Mental Health and Raising Money for SOSAD

This blog has always been about physical health but there is something as equally important to me that I want to talk about; mental health. Mental well being and physical health go hand in hand for me, they are not mutually exclusive, they must co-exist in harmony in order for me to be happy. I have suffered by own mental health problems and this is not something I am ashamed of, it is simply a part of who I am. It took a long time for me to realise that there is no shame in admitting to having a mental health problem. This is how embedded the shame of mental health is in the psyche of many young people in Ireland today and I want that to change. I was never taught growing up what anxiety or depression was and unfortunately and potentially more devastatingly, I was never made aware of the facilities available to handle these emotions. This is why I have chosen to run the Hell and Back Titan race for the charity SOSAD (Save Our Sons and Daughters). I'm going to try to raise €500. Here is my charity page that is now live on mycharity.ie:

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/sarahhellandback/

SOSAD is a charity that have taken on the very difficult task of raising awareness and breaking the stigma surrounding mental health and more specifically, suicide, in Ireland. Check out their website here. They provide support and direction to those feeling depressed and/or suicidal. They also offer support and direction for those who may know someone who is suicidal and for those who have been bereaved by suicide. The services they offer are completely free and they receive no public grants or funding. Therefore, they rely on the generosity and goodwill of people in order to provide this vital service. This charity would simply not exist without the help of selfless volunteers and generous contributions from donors. Your money will go straight into the bank account of SOSAD if you donate online, it's a very simple process and it will be put straight to work offering people the phone support, face to face counselling and advice they so desperately need. I am asking you sincerely and humbly, to please try and donate anything that you can to this charity. You never know when your darkest hour will arrive and your donation will ensure that the help and support is there for others when theirs does. I am asking, begging, pleading, that everyone reading this donate just €1 or whatever you can to SOSAD. If you can donate, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I have seen first hand the consequences that have resulted from the misunderstanding and the stigma attached to mental health and I am passionate about not letting this unnecessary shame permeate this generation or any other generation to come. The fact is that there is still a deeply ingrained stigma surrounding mental health in Ireland and the act of seeking help is still seen as a personal failure. This has to change. As clichéd as it sounds, it changes with me and you. SOSAD has undertaken the challenge of rewiring the old ways we think about mental health and you can help them break this taboo that is a scorn upon our country, a clandestine disease that is killing our friends and family. I won't be constantly asking people to donate, that's not what I'm about, if you can and want to help, please do, but otherwise it'll be fitness based posts surrounding the race from now on. All I want to do is harness the support and positivity that my blog has generated and try to make a positive change to the lives of people who really need it. Thanks very much for reading and again, if you can donate, please do, thank you!

Hell and Back Titan: It's on!

soooo prettyyy

I change my mind quicker than I change my socks and on a semi-whim I've decided to do the Hell and Back Titan race in November. I know I know I said in the last post I wasn't but as it turns out I'll have that day off work and 7 weeks is plenty of time to get back into the swing of things and honestly, I really really want the purple t-shirt! The vertigo medication is a god send and I've been able to put some really good work in this week, I think I've managed to work out 5 days this week without even realising it so I'm definitely getting back on form! What really spurred me on to do it again though is a tough walk up forest trails with some friends this week, I really enjoyed the challenge and I knew the steep ass hills were the perfect training ground for the race. Also, I really want to blog about it again because it's what I love to do and I want to train differently this time so I'll enjoy documenting it! I did too much talking last time and not enough actual work, which is pretty much the story of my life.

If this will be your first Hell and Back race welcome to the blog and I hope I can put your mind at ease a little bit! The first race I did was tough, the second was tougher and I can only imagine what this one will be like with the added distance and added obstacles no doubt. It is not easy at all so I won't be easing your mind in that respect, you need to train and prepare for it, there is absolutely no short cut to doing this race, whatever you put into your training you will feel it on the day of the race! But what I can do is keep you up to date on what I've learned from doing the last two races and how I'm going to apply these lessons to my training and preparation for the next one. The only important tip I have for this introductory post in the series running up to the race, is to get out as much as possible. Be it for a run, jog, bike ride or just out for a walk, keep your cardio up and if you can do some strength training that is brilliant!

So, without further ado, here's a summary of the blog posts and training I did for the 8 weeks running up to the last race!


1: Introduction and Training Tips for Hell and Back Apollo

2: Hell and Back Apollo, update and training plan.

3: Hell and Back Training Update

4: Sportswear and What I'll be Wear For Hell and Back 

5: Course Map and Training Update

6: Hell and Back Apollo Race Tips and Final Chance Workout

7: Hell and Back Apollo Race Review 

Workouts This Week

For old times sake, here's a summary of the workouts I did this week:

Monday: Arms, Shoulders + Stomach.

Warm-up:
15 mins cross-trainer

Bench press:
12kg dumb bells, 6-8 reps x 2
14kg dumb bells, 4-5 reps

Shoulder press:
10kg dumb bells, 6-8 reps x 3

Tricep Dips using bench:
20 reps x 2

Wide grip front lat pull-down:
30kg, 6-8 reps x 3

Iso Row:
30kg, 10 reps x 3

Leg raises, incline bench situps, situps with ball, plank.

Treadmill: 2 km sprint.

Wednesday: Legs

Warm-up: 10 mins on bike

Squat with bar:
30kg, 5-8 reps x 2
40kg, 3-5 reps

Backward lunge:
12kg dumb bells, 10 reps x 3

Forward Lunge:
10kg dumb bells, 20 x 2

Leg extension and Leg Curl:
8-10 reps x 3

10 minute run on treadmill.

Thursday:

5km hike on steep forest trails.

Friday: Arms + Shoulder

Repeat Monday.

Saturday:

10km run on road.

So that's it for this week anyway, it's safe to say I won't be doing a tap again until Monday! In my next post I'll talk about my exact training routine I'm planning on doing to prepare for the day, I'll go over some brilliant strength exercises that are easily done at home if you don't have access to a gym and I'll definitely be touching on form and a more in depth explanation of workouts because it's so so important. I've said this before but just to be warned, I am in no way a certified instructor, just a girl with a passion who likes training, racing and writing, so exercise caution, but most importantly, just exercise :) Thanks for reading!

I'm at a place called Vertigo.

I'm all too aware that the next Hell and Back race is happening in November but I'm sad to say I won't be taking part. After doing the first one I did in January I imagined myself doing them all but unfortunately stuff doesn't always work out like that. I would love love love to be doing it but I've been looking to relocate to Belfast the last few months and with job interviews and the constant travelling up and down and the likes it just means I haven't had the time to get my head around doing the next race. I'm happy to say I've been offered a job in Belfast and it starts in a couple of weeks so it means I wouldn't be able to take the time off to do it either, what with being a new employee and all that. I'm aware the trying to move and the job offer doesn't make up for my lack of training for it though. Running has fallen to the waste side since I've been living at home. There's no real reason, I just haven't been arsed. Running is a pain in that once you don't do it one week it's harder and harder to convince yourself to go the next and the vicious cycle continues. Although I have been running away on the treadmill, I'll do the odd 5km/10km and sprints so the fitness is still there. When I get up to Belfast, which is looking like it'll be pretty soon, I know I'll go running all the time. I need a city to explore when I'm running, new little streets to go down just cos I want to, with different faces and things to see all the time. I can't stand the monotony of running around the country roads where I live, some people would much prefer the calm and serene that the country offers but it's just not me.

There I am having great craic

Another reason for not being able to train properly is I've been diagnosed with vertigo (see what I did with the title ... yeah.... yeah?!), which means I've been nauseas, dizzy, very tired and getting bad headaches a lot of the time. Vertigo is basically an imbalance in the ear. It's very interesting actually, in the ear lies calcium crystals and they're knocked out of place by sudden movements like bending down, lying down, getting up, turning your head left or right, pretty much anything you do on a daily bloody basis now that I think about it. And when these movements happens the dislodged crystals float like little bastards in to the inner ear making you feel terrible. It had been going on for a few months and I was finally told after a few doctor appointments that that is more than likely what it is. I thought I had anaemia of some sort but the symptoms were all very spontaneous, sometimes I would feel them all at once and sometimes one at a time. I really didn't have a clue what was going on but I'm so relieved that I know what it is now. I'm on medication for it and only after a few days I feel completely back to myself again, hence the actually writing a blog entry! It's only a short course of medication but hopefully after taking them there'll be some improvement. There's no cure or anything so I just have to kind of hope it's clears up.

Even though I've felt like fainting and sleeping pretty much constantly the last 3 months, I've still managed to do a lot of weight training. I've been getting really into squatting, deadlifting and the bench press. I've definitely gotten stronger and I'm seeing a bit more definition in places which is always nice. I used to wince picking up the 12kg dumb bells but now they're light which feels pretty good! I've started to ask people in the gym if they think my form is okay while I squat because I still feel a bit self conscious doing it, as if people are looking at me and thinking I'm doing it wrong, but so far so good! My goal is to squat 60kg. I started on 20kg, then 30kg, and now I'm on 40kg. I do 3-6 reps and 3 sets so I might actually be able to squat once with the 60kg but I'm not gonna push it too hard just yet. I'm gonna build everything up slowly because it's in my nature to just push forward as much as possible and in the past I have gotten way too many injuries as a result of this. For the deadlift, I think I'm doing about 30kg. And once again I'm just doing 4-6 reps and 3-4 sets. I was told last summer I wasn't flexible enough to deadlift but I think I've improved on that since. I have gotten a pair of weightlifting shoes so I'm closer to the ground and from what I can see my feet are in the right position and don't lift off the ground. I try my best to make sure I have the best form as possible, I watch videos on my phone beforehand and read little instructions I have and make sure to constantly look in the mirror to make sure my back is straight and to check myself out obviously. My next post will be about all the proper forms and the different articles and diagrams that I have collected to make sure you know you're doing the exercises right.

Regardless of all this, I have big plans concerning my role in health and fitness in the coming months. I plan on doing my personal training cert within the next year. I have half of the money saved for it and once I start the job I can start working on the other half. I can't wait to have a client or two, it's always something I've wanted to do. The PT cert is only the beginning though, I want to get the masters in Public Health, maybe in England, and continue on with as many courses to improve my knowledge as possible. For now though I'm just trying to live a little while still remaining pretty fit. I have nothing definite in the pipeline but it's still a huge priority in my life to remain strong and healthy. I've said it before that I want to race a half marathon and to be honest I had hoped I would have had it done by now! But the next race I'd like to do is a halfer anyway so when I'm up in Belfast and settled and training regularly I'll start looking for a race I can take part in and blog about because that's what I really love doing. I'm going to look for a magazine or website that I could submit work to soon, would be very nice to get published. Christ, this was much much longer than anticipated! I felt I needed to explain my absence and hopefully I did so! I have loads of plans for this blog and for myself. I have literally hundreds of ideas and half written posts that I need to get cracking on. Anyway thanks for continuing to read and I will be blogging much more regularly and I will write about lots of wonderful things that won't bore the arse of ya!