21 Miles

On Bank Holiday Monday, after procrastinating quite spectacularly over the weekend (well Saturday was my birthday) I mapped out my route, and set off into the midday.. well I wish I could say sun, brisk breeze was more like it.... As usual I like to take in the sights of Windsor as I go. Exactly four miles from my house is the top of the Long Walk, where you then head down towards a marvellous view of Windsor Castle. At that point, I met two other ladies sporting their Moonwalk Pink hats, and stopped for a chat. They were 13 miles into their walk, and really looking forward to the event. I headed down the Long Walk, towards Datchet, round Home Park, through Eton, and down the Jubilee River to Maidenhead. From there, I headed up through Burnham and ended up at Mums. I wrote a while back on my blog http://pinkhourglass.blogspot.com, that I hit a training wall. This year I haven't had as much time to train in such a leisurely manner, due to moving back to full time teaching from working for myself. The imagined pressure that I *had* to get the training done this year was new to me. I am glad to say that I walked the 21 miles in a reasonable time - 5 hours 40. I ran very low on energy (my own fault) but I did it! Later that evening, I reported in via Twitter with the other group of girls that are doing the walk, and we had all made it, with varying reports of blisters and bruises. It is so worth it on the day. The dawn breaks when you are about 17 miles in. The volunteers cheer you on with a massive smile and encouragement. And there is nothing like hugging your family at the end. Oh - and looking at your sponsorship (hint) This week is the creative week with the bra.. I will post when it is done! Enjoy. Claire xxx

Weddings to be thankful for!

Last weekend, my Uncle Pat got remarried to a lovely lady called Pauline. It was a fab day at Pinewood Studios.

Uncle Pat was sadly widowed in 2003. His wife of 34 years Eileen was struck down very quickly with ovarian cancer, and from diagnosis to passing away was just 6 weeks. It was very, very sad, especially as it was just before Pete and I got married.

Eileen's mother had died in her 50's of Breast Cancer in the early 70's. As a consequence, Eileen monitored herself carefully, and her daughter Sarah (my wonderful cousin) also checks herself regularly.

Sarah is now in the NHS monitoring scheme at 35 for female cancers. Even though the Moonwalk is focused on Breast Cancer, every penny that goes into any type of Cancer Charity is so precious, because it is one step nearer to finding a cure.

We all had an amazing day, the sun shone and the bride and groom looked wonderfully happy. And with your help and sponsorship, we all hope to fight cancer and have more wonderful weddings in the sun.

Love Claire xx