Update

Hi guys.


First of all please accept my apologies for not writing a blog for a very long time.


As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs that I want to keep you guys updated with the training I have been doing for the Paris Marathon I thought that I would now give you guys a bit of an update.


To be honest the training hasn't been going well. There have been times where in fact I have even been de-motivated and not want to train at all which has resulted me in not doing the correct amount of training that I want to do. As it stands so far I have only done a couple of sessions in the gym as well as 2 short distance runs and 1 long distance run..


On one of the short distance runs (approximately 3 miles) I remember how disappointed I was on that day that I felt like I really wanted to do more but my body just didn't want to do it and I couldn't force my body to do it neither. However on the opposite side I also saw a positive that I somehow got the energy to run even if it was a short distance as some days I just really didn't want to train.


However over the last couple of days I have felt a lot more positive and on Sunday I even did a run that was between 7 and 8 miles long. I did this in approximately 1 hour and 45 mins. It felt amazing and even though with that distance I was hoping for a better time, i'm just really glad the distance was covered and now I feel a lot more positive and have some self belief that I can push myself more and achieve my goal.


I am also currently looking at finding a personal trainer as well as a nutritionist who can set up a diet plan to help me eat a lot more healthily in preparation. I'm really looking forward to hopefully working with them both.


In terms of the sponsorship I am not doing too badly. I have currently raised £100 for the 3 charities. I aim to raise £500 for the 3 wonderful charities that I am supporting which are Lilly Uganda, Mind and St Catherines Hospice. If any of you wish to donate, please visit the following website link. Every donation is appreciated even if it is only a small amount. The website link is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=lillyugandamindstcatherines


Thanks again guys for your support and I hope to keep you updated more in future.

Blimey another marathon

Hi guys. Hope you are all well and are enjoying the lovely bank holiday weekend.

At the moment I'm feeling very well. In the last couple of weeks my sister has got married and I have got a new job which I'm really excited about so I guess you can say things are on the up. I've also been enjoying going out with my friends and seeing them more since the start of the month.

As some of you may know in 2013 I decided to run the London Marathon for the wonderful charity Mind. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life and looking back I now feel that it was once of my greatest ever achievements. I have now decided the time has come to run another marathon for Mind as well as 2 other wonderful charities called Lilly Uganda and St Catherine's Hospice.

Some of you may or may not be aware of the struggles and the difficulties that I have had with my own mental health and this was the reason why I decided to run for Mind and have been supporting their work ever since. I think it is vital that people get the right amount of support and treatment at such a difficult point in their lives.

I've also decided to run for Lilly Uganda who are an amazing charity who strive to improve the lives of underprivileged children in Uganda and assist with their education. Through the hard work of the charity they have set up a home for the children called Rafiki House and have been able to send 12 children to secondary school which is something that they may not have had the opportunity to do. They do however require the generous donations of members of the public to maintain the success of the project and I'm already enjoying working with them. For more information please click on the website link. http://www.lillyuganda.org

Lastly the third charity that I have decided to run for is St Catherine's hospice as this is an incredible place which offers comfort and support to those who are severely ill. I had first hand experience of witnessing the manner St Catherine's worked as this is the place where my grandma passed away and I can honestly say the care, comfort and support she recieved in her final days from the staff was very special and something me and my family are very grateful for. For more information about St Catherine's hospice please click here for a link to their website. http://www.stcatherines.co.uk

If anyone wishes to donate for the marathon please follow the link here http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=lillyugandamindstcatherines

I also want to keep you updated on my training progress so will hopefully keep updating my blog.

Also feel free to follow me on Twitter to follow my progress @falidude.

Thanks guys.

Mental Health Voices

Hi again guys.

Can't quite believe I am writing my 2nd blog post in 2 days after not writing 1 for 2 years but I really wanted to write this post. Some of you maybe aware that I have been curating for a Twitter group which was set up a couple of months ago.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience of curating as it enabled me to host discussions about important mental health topics that people genuinely feel passionate about which made debates both informative and interesting. I really liked engaging with other people who I wouldn't have normally engaged with over Twitter. I noticed we all have different stories but one thing in common. We all want to help end the stigma regarding Mental Health and this group are great.

I also sent a few quotes from a book I have written by Katie Piper which has 365 affirmations of positive thinking. Wanted to do this because people with Mental Health illnesses can often have low self esteem and I wanted to show rather then being worthless they are worthwhile. Overall I enjoyed bing part of this project and hope to be so again in future!

If anyone wants to follow them they are @MH_Voices on Twitter!

Education on Mental Health

Hi guys. Been a long time since my last blog. I hope you are all well.

I've decided to write a blog that I know a lot of people feel very passionate about and that is the importance of Education of Mental Health issues.

When I went to school I did PSHE which mainly involved talking through the physical changes our bodies were going through but there was nothing regarding any form of Mental Health importance discussed. Looking back now I guess I feel this is something that should have been discussed as I think it would have given me a greater understanding of my own illness and how I can support myself and if any friends or family were going through the same how I could support them too.

Back then I guess I only knew about the aspects of physical health as my illness didn't start until I was 18 so I guess I was uneducated about what mental health really was. I feel passionately now that this should be discussed in schools as they affect people in daily lives and it could affect the lives of the people they are trying to educate in future. I also feel it would go a long way towards challenging and breaking down the negative stereotypes and stigmas around mental health because people would then be educated and they wouldn't judge people who do have a mental health issue. If people were educated stigma could reduce and help people gain more confidence in speaking to others about Mental Health as we all know how hard it can be.

However I don't just see it as a responsibility of the school. Parents can also sit down with their children and discuss and educate their children about the importance of health both physical and mental so the children themselves can gain an understanding of how at times life can be hard and challenging.

I believe education is key and paramount and I really hope Mental Health does get included in the PSHE syllabus.