Forrest Gump and Barbara Windsor?

So the Oldacre girls have finally hit the 5 mile milestone!  Well, to be fair, I ran 0.1 mile short and Emma ran 0.1 over, but that's close enough.  I went out last week in a very shortlived moment of decent weather.  Accompanied by Nick's Ipod and a very eclectic selection of tunes, I ran through Anna Valley, Upper Clatford and Abbotts Ann.  Thinking Nick's music choices would inspire and motivate me in an 'eye of the tiger' kind of way, I was somewhat surprised to be plodding along to 'Song Sung Blue' (Neil Diamond) and 'Day time friends and night time lovers' (Kenny Rogers) but as the Ipod was stuffed down the back of my trousers it was too much trouble to change the track. So I just kept on running, as Forrest Gump said, and before I knew it I had notched up nearly 5 miles.

Emma on other hand was not blessed with the good weather, and ran this morning in constant precipitation.  Emma's route took her through town and this time along the ring roads, and despite a slight navigational issue (!) she too managed to complete 5 miles, the farthest both of us have run since doing the Tidworth 10km (don't mention the hill...) back in 2008.  Unfortunately by the time Emma arrived home she looked like a Carry On character taking part in a wet t-shirt competition, but hey, she made it.

We've had our fair share of hecklers during our runs as well, and as I ran through the Asda car park one dark Friday evening (what was I thinking?!) one very polite hooded young male even shouted '"Run Forrest Run"!  I guess it could have been worse!

Hopefully our Team Tonia runners will be able to bring along some hecklers, I mean supporters, on Race Days, and with the help of our Team Tonia banner I think we should create quite a presence.  But we still need more runners, so please spread the word and try to encourage all your female family and friends to join us, either walking or running, to make our Team bigger and more able to exceed our sponsorship target.

Kate - 29th April 2012

How Many Restaurants??!!

We decided to run through Andover town centre tonight.
You know, good publicity and all that......!!!!
Well, seriously, how ridiculous. I'm huffing and puffing, wobbling and jiggling - now that's not good publicity no matter how you look at it. As we ran up through the bus station I felt I needed a t-shirt that pointed to Kate with a "this is how I will look at the end" (with a bit of luck and absolutely no food between now and then)!!!!!!!
To make matters worse we ran past one kebab shop, five restaurants and one chippy all smelling lush...
There are so many places to eat in Andover!!

We sped up at all the appropriate moments trying to look super fit (Kate) and less like Dawn French (me). We sucked it in past Asda, The Railway Tavern and past all of the eateries where people were sitting in the windows but yet it still seemed a long and painful run.

However, we ran 5km exactly, so not bad at 8 o'clock in the evening and after a night of no sleep!!

I may look like Kate yet....here's hoping!!!!!

Emma x

Article in Andover Midweek Advertiser 4th April 2012

Do I really want to go for a run?!

Having had a horrible cold all week I haven't ventured out for a run for a while (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).  I've managed to drag myself to Buggy Club and Zumba, but the thought of going out running in the current volatile weather conditions did not appeal; I'm currently looking out of the window watching hailstones as I type!

But whilst on the train on Thursday a headline in one of the papers caught my eye and reminded me why our challenge is so important.

Some clever scientist bods have just completed a recent study, funded by Cancer Research UK, and found that breast cancer should be thought of as 10 completely separate diseases.  These "landmark" findings could improve treatment by tailoring drugs for a patient's exact type of breast cancer and help predict survival more accurately.

Researchers compared breast cancer to a map of the world. They said tests currently used in hospitals were quite broad, splitting breast cancer up into the equivalent of continents. The latest findings give the breast cancer map far more detail, allowing you to find individual "countries". 

There are clear survival differences among the 10 categories, and this information could help better inform and prepare patients and their families.  But long term, and this is still some way off, the hope is that by identifying the 10 breast cancers it will be possible for researchers to design drugs for each one.

This research has reaffirmed the decision by the Department of Health to invest more than £750m to make sure people are diagnosed with cancer earlier and have better access to the latest treatments.  With our help, Cancer Research UK will continue to fund this groundbreaking work, and will change the lives of breast cancer patients, and patients with other forms of cancer, for the better. 

So having read this headline story, I suddenly feel prompted to dust off the running shoes once again, and continue to spread the 'Team Tonia' word.  The more money we raise, the more work Cancer Research UK can do, and the more lives they can save.  Simples.

Kate - 21st April 2012
(For the full story, see www.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17740690)

Boobs, babies and bloody running...

So, one of my babies is at pre-school and one is wrapped up in the buggy. Dad's dog is ready and Roy has his legs out and both are raring to go. Me? I'm grumpy, cold and have one boob weighing significantly more than the other; but heh, its time to go for another run....!!

This morning I made it very clear to Roy that he so much as whisper that I need to "step it up", or "stop looking at the floor", I would not be responsible for my actions. I'm pleased to say, that he was true to his word and didn't utter any irritating army motivational speak; he just plodded quietly pushing a very sleepy Barnaby!!

Now, it's fair to say I'm not built for running, unlike my big sister who appears to be taking to this training like a duck to water. (But heh, who would win in an arm wrestle? Me I reckon, and that's the main thing!!) She seems to bounce around the routes with a mere glow to her cheeks whilst my cheeks....thighs.....boobs and many other parts of my body aren't glowing but wobbling, chaffing and leaking.....(nice imagery I fear!!)

Anyway, we jogged, occasionally chatted and I managed to separate myself from the dog with a lamppost - but I succeeded in a 3.92 mile run in a relatively respectable time (although this is never to be disclosed!) and am still standing!!

My motivation? Mum of course; and I bet she would be hysterically laughing at the sight of this overweight, wobbly, sleep deprived lunatic barely lifting one foot in front of the other....but heh, it's for charity mate!!!


Emma
18/04/12

The first Team Tonia post!

This is the first of our Team Tonia posts, allowing us to share our experiences of training, running and most importantly, fundraising, for this cause so close to our hearts.

Two '30 something' ladies who came up with an interesting idea to raise money and awareness for cancer research......now wondering what we have got ourselves into. Whilst each race is just 5km, the commitment of doing ten of the darn things, training and arranging childcare for our darling little blighters makes the whole idea quite a challenge! Emma has already been out running with both boys in a double pushchair, while I have been attending Buggy Workout classes (thoroughly recommended by the way, see www.purefitness.me).

And running in itself is no mean feat whilst carrying two rather large milk-producing assets on your front, eh Em?  In spite of this extra resistance, Emma ran 3.66 miles yesterday morning, her furthest run so far.

The addition of our 'Team Tonia in training' t-shirts has spurred us on to do more training, so look out for us pounding the streets of Andover over the next few weeks!

Kate - 16th April 2012