Thank you to John Olivers Hairdressing!

Thanks to Kayley at John Oliver in Norwich I now have white hair! She totally took the wind out of my sails by doing all her work for the cause and the company did not charge me - instead the money has gone into my fundraising - THANK YOU SO MUCH! It was a long process and the aim was to make me look 'verycold' so that I can go out and about with my collecting tin.

 ice- cream cone

The delightful peach colour Kayley didn't want!

WHITE!!

100%

But although I tweeted that I'd swim in the north sea today if I made it to £4000 by midnight, I don't think it's going to happen.... PHEW!! I know I shouldn't be relieved but its bleedin cold in the water after all that snow and ice.

Minimum fundraising target achieved

With the generous support which I have received over the last few months I am so happy that I've reached my minimum target and am on my way to the £4000 mark. It's not just the money which has kept me going though, it's the input from friends and family, helping me with designing postcards, providing me with warm clothes, sleeping bag liners, magic travel towels, and other delights plus the encouragement to keep the fitness levels up.

Next week I'm going to dye my hair white and run around the local villages and towns with my bucket to see if I can make the £4000 before I leave. I've still got a couple of pledges to call in too, but I mustn't count my chickens...

Husky racing

I've just heard from The Girls and they are doing really, really well. Sally's 6 dog team has won 4 out of 7 races so far and she says that at the last race they would have won both days, but the race had to be stopped half way through due to the three wheeler rigs slipping and sliding all over the place - there were several accidents. One of her main competitors, Caroline Kisko broke her collar bone but was otherwise ok, luckily, and her dogs were fine too. Those on the heavier and much more stable 4 wheel rigs had no problems at all. Sally had clean runs both days and says there was "never had a scary moment". That's from Sally's perspective of course... the woman is in control!


I couldn't get to support them due to the weather, but judging by some of these shots, the dogs are loving the snow. Hoping to be there in February to watch the next heats and cheer them on.

 Having second thoughts about buying a normal bike!

Aching bones

This weather gets into your bones, it make the inside of your legs ache and the small of your back tighten. The snow has almost gone and been replaced by a biting wind and rain. Watery eyes, usually a nuisance on long runs, helped to keep my face warm this morning and I did make the full 5 miles, but had to slow to a walking, stretching gate every now and then. The house was cold when I got back so the strength routine helped to warm me up as I looked longingly at the dogs, curled up under woolen blankets and contemplated doing the same. And this is Suffolk, not the Arctic, I need to get a grip!

Why dogs matter

http://bbc.co.uk/i/pssgh/ really worth watching.

The Countdown Begins

This morning I received an email from the trip organisers with the heading 'The Countdown Begins' and so it does. I am setting myself targets for each week from now on:
This week
5 runs, minimum 4 miles
Daily strength training: 3 x 1 min plank, 3 x 20 crunches, 3 x 20 pelvic thrusts, reverse lunges till it hurts, squats till it hurts, 3 x 30 biceps curls, 3 x 15 shoulder raises and presses.
Porridge with almonds for breakfast each day, lots of licourice tea, no alcohol Sunday night to Friday night so 5 glasses of water each day instead, in the hope that if I am not thirsty I won't need a glass of Aspalls/Gordons/prosecco/sauvignon
2 yoga practice evenings, if I can get warm enough as the house is so very cold and it is not conducive to yoga, even with my wonderful merino long johns.

The week started badly with a sore arse (yet again - must stop falling over) and too much snow for my annual winter trip to the Tate but things are looking up; the thaw has set in, the builders have started, the roads are open and the road to the Lodge is almost ice free. The run this morning was punctuated by short walks every time I hit a small patch of black ice ("must stop falling over going" through my head) but still managed to do 4 miles, helped by a new playlist, which I dredged up from old faves to keep me going. Running to "Hey boy, hey girl" (Chemical Brothers) was very motivational. The route should be 5 but the final hill was just too slippy. The aches and pains from the fall have gone and now I can get return to the strength building, which had gone a little by the wayside over the holiday period as the sluggishness of the cold and no routine got the better of me.

The countdown also begins for the completion of or building project, the guys from GBS have really got stuck in and are stripping the roof today, every time I feel cold I must think of them, exposed to the wind whipping in, and feel fortunate.

before the thawToday

Of Dogs and Men

In the cover of this wonderful book it says it's for "all dog lovers and would-be adventurers":

 Click on image

ISBN 1 897817 55 X

Oh the irony...as in "an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected."

Having spent the last couple of weeks bullying my Mother into not putting herself at risk by going out in the ice in case she had a fall I managed to take a tumble in the nice warm cosy environment of our house and fell down the stairs holding a coffee cup. That'll teach me to have a lie in. No lasting damage, which is more than can be said for the poor snow creature on the green, the wererabbit has melted and his ears have fallen off as well as his eyes popping out. So RIP Harvey the wererabbit:

Still snowing

I know it's cool to be grouchy about the snow, but I'm loving it. We are pretty much cut off in the village, with only one clear track in from the main road, but we've got everything we need, warm clothes, village shop, pub and firewood.