Tag Archives: Cancer

Tommy’s Blog

09 Thursday May 2013

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Firstly I would like to start by apologising for the delay in writing my take on the current situation and events regarding my dad, Colin. Trying to put pen to paper to explain my thoughts and feelings has proven to be somewhat of a challenge, and we all know it doesn’t take much to get me in a spin. As spins go this feels like I’m stuck on a roundabout and can’t get off so bear with me people. Nothing we say or do is going to make this dreadful cancer inside my dad’s head go away but what really puzzles me the most is where he found the room to fit this inside his bonce, all that knowledge stuck between the alien invader….it’s no wonder he’s been getting headaches!!

This has been a blow to myself and my family but the strength of character my dad shows every day makes me proud to be his son. I am thankful that I have had 27 years of knowing this man not only as a father, but as a best friend. I watch him and my mum together as this illness takes effect and see that the love they share holds no bounds, they both are truly amazing people and I take my hat off to them.

Sentiments aside I would like to bore you all with some nostalgia. Where to begin is yet another challenge for me as there are too many good times to note, and not enough ink in the printer. Being the original Phyliss you’ll all appreciate how I like to go into the detail of everything so I’m prepared to spend this week’s wages on matches for all the tiring eyelids of the people that take the time to read this blog! Anyhoo….

It was my dad’s birthday last week so we rallied the troops for …..yes, you guessed it an Indian at the local curry house. As always, the smith clan took over the restaurant and ordered everything off the menu, drinks included. As the evening wore on we were all somewhat inebriated and cracking jokes at the waiters expense with everybody putting their two penneth worth in, but the cherry on the bakewell was dads comedy gold comment which had us in stitches. There was no hint of the underlying situation and dad was his usual comical self, which is what we all love about him. His sense of humour is second to none and if I ever get to become as funny as him I’ll chuckle all the way to the comedy club…! I’m sure Shelley will have something to say about this as she is second in line in the comedy stakes!

chelsea

All jokes aside, I would like to thank everybody for the support and love given to my Dad since he was diagnosed as having a GBM. Words cannot explain how tragic this is for everybody who knows and loves him and is something which you always think will happen to somebody else. Well it’s happened to us and having read up about this type of cancer can see that dad is fighting this head on…..literally! The courage and strength he shows every day is typical of his character and leaves me in awe.

Tonight he’s gone on the usual pilgrimage to London to watch the Chelsea Tottenham match. It’s a draw which I’m sure Dad will be none best pleased about as a win would have given us the qualification for next season champions league, but now it will have to go the wire. With two games remaining I am confident dad’s spirit will pull the mighty blues through!!…

Come on you Blues and on that note I’m off to put a bet on….

Love you with all my heart Dad,

Cycling takes the lead

19 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blog, Tony

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Wiggle New Forest Spring Sportive 2013Whilst the shoulder is on the mend I have turned all my attentions to cycling, with in the past few weeks the odd run.

So over the past two weekends I have been testing that training in two organised events, the first in Newmarket where it was 120k cycle around the countryside in what turned out to be an acceptable day with regard to the weather, cold to start but then almost blue skies, the course was quite flat but a few nasty hills got the heartbeat up and I completed that in 4 hours 54:13,

The following Saturday and I set off at the crack of a sparrow to the New Forest, weather seemed ok at 6am….but as I got closer the rain began…..arrived in a field that was already under mud and checked in wondering what I was doing……I was already soaked by the time I got to the start line as there were over 2000 idiots all waiting to have a go at the 95k course…..anyhow the weather got worse and the landscape just opened up exposing rider to the elements – which was cold rain in the face for the next few hours…..well 3 hours 49 to be precise.

Having got back to the car, my hands decided to not work and getting the wheel off to get the bike in the car took 15 mins, which was followed by a comedy sketch for any one that cared (nobody did btw) of me trying to get into warm dry clothes whilst sitting in the car….anyhow two good cycles and now off to warmer climates to check up on my Ironman buddy as he continues to impress in training…..

A weekend of sand, ice and invisible oranges

07 Sunday Apr 2013

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OrangeWith sandstorms hitting the UAE this weekend it gave me the perfect excuse to lock myself in my new gym and put some mileage in the legs after loosing the first 3 days of the week with a sinus infection.

Friday turned into a rather unexpected drill session with a PT in my new gym. She saw me on the running machine working on my foot striking Thursday evening and came up to me to help me film it. From there she gave me some advice on training and offered to help me (for free) with a number of things including my core strength and technique. If there is one thing I’ve learnt from talking to people and reading the countless blogs and websites about training for an event like the Ironman is that these two areas cannot be ignored. There is no question that you have to put the miles and hours in to build the endurance but if you can work on strength, technique and endurance at the same time, then you’re on to a winner. So after very little thinking I gladly accepted her offer. I had no idea what I had let myself in for…..

After cycling 30k Friday morning she  showed me the set up she’d put together outside. It all looked pretty standard for a core session with relatively low weights and steps etc similar to what id been doing in the summer with cross fit. I won’t bore you with the exact exercises but I did 3 rounds of running drills, low weight squat movements and a few other core drills and it had me on the verge of puking my guts up which is something you don’t really do when working on endurance. It was really tough but one of the most valuable hours of training I’ve done so far. Ive been working on trying to switch between forefoot and heel striking when running so I can learn how to use different muscles and conserve energy over longer distances and these drills are going to be a massive help in that transition.

What I didn’t consider howeverimage was the effect it would have on my legs which hadn’t been exposed to this level of abuse for a while. Suffice to say that today’s endurance session was a lot harder than originally thought but I got through it in the end even if I looked like was trying to balance an orange between my legs when I walk! A gruesome ice bath was next followed by an evening on the sofa watching Arsenal stumble over the line to beat West Brom and leapfrog Chelsea (even if its for only for 24 hours) capping off an enjoyable yet painful weekend.

I just want to quickly echo the praise already shown to everyone that’s helped us reach the 10k milestone. It really is inspiring to see so many people make such an effort and certainly gives me that extra 10% I sometimes need when I’m thinking about missing a session. As always Colin you continue to be a legend with your weekly blog posts which not only have my laughing out load regularly but have taught me what can be achieved when you have a positive attitude no matter what you’re faced with.

Colin’s Weekly Blog

22 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in Blog, Colin's Blog

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Hello again everyone.

Let me start by explaining why my blogs have been erratic lately and have not been posted on time. Firstly, in case you’ve all forgotten by now, I’ve got a tumour. A feckin’ big Grade 4 one, and the symptoms are very different from day-to- day tiredness, sickness and anxiety. I seem to be at the early stages of Tourette’s!! Coming off the train at Baldock station last Sunday evening (back from football) I blurted out to this random young lady “Hello love” right in her face!

On top of this rather worrying tendency, my bloody computer has been playing up sporadically for the past two weeks and was only 100% repaired last night.

The disco in Shirley and John’s pub, The Crown in Stotfold, was brilliant and the group, The Blazing Eighties were truly amazing. Over £600 was raised that night and lots of people left feeling really happy with their excellent raffle prizes drummed up by Shirley and her staff, who managed to persuade local businesses and customers to donate. Huge thanks to all involved in making this a successful evening, it is appreciated so much.

Jimmy2

On Tuesday I was meant to be picked up and taken to The House of Commons by Colin Spiers, the founder of Headcase, to lobby Parliament about funding research on brain tumours. Unfortunately I was feeling unwell that day and had to cancel. Helen phoned Addenbrooks and they advised her to increase my steroids, which seem to have worked because on Saturday I managed to attend another fundraising event.

This was arranged by Debbie, the landlady at The Crown in Littlington, on our behalf to raise more funds for Headcase. (It’s strange that most of the pubs involved are called ‘The Crown’ and it’s my crown which is the cause of all my problems at the moment!) Ex Chelsea, Tottenham and England player Jimmy Greaves was there, along with the legend that is Ron Chopper Harris. As well as this, there was a comedian to add to the entertainment. There was a raffle and an auction for signed memorabilia. The final figures for sums raised have not been divided amongst various charities and the expenses calculated yet, but a good time was certainly had by all. Apparently though, Ron Harris is going to sponsor The Iron Man event to the tune of £300.

Lots of people have been donating individually, Penny from The Boot in Baldock, Ian Wilkie, Kevin Morgan, Jim and Julie Cranston, Maureen and Graham Blunt, Kim and Kevin Toman and Stormin’ Norman to name but a few. I’d like them to know that it is all received by Headcase with gratitude. So sorry if I’ve left anybody out but ……like I said at the beginning, I’ve got a brain tumour!

Saturday with Jimmy and Chopper!

22 Friday Mar 2013

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jimmy1So a great event on Saturday night where Jimmy Greaves and Chopper Harris entertained an audience of over 200 with jokes and stories of the past 50 years….We still await to see the final total raised but a good time was had by all.

Many thanks to Richard Washbrooke for providing the photographs on the night, funds were raised with many of them being signed, there are loads more to see (and buy) at the link below.

http://richardwashbrooke.photoshelter.com/gallery/Colin-Smith-Headcase-Cancer-Trust-16th-March-2013/G00007KVCd_uTi5Q/1/C0000rwvc5hGMefI Remember all proceeds goes to Colin’s charity…

Jimmy2

4th race of the season

16 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by in Blog, Dan

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Dubai2013

After what can only be described as a very boozy week in Beirut, confidence in preparation for an Olympic distance event wasn’t ideal it must be said but if you wanted to put a positive spin on it, I did get time to rest and replenish my glycogen levels?!?

Anyway, another early start, this time at Mamzar beach park for my 4th event of the year, the usual thoughts were running through my head. Why am I doing this again? Should I go back to bed? I could just do a big training session instead? Thankfully I chose to grow a pair in true ironman fashion and just get stuck in. I’m very glad I did…

The swim was less nerve racking than usual perhaps because I had completed a few already this year, but I had set a target of beating the 30min mark which was at the back of my mind. It was quite a feisty swim with lots of kicking and punching but eventually I got in my rhythm and got out the water in 28mins by my watch which I was more than happy with. In and out of T1 quite quickly I had a bit of a technical issue with my bike AKA falling off! A valid lesson learnt however that no matter how confident you are with mounting your bike, when you try and do too many things at once its only ever going to end in an awkward and embarrassing scenario much to the amusement of various spectators. I finally sorted myself, got my head down and posted a pretty decent time for the 40k which again showed me that I’m improving on the discipline I found the most difficult (we won’t think about the extra 140km ill need to complete in Nice come June for now!)

Feeling reasonably fresh off the bike I pushed quite hard on the run trying to get the heart rate up in order to see where I was at fitness wise towards the end of the 10k. Overall I was pretty pleased and by my watch I broke 45mins which was my secret target before setting out. The goal now for running is just to combine the speed work with endurance and keeping a steady pace for longer period.

So another event down and only one more to go before the season ends here I am reasonably happy where I am at. The heat is now my biggest worry until June given its now 32 degrees here and only going one way (I don’t expect any sympathy btw!) so will need to think about how I deal with that.

Lastly, I’ve been working with our creative director on some cool concepts for the head case charity. I hope to have some ideas to share in the coming months but for now would just like to thank everyone again for their continued support and effort shown so far, its massively inspirational, and also to Colin who never fails to make me laugh with his blog posts.

Until next time…

Weekly Update

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

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I will start by congratulating Tony and Dan on their efforts this week in Abu Dhabi and Dubai for their triathlon trials and training from which they returned last Wednesday.

Helen’s employer, Carillion Surgi Centre, held a quiz night on Friday on behalf of Headcase and presented them with a cheque for £3000 which is really brilliant and means we have achieved 10% of our target in one fell swoop!

On Saturday I went to Chelsea v WBA. I was driven by Bootsy, Becca and Nick.  Chelsea had arranged with Bootsy that I would sit in the disabled area at the side of the pitch, not the best of views but at least I was there.  We had to sign a load of autographs as we looked for all the world like Andy Pipkin and Lou Todd.

Colin 2

I had a check-up at Addenbrooks yesterday and was told that the tumour is stable at the moment.  They identified my recent “turns” as seizures or little fits and so they have put me on medication to control them.

 

Boris We sent out a photographer to spy on Nick to make sure he was training hard.  To our amazement he was sprinting up to the line as we snapped him.

 

We also managed to get a shot of Bootsy peddling like fury to improve his time.
Little Britain

Finally, just to remind you all that there is a fund raising live music event at The Crown in Stotfold organised by the wonderful Shirley and John King.  There are lots of great raffle prizes donated by local businesses and the band is The Fantastic Blazing Eighties, so go along and have a blast!

Abu Dhabi… DONE.

03 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in Blog, Dan

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Screen Shot 2013-03-03 at 11.30.06A very enjoyable day (for one half of the team at least) and another step in the right direction.

After the usual pre race nerves and watching world Ironman champions and Olympians (one of which being the current Olympic champion) start the swim, it was my go. Having still not done as much swimming as I’d like to have, confidence wasn’t at its highest but I knew If I kept a steady pace throughout the 1.5k and didn’t blow up I’d be ok and get out into T1 ready for the bike. Aside from the goggles steaming up and the glaring sun making it almost impossible to see, overall it was quite a good swim and I came out knowing that with a bit more training and some better goggles id be in a pretty decent position come June.

Out of the swim and into T1 I took my time knowing that I needed to make sure I had everything ready as I was about to embark on a 100km cycle. Off to the the bike start I saw my first fan of this years season shouting. Doesn’t matter how many people there are when doing triathlon, when you see someone you know it always gives you a lift and this was no different. I guess that was a good thing as in my head at that point I felt I needed more than just a bit of motivation! A propeller on the back wheel would of been great!

Screen Shot 2013-03-03 at 11.37.20

With that said I must admit I really enjoyed the cycle. It was pretty flat overall and quite windy in parts but on the whole I felt great and the 3 hours seemed to go quite quickly. Every now and then you would see the helicopters and motorbikes fly past you filming the elites. Brownlee went past the other way at one point and it still makes me question why I even bother doing this. Having ended up doing an extra lap of Yas Maina f1 circuit by mistake (around 6km) he still managed to break the course record on a day where the wind on the cycle caused the long distance time to be slower by 20mins on last year! Its just unbelievable for anyone to understand how someone can do that, but having taken part in triathlons for a few years now it becomes even harder to comprehend. Super human is really the only explanation…

So off the bike in just over 3 hours I went into T2 feeling surprisingly ok with the legs in pretty good condition. Again my fan and frustrated spectator was there at the start of the run to give me a kick up the arse which was most certainly needed on what was one of the hardest 10kms I have ever put myself through. The sun was beaming down and the temperature was 30 degrees which didn’t help, but the constant stitch and nausea was really the main problem from about 1km in. There were times on the run where I really did question why I do this which is something that doesn’t normally happen and the km markers seemed to be getting further and further away I’m sure of it. Eventually the pain was over and I was through the line to be welcomed with cramp in both legs and a bit of recycled electrolytes to share around 😉

Tri Medal

Finish Time :   04:37:28

Split Times

  • Swim (1.5km) :  0:30:31
  • T1 (Gross):     0:04:08
  • Bike (100km) :  3:10:52
  • T2 (Gross):     0:03:05
  • Run (10km) :    0:48:54

So the focus now is back to a decent block of training to take prepare for the much larger challenge that lies ahead. Short term goals are breaking the 30 minute mark in the 1500m swim on the 15th March and getting the other half of the team back to full fitness.

One last note to say that it seems that the donations are beginning to pick up again which is great news!

Thank you so much to everyone for the support shown so far and lets keep going to reach that target.

 

Cheers

Colin’s Weekly Blog

02 Saturday Mar 2013

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NickIt’s weekly blog time, and it still amazes me the extent of the generosity and support from you all. Friends and people I don’t know send kind comments which are so humbling and give me the strength to carry on.

Well, I had my hospital appointment with my consultant for more results on Friday 22nd. They confirmed that I have a “saddle” blood clot the size of a rugby ball, crossing both lungs. Because of this they are stopping all chemotherapy and further treatment to cut the risk of increasing the clotting. The clot has to disperse naturally which could take weeks or months. The only thing which will help is a daily injection to the stomach which Helen administers. They can’t contain the tumour with steroids either because this can also result in more clots. This is a total Catch 22 situation but they will continue to monitor and make on-going assessments.

On that Friday, in the evening, it was good to see “Young Cabbie” Lee Wallace who had driven up from Ealing to spend some time with us, and Bootsie and Tony came on Sunday to watch the Chelsea v. Man City game with us. As usual, I got excited and went for a fall across the living room, over the coffee table and landed head first in the radiator while everyone nonchalantly carried on watching the match!

Well my auction of CFC memorabilia ended this week raising a total of £1060! I have already deposited this to Headcase. I’d like to congratulate Becca for baking and selling delicious cakes raising £120 with her “cake-a-thon”.

Tony and Dan are continuing their training in Dubai this week. Well done lads!

By Thursday we had located enough lycra to start Nick’s leotard and, with enough machinists, we Little Britainshould have a fitting by the time this blog goes out. Also we caught up with Bootsie , training flat out on his equipment as he may still be needed if Tony wimps out or breaks another nail or two!!

Newsflash! Carillion, the owners of Lister Surgi Centre where Helen works, have donated a cheque for £3000, yes that’s three grand, to Headcase!

Up and coming events are:
Next Saturday, March 9th at The Crown in Stotfold , there is live music by The Fantastic Blazing Eighties hosted by Shirley and John King in support of our amazing charity.