Wibble!

What's that you say Susie?

WIBBLE! that's all, 'cos the Press Release about my latest Challenge for ARUK has gone out now which means it's all too real.

Please note, no pencils or underpants were harmed in the creation of this photo

Go on then, what's it all about?

My last challenge for Alzheimer's Research UK saw me complete 52 marathons in 52 weeks and I joined the 100 marathon club ahead of my 60th birthday. Having done that I could hardly expect people to make donations if I said I was going to run a few marathons this year could I! As I'm still 60 it needed to be something special.

So now it's getting really serious and will take me right out of my comfort zone. This weekend I'm going for a very long run; 100 miles to be exact. The event starts at 8am on Saturday morning and finishes sometime on Sunday with an absolute cut-off time of 32 hours. You can read more about it here on Traviss and Rachel's website. This is the same route I ran a few weeks ago in the dark when it was very muddy. As we've had snow, ice and rain since then I suspect conditions underfoot may be even more challenging.

Although I've completed 24 ultra marathons (a race over the standard 26.2 miles but usually considered to be anything over 27 miles) the furthest I have completed in one go is 54 miles.

The scariest part for me is running through the night in the dark, on rough trail with lots of mud and tree roots so it will be amazing if I don't faceplant. Add to that the thought of putting one foot in front of the other whilst experiencing severe sleep deprivation for such a long time............well, that's very scary indeed.

But then that's the whole part of a 'challenge' isn't it!

If anyone can spare some money for a donation it would be much appreciated as I think everyone I know has already sponsored me many times and are most likely fed up of me asking. My page for donations is here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/extremeknittingredhead

In the coming days I'll be making lists, checking them, double checking them, assembling my kit (you have no idea how much stuff you need to take - multiple outfits in case it rains/is cold, several pairs of shoes,  medicines/toiletries, Garmins/chargers, headtorch/handtorch & batteries, food, drinks etc etc etc). Then there's the preparation at home for going away ie baking and food preparation both for me and for Mike.

I have to travel up the day before and stay overnight in a hotel and I won't be back until Monday as I won't be in a fit state to drive when I finish so I'm going to be missing Mike too.

GULP!

Being in 'wibble' mode has resulted in a bout of Spring cleaning and sorting which is never a bad thing as it's amazing the amount of clutter we amass each year (please note, this does not include yarn stash!). 

I started in the kitchen and Tilly helped enormously:

I always enjoy clearing out the cupboards, washing them down and then looking carefully at the stuff going back in to see if we actually use it or will ever use it again. There is already a large box full of decent stuff ready for a charity shop. We like to vary the shops we choose as there are so many good causes in need of help.

In other news my Carbeth cardigan is going well with the body and 1.5 sleeves now complete.

This nothing like the true colour, it's more like aubergine in reality!

As snow had been forecast I dug out my favourite country boots only to find disaster had struck:

I've had these boots for about 14 years and have worn them for all sorts of occasions, including riding, and the leather uppers are absolutely perfect so I contacted dubarry to see if they could repair them. Apparently the degradation of the rubber is a natural process and whilst they didn't do repairs themselves they recommended a firm that does, Busy Bee Newmarket  Phew!

So I emailed them photos of the problem and they said they could replace the soles and sent me this link to see what they do. It cost £95 plus postage but my goodness it was worth it as they've come back looking brand new. If they last another 14 years I'll be very pleased indeed.

Of course I can't leave without mentioning the snow. Ironically, we had very little here yet a few miles away roads were blocked, trains cancelled, there were horrendous accidents on the motorways and the whole country was in the grip of a white-out.

On day 1 it snowed for about an hour leaving just enough snow to make everywhere look pretty and then the sun came out and melted it away!

The ornaments beside the garage looked as if they were wearing snow caps!

The next day we had some more and when I went out in the morning I spent ages looking at the animal tracks which were rabbits, foxes and a badger.

We went for a walk across the land to check on the sheep and just enjoy the day which was nice and bright (but jolly cold).

The ice was only about 1" thick on the pond nearest the house

The larger pond looked really pretty with the Reedmace covered in snow

The twisted stems of a Corkscrew Willow

At dusk we went out again and it was quite magical:

Sheep art. The strange shapes are where they've been lying down!

This old oak looked as if it's base had been sprinkled with icing sugar

The next day the temperature dropped to -10c and everywhere was treacherous. The ice on the water bucket for the sheep was 4" thick and I've never seen it that thick before. I had to get Mike to bash it out for me as I couldn't break it. But we got off lightly as many parts of the country were completely cut off because the roads were blocked by snow and now there are reports of burst water mains to add to the misery.

Now the only trouble is that the snow has all melted which means the ground will be absolutely sodden on the running route at the weekend so I'll undoubtedly have to walk a lot of the muddiest sections. Oh Wibble!

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