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| After the first run. |
Generally, I cover writing topics on this blog. But some things in the
life of this author are only indirectly associated with writing, and the
following is one of these.
For 10 years, from November 2002, when I caught an odd viral infection, I
suffered from ME/CFS until just after I retired from employment in April 2013.
Leaving work, an environment I found stressful for reasons I’ll discuss later,
relieved me of the pressures that were most responsible for the continuation of
the condition. I feel I’m now fully recovered (or as recovered as possible).
I’m not going into details here, merely announcing my intention to write
an account of my period with ME/CFS in book form. I want to share empathy with
and hope for those still suffering the condition, and provide help and personal
insights for those involved with sufferers. I’ll donate 50% of the proceeds of
the book to the charity that helped me from the beginning. Action for ME was
there with advice and information right from the start and I want to support
this organisation. I chose the charity as the recipient of 10% of revenue
generated by my books published by Fantastic Books Publishing. It’s part of the
contract with this company that this amount is donated to a charity of the
author’s choice, you see.
As a result of the improvement in health, I’ve decided to regain fitness
after so many unavoidably sedentary years. I’ve started training for a half
marathon. At present, I can’t say which one this will be, as I’m not yet able
to register for it, but I’ve registered an interest and await the announcement
of the date on which entries can be made. For that run, I also intend to collect
money for Action for ME.
The purpose of this post is to let my readers know my intentions. In
future, I’ll make weekly reports of my training progress. As a 66 year old who
last ran a half marathon in the early 1980s, that time to raise funds for a local
hospice in Colchester, I’ve a good deal of catching up to do.
I began training 3 weeks ago, using a programme suggested by the Great Run website. Today, I performed my first real run. It was only for 5 minutes,
followed by 2 minutes walking and then 4 sessions each of 1 minute running and
1 minute walking, but it was the first time I’ve spent that amount of time
actually running without a pause for many years. I felt that if I could manage
this challenge, then I’ve a good chance of completing the first stage of training,
which aims to get me running for 20 minutes by the end of the 8 week period.
So, watch this space. Maybe join me in the effort, if you feel so
inclined. Some time in the future, I’ll place a link here to enable people to
sponsor me for the actual run. But that won’t come until I’m actually
registered for a specific half marathon, which may be some months hence.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but I want to ensure that regular readers
understand why I’ve decided to do this and why I’m placing the record on this
blog. I’ve made a start on the training, and I’ve also made a start on the
book, by obtaining copies of my medical records for the period concerned –
interesting reading! As my publisher, Dan Grubb of Fantastic Books Publishing,
would say, ‘Onward!’
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