Today, I powered my emotions into the cycling, allowing frustrated energy to pound the pedals and increase the speed.
My dog encouragee me to rest by snuggling up on my knee, which meant i had to stagger todays sessions, but who can resist those big, beautiful brown eyes of a cavalier king charled spaniel? (not i!)... Instead of doing 2 blocks of 1 hour sessions, I completed 40 mins, 20 mins, 45 mins and 15 min stints of pedalling = 2 hrs, which means i have surpassed 4 hrs! The halfay point is in sight! .
I feel proud of how far I have come these last 11 days.
Tonight I shall rest my aching body and cuddle my snoring dogs as I prepare foe tomorrows installment!
Yesterday went by in such a blur that i forgot to do my daily write up! so will combine it with day 8.
One of the leigh network mums asked if I had noticed a difference in my muscles strength... Thinking about it, I have!
I have improved muscle strength, and I am thinking clearer. Dare i say it, but i feel as if, because my muscles are working harder, it feels like I have more energy... Maybe its the effect of everyone's positive motivation comvibed with fitness, perhaps I imagined it, who knows... either way, its a bonus! .
Like many charities, we at leigh network have had to cancel our fundraising events for the foreseeable due to lockdown, so, we asked ourselves, what can we do to keep the mito message fresh in people's minds? What'd be a challenge everyone can get involved with?
Then it hit me!
For a while now, I've wanted to do a sponsored bike ride, but I didn't think anyone would sponsor me.
when I was a little girl, up until the muscle biopsy wrecked my balance, I loved bike riding. Feeling the wind on my face, the burning tingle as my mitochondria worked extra hard to power those muscles! So having that freedom snatched from my grasp has been hard. I have tried the disabled biking, but I felt a bit like I was on show and these never lasted long.
In my physiotherapy sessions, I ace the exercise bike. A friend when hearing of this ordered me a set of pedals!
And, thus, the peddle dash challenge was born!
As of next week, mon 27th April, I aim to peddle 10 hrs over the course of the week!
This will be extra challenging as I have mitochondrial disease myself, but I will think of all the mito warriors, every mito angel lost to this cruel disease, on the days when dystonia flares, my muscles fizz and fatigue weighs heavy, I will remember the kids smiles, their squeals of joy as they see friends familiar and new at our meetings. I will summon the community spirit of our online support given by our brave adults and amazing parents. As always, your strength gives me the courage to keep going!
I will post regular updates to let you know how training is going ... I began on sat doing a warm up of 10 mins. Later that night, I felt the affects! My arms and legs and mind were aching! Usually this type of exhaustion would put me off, but not this time! On Sunday, I increased the time to 20 mins and feel proud of this.
We know that times are tough, but, if you are able, we'd really appreciate any sponsorship you can give even just the price of a cup of coffee.
