Wednesday 30 September 2015

A naked run through the woods

The thing about naturist events is that they are often reliant on the weather. And relying on the summer in England to produce a bright sunny day at any time is usually risky; expecting a bright sunny day on Sunday September 27 and getting one is close to miraculous.

But that's what happened for the summer's second 5km nude run at the Naturist Foundation in Orpington, Kent. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature was pleasingly warm as over 100 runners, with a good gender-balance of male and female, stripped off their clothes for a run through the club's 50 acres of lush woodland park.

They were joined by at least 100 more supporters and club members, clothed and naked, who were kept busy as race marshals, timers, recorders and the like or handing out drinks of water along the course.

It could have been any club 5k run - except for all the runners being totally nude apart from running shoes and some of the women wearing sports bras.

I, of course, was one of the runners. Nineteen months on from the stroke which nearly killed me as I collapsed in the road inches away from a 47-seater bus, I was running/walking/staggering/stumbling to raise money for Different Strokes, the charity which helps younger stroke survivors.

Given that I was still walking with the help of sticks until late-July, it may seem somewhat surprising that I was able to take part in a 5k, but my finishing time didn't matter to me. What mattered was taking part and finishing, justifying the faith shown in me by my many sponsors and supporters and my amazing therapist/trainer Emily Smedley, as well as companies such as healthcurrancy.co.uk and  Vivobarefoot UK who have helped my training regime. Strokies often say there is no such word as 'can't' in stroke rehab. I wanted to do this race and prove it.

A naturist race? Well, yes. Anyone who knows me will understand why it had to be naturist but it's all explained on my fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinWarrillow. And anyway, having been involved in naturism for over 20 years, I know that naked running is no different to clothed running and possibly easier.

When I arrived just before 11am, most people were already nude, with runners doing warm-ups around the start area or having their race numbers painted in lipstick on their arms and chests.

So I quickly stripped off, registered, got my number and a vital bottle of water and joined the rest of the field on the start line in front of the clubhouse. I managed to stay with the enthusiastic club runners (both male and female) for the first kilometre and to keep running for most of the second; after that, it was determination not to let down my sponsors which spurred me on. Much of the time, I progressed at a fast walk; some of the time, especially on the downhill stretches, I managed to break into a trot.

Many of my fellow runners had already heard why I was competing and there were frequent encouraging shouts as more athletic types went past. It was undoubtedly a boost to see Mrs W helping out at one of the water stations, as well.

I completed the run in just over 48 minutes and have a certificate to prove it. There were only three occasions when I feared I may have to give up; when I twice stumbled on the same set of stone steps built into a grassy bank and when I almost became lost right at the end of the course, unsure of whether to turn left or right at a fork in the path.

But I crossed the finishing line eventually - shattered but elated, greeted by scores of well-wishers and able to reflect on one of the proudest things I've ever done. My left ankle hurt like hell (Emily blames my training shoes, lol) and all I wanted was a chance to sit down and 'rehydrate'.

Later in the afternoon I enjoyed a much-needed swim and sauna (naked, obviously) and related my story to photographer Amelia Allen, who was there to take pictures for a project on 21st-century naturism.

Will I do it again? Definitely. The whole thing has been a tremendous experience. Naturism and naturist events are part of who I am and the fact that I was able to compete and finish means I've achieved another massive goal in my bid to start again after my stroke almost killed me.

At the time of writing, I have raised over £860 in sponsorship. When I signed up I didn't have a target in mind. Now, I'd love to get over the £1,000 mark. My page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinWarrillow will be open for a while yet if you would like to help.

* There are pictures of me taking part in the event and receiving my certificate. I haven't included them here because my technical ability won't let me crop them to avoid offence to those who might not approve of naturism. I don't have a problem with them, however. I have already posted them to a Facebook naturist group of which I'm a member and some of them will be appearing in a feature about the run in next month's H&E magazine (as will my regular column on naturism and disability in H&E, focusing on the run).

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Time for my sponsored run.....

When I lay paralysed in a hospital bed in December 2013, laid low by a stroke which almost killed me when I collapsed in the middle of a busy road, I determined that when/if I got healthy-ish, I would do something to raise money for a stroke-survivor charity.

In the months since then, there have been a number of false starts and my plans have changed in a number of ways. But now the transport is booked, the hotel room for overnight accommodation is booked and at 11.30am on Sunday morning, I will stand on the starting line to do a 5km run (well, I'll run some of it....) to raise money for Different Strokes (differentstrokes.co.uk).

If you've looked at my donation page at http:uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinWarrillow, or you know my background, you might be aware that this is no ordinary 5km run. It's the nude run held twice a year by the Naturist Foundation in Orpington, Kent. Yes, I'll be doing this entirely nude (weather permitting). I probably won't even wear running shoes, because most of my training, with the amazing Emily Smedley, has been done barefoot.

This fact hasn't put off my sponsors or Different Strokes (yes, I did ask DS beforehand....) and in fact it might have inspired some of my supporters to dig a little deeper into their wallets. Obviously, decent weather is going to be important but I'm told by the organisers that the forecast for the day is mainly dry and clear. If it isn't, my DS T-shirt might come in handy....

Am I capable of doing this? Well, several months under Emily's tender care has taught me the importance of not over-thinking these things - just go out and do it. Emily keeps telling me that my body is capable, I just have to get my mind to agree. When you consider that I only threw away my walking stick for good two months ago, though, the fact that I'm doing it at all might be considered remarkable.

I do know that the support of fellow athletes on the day will be key and I expect to have a picture in my mind of all the agonising hours spent on Emily's treatment table in preparation for this, as well as the time spent running around the football pitch at Derby College and around the Castle Grounds in Tamworth.

Of course, the aim is to get to the finishing line in whatever way possible and to be able to present the all-important cheque to DS. Any money raised will go to help with the upkeep of their Facebook group, a fabulous group with over 2,000 members which is an invaluable means of support and help for stroke-survivors of all ages.

There will be pictures, although I'm not sure at this stage what form they will take. There will also be a full report at www.askthewarrior.com next week. If you want to donate at http:uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinWarrillow, the page won't close until some time after the run, so there is plenty of time.

Wednesday 16 September 2015

Looking on the bright side of life

Life as a stroke-survivor can be an emotional and physical roller-coaster. Physically, for instance, I can have two really active days, then find myself unable to raise the energy to move a day later as strokie-fatigue hits. Emotionally, the ups and downs are endless. I worry about money, my health and the future, but then I think "I'm here and alive and I nearly wasn't, so what have I got to moan about?

I try to keep this blog as positive as possible, thinking that you really don't come here to listen to me moan, but I was surprised to get a message on Facebook this week from a stroke-survivor who reads my blog and wanted to know 'how I manage to be so cheerful?'

I replied pointing out that Mrs W didn't buy me a Mr Men 'Mr Grumpy' T-shirt without good reason and noting that my natural grumpiness has got worse post-stroke.

But I also explained that I don't see the need to inflict that on my readers, that writing this blog helps me to focus on the positive and cheers me up and also that I aim to give my readers something to smile about, something which too many stroke-survivors understandably find difficult.

If I have to describe a tough week, I will, but I can't deny that this week has been largely very positive at Warrillow Towers. Last Thursday for example, I returned from my regular Thursday networking breakfast to find an e-mail from the newspaper where I did some shifts last month. Could I come in tomorrow afternoon and help out, they wondered? It took a nano-second to decide my answer. I went in on Friday and did my four hours, at the end of which they asked if I could come in again this Friday?

I don't expect this to be regular work, but I'll take whatever they can give me and if it gets me a foot in the door, it can only be good.

Talking of which, I applied a few weeks ago to be on the approved speakers' list for the West Midlands Federation of Women's Institutes. I see it as somewhere to begin my paid public speaking career (talking about stroke and other things) and again, as a possible foot in the door. And my Thursday got even better when they rang unexpectedly and said that for payment of a small fee, I could join their list. The cheque is in the post to them as I write. I am curious to know how this will work out. When I know, I'll mention it here.

Then on Tuesday, I began the next stage of my counselling-skills training at a local college. It will be tough, undoubtedly tougher than the ten-week introductory course I did earlier this year and I will have to learn to manage my workload and fatigue better. But it's a big step on the road to really discovering the new post-stroke me and it was great to see that a couple of wonderful people from my first class are on the course.

Confidentiality is obviously one of the tenets of good counselling, so I can't say too much but I'm sure I'll be able to keep readers of this blog informed of my progress.

Finally, the day of my sponsored run is getting near. If you haven't already heard, it's on Sunday September 27 at the Naturist Foundation in Orpington, Kent. Full details of the run and how to donate are at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinWarrillow and I'd be grateful if you'd take a look.

I've been sorting out details of trains and accommodation this week and obviously stepping up my work with Emily Smedley of breathebalancebeactivated.com. Yes, of course it hurts. As I sit here typing, plenty of me aches horribly. But it's got to be done, I ran faster yesterday than I ever have, before or after my stroke and I enjoyed it.

And I promise not to moan about how much I ache.

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Being tested in all sorts of different ways

You need glasses for distance and reading, so you have varifocals. You're preparing for a 5km run later this month. So on the basis that the training has to be tougher than the event which you will be doing, your trainer takes you out on a run without your glasses.

It happened to me this week in my latest session with Emily Smedley and believe me, it's an interesting experience. I may have only been running around the perimeter of the football field at Derby College, but the fact that I could hardly see, while the field was full of clover and mushrooms, made it a test of any would-be athlete, never mind a recovering strokie.

I didn't pull a hamstring, I didn't do anything unpleasant to knees or ankles; I could say I'm almost looking forward to next week's session. And I am definitely looking forward to the event itself - it takes place at the Naturist Foundation in Orpington, Kent, on Sunday September 27. You can find more details about the event at http://www.naturistfoundation.org/BH5K_naked_run/ and if you are sufficiently motivated, you can donate to my fund-raising efforts at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinWarrillow.

Yesterday, I spent much of the day having what's left of my brain tested. These neuropsychological tests were last done just before Christmas 2013 and established that both my ability to retain information and my ability to process it had been severely compromised by the stroke: "From the top 5% to the bottom 5% quicker than Aston Villa' as I put it when I do talks on the subject.

My neuropsychologist expects there to have been improvement since then and this may impact favourably on my ability to do more paid work and take another gentle step on the road to recovery.

The four hours of pen-paper and computer tests is obviously designed to test different parts of the brain. Like Emily's training, it's supposed to be difficult - and it was. I'm no expert so I have to wait until I see the neuropsychologist in a few weeks before I get answers. But while I do have issues with the way in which some areas of the NHS have dealt with me, I have full confidence that my neuropsychologist and his team are doing all they can and doing it in the right way.

I can't close this week without mentioning Tamworth CAMRA Beer Festival, which took place last Thursday-Saturday. In pre-stroke days, I was part of the set-up team but I am now in no fit state to be lugging 72-pint barrels of beer across a room (and occasionally dropping them on my foot...) or jumping up and down behind a bar for hours on end. So now I just sit and savour the wonderful atmosphere and introduce Mrs W to some of the wide and varied range of beers on offer.

I'm lucky in that my stroke and epilepsy medication still allows me to drink, although I have to know my limits. And I'd like to close by giving credit to all the hard-working volunteers who make Tamworth Beer Festival and countless events like it happen up and down the country.

Not unlike the volunteers who do so much to help stroke-survivors and their carers, really......

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Lend me your ears....

A few weeks ago, I mentioned how I had talked to Caroline McKenna, of charitypeeks.com, for an interview to go on her regular podcast.  A few technical hitches delayed publication but it is now available to listen to at http://charitypeeks.com/09-martin-warrilow-ask-the-warrier/ (Forgive the spelling errors, Caroline is working to get them fixed as I speak).

I know I'm biased but I think it's well worth a listen; as well as taking the listener through my stroke story, it also details how I've been helped in lots of ways by the charity sector. Recent well-publicised events may have caused people to be a bit wary of donating to charities or helping them in any way. I hope my interview goes some way towards dispelling those views. As far as I'm concerned, without the help and support of Headway (www.headway.org.uk), Different Strokes (www.differentstrokes.co.uk) and the Stroke Association (stroke.org.uk), I wouldn't have come as far and as fast as I have in my rehabilitation.

As regular readers will know, I'm raising funds for Different Strokes (and in particular, the Facebook group it runs) through a sponsored 'run' later this month. If you would like to know more, or would even consider sponsoring me, my donation page is at http:uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MartinWarrillow.

My short stint on the subs' desk at the Derby Telegraph came to an end this week. Two afternoons a week as August holiday cover was enough to show me what I'm capable of, physically and mentally, but I have told them I am keen to return and help out if they ever need a good, experienced sub. If my mental and physical health continues to improve, who knows?

I'm not done with Derby, of course. I was back there on Tuesday this week for another gruelling session at the hands of my therapist and trainer, Emily Smedley. For reasons of which I'm still not entirely sure, this week she had me doing my usual running up and down stairs and corridors without my glasses. I was surprised that I didn't find myself bumping into doors and slipping down stairs but I've no plans to complete the run without my glasses, thanks.

To straighten up my sometimes-wobbly walking, she had me walking up and down the lines on a badminton court (Go on, you try it!) before more squats to strengthen my damaged left side. It's always a struggle but Emily has done wonders for my recovery, as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, she's more of a cyclist than a runner, so she won't be joining me (encouraging me? threatening me?) on September 27.