Race for Life: Challenge Accepted

I haven't even completed one challenge yet, and I've already signed up for another! 

The Cancer Research UK Race for Life is always something that I wanted to be part of. Yet, the thought of running 10k was just far beyond impossible that I was more supporter than participant. 

But when my housemate asked if I would do the 5k with her this year, I jumped on it. For the first time in my life, I'm just about comfortable running 5k without keeling over and I thought it would be something to keep my activity level up after Kilimanjaro and for a really good cause!

But after chatting to the half-marathon running ladies from Sexy in the City Bootcamp, I was convinced I could do the 10k if I put in a bit of training after Kilimanjaro - so @Orsii, @RachelAfia and @Danilorium I'm holding you wholly responsible for this one! :) 

So that's it, I've signed up, my race number has arrived and all that's left to do is train up to the 10k. 

Anyone else running it this year? Any tips you'd like to share with this complete running novice - things like "your toe nails may fall off" are not appreciated at this time! :) 

How to get a holiday visa to Tanzania

This is the conversation that ensued at the Tanzanian Embassy today.

Visa Man: Hello, how can I help?

Me: I'd like to apply  for a holiday visa for June please.

Visa Man: You look very young to be travelling so far...(examines passport). 

Me: Ahhh, I'm older than I look...(awkward pause while man calculates how old I'm meant to be, then looks at my un-makeuped face through the glass). 

Visa Man: Let me guess, you're going to try climb Kilimanjaro.

Me: Yes, I'm really looking forward to it! (excited face, beaming through glass)

Visa Man: Well, my brother died on that mountain...so, you know...

Me: ....ohh, ehmmm, gosh, I'm so sorry for your loss, that must have been terrible for your family.... (I'm seriously awkward now). 

Visa Man: Bahhhaahaahaaaahaaa, Lady, you have just made my day - the look on your face was priceless. It never gets old. I say it to everyone who gets a visa for Kilimanjaro! (Chuckles to himself in a hearty 'ho ho ho, I got this one good!' fashion).

Me: (stunned and silent). 

Visa Man: Ok, you're all set, collect it on Monday.

So there you have it ladies and gents, let the visa man scare the living pants off you about your forthcoming adventure holiday and the visa shall be granted.

(Subnote: I immediately Googled how many people die on Kilimanjaro each year. 10 people apparently. Ohhhh pants.)

Could I be a runner?

Note I left to my housemates before embarking on my run today. 

Before we go any further, I am not a runner. Nor am I a jogger. And before Christmas I could barely make it 100 feet without keeling over and breathing as if I had run a marathon.

And I used every excuse in the book. My feet are too flat. It's really bad for your joints. I'm too 'top heavy'. The list was endless as to why I couldn't get my arse up off the couch and around the park.

But, as I started to seriously train for Kilimanjaro, there are a certain amount of kilos that need to be lost before I can be properly satisfied with my physical health. So, I started doing little jogs on the treadmill at the gym, started hauling myself out of bed on a Saturday to jog around the common. And today something amazing happened.

I actually enjoyed my run. Now, it could have something to do with the two glasses of bubbly I had at a press event at about 5pm, or it could be down to the amazing weather we had today, or it could be because I named my ipod playlist 'I like to run' in some kind of subliminal message to myself. But whatever it was down to, it worked.

I managed 2.5miles, (this is a huge distance for me) without collapsing or turning into Darth Vadar.

Success.

Kilimanjaro Training: Hyde Park walk

The gloves are off...or should I say, the boots are on!

The route has been mapped, the rucksack is filled (to about 10kg, because that's what we'll be carrying up Kilimanjaro) and the ipod is fully charged.

Following the advice of every Kilimanjaro related blog I could find, breaking in your boots is so important. The last thing you want on the side of a mountain is to be wincing with pain every step because of a blister. I'll have enough things like altitude sickness and muscle spasms to worry about, thanks very much.

I bought a pair of Meindl SoftLine Ladies boots in Cotswolds in early Feb, just as the sales were finishing for £109. I think they were around £150 originally. I picked Meindl (after trying on about a dozen pairs!) because I had an old pair of Meindl Burmas to muck around the horses with when I was living at home, and they would have lived a very long and happy life, and I probably would have worn them for Kili too, if they hadn't had an unfortunate run in with a teething puppy. The ankle support was sadly knawed off, still wearable of course, but lost a bit of the important support factor.

So last weekend I took myself out at the crack of dawn (read: 10am) to walk the streets of London with the boots for the first time!

Here's the route:

Clapham > Battersea > Sloane Street to Knightsbridge > round Hyde Park > and back again = 11miles!

And here's some pretty pictures I took along the way.

What I learned from the walk: stretch. Always stretch. My shins were aching the next day and I'm pretty sure it was simply because I didnt stretch out before and after. Lesson learned!

Great Skincare Mystery: Revealed!!

Ta-DA!! 

The brand behind the Big Skincare Mystery was Clearasil! 

Although I thought a teen brand was behind the mysterious green gloop facewash-cum-mask I had completely forgotten about Clearasil! Thinking about it, the brand was well overdue a overhaul. 

I think almost everyone has at some stage in their teens reached for a bottle of Clearasil in the hopes that it would clear up spots and blemishes. I know the only think I was left with (after religiously cleansing with the old version twice a day) was super dry, itchy and reddened skin. But, luckily, the new formula has had nothing short of a complete transformation and the Clearasil Vitamins and Extracts range is much, much kinder to skin. 

At the big reveal in the rather swanky venue of 24 Kingley Street, the complete new range was revealed. 

Apart from the Daily Clear Vitamins and Extracts Wash and Mask - which was  the mystery green gloop - the range includes an exfoliator, facewipes and their hero product the PerfectaWash system. 

The touch-free, motion activated dispenser delivers the perfect amount of cleanser to the palm of your hand - guaranteeing that you don't use too much or too little of the product. No risk of over-drying, no unexpectadily running out of cleanser (each see through refill bottle has 100 doses, so around six weeks of morning and evening cleansing) and no forking out hard earned cash - the whole system costs just £12.99. 

Good move Clearasil, very good move! 

Challenge of a lifetime: Kilimanjaro

No, no, that isn't an error above.

I have signed up to climb Kilimanjaro in June this year. I am no sports woman, I file exercise in the must-do list rather than a 'love to do' list and I have never properly been camping. Unless you count that time when I was 16 and the whole school year went to Lough Dan, Co. Wicklow for a classmate bonding experience.

(sub note: We ate far too much chocolate, couldn't sleep and our biggest fear was the thought of a hedgehog wiggling into the six person tent) 

So, it's fair to stay that I am a trekking novice and hiking beginner. But, what I lack in experience, I seriously make up for with determination and down-right stubbornness. And dare I say it? If Chris Moyles can make it to the top...

In a little less than three months, I will be boarding that plane to Tanzania, hiking boots on, Camelbak filled and  mentally pumped for the experience. Or so I like to hope.

I should start by explaining how I got this crazy idea.

I have always has a bucket list, filed away in the adventure seeker and Pepsi-Max Challenge-accepting mind of mine. On that list are things like flying a plane, afternoon tea at the Ritz and bungee jumping.

But, as my 25th birthday was drawing closer, I wanted to start ticking a few things off. Perfectly planned, I will be three days into my climb on my 24th birthday.

And it was around my birthday last year, when a good friend of mine stopped off in London for one night on her way back to Dublin after climbing Kilimanjaro for charity. I have never seen her look so invigorated, excited and simply glowing as she retold all the stories from the trek.

Stories of filth, altitude sickness, noisy baboons in camp and searing muscular pain did nothing but make me more determined to sign up. You know who you are, and you're both to blame and to thank for all this! :)

So right now, I'm in the throws of training and preparing for the climb. I have my hiking boots (and walking poles, though I'm yet to bring them out in London!) just trying to build up the muscle needed to take the 6,000 meter, six day climb.

I'll be posting up some shots of my walks, the gear I bought and woffling on a bit too much about it all!

If you've done Kili, or are like me and are preparing for it, let me know! I can't shut up about it now, and my friends are getting a little bored of hearing just how comfy my hiking boots are! :)