This weather we are having is definitely not condusive to training using a wheelchair. For so many put there, myself included, the cold and for me, especially the low cloud, is a trigger for my nerve and crps pain. So, at the moment, I’m waking up 10 + times a night to get heat packs and take painkillers. Not ideal! The nerve pain I had surgery for post London Marathon is in full swing as well. It kind of feels like a knife stabbing you, which then sets off the crps. So things are a little tricky. The fibro is also acting up at the moment. The pain side of this isn’t a huge bother because the crps pain is so extreme that it kind of masks it (little win there!). But I di get the lethargy, migranes and insomnia. So, in short, training for an endurance event is tough. But I don’t give up easily. So it’s about training on days I can. I know when the weather improves, then my condition will improve with it. So I look forward to that 🙂
Otherwise, things are plodding along. I had a bout of a few donations to my JustGiving page for the Aaron Lewis foundation, but these have tapered off again. So I’m working hard every day I can, plugging away about the event. So, in case you don’t know, on the 21st of August, I will be attempting to become the 1st female to travel the greatest distance in 12 hours using a standard non-sport wheelchair. I will be doing this at Exeter Arena. It is not going to be easy. Have you ever tried wheeling in a standard wheelchair? It’s hard in comparison to the sports versions, who are lightweight and aerodynamic and made for speed and endurance. Your everyday non-sport wheelchair is not! But what would be the point making things easier for myself and doing things an easy way? No one would sponsor me for that! On that subject, there is something I’ve noticed in the media. There is a huge disparity between the nationals putting out stories of men vs. women. I have followed some extraordinary women for years who are doing amazing things, and for some reason, they never make it onto the main news. Yet any male who does anything seems to get there fine. Don’t believe me? Look back at the stories. It is not due to a lack of participation.
Anyway, I’m still plodding along. 3 marathons since Christmas using my everyday non-sport wheelchair (in training). With training ramping up at the end of March, I can only hope the weather behaves 🙏 But if it doesn’t, I will carry on regardless.
Official event poster
I have had some amazing support from well wishers as I’m out and about training. It really is amazing to me that anyone knows who I am at all. 😊 I’m just a person who found themselves with a few chronic pain conditions, who still wants to keep exercising. So why not do it for some wonderful charities?
So, back to training. Prep today for a marathon tomorrow. Cross fingers that there will be no rain and minimal head wind 🙏
The date is set. This is the date where I will be attempting another world record. I am hoping to become the 1st female to complete a 12 hour continuous wheel using my everyday non-sport wheelchair. The actual record (pending Guiness approval) will be the furthest distance traveled in 12 hours in a manual wheelchair (female). I am also hoping to beat the male record, if I can! To do this I will have to travel more than 87.5 miles. Not easy! But in my typical fashion, I will give it my all. What is the point in doing something that is easy? If it was easy, it wouldn’t be a new world record!
So I have been training since I recovered from surgery. I manged my 1st marathon just before Christmas. Which was just a month after leaving hospital, following 3 surgeries and 2 infections, totalling a month stay! So I was pleased with that. It wasn’t fast. But that isn’t what it is about at the moment. It’s about time in the seat!
1st marathon this year!
So, 2 days ago I completed my 1st marathon this year, which I was super happy with. Unfortunately as keeps happening, my strava went a bit doolally. I did my usual marathon route. One I’ve completed 4 times now, but for some reason it diddnt count the whole way. The segments are way off as well. But rather than accept what is said which was 37km, and know I’d done the marathon, I kept going until it said that all important 42km. So I actually think I did 55km in total! I’m sure that anyone who has strava knows that feeling! Circling a carpark for a few yards just to make it to the number you wanted?!
So marathon complete. I had hoped this would be the bump in confidence I need. It has helped. But apparently I’m suffering from the same thing all athletes suffer when you achieve what you set out to do! A post achievement lul! I set my 2 world records last year, which I was desperate to achieve. Plus the 7 events and 13 virtual events. Now the records are on the wall, it feel like I’ve never done them at all!
My world records!
How does one go about getting back the mojo? I have no idea.. but i have the desire to try, and that is the most important thing. I really want to make this 12 hour continuous wheel. I will be the 1st recorded female ever to do a something else. In the big plan, there are so many more of these. But I have to learn to pace myself and not stress about having time off!
So, what do I do when I’m not wheeling? Well, most of my time at the moment is taken up attempting to get sponsors. To get backing and to raise funds for the amazing charity I am hoping to raise money for this year, the Aaron Lewis foundation 🙏. They are am awesome charity who help veterans like me get back into sport. They have made it possible for me to complete my Triathlons by purchasing a handbike for me. They also keep in regular contact with me. They are amazing. I just hope I can give something back to them. People keep saying that I should give to one of the bigger charities. I’d get more notariety that way, but that’s not what it’s about. It’s about important charities. It’s about showing what can be done with the equipment you have. So you don’t have a sport wheelchair, but you can still do a 5k, or more in the chair that you have.
So that’s it for now. Today I have the pleasure of feeling sick all day, after having my every 3 day lot of lactulose! Yum! Then tomorrow I hope to be at the gym, depending on how my shoulders are healing from Sundays jaunt!
Life has been quite a whirlwind of ups and downs since leaving hospital. I managed to get a complete package of backing for this year’s venture, which included everything I need to make it happen. Then, unfortunately the wonderful chap became unwell & now that has gone. So everything with regards to this year’s big events are up in the air. I can’t complete a venture like lands end to John O’groates without support, and I can’t plan it all on my own whilst training the amount I need to in order to complete this. But I am ever hopeful that someone will come along on a white horse and rescue this venture. It would be absolutely amazing if I can make it happen. It will be a world first and a new world record. But I also have a plan B, which is the wheel for 24 hours straight using my everyday non-sport wheelchair. This would also be a world 1st and world record. But even though it would be physically extremely demanding for me, it doesn’t feel like a big enough challenge to raise the kind of funds I’d so love to raise for charity. So at the moment I am training as much as I can, and prepping myself for the London marathon again. But it is awful being in limbo, and completely up in the air with plans. One minute everything was set & now, it has gone. Its pretty hard to take. (Although I do completely understand, and absolutely adore the lovely chap who was going to help me). But it is still very difficult not to be thoroughly disappointed.
Training in the rain!
So I continue to train in the wain and sodden ground, which makes every km feel like 10. I’ve had to adapt things and shorten my sessions, but bring them closer together! It’s the only way to keep going! Those of you with CRPS will testify that this kind of weather is awful for crps. It sets off numerous flare ups of that and then the fibro rears its ugly head to get in the way of things! But I still try my level best to carry on. Making plans for both events, just incase. Of course lands end is preferable, even if it isn’t this year, but next, I still really want to make it happen. It would really put the Aaron Lewis foundation charity on the map, and give me the chance to get CRPS out there. The plan was to complete a warts and all documentary along the way, where I would show exactly what living with crps and fibromyalgia is like. Plus training to a high level with both. As you know on social media it is pretty difficult to show exactly what things are truly like. So it would be great to show everything. To expel some of the myths. Like the favoured question by most of us “you don’t look like your in that much pain!” What is that? It’s such a stupid thing to say! My reply is normally an explanation to try to educate, but often I’d just like to say in return “well, you don’t look that ignorant!” But I don’t. I would guess that none of us do! Anyway, so training continues, and the flares are rife with the rain and drops in atmospheric pressure, but that’s the way of things.
1st time wearing my London marathon t shirt!
I hope to get something concrete sorted soon. It is very tough attempting to train for two very different events. Both of which I need to ensure are accurately prepped for. My lovely wife, who is always brutally honest, thinks it may be best to do lands end next year now, and prep ourselves. But the amount of funds it would cost to complete this seem impossible to arrange. This was where the lovely chap came in. He knows all the right people who would help. But I never give up on anything. So I won’t give up on this! Hopefully I will have some concrete good news soon 🙏
So, you may have been wondering (or not) where I have been since the London marathon. Two weeks post marathon I had scheduled surgery for another nerve issue in my stump which was getting considerably worse throughout my training. I had another TMR surgery with muscle graft, which went really well. Unfortunately I had a nerve catheter in my leg for pain control post op. These work really well and really help with pain, but for me, they seem to cause infections. We diddnt know this trend until this point. I had the catheter removed after 4 days and was already very poorly with a huge infection. I ended up going back to theatre to have more surgery, and my leg was filled with puss. I was then put on very strong Intravenous antibiotics, but after another week the infection returned, and so this meant more surgery. More antibiotics, more cannulas and more pain. I felt pretty unwell. I lost about a stone in the month I spent in hospital. The saving grace was that my surgeons were phenomenal, and the nurses at East Grinstead hospital were amazing. They were so efficient and attentive. I can’t thank them enough for their care.
In hospital.
After a month, I was finally well enough to go home, but was still in a considerable amount of pain. But after a week more, I decided it was time to get back to training. Unfortunately I had lost quite a bit of muscle and strength, and so the marathon distance which I was used to wheeling, had become almost impossible, especially in the rain and freezing cold weather. But all hope is not lost. I am still out there training as before and building my way back up to marathon distance. My goal being to make it back to marathon before Christmas day. This will be weather depending, but I will do my very best to get there. I don’t give up easily, as you all know!
Out training.
I can’t wait to get back to where I was before. Some exciting news came when I was in hospital, I have been accepted for the London marathon again next year, so I will be entering and attempting to beat my own record. So this provides a huge incentive for me to get back there ASAP. Also, if all goes well, we are a go for attempting lands end to John O’groates using my everyday non-sport wheelchair, which will be another world record. We are hoping for August 2023. So this is another huge incentive. So it’s training, training, and more training for me. I am loving it, and hating the cold! It makes wheeling exceptionally tricky, which very slippy hands. But, it is all good strength work, and I can’t wait to reach some new goals. 😍🙏
So, incase you haven’t realised. I managed to set the world record for the fastest female using a non-sport wheelchair to complete a marathon, at the London Marathon. But before I talk about that. There was one other event a week before; the goodwood half marathon, which I did complete. It was a tough one. Very strong headwind with uphill section, which covered three quarters of the race track. I had to complete 5 laps. I was exhausted by the end. But it was the last one before the big one. Chichester was beautiful. Unfortunately for the third time, booking.com dis not place me in a disabled room, despite my asking for one. So it was a crawl up 2 flights of stairs. The room was beautiful though, and the owner was amazing. Booking.com are terrible for disabilities. You pop in your preferences, and they always say there are facilities for disabled, weather there are or not! But, despite this little set back, goodwood was great.
At goodwood.
So, now onto the biggie. The epic London Marathon was just incredible. The crowd, well let’s just say, all I heard was my name being called the whole way, with words of support. It was so phenomenal. I did get the world record, with half an hour to spare. It was adjudicated on the day by Guiness world records and they told me when I reached the finish line. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. The whole this was just wonderful.
Me with my world record.
What made it even more special, was the fact that I found out official that I’d got the record for the half marathon the day before. I was sat in out hotel at breakfast, ready to go to the excel to get me number and an email came through. Well, I burst into tears, in front of everyone. They all must have thought I’d recorvwd some bad news, or I was a nutter! But they were tears of elation. Then it was off to the excel. Where I managed to bump into the male record holder for the same record I now hold. A chap called Stephen Salmon. He is phenomenal. He has been beating his own record for years, and managed to again this year. We’ll, it was funny. When we were going into the excel, a photographer took a photo of us two together. It wasn’t until we got in that Cat pointed out, that if only he realised he had just got a photo of both record holders together! I wish I could have a copy of that photograph. Me being me, was so happy to have met him in person (we’ve been chatting on line for ages and speaking on the phone) but had not yet met in person. We are both very similar, and driven by very similar things. So that was the best bit. Then came the number bit. Which was such a relief. My start place had been moved from red to green, so that it could be official with Guiness. So I had lots of going backward and forwards with sorting that out.
At the excel with my number.
The start line was very tricky to find, and unfortunately the marshals sent my wife and I in the opposite direction twice! She must have ran miles pushing me as fast as she could to the line, running about all over the place, until we finally made it. The down side was the singular disabled toilet, which was covered in poo. No joke, it was all over the loo, the seat, the floor, and no loo roll. Not only that, it was the furthest from the start line. I had no choice but to hover, which was not fun! I did speak to the manager of the green zone, and his answer was ‘oh well!’. Not helpful at all! Then came the start, which was amazing. But I found the whole way round that I was fighting to get through people. I think I could have completed the marathon in possibly half an hour or more faster than I did, but just couldn’t get round some people. Some lovely runners stepped in and helped so much, which was amazing. Then I rolled over a massive blob of chewing gum, which got stuck to my wheel and I couldn’t get it off. I had no choice but to stop and try to do what I could. Then out of nowhere came an amazing lady who took off her own glove and used it to remove what she could. Then just ran off. I shouted ‘thankyou’. What a wonderful thing to do. This lady is my hero. It meant I could carry on much quicker and get that record.
Cleaning off the bubblegum!
As for the route. I don’t actually remember much of it. My poor wife and our friend, Kate, ran about London all day, trying to find a point where they could see me. Then they shouted furiously at mile 21 and of course I was in the zone and diddnt see them! I literally saw legs the whole way! But I have lots of photos with thanks to friends and people on the London Marathon Facebook page. Plus London marathon them selves.
Just a couple from the marathon.
I came over the finish line at 4:32:11. A new world record. So 2 new records in less than a month. To sat I am happy is an understatement. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m not sure when it will. I’m yet to receive my certificates. They can take 12 working days, so hopefully they will be here soon. 🙏 I did receive my half marathon one, but it had the wrong date and time on it, so I’ve had to ask for another one. According to this one I’m wonder woman, and I’ve set the half marathon record in the future! I thought they couldn’t possibly get it wrong. I was wrong! It is right on line though, which is the most important thing.
My half marathon record.
So hopefully by the time I’m out of hospital (which I go in for surgery again on the 18th October, for more nerve surgery on stumpey) I will have both Records waiting for me at home.
So what’s next… well, big things next year. Another new world record. This time I’m doing something that no one has ever attempted or achieved. I am hoping to become the first person to wheel from lands end to John O’groates using a standard non-sport wheelchair. It will take approximately 30-40 days. It is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and a huge event. Pinnacle photography are organising the event and sponsorship, which is brilliant. I doubt I could do this one alone. In fact Pinnacle have been so incredibly supportive throughout my whole 7 events. They have been there at both Records taking photos and putting posts out. They are still helping now, and being amazing.
Back training already.
So keep checking in for updates of my epic challenge. We are hoping for August 2023, but the official date is yet to be set. So that’s it for now. Double world record holder, signing off! 💪😊
I have been rather hectic over the past few weeks. Prepping for challenges and training and getting over other challenges. We’ll, as you can gather from the title I did manage to set a new world record at the Bridgwater half marathon. Guiness world records set me a time of 2:30 for the half marathon, and I did it in 2:12:02. 18 minutes under the time set. So I broke and set a new world record for the fastest female using a non-sport wheelchair to complete a half marathon. This is, of course still pending official guiness adjudication. I broke the time, now its the paperwork, that I just hope I filled in correctly. I will know if there’s any problems in 2 days, and know if all is perfect in 5, so wish me luck. This wait is more nerve racking than the record itself.
After the record!
I arrived at Bridgewater rugby club nice and early. Then followed an amazing official announcement to all the runners and spectators of my challenge ahead. Then Phil form Pinnacle photo agency arrived, which I knew about, bit honestly didn’t expect him to come. He was there with cameras, and helped with making the day so special. The course itself was so well organised. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging. I don’t think one runner diddnt say words of encouragement when passing me. I really couldn’t have asked for a better environment. The course itself is advertised as flat. Lots of courses are! But to a person in a wheelchair, this is not the case. It is almost completely up hill. This was rather daunting, and left me pushing harder than I have ever done before. I had no idea if I could do it when the hills kept coming. There were 2 down hills but these led into a 90 degree turn, so I couldn’t get up any descent speed. But I put my head down and went for it, and coming over that line… well I had to hold back the tears! Not sure how I did that! It was an amazing feeling. All that training, and sleepless nights. Now the wait to see that it is all real! It is so difficult. But I have to trust in the system, and that I studied the guidelines thoroughly enough.
So where from here. Well on Saturday I will be off to Goodwood for the 2nd to last event. Then home for a couple of days before traveling to London for the last event and the biggest of all. The London marathon and another world record attempt. Where I hope also to become the fastest female using a non-sport wheelchair to complete a marathon. I have achieved this twice in training. But the marathon is a little tricky. Lots of people to fight my way through, so I only hope that I can navigate these as quickly as possible. I have 5 hours to do it. I have completed it in 4 hours 20, and that wasn’t at full pelt. So fingers crossed for the day. It will be very difficult. But all I can do is my very best. So it is here where I ask anyone who can to please donate to the charity which I am doing all of this for. A charity who have helped me so very much. Blesma limbless veterans. Thankyou ❤️
Lexi's journey through life as an elective amputee for CRPS. 