Extreme Knitting Redhead: My penultimate 20 miler before Abingdon

Sunday, September 20, 2009

My penultimate 20 miler before Abingdon

Hoorah, hoorah, this morning I ran my penultimate 20 mile training run before I start to taper (ie cut down my weekly mileage) for the Abingdon marathon. Although the marathon is a road race and mostly flat, almost all my training routes are hilly so I reckon doing a 20 miler of hills should stand me in good stead to produce a faster time on a flat route (fingers crossed anyway).

Was the weather kind to me? Was it heck!

I left home at first light around 6:30am and it was misty but fine. That lasted for all of 20 minutes and then the heavens opened. Not just a few spots of rain but the sort of stuff that bounces off the road and sploshes all over you. Within minutes I was soaked so at least I couldn't get any wetter! When that happens there really is no point feeling sorry for yourself or complaining so I just stuck my head down and got on with it, pounding out the miles.

3 hours and 40 minutes later I arrived home, soaked but happy as that meant I had managed perfect 11 minute miling on a jolly hilly route. It has given me a massive confidence boost and I will see if I can match it next week on my final 20 miler.

I celebrated by stuffing my face with croissants spread with the lovely pear and damson jam I made a few days ago. Heaven!

2 comments:

roger54 said...: Hello Susie

My name is Roger McDonald. Like you I'm still a runner, though not marathons any more.

I love reading your blog with the marvellous work you do through knitting for the Alzheimers Research Trust.

We too are a knitting charity, called knit-a-square.com. Please check our credentials on our website at www.knit-a-square.com.

Our aim is to bring some warmth and comfort to 1.4 million AIDS orphans and abandoned children in South Africa. Their number swells by an average of 500 a DAY. These children are the poorest of the poor.

We do this by asking the world's knitters and crocheters to stitch 8"/20cm squares and send them to South Africa. There they are sewn into blankets by our volunteers and distributed to orphans and abandoned children in the slums and squatter camps of Soweto.

We have nearly 3,000 knitters and crocheters from 33 countries. In seven months they have sent more than 30,000 squares and thousands of knitted garments to South Africa. The numbers – members, volunteers, squares, clothing – and, sadly, orphans – grow every day.

We have an idea to dramatically expand the depth, breadth and reach of the message. We would love to involve you, to both benefit your amazing work for ART, and the AIDS orphans.

On top of that, I am a published author. I have written a piece based on your running and knitting feats which is earmarked for a book to be published in October. I seek your approval of the content and permission to publish it as motivation to both our causes.

I am very mindful of your privacy and I hope you don't find this intrusive. It would be inappropriate at this stage to reveal the idea on your blog, although I can assure you it is very simple.

Is there any chance of us exchanging emails so that I can explain it to you in person in short but comprehensive detail?

Whatever your response, and I fully respect your right to be cautious, I congratulate you on the selfless work you are doing for such deeply sad but mighty cause.

Keep up the fantastic work.

Kindest regards

Yours in running and knitting

Roger G McDonald
roger@knit-a-square.com; September 23, 2009 at 10:09:00 PM PDT
Susie Hewer said...: Hi Roger,

Thank you very much for your kind comments and I am always happy to help with fund-raising ideas if I am able. I have emailed you and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Susie; September 24, 2009 at 11:37:00 AM PDT

Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.