Weigh In

After a week of at least making a start to my training, be it a little restricted due to a shoulder injury I am pleased to report that as of 12.30 yesterday my first week back on the better eating and exercise regime has seen me drop 2 lbs.

Current Weight - 16st 14lb

Funny Old Week

So my first week back at work has also seen a bit of a sudden stop in my training already. Not because I haven't had the time but because last Sunday evening I stupidly injured my shoulder playing on the Wii. After a couple of hours of what seemed like innocuous fun playing basketball and sword fighting I awoke on Monday morning to a killer sore shoulder and the result was an inability really do anything.

Thankfully though that has cleared up and it seems somewhat fortuitously as my turbo trainer also arrived yesterday. I can now get on and exercise and train without the worry of the weather stopping me from getting on the bike. Once I get it set up later today you can expect some photos in the very near future.

As already mentioned on twitter this morning the fundraising total has reached £45. While this has been a good start in the first month I realise I’ll have to nag and promote a little bit more to try and increase that figure, so if anyone would like to give, even if it’s only a £1 it would be much appreciated and you can do so here - Donations Page

I’ve also been talking with @getwokingham through twitter and they have mentioned a possibility of doing an article on my London to Windsor ride for the local paper. So I’ll be sure to keep you updated with any further developments on that front as they happen.

Finally I'd like to say thank you to the following Twitter users for the Retweets of my fundraising page. All of your help is much appreciated:

@BillyGottaJob
@TeamSky
@TweeetStreet
@thebhf
@giraffetweet
@LondonIrishNews
@getwokingham

Also a big thanks to those who have retweeted the link once it had been retweeted by the above. All of your help is much appreciated and hopefully come the 5th September I will have at least hit my target of £400.

Facebook

In addition to the constant annoyance on Twitter and the updates on here, the link and support group for my London to Windsor and Beyond effort has now expanded to facebook as well, where there is now a group set up to run in tandem with my twitter, this blog and also the just giving page. If anyone would like to join the group and spread the word on Facebook as well then please feel free to do so by following this link. Facebook page

I've also received a very good idea from Debbie in terms of trying to spread the word a bit more and that is by trying to get a few celebs and news groups on board to try and retweet the message and get it out into the public domain a little further. Obviously any help with fundraising is appreciated and so far there have been 3 retweets out of about 10 so that's not a bad start.

Finally I'd like to thank Lisa Stibbons for her donation via the Facebook group which now takes the grand total up to £45 and means that there is now 12% of the Fundraising total in the bank. Obviously though this is still way short of the overall goal and any help, even if it's just a pound will be a great help.

New Target Announced

Given that next year my fundraising target has to be a minimum of £1300 I thought it best to increase my target for the British Heart Foundation from £200 and double it up to £400. That's not to say that this will be my final target but for now it feels like more of a challenge, especially with only £40 in the bag already. If anyone would like to add to that Sponsorship then you can do so here Donations Page

Many Thanks

Andy

Shocking Discovery

Right so now that the snow has gone and I can get back out on my Bike I decided, by way of using the Wii Fit, that it was time to have my training weigh in. Now before Christmas I was sitting at just over the 16 stone mark and thought I might have increased a little but wasn't expecting anything drastic in terms of weight gain.

On went the Wii and fired up through to the weigh in section and to my shock and horror I stepped on and off the board to find that I've gained almost a stone since the start of December. That means at the start of my training my official weight is 17 stone 1 pound. To say I was shocked by this is an understatement. I don't really feel like I'd over indulged too much over the last few months but it would seem this constant state of unemployment has really taken its toll.

Of course while initially it was a shock it has also come as a bit of a jolt and the encouragement and enthusiasm is once again back to start getting that weight off.

A big help is going to be my return to work on Monday, even though it is for an initial 2 weeks it will get me out of the house and stop the bored snacking between meals.

From now on there will be a weekly weight update just to let you all know what is going on and what training I have managed to fit into the previous week.

One last plea is to ask you all to spread the word to anyone you can. I need to start pushing the fundraising element of this challenge and anything you or anyone you can point in this direction can donate will be of great help and will be very gratefully received.

Current Weight - 17st 1lb

Snow Big Deal

Finally after a day of heavy rain yesterday the snow has finally gone and the roads have returned to normal. It's a big relief as it means I can finally get out on my bike and start doing a bit of training and more importantly start to get into shape to ride further and further every time.

So my big weigh in will take place over the course of the next week so be sure to look out for the results of that. Also got a bit of maintenance to carry out on my bike after 4 months of neglect whilst I've struggled for motivation. Of course there are still some pieces of kit I need to pick up but none of it is essential and a start on the training regime can begin.

I'm still looking for suggestions of a decent fundraising target, plus any donations that anyone could make would be fantastic. I would also appreciate if everyone could spread the word on what I'm planning to do over the next few years as it's not just about this yearsBritish Heart Foundation Ride but also about the bigger picture and I'd like to make a reasonable contribution to the British Heart Foundation before moving on to support the @GeoffThomasFoun with further rides over the next few years.

If you could spread the word it would be appreciated and should you with to make a donation to my London to Windsor ride for the British Heart Foundation then you can do so here - Donations Page

Cabin Fever

With all the snow still lying around it is fair to say that any notion of training has been put well and truly on the back burner. I have been doing little bits on the Wii Fit but the opportunity to actually get out there and start riding the bike are being somewhat delayed.

On the plus side I have managed to pick myself up a pair of Cannondale cycling gloves for just £10 on eBay and the longer the start of training is delayed the more chance I have of having them when I start.

While the bad weather is allegedly set to continue for at least another 9 days I am hoping to be out on the bike next week and at least get a couple of hours under my belt, its times like these I wish I had a Turbo Trainer. Instead I have been formulating a plan to start my training and have decided that when training starts proper, hopefully on Monday, I will provide picture and a weight of the before on the blog so it can be gauged against the after come time of the ride and the progress in between.

In the mean time after my previous blog update I'm still looking for suggestions on a fundraising target, ways and means of getting there and how I can increase the readership of this blog and my following on twitter. Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

Also if anyone would like to donate you can do so here - Donations Page