£45 to drop your trousers? . . . . er..... ok!

The photos are now in cyberspace anyway so here is yet ANOTHER impromptu Marti-thon piece of shenanigans. During my good chum, Clive's, 40th birthday the 'boys' ended up being cajoled into doing the washing up in our pants . . . but not without a whip round for charity, and what better charity than the lymphoma association! £1 each saw us not only washing up but also giving it some on the dance floor . . . . and yes, we have no shame £45.20's worth of no shame, but i wonder who was only willing to pay 20p?! ;o)

Riding with the Carneddau Tri Club

Yesterday morning i jumped in the van of to Llandudno Junction to meet up with members of the Carneddau Triathlon Club. On arriving, unsurprisingly, i was the only one on a mountain bike, with the rest of the club on ultra-light road bikes *slobber*. We were planning a 35 miles round trip in the snow although the roads were clear in most places but i was quite glad of some wider tyres at a few points where there was still snow!

At Betws-y-Coed (pronounced Betus u coyde - not betsy co-ed!!!!) we grabbed a coffee and a lush bit of cake from the best little cake shop in the world. It was a great ride and thanks to the club for making me feel so welcome. I was chuffed i just about kept up with everyone but really need to beg borrow or steal a road bike now! They meet at least weekly for rides plus running and open water swims in the summer so a good group to become part of, thanks again guys.

Impromptu Santa Dash!!!!!

So, Sal had signed up to do the WORLDWIDE annual 5k Santa Dash in Liverpool today with colleagues from NSPCC Childline . . . events have also taken place in Las Vegas and Tasmania.

Following dropping the kids off at 7 am with friends, and with me supporting as official driver, we stopped via the Prestatyn Childline base before making the journey to Liverpool and meeting up with some of the Liverpool Childline team. On Sal's suggestion i'd packed my trainers in case of 'someone dropping out' and sure enough there was a spare Santa suit so i was lucky enough to join the 8000 throng on the streets of Liverpool.

It was an awesome experience, a true FUN RUN, with nobody really worrying about times, including a bunch of lads we spotted carrying a crate of (pah!) Fosters! I had a great time and a nice reminder of how good it feels to run with a crowd cheering you on.

Special thanks to ALL the Childline team for making me feel so welcome, and huge love to Sal for completing her first 5k and for being so amazingly supportive, not only of me in Marti-thon, but also of the volunteers she works with.

Merry Christmas/ Nadolig Llawen xxxxxx

Coast to Coast UPDATE

So the official date for the Lymphoma Association annual bike ride is now June 12/13th 2010 - which will give plenty of time for recovery prior to the 15 peaks in July. However, I've now been informed by the Lymphoma Association that the route will not be Coast to Coast next year but that they are planning an exciting NEW circular route. 120 miles over two days - all the information will be posted here early in the New Year once i've had confirmation of the route. . . . .

Peaks 15 and 14 and a dark descent . . .

What a blinder of a day!!!! - Huge thanks to my walking buddies Mike and Mark today, it's been a proper adventure.

We decided to try out the route up to the final peak in the 15 peaks challenge to assess the route being as we'll be doing it in the dark next July. Our circular route started with clear skies in Abergwyngreyn and ascended up into heavy cloud towards Drum where we stopped for coffee and a bite to eat at 770 metres with low visibility.

By this point the snow was getting deeper and we slowly trudged up the next 150 metres or so towards our main goal, the summit of Foel Fras, with the snow slowly deepening till it was over our knees in places. We reached the 942 metre summit of Foel Fras at around 1pm and as the cloud cleared we were treated to truly stunning views of Ynys Mon, and the Menai Straits to the North and Colwyn Bay to the East. We decided not to hang about, mindful of the daylight and pushed on to the summit of Carnedd Uchaf - the 'extra' peak in the 15 peaks at 926 metres. Once again we had stunning views of both the North and North West Coasts of North Wales and glimpses of the Lleyn Peninsula.


From here it was time to start descending so we set off towards Drosgl. There then followed a certain amount of faffing about over the rocky slopes of the Drosgl summit and then an equally boggy time meandering our way through the snow to our descent point at the top of Afon Garn. We followed the valley of Afon Garn down the hillside in the growing gloom and were grateful to be off the snowy slopes whilst still in daylight. Our final descent came dropping down through the woodland to the car park at Bont Newydd, where we were glad to have packed torches as we picked our way through a very steep and brambley section of forest! We made it back to the car park in time to be greeted by the guy coming to lock up the car park and made a hasty move for Llanfairfechan for a well deserved pint. In spite of all feeling reasonably ok after the climbing and walking there was an audible groan from us all as we tucked into a welcome pint of Abbot Ale (brewed in my home town of Bury St Edmunds and exported to the wilds of North Wales!).

A great start to the 15 peaks training . . . . and we all remarked how incredibly lucky we are to have all that stunning beauty within 40 minutes drive.

Thanks again to Mike and Mark, climbing dudes . . .

Massive Thanks . . .

Thanks to Conwy Leisure Services who are supporting Marti-thon 2010 by providing me with free swimming at any of their leisure centres for the next year. . . I continue to be bowled over with everyone's support, encouragement and offers of cold hard cash in aid of the Lymphoma Association.

Muddy, hairy training . . .

So, we've had Sal's brother Peachi staying with us this weekend and he joined me on a ride up into the Prestatyn hillside. Mind you, after a few too many cocktails with Jo and Clive last night and only a few hours sleep, my legs weren't feeling their freshest! A great ride though and we managed to avoid the rain but not the mud on the bridlepath descent back down - as you can see from the picture - i've not developed freckles! You can also see my impressive (?!) head of hair. I've concluded that my sore shoulder earlier in the week must be my body adjusting to carrying the extra weight around on my head.

There seems to be a lot of interest in people joining me on various challenges, we now have a team plus several possible 'understudies' for the 15 peaks and at least 3 others are signing up for the Pembrokeshire half marathon.

Hurty Shoulder. . .

Doh!!, following an incident with a suitcase (i know i' meant to be getting fitter!) i've had a muscle spasm in my left shoulder which absolutely kills! Thankfully Sally is tooled up with Codydromol and Diazepam from her various back incidents so i spent last night floating around the living room watching the children in need concert (go Take That).

Training has been going well although i'll probably have the weekend off in light of my shoulder.

The Marti-thon pot is now at £535 which is truly awesome when i've really only grown my hair a bit so far. I'm getting hairier tho and look more and more like my brother Richie every day!

Ta for now. . .

Dwi'n hoffi cacen . . . .

Here's a photo of me loving some beautiful cake provided by my work colleague, Dafydd. You can see here the beginnings of my hair growth, far from the wonderful mop of hair i was hoping for, it is clear that if it keeps growing in the current pattern i'm going to look something like Krusty the Clown . . . . . . . and this is why i shave my head!!!
This week i have cycled over 100 miles as part of my work commuting, my thighs are getting solid! Over the weekend i have a run planned and next week i am hoping to get some more swimming in.

Lucky commute

This is my ride home from work, taken from Colwyn Bay with Prestatyn the lights at the far left of the picture. On a calm evening like tonight it definitely makes it easier to get on the bike!!!

And the hair starts to itch!

So it's day 3 of Marti-thon and my hair is starting to itch! I now have a reasonable shadow and will start adding pics every few days to the pictures link on this blog. Had a great weekend, did a couple of 5 mile runs and had a great time heading out on Sal's first training run - she's planning a 5k 'Santa Dash' in December and i'm very proud of her. My sister-in-law Small (Karen) is doing the London Marathon in April so did her first half-marathon yesterday and stomped an awesome time of 1hr 41 - she's raising money for Cancer Research.

Off to work now after i've shaved some big sideburns to go with my hair! 15mile commute today so will have clocked up 30 miles on the bike today too - it's currently a beautiful Autumn morning so it should be clear and fresh on my way to Colwyn Bay.

Thanks to everyone for their support already £230 donated!

Marty

So . . . WHAT'S it all about????

On May 20th 2008 I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma after a 5 day stay in Glan Clwyd Hospital. I was quickly placed on chemotherapy and received my first chemo session on June 13th 2008. If you are interested in my treatment regime and what me and my family went through over 2008 please head on over to the 'Road to Recovery' Facebook Group and join to read all about it. It was tough but I had youth on my side and thanks to great care at Glan Clwyd and an amazingly loving and supportive wife and family we made it through and i have now been in remission since January 2009.

Now, I am keen to give something back to charity and the Lymphoma Association do a huge amount of great work supporting those with Lymphoma and raising awareness about the 6th most common form of cancer in the UK. Their information leaflets and website were a source of easily understandable information about my cancer and i always knew they could provide me with support if i needed it.

My great friends Tony and Ruth Greentree, along with their family, coined the name 'Marti-thon' when they all entered races in the Robin Hood Marathon 2008, Tony running the full marathon and raising over £1200 in the process. He's now agreed to hand over the rights to me for 'Marti-thon' for 2010!

Having umm'd and ahh'd over the perfect challenge to say 'we're back' and still with a massive shortlist, Sally suggested I do 8 challenges, 1 for each chemo session i had. So here it is, Marti-thon 2010. 8 challenges, 1 year and one massive fundraising effort. It is my hope that together, we can raise £5000 to support the great work of the Lymphoma Association.

November 7th 2009 -

The 'Hair Raising Challenge'

While most people shave their heads for cancer charities, and as I've been wet shaving my head since 2003, i will be GROWING mine (what little greying remains i have left) - could be confusing for those who've known me for less than 6 years! The date of this first challenge is exactly ONE YEAR since my final chemo. . .

February 21st 2010

The 'Bouncy Challenge'

I will be jumping 160ft off Middlesborough Transport Bridge attached to a bungy cord that is hopefully slightly shorter than 160ft. . . .

March 27th 2010 -

The 'Cliff Top Challenge'

This is part of the Endurance Life Coastal Series and I will be doing the Half Marathon along the stunning Pembrokeshire Coastal path. . . . . feel the burn

May 9th 2010 -

The 'Birthday Challenge'

Yes it's actually my 35th birthday and to celebrate still being around i'll be doing my first proper Triathlon distance, the Harlech Sprint Triathlon. 400m swim, 30km bike, 5km run - simple?!

June 2010 - (final date tbc)

The 'Coast to Coast Challenge'

I'll be taking part in the Lymphoma Associations annual coast to coast bike ride from the North West to the North East Coast of England over 3 days.

July 10/11th 2010 -

The 'Mountain Challenge'

A North Wales legend, 'The 15 Peaks' involving climbing the 15 peaks in Snowdonia over 3000ft, all in 24 hours!!!! - Officially it's the 14 peaks, but they found a spare! Hoping to rope in 4 or 5 chums on this one ;o)

August 14th 2010 (tbc) -

The 'Wedded Bliss Challenge.'

To mark our battle as a team against my cancer my wonderful wife Sally and I will be fulfilling a life time ambition by taking part in a tandem Skydive - NOT I hasten to add, attached to each other!!

September 12th 2010

The 'BIG Challenge'

One of the things that started all this business off was my desire to do a real physical challenge to act as a training goal and a true mark of my return to full strength. It's been an ambition of mine to compete in a standard (Olympic) distance Triathlon since i ran a half marathon back in 2006. The BALA Triathlon involves a 1600m open water swim, 40km bike and 10km run (that's about a mile, about 25 miles and about 6.5 miles in old money)

Is that it. . . . ?

Well, I honestly don't know, there may be other events I take part in simply because they fit with my training programme or in order to publicise the Marti-thon more widely. . . so who knows? - you may find me sitting in a bath of baked beans or indulging in a spot of endurance juggling near you . . . . .

The only way you can really keep up to date is through THIS blog or via Twitter or Facebook

Keep checking back for regular updates and PLEASE use the DONATE link on this page to donate using your credit/ debit card using the Just Giving site you can donate in one go or a bit for each challenge, it's up to you!