Motivational Quotes

 Hi guys,

Thank you again for visiting my blog. Hope you are all well and had a lovely weekend.

I always try to encourage positivity as I think positivity is a beautiful thing and I really think I can help and encourage people in a  good way. Recently I have been purchasing posters which have multiple positive comments on them and I would like to share them with you all. I hope these comments help bring some positivity and energy into the lives of my readers. I hope you like the quotes which I have listed below.

It's a good day to have a good day.
Laugh More
Worry less
Do more of what makes you happy.
Be the best version of you
Try and fail, don't fail to try
Stay positive
Regret nothing
Work hard, be humble
Everyday may not be good but there is something good in everyday.
Live, laugh love.
Follow your dreams.
Believe in yourself.
Don't forget to be awesome.

Thanks guys.

Running Man

Hi guys,

Thanks again for visiting my blog.

This is a poem that I wrote some time ago about the experience of running a marathon. I hope you guys like it.

Here I am on the race start line

Hoping to get an amazing time

Feelings of excitement, feelings of nerves

Hoping to get a medal I feel I richly deserve

As they blast off the starting gun

I am getting ready, getting ready to run.

As I start off this long trek.

At the end of the race I’ll probably feel like hitting the deck.

As I start and run the first mile.

I realise this is a gruesome trial.

Running mile after mile, putting one foot in front of the other.

I felt how much we were beginning to suffer.

At 13 miles we were nearly half way.

Oh come on is what you hear your voice say.

Legs are not shattering in a lot of pain.

But I couldn’t give up as there was a special achievement I wished to attain.

I am continuing, continuing to run hard.

Finding it hard to keep that strong mentality running guard.

Pain rippling through the body especially the calf.

I was thinking if only I had done a half.

But I was so eager, so eager to get that medal.

I knew I had to continue this difficult running pedal.

As I approached mile 20 the end was in sight.

Much to my imperious and infectious delight.

The end is near but yet so far.

Whoever finishes this race is a stubborn beautiful star.

The pain is still there, too much to take.

All I want is a scrumptious juicy big phat cake.

Here I am at the end of the race.

I can’t imagine looking at my bleary eyed tired looking face.

Thanks guys

Faisal

3 peaks challenge Part 1

Hi guys,

Thanks again for visiting my blog.

As some of you may be aware from previous blog posts I decided that I wanted to take part in the 36 hours National 3 peaks challenge with Michelle and a group of other participants through the company Challange Central. The date was set from between 15-18th September.

In the lead up to the trip I was really excited and was looking forward to it. As a runner I am already accustomed to tough challenges but I felt this would be the toughest not only because of the mountain climbing but the travelling along with the lack of sleep. This was a challenge that I had wanted to do for a long time and it was something that I had on my bucket list. I knew it was going to be hard but I was determined to try my best in the challenge and achieve another ambition.

I had previously arranged with Challenge Central that I would be picked up from Glasgow Airport whilst the trip started from Stevenage with 1 other pick up point along the way. I made my way to Glasgow but I still couldn't believe that we were now only a matter of hours away from starting the trek. It didn't seem that long ago that Michelle had asked me if I wanted to do this and signing up to the event.

I got to the Travelodge hotel and had food, got back to the hotel and then the fire alarm goes off. Thank God it is only 9:30pm I thought. First time I had ever experienced a fire alarm in a hotel and it turns out someone had an e cig in the room. Not the most ideal prep when you need to be awake for 3:15am.

I awoke at 3:15am on the Friday morning  as I had arranged to meet the rest of the group at the airport at 4:30am and there was cheap transport available from the hotel at 4am. Just as I was leaving the hotel I got a text to say the group will be roughly there for 5am. I was very excited. Today is the day the trek well and truly starts.

I made my way to the cafe in the airport where I sat and got my caffeine fix. Thought I would need that on that day and boy I was proved right. Eventually at 5:15am the group arrived to pick me up and the first person I was looking out for instinctively was Michelle. It was really nice to see her after not seeing her for so many years. I then looked at everyone else and lots of other people were sleeping or very tired.

The only available seat left was next to Paul but got to say i'm so glad I got to sit next to this man for the duration of the trip (minus the light snoring and the horrendously bad country joke puns sorry Paul haha). This guy turned out to be such a supportive guy and helped me though some difficulties on the mountains as did the rest of the group but I think Paul deserves a special mention.

The first leg of my journey had began and it was around a 3 hours drive to Ben Nevis in Fort William. I tired to get some sleep on the coach but that wasn't likely to happen as I can never normally sleep on public transport so I was awake and just trying to take it all the scenic views that were around me. We stopped off at Morrisons to get some refreshments and I bought the 1 thing that I had forgotten at home. A comb. Even though I might be on a mountain, a man still has to look smart haha.

After a short 5 minutes journey we had arrived at Ben Nevis and we were ready to start the trek. Once we got there everyone got off the coach and was ready to start the trek. We were lead to the start by one of our guides called Phil who showed us a map at the bottom and talked about which routes we were going to take. After that our challenge had well and truly got underway. The views from the bottom were truly breath-taking and stunning.

Now the trek had started and I was wondering what I had let myself in for. I enjoyed the first part of climbing up Ben Nevis as it gave me the opportunity to socialise and get to know each of my other team-mates a little bit more and find out a little bit more about them. It was amazing to see that so many different people who come from so many different walks of life can come together at an event like this.

For around the few hours I felt like I was doing it at a really good pace but then my muscles started to ache slightly so I took it a bit slower. One of the things that I really enjoyed about Ben Nevis is the view as we were climbing the mountain. Some of them were stunning and picteresque with lots of natural beauty.

We took a few regular breaks but the team overall were doing really well including Paul who had decided to carry a massive suitcase like bag with him. Proper soldiered it.

I was proper excited whilst walking towards the top. I think partly because it would the first part towards an epic achievement and the other part is because the muscles were aching and I thought they could do with the rest. Below are a few pics from the top of Ben Nevis.

As I was coming down Ben Nevis I felt like I was on a mission to get to the bottom. I used to think that climibing up a mountain would be harder then walking down a mountain. I guess I was proved wrong and it was just as hard because you use have to use your leg muscles, just different parts. Some people tend to think it sometimes takes longer coming down then going up and in some instances that is correct and on Ben Nevis I definitely kept thinking when is this going to end and for us to be at the bottom. It seemed to go on on and on.

Finally after 7 long hours we got to the bottom and there was a restaurant there. A vote was taken earlier and everyone wanted to stop and have some food first before heading back on the road down towards Scarfell Pike. I felt a bit sick so only wanted something light. I ended up having the Avacado soup. When I told my mum and dad they had a shock as I never have anything like that at home.

After food the group were ready for the next trip down to Scarfell Pike.

I think I should leave it here now and discuss Scarfell Pike in Part 2.

Thanks for reading.

World Mental Health Day

Hi guys,

Thank you again for visiting my blog.

Today is World Mental Health Day. Some of you may have read from my previous posts about some of the struggles that I had previously had with mental health issues but thankfully I feel a lot better now but sometimes I still remember the times when I was in a darker place.

For me World Mental Health Day is about 2 things:

1) Raising awareness
2) Education

Today has been such a good opportunity to raise awareness about a mental health issues as a lot of people already know that it is world mental health day and I think it has been trending on Twitter most of day. It is days like today that we should talk about mental health more because this is the opportunity to portray what living with a mental health condition can be really like and also to help challenge stigma and other peoples perceptions.

To start off with during the day I went to university to help support my fellow runner Emma who is an amazing mental health advocate. I could only make it for 4pm due to work in which Emma gave an introduction before a number of speakers spoke of the event. I know Emma and the rest of her team have put a lot of hard work into this event and it was nice to see people coming to learn about mental health. 1 of the speeches was from the CEO of Lancashire Mind and I like the fact that he emphasised that mental health is just as important as physical health as because some people can think this is not the case because a mental health issue tends to be hidden.

This evening I also took part in a Twitter chat in which the challenges around mental health were discussed. The chat was hosted by @sassyblogchat and we used #sassybloggers. Before I took part in this chat I already knew of the importance for mental health to be taught in schools because young people need to be taught that it is ok not be ok. I think many valuable lessons could be learnt such as the services that GP's and hospitals may be able to provide so young people know where to go to get the help and support they need. Also they can learn about the importance of talking and seeking support.

One thing I always like to emphasise is the importance of talking and offering support and encouragement to others. I tend to think the more people talk truly about how they feel the more the listener can support them. People deserve the help and support but sometimes they have to help themselves first in order to get that support. This helps them to realise they are not alone and that there is someone out there who is willing to take them seriously and wants them to share their worries and concerns with you. This can give them comfort especially to someone who has self esteem issues because it can help to make them feel cared about and well supported. I saw amazing video that Lauren and her friends made and put on Youtube that emphasise this point. Please click on this link for the Youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-_mJP-AUVs.

I think all is all today has been a great day to help educate people but we need to talk about mental health on a more frequent basis and not just days like today.

1 final point that I would like to make which I also mentioned in my previous post is that for anyone who wants to learn about mental health please join #talkmh which takes place on Thursdays from 8:30pm - 9:30pm. The reason I emphasise this chat in particular is that the people are so supportive of one another and I believe it is a really strong community that would welcome anyone who also doesn't have a mental health issue but just genuinely wants to learn.

Keep talking and keep supporting guys.

Thanks for reading.

Faisal