cone with me. The clock was ticking though as my favourite meal was being made in the kitchen and I was hungry a it was. I took about two minutes to change but Jess being Jess took what seemed like forever, or maybe ten minutes.

Jess set up a pedometer app on her phone and we both got our iPods ready, mum waved us off and off we went. How unprepared we were. 

We live in a valley, our house is on a hill, and so the run was not a flat circuit. We started by running up Prince Charles hill, stopping gasping for breath and then decided to power walk up the hill and run from there.

When we got to the top I had to take a moment to catch my breath and made Jess feel my heart which was pounding. We ran across the road, through an alleyway, left down North Dane way and then left onto Lordswood Lane and the down the hill and back to our house.

This may not sound like much, but it took us 20 mins. We had to stop a few times due to breathlessness and kept wishing we'd taken a bottle of water with us, but we did it! It honestly was so difficult.

Getting home I was so thankful for a drink and for a beautiful dinner of bangers and mash.

I will do a run again and I will do better, but I am taking baby steps. 

Juneathon Day 10: Tired Eyes

Today I headed back home (to Medway)...

I had been feeling a bit down and needed some family time to cheer me up.

During dinner mum suggested I just claim my walk to the train station as my exercise for today, but I felt that would somehow be letting the cause down so after we'd finished watching a post-dinner film, 12 Years A Slave, and feeling now more emotional than before I decided I'd do 50 sit ups for good measure.

I waited until they had gone to bed so that I had the space of the lounge and began. It took longer than normal as I had to keep pausing to yawn and rub my tired eyes. I am now definitely ready for bed.

I am not sure what I will be doing tomorrow, but my brother is planning to take me on a 5K run this week, and as we established yesterday I don't run.

...goodnight.

Juneathon Day 9: The Garden Dash

I have just got home and again all I want to do is snuggle in bed with my book, but I have a blog post to write! (I'd forget if I didn't do it straight away). 

After finishing work at 5:40pm I walked to my sister's house - I ended up staying until 11pm! 

We played with her tortoises (more interesting than I imagined) and socialised in the communal garden with her lovely neighbours, both of which (tortoises and neighbours) I met for the first time today. 

Zoe (sister) kept edging the conversation onto Juneathon, eager to see me embarrass myself. Eventually everyone agreed on the exercise I should do - 5 squats, run to the other side of the garden, do 5 more squats and do all of that 10 times! The complaint that I was still in my uniform didn't stick as Zoe grabbed a pair of tracksuit bottoms for me to wear. 

The garden is about 20 metres long, and I'm not known for a love of running. I'm the type of person (usually) who if seen running is usually due to being chased. 

I was so embarrassed by the idea of this challenge for two reasons 1) there were people watching me (some of whom I had just met) 2) there was a possibility others may see too if they heard the noise and looked out of their windows. Originally it was myself, Zoe and her boyfriend Pete, and their neighbours Lavinia and Nick but when another neighbour walked past to get to his flat Zoe invited him to join and watch me - much to my embarrassment.

So, with a McDonald's top, three-quarter-length tracksuit bottoms and my fake converse on, I began. As is the theme of Juneathon it started off easy and got a lot harder, but at least once I'd got going I wasn't so embarrassed by my audience. In fact, the audience actually proved useful as they were cheering me on and I wouldn't have done it as quick if I'd been doing it alone. 

Another reason my audience was lovely and rather useful is that each of them joined me on one lap! All of them beat my speed, but they were only doing one lap! I even got carried away at the end and did an extra squat thinking I hadn't finished yet - but luckily everyone else had counted for me. 

It took me about 5 minutes to recover because I was so out of breath and my heart was beating so fast, Zoe handed me my Strongbow and I took deep breaths!

Please take the time to sponsor me and donate to Macmillan Cancer Support: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

Juneathon Day 8: But I Don't Have A Bike?

What a day...

Something good happened today - the plumber came! The upstairs radiators now turn off when the heating does, which means no more sauna bedroom! While the plumber was still working away I had to head off to my own job.

After walking to work, being on my feet all day, then walking home all I could think about was getting in bed and reading - but then Facebook reminded me there was something important I needed to do first, Juneathon! 

I had written on the Facebook group asking for suggestions before leaving for work, but the one I had received before leaving was to run home from work as seeing as I'd forgotten to bring a spare change of clothes and had fake converse rather than trainers it didn't seem appropriate. When I got snug in bed though I saw a comment on the Facebook page of a different suggestion and that reminded me to get my arse in gear.

Ash Medhurst had suggested that I do bicycle crunches, but my initial thought was 'I don't have a bike', I Googled it though just in case and discovered I didn't need one.

I watched a How-To video on YouTube (twice) and then cleared a space on my warm-but-no-longer-boiling bedroom floor. The first task of the exercise was to lower myself into a lying down position, and even that hurt. I bent my legs, interlocked my fingers behind my head, then lifted my head up and the video instructed and begun riding my imaginary bike. I counted each elbow-to-knee touch as one and set a goal of reaching 50.

After 35 I have to stop for a breather, then again at 45 then at 60 I stopped. I started writing this then thought, 'I can do better than that!' so I got on the floor and did 40 more. Making that a total of 100.

I am now worried I will ache tomorrow at work. Although, I am starting to get used to being constantly achey and in pain!

With each day this challenge gets harder and harder, but you can make it easier for me by sponsoring me for my efforts. Each donation will make me happier, thus making the challenge easier and easier. Cheer me on: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

Juneathon Day 7: A Down Day

Today was not a good day...

I woke up hot and sweaty again and have now contacted my landlord as I think there's something wrong with my radiator (happy days), and then realised I have finished all of series two Orange is the New Black which has left me feeling empty, but I did manage to sort of clear off my desk and organise a little!

I spent most of the day feeling sorry for myself and looking for jobs online to no avail, and feeling really down. I forced myself to sit in the sun and make the most of my day off in an attempt to cheer myself up but basically ended up crying while eating an ice lolly.

Perhaps I should do 100 Happy Days again, that made me feel great it even made me decide there was no such thing as a bad day - which I definitely need to remind myself of today so... Pros of today: it was sunny, spoke to my mum who cheered me up, found a Budweiser in the fridge (major win) and ordered Chinese takeaway with my housemate, Emily. . . That's better.

I read somewhere that exercise is supposed to release the same endorphins as chocolate, but I have yet to feel any evidence of this... especially today when I need those endorphins, or just chocolate, most.

While waiting for the Chinese to arrive I decided to do some exercise. I had very little enthusiasm today for anything, let alone Juneathon - but somehow I managed it. Today I did 70 sit ups, 60 leg raises and a very poor 30 second plank. I did the sit ups and leg raises with short breathers throughout, but the leg raises required more breaks and kept making my thigh bones click! The plank was difficult as it made me whole body shake - why does it have to cause pain to do good, can't it just feel good!

The exercise was all washed down with the refreshingly cold Bud and will soon be followed by a Chinese (basically undoing all the work). Damn.

Please please please take a moment to sponsor me - anything amount will make me happy and help Macmillan continue their great work: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

Juneathon Day 6: A Busy One

Compared to all of my other posts you're going to be shocked by how productive I've been today...

I got out of bed this morning and actually started tidying my room, which includes unpacking and doing more washing (shocking, right?) although I still have my dumping-ground-desk to organise (that's for another day). Afterwards my friend Alice popped over and I took a break to enjoy the sunshine with her.

When she'd departed my plan for the rest of the day was something like this: reply to emails, do some Her Campus bits, look for and apply to jobs, complete Juneathon for the day, shower, head to meet Hajera and then go to Digibury together and depending when that finished go to Jive. What actually happened is in replying to emails I ended up organising more Macmillan related things, the Her Campus bits took a little longer than planned, I didn't even get round to the jobs or Juneathon but managed the shower and Alice ended up driving me down to the station to meet Hajera. Sometimes I'm too busy for my own good!

I didn't really know what to expect with the Digibury event but was quite looking forward to meeting Hajera and finally seeing a copy of her book. Hajera is a lovely lady who I have been doing some work experience with (writing her some content for press and online), she quit her job to pursue her creative passion (which I really admire her for) and founded her own publishing business and with it has created the world's first Islamic interactive pop-up book.

After meeting Hajera we did something which I could have used as my Juneathon for the day - we walked (in the heat!) from Canterbury West train station to the Gulbenkian Theatre on the University of Kent campus on roads that never seemed to end with Hajera dragging luggage and me dealing with fat thighs rubbing together. It seemed to take forever with the endless roads and hills, and we conquered about 1.5 miles which I think isn't bad...

We made it in one piece to the Digibury event which featured talks by Hajera and another lovely lady I met called Emily who has started her own business too, Reading Fairy, as well as a panel discussion at the end.

I got home at about 11pm (no time for jiving) and quickly remembered I hadn't done a Juneathon task as the walk didn't seem like enough. I had decided to give my legs a rest today (even though I ended up walking) and focus on my arms which after the attempted and failed push-ups I have realised aren't as muscley as I liked to believe.

A friend had commented on our Facebook post requesting suggestions that I should go and find some monkey bars and do some pull-ups! Even if I did have the muscle to attempt this I have not had the time. Especially since I am writing this as it heads to midnight. Instead I decided to mimic something Alice had taught me previously where you do 8 counts of moving your arms in each direction - upwards, forwards, downwards and backwards - but as usual I decided to make this harder for myself (fool) and filled two Oasis bottles with water and held one in each hand as I did it. 

I decided the best way to do this was to time myself, and optimistically set a goal for 5 minutes which didn't sound like a lot until I neared two minutes and started to fear my arms were going to drop off. At the halfway point I paused the stopwatch, lowered my arms and had a short breather, then carried on. Considering my arms ached before I'd even gotten halfway I think I've done quite well on this! 

Now that my arms ache, as well as every other limb, I wonder if there'll be a day in June I'm not in pain? Time will tell...

I am now well and truly knackered and will be going straight to bed after posting this, but please do remember to sponsor me for all of this and make my pain worthwhile not just to me (potentially) but to the wonderful Macmillan nurses. Follow this link to reach my JustGiving page: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

Juneathon Day 5: A Step Up

And breathe...

What a day! My first one back at work post-holiday and probably the sweatiest and out-of-breathest yet. 

I annoyingly awoke before my alarm had even asked me to and pottered about on the internet until I had to get dressed and ready to leave. Luckily I have a knight in shining armour in the form of my best friend, Alice, who sent me a "You can do it" themed text this morning and then drove me to work! I love her.

Another plus was that the shift was only a 5 hour one, phew. After getting out at 2pm I did some much needed food shopping and walked home - which is basically the only exercise my body is actually used to (if only I could claim this as my Juneathon for the day, but alas that wont bring the sponsors in!).

Naturally the enthusiasm I had planned to have for unpacking and tidying had disappeared on arrival home and Orange is the New Black was much more appealing (even despite the beautiful weather). I asked Facebook what I should do today and Hayley Stock ever so kindly suggested I should go "Up and down the stairs 50 times by the end of the day" - and I thought we were friends? 

While at work today I was aching pretty much everywhere, especially in my rear (those Burpess have a painful after affect). Despite this though, I decided to defeat the stairs, and all in one go. Although I had probably walked up and down them ten times already and undoubtedly would again as my bedroom is upstairs, I decided to do 50 all in one go as otherwise I felt like it would be cheating.

At about 5 I heard my house-mate leave and I eagerly jumped up and began to get ready, but then I heard the door go and another house-mate had returned (5 bedroom house, currently four of us living here). I decided to just do it anyway and it kind of helped having a witness.

I took a short breather after twenty, then thirty, forty and forty five (it got harder!) then smashed the last five and ran back down and straight to the kitchen for some water.

I have 14 steps on my staircase, and they've now been conquered! I even ran most of the time, and only had to clutch hold of the handrail a few times...

Here's a well-earned staircase selfie, enjoy: 

Luckily I have a day off tomorrow (from work, not Juneathon boo!) but I will more than likely spend most of it in pain (thanks Hayley!) and maybe, just maybe, I'll get some unpacking done! See ya...

P.S pleeeeassseeee sponsor me here: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

Juneathon Day 4: Finding Motivation

I am writing this blog post as I catch my breath and sweat runs down my forehead (attractive imagery, right?). 

I haven't had a very productive day. It has mostly been spent milling about, packing, travelling back to Canterbury, starting to unpack and procrastinating by watching more Orange is the New Black (I have an addiction).

Yesterday, as I am sure you've read, my Juneathon exercise was a kick-boxing cardio workout, and while at the time I felt okay (albeit slightly out-of-breath and sweaty) today I certainly felt it. Again, my abs (it feels weird calling my flabby belly this) ached and while carrying my suitcase down the steps onto the platform at Chatham train station my legs felt as if they'd been replaced by jelly.

I returned to a room hotter than the one I has stayed in at the hotel in Majorca. It had been locked since I left on the 27th May with the windows closed. My lovely bedroom was now a sauna - I struggle to breath in saunas. Being already hot and sweaty it was a struggle to find the motivation to convince myself to exercise - but I found it, on my JustGiving page!

I received my second donation today! It reiterated to me the phrase "No pain no gain". All this pain is worth it when I receive a donation, thank you.

So I looked at the list of suggestions and chose one suitable to my environment, i.e my sauna bedroom (I wasn't going to risk my house-mate walking into the lounge and seeing me in all my sweaty-exercising glory). I chose to do a Burpee (thanks for the suggestion Tanya Louise Alice Harris) - whatever that is...

After searching and watching a How-To video on YouTube I was ready(ish). I cleared my half unpacked suitcase out of the way, put on my Workout Playlist on Spotify and began.

My house-mate may not have been able to see what I was doing, but from the sound of me banging about I can only wonder what he thought was going on! As seems to be a running theme, the Burpees started off okay and I cockily thought 'This is okay actually', then the breathlessness joined me and the sweatiness multiplied.

Tanya didn't suggest an amount so I aimed for 50. I fought past the breathlessness, facing my mirror and staring myself down as I completed the task.

Undoubtedly I now look stunning, see: 

Note the shiny-sweaty face? Mmm. Please give me more motivation and donate here: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

See you tomorrow...

Juneathon Day 3: Hangover and Muscle Ache

Originally the exercise for today was going to begin at 9am (eager), but due to what felt like only a few vodka lemonade and lime's I overslept the optimistic alarm I had set the night before. 

With all of the exercise I did yesterday - not just the 50 X sit ups, leg raises and squats, but also dancing with children during party games and on dance mats and carrying tables (at the place I no longer work) and then also dancing until 1am in heels, I can safely say I woke up aching. In fact I am going to bed feeling pretty much the same!

Not only was I met by an aching belly as I attempted to rise from bed this morning, but also a pounding head ache (I swear I wasn't even drunk last night!). I decided that the best thing to do was to lay in bed clutching my temples and binge-watching the new series of Orange is the New Black.

I got up at some point in the afternoon after numerous Facebook status' about the beautiful hot weather coaxed me out of bed, into the kitchen to make lunch and grab paracetamol and then to the decking in the garden for some reading. The fresh air did me good, but soon Netflix was calling my name and I headed back to bed where I remained until my mum came home from work at 5ish telling me to get ready for the evening at my brother's house.

The evening was lovely. It still seems so foreign to me when I notice how grown up my brother is, him and his fiancé cooked us dinner in their new home, and before I had my turn using their shower (my mum and step-dad are currently fitting a new bathroom suite) it was Juneathon time.

Today's exercise was yet again chosen by Jon, my brother, and this time I was subjected to X Box Fitness, a free programme on the latest console. It was basically a work-out DVD, but uniquely the X Box camera films you as you workout and shows your progress on screen. The camera has a sensor in it which can detect how hard you're working - so at any sign of slacking, not only was I told off by the X Box, but also by my brother who was keeping an eye on the stats, and laughing at me.

He set the programme up for me to do a 10 minute kick-boxing cardio workout. Straight-away I discovered that coordination isn't a strong suit of mine. Yet another thing I had never done: a workout DVD. I found it such a struggle to keep up with the woman, and actually try to imitate her. Despite his laughing it was actually quite useful having Jon there as he provided extra guidance when I was struggling.

Although Jon kept moaning I wasn't working hard enough when the 10 minutes were up I flopped on his sofa in a sweaty mess. I'll paraphrase what I said yesterday: how fit does my brother think I am? 

Please sponsor me: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

Juneathon Day 2: How Muscley Does My Brother Think I Am?

So today I ended up covering my sisters shift at the place I no longer work - doing two children's birthday parties. Although that used energy and I did a form of exercise in dancing with the kids and on the dance mats, I still had a challenge to complete which was set by my brother this morning: 50 squats, 50 sit ups and 50 push ups.

I got home from work just after half 4 and had very little time to complete the challenge as I had a visit from a friend and a hen night to get ready for.

Sit Ups: 

My mum held my legs down and I groaned as I completed the challenge. It hurt.

Squats: 

They start off fine, get a bit confident, then the groaning begins and I looked like I was straining for something...

Push Ups:

How muscley does my brother think I am? I have never done a push up before in my life, so this one really was a challenge - and I did try. I tried several methods, all of which ended up with me flopped on the floor and my friend, Jo, sat laughing at me. We decided I should forfeit this one, but I did 50 leg raises instead.

I finished all of this with less than an hour to get ready for the hen night and a worry that my legs will ache far too much to be wearing high heels this evening!

Hey ho... Pictures to follow! 

Juneathon Day 1: A Rocky Start

I woke up at about 7.30 and tried to ignore the fact I was having to start Juneathon at some point in the day. Instead of jumping up out of bed and getting dressed and ready I binge watched the programmes I had missed while away on holiday. 

At about midday I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed and ate some lunch. I left the house at 13.30 on a journey to Capstone Farm Country Park. 

Being back in England I had assumed the sunny sky was an illusion and that an outfit of vest and skinny jeans would be perfectly wrong - how wrong I was. Sweaty and out of breath by the time I'd reached the top of the hill, I was immediately regretting the decision to wear jeans. On top of the heat, the jeans were tighter than usual due to the excess holiday weight sitting on top of the already excess weight I had prior to the holiday.

After a pit-stop at the shops for a bottle of water I trudged on. About ten minutes after leaving the house I had the beginnings of a stitch in my stomach which accompanied me the whole way to Capstone and back (I am so unfit). 

The journey took me through an overgrown woodland path, past a farm, across a country road and up a mud path adjacent to farmers fields. I then walked across two big fields and down a small hill and had reached the park. I had a few pit stops on benches along the way and sat at the park for ten minutes before heading back.

The whole journey was spent uncomfortably in sweaty jeans and tripping over roots, rocks and my own feet. 

By the time I'd got home my jeans were basically stuck to me - what a beautiful start.

Here's a little diagram (I don't have a fancy phone with a fancy app) of my journey (baring in mind this is mostly hills!):

Send in your suggestions of what you'd like to see me do next, and make sure you donate via: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelby-Juneathon

Keep up-to-date via our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beryls-Angels-Fundraising-Group/673164449388441

Shelby's Juneathon Challenge

A while ago exercise-shy Shelby decided (going against all of her natural instincts) to participate in an exercise challenge for Macmillan. To make it even harder for her, she didn't choose what she would be doing, that she left down to you.

After receiving suggestions we created a Survey Monkey and got you all to vote, the winner which we announced a few weeks ago on Facebook, was Juneathon.

Juneathon is a month-long exercise challenge, in which participants must exercise each day in the month of June and then blog about it. Shelby will be blogging her experience using this blog, but to stay up-to-date with the posts as they're being uploaded make sure to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

You're probably looking at your calendar in confusion, yes June is now five days in - but, Shelby (and the other Angels, Megan and Jess) has been on holiday and only returned today! But fear not, Shelby will be continuing for Juneathon for five days into July to make up for those missed while away. 

You may also be thinking this all sounds a bit too easy (not to Shelby!), but don't worry we're going to make her really work for your donations. We will be taking suggestions and running daily (potentially) votes to decide which form of exercise (torture) we'll be making Shelby do each day - so make sure that you send in your suggestions and vote too!

First day suggestions, take a vote! 

• Run around the block three times (Am at my parent's and they live on a hill).
• Walk to Capstone Park and back (about four miles total).
• Do 50 sit ups and 30 leg raises. 
• Any other suggestions?

Vote by commenting, and we welcome suggestions! 

Stay tuned via: 

Facebook

Twitter

And find out more about Juneathon here: 

http://www.juneathon.com/

(A Just Giving page will be set up shortly and the link added here).

UPDATE: Beryl's Angels

First off - thank you all so much for all of the support given to us during Wales2Medway, we were all truly humbled by the kindness of strangers and loved ones and literally cannot thank you all enough.

Our final total raised for Macmillan Cancer Support during the 9 day walk was: £4249.99! (We're still shocked and amazed by that). 


In October 2013 we were contacted by the Macmillan Representative for the South East, Elizabeth O'Hanlon, who wanted to meet up with us and talk about Wales2Medway - or so we thought...


Liz expressed how amazed she was at our achievement, stating that she believes it to be the highest raising individual fundraising walk for the charity! 


She then suggested that it didn't stop there, and being the nutters that we are, we agreed! 

Jess and Shelby Fuller have now become Ambassadors for Macmillan Cancer Support with the goal of raising £14,000 for the charity to fund an information and holistic therapy centre for cancer patients. 

It is a massive task but when we look at how supportive people have been to us, we're sure we'll find many more kind individuals through our next project...

As a little background into why we're so supportive of this charity, and why you should be too - here's our story:

Our Granny, Beryl, was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer early 2012. At the end of that year in October she decided very bravely that chemotherapy wasn't for her - she didn't want an extended life if it wasn't going to be of a good quality. During Wales2Medway Granny came out to meet us and show her support and it's a highlight of the walk. Granny isn't just our mums mum, but she is ours too as she helped our mum to raise us. On November 24th 2013 Granny passed away peacefully at the Wisdom Hospice. 

Our cousin, Megan Doyle, has joined our team too and we cannot think of a better way to honour our Granny than helping to continue the work of the charity that has helped her and us so much during such a difficult time. We have named our fundraising group Beryl's Angels, because Granny is our inspiration in all that we do. 

Jess and Granny

As a little throwback to the generosity of humankind we'd like to share with you a great list of great people, you're in it: 

At the end of our challenge we celebrated with further fundraising at our homecoming event - so many individuals and businesses supported us during our journey and it's so difficult to name them all, but I will try: all of the B&B's we stayed at, especially Copper Beeches who gave us the whole night stay and breakfast FREE OF CHARGE; Omicron who printed t-shirts, posters and leaflets for us - absolutely free; Morrisons in Walderslade who allowed us to stand with collection buckets in their foyer; Solo hairdressers in Walderslade who kept a bucket in their front desk; the pubs which allowed us to walk around around them pestering their customers with collection buckets - especially the Hungry Horse chain which did this twice during our journey and even gave us another mascot for our travels; Mad Cafe who shared our journey to their followers and set us daily challenges to keep the spirits high; BBC Surrey Radio who interviewed us along our journey; all of the acts who performed at the homecoming event - Jamie Johnson (who is now part of Team Kylie on The Voice!), Charlotte Rose Ellis, Amy Gwynne and Rachel Greening, Sophie Tumber, Loose Joints and Disruption dance crew; The generous donations made to our raffle by Lordswood Leisure Centre and Serene Feeling; Pebbles Face Painters, Kent Discos, and Serene Feeling who all helped make the homecoming extra special by donating thier time and talent; a MASSIVE thank you to the Robin Hood Pub for allowing us to hold our event there and providing a hog roast with profits to Macmillan; and a HUGE never ending thank you to every single person who attended the fundraiser, who wished us luck, who donated anything to us, who gave us the praise and thanks that kept us going - without which we wouldn't still be going...

We look forward to sharing with you the next part of our journey. Thank you, as always x