Thanks to some more generous donations I'm at the half way point in my fundraising. All the money you've graciously pledged or given will help support a thoroughly deserving charity.
The Stroke Association has already conducted research into the effects of immediate surgery on constricted carotid arteries in asymptomatic patients and found that, compared with delayed surgery, the chances of stroke are reduced by 50% after 5 years.
Now the researchers need to obtain 10 year results to determine whether the carotid endarterectomy operations are cost-effective.
http://tinyurl.com/6fpey55
Research costs money and without donations from charitable people such as you and me studies like this would take so much longer as the fight to win grants is a tough one indeed.
Thank you to everyone who has given already. Keep it coming.
You can also donate by text now. Amazing huh!
Simply text MACK80 £2 to 70070
If you want to donate more than £2 then just amend the number after the £ sign to reflect your intended donation.
Texts are free to send on any network. Only the cost of the donation will be charged.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
WOW!!!
Hello again and welcome to another installment of my increasingly taxing training regime in preparation for a half-marathon. There are only three weeks between now and the day itself and I've yet to breach the 8-mile mark.
However I'm in South West Wales right now and have been making the most of the ridiculously beautiful coastline down here.
Last week I just ran up the road from my hotel to the top of the hill and round and back for between 3 and 5 miles of tarmaca-be-damned!
I learned the hard and frequently painful way that in order to ascend so rapidly one must warm up and stretch thoroughly before making headway into the clouds. I've got the hang of that now let me tell you!
I'm staying just shy of a lovely little bay in the town of Aberporth which is one town along from Cardigan (of Cardigan Bay fame) and sitting right on the Cardigan Coastal Path.
Last week I ventured out (on a colleagues recommendation) to the next bay over along the path.
The path itself has been upgraded to allow wheelchair access and as such is hard underfoot. Only a mile and a half to Tresaith bay with a demon of a descent (and subsequent return ascent) to the bay itself.
I duly found myself hitting this section twice last week. The view out to the Atlantic is fantastic and you can see dolphins about half a kilometre off-shore doing whatever it is that dolphins do.
This week, on the same colleague's recommendation I decided to venture to the next bay over from Tresaith.
You can see the long, untouched beach of Penbryn, from the bay at Aberporth, nestled between two large cliff faces. A not undaunting looking hill standing in the way of you and the golden sands that lie in plain sight just over 2 miles away (as the crow flies I hasten to add!).
It is this hill which is quite the taskmaster. With it's barely kept singletrack path overgrown by gorse and bramble, and wooden steps on the parts that only mountain goats would dare ascend without firm footing, the path winds across and up the hill before contouring around the seaward side just shy of the peak.
Up here you can see a great deal more yet only grazing cattle have the luxury of this view for the majority of the year.
Another killer, woodland descent down muddy paths that would surely get you down a whole lot faster when wet, though not on your feet, and you arrive at a long, secluded stretch of beach. A couple of caves at one end that beckon invitingly at low tide and only the sound of the crashing waves is equalled in magnificence by the vision of the burning sun sinking behind the cliffs to your left.
With a dusky orange glow guiding me Westward back to my little piece of Wales I turn around and set off once more back up the hill which nearly took its pound of flesh coming down.
Six or so miles in all. As the crow flies. But over a hundred metres to climb and not much space to do it in. A very satisfying pint was had over dinner I can tell you.
Maybe I can recommend to my colleague the NEXT bay on from Penbryn. See how he likes that.
If you're ever in this part of the world I wholeheartedly recommend getting your boots on and dusting off your hiking poles for some amazing views and exhausting climbs. You needn't run as I did. In fact you'd be mad to.
Till next time.
Mwahahahahahahahaha.
However I'm in South West Wales right now and have been making the most of the ridiculously beautiful coastline down here.
Last week I just ran up the road from my hotel to the top of the hill and round and back for between 3 and 5 miles of tarmaca-be-damned!
I learned the hard and frequently painful way that in order to ascend so rapidly one must warm up and stretch thoroughly before making headway into the clouds. I've got the hang of that now let me tell you!
I'm staying just shy of a lovely little bay in the town of Aberporth which is one town along from Cardigan (of Cardigan Bay fame) and sitting right on the Cardigan Coastal Path.
Last week I ventured out (on a colleagues recommendation) to the next bay over along the path.
The path itself has been upgraded to allow wheelchair access and as such is hard underfoot. Only a mile and a half to Tresaith bay with a demon of a descent (and subsequent return ascent) to the bay itself.
I duly found myself hitting this section twice last week. The view out to the Atlantic is fantastic and you can see dolphins about half a kilometre off-shore doing whatever it is that dolphins do.
This week, on the same colleague's recommendation I decided to venture to the next bay over from Tresaith.
You can see the long, untouched beach of Penbryn, from the bay at Aberporth, nestled between two large cliff faces. A not undaunting looking hill standing in the way of you and the golden sands that lie in plain sight just over 2 miles away (as the crow flies I hasten to add!).
It is this hill which is quite the taskmaster. With it's barely kept singletrack path overgrown by gorse and bramble, and wooden steps on the parts that only mountain goats would dare ascend without firm footing, the path winds across and up the hill before contouring around the seaward side just shy of the peak.
Up here you can see a great deal more yet only grazing cattle have the luxury of this view for the majority of the year.
Another killer, woodland descent down muddy paths that would surely get you down a whole lot faster when wet, though not on your feet, and you arrive at a long, secluded stretch of beach. A couple of caves at one end that beckon invitingly at low tide and only the sound of the crashing waves is equalled in magnificence by the vision of the burning sun sinking behind the cliffs to your left.
With a dusky orange glow guiding me Westward back to my little piece of Wales I turn around and set off once more back up the hill which nearly took its pound of flesh coming down.
Six or so miles in all. As the crow flies. But over a hundred metres to climb and not much space to do it in. A very satisfying pint was had over dinner I can tell you.
Maybe I can recommend to my colleague the NEXT bay on from Penbryn. See how he likes that.
If you're ever in this part of the world I wholeheartedly recommend getting your boots on and dusting off your hiking poles for some amazing views and exhausting climbs. You needn't run as I did. In fact you'd be mad to.
Till next time.
Mwahahahahahahahaha.
Friday, 2 September 2011
Stupid feet!
Hello again everybody, thanks for coming back to read about my little run I'm going on.
Well I've managed to get myself a physiotherapy appointment. My amazingly flat feet have been walking and running on some custom built carbon-fibre orthotic insoles for a few years now but they are WELL past their best and my feet have been suffering for months now.
I'm looking forward to having plaster casts made of my plates of meat again. It's quite a weird sensation having it all glooped around your whole foot before drying and setting.
Then it has to be cut off with a chainsaw!
Well a Dremmel is a type of saw isn't it?
It'll be well after the Royal Parks Half-Marathon I'm running for The Stroke Association in October but will mean I can start enjoying going out in the crisp winter mornings that are soon going to be upon us.
Can't wait really.
In the mean time just increasing the mileage. Got a couple of weeks of build up before I'm taking my girlfriend out for a full 13 miles then we'll wind down in time for race day. It'll be hard work but that's the idea really.
Thanks to everyone who has donated and pledged so far please keep sending your money as it ALL makes a difference.
One of the findings which was funded by The Stroke Association was that Quick treatment following TIA or minor stroke could reduce the risk of a major stroke by 80 per cent.
This is fantastic news as it means people, like my mum, have massively increased recovery prospects.
Keep it up folks :)
Well I've managed to get myself a physiotherapy appointment. My amazingly flat feet have been walking and running on some custom built carbon-fibre orthotic insoles for a few years now but they are WELL past their best and my feet have been suffering for months now.
I'm looking forward to having plaster casts made of my plates of meat again. It's quite a weird sensation having it all glooped around your whole foot before drying and setting.
Then it has to be cut off with a chainsaw!
Well a Dremmel is a type of saw isn't it?
It'll be well after the Royal Parks Half-Marathon I'm running for The Stroke Association in October but will mean I can start enjoying going out in the crisp winter mornings that are soon going to be upon us.
Can't wait really.
In the mean time just increasing the mileage. Got a couple of weeks of build up before I'm taking my girlfriend out for a full 13 miles then we'll wind down in time for race day. It'll be hard work but that's the idea really.
Thanks to everyone who has donated and pledged so far please keep sending your money as it ALL makes a difference.
One of the findings which was funded by The Stroke Association was that Quick treatment following TIA or minor stroke could reduce the risk of a major stroke by 80 per cent.
This is fantastic news as it means people, like my mum, have massively increased recovery prospects.
Keep it up folks :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)