Father’s Day at Scotty’s Little Soldiers

So tomorrow is our 7th event – exactly half way through our mammoth fundraising effort for Scotty’s Little Soldiers.

It’s a tough challenge, our very first open water swim, with whatever that will throw at us (mucky water we can’t swallow, and completely changing our swimming style as a result of the wet suits and trying to fight the wind & currents). It’s nothing compared to what the kids that Scotty’s Little Soldiers will be going through though. Tomorrow is Father’s Day, an opportunity to celebrate and say thanks to our Dad for being wonderful (thanks, by the way), but tomorrow the majority of the 143 child members of Scotty’s won’t have a Dad there as they were killed serving our country. Nikki has written this great blog about what the day will be about for her and her two kids, and writes:

“I always say that when you have lost an important person in your life, it doesn’t have to be Father’s Day or Remembrance Day or the anniversary to be a tough day, every day can be hard. I guess a day like Father’s Day will be that bit tougher though because there is so much activity around them. I can imagine that the brave young children who have lost a dad will feel the pain and upset, maybe even anger and jealousy, no matter what they do this Father’s Day.”

Please have a little read and then think about what a difference a donation can make to cheer children like Kai and Brooke up. Hope you all have a wonderful day with your Dad/sons/daughters/family!

A note from Nikki x

With Father’s Day just around the corner I always start to feel for my children, Kai and Brooke, and all the kids Scotty’s supports.

The day brings mixed emotions.  As a parent I want my children to remember their daddy for what a great father he was to them, but with that always comes the upset and pain of knowing that he is not here anymore and misses out on so many special times.

It’s hard to know what to do for the best.  Do you carry on as if it’s a normal day so the kids don’t get upset, or do you do something to honour the memory of their daddy but risk the fact that they may get emotional and start asking questions all over again?

I guess it depends on the children’s ages and what they want to do.  With Father’s Day such a public event, advertised…

View original post 567 more words

Time for the Beast on Saturday!

Our next challenge is this Saturday! We are doing the Beast of Bryn race. This is a 6.8 mile run just outside Port Talbot, with some pretty steep hills in it! I suspect we will bump into a number of the Run 4 All lot there, which will be great as their support really does keep you going when the times get tough! For the full race info go to http://www.bwystfilybryn.btck.co.uk

We’re not particularly run fit at the moment, with a lot of our focus being on getting our cycling up to scratch! But it should be a good run if the weather holds out.

At least we can get on with Gemma’s birthday celebrations afterwards (on hold as we didn’t think it was too wise to celebrate on the Friday night!). Anyone know a good pub for a quick one afterwards?!

If you can spare a couple of quid, please donate on justgiving.com/14challengeswheeler2

Hot work!

It’s hard work running in this heat (especially when you forget your sunglasses!). Just done about 6 miles training for 14 challenges for 2014. It was very warm, and I have managed to give myself blisters in such an awkward place that no shoes are going to be comfortable for a few days 😦

The next challenge is the day after my birthday (!!) Running the “Beast of Bryn” race – almost 7 miles across pretty challenging terrain, unlike nice, flat Cardiff. That marks the start of 4 consecutive weekends of challenges! Scotty’s Little Soldiers is an awesome charity though,  and well worth the blisters, so if you can please think about donating to out page justgiving.com/14challengeswheeler2

Pen-Y-Fan training walk

We used the lovely bank holiday weather to get out for a training run today. Our next challenge is to get up and down Pen-Y-Fan in less than an hour, so we decided to go for a trial run.

Despite both if us feeling really groggy and having had a bad couple of weeks due to illness & being out of the country we managed a fairly successful run. 1.02 mins round trip wss something to be proud about!

Thanks to Dad for the company & run4all for the cheering on our way back down!

The official challenge is Sunday 4th May. We will be setting off from the base of Pen-Y-Fan at 9am (car park by Storey Arms on the A470) so get there a little earlier if you’d like to join us!

Run 4 All cake sale!

Today we were fortunate enough to join Run 4 All (Neath) at their final cross country race of the season at the Gnoll. It was a fab day (for supporting) and afterwards we had a tea and cake sale. They are a fab community, with every runner staying until the last person comes in! Lots of runners donated cakes for the sale, and we managed to raise £116.19! Well done to all the runners, and thank you to everyone who donated baked goods and who bought a cake and donated to our chosen charity.

Conquering the Welsh 3 Peaks

What a fantastic weekend! We prayed for nice weather (or at least no wind) as we completed the Welsh 3 Peaks. We climbed a combined height of 9,397 feet, drove over 400 miles, walked 15.67 miles, saw all four seasons, but survived pretty much unscathed! We had a group of 6 of us for the day: Sophie and me, Marie, Michael, our grandfather and and Dad. Dad offered to be designated driver, which really was a lifesaver in this case!

Getting to the start line!

We set off from Cardiff at 11pm on Friday night to get up to Snowdon for the early hours of Saturday morning. We had our sights set on completing the challenge within 16 hours, which required a 4.30am start. We drove via Swansea to pick up our Grandfather and Dad (who took on the driving from this point). From Swansea the cross country route took about four and a half hours – preparing us for the fact that most of this challenge is travelling between Peaks!

Snowdon

About 4.30 in the morning at the Pen-Y-Pass Car Park, at the base of Snowdon, as part of the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge on Saturday March 29th. The blurriness says it all!

A white out as we reached the peak of Snowdon at 6.30 in the morning, as part of the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge on Saturday March 29th.

The four of us and Dad set off at 4.30. Snowdon (or Yr Wyddfa in Welsh)  at 3,560 feet above sea levelis the second tallest peak in the UK. It really was cold, with snow actually falling as we set off! We climbed up in the pitch black (with head torches, of course) walking up the PYG path for about an hour until it was light enough to walk without lights. The top was pretty snowy and almost a white out, but we reached the peak after two hours. Would you believe, there was actually someone else up there before us – a group of three guys from Hull who had taken a bit longer. The descent took just as long, and even with the light we were hardly able to see any of the stunning scenery, and we reached the bottom after four hours and six minutes.

Cadair Idris

After a bit of a drive South we reached Cadair Idris, where the sun was shining (like I said, all four seasons!). Cadair Idris lies between Barmouth and Dolgellau in mid Wales, and it the second most popular peak to climb in Wales, after Snowdon. The four of us, plus grandfather headed up the Pony Path, and we managed to get to the summit in under an hour and a half, with the total walk taking a few minutes over three hours.

At the summit of Cadair Idris around midday, on Saturday March 29th, as part of the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge.

Pen-Y-Fan

After a quick detour into the stunning Dolgellau for a quick hot bite to eat, we started on the drive to Pen-Y-Fan, taking a bit longer than the others but a good chance for us to nap. The weather was clear and sunny again, although very windy at the top! This time all of us were heading up the hill, and whilst some were faster than others, we were up and back again in 1:15 hours. Sophie and I were chuffed with this, as another one of our challenge is to do Pen-Y-Fan in less than an hour!

The third and final peak of the day, Saturday March 29th.

So what was the total time?

So our target was 16 hours, but all in all we are really pleased to say our total time (including travel) was 13 hours 10 mins. What an achievement!

Thank you!

As always, there are a bunch of thank yous after one of our events:

• Dad, for doing all the driving, and for accompanying us on Snowdon and Pen-Y-Fan. Without a dedicated driver, we really wouldn’t have been able to do this challenge.
• Grampa, for his company for Cadair Idris and Pen-Y-Fan. It’s inspirational that he is 71 tomorrow, but he walked faster than the rest us!
• Marie and Michael, for volunteering their Saturday to join us on our mad adventure
• The many people we encountered on our walk who put a smile on our faces (and reminded how crazy we are by never failing to be impressed with what we were doing).

If you agree with those people we bumped into on the mountains, why not donate? It’s really easy to do – just go to http://www.justgiving.com/14challengeswheeler2 to donate online or text “GWSW98 £5” (or any other amount) to 70070.

Nikki Scott’s Note

Sophie Wheeler​​ and I are off on another challenge this weekend. This time we are staying on dry land, and are doing the Welsh 3 Peaks challenges. The target is start Snowdon at 4.30 tomorrow morning and then go on to complete Cadair Idris and Pen-Y-Fan in 16 hours (an ambitious target with all the travelling).

It’s going to be cold. It will also probably rain (we are in Wales) but it’s important to remember the reason we are doing this. We are doing 14 challenges this year to raise money for Scotty’s Little Soldiers. This blog is written by the founder of SLS and talks about why this weekend might be a bit special for SLS members.

Anyway wish us luck!! Oh, and if you haven’t donated already please think about doing so. Donate by texting “GWSW98 £5” to 70070 or go to justgiving.com/14challengeswheeler2

http://scottyslittlesoldiers.wordpress.com/2014/03/27/correction-mothers-day/

Radio Interview

For those of who who missed it, here is a link to our recent radio interview with Georgina from Radio Cardiff 98.7FM. Thanks for allowing us to come on the show to talk about 14 challenges for 2014, and I hope I got all the Scotty’s Little Soldiers facts right!

http://youtu.be/iYRNVgtVqA4

A busy couple of weeks!

Well, we have had a busy few weeks.

We have continued fundraising to cover the costs of our activities. We spent hours individually labelling clothes and jewelry, and took our supplies and cakes to the Cardiff University Students’ Union SVC Spring Market. It was a much more subdued event in comparison to the Bessimer Road Car Boot, but we managed to raise approximately £45 – it definitely is a case of every little helps!

On a rare sunny day a couple of weekends ago we also headed on a training walk in preparation for the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge on March 28th. We met on a Sunday morning with our boots on and walked up the Taf Trail to Castel Coch and back – about 13 miles round trip! Obviously, the Taf Trail is not equivalent to the mountains we are going to be climbing next weekend, but it was great to be outside and enjoying the sun, as opposed to in the pool. It’s so much more sociable too and I think we have a great team for next weekend.

Speaking of next weekend, it’s going to be a big one! We are aiming to start walking about half 4 in the morning from the base of Snowdon, followed by Cader Idris and Pen-Y-Fan last. We are really fortunate to have a dedicated driver (Dad to the rescue once again!) which means we will be travelling up through the night on Friday as the journey from Cardiff to Snowdon is not a quick one in itself! There have been arguments about the target for this one, as the general aim for groups is 12 hours walking time (not allowing for travelling) but knowing the comptetive group we have we will most likely smash it! If you know someone who is walking with us next weekend, please consider donating to our great cause – it’s so easy, either go to our fundraising page:
http://www.justgiving.com/14challengeswheeler2
Or text
“GWSW98 £any amount” to 70070

We were also fortunate enough to speak about Scotty’s Little Soldiers and our challenges on a local radio station, radio Cardiff. We went into their studio in the Bay to talk to Georgina (Triple G) on her breakfast show – we were on live webcam too. If you missed it, don’t worry as we have a recording we will be putting up soon. It’s a fab set up down there, and all the presenters are volunteers too! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us Georgina, and for letting us pick your competition winner! We really hope to keep in touch throughout the year.

Gemma, Georgina, and Sophie at the Radio Cardiff Studio

As always, thanks to the people who have helped us already, either by baking or giving us your words of wisdom, and thanks to the people who have already donated. Wish us luck for next weekend, and we will be back soon!

Challenge Number 2 Completed!

Sophie and Gemma in the pool, mid way through the day

Finally it’s done!

So, there is another challenge over and done with – and about time too! Let’s start with the background – we have been training hard since the beginning of January for this challenge, but up until the big day we had never swum more than 3 miles in one go. Swimming takes such a long time, and with a three mile swim taking 1 hour 45 – 2 hours, we just couldn’t fit any more in! We had, however, sought out professional nutritional advice, and worked ourselves day after day in preparation (we had started to become immune to the lingering smell of chlorine). This almost went to waste when the 2 days leading up to Saturday were spent trying to fight off some sort of fever! But we had to get on with it! To let you into a little secret, we thought this was going to be the hardest challenge, and feeling under the weather was not part of the plan.

The big day – full of supporters

We were up at 6 am on Saturday 1st March (Happy St. David’s Day, by the way), in time to have a big bowl of porridge before our epic quest. Still feeling a bit groggy (and with an air of nervousness), we were lucky enough to have “Happy” glaring out of the radio to lift our spirits before we set off. We actually cycled to the pool (glutton for punishment) and arrived for opening at 8am, to see our lane being put out for the day. Sophie was in the pool by 8.20 and Gemma followed 5 minutes later. What followed was 640 of front crawl. We did have numerous breaks, especially as people popped in to show their support. Many thanks to:

• Jess McFarlane – for being totally awesome at social media, who made it for the first stroke despite initially turning up to the wrong pool, and who brought healthy and not-so healthy treats too! (check out her blog for other ways to be awesome)
• Geoff Smart – turning up after Park Run and entertaining us with pool side yoga.
• Our grandparents – Linda and Geordie – for being amazing and supporting us pretty much the whole day.
• Luke and Alex – for popping in at just the right time for Sophie’s break!
• Tom, Elliot and Ed – for turning up at just the right time to push Gemma through the hardest part of the day (I really was hitting THE wall at that point) and also for the doughnuts and lucozade.
• Emma – for travelling up to Cardiff to offer your support 😀
• Ellie – for joining in, and staying to cheering on our final mile and a half.
• Wendy and Steve – for helping to push us through the “sprint finish”.
• Chris – for casually “popping in” to join us and actually doing 5 miles himself!
• Mum – for supporting us, taking photos, and getting in to do some lengths too.
• And finally, to Dad who ran 8 miles in the morning, arrived at the pool to do a mile with us, and then returned for the final mile where he really pushed the pace to allow us to get down to about a 34 minute mile again – definitely couldn’t have done that without you leading the way.

Everyone who turned up did so at just the right moment! Apparently we made the swimming look easy (the people who said this definitely couldn’t see the burn going through our arms at the 7 mile point). There were some real crunch points, where the pace definitely slowed, or where we had to get out of the water to rest our arms, but the final mile really was the last push, and a special mention goes to Dad once again for getting in there and picking up the pace, when Sophie had forgotten that she’s meant to kick with her legs rather than just drag them, and when Gemma was down to breathing every two arm strokes rather than four (and you could forget the tumbleturns!). To get back down to under 35 minutes for a mile was amazing.

Preparation (and nutrition) is key.

 We are so chuffed to have swum so far, and for so long, but like we said before, we couldn’t have done it without the nutritional advice. Other than the porridge, we at protein bars, protein shakes, carbo shakes, mars bars, flap jacks and bananas (I for one will be happy not to see any of those things for a little while – Gem).  So a big thanks goes to Chris for giving us all the tips and help we needed in that department. Secondly, a big thanks to the Dave and Olly at Agile therapy – the sports massage 2 weeks before really helped Gemma train so much harder than she would have been able to otherwise – your support is invaluable, and we’re definitely booking ourselves in for another appointment asap.

Another big thank you goes out to the Heath Sports and Social Centre, who let us have a dedicated lane for the entire day, and who also put a sponsorship form on the front desk to collect additional money for us. The support we receive every time we train really does help us push that little bit harder.

The final thank you

Finally, the biggest thank you goes out to everyone who has donated. As of tonight (Sunday night) we are on £331 pounds for the first two events, but this is less than 20 % of our target, if you haven’t donated yet please consider it. Yesterday was by far the toughest sporting event we have ever been through, and donating just a couple of quid will make all the difference to children who parents have been killed whilst serving in the forces. Donating is easy peasy:

1. Go to the website: https://www.justgiving.com/14challengeswheeler2/
2. Text: “GWSW98 £10” to 70070 (the 10 can be changed to any amount, and this amount will be added to our total, and taken out of your phone bill – please see the website for full T & Cs).

Sunday “rest day” right?

You’ll be glad to hear we took the whole “rest day” idea and threw it out the window to go paint-balling  (there’s no rest for the wicked). Pretty sure we are going to regret that tomorrow. We will now be working towards our next challenge, a rather more sedate walking challenge as we will be aiming to complete the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge at the end of March!

 Links

Jess’ ways to be awesome: http://www.waysicanbeawesome.com/

Chris’ Nutrition http://cssmart.co.uk/

Agile Therapy http://agiletherapy.com/

Heath Sports and Social Club http://cmcssc.webplus.net/