My activity
I'm fundraising for Bowel Cancer UK
Bowel cancer has affected people I love, and I’ve seen how tough it can be. So, this April, I’m getting active to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK—they do amazing work supporting people with bowel cancer and funding life-saving research.
If you can donate, that would be amazing—every little bit helps! And if you can’t, sharing my page would mean a lot too.
Thanks so much for the support!
My achievements
Profile picture added
Self donated
First donation
25% target
50% target
Hit target
Challenge completed
My updates
Day 30 - The Final Day!
Wednesday 30th Apr What a month this has been. I'm actually someone who likes exercise now!?My main goal for doing this challenge (besides raising money for bowel cancer, of course) was to simply get myself moving, and have it become a habit that will continue long after this challenge ends. The last week has been really good. I can feel the positive impact being active has had on my mental health and on my energy levels. I've found a routine that works for me, that makes being active easy for me, and when its that easy, you find yourself making less excuses not to get moving.
So here we go, the last update of this challenge;
- Woke up at 5:30 and did my 20 minutes of treadmill
- Walked to work
- Walked home
- Will no doubt do some room pacing once i've finished writing this
(I'm still a creature of habit, but now its a more active habit)
Total Steps for Day (as of this moment) = 10234 Total Distance = 4.53 miles.
March Average Steps Per Day = 5605
April Average Steps Per Day = 11675
And that's that. 300 raised for Bowel Cancer UK. Thank you to everyone who sponsored. The support has meant so much.
Until next time - Rae :)
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Day 21 - Day 29
Wednesday 30th Apr I don't know why i left it so long to do an update, because of course now I can barely remember what I did when! Ultimately i've been aiming for 12500 - 15000 steps a day, but on the low energy, legs are killing me days, this wasn't possible so I tried to at least beat my March average of 5605 steps.Day 21
Total Steps for Day = 6792 Total Distance = 3.06 miles
Day 22
Total Steps for Day = 7419 Total Distance = 3.06 miles (not sure how this ended up the same as yesterdays one when i did more steps but.... blame fitbit i guess?)
Day 23
My treadmill arrived today. Due to miserable weather, I didn't walk to work (and hadn't all week by this point) but, since my treadmill arrived, i was able to make up for it a bit. After getting home and doing chores, i was finally able to try it out with a good 40 minute session. Unfortunately I was so eager to try it out, I went on barefoot and wow my feet hurt afterwards, and i had some tremendous blisters to show for my efforts. You live and learn.
Total Steps for Day = 10044 Total Distance = 4.21 miles
Day 24
- Woke up at 5:30am to fit in a treadmill session before work. 20 minutes done, though again in my eagerness, i didn't stretch/warm up and between calf pain and those blisters, this girl was hurting! But it did give me an energy boost for the day. I highly recommend having exercise be one of the very first things you do in the morning.
-Weather was ok so i walked to work. Chuffed to find I was already on 5000 or so steps by the time I got to the office, so meeting my goal was much easier this day.
- Walked home.
Total Steps for Day = 15444 Total Distance = 6.71 miles
Day 25
-Another 5:30am start for 20 mins on the treadmill.
-Walked to work
- Walked on lunch around the local retail park, stopping for lunch before heading back.
- Walked home.
Total Steps for Day = 15672 Total Distance = 6.8 miles
Day 26
- Didnt have my treadmill walk as i thought i'd take weekends off to recover. Ended up regretting this later, as it was much harder to motivate myself to be active later in the day
- Tesco food shop, extra laps while waiting for self service checkouts to open (which they never did, so had to interact with another human, ugh)
- Didnt walk to work as running late. Spent the evening walking round the living room/running on the spot/doing jumping jacks. Bed late because it took me so long to meet my goal this way
Total Steps for Day = 15097 Total Distance = 6.41 miles
Day 27
- Goytre Wharf for family walks. Annoyingly my fitbit died halfway through the walk (even though i'd charged it that morning) so some of the walk wasnt recorded. Later I worked it out on google maps that we'd walked about 4.5 miles, but I didnt want to add extra steps on when I didnt know exact numbers, so left it. Still a decent walk though.
Total Steps for Day = 15218 Total Distance = 6.9 miles
Day 28
- 5:30am 20 minute treadmill
- Beautiful day. Walked to work
- Walked around the retail park at lunch
- Walked home.
Total Steps for Day = 15078 Total Distance = 6.65 miles
Day 29
- 5:30am 20 minute treadmill session
- Lovely walk to work in the sunshine
- Walked around the car park at lunch
- Walked home
Total Steps for Day = 13952 Total Distance = 6.21 miles
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Day 19 & 20
Monday 21st Apr Day 19- Spent a good chunk of the day sorting out our storage cupboard/junk room/dumping ground. Miserable weather this week so haven't been going out walking too much. Bf and I made a deal that if I sorted out this cupboard, which was long overdue for a sort, I could finally buy myself a walking pad that I've been eyeing up for months.
Total Steps for Day = 5219 Total Distance = 2.21 miles
Day 20
Absolutely beautiful day! So nice to see the sun again after an absolutely miserable week.
- Started the day with a full body stretch, 17 squats and a 40 second plank to hopefully get me warmed up for a big walk, and help reduce the pain I get in my calves when i walk lately.
- Went for my longest walk/hike yet with sister and her partner to Giants Bite, and had a picnic on the top, before then climbing up another hill and then turning around and heading home. Could not have picked a better day for it. Weather was perfect, the views were amazing and I got to try out my new camera, and give my new walking boots their first proper wear.
- Visit to the in-laws afterwards for lunch, before heading home to put my feet up.
Total Steps for Day = 20564 Total Distance = 8.79 miles
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Day 18
Saturday 19th Apr Disappointing day. Feeling unwell for most of the day so spent majority of it in bed sleeping it off.- Night spent pacing the living room trying to get my numbers up but was impossible for me to meet my goal by that time. At least i got some activity in at the very end of the day I guess.
Total Steps for Day = 3832 Total Distance = 1.62 miles
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Days 9 - 17
Friday 18th Apr I've been slacking on my updates due to it being my birthday week last week. Luckily I kept notes on everything!Day 9 - Happy Birthday to me!
My first lazy day. I think this was the first day I didn't meet my goal for the month. I figured I could have one day off for my birthday, but still ensured I did more activity than usual. Pacing the house has become a normal activity for me by this point!
- Walked into town for a birthday breakfast
- Played some Switch Sports (a birthday gift)
- Visiting family for birthday
- Pacing house.
Total Steps for Day = 8521 Total Distance for Day = 3.61 miles
Day 10
- Cleaning the house and packing up to go camping in Tenby for the night.
- Setting up camp
- Walked around Tenby
- Walked around Saundersfoot
- Was a bit restless back at camp, and we had the field mostly to ourselves, so I did laps around our camp to meet my goal for the day (now increased from 12500 to 15000 each day)
Total Steps for Day = 15660 Total Distance = 6.64 miles
Day 11
- Up early, and walked to nearby cafe for breakfast.
- Walked back to camp and started packing up.
- Walked around Narberth
- Walked around Haverfordwest.
- Home unpacking and playing more Switch Sports
Total Steps for Day = 10307 Total Distance = 4.37 miles
Day 12
Bit of a lazy one - worn out from the week.
- Went into town to do the food shop, again going down aisles I didn't need to and going the long way round to the checkout.
- Drove to work (extra shift) as I was running late.
- Trip down to the in-laws to feed their ducks while they were away.
Total Steps for Day = 5291 Total Distance for Day = 2.24 miles
Day 13
- Walk up Cyfarthfa Park with the family, a slightly longer walk than usual to help get my back on track after a couple of less active days.
- Down the in-laws for dinner.
- Rest of day spent playing video games to make the most of my last day off until officially returning to work tomorrow.
Total Steps for Day = 12778 Total Distance for Day = 5.62 miles
Day 14
- Back to work, but it was raining so drove in.
- Walk around Cyfarthfa Park after work, but didnt do as long as I wanted as I really needed to pee and there were no public toilets open :(
- Home to play Switch Sports
Total Steps for Day = 6281 Total Distance for Day = 2.69 miles
Day 15
- Home workout in morning before work.
- Walk around Trago (shop) after work and spent too much money on plants, and a new pair of walking boots, as current ones have a hole.
Total Steps for Day = 12933 Total Distance for Day = 5.46 miles
Day 16
- Walk around the building before work with colleagues.
- Walked around town after work to try out my new boots. Hurt myself walking too fast.
- Usual pacing of house to boost numbers a bit.
Total Steps for Day = 8594 Total Distance for Day = 3.76
Day 17
- Crazy morning rushing around as I slept through my alarm.
- Walked to work (again - a bit too fast and hurt my calves)
- Lunch time walk around the nearby retail park with colleague.
- Walk home, limping slightly due to the biggest blister on my heel i think i've ever had.
- An hour in the garden tidying up and trimming the hedge before our new neighbour complains.
- More marching on the spot to try and meet my goal.
Total Steps for Day = 15071 Total Distance for Day = 6.52
Day 7 & 8
Wednesday 9th Apr Day 7- Walked down to the local Royal Mail depot with K so he could collect a parcel.
- Aberavon with Mam, Dad and sisters dog Jake. We walked up and down the seafront, collecting shells and throwing the ball for Jake, enjoying the sunshine. Stopped for an ice cold Coke at a lovely cafe, before doing a loop up the other end of the beach.
- Paced the house while on the phone.
Total Steps for Day = 15494 Total Distance = 6.19 miles
Day 8
- Went to the local retail park to pick up some supplies for an upcoming trip.
- Solo walk around Cyfarthfa park.
- 2 hours of gardening getting the place tidied up for spring.
- Lots of house cleaning catch up while i'm on annual leave.
- Usual pacing around house until day goal was met & to get some extra in.
Total Steps for Day = 17124 Total Distance = 7.51 miles
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Day 6
Monday 7th Apr - Went on our usual Sunday family walk, this time to Bryn Bach Park where we walked slightly longer than we usually do, on a slightly different route.- Paced around the living room any time i was scrolling on my phone
- Mad rush at the end of the day after realising i hadn't yet met my 12500 step goal, so marched/ran on the spot and paced the living room for about half hour before bed.
Total steps for day = 13249 Total distance = 5.68 miles
Leg status = Oww
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Day 5
Sunday 6th Apr - Did our weekly Tesco shop and deliberately went up and down a few extra aisles that I didn't need anything in.- Went into town to do our veg shop at our local grocers & have breakfast at our usual cafe (support local businesses!) Continued walking around the store when K stopped to browse.
- Worked an overtime shift and since the weather was nice, decided to walk in, walking a slightly longer way than usual, that ended up being even longer because i got a bit lost.
- Walked home via a slightly different route which happened to pass by a Costa so got a little reward for myself and a treat for K.
- Implemented a new rule for myself where if i'm going to scroll or play games on my phone, i have to do it standing up/moving. I am a little too addicted to my phone at present, so if i'm going to be glued to my screen, i want to at least be active and not rotting on the couch doing it. Paced the living room on my phone while K cooked dinner.
- Paced the living room on my phone while K tried to decide on a film for us to watch. Then spent about 10 minutes running around the room to meet my daily step goal (12500) before settling down for the night.
Total steps for day = 12755 Total distance = 5.61 miles
Day 2 - Day 4
Saturday 5th Apr Forgot to do an update. Whoops!I've been struggling with how best to log activity with this challenge, because its not necessarily about going on more walks, its also about making a conscious effort throughout the day to move more. So I will log my walks/workouts in the activity log, but I thought I'd include updates on total movement in these blog updates. For context - my average daily steps for March was 5605, and the average distance was 2.38 miles.
Day 2
- Walked to and from work for the first time this year. So grateful that i only live a mile away, so when the weather is as nice as it has been, I can enjoy a morning and afternoon walk. No more activity after getting home, as legs were sore.
Total Steps for Day = 8078 Total Distance = 3.64 miles
Day 3
- Morning chores while listening to music.
- Walked to and from work again.
- Walked to/around the retail park during lunch
- Generally made more of an effort to move throughout the day, as today also marked the start of The Big Team Challenge (a walking challenge in the NHS to encourage activity in NHS staff - which i'm participating in with my colleagues. Having people around you also pushing themselves to be more active proved extremely motivating so today felt easier)
Total Steps for Day = 15080 Total Distance = 6.53 miles
Day 4
- 20 jumping jacks
- 40 second plank
- 17 squats
- Didn't walk to work today as it was raining but did park at the furthest end of the car park I could and then walked the longest route to my office. (In fact the walk was so long and so out of my way that i was technically late by the time i sat down at my desk - whoops!)
- Lunch time walk around the car park with my colleagues.
- Evening walking/running around the house, marching on the spot and pacing various rooms. Normal behaviour.
Total Steps for Day = 12634 Total Distance = 5.55 miles
Day 1
Tuesday 1st Apr Here it goes! Active April has begun!I finished work a little earlier so I could go for a walk and enjoy this beautiful sunshine while getting myself started on this challenge. April is off to a great start weather-wise. My favourite month - possibly because it’s my birth month(?) but it just feels like everything is happier in April.
Though my walk wasn’t quite as long as I’d like, it’s something I don’t usually get to do on a work day, and rather than stressing about setting specific goals for this challenge, I just want to get more active than I’ve been in the last few years. And hopefully, over the next month all this extra activity will become habit and it won’t be so hard to remain active going forward, long after this challenge has ended.
So yes, I could have walked for longer today, pushed myself further, but all that matters is that instead of going home to fall asleep on the sofa or watch tv, I took myself for a walk in the sunshine and did more activity than I usually do on a weekday.
(Though I must confess that for a while I did let the mileage of my walk bother me a bit too much that I ended up doing a quick 20 jumping jacks in the bathroom (hitting my knee on the toilet in the process) before settling down for the night so that’s technically two extra activities today that I wouldn’t have done if it wasn’t for this challenge 👍🏻 )
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Thank you to my Sponsors
£50
Bev & Brent Morgan
£40
Janet George
Thank you for doing this,proud of you xx
£30
Krobus
£20
Donna Paul Niamh &liam
Well done rae ...a great cause .. 👏
£20
Abbie Brown
Well done Rae ☺️
£20
Laura George
<3. Good luck sis
£20
Donna Morgan-davies
Proud of you Rae! Keep going! Love Donna, Jamie, Jacob & Ruby xx
£20
Kevin George
Well done number 3 xx
£20
Adam Ayers
£20
Krystian Morgan
£20
Sheila And Robert Morgan
Very best wishes for this worthy cause x
£20
Carole Waller
£10
Peter Smout
£10
Niamh Reardon
£10
Natasha Moran
Well done Rach!!
£10
Ciara Davies
£10
Rebecca Thomas
Go Rae !!! 🥳🥳
£10
Lesley Craze
Well done Rach. Bowel cancer is close to home for us as a family too. Thank you xxxxx
£5
Jamie-lee
Smashed it Rach 💪 well done! Keep up the hard work!
£5
Rachel George
£5
Well done Rae