So, ‘where the hell have you been?’ I hear you cry.
Well…
The pre-amble
If there’s one thing the birth of my son has made me think about, it has to be my own mortality, and the delicate nature of life for children, even in today’s first world countries. I can’t even begin to imagine the horror of life in the Middle East, although I’m sure, like me, recent photos in the press have left your heart heavy, and your eyes blurry with tears.
Here I am, the wrong side of 40, (yes I know, even I wouldn’t believe it from the photos I post, but it’s true), and I have this awesome little child that relies on me for everything, and how selfish would I be if I upped and keeled over in the next couple of years?
To be fair, I’ve battered and bruised this old shell of mine over the years, and the little fella coming along, has made me think, maybe I should start to worship this crumbling temple, and rebuild it back to its former glory.
Do I go back to the gym? Nah, bored of that, staring at a TV screen watching reruns of Jeremy Kile, while I sweat my proverbial off. I know I’ll get back into trecking up mountains! Get fit, body and mind, with lots of stunning views.
Great idea…Problem is…can’t find any…mo-ti-va-t……ion 😔
Then I remembered that warm fuzzy feeling I felt when I raised £155 for The Lullaby Trust earlier this year, and decided there and then that I’m going to raise money for all the children across the globe, who through no fault of there own, are truly suffering, by running. 5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon, full on marathon, maybe even a few ultras, one day.
Damn it! I’m gonna do it for the children of the world that need all the help they can get, and get fit at the same time. As a friend of mine keeps saying, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, so that’s what I’m doing, in my own little way.
The amble
Over the last seven weeks I have spent every spare moment, (and that’s not a lot,) researching, creating, tweaking and running a training regime, to get me off the couch and out on the trail towards my first goal of 5K.
It’s been a lot of hard work, but so much fun, and very rewarding. I have tons of energy and I’ve lost the best part of one and a half stone along the way, so feeling good and looking good!
Now I need the help of my fine community of readers. Yes that’s you! As I stated earlier, I am planning to start running to raise money for children’s charities. The idea is sharing out the money into three pots.
Firstly, one pot will go to a charity local to where I run in an organised event. So if I’m running in Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, or London, the money will go to help children from that particular area.
The second pot will go to a national children’s charity, and the third to an international charity. What I need from you good people, is suggestions of which charities you would like to see me donate to, and why. Just drop a comment on this post, or via the various social media outlets, and I will choose a few.
I am also thinking of changing the national, and international charities each year, to kind of spread the money around a little; or maybe, depending upon whichever crisis is in need at the time. Your thoughts and input mean a lot to me, so please take a moment to let me know what you think.
The stumble toward a conclusion
I know some of you lovely people are runners yourself, and as I am just starting out, I would like some feedback on how well I’m doing. My 5k PB is currently 28:24. Is this anywhere near an average time? I only ask as I’ve never ran before, EVER! I think it’s damn good, as seven weeks ago it was 40 mins.
Also, I have played about with a couple of running apps, and am interested in which ones you use/prefer.
On the start of my last 5k. To the top of the mountain and back!
If you plan on running a local 5, or 10k come the new year, for your favourite local children’s charity and you’d like me to come along, or if you have any ideas that you think could help, give me a shout, I’m keen to get as much money raised as possible.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the training programme, then let me know. If it’s a resounding thumbs up, I’m happy to create a post all about it.
Time for a week off to let my body relax, and start building a 5 week, 10k programme. Current time to improve upon, 56:53.
Well, take care droogs, chat soon.
Dawn of the Dad.
Just one word ‘wow’
I am in awe….
Let me know how i can contribute monetarily as i would love to.. The body is too weak lol
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As soon as I know which charities, I will be setting up just giving pages.
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This is great! I started my fitness journey when, at 28 1/2, I decided I was finally going to pursue my goal of running an ultra-marathon by the time I was 30. It’s great to see people up and moving!
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So how are those ultras? Looking forward to those 😃
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I got a few tips and tricks for ya. Hit me up at gerad.haupt@gmail.com. Also, check out my blog at http://spartandaddy.com!
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Love the way you write, you really are a born writer! Anyway, As for charities to donate to, Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, Save the Children and British Red Cross are kinda favourites of min. Good luck!
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Natural born writer? You flatter me sir. Thanks for the charity list.
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Brilliant idea, get/keep fit and feel good about it!
Charities…. obviously for local The Family Haven 😉 some others I like (besides Save the Children, NSPCC) are Dreamflight, Winston’s Wish, Children’s Adventure Farm Trust.
Good luck trying to choose, there are so many doing great work.
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Every Gloucester run will go to the Haven, that’s a given. There are a lot of charities doing great work, that’s why I want to pick different ones each year, so that I can support them all.
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Brilliant idea! Not only will you help yourself for your little one but all that charity work is ace. I think your 5km PB is pretty good and steady and you have improved! I quite like Map My Run as an app but don’t run as much now due to a knee injury! Thanks for sharing with #bestandworst and good luck!!! x
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Thank you for hosting #bestandworst. I’ve knocked that PB into a hat, already just under 25 mins 😀
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Good on you,what a fab idea!Makes me wish I had more enthusiasm for running,yet whenever I try I envisage people in their cars stalling at the sight of my fat backside wobbling down the street!!My suggestion is The Children’s Society #bestandworst
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Lol, why is it always bums with mums? I’m sure it’s not that bad, and running will make it stunning. Thanks for the charity suggestion.
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Love your commitment to fitness and stepping up to bat for children’s charities – nothing more awesome than that! It’s funny because we JUST shared a fitness guide for new dads on our site, too: http://daddymindtricks.com/beating-belly-fat-the-ultimate-guide-to-fitness-for-new-fathers/ (shameless plug).
But, I’d love to get YOUR expert tips for new dads for a shared guest post project we are working on, too. We’ll link back to your site and social pages for a cool plug. If interestedhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hl-tStZvCK7oHtmKky8pYi0rS45ubMdKq5S8QMO52-M/edit?usp=sharing, please click here to fill out your tip for new fathers:
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Wow. Wish I’d had been given this tips before my ‘dadbod’ got in the way 😉
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Good on you for making a difference! If it’s particularly children’s charities you are looking for, I think thw Butterwick Hospice is a very deserving charity. #bigfatlinky
Debbie
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Thanks for the recommendation, adding it to the list.
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Great post and an even better idea! Will help yourself and others. I’d recommend the muscular dystrophy campaign. Having md myself I know taht the charity always needs help. Thanks for linking up with us on the #bigfatlinky hope to see you there this week.
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Thanks for the shout out for md, and cheers as always for hosting #bigfatlinky
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[…] and my wonderful life, I can be found raising a little cash and a smile for childrens charity. Run Fat Boy… is the latest push for charity, and I can reveal here right now that I am about to sign up for […]
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Good for you!! I try to set myself challenges as it keeps my motivation up. I’ve just sorted out mine for next year so I’m hoping I will now have the umpf to get out more. Your 5km PB is pretty good! Looking forward to following your journey. Thanks for linking up with #FitnessFriday
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I’ve just decided my first event will be our local 1/2 marathon. I have 6 months to recce every click. I’m only 6 clicks away from the total distance and I’m looking at about 2hrs for the full 21. Hoping to shave 10/15 mins off that come race day.
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Blooming well done. Please tweet me when you’ve got that just giving page set up. (@mrs_tubbs) #sharethejoy
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Good for you and you’re doing great! My advice would be don’t push too far too soon so you stay off the injured bench but other than that keep going! I did a few posts about running over on the old blog… yell if you’re interested and I’ll dig them out. Thanks for linking up #ShareTheJoy
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I’m doing lots of strength training to prevent injury, but saying that I slid in some mud and slightly twisted a knee, so I’m on the bench for a few weeks, and getting stir crazy!
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