And.Here.We.Go...

A couple of work colleagues have taken part in various charity fundraisers recently, Race For Life and a fun run which has inspired me to get my back side into gear. I had wanted to do the 5k last year but work and time commitments meant it didn't happen and the events this year were upon me before I had realised what was going on! Rubbish excuses but I blinked and missed the past few months, being so absorbed in work.
But when I was looking through last week's edition of the Newsshopper I spotted an advert for a charity that is holding a 25k or 50k walk through London suburbs finishing in Kent. Woohoo! Fairly local event, walking which is better as my fitness levels have all but disappeared, and as a bit of a twist it's held at night! It's called Nightline for Widehorizons which gives kids the chance to experience adventure days/holidays at centres across Wales and the South East.

The problem is, I've found this a month before it's due to happen which gives me about 3 weeks to train and raise a minimum of £100 ... I don't do things by halves >.< so this could be a bit of a killer in terms of the pain barrier but it will be worth it.


- Some Weeks Later -

Okay with the swift passage of time I had completely forgotten about the above post! For some reason I must have been sidetracked and didn't finish or post it.
So fresh news!
My very lovely Dad kindly agreed to do the Nightline walk with me. 25K (15 miles) across Kent countryside for the charity Widehorizons. We were given a target to raise £100 per person and I am thrilled to say that we smashed it and at last count it was over £300 between the two of us which has contributed to over £14,000 raised in one event.
We arrived for registration and briefing at 6.30pm, received our orders and listened to a couple of great speeches reminding us why we were there and where the money raised would be going to...Why we were there will give you an idea of what spurred me on to take on this challenge.
By 7.45 we were off and walking at a steady pace, leaving the Eltham environment centre and taking in Fivearches Bridge, Chislehurst and Bexley. Pit stops at rest points were great for a quick drink and snack, and we finally finished at the Horton Kirby centre in Dartford at 12.30pm. We were thrilled with the time although my Dad is not so thrilled with the blisters >.>
Ultimately we had a great evening, met some fantastic people from close to home and from abroad, and raised much needed funds for children who will never experience the countryside - we are very much a countryside family and I realised just how lucky myself and my sister are with our upbringing...including having lots of dogs, cats, learning to ride horses and play in the great outdoors surrounded by beautiful fields. Other children of all ages should have the chance to experience this as well, so we signed up and hopefully helped to make a difference.

Bring on the event next year!
For more pictures and info see the Widehorizons Facebook Page

First things first...

So I thought it was about time I kept track of my writing habits by blogging them, with the vain hope that it might be an incentive for me to keep writing if I think that someone out there may be, possibly/hopefully, reading this. I have stopped and started with a work in progress for a while now, despite having taken part in NaNoWriMo last November with success - I got the 50k words first time around to my great surprise - and now I aim to finish it and get it polished up. After that, well who knows? I'm not looking too far ahead just yet, it will be an achievement in itself to get it finished!

But there are a few other things I will post about, including herding my many Bengal cats, as well as some fundraising I plan to get underway very soon with an upcoming Race For Life event which my mum is soooo going to do with me :-) well that's the plan at least! It will be the first time running or rather walking it for both of us so our fitness or training programme will be tracked here as well, time will tell if there is much to say on the topic of training hehe

And ending on a very sweet note, my Bengal girl Jeanie had two kittens on 13/03/2013 and they are a week old today :-) Growing very quickly, going to be big kitties! More on them soon but here is a pic of mummy and babies just a few hours old :-)

But for now, onwards and forwards with the adventure that is writing, wondering where it's going to take me...