Birthday home truths....

I'm 44 tomorrow...Sam told me this morning "you're fat, and you're old, and we need to throw you in the tip.""  Goodness knows what he thought in August...I may have been 3 months younger, but I was also 20lbs heavier. 

Still, it doesn't do any harm to have a little motivation from time to time...I think I'll give Sam a wide berth when choosing a personal trainer though!!  The trouble with living with an autistic child is that he finds it very difficult to lie.  He's not for the faint hearted...and you are advised never to ask if your bum looks big in this!!

Slightly more of a motivation is that my fundraising profile has taken a bit of a boost in the last week.  Firstly, Snix magazine, (Special Needs Index for Northamptonshire) printed a full page poster advert, and then the Parcelforce News printed a lovely article highlighting my challenge.  Between them, possibly an audience of 000's so all I need to do now is work out how to capitalise on the publicity.

We also have a feature in the November WOW (Whats on in Woodford)...Liz is organising a quiz night on December 4th to help with the fundraising.  I think it's likely that I'll end up with the job of hostess with the mostest....or maybe just 100 questions or so.   We're collecting plenty of prizes for a raffle on the night, as well as some decent prizes for the winners.  It should be a fun night. 

The training is picking up too, I've been doing a bit more running, and a bit less cycling, as I prepare for my 10k race (haha...did I say race??)  on the 21st of November.  In the mean time, I have loads to do...I've an appointment next week with Jeremy Batchelor at Catalyst Logistics to collect a nice cheque for £201 towards my target.

This whole challenge is a bit of a logistics nightmare...pack everything you need for 7 nights in a tent in temperatures ranging from +30 to -24 degrees, kicking off in tropical rainforest,  through lifeless dry tundra, and up onto a frozen icecap with no oxygen....oh...and make sure you can fit it all into just two bags, weighing less than 25kgs between them.  (remember you have to carry one of them 63kms up 19,340ft).

So, who better to be the first sponsor of my coat for the challenge than a specialist in Logistics planning & design?  I'm delighted to have them supporting me, and it's given me a great idea for the remaining space on the coat :-)....

Onwards & upwards.....(I think thats what it's likely to be all about).