July Review And August Goals

Uh oh... It's that time of the month for me again where I confess to you all whether I've been good or bad and made it through the months goals. Writing down my goals really helps to keep me focused on trying to achieve them actually but last month was horrific in terms of goals, I don't think I have a single success :(  I know I didn't set too many goals in the first place but I still failed the ones I did bother making! So I'd run through them quickly and see what needs changing and how I can eventually make it better. 

Mankofit's Eat Clean, Train Dirty challenge
This 30 day challenge really got the better of me and I completely flunked out from like day 6! I just found eating as clean as her a little bit too challenging and only lasted about 5/6 days! Lol. I have tried to implement some of the things in my usual diet though like no fizzy drinks/sweets and eating more fish as well. The training dirty part wasn't too bad and I enjoyed most of her workouts but then I fell ill the day before Race for Life (imagine that!!) and completely fell off the wagon, both eating and working out!

Race for Life
It kills me to say that I did NOT complete Cancer Research UK's Race for Life. Literally the day before or 2 days before I fell really quite ill and couldn't make it on the last train to London on the Saturday before the race and there were no early enough trains on the day even though I was feeling better which really sucked. But thank you to everyone that donated and I'm sorry I disappointed you :(

Hair
I finally posted my most recent hair regimen and I'm so glad I did! Special thank you to Ibiyemi, Candice (Healthy Hair Diary) and Mo (Within My Locket) for their amazing advice, it's so lovely to be able to share with other people on the same journey as you, especially when the road gets tough! Thanks ladies I will definitely be implementing some of the advice I got and soon too!

So those were my three July goals... All failed...*sigh* Actually no, i posted my regimen before the month ran out so that counts as a success! Yay! *happy dance* For August I've decided to try something a little different and do weekly goals instead of monthly, I got the idea from Candice and I think it's a great idea to keep goals bite size and make them easier to achieve! So.. My goals for the week (until the 9th of August) are...

• Try out a new hair regimen with more moisture and see how it works
• Drink 1.5 litres of water a day
• Workout 4 or more times a week
• Start typing my literature review (dissertation chapter 1)

What are some of your goals for the week/month? Drop me a link in the comments box, I'd love to read them!

Reni x

Race For Life!

This year, I'm participating in Cancer Research UK's 'Race for Life' in Hyde Park on the 14th of July. For those who don't know, Race for Life is an incentive by Cancer Research to raise money for research for over 200 types of cancer and it started about 19 years ago. The race is a female only event and participants (like myself) raise money by walking/jogging/running a 5 or 10 kilometre course and asking people for support/sponsorship for doing so. Personally after doing the Manchester Bogle a few months ago, the thought of walking/jogging more than 5k was just unappealing to me so I decided to take part in the 5k and try and run/jog it.

Preparation has been going really well! I've managed to knock a whole three minutes off my time and so I can now complete 5k in about 40 minutes, my first goal was to get down to 39 minutes but if I could get even lower to 35 or so that would be awesome! Gym time! Isn't this such great incentive to go to the gym with your girls and get a killer workout? I wouldn't lie, after the first time I ran a full 5k I was shattered and sore! And the 3-4k stretch is always the most difficult for me mentally but thanks to my awesome running playlist, it's getting better!

But all this good will and training will be for nothing without the help of all you lovely people, I would like to ask you all to donate to this very worthy cause. Think about your daughter, sister, mother, girlfriend or best friend and how finding a long term solution to cancer will help all women and men in the fight against cancer. No amount is ever too small and every single donation is valued, I do hope that you will all give generously after all it has been proven that giving more leads to longer healthier and more prosperous lives! (Okay I made that bit up but as long as you believe, anything is possible!) Please click the link below to get to my donation page and thank you very much in advance!

Race for Life Donation Page

Hope the week has been going well!

Reni x

Morenike does the Bogle!

Goodness, how is it Friday already? And the beginning of a new month too? My goodness, time flies but not only when you’re having fun. Time also flies at an exponential rate when you have mountains and mountains of deadlines and targets to reach! I’ve had so much to write about but sadly I’ve been drowning in the pressures of school and haven’t really had enough time for much else, but today would be different, today I’m doing the Manchester Bogle! *insert applause*

For those who don’t know, the Manchester Bogle is a 55-mile 24-hour fundraising walk around greater Manchester. Yup, it’s crazy. You’d be surprised though; the level of foolhardy required to commit to such a task with little to no training is really not that great! It took my friend all of about 15 minutes to convince me. After talks of bravery, bonding and camaraderie I was sold, never mind that the greater part of the walk takes place at night, in my beloved cold and rainy city! 55 miles, assuming your walking at 15 minutes per mile would take AT LEAST 14 hours to complete. Thinking of it now I’m wondering why I do these things to myself! I remember telling one of my closest friends about it and he said and I quote directly “14 hours?! I’m sure Moses and his people didn’t walk for that long!” but I don’t mind though, I have endured many a long walk in my day and this latest and longest Israelites Journey would clear the memory of Koko Concert whenever I think of long treks! It should be fun! While my mates are partying it up at Circle and getting drunk, I shall be walking… I’m quite interested to see how far I get before I become delirious or start hallucinating!

The route for the Bogle stroll! The airport's on there you know, LOL!

To be honest, my decision to partake in this walk wasn’t based solely on my need to do stupid things in life every once in a while. There is also a far less foolish and more sentimental reason; the fundraising side of things, participants need to raise at least £60 for their chosen charity. This got me thinking about what sort of cause I would like to support and why and it didn’t take me long to decided. A few years ago, I lost my Great Aunt to cancer, the memories of going to visit her in the hospital and watching her literally shrivel away are definitely amongst the most painful that I have. I had somehow been able to put those memories in a box until I recently heard of someone else that was lost to leukaemia. He was in his early twenties, somehow this brought back so many of those memories and some images just never ever leave your mind no matter how much you will them too. Although I never met him, I saw how some of our mutual friends were deeply affected by the loss of someone who was clearly an angel to them all.

My mind manages to explain away the passing of an aged person, mourning them but saying “at least they lived a good, full life.” but when it’s someone closer to my age it seems unfathomable and wholly unfair, I don’t understand it. This is why I have chosen to aid Afam in raising money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust; they help young people living with and recovering from cancer by teaching them how to sail, essentially giving them their confidence and freedom back. He has already raised a lot of money without much of my influence (A whooping £600+) and dyed his hair blonde for the walk to encourage people to give more but no amount can ever be too much, so I encourage you all to click on the link below and donate whatever you can, and if you can’t donate personally, then forward the link, you never know who might see it and be able to help.

http://www.justgiving.com/Damilola-Ade-Odiachi?utm_source=emailvision&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=fundraisingpage-donation-alert-email

May their gentle souls rest in peace.

On a lighter note, I can’t wait to update you on how the walk is going and all the challenges I’m bound to face along the way! I think you might be able to track my progress through this link when it all goes live! It'd be motivation for me to continue, although in all honesty I might be high on Ibruprofen by the end of it! Haha.

Wish me luck! Xx