THE CHALLENGE OF KILIMANJARO 2
Benji proves that 'every cloud
has a silver linging'!
Following on from my first instalment on Phil’s
training regime, it is
hard to believe the highs and lows of the last three months. Firstly,
for all you weight watchers out there, Phil has now lost ten
kilogrammes. That’s hardly surprising when you consider that he has
three to four gym sessions a week with each session lasting up to two
and a half hours. Over two thousand calories are burnt off at one of
these sessions and Phil is eating almost non-stop. He takes his lunch
into work and has usually eaten it before half past eight in the
morning!!
Injuries have been curtailed to just some severe blistering on both
heels as a result of walking for too long in very wet conditions. The
blisters only kept him out of the gym for a couple of days.
Phil was delighted to receive from his family (and me!) a pair of
hiking boots as a Father’s Day gift. He has been busy wearing them in.
Not so good news was the cancellation of the climb by bmycharity.com
due to a lack of participants. You can imagine Phil was a bit of a
grumpy boots for a couple of days, especially as he was so close to his
initial target of £3,500 – he only had £25 to go! That’s right, to date
he has received sponsorship of £3,475 and he is truly grateful to all
those wonderful people who, even in these difficult times, have been
able and willing to support his endeavours. Furthermore, support has
not only been in the form of cash donations; Bev Bunting, Senior Admin
Officer at Eastwood House, very kindly donated a rucksack for Phil’s
journey and it is his intention to start using it on our walks, slowly
increasing its weight to get him used to trekking. However, he needn’t
think about getting me to carry it if it gets too much for him!!
However, despite the setback, and thanks to the tireless efforts of
NORSACA’s Fundraising Manager, Darren Worthy, another organisation has
been identified and Phil is now registered for their trip in late
February, early March of next year. The silver lining is that now there
is no cut off date for raising sponsorship money so Phil hopes to raise
considerably more than his initial target.
Phil has even roped the rest of his family into his preparations, with
a trip to Go Ape at the Sherwood Pines Centre. For somebody who doesn’t
handle heights well, he found it a very enjoyable experience and was
very pleased with his level of fitness. I didn’t go on this trip – I
can’t see myself swinging through the trees like Tarzan!
Although Phil has almost reached his initial sponsorship target, he
wants to up the ante and raise as much as possible. So if you’ve not
yet sponsored Phil but wish to do so you can follow this link: http://www.bmycharity.com/
Anyway, I’ve got to go now – a poorly ear means another trip to the
vet, but as I sign off I have caved into requests for further photos
(me without Phil being the most popular request!!)
Best Wishes,
Benji
P.S. You can also read my first and third reports on Phil's training!
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