Auntie Paula - wait for me! by Vallinnapod

Gosh, I got a bit slack on the blogging front. It didn't really take me nearly a year to recover from the FLM08, although the training for 2009 is nowhere near as fun (or feeling as productive) :o( I think it must be due to the fact I know exactly what is ahead of me...more on that later.

So, in my last entry I mentioned I was entering the NY Marathon. I was unsuccessful. Short paragraph.

The FLM09 campaign has two pain in the arseinteresting additions this year. Firstly, Owen is entered. For some reason the gods of fate decided it was fair that he - Mr. five-a-day-refers-to-alcohol-units-exercise-is-a-game-of-pool - should get in through the ballot and I (moving swiftly to my second addition) had to find a charity place. This was nowhere near as easy as I thought. The only charity I had complete passion to run for, Macmillan, had no places so I ended up applying for every other charity I could possibly think of before gaining a place with the Shelter team.

Now, I wanted to make this point for a couple of reasons. I am sure people run for Cats with Cateracts or The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Woodlice because that is all that is left. And good luck to 'em. In fact I wanted a gold bond (charity) place because I want to run the marathon. The wonderful aspect of last year was that I didn't need to think about fund raising. I was assured my spot and had the opportunity to help Macmillan. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of friends and family (and random others!). However, being accepted by Shelter has made me realise the amazing work they do. Yes, this is partly a PR spin to tug at your heart strings and persuade you to donate but with so many charities out there how much do we really know about any, unless we have a personal connection, or in this case, a fluke introduction?Especially in these rocky economic times Shelter does fantastic work with both individuals and families to try and keep roofs over peoples heads and families together. With that I mind I would urge you to donate as much as you can to this worthwhile cause. Plus I've signed a bit of paper, legally binding I presume, saying that I will raise a minimum of £2000 for them...I don't want to let them down or potentially resort to throwing myself of Tower Bridge if I don't meet the pledge!

http://www.justgiving.com/vallinnapodflm09

Owen has also agreed to direct anyone who fancies sponsoring him to my site also (although he hasn't yet read my comments about him) which is a huge help in getting me to my £2000 target - plus I am a safe financial investment. I've done it before, I'm training well and I am pretty much assured to get round (if that very comment hasn't just placed the biggest jinx ever on me) :o) and Owen.....well....he bought new trainers (and socks!).

Well, I have rambled so will save the 'training update' so far for over the weekend!