Wednesday 23 July
I won a trophy today from the running club at work for being the top fundraiser, esentially from the London marathon but as I had combined this with my end to end efforts, I don't really think anyone else had a chance! I was in London anyway today so popped into one of the offices to collect my cup (it's huge and will clearly now take pride of place on my desk at work!) and have the obligatory photoshoot. I'm hoping that I'll get copies so I can post one on the blog.
And then the lies continue! Unsure if I mentioned earlier but remember my first pair of shoes that I had retired at Earby? Tricia had taken them home but John told me that although he had hung them outside for a while, they smelt so bad that they overpowered the garage and he'd eventually thrown them away. I only found this out when I got back home and to be honest, I was a little sad as although I admit they did pong, they'd been part of my journey for so many miles. Anyway, a package had arrived this morning and Maureen and Barry, our lovely neighbours, had signed for and taken it in. Although addressed to John, he let me open it (I should have twigged then that something was afoot as he would never normally allow me to open his parcels!) and what a fantastic surprise - it was my trainers : Maureen had sugggested a 'bronzer' and he'd arranged to have them immortalised for ever in bronze and mounted on a wooden plinth with an engraved plaque 'Carole Loader ran Lands End to John O'Groats 25 April to 5 July 2008'. They look absolutely fantastic - it's rather like getting the taxidermist in! I can't believe it's actually my trainers underneath all the bronzing....and they don't smell anymore!
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Monday, 21 July 2008
Tuesday 22 July (John's birthday!)
My certificate arrived last night confirming my membership to the 'End to End' Club and acknowledging my 'outstanding achievement' - that's going to take pride of place in a frame on the wall together with the 'before and after' signpost signs. Sarah and Kevin kindly put all the photos taken at the surprise Welcome Home party onto one disc - some of them are really really good - funnily enough, I've got a huge smile on my face in every single photo and a glass of wine in many of them!
Collecting of the sponsors is always a mammoth effort but it's not going too badly : quite a few people are giving me more than they originally sponsored and I'm also getting others supporting me who I didn't originally put their name down which is great. I was also in the on-line magazine at work last Wednesday and that prompted a further 8 hits to my JustGiving website.
So far I've collected cash and cheques (including the on-line JustGiving total) of just over £7,020 and with over £700 still to come I've easily passed my target of £7,500 and soooooo near to the £8,000 mark - how brilliant is that!?!
My certificate arrived last night confirming my membership to the 'End to End' Club and acknowledging my 'outstanding achievement' - that's going to take pride of place in a frame on the wall together with the 'before and after' signpost signs. Sarah and Kevin kindly put all the photos taken at the surprise Welcome Home party onto one disc - some of them are really really good - funnily enough, I've got a huge smile on my face in every single photo and a glass of wine in many of them!
Collecting of the sponsors is always a mammoth effort but it's not going too badly : quite a few people are giving me more than they originally sponsored and I'm also getting others supporting me who I didn't originally put their name down which is great. I was also in the on-line magazine at work last Wednesday and that prompted a further 8 hits to my JustGiving website.
So far I've collected cash and cheques (including the on-line JustGiving total) of just over £7,020 and with over £700 still to come I've easily passed my target of £7,500 and soooooo near to the £8,000 mark - how brilliant is that!?!
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Monday 14 July
The 'official' photos of me under the signpost at John O'Groats arrived this morning and I love them! I look like a real athlete and full of confidence with my arms in the air and I can't stop myself from keep looking at them - it's a marked difference from the picture at Lands End where I'm holding onto the post as if I'm apprehensive and afraid to let go. What a difference a journey of 10 weeks' makes.
Back with the BJs full-blown tonight. No repercussions from my couple of runs yesterday so eagerly ran with Caroline, Laura and Max on a 5 miler. Doesn't take long to get the competitive blood flowing....
The 'official' photos of me under the signpost at John O'Groats arrived this morning and I love them! I look like a real athlete and full of confidence with my arms in the air and I can't stop myself from keep looking at them - it's a marked difference from the picture at Lands End where I'm holding onto the post as if I'm apprehensive and afraid to let go. What a difference a journey of 10 weeks' makes.
Back with the BJs full-blown tonight. No repercussions from my couple of runs yesterday so eagerly ran with Caroline, Laura and Max on a 5 miler. Doesn't take long to get the competitive blood flowing....
Sunday 13 July
For the first time since I finished my adventure, I've got itchy feet to go out for a run...haven't tried going faster than a walk for the whole week so unsure how I'd actually feel. Although the puffiness round my ankle has gone and I've got no pain there anymore I decided to run round the Throop Mill footpath so at least most of the route would be on grassy tracks to give some cushioning underfoot. The first mile or so was really weird as I felt I was leaning all over the place and quite unbalanced and it took a while to realise it was probably because this was the first time in nearly 3 months that I run without the addition of 6.5kg on my back (by the way, that's how heavy my backpack was as Tricia and I had weighed it on the scales at Inverness airport!). At first I couldn't get a running style and was plodding quite heavily down the road towards the Mill but after a while I seemed to remember how to do this running stuff properly and by the time I'd got half way, was really enjoying striding along the lanes and tracks. We'd had a load of rain last week and despite this being July and today being quite muggy, there was standing water on some of the path and one of the lanes was totally flooded. I definitely was not going for a repeat of the bog wading that I'd done on my trip so shimmied under a barbed wire fence and trespassed over the farmers field (wouldn't have been so had I been in Scotland!).
By the time I got home I was really enjoying myself and decided to go out straight away for another run! It's addictive this running lark and I love it!
For the first time since I finished my adventure, I've got itchy feet to go out for a run...haven't tried going faster than a walk for the whole week so unsure how I'd actually feel. Although the puffiness round my ankle has gone and I've got no pain there anymore I decided to run round the Throop Mill footpath so at least most of the route would be on grassy tracks to give some cushioning underfoot. The first mile or so was really weird as I felt I was leaning all over the place and quite unbalanced and it took a while to realise it was probably because this was the first time in nearly 3 months that I run without the addition of 6.5kg on my back (by the way, that's how heavy my backpack was as Tricia and I had weighed it on the scales at Inverness airport!). At first I couldn't get a running style and was plodding quite heavily down the road towards the Mill but after a while I seemed to remember how to do this running stuff properly and by the time I'd got half way, was really enjoying striding along the lanes and tracks. We'd had a load of rain last week and despite this being July and today being quite muggy, there was standing water on some of the path and one of the lanes was totally flooded. I definitely was not going for a repeat of the bog wading that I'd done on my trip so shimmied under a barbed wire fence and trespassed over the farmers field (wouldn't have been so had I been in Scotland!).
By the time I got home I was really enjoying myself and decided to go out straight away for another run! It's addictive this running lark and I love it!
Friday 11 July
I'd had an email last night from Shelley at South West News so spoke to her this morning about the potential selling of my LEJOG story to magazines and such like. She was just about to go on holiday so whilst she sounded a bit rushed on the phone, she was handing my 'case' over to another editor whilst she was away. Fingers crossed then!
Ankle swelling is much better now and I went through the whole day at work without having to take my shoes off! Whilst I'm still slightly seizing up if I sit still for too long, it's much better than it was a few days ago.
I'd had an email last night from Shelley at South West News so spoke to her this morning about the potential selling of my LEJOG story to magazines and such like. She was just about to go on holiday so whilst she sounded a bit rushed on the phone, she was handing my 'case' over to another editor whilst she was away. Fingers crossed then!
Ankle swelling is much better now and I went through the whole day at work without having to take my shoes off! Whilst I'm still slightly seizing up if I sit still for too long, it's much better than it was a few days ago.
Monday 7 July....back to work day
I think everyone knew that I wouldn't be doing much work for the next few days - there's too many people that want to know how I got on and to be honest I really don't want to come down off this cloud too quickly. Walking in the door for the first time I got a huge round of applause so in reality, it wasn't too bad being back in the office and I certainly didn't get much done!
My right ankle is quite swollen at the moment and I don't have much movement in it at all. Whilst I got to work in shoes, they soon came off and I wandered around the office all day in bare feet. Occasionally getting sharp pains across the top of my right foot and I have to get up every hour or so from my desk as my knees are in danger of totally seizing up at right angles!
After work I was keen to see all the Bournemouth Joggers so didn't waste much time in getting back to club. They presented me with a whole load of footcare lotions so my tootsies are going to be in for a nice treat afterwards. Decided it would be interesting to go along with my fully loaded backpack but most had difficulty trying it on and politely declined my offer for them to try running a circuit of the athletics track with it on! It was great to see everyone again but feel that I may have interupted their intense track session as there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm for some speed work!
I think everyone knew that I wouldn't be doing much work for the next few days - there's too many people that want to know how I got on and to be honest I really don't want to come down off this cloud too quickly. Walking in the door for the first time I got a huge round of applause so in reality, it wasn't too bad being back in the office and I certainly didn't get much done!
My right ankle is quite swollen at the moment and I don't have much movement in it at all. Whilst I got to work in shoes, they soon came off and I wandered around the office all day in bare feet. Occasionally getting sharp pains across the top of my right foot and I have to get up every hour or so from my desk as my knees are in danger of totally seizing up at right angles!
After work I was keen to see all the Bournemouth Joggers so didn't waste much time in getting back to club. They presented me with a whole load of footcare lotions so my tootsies are going to be in for a nice treat afterwards. Decided it would be interesting to go along with my fully loaded backpack but most had difficulty trying it on and politely declined my offer for them to try running a circuit of the athletics track with it on! It was great to see everyone again but feel that I may have interupted their intense track session as there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm for some speed work!
Friday, 11 July 2008
Day 72 - the day after.....
Woke up this morning and didn't need to put the trainers on....no running required. Wave 105 called to congratulate me on my achievement and interview me on how it all went - I was then on the news bulletins every half hour. They nick-named me 'Bournemouths Forrest Gump'!
The stewardess on the flight gave an announcement to all the passengers that I was on board and that people may have seen me on TV or heard me on the radio....I've got quite a celebrity status now! John met us at the airport and it was so fantastic to see him after such a long absence. It's the Wimbledon men's final today but luckily for us the match has been interupted by rain as John loves tennis and it would have been a shame if he'd missed vital games whilst picking us up.
Strangly I've forgotten where things are at home - not that John has moved stuff around it's just that my mind is so decluttered of 'reality' life that I can't remember. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things slowly as I certainly don't want to lose sight of what I've achieved over the last 10 weeks. John must have been reading my mind as he's cooked a roast beef dinner for tonight...yum! For once, although I scoffed everything put in front of me he left half of his and I assumed that it was because he'd been snack-attacking during the day - this was part one of a cunning arrangement. I'd already mentioned to Sarah and Kevin that I wanted to pop over and see them and apparantely John had arranged for us to go over around 6.30pm as 'it was a school night and Will, Eddie and Max all wanted to see me before they went to bed' - this was cunning plan part two. Whilst driving over there John also 'complained' that recently the staff at the park had taken to leaving their cars behind their house which meant he sometimes had trouble finding room to park which was exactly the situation tonight but there was a space right outside her gate - cunning plan part three. As I gleefully yelled 'I made it', a dog ran out of the gate 'that looks like Buttons, what's she doing here?' - cunning plan almost blown to smithereens but I still didn't twig! One or two people that shouldn't have been over there meandering round the garden...still naive! It was only when I got into the kitchen and found the room full of friends that I realised I'd been well and truely surprised - the house was full and they were all there for me! The great thing was that they had managed to get Paul into the kitchen too. Eddie's trumpet teacher, Malcolm gave a fantastic rendition of 'congratulations' on the trumpet just to seal my arrival. Sarah and Kevin had also secured the services of a photographer to capture the moment so we all stood (freezing in the balmy July weather!) on the mansion steps for the official snaps. There was also a running buffet (hence the reason John was 'suddenly' full when it came to eating a roast dinner) and a karaoke (complete with welcome home message for me) and although this didn't get too much use on the night, I heard that it had been well tested the previous evening! I was still wearing my running top and my hair looked like the picture of the Llama that John had sent me a couple of days ago so I wasn't looking at my best but that didn't seem to matter to anyone!
It was a fantastic night and one that I certainly had no idea about. Everyone's been telling me lies albeit little white ones for my own good and I'm amazed that no-one let the cat out of the bag...they're all too clever and I'll never trust any of them again!
Woke up this morning and didn't need to put the trainers on....no running required. Wave 105 called to congratulate me on my achievement and interview me on how it all went - I was then on the news bulletins every half hour. They nick-named me 'Bournemouths Forrest Gump'!
The stewardess on the flight gave an announcement to all the passengers that I was on board and that people may have seen me on TV or heard me on the radio....I've got quite a celebrity status now! John met us at the airport and it was so fantastic to see him after such a long absence. It's the Wimbledon men's final today but luckily for us the match has been interupted by rain as John loves tennis and it would have been a shame if he'd missed vital games whilst picking us up.
Strangly I've forgotten where things are at home - not that John has moved stuff around it's just that my mind is so decluttered of 'reality' life that I can't remember. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things slowly as I certainly don't want to lose sight of what I've achieved over the last 10 weeks. John must have been reading my mind as he's cooked a roast beef dinner for tonight...yum! For once, although I scoffed everything put in front of me he left half of his and I assumed that it was because he'd been snack-attacking during the day - this was part one of a cunning arrangement. I'd already mentioned to Sarah and Kevin that I wanted to pop over and see them and apparantely John had arranged for us to go over around 6.30pm as 'it was a school night and Will, Eddie and Max all wanted to see me before they went to bed' - this was cunning plan part two. Whilst driving over there John also 'complained' that recently the staff at the park had taken to leaving their cars behind their house which meant he sometimes had trouble finding room to park which was exactly the situation tonight but there was a space right outside her gate - cunning plan part three. As I gleefully yelled 'I made it', a dog ran out of the gate 'that looks like Buttons, what's she doing here?' - cunning plan almost blown to smithereens but I still didn't twig! One or two people that shouldn't have been over there meandering round the garden...still naive! It was only when I got into the kitchen and found the room full of friends that I realised I'd been well and truely surprised - the house was full and they were all there for me! The great thing was that they had managed to get Paul into the kitchen too. Eddie's trumpet teacher, Malcolm gave a fantastic rendition of 'congratulations' on the trumpet just to seal my arrival. Sarah and Kevin had also secured the services of a photographer to capture the moment so we all stood (freezing in the balmy July weather!) on the mansion steps for the official snaps. There was also a running buffet (hence the reason John was 'suddenly' full when it came to eating a roast dinner) and a karaoke (complete with welcome home message for me) and although this didn't get too much use on the night, I heard that it had been well tested the previous evening! I was still wearing my running top and my hair looked like the picture of the Llama that John had sent me a couple of days ago so I wasn't looking at my best but that didn't seem to matter to anyone!
It was a fantastic night and one that I certainly had no idea about. Everyone's been telling me lies albeit little white ones for my own good and I'm amazed that no-one let the cat out of the bag...they're all too clever and I'll never trust any of them again!
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