God Bless You Your Majesty!!

Wednesday 18^th July         Saturday 21^th July             Monday 23^rd July

Distance: 375m                Distance: 6:06miles           Distance: 1.20miles
Time: 25 min                   Time:  1:23:4100min         Time:  14:37min
Avg Speed: 0:066mph       Avg Speed 4:34mph          Avg Speed: 4:93 kmph
Avg length: 1.66min         Avg Pace 13:49                 Avg Pace: 12.09 min/mile
Calories Burned: ?            Calories burned 1083        Calories Burned: 227
Swimming                        Run                                 Run

Wednesday 18^th July

Distance: 1:78miles                  
Time: 55:41 min                       
Avg Speed: 1:92mph        
Avg length: 31:16min       
Calories Burned: 290
Walk

Good morning world it’s a brand new day. As I write it is Monday and I have just been for a quick blast up the street and right down to Hyde Park corner and back along Victoria Road. Just a quickie as I have things to do today (painting the bathroom!) My commitment to up the ante is beginning to follow through. Since my last blog I followed up by going swimming on Wednesday, having not been for a few weeks it was ok… not as hard as I thought it would be. I am not a strong swimmer and I do the breaststroke with a ‘screw kick’ which I think means my legs are not symmetrical, I cannot do freestyle, or front crawl as I still call it, as I just end up going diagonally across the pool which tends to piss off the other swimmers.   So I leave my broken windmill style of freestyle in the changing room and plod on with my tried and tested breast stroke. Although not efficient at it I am not one of those old ladies who swims with a cranes neck never getting her hair wet I do get down under the water but cannot quite do the whole breathe–duck-emerge-breathe thing, nevertheless I am aware that I am a stronger swimmer now than I was years ago, which of course is all down to the regular practice that me and my Raison D’etre did 3 years ago. Yet I still go in the slow lane as that is my comfort zone and although stronger than previously I am still slow. All that said I managed to clock up 15 lengths which I was moderately chuffed with. I like going to the baths early mornings as you get there before anyone under the age of 40 has even got out of bed and I am in awe of the older ladies, one I know is 94, who are there 3 or 4 mornings a week at 7am swimming…. Freda you are a marvel! So that was Wednesday morning.

Later in the day, having seen a news report about the UK being the laziest nation in Europe, probably the world! I decided that we were having none of that! Now as you all know my Raison D’etre has difficulty walking and he does so very slowly, measuredly and with a stick, that said he, unlike other MD sufferers, can still walk and while he can I think he should! He at the moment is working longer and harder hours that he has ever done in his life and all so often comes home, eats and either works more or falls asleep in front of the TV. THAT IS NO LIFE! So my bossy hat went on and I declared that we were going to start going for a walk after dinner a couple of nights a week. So tonight we did just that we wandered up North Grange Road, down by The Ridge, along Wood Lane onto Alma Road and ended up enjoying a pint in Arcadia, which was a lovely way to spend the evening. We were home by 9pm and he was obviously refreshed as he the stayed awake till bedtime and didn’t doze off into one of those awful ‘sofa snoozes’ which I actually think are really bad for your natural sleep patterns. One down √ job done!

Thursday turned out to be a monumental day for me. Regular readers of my blog will know what a royalist I am and how much I love my Queen. Well on Thursday she came to Leeds on her Jubilee Tour. I’d known for weeks she was coming and had got the fine details from the Evening Post, so by 8am I was in place at the top of Briggate just opposite Swan Street. As she came out of The City Varieties she headed straight to where I was standing (tactically positioned next to a group of school children) She stopped right in front of me and stared at my T shirt, the one from our show earlier this year, and as she looked at me I lost the power of rational thought and all words vacated my brain, I have since thought of so many things I could have said, however to the total amusement of everyone who knows me the only words that came out were ‘God bless you your Majesty’ Not, contrary to my Raison D’etre and his Dick Van-Dyke/Mary Poppins interpretation of the phrase, said in a cheeky chappie cockney accent. The woman was awesome she had such a presence that all the people around where I was ended up in tears. I genuinely meant it though, may God truly bless her.

Along comes Saturday. Now all you Brits out there will know what a glorious summer we are having this year!!!!! (Laughs ironically!) To say it has rained a little is the biggest understatement since someone said the bankers are a bit untrustworthy! It has rained here in biblical proportions and even I, who loves summer rain, am well and truly sick of it. So when I woke up to sunshine I was inspired - on with the kit and off I went. I managed 6 miles out to Adel and back. I wanted to go further but I knew I had things to do so I came home. My legs and breathing are still not yet back at 100% after my cold but I am optimistic that with a lot of PMA and frequent opportunities to run I will be match fit by September. I was not quick today my best mile was a slow 11:13 but I did it and that is what counts.

Later that evening we went to a surprise dinner for my BGF’s 25^th wedding anniversary. Her daughter had arranged a dinner in Leeds where all the close family and friends turned up as a surprise to the couple who just thought they were going out with their children. This included her sister and nephews from Ireland who had said they could not get over for the weekend! So the picture on her face, once she had squinted and realised just who she was looking at was priceless. Sunday was spent with the same people at a pre-arranged BBQ. Consequently copious amounts of alcohol were consumed on Saturday and a little less on Sunday along with tottering about on 4inch heels this was not the best pre-run preparation so by the time Monday came I needed to run to start a body cleanse.

Monday morning I set off up the street at the same time as my raison D’etre for work I went right he went left …to open the Hall gates. He then passed me about 5 minutes later and tooted as he went off to the world of work. I am now on summer holiday and have no work till September and no money till October! However what I do have is 6 clear weeks in front of me to get myself ready for September 16^th. I am beginning to get excited now as all around me the nation is thinking sport. Bradley Wiggins just did awesome things in France on his bike, the world athletes are beginning to arrive for the Olympics, this week I am volunteering at the Chinese athlete’s camp, next week I will be at the Olympics as we have tickets J then it is full speed ahead with my running schedule. So watch this space for how it is all going.

As usual I remind you my dear reader of my reasons for writing. I write these missives to bring awareness to the cause of Muscular Dystrophy and if any of you good blog readers out there want to sponsor me in my endeavours you can follow my link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, its work, outreach, campaigns and research. Just log on to www.muscular-dystrophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already and to those of you who have not sponsored me yet …. WHY NOT???? Come on guys I –we-they need your support

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