December 26th 09

Good Morning Friends and I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Anyone who believes the ads on telly which tell you that all you need is a lemsip and you'll be able to fight back armies of bugs and difficult work colleagues and bing around with a spring in your step is sadly mistaken. All the lemsip did for me was to help me lie in bed without a generally sore body telling me I was lying on a bed of uncooked spuds!!
The cough I have had since Dec 11th seemed to get worse and a sneezy cheesy sleazy cold seemed to take over my eyes, nose and all other parts of me it could reach. I was in bed for most of Sunday all of Monday and most of Tuesday. Briefly got to work on Wednesday but didn't last long.
I seem to be on the mend now and got my appetite back just in time to manage Xmas dinner cooked by Elizabeth. Our relatives Elizabeth and Terry have been here since EB's 50th birthday on Friday and if it hadn't been for Elizabeth we proabably would have starved as neither of us have been well really. Thanks Elizabeth you're our Christmas Angel x
So, the best thing about being ill is feeling better, and today I finally woke up feeling really human again. I'm off for a walk to Lady Bay which I am excited about, and I may try the rower again later to at least try and attempt the concept 2 challenge for the month. This cough and cold is still hanging around so I know I need to watch it. The trouble is it feels like a different person who swam all that way in the summer, and now I really have built a mountain to climb.
I wake up in the night with a bit of a sweat on thinking that I've blown it and I'll never be able to do this challenge now!!! I feel like time is really running out. Come to think of it, maybe the sweat in the night is the other problem I have.....mmmm menopause and dodgy hormones which is the other thing...............
OK I'll spare you that one.

A cold dip!

I took the plunge on Sunday 7th December and threw myself in the sea for some acclimatisation training. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the dog walkers looked a bit astonished as they broke the ice on the puddles. I wore 2 hats and a wet suit with my skin suit underneath plus boots. I couldn't find my gloves though!

Suzanne, Greg, Josh and Sam looked on and took pix, so thanks to my support crew! We just managed this snap with the HSS at my shoulder before it disappeared. It was a short dip and I barely got wet really although I told the boys to say I'd been swimming for 20 minutes! Gosh I look gorgeous, this is such a glamorous sport. Meanwhile the training is going badly. I have been overnight in Dumfries with work last week and again this week and it eats into my routine. I know its an excuse but I do feel busy at the moment with everything. I also have a nasty chesty cough and I had a nose bleed yesterday which is very unlike me. I guess I need to watch it but I feel really unfit already as I hadn't been at all consistent leading up to this.

Met Harry today and he gave me a talking to. I need to register my Concept 2 challenge this month which is 5000 meters so I'm getting on the rower today to see if my breathing is ok with this cough.

I am so excited about the swim though and I know once Christmas is over I'll get back to it. The just giving button and other fundraising developments are just so inspiring. Cameron did a brilliant article this week in the Free Press. I'll try and find out how I can scan newspaper articles onto the blog so you can see them.

I was spotted this weekend dressed as the Snow Queen helping at the village lighting up ceremony with a couple of glasses of mulled wine. By the end of the night I was calling myself the So Squeen so I'll leave you to your own conclusion. I think its the stress of being the Chair of the Community Council as well....I'm about to stand down and let someone else organise village events because I must give up alcohol at some point so I don't see two Ailsa Craigs .........

I'll check in before Christmas, so take it easy friends and enjoy the festivities safely.

Fancy a dip on Christmas Day?

Santa Hats compulsory.

December 5th 08

I am feeling much better and I have some exciting news to share with you all. Suzanne and I have called a couple of committee meetings and we have renewed our confidence and enthusiasm for the fundraising aspect of our project. We are updating the website and we will be re launching this in the press for a wider audience. This Sunday I am hoping to take a chilly dip at Lady bay so we can get some photos for the press and for Alzheimer Scotland who want to do an article for their newsletter. I have also been contacted by The Solway Firth Partnership for an article in their magazine Tidelines.

We have also found some easy fundraising ideas. One is to register with the easyfundraising site (see shopping link) You just register as a user and the charity you sign up for is the Ailsa Craig Swim Challenge. Then when you shop, a donation is sent to us. Fab eh? We have also registered with a company who ask us to send them old mobile phone handsets and ink cartridges. We then send them to the recycling company free of charge and they send us a cheque....! Look out for bins at Sun St Offices and Dumfries Crichton Hall. If you're not local contact me and I'll tell you how to do it in your area. How easy is that? Much better than dragging round car boot sales I feel! I call it fundraising by sitting on your bum!

Meanwhile I am still doing the Concept 2 challenge Series and I stand at 38th out of 83 in my category which is the 40+ age group. I'm enjoying the challenge and the December challenge is 5000 metres. It does help my motivation. Check out the Concept 2 website to find out more.

Bye for now, and keep warm and happy