Hello and welcome to my 4th blog of the year! 2020 off to a strong start, on the blog-front at least. As the month comes to an end (at last, January goes on forever!), I want to tell you about the challenge I have taken on this year. I wanted to wait until the end of the month to talk about it online, just in case I realised it was beyond my capabilities...
This year, I have decided to take on the Virtual Runner fundraising challenge for Sarcoma UK - running, swimming and/or cycling 500k in 12 months! Put into context, that's just under 10km a week, so definitely feasible. However, it can be difficult to keep up regular exercise all year round, especially with random illnesses or unpredictable life events sure to provide me with excuses not to. January has gone well so far - I have run/cycled 46km this month so far, on top of getting back into some resistance/weight training, so I am pretty pleased with myself! But 500k feels a long long way away!
I just hope with a trip to Spain and potentially Scotland next month I can keep pace with the kilometres I have this month... Only time will tell.
Of course, I will be raising money for Sarcoma UK through this challenge, and to make it slightly harder for myself, and more worthy of your donations, I have decided to take on an additional challenge each month. After all, regular exercise should already be part of the normal routine! This may mean taking on a challenge that lasts the entire month, like dry Jan, or hosting a fundraiser on one day of the month, or something that only lasts a week. Whatever it is, I want to try and raise money in one new way each month, on top of trying to reach my 500k goal by the end of 2020!
This month, I have been partaking in 'Dry January' AKA not drinking alcohol.
I will admit now to my sins:
1. An accidental sip of an espresso martini and a mojito I made at work (you are technically meant to try your cocktails before serving them!!)
2. A non-accidental taste of white wine. Just a sip though! I wanted to try it!
3. A number of 0% beers. Whether you think that's cheating or not is up to you. I think it's okay - its alcohol content is 0, but to some people it means I haven't technically lived without alcohol.
Despite these slip-ups, I would say that I have done well, and resisted the temptation to drink on multiple occasions *pats self on back*. That being said, I am not a massive drinker anyway, so I must say I can't wait for the casual glass of wine or can of beer of an evening in February.
Speaking of February, the 4th is World Cancer day, so I'm going to release a blog a day for that week! A challenge for someone who sometimes struggles to write one blog a month... Let me know if there's anything in particular you want me to write about. I also have a couple of cool posts and work with charities like Trekstock coming out as part of World Cancer day which is very exciting.
My ideas for the rest of the months, so far, are (in no particular order):
- Eating a vegan diet for the month;
- Deleting an app a week - i.e. one week without Instagram (OH THE HORROR), one week without Twitter, one week without Facebook. Maybe a week with no social media at all? I'm not sure, this one will be tricky;
- A hike;
- Hosting a fundraiser, or two (probably during Sarcoma Awareness Month);
- Attempting a 10k run.
I desperately need more ideas for the other months, so let me know if any good fundraising ideas spring to mind, or if there's a challenge you think would be particularly tricky for me (maybe no sugar?!).
In the meantime, I will working on my blogs for February, and I hope you all enjoy the last few days of January, however much they drag on.
Thanks for reading, until next time,
M x
p.s. feel free to donate on my Just Giving page now! https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/m-cowey