very late October and November roundup!!

The important bit -  I'M NEARLY DONE!!!!!! 28.6 miles to go and I'm going to finish at parkrun on 20th December. It was going to be the 13th, but some key people who I really want to be a part of it will be away so I've pushed it back. This means I won't run as many miles in the next 2 weeks, to try and stretch it out, but I've got a 10k tomorrow (in a Santa Suit!!) and a 10k next weekend to keep me busy.
Please can anyone who is free on the 20th come along to parkrun to run it with me -I'll be at the back running it with Ryan so even if you're not a runner then give it a go! or if you're a speedy runner then come back and run it in with Ryan when you've finished!! He's excited about it - even more so that I'm now doing it on the Christmas fancy dress day - he's got a Rudolph costume all ready to go!! :) There will be cake afterwards too.... ;)


The race report bit -
October was my big race - the Great Birmingham Half Marathon. All I wanted was to enjoy the atmosphere and get a better time than my first half. Pleased to say that I did both!! It was a lovely sunny day, and great fun heading up with other Malvern Joggers, then meeting up with some Run Mummy Run ladies. Kept my mind off what I was about to do!! Here's me a few miles in when I found my sister-in-law and brother-in-law who were there to cheer me on. And another after the finish with my friend who I managed to catch up to at mile 12 - I didn't know where she'd started so was thrilled to find her and run together for a bit. It was great to have company after the finish until I met back up with those I came with, who had all finished before me. They were waiting for me with beer- was a welcome sight! :)  I finished in 2:23:16, which was a 20min pb!

November saw me do 2 races, the first was the Guy Fawkes 5 mile with my friend Claire. This was her first proper race (after the mud run we did over the summer) and we'd only run the distance twice in training. We ran it round together, which is so much more fun than racing on your own!! She did brilliantly and ran it 7min faster than we'd ever run 5 miles before, and we had some yummy food and a pint after to celebrate. Here's us with our medals!! :)

The second was this past weekend at Croome - a 10+k (worked out as 6.5 miles) off road run round the grounds of the gorgeous National Trust property that is on our doorstep. Not that we could see any of it due to the heavy fog!! By the first mile our hair was as wet as if it was raining, and it was so cold it took until halfway round for me to feel my arms again, no more tshirt runs for me this winter!! :) So this one I ran round with my Joggers running buddy Shona. We run together on Wednesdays (club run night) and have recently moved up a pace group, which has been fun! So having run most of my training runs and recent races with friends, I didn't fancy this one on my own- it really is so much nicer with company. Especially this one as it was hard work through all of the mud. Very sticky, squelchy, pull-your-shoes-off mud. For over half the race! There was a stream, and 2 evil hills too, but we did it, and now have a time to beat for next year. :)
The best bit of this race was the atmosphere - lots of familiar faces from local running clubs, and one of my fellow Joggers finishing his 1000k challenge. When I first started going along to the Joggers I saw that he was doing 1000k - and ALL in races! it made me keep quiet about my own 1000k since mine's training as well, though I've since come to realise that 1000k in any form is a lot for someone coming back after a long break from running and starting from scratch. I'm proud of how far I've come, and the fact I've rediscovered my love of running through doing it. :) Here's some pics of the mud!!

The other great thing about November has been parkrun. It started by Natalie running her 10th - with a pb of 38:36, then discovering in the last few weeks that she loves to marshal with her favourite volunteer Eddie. :) It's lovely to see her clapping as we run past, though this morning she had rather cold toes! :( Then out of the blue one Friday, Ryan announced he wanted to run the following day! We had 2 weeks of him getting round both laps- lots of puddle jumping and support from some of the faster parkrunners, both as we were lapped on the first lap, and by those who came back to run it in with us (thanks Trevor and Megz!!!) :) He's finished 5 of them now, and had a week off today because he's a bit tired (he was a marshal instead), but can't wait for my 1000th k run. :) Everyone in the parkrun community is so supportive of Ryan each week when he runs. It means so much to us, and thinking of Ryan smiling as he runs is a real help to get me out the door on those days where it's a bit of a struggle.If you are a parkrunner reading this- thank you for all of your support!!!!!
 Here's some photos from recent weeks- Ryan soaking wet on the swings after lots of puddle jumping, evidence of that puddle jumping, and dressed up for Wally's 100th parkrun!

The not as interesting stats bit:
October's distance: 130.8k/81.3 miles
November's distance: 135.8k/84.4 miles

money raised so far: £675.38 !!!!!

Can we get to £1000? I know it's the wrong time of year to be asking but even £1 will help! HemiChat funds £10 for every family member attending an organised meet. The last few months have seen hemi families meeting up for Disney on Ice, going to Lapland, a mum's night at the Manchester Christmas markets, and a trip to the donkey sanctuary. All of these are chances for children with hemiplegia to meet others like them, and for parents to spend time talking to others who understand what it is like raising a hemi child. Thank you for all you have helped me raise so far, it really means a lot. x

The countdown is on!!!  2 more weeks!!!!! :)
(and if anyone asks- I'm not stopping running next year, I already have 4 races booked!!! )

3 months to go! September roundup

Not quite sure where September has gone.... but back to school for the children has meant a bit more running time, especially for the long runs which I need to train for the Great Birmingham half marathon I'm running in just over 2 weeks!!

I managed 148k of running which is my highest monthly total this year! Here's what my chart looks like as of last night, I'm down to the final 322k (200miles)!!

I only did one race in September, but it was my favourite so far - the Worcester City 10k.  It was local to me, which helped, but right round the city on all closed roads, which was an experience!! My gps watch wouldn't pick up a signal at the start, so I didn't know how fast I was going and just ran how I felt, which was pretty good! I was hoping to run under 60 minutes, my best time before that had been 1:01 so I was close, but the early race start doesn't always agree with me so I wasn't sure I could do it. Turns out it was a fast course and I finished with a huge pb of 55:32 which I am thrilled with. The crowd support was amazing (especially from All Saints Church!!!) and it was great to run with friends. After the race I was lucky enough to stumble upon a queue of people getting their race numbers signed by the amazing Paula Radcliffe. I managed to get mine signed, and asked for a quick selfie as well - thanks Paula!!! :)

Ryan enjoyed cheering for everyone in the race, but the highlight of the day for him came afterwards when we met Batman and Robin!!!  These guys were fantastic- so friendly and Ryan loved them. If you have a moment, go check out the work they're doing to raise money for a sensory garden at a home for autistic children.  I'm looking forward to seeing them again in Birmingham as they're running that too! https://www.justgiving.com/sponsorbatmanandrobin/  Thanks guys for the photo!!

October will see me doing 'the big one' - running the Great Birmingham half marathon with 20,000 other people. I'll need lots of support to get myself up 'the hill' at mile 11.....  look out for me on tv!! :) I'm also doing a 5k with a friend the week before up at Ragley Hall. In November I'll be racing in the Guy Fawkes 5 mile run in Tewkesbury, and a 10k+ race at Croombe Park, and I've just signed up for a Santa Run 10k in December with some friends.

Thank you to those who have donated to my justgiving page so far, and if you haven't signed up to run my virtual 5k yet then go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/300800403439173 and join in the fun!! The medals came today, they're lovely!!! Thank you to DS Medals and Trophies for such a great and speedy service. :)

500k!! HALFWAY!!!

On Wednesday I reached halfway with 500k.  This morning's 10 mile run puts me at 522k so far, 136 of those in August. 456 of those have been in the last 4 months, so I am feeling very good about getting the last 478 done in the coming 4 months.

This has been a good running week. On Monday I joined in with the Malvern Joggers Pubathon, raising money for the local Community First Responders by running 10+ miles and making 12 pub stops. Had half a pint of Guinness in every other pub and was still standing at the end. :)  On Wednesday I hit halfway, Saturday was Ryan's first parkrun (that he finished) and today I ran 10 lovely miles on the Malverns. :)

Ryan's been wanting to run both laps of our local parkrun all summer. It's a 5k (3.1 mile) course, every Saturday at 9am, completely free and run by amazing volunteers. He's tried it a few times but his leg gets sore so we've stopped after the first lap but this week he was determined and he did it!! It took us 55min, a mix of running and walking, and he's now sporting a huge blister from his splint rubbing :( but he's so pleased with himself and we are so proud of him. The parkrun community is amazing, so supportive - all the marshals were there to cheer us on, lots of support from the speedy runners when they passed us on their second lap, and a group of the lovely Malvern Joggers came back to find us and run in with Ryan. It meant so much.

Coming up in the next 2 months:
On 21st Sept is the Worcester City 10k, which should be fun. I might be running a 24hr team race next weekend but still waiting to hear on that one, and as usual- getting the runs in towards that 1000k goal.  I'll keep running parkrun with Ryan and Natalie, though I do worry he will be too tired for it with starting back to school this week.... but I hope not!
On 19th October I run the Great Birmingham Run (half marathon) - that one's on tv so you can watch for me! I'll be wearing my hemi racing top!!

What Hemichat has been up to this summer:
Meets have been taking place all summer, at places such as Drayton Manor, Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Hastings seafront, Peppa Pig World..... with many more events on the calendar for the coming months. Funds raised for the charity help these meets to happen, and allow children with hemiplegia to spend time with each other, as well as letting their parents meet and become friends and offer support to one another.
You can 'like' Hemichat's Facebook page to see more about what we're up to. :) https://www.facebook.com/Hemichat?fref=ts

July roundup, parkrun August!

It's been a good running week to end July and begin August. :)  Despite the hilly start with West Malvern on Monday and British Camp to the Wyche and back on Weds..... I had a lovely run with Natalie on Thursday, quickly followed by another lovely run with a good friend! :)

Today's fun came in the form of a family parkrun.  I'd said I would do 'parkrun August' and run all 5 this month, including when we're on holiday in 2wks time, and the children have all been keen to do it with me, so Mark got the honour of running with all 3 of them, with the idea that I'd double back when finished and find them to help run the rest together. What fun to wake up and realise that it was raining and not looking likely to stop!!! Hmmm.... Still, we headed off and were encouraged by the Worcester parkrun Facebook post which assured us that the course was dry.... for now.  Things started off well, but about 10 minutes in the heavens opened, and what was a dry course (ours is 2 laps of woodland trail) turned into a swamp!! Having done last week's in the very hot sun, I can say hands down that I preferred the rain, and it seems my body does too, as I came in with a massive PB of 26:55!! Very pleased with that as I was just hoping to stay under 30 minutes.

I had wanted to get a few more miles in today, so as soon as we were back I headed out for a 'cool down' run. I didn't look at my watch and just ran - it's nice to do that every so often and I was very pleased to see I'd run just over 5k again and managed to do it in 29:11.  My speed is slowly coming back. :) Rest day tomorrow after 23 miles this week!


So July -
I managed to run 81.8 miles, which is 131.6 kilometers. I got out and ran 20 times over 31 days, this included a 10k race, a 5k mud run, and a 5k parkrun.  I also started running with the Malvern Joggers on a Wednesday night. They're fab, we do around 5 miles in my group and I really look forward to it each week now (might help that we go to the pub after a run for a quick pint and some chips....). I am loving the running right now, and feel really excited to tackle August and eat away at this distance challenge a bit more!

Here's an entertaining photo of my friends and I after our mud run a few weeks ago. It was on a day like today that was just POURING with rain.... but was so much fun! And here's the state of my running kit!

August is going to be about getting the miles in. I'm at 395k right now, and plan to be over 500 by the end of the month.  I need to up my long runs in preparation for my half marathon in October. Monday's run will be 9 miles, hopefully round the Severn Way for a change of scene. :) I'm looking forward to the parkruns, especially on holiday when we do the Lanhydrock one!

I'd love to set the challenge of running 100 miles this month. It'll be tricky with a week on holiday - I do plan to run while we're away, but it may not be the 20+ miles I've been doing each week recently! Though if anyone fancies setting me the challenge then I'll take it up- if I can get to £500 on my JustGiving page by the end of next wk, I'll do it. Now's your chance to donate if you haven't already, I'll see where the total is next Sunday evening!

Remember, all money goes straight to HemiChat for the fantastic work they do linking families of children with hemiplegia. Natalie, Ryan and Lucas are very excited to be joining in with the running this month, they'd love to hear that they've helped get people to donate too, so if you leave them a message on my page I'll make sure they read it!

Til next time,
Emily

Evesham 10k race report

Exciting news is that I've hit 300k!! :) 30% done with the challenge, and I've run 30 miles already in July. Happy days. :)

Today I ran the Evesham 10k with 3 friends. Now, these friends are all speedy speeders, and I'm much happier just getting the distance in without worrying about times or working too hard at it.... but when you start racing and you've got the chance to run with someone for a while to distract you from the pain that is running 6 miles faster than you'd like....  :) Thanks to Kerry for keeping me going!! Really pleased with my time of 1:01:53 as it's 8 minutes faster than my previous 10k time. Next 10k race is in September and I hope to get under 1 hour. 2 months of training should take care of that, just need to get the speed sessions in!

The best part of today was seeing Ryan and his siblings and friends taking part in the fun runs after our race.  Ryan has been really tired all weekend -turns out he's been playing with the playdoh at school and has glutened himself, probably by not washing his hands before sucking on his fingers/thumb which is a new thing he has started doing. So this morning he was saying he didn't want to do the race as his tummy hurt and he was tired, but when he got there and got to put on his race number and see all of his friends, he got very excited.  :)

He ran really well, though I'm still trying to work out if his bumping a poor little girl sideways was an accidental wobble due to his unsteady running gait or deliberate due to Ryan's overexcited behaviour before the race (I did apologise to her dad!!) but he gave it his all and was very proud to finish and collect his goodies. :)  Natalie and Lucas ran too, the race was 500m and has finished their 1000 Miles of Smiles pledge of 5 miles each. Most of this has been scooting, with the 2 races they've done as part of it. Please do sponsor them for such a great job, you can use my Just Giving page as all money will go direct to HemiChat.

Here's some photos from today!

Next up is lots of training and a 5k mud race next weekend! It's the Race for Life Pretty Muddy, and if you'd like to sponsor me and my 3 friends for this amazing cause then please use the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/crazy-quartet-racers/  My 5k will count towards my distance challenge, but we'd love to get a good amount raised for Cancer Research UK.

Thank you to those who have donated to my Road to 1000k recently. It means SO much to so many, THANK YOU! x x x
Emily

Halfway report!

I wish I could say I was halfway through the miles.... but not quite there since I missed a few months with my hip.  I'm halfway through the year though and very pleased to say that I'm 25% there with the distance. Tonight's 3.73miles puts me at 157.9 (typical)miles, which is 252.6km.  And yes, all the .2s and .9s matter as they all add up!

So far I've done 2 races- a 10k and a half marathon.  Here's 2 of the official photos from the half. I love the one of Ryan and the acorn. If you look on Acorn's facebook page you'll spot him in some of their advertising, and he even made the paper (with Mark and Lucas too!!).

Today I started a 16wk training plan for my next half marathon. It'll get me out 4-5 times a week which will make those miles add up quickly. :) I'm going to be brave and join the local running group too now that it's a bit easier to fit in on a Wednesday.


Still to come in the next 6 months:

-the next 750k!! That's 124k (77 miles) a month and my favourite time of year to run is pretty much here.

-lots of races!
Evesham 10k and Race for Life Pretty Muddy 5k in July
Worcester City 10k in September
Great Birmingham half marathon in October
any others I like the look of ;)

-2 month long 'challenges'
August will be 'parkrun month' where I'll do all 5 parkrun races - that's 9am on a Saturday!! Even when on holiday
November will be a runstreak - I'll run every day for the whole month. Hopefully get a race in too.

-a virtual 5k for you to join in and get yourself a medal!! (coming very soon!!)


Thank you all for the support as always, and if you are local and see me out on the roads, give a wave! :)
Emily x

Half Marathon - done!! :)

It was HOT!!! and it was hard work, but I did it - I got round. :) My Garmin said 2:40, my official chip time came through as 2:43 though, as I forgot my Garmin was on auto-pause and stops timing when I stop running. So I had 3 minutes at drinks stations ;)  They were worth it!! :) And now I have a time to aim for when I run the Great Birmingham half in October. Training for that starts in a week, this week is recovery and boy do I need it! I was lucky enough to have a day at the spa with a friend today, but you'll be proud of me that I not only took my running gear but actually used it - only 2 miles, but my knees took a beating yesterday with all of the road running, so I needed to go easy.

The children ran the 1k fun run with Mark yesterday and loved it. They took their medals to school today to share, and Ryan's been wearing his since he came home too. :)
Here's a few pics:

Next race is Evesham 10k in 3wks time, followed the week after by a mud run - I'm doing the 5k Pretty Muddy with some friends - it's a Cancer Research UK event and we have a joint fundraising page -https://www.justgiving.com/crazy-quartet-racers/  if you want to donate. I'll be counting the miles from this one but want any sponsorship that week to go to CRUK who do amazing things.  :)

Ryan was casted for a new splint on Thursday. His current one doesn't fit quite right and is giving him blisters and making him walk badly. We get his new one in 2wks and he is very excited because he's chosen Superman for the design - it'll have superman up the back where his current one has Bugs Bunny. He picked this after the day at Cadbury World with HemiChat where he saw one of the other boys with a superhero on theirs. :) Will post pics when he gets it.

Thank you so much for the donations this week and previous. I'm over 20% to the goal of £1000 pounds (and 23% done with the distance challenge!!) and I can't wait to see both numbers going up as the months go on. :)
Emily x

The countdown is on!!

This time next week I will be sat at home with a large glass of wine having just run my first ever half marathon.  It's getting real now!!! Training has been going well, I'm much more confident about the long runs and as long as I space out the days I run, my shins are coping ok. Hayfever has not been a great help this week, leaving me feeling very rotten, thankfully it's been time to rest my legs before the race so I'm not missing any training that I've needed to do and can cope with short and easy runs.

I've hit 200k this week too!! So I'm 20% done, quite pleased with that. :) 

Next Sunday is the Acorns Triple Run, which means there's 3 races all starting at once, the Malvern half marathon which I'm doing, a 5k fun run, and a 1k fun run.  Mark, Natalie, Ryan and Lucas will be running the 1k fun run at the same time as I start my half marathon. This month, HemiChat is doing a charity-wide fundraising challenge similar to mine called 1000 Miles of Smiles. Children and their siblings have all pledged a distance that they will do this month to make up 1000 miles. It can be walked, wheeled, scooted, swam, biked.....  Natalie, Ryan and Lucas have each pledged 5 miles. This 1k will be the first bit, then in 2wks we're off to the Forest of Dean for some scooter and bike fun, and we'll do a family run to finish off the rest. They're very excited to do a proper race (they'll get a medal) just like Mummy, and would love it if you'd sponsor them. You can just donate to my JustGiving page and note that it's for the kids, and I'll make sure it's included in the 1000 Miles total. They'll all be wearing HemiChat tshirts and will be there to cheer (carry) me over the line a few hours later....

Last weekend we had a day out with 16 other HemiChat families at Cadbury World.  It was fantastic to see familiar faces, and meet new people too. The chocolate we came home with was a bonus! Great for after a run ;)  We had lunch in the indoor picnic tent as it had been raining, and after the mass group of girl guides left, Ryan had a great time with other children running around/over/under the empty benches. He's already asking when the next meet will be. :) This was us (apart from me!!) catching the falling chocolate balls.

I'll update the blog a bit more this week in the lead up to the race. Will keep me from getting nervous!! :)
Bye for now, and as always, thanks so much for your support x x
Emily

100miles!! my first parkrun, and Natalie's first 5k

Sooo.... since that 10k race a few weeks ago I've been getting stuck in with the training, getting out 3-4 times a week, and managing 8 mile then 10 mile long runs in preparation for the Malvern half marathon (3wks tomorrow- eek!!). My shins aren't loving me for it.... but some new shoes have helped and I'm loving getting out and running regularly again.

Yesterday morning I spotted my ticker stood at 99 miles. I wasn't due to run yesterday, but I couldn't leave it like that.... so after we got back from Mark's birthday dinner and the kids were in bed I headed out for a 1 mile run. Up until this week I'd been using an app on my phone to track my distance, but the GPS was never very accurate so I'd have to come home and re-route my run on the computer which took ages. Since I'm doing a distance challenge this isn't a good thing, so I sold a few old baby bits and got myself a new toy. Trying it out for the second time, I headed out with the intention of running half a mile down the road, then turning around and coming straight back. A nice glass of wine and some Pizza Express tiramisu was waiting for me, so I made it a quick one :)

1 mile on the dot and I'm at 100 miles!! For those of you who think in kilometers, that's 169, so still a long way to go, but I've done a lot this month and will keep the miles coming in!!! I enjoyed that wine and pudding to celebrate :)


This morning we didn't have our usual football and ballet so I decided to try out the local parkrun. For those who don't know what that is, look it up! A free, timed 5k every Saturday morning at 9am in parks around the world. I've been wanting to go for ages!! Natalie, who is 6, decided she wanted to run too, so off we went. It was so much fun and she did brilliantly, running the first half completely then only walking a little bit for the last half. We finished in 41minutes. It was muddy, and she was tired in this pic (and I look awful!!) but here we are :)

I wore my fundraising top, and while we were waiting in the queue for coffee afterwards a lady asked me what Hemiplegia was. I told her, and explained that Ryan (who was with me) had it and expained about HemiChat and all the great things it does. About 20min later she came and found me, and gave me £20 for the charity pot. Was the loveliest thing, and really made my day. I doubt she'll ever see this or I'll see her again, but a huge heartfelt thank you to that wonderful lady and what she did today. It also took the total raised so far to £100!! :)

I'm planning something to help raise funds that you can all join in with, so watch this space in the next week or so while I get things organised!! :)   x x

Race report and 10% of my goal complete!

I survived the race -yay! :) I had my doubts because of the training (or lack of) but made a point of going slower than I felt I needed to for the first lap and planned to go from there for the second. I'm glad I did, as there was a long gradual incline for most of the first lap so on the second one I kept it steady for that and when I hit the downhill then I knew I was going to make it.

I loved the race atmosphere. Encouraging stewards, lovely runners to chat with to keep me going for parts of the race, and that fantastic feeling when you cross the line and know you are done!! My time was 1:11:40, which isn't brilliant but is much better than I thought it was going to be and it gives me room for improvement. Here's a photo of me with my medal after the finish.

Since I was running with a friend, there wasn't anyone there to get action shots (what a shame...) but will try for those in my half next month.

In other news, with my recovery run on Monday (ouch!) I hit 62 miles, which is 100k and 10% of my goal distance.  900k to go!! :)  I've made a training plan for the next 6 weeks to get me ready for the Malvern half marathon, and counting up the miles (estimating a bit for tempo/interval days) I'll be adding over 100 more miles to that total by the end of June.

Tonight's run was a bit of interval work. I'm trying to get some quality training in but still recovering a bit from Saturday's race so it was a shorter one at 2.31 miles, but it was a bit faster and with more hills than normal.

Ryan has his 6 monthly paediatrican appointment tomorrow morning, this should be fairly straightforward but and we have a great consultant but Ryan said to me tonight "mummy, why do I have to keep seeing him?" which was too complicated to explain at bedtime!

Thanks to those who have sponsored me so far, can't wait until the end of the year to pass the money on to HemiChat.  Last night I've booked us in for a meet up in June at Cadbury World. Ryan's excited to see some of his friends again, and this wouldn't be possible without the funding that goes into HemiChat.

More soon!
Emily x 

First race tomorrow!!

Not had a lot of sleep this week due to a poorly little one but will get an early night tonight ready for my 10k in the morning. Please pray for sunshine! And pop over and sponsor me on my year long challenge if you haven't already. :) 

Ryan won't be coming to watch this one, it's a long way and he's had a rough week thanks to a piece of cake that turned out to NOT be gluten free as we thought.... but he's excited to see my medal when I get home. :)

I need to fix my counter above as it's cheating me out of 4 miles that I have done, but it'll start jumping up rapidly now while I get in the longer runs ready for my half at the end of next month. Eeek!

3 Weeks!!!

until my first race!! It's the 10k and I'm getting ready. I've had a long break from training due to my hip playing up, but I've made it out once or twice a week for the last few weeks and don't have much further to push the distance to be where I need to be for the race. I'll run quite a bit in the next three weeks to be ready, if every day is like today then that will be easy- I had a beautiful run through the fields this afternoon. So nice to see the sun. I'll admit I stopped twice to chat to friends/play with 2 lovely dogs.... but only for a bit! ;)

Ryan's glad to be on Easter break. He really struggled into that last week, and for much of this week even (partly due to a gluten incident :(  ) but is getting his energy back and starting to enjoy the extra time outside in the garden. He's very keen on riding his bike after seeing a friend on his the other day. We're a long way from no stabilisers but he's getting better at pedalling on an incline. We've had a new splint, but he'd asked for the little bugs bunny repeating pattern and they made it with one big bugs up the back, so he's not so thrilled about wearing it. Little trouble with a blister too, so we're going slowly with it.

I've agreed to 2 more races this year, which should be fun- one of them a mud run - eek!!!!  I'll try to be better about posting... but I am running!! :)

Ryan's first cast- how HemiChat has helped make it a positive experience

Running update:
Please don't panic if you've donated and spot that I'm not on track yet to hit 1000k by the end of the year. As I'd said before, the bulk of my miles will come in the spring/summer! :) Last week it was a poorly Lucas and a very sore neck/shoulder from having said poorly boy sleeping next to me that has kept me off the road. Hoping to get out Wednesday if the pain is gone. I'm enjoying my runs when I get to do them, looking forward to lighter evenings which will get me out much more often.


So today Ryan had his first go at serial casting. Now technically it's not going to be 'serial' this time, as he'll only have the cast on for a week to get used to the idea of it for when he has it again down the line. Typically, the cast is swapped for a new one each week over a period of 3-4 weeks, sometimes more. Each time they stretch a little bit further when a new cast is put on. But for Ryan, it's just a week. Here's a good link that explains more about serial casting if you're interested: http://www.sjbhealth.org/body_childrens.cfm?id=1012

To give you an idea of HemiChat in action and how important they are to the people they support, here's how they've helped us as a family understand and be prepared for today and the week ahead.

*posts on our Facebook group about serial casting come up often. Both photos and updates from those who are currently in casts, and questions from those about to go through it. This summer when Lucas broke his leg, I knew just where to go to ask about waterproof covers for his cast. I had instant answers! And was prepared for this week with both a waterproof sock for outdoors, and a cover for in the bath.

When I posted about Ryan being casted this week, I had answers to my questions and lovely offers of said waterproof items if they were needed. I know if there are questions this week, I have somewhere to turn if those questions aren't necessarily ones that need answered by his physio. I felt so much more prepared going in today than I would have done if I didn't have HemiChat.

*Ryan was able to see another child in casts at a recent meet up. We were able to show him what they were like and talk to him about how he'd be able to walk/run, etc. just like he usually does. He was more prepared for today knowing what he was getting done. It did help having had a brother in a cast this summer too, though I don't want to do that again EVER.

*We had Henry HemiBear with us. Henry and his sister Hope travel round to the hemi children and stay for a few weeks to visit and be there for special events or appointments. They each have a bear-sized splint, cast, wheelchair, crutches and arm brace if needed. Ryan had Henry last year for a few weeks and was so excited to have him come and stay again. He was able to take him into school today, and when Ryan got his cast on, Henry got one on too. :) Volunteers from the charity oversee the bears and organise who they go to and when- I'm lucky to be looking after Henry for a bit and can't wait to make other children happy when we send him on. :)

Here's Ryan and Henry last week, and today with their new casts.

Your support means so much to us, thanks for reading and more soon!!
x

What it's all about

Well, my weekend runs didn't happen due to various children activities.... but all at school/nursery tomorrow and for the rest of the week so will actually have time!! Hoping for sunshine this time too.

For this post, I've copied 'my story' from my Just Giving page. Not that I don't want you to have a nosey over there ;) but so that the why I'm doing this stuff is on here too. :) And I can add a few pics of Ryan!

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Hemiplegia is a form of cerebral palsy that is said to affect 1 in 1000 children. It affects one side of the body, and can be caused by many things. In our case, a stroke around the time of birth, caused by a blood clot detatching from the placenta and travelling to his brain is what we've been told the most likely cause is.
3 years ago I'd not heard of hemiplegia. Or even thought that babies could have strokes. We had  3yr old Natalie, Ryan had just turned 2, and Lucas was still a bump due in 6wks. Then we were sat down and told to see our doctor, and shown how Ryan holds his arm bent up by his side. 2yrs, and we'd never noticed. 2 minutes of watching him after it was pointed out, and it was so obvious. Our world was turned upside down.

8 months of doctors, physio, orthotics, lots of worry and questions (and a newborn!!) followed before Ryan had an MRI which confirmed that there was damage in his left brain, causing right hemiplegia. It was devestating to know for sure, but at least we could move forward in working out how best to help him with life ahead.
Problem was, while there were good informative resources about hemiplegia, living with it, having a child with it, support for schools, etc...... there weren't really other parents to talk to who understood what we were going through or could answer the questions that we had. At that stage, we also had the blow that Ryan had coeliac disease, and then followed months of more doctors, dietitians, adapting to going gluten free.... thankfully there were several good online support groups, I learned a lot quickly and had help when it was needed. (but that is another story for another fundraising challenge! :) )

Once things finally settled a bit, I was fortunate to find Hemi Chat. I'd seen it before, but was nervous about taking that step to contact them and join- I am so glad that I did. Hemi Chat provides a private, secure, and supportive group for parents of children with hemiplegia. Suddenly there were answers to my questions about what socks are good for under a splint, or what games are good for using 2 hands. Especially the all important- how on earth are we going to find shoes to fit over that thing, and do we we really have to buy 2 different sizes?!!?! And there were other parents who understood what it was like to have a physically shattered but mentally stimulated child, when many others just didn't get it. People I could talk to who got that a trip to the park in the morning meant staying in for the afternoon just so we didn't overdo it and struggle the next day, people who didn't look at him and say 'we'll he looks fine to me, there's nothing wrong with him', and people who I could talk to about the big scary unknown that was 'school'.

Through Hemi Chat we were introduced to CP (cerebral palsy) specific football, which Ryan adores. He's made a particular little friend, who even though we only see him a few times a year, they have such fun together. :) We've had a family day to Thomas Land, where we got to spend the day with other families like us, meet new friends and have fun on all the rides. All funded by Hemi Chat. We've been to the Thinktank with some hemi families, where we were met by our lovely patron, Paralympic legend Sascha Kindred. He's Ryan's hero, so getting to spend the day with him was amazing.

I'm raising money for Hemi Chat so these types of meets can continue to happen. Members all over the country get together for all sorts of things, and everyone always has a great time. The children get to spend time together, the adults get to have a laugh while watching our children make new friendships. When we then go online and talk, it makes things more real when you're 'speaking' to someone you've actually met. As Ryan grows, the friendships he's starting now will be important to him. He'll grow up knowing he's not the only one who wears splints, or gets tired quickly, or falls a lot, or needs a wheelchair when we go on longer walks/on the school run sometimes..... he can grumble about having to do phsyio at home and school, having to wear casts sometimes and leg braces every day (to stretch muscles), and how we're always reminding  him to use his right hand!!

Ryan will always have hemiplegia. It doesn't go away. It doesn't get 'worse', but things will change as he grows and possibly affect him more during growth spurts, or when he's ill. In the nearly 3yrs since it was first picked up it's more obvious to us than it was and his muscles are tighter than they were. But he's still our gorgeous, clever, cheeky monkey that loves life, fire engines, swimming, and tormenting his little brother and we love him loads. :) There will be a lot of questions over the years as he grows and changes from both us and Ryan, so please help us continue to have the support we have now by helping me raise funds for Hemi Chat! Click the video to hear our amazing song and see some of the children you'll be helping!

I'll be running 1000k this year- this will include both races and training. I'll update you when I can about races I'm doing and how I'm getting on with the distance goal. Those who know me will realise that I love running, but fitting in approx. 11 miles a week with my 3 children (did we mention that Ryan doesn't sleep so well?!?!!) will be a challenge!!! But one that I'm proud to take part in. :)

The 'grand plan'

Well, I'm 2 runs in and both have been rather soggy so far..... but otherwise things are going well and I've run over 10k so far!

You might have noticed that my counter at the top is showing in miles rather than kilometers. There's two reasons for this- the first is that I can't find a widget that tracks in kilometers yet, but I am looking!! The second is that despite living in the UK for over 13 years, I'm still American- more importantly, my brain still thinks American.... and I learned to work in miles. All the years I used to run, I worked in miles.  Runkeeper tracks my workouts in miles... you see where I'm going with this!

So why the 1000k challenge then? Quite honestly- 1000 miles scared the crap out of me!! 1000k is just over 621 miles, and sounded much more realistic, and I do live in the UK...... I will say though that if I get to 6 months in and am doing ok, then I might just push for the 1000 miles after all, but we'll stick with kilometers for now!!

This means that for the British-minded readers, you'll have to do a little converting, but I've helpfully added a conversion widget to the bottom of the blog to help you!! I'll try and update my blog posts with both miles and kilometers, but please forgive me if I talk mostly in miles. :)


Having established that..... my plan for meeting my target is to run 3-4 times a week as much as I can. To keep me motivated, I'm entering races that I'm interested in and training for those. If you look down on the right, you'll see the ones I'm entered in so far. The Malvern half will be a big challenge for me, as I've not raced that far before, but my training will get some long distances in that will help move me towards the 1000k goal.

Right now I'm training for the Golden Gallop 10k in Feb. I'll admit that the 16wk training program (courtesy of Runkeeper!) I 'started' 2 months ago has been rather neglected due to a sore hip.... so I'm skipping through the workouts a bit for the next 6wks and hoping to get up to the distances I need before the big race.

I'll try and post at least once a week with how I'm getting on and I'll update my miles counter each time I run. My next post will be about fundraising ideas I'm thinking of -such as a big raffle when I get halfway to my target! You can help for now by sharing my JustGiving page (link on the right) and this blog with friends and family to help me gain support, and by subscribing to the blog so you don't miss any updates.

I've never had a blog before so this is all new territory, but am so excited to take on this challenge to raise funds for the fantastic Hemi Chat. :)

Bye for now!
Emily x