Posts tagged health

It’s raining, it’s pouring, I don’t wish I was snoring…

Twenty days ago I wrote a post explaining why I was getting up earlier in response to Mel’s question, “Why would you want to do that?!” It’s incredible to think that I’m now on Day 27 of my 30 Day Sunrise Photo Challenge, with only three days to go. Twenty seven days, twenty five photos.

When I was only a week in, everything still felt pretty easy. I was really enjoying the novelty and I guess I was still in the honeymoon period. Then things got tougher – about eleven days in, I got sick. I caught a particularly nasty and fast-acting form of tonsillitis – my resistance is always lower in the Autumn and Winter months. 

This challenge was never about forcing it – it was about supporting my well-being, not detracting from it, so I made sure to take care of myself on the days that I was ill. So on some days, I took the photo from the warmth of my window before heading back to bed, and on two of the days when my temperature was raging I left the alarm off and didn’t make it out of bed at all.

It was tough to get back into the rhythm again. It was an interesting time because although my body was struggling to get out of bed, there was also this urge to be outside. A sense of what I was missing. At the same time thinking, I have to do this every day? I wanted to, but it also felt like a big commitment.

Today, it was absolutely chucking it down when I got out of bed. The last time it rained properly (Day Two) it didn’t look like rain when I left the house and I didn’t wear waterproofs. It was stunning, with the rain on the lens smudging the image and giving it an even softer focus. Then it also started raining on Day Twenty, and you can just about see it in the puddles in the foreground while the sun stakes its claim on the day. Both days, the beauty was the most obvious thing, the first thing, and the rain came second.

This morning, the rain came first. It was grey. Grey, grey, grey. I thought, well, it’s not going to be spectacular. Dark clouds everywhere. I set off with my hubby in the car. Here’s a couple of blurry shots to give you a sense of the blustery downpour:

silhouette trees against sunrise in the rain umbrella fights against the wind in the rain at sunrise silhouette trees against sunrise in the rain

We were soaked; it was kind of funny! Our waterproofs did us proud, and we got back in the car. We set off for home, and decided to take a detour and try a different location. As we arrived, the rain lessened and we set off for an explore. The paths were streams; it was less soggy on the common. We walked and talked and looked and pointed things out to each other. We saw a heron flying through the sky, saw him swoop down to land, hop over a fence and explore a pond, his head just poking up above the reeds, peeking around. Then taking off and flying around the corner. The cows looked at us curiously. One of them gave us the stinkeye. One of them licked hubby’s coat.

For much of the sunrise, the clouds were obscuring the sun, and the gaps for the light to come through were all in the western half of the sky. Eventually, the wind blew them around so that the sun could show its face. We walked through an avenue of trees, the sun streaming through all the intertwined twigs and the leaves transitioning from green to yellow. I took my chosen shot of the day:

27th October 2013 - Day Twenty Seven

I’ve been very lucky on this challenge I think, that it hasn’t rained more. On the three occasions that it has rained, I have realised that something very special happens. If the sun and the rain combine, they have more power than either one. These shots that I’ve taken where the colours of the sky are reflected in the river (Day Two) or the puddles (Day Twenty), or where the wetness of the rain makes the surface wood of a fence much more reflective (today) – these are the days that I love the most. I’m continuing to answer the question, “Why would you want to do that?!”

As at Day Eight, once I’m out, I still find it difficult to come home again. And I think that the thing about commitment is, once you make it, it becomes easier. Getting up at sunrise every single day makes it easier to get up the next day; while having a break makes it harder again. Committing to make a change, one change, and see it through for 30 days has changed other things too, and I will try to explore these in my next post. This wasn’t a challenge I was scared of or excited about, but it was a change I thought was impossible, or at the very least would be really hard. It felt dangerous, because I really didn’t think I would be able to do it. And that’s what Danger Lou’s all about, right?

The magic of this time of day has seeped into my bones and my life and I really think that it has changed me. Three more days to go. What will I do after that?

Check out the full set so far here. If you like what you see, I’d love it if you would consider supporting my 5k challenge.

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

It's raining, it's pouring, I don't wish I was snoring…

Twenty days ago I wrote a post explaining why I was getting up earlier in response to Mel’s question, “Why would you want to do that?!” It’s incredible to think that I’m now on Day 27 of my 30 Day Sunrise Photo Challenge, with only three days to go. Twenty seven days, twenty five photos.

When I was only a week in, everything still felt pretty easy. I was really enjoying the novelty and I guess I was still in the honeymoon period. Then things got tougher – about eleven days in, I got sick. I caught a particularly nasty and fast-acting form of tonsillitis – my resistance is always lower in the Autumn and Winter months. 

This challenge was never about forcing it – it was about supporting my well-being, not detracting from it, so I made sure to take care of myself on the days that I was ill. So on some days, I took the photo from the warmth of my window before heading back to bed, and on two of the days when my temperature was raging I left the alarm off and didn’t make it out of bed at all.

It was tough to get back into the rhythm again. It was an interesting time because although my body was struggling to get out of bed, there was also this urge to be outside. A sense of what I was missing. At the same time thinking, I have to do this every day? I wanted to, but it also felt like a big commitment.

Today, it was absolutely chucking it down when I got out of bed. The last time it rained properly (Day Two) it didn’t look like rain when I left the house and I didn’t wear waterproofs. It was stunning, with the rain on the lens smudging the image and giving it an even softer focus. Then it also started raining on Day Twenty, and you can just about see it in the puddles in the foreground while the sun stakes its claim on the day. Both days, the beauty was the most obvious thing, the first thing, and the rain came second.

This morning, the rain came first. It was grey. Grey, grey, grey. I thought, well, it’s not going to be spectacular. Dark clouds everywhere. I set off with my hubby in the car. Here’s a couple of blurry shots to give you a sense of the blustery downpour:

silhouette trees against sunrise in the rain umbrella fights against the wind in the rain at sunrise silhouette trees against sunrise in the rain

We were soaked; it was kind of funny! Our waterproofs did us proud, and we got back in the car. We set off for home, and decided to take a detour and try a different location. As we arrived, the rain lessened and we set off for an explore. The paths were streams; it was less soggy on the common. We walked and talked and looked and pointed things out to each other. We saw a heron flying through the sky, saw him swoop down to land, hop over a fence and explore a pond, his head just poking up above the reeds, peeking around. Then taking off and flying around the corner. The cows looked at us curiously. One of them gave us the stinkeye. One of them licked hubby’s coat.

For much of the sunrise, the clouds were obscuring the sun, and the gaps for the light to come through were all in the western half of the sky. Eventually, the wind blew them around so that the sun could show its face. We walked through an avenue of trees, the sun streaming through all the intertwined twigs and the leaves transitioning from green to yellow. I took my chosen shot of the day:

27th October 2013 - Day Twenty Seven

I’ve been very lucky on this challenge I think, that it hasn’t rained more. On the three occasions that it has rained, I have realised that something very special happens. If the sun and the rain combine, they have more power than either one. These shots that I’ve taken where the colours of the sky are reflected in the river (Day Two) or the puddles (Day Twenty), or where the wetness of the rain makes the surface wood of a fence much more reflective (today) – these are the days that I love the most. I’m continuing to answer the question, “Why would you want to do that?!”

As at Day Eight, once I’m out, I still find it difficult to come home again. And I think that the thing about commitment is, once you make it, it becomes easier. Getting up at sunrise every single day makes it easier to get up the next day; while having a break makes it harder again. Committing to make a change, one change, and see it through for 30 days has changed other things too, and I will try to explore these in my next post. This wasn’t a challenge I was scared of or excited about, but it was a change I thought was impossible, or at the very least would be really hard. It felt dangerous, because I really didn’t think I would be able to do it. And that’s what Danger Lou’s all about, right?

The magic of this time of day has seeped into my bones and my life and I really think that it has changed me. Three more days to go. What will I do after that?

Check out the full set so far here. If you like what you see, I’d love it if you would consider supporting my 5k challenge.

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

Why Danger Lou’s goal is to get up earlier…

Goal posts in the sunlight

In the past seven days, I’ve been making a start on my first 30 day impossible challenge – to get up, get outside, and get a photo of the sun rising. As Mel recently asked, “Why would you want to do that?” – and I thought you might like to know too!

Ever since I was ill back in 2007, I have really struggled to get out of bed in the morning. I had some problems with getting diagnosed which meant that by the time I got appropriate treatment I was spending three quarters of the day in bed and still not feeling rested or refreshed. I found it incredibly difficult to wake up in the morning; I didn’t respond to the alarm, and my now husband used to have to wake me up, almost like being woken from a drugged sleep.

Once I was on the right treatment, I still had problems. I’ve struggled on and off with chronic fatigue and after some experimentation with medication in the years after my diagnosis I was finally told “some people just feel rubbish on the meds you take” (I take a synthetic form of a hormone that my body has stopped producing as a result of an autoimmune disease).

Related to my health challenges, I’m planning on running a 5k this Autumn (something you’ll hear about soon if you keep an eye on #theimpossibles). This is something that would have been impossible for me not that long ago. A side-effect of needing to do more training to build up my fitness was a need for more space in the morning. So it was time for an experiment. Could I get up earlier?

This felt so difficult I knew I needed two things:
1) An incentive
2) External accountability

I voiced my concerns to my good friend and photographer Israel Smith and he set me a challenge – get up and see the sunrise by the end of the week. Then report back. I reported back in the form of a photo:

First Sunrise Challenge for Israel

It was a great experience. I learned that I could get up early, actually – it wasn’t physically impossible. And I learned that I enjoyed it. The only thing is, after a few days I was back to struggling to get up again. They say it takes 30 days to set a new habit, so I decided to turn this little experiment into a 30 Day Impossible Challenge and see if I could make a more permanent change to my daily routine.

So, what does it feel like to be on Day Eight? With 22 more days to go? It’s actually kind of surprising…

I’m really enjoying it.

The last couple of days I have been awake before the alarm goes off. The “problem” that has emerged is that I am actually struggling to come home. Once I’m out, it’s such a magical atmosphere and there’s so many amazing things to see and learn. I’m developing a friendly relationship with my local cows – although they’re getting a little too friendly with my bike:

Play "Spot the Bike"

Play “Spot the Bike”

I’m noticing the patterns of the day – the way the cows move around the fields in the morning, the way the birds are hidden but singing at first, but then once the sun’s gold emerges they start dancing through the sky. The way the water on the river is milky still some days, and rippled on others.

I am tired. But actually, I don’t think I’m any more tired than before. I’ve had days where, at the end of the day, I’ve felt very tired. But that just means that I do less in the evening, and think more carefully about what I do with my energy at that time. And actually, I’m sleeping a lot better. I was sleeping really fitfully before, and now I sleep right through. I’m being careful to get to sleep earlier and have a good sleep routine. The week before I started the challenge, I had a week away with my husband and we had a sort-of retreat – we made a pact not to watch TV. And I found that’s really helped too; not watching TV in the evenings means that I’m more likely* to make better decisions about what I need to do to look after myself.

It’s funny because for the past five years, I haven’t thought of myself as an early riser – not at all. And this little experiment might just have turned that thought on it’s head, and had some unexpected benefits – the discovery of some magical creative time in the morning, time when I can take photos of cows and spiders and bikes and grass and feel just a little bit more grateful about things.

What about you – does my “Impossible” seem like a walk in the park for you? If you did a 30 Day Challenge, what would it be? Which area of your life do you want to experiment with?

* No one’s perfect, right? 🙂

You can see the full set of photos I’ve taken so far here: Lou’s 30 Day Sunrise Photo Challenge on Flickr. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

Why Danger Lou's goal is to get up earlier…

Goal posts in the sunlight

In the past seven days, I’ve been making a start on my first 30 day impossible challenge – to get up, get outside, and get a photo of the sun rising. As Mel recently asked, “Why would you want to do that?” – and I thought you might like to know too!

Ever since I was ill back in 2007, I have really struggled to get out of bed in the morning. I had some problems with getting diagnosed which meant that by the time I got appropriate treatment I was spending three quarters of the day in bed and still not feeling rested or refreshed. I found it incredibly difficult to wake up in the morning; I didn’t respond to the alarm, and my now husband used to have to wake me up, almost like being woken from a drugged sleep.

Once I was on the right treatment, I still had problems. I’ve struggled on and off with chronic fatigue and after some experimentation with medication in the years after my diagnosis I was finally told “some people just feel rubbish on the meds you take” (I take a synthetic form of a hormone that my body has stopped producing as a result of an autoimmune disease).

Related to my health challenges, I’m planning on running a 5k this Autumn (something you’ll hear about soon if you keep an eye on #theimpossibles). This is something that would have been impossible for me not that long ago. A side-effect of needing to do more training to build up my fitness was a need for more space in the morning. So it was time for an experiment. Could I get up earlier?

This felt so difficult I knew I needed two things:
1) An incentive
2) External accountability

I voiced my concerns to my good friend and photographer Israel Smith and he set me a challenge – get up and see the sunrise by the end of the week. Then report back. I reported back in the form of a photo:

First Sunrise Challenge for Israel

It was a great experience. I learned that I could get up early, actually – it wasn’t physically impossible. And I learned that I enjoyed it. The only thing is, after a few days I was back to struggling to get up again. They say it takes 30 days to set a new habit, so I decided to turn this little experiment into a 30 Day Impossible Challenge and see if I could make a more permanent change to my daily routine.

So, what does it feel like to be on Day Eight? With 22 more days to go? It’s actually kind of surprising…

I’m really enjoying it.

The last couple of days I have been awake before the alarm goes off. The “problem” that has emerged is that I am actually struggling to come home. Once I’m out, it’s such a magical atmosphere and there’s so many amazing things to see and learn. I’m developing a friendly relationship with my local cows – although they’re getting a little too friendly with my bike:

Play "Spot the Bike"

Play “Spot the Bike”

I’m noticing the patterns of the day – the way the cows move around the fields in the morning, the way the birds are hidden but singing at first, but then once the sun’s gold emerges they start dancing through the sky. The way the water on the river is milky still some days, and rippled on others.

I am tired. But actually, I don’t think I’m any more tired than before. I’ve had days where, at the end of the day, I’ve felt very tired. But that just means that I do less in the evening, and think more carefully about what I do with my energy at that time. And actually, I’m sleeping a lot better. I was sleeping really fitfully before, and now I sleep right through. I’m being careful to get to sleep earlier and have a good sleep routine. The week before I started the challenge, I had a week away with my husband and we had a sort-of retreat – we made a pact not to watch TV. And I found that’s really helped too; not watching TV in the evenings means that I’m more likely* to make better decisions about what I need to do to look after myself.

It’s funny because for the past five years, I haven’t thought of myself as an early riser – not at all. And this little experiment might just have turned that thought on it’s head, and had some unexpected benefits – the discovery of some magical creative time in the morning, time when I can take photos of cows and spiders and bikes and grass and feel just a little bit more grateful about things.

What about you – does my “Impossible” seem like a walk in the park for you? If you did a 30 Day Challenge, what would it be? Which area of your life do you want to experiment with?

* No one’s perfect, right? 🙂

You can see the full set of photos I’ve taken so far here: Lou’s 30 Day Sunrise Photo Challenge on Flickr. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

Day 6 – From crutches to running on air, literally

Do something that both scares and excites you. This is day 6 of my 30 day Scare The Crap Out Of Myself Video Challenge.

Today, I’d like to tell you a story about leaping for the sky only to land in a big heap, screaming in pain. 10 months ago, I injured my ankle. This is a story about how a physical injury has also affected my brain. The fear and anxiety has been the worst part…and it continues to this day. What are your tips and hints for helping yourself when it is your own mind and body getting in the way?

For the next 30 days I will post one video which will describe doing something that both scares and excites me, one learning point, and a take away. Join me through my ‘Hell yeah!’ moments and my ‘Oh Sh*t’ moments for the next 30 days and please do cheer me on!

Why on earth would you do this, Mel?

For Me: To bring some structure back in my life. To prove to myself that I can follow through. To document my journey at this scary time. To feel alive.

For You: Perhaps you are on a similar journey, thinking of making a change or needing to give yourself a kick in the bum to get going. I hope that following my journey will help you feel that you are not alone and inspire you to go out and do things that scare you too. Because in the end, it is by finding and doing something that makes you come alive that we truly start to make a dent in the world. Want to scare the crap out of yourself on film? Start your own challenge and let us know that you do! Share it on twitter with #stcoom (short for scarethecrapoutofmyself!)

Finally, Danger Lou, thank you so much for the inspiration. This is my journey towards Danger Me

Day 5 – Scare The Crap Out Of Myself With My Apparent Infertility

Do something that both scares and excites you. This is day 5 of my 30 day Scare The Crap Out Of Myself Video Challenge.

Today, the scariness is in telling you the story. I dig deep into my most emotional part of my life at the moment. Nope, it’s not about venturing out in social entrepreneurialism, it’s about struggling to start a family. I tell you my story of so called ‘infertility’ with the aim to start a conversation. I reflect on hope and introduce you to the sweetest little girl name Hope.

For the next 30 days I will post one video which will describe doing something that both scares and excites me, one learning point, and a take away. Join me through my ‘Hell yeah!’ moments and my ‘Oh Sh*t’ moments for the next 30 days and please do cheer me on!

Why on earth would you do this, Mel?

For Me: To bring some structure back in my life. To prove to myself that I can follow through. To document my journey at this scary time. To feel alive.

For You: Perhaps you are on a similar journey, thinking of making a change or needing to give yourself a kick in the bum to get going. I hope that following my journey will help you feel that you are not alone and inspire you to go out and do things that scare you too. Because in the end, it is by finding and doing something that makes you come alive that we truly start to make a dent in the world. Want to scare the crap out of yourself on film? Start your own challenge and let us know that you do! Share it on twitter with #stcoom (short for scarethecrapoutofmyself!)

Finally, Danger Lou, thank you so much for the inspiration. This is my journey towards Danger Me

Paralympic boost to cycling – as seen in the Guardian!

This great piece in the Guardian talks about all the things we’re finding at You Can Bike Too:

  • how incredibly flexible the bike is when it comes to catering for all kinds of abilities in fact, we have found that our bikes are great for people who just aren’t that confident about cycling
  • trikes work really well for those whose balance makes using a traditional bike difficult
  • riders with disabilities and able bodied cyclists can and often do ride together at club and coaching sessions

It’s great to see our supporter Ian Tierney quoted in the article too! Without Wheels for All Cycling Projects, we wouldn’t have come this far. Don’t forget you can come and try these bikes for yourselves! There are two options:

– Weekend family sessions for mums and dads to cycle with their kids – see here for full details

– Week-day adult sessions for any individuals who wants to give cycling a go – see here for full details

We look forward to seeing you there! And we’re pleased to report that so far, these sessions have been rain-free – though it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.

We think it’s great that the paralympics are having such a positive effect and getting more people interested in cycling. How have the paralympics influenced your view of the world? What did you learn?

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

New family fun days at Milton Country Park

You Can Bike Too Family Fun Days

Be Inspired – Enjoy Cycling Together

Have all of these Olympics and now Paralympics given you the cycling fever? The catch phrase of these events were ‘Inspire a Generation’, so we want to do our part. From now until the end of December on the last Sunday of every month we will have instructors available to introduce you and your families to our adaptive bikes of all sizes and shapes. Then, you can have a go at cycling together. What better way to spend a Sunday morning together with your family?

How to ride a bike… and other adventures

Gosh, it’s a very exciting time here at The You Can Hub. The You Can Bike Too project team supported by the unstoppable Ruth Brannan have had an amazing response to all of their hard work so far. The team have found that there are people out there who have never ridden a bike, don’t think they can ride a bike, or have ridden a bike in the past and think they’ve forgotten how to! And then there’s the people who just want to have a go at these interesting looking bikes! So how can I get involved, I hear you cry? I can sense your cycling legs itching to get started…

All you need to do is come along to the Bike Bike Day at Milton Country Park on Wednesday 4th April. There will be loads of different bikes to try, and all sorts of bike-related excitement to get involved with. Who knows what you’ll go home with? So come on, give it a try – fun for all the family!

Where have you seen our poster? Get involved with the poster-hunt over on our facebook page.

Thank you to… This event wouldn’t have been possible without our lovely partners, seen on our flyer above – not forgetting Cambridgeshire County Council!

 

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief

Up a gear!

This week looks to be one that gets us going in the right direction! So much to tell you….where do I start?

News on the block

Tokens that have been collected on behalf of ‘You Can Bike Too’ were given in to Cambridge Building Society offices (and Cambridge News offices) by supporters of our fantastic project…the aim being to benefit from ‘Cash For the Community,‘ an idea from the Cambridge News (in partnership with Cambridge Building Society) which was about cutting tokens that were printed daily and given in….however there were 25 projects nominated for a share of £10,000. In total 39,000 tokens were given in for all the projects! So we are going to be allocated £394 which I think is brilliant – but better than the cash is the publicity that this will bring to this project!

So today Aaran (Project Team Volunteer) and I are going to the presentation at the Cambridge News offices in Milton…woooh! A photo opportunity I feel! (Honestly I just can’t help using exclamation marks!)

Instructor Training to take place

Monday and Tuesday – Wheels for All (Cycling Projects) are going to deliver 2 days of instructor training to about 14 people – including myself, the manager of Milton Country Park, a parent, a carer or two, a couple of professionals and 3 or 4 young men with learning difficulties…how cool and inclusive is that?! Thanks to South Cambs Council for paying for this and thanks to Milton Country Park for hosting this training.

Wheels For All Training gives individuals, carers and support staff the confidence to work with adapted cycles for their clients or family member so that all can enjoy the benefits of cycling in a sociable environment.

Once we have these volunteers trained up we edge closer to the day when we see All Ability Cycling take place in Cambridge!

Funding

On Wednesday one of the project team and myself are going to Guildhall in Cambridge to make a presentation to Cycling and Pedestrian Members Steering group ….they are going to decide if the project can have some funding for the next year, with an emphasis of making sure that the project team of people with disabilities are kept in the picture as this project develops. This is an essential requirement…the idea for All Ability cycling project  came from a young man with disabilities and we need to make sure that in our effort to get this off the ground that these amazing volunteers are at the front of this project!

And on the other days I’m off to my ‘day’ job!….my other life! Till next time…

Editor: Update to this post – here’s a photo of Aaran and Ruth collecting their Cambridge Evening News cheque!

Lou Shackleton

Change-maker in Chief