Day 173 covers the last 3 days which has seen 2.2 miles run, a strength training session, 6 miles walked to morning and evening prayer. 100 balls struck. Two wonderful donations , some excellent advice, some great food cooked, and one of the best evenings for many a year because of a lock fixed and some paperwork explained , a cup of tea shared and two wonderfully smiley faces. But I have also been challenged. Really challenged.
Tuesday saw the further development of the new cognitive and motor coordination training routine. It started with morning prayer and organ practice in St Modoc’s church before putting on a wash and catching a couple of buses to get to the Brucefield’s Family Golf Centre to see another 50 balls struck on the driving range while trying very hard to obtain a consistently straight and true line out to 100 metres with a 7 Iron. I saw some improvement but had nowhere near achieved my first meter despite concentrating really hard on each and every swing. After a couple of holes on the short course and then on the putting green it was time to catch the bus into Stirling to catch the bus into Callander. I was going to the gym for some strength training. I had decided to rein it back a little as I was feeling physically and cognitively tired so I just started with 1 mile ridden on the bike for the warm up then 500 metres rowed with the current before setting up a little situp mat, weights bench, and 5kg dumbbells. Then I was straight into the circuit. 3 overarm pull ups first before 11 good quality press ups and 11 sit ups with the arms locked across the chest to force the stomach muscles to do the work and so the circuit continued with 11 repetitions of each exercise with the 5kg dumbbells:
|
Pull |
Pull-Ups |
|
Push |
Press-Ups |
|
Abs |
Cross arm Sit-Ups |
|
Pull |
Bent Over Row |
|
Push |
Dips |
|
Abs |
Half-Sits |
|
Pull |
Dumbbell Pullover |
|
Push |
Reverse Dips |
|
Abs |
Leg Raises |
|
Pull |
Reverse Fly |
|
Push |
Bench Press |
|
Abs |
Back Raises |
|
Pull |
Bicep Curls |
|
Push |
Shoulder Press |
|
Abs |
Crunches |
|
Pull |
Lateral Raise |
|
Push |
Standing Row |
|
Abs |
Bicycle Abs |
|
Pull |
Front Raises |
|
Push |
Chest Flies |
|
Abs |
Long Arm Crunch |
|
Pull |
Hammer Curls |
|
Push |
Tricep Kick Backs |
|
Abs |
PFT St-Ups |
Therefore on Tuesday I lifted and pushed 10kgs over 66 metres
OR
I have moved 1,320kgs over 0.5 metre.
33 press ups and equivalents
And 88 sit-ups and equivalents
Then back into Callander for a hug and a Mocha and a flapjack in the Deli Ecosse before jumping onto the bus home and munching on tuna mayonnaise sandwiches chased with a veggie pick and mix bag of carrots, tenderstem broccoli, exploding tomatoes, red grapes and brazil nuts. Carrots sound incredibly loud when trying to munch on them quietly behind other passengers on the bus and certainly I got some strange looks as I sat there with a piece of tenderstem hanging out of my mouth!
Then, with lunch eaten on the move and back at home I found myself with a spare hour for some organ practice. I sat at the keyboard and worked hard at the tune that had been challenging me for so long. Called ‘Invention’ by Flor Peters it is the next step forward in my organ playing development and the last tune that I have to learn before I start to incorporate the feet and the pedals into my learning. It felt that it was called invention because it was as if Flor Peters had invented an entirely new set of rules for organ playing. It felt as if the mind and body were just not meant to work in such ways. Nothing about the tune made any sense and I was really struggling with it.
The children were staying at home for tea and I checked with Margaret but she was self contained so I cooked Arnold Bennet Frittata for myself. A Jamie Oliver recipe it is packed full of good stuff and easy to make as it is basically an open omelette with poached smoked haddock served with a radish, rocket, spinach, watercress cheese and walnut salad.
Then back to church for evening prayer and some more organ practice. By bed time, as I hung up the washing on the clothes horse I was absolutely pooped so after some emails caught up I flopped into bed. Good quality healing sleep being another critical element of my drive to beat the beast.
Wednesday saw more morning prayer and organ practice before the quarterly meeting for the Unincorporated Charitable Association for the Beat the Beast Challenge. It was a swift meeting in which I clarified future intentions for the challenge and the development of ongoing projects in the pipeline before moving onto the most important business of the day. The allocation of funds to the charities. With £1399.09 raised this quarter £279 is going to each of the 5 charities as a result of funds so kindly donated by so many of you to the challenge. That is great news but it does make me want to ask the question. Thee are 730 people who like the Beat the Beast Challenge page, if each one of you was to donate a minimum of £1.00 a month that would equate to £2,190 raised a quarter which would see a wonderful £438 donated to each of the 5 charities. If you haven’t yet completed a standing order to sponsor me do please give me 10 minutes of your time and sponsor me, even if for just £1.00 a month because every pound truly does make a difference and as you know, every single penny donated goes directly to the 5 charities. Not a single penny is lost to costs. My golf is sponsored by the Brucefields Family Golf Centre, I have a bus pass due to my epilepsy so it costs me nothing to get there. The accountancy is done for free by Webb and Wallace accountants in the village, the banking is done for free by the Kingdom Bank and as I have formed the challenge as an unincorporated Charitable association every penny raised is free of tax. I am working extremely hard to beat the beast of a brain tumour so, if you are not already doing so, please sponsor me. The details needed for sponsorship are at the bottom of the post.
The rest of Wednesday saw some more work on the book, some more organ practice and evening prayer and baked crab with cheese made for tea before more emails were answered. But not many as I was exhausted and unable to stay awake at the computer so flopped into bed after doing some ironing in front of the news. Then after being completely unable to stay awake at the computer I appeared to be completely unable to stay asleep in my bed!
So today started rather poorly. It was a real cognitive challenge. My balance was all over the place as I fought to get my brain into gear. I had washed and shaved, brushed my teeth and swallowed my anti seizure pills but just moving around the flat and standing still enough to shave safely was proving a challenge. As the morning tried to wake so my brain seemed to try to go back to sleep. I was bouncing off the walls, banging into things and walking into doorframes and tables. I was really struggling and the obvious thing to do was to sit and wait but that wasn’t what I had to do. Right then was the time to get down to church and practice the organ while doing morning prayer. The walk would wake me up, the prayer focus the mind and the organ force the cognitive motor coordination to function better. Force the brain to find a way to function by training the healthy left side to do it. I set off after having loaded up the days prayers onto my mobile while leaning for support on the hall table. I grabbed my satchell with the music in it and my water bottle and headed out but as I did I quite literally bumped into my neighbour in the flat opposite who was coming back up the stairs. I must have looked drunk as I descended the stairs, my shoulder dragging along the wall my only stability. I only just noticed him coming up the stairs as I came to the window recess so fell into that to keep out of the way. I managed to stay on my feet as I brushed past the massive pot plants in the recess and apologised. My legs were a little shaky so not stopping for a chat I rather rudely carried on my descent. Partly because I wasn’t too sure if I could stop. I made it out feeling rude and guilty but carried onto church. The cooler air seemed to lift me slightly but as I got to church by staggering along the road the warning signs were there. I was doing my key dropping trick again as I tried to unlock the door, my head pressed hard against it for steadiness. I had to use two hands to guide the keys in but got them in, turned them and the door just opened. I didn’t even have to turn the handle. It just opened like something out of a horror movie. But it wasn’t horrific. As the rush of cool air came through the door of the church I felt distinctly welcomed into God’s house so in I went. I swung hand over hand up the aisle like a monkey swinging through the trees I swung from pew to pew up to the choir stalls and the organ. Got myself in and after some fiddling had set myself up. The tunes were poor. Very poor so I sat and played each tune again and again and again and again until they started to sound reasonable then went back to them again and again until they started to sound really good. It was hard frustrating work and at times I just wanted to scream but instead prayed fervently and started to perfect each tune as I worked through morning prayer. By the end I had it and the tunes were sounding better so finished I headed home for a much later breakfast than planned. But I was back with mind and body working together. I managed to lock the church door again with no dramas and felt more stable on the walk back. So breakfast had I was walking briskly for the bus to start the journey to Brucefields. I was still feeling a little wobbly as I took the buses but after another warm welcome into Brucefields I walked to the driving range, collected my 50 balls and one by one started the process of slowly but methodically training the brain. On each and every shot I was placing up a new ball then walking away from the ball before coming back to it and as I did so running through my mind all the things that I had to consider in order to hit the ball straight and true consistently 100 metres. I started off by cutting the grass with some balls while also slicing them or pulling them or only managing to get them 75 metres at a push but ball by ball I started to improve and towards the end was hitting a number of shots well upto 100 metres and then hit a couple of the sweetest shots you could imagine. They were so sweet that It felt almost as if I hadn’t hit them at all. I must have found the sweet spot on the club and got all my timings right because those balls sailed to well over 150 metres. The temptation to dance a wee jig was strong but I just settled for an arm pump. Then I went out to the short course for a couple of holes and I pulled the first shot so had another one which was better but still required pitching onto the green. So I did both of them and then putted both of them to keep pressing the brain to function as efficiently as possible. The second hole was shorter but much better with a very pleasing putt to come in on par. Then I was onto the putting green for some more practice and all was working really well. I was well and truly back.
Practice completed and with a working brain I took the two buses home while eating my packed lunch before some more organ practice on the keyboard in the flat and then heading out on a run. Down to and around the cricket pitch before bumping into Sarah who had sent me an email about learning to juggle being an excellent vehicle for training the brain. It was a brilliant idea and so easy to do in a spare minute. All I would have to do is carry 3 juggling balls with me and practice whenever I am awaiting for a bus or a lift. Thank you Sarah I am going to take that forward and might even video myself juggling once I have mastered it! I was then running alongside the river into the wood of Doune to run around it and back up Balkerach street for home. 2.2 miles run with a climb of 184.85 feet and all done at 9 minutes and 45 seconds per mile. Awesome.
3 Pull ups, 11 press ups and 11 sit ups completed the phone rang. It was my 93 year old downstairs neighbour needing some help with some paperwork. I had a bath first then headed down to see her. Firstly her new lock had seized so she couldn’t lock the door. It hadn’t. It was just very stiff for old fingers so I showed her how to do it with a key. Then we sat and shared some tea while I went through the paperwork. It was really confusing but all the letters were for was to inform Margaret that the planning application and listed building alterations application on a building just up from our street and that had been rejected had now had the application for appeal by the original applicants allowed. The good news was that no action was needed by Margaret so we tore up the letters and threw them away so Margaret didn’t find them again and get confused. So we sat and we talked and I learned such a lot about Margaret as she reminisced about her life as a midwife and her dear but sadly deceased husband. She talked to me with tears in her eyes but a smile on her face as she remembered the good times. I had now stayed two hours and needed to cook tea for Heather and I so I made my excuses and left but as I did Margaret sounded so sad to see me go. I knew that she got lonely so we had to do more to look after her but right now I needed to go and cook tea.
Heather came around for tea and I experimented with some homemade corn fritters served with a homemade tomato sauce. This was classic Daddy experimental cooking and was a recipe that Heather really didn’t take to but that really didn’t matter because sat with me here in this cold kitchen was my daughter so full of life and happiness. She laughed all the way through tea as she told me once again of her dreams and aspirations for the future. Then she played and sang beautiful songs on the keyboard as I washed up, stopping a couple of dog walkers in their tracks as they walked past the open window opposite the keyboard on which Heather was playing and singing. They stopped. Cocked their heads and listened for a moment before then smiling and walking on. I smiled and carried on washing up. I was running out of room so asked Heather to come and dry up for me and as she dried up she firstly made a promise to pop in and check on Margaret while I was away and then she sang to me. It was beautiful, spirited and so full of life. This happy young woman had been just weeks earlier, with the fear of Daddy’s condition, coupled with the separation of her parents, coupled with the natural anxieties of a teenager growing up with hormones raging through her body, been a deeply saddened and dispirited young woman. As I witnessed this most wonderful transformation I was hugely thankful to my sister Isla and my brother-in-law Rob who had invited Heather down to Evesham on her own to spend an amazing week with them and their son, my Nephew, Heather’s cousin, wee Archie. She had a most wonderful time and came back a much happier woman. This transformation reminded me of a quote that I had recently read by William Spencer in a book by John Kirkby called Nevertheless:
“A seed that receives no water will only survive if it sends its roots deep underground trying to find the water. The eventual tree that results is strong and fully able to use the rains when they come. God needs to ensure that we will be able to manage what he has for us.”
The recent years of significant trauma have needed Heather to grow her roots deep and what I was witnessing was the flourishing of a young woman who has grown stronger and better able to withstand the rains should they ever come again. As we bade farewell with a hug I sensed the excitement Heather had for her own future and a belief that I truly could be a part of that. That I truly can beat the beast.
To make the day even better, perhaps in answer to my prayers, hopes and aspirations for an increased level of sponsorship I received an email from St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Dalmahoy pledging to provide £500 in sponsorship in the near future. I was thrilled to receive such good news and very much hope that this act of faith in me and the challenge might be all the inspiration and encouragement that other churches throughout the country might need to also provide some sponsorship. No matter how much or as little as can be afforded every penny counts and is a huge encouragement to me to keep going to live life to beat the beast while improving the lives and life chances of so many more people through that sponsorship going to the 5 charities.
I have been invited for a week’s walking on the West Coast starting tomorrow but I have only been allowed to go on the proviso that I take this week as a holiday. No posts, no book writing. Just rest and recuperation. The following week I have also been invited down to Suffolk along similar lines. The challenge will continue in the form of walking, running and maybe a little golf and organ practice if I can find somewhere but there will be no posts for the next two weeks. Unless of course something remarkable happens. This will be my first proper holiday since the start of the challenge which has seen brain surgery, a full period of radiotherapy, 12 months of chemotherapy, over 2,000 miles covered under my own steam and almost £10,000 raised. So no posts.
But before I go, the challenge in numbers as a total since the start of the challenge:
Days of challenge activity completed: 172
Total Miles Cycled: 953.11
Total Miles Walked: 955.31
Total Miles Run: 171.63
Total Miles Paddled: 7
Total Distance Cycled, Skied, Run and Rowed in the gym: 55.53 miles
Total Distance Swum: 5,020 metres
Total Miles covered under own steam.2,147.78
Total Height Gained under own steam: 90,618.71 feet
Mountains Climbed: 8
Hills Climbed: 33
Days of Voluntary Activity: 11.5
Organ tunes learnt and performed: 5
Salmon Caught: 0!
Bats Found:4!
Curling Matches played in: 8
Curling stones placed on the button (the centre of the target): 3
Weight Training Sessions: 15
Weight shifted: 10kgs lifted over 624metres or 12,480kgs moved over ½ a metre,
Aerobic Circuit Sessions: 9
Press Ups: 848
Pull Ups: 40
Sit Ups: 1368
People Met and Hands Shaken: 588
Pots of tea shared: 36
Prayers joined on the top of a hill: 3
Prayers joined in the street!: 4
Prayers joined in a Train Station: 1
Prayers joined in a Café: 2
Pills popped: 1100
Days until Driving Licence (lost to epilepsy) possibly Returned: 690
And most importantly – Money Raised as at Week 49 – £9,230
Considering I started this challenge 12 months ago very quietly with no target beyond a fiver, thanks to the brilliant advice from a friend of mine, I am absolutely thrilled and again thank you all. That is £53.97 for each and every day that I have managed to find the will and energy to take on an activity designed to help me Beat the Beast and my goodness it has been worth it for my peace of mind, for my healing and for the five wonderful charities you are supporting through your generosity. Long may it continue. May I also ask however that if you are not sponsoring me to please consider it for as much or as little as you can afford.
Thank you all for your incredible comments and support. Please continue to spread the word.
If you see me around do please give a cheery hello and shake my hand or give me a cheery wave to show your support and encourage me on.
Thank you
Yours aye
Archie
Thank you for joining me on my own personal journey and encouraging me to walk, cycle, climb, paddle, sport and do good deeds each day to ‘Beat the Beast’ while helping to improve the lives and life chances of so many more people through sponsorship. The Five Charities that I have selected to support are:
- Cancer Research UK – My Father Succumbed to Lung Cancer; a couple of friends are currently fighting cancer and I am fighting a brain tumour. Let’s Help to Beat Cancer Sooner.
- The Prince’s Trust – Inspiring and preparing disadvantaged Young Lives for success.
- British Red Cross – helping those in need around the UK and the world whoever and wherever they are.
- World Wide Fund for Nature – For a Living Planet and a Future Where People and Nature Thrive.
- Help for Heroes – Support for our Wounded and their Families. To learn more about my story that brought me to this point, how I plan to ‘Beat the Beast’, what activities I plan to do within the challenge and why, please see my welcome video on this page.
How to Sponsor Me
The Beat the Beast Challenge is self funding through my own contribution while keeping costs to a minimum with voluntary support and corporate sponsorship in kind. Therefore the entirety of every penny donated will go directly to the 5 charities listed above.
Please sponsor me by completing a standing order form either through your own personal internet banking or by completing a hard copy standing order form in your branch of your bank and then handing it in to the teller.
It is entirely up to you how much you would like to and are able to sponsor me for so do please give as much or as little as you can. Every penny will be very gratefully received.
While I hope you will encourage me to keep going by sponsoring me for every day I survive and am able to find the cognitive and physical capability to complete a day’s task designed to improve my chances of ‘Beating the Beast’ or improving the lives of others, 5 days a week, four weeks a month, for as long as ever I can. Any One off Cash contributions will be most gratefully received and distributed in exactly the same manner to the five charities as the sponsorship. Any one off donations can be made by BACS or cheque.
Thank you for having enough faith in me to sponsor me.
Yours aye
Archie