Hi folks, yes it's me back again with another plea for your generosity as we move into the final couple of months before the Cardiff Half.
Last year I ran on behalf of Alzheimer's UK and thanks to the kindness and deep pockets of my supporters, including many who read this blog, we managed to raise just shy of two thousand pounds. Earlier this year we also did well with my RED January challenge for the Mind over Mountains mental health charity, in which I did a hundred days of consecutive running, totalling 500km.
This year I'm trying to raise some funds for Cancer Research Wales (CRW), another cause which is very dear to my heart. I lost my mum and dad to cancer, and our wider family and circle of friends has not gone untouched by the disease. I'm sure we all have similar experiences, and of course many of us will either be going through cancer treatment, or providing love and support to those who are. Cancer survival rates are better than they used to be (I heard only today of a friend who's received the all-clear after treatment, which is great) but there is much, much more to be done. We can all try to make lifestyle adjustments to minimise our chances of getting cancer, but (as with Alzheimer's) there are still environmental and genetic factors we can't do much about, at least not right now. More research is needed, more data, more trials, more innovative therapies - not just for the common cancers but the rare ones as well, which are all too often the ones where the treatment options are the most limited.
Obviously earning a bit of sponsorship by running a half-marathon won't change the world, but I hope you'll agree that every little bit is a step in the right direction. If you can chip in, no matter how big or small the contribution, here's the link to do so. I assure you that every pound will help motivate me, both in my training and also on the big day.
https://cardiffhalf25.enthuse.com/pf/alastair-reynolds
I'll be begging your tolerance over the next few weeks as I push my fund-drive, but as I did last year, I'll try to spice it up a bit with a bit of vaguely interesting content.
In terms of preparation, I've been building some longer runs into my schedule, such as this 14K one this afternoon (two thirds of a half!):
Unfortunately I had a bit of a dip in my running through June/July. Back in May something odd happened on a fairly strenuous 5K. I didn't feel any ill-effects, but my Garmin heart-rate data was concerning. I had some follow-up tests with my GP, including bloods and ECGs, and everything eventually came back normal (suggesting that the Garmin thing was a measurement glitch) but while the tests were pending I was advised not to push too hard. On that basis, I reduced my running output to little more than a couple of low-intensity maintenance runs per week, just to hold onto some baseline fitness. Apparently you lose fitness twice as fast as you gain it, which is a bit of a swine! With that behind me I now feel confident to push as hard as I like, and while today was far too humid for me to want to run at anything more than a comfortable plod, I'm looking forward to extending my training over the next couple of weeks with a trial half or two.
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