There's a rat in the pond, what am I gonna do?!?

We've been swimming, cycling and running like our fundraising for Age UK depended on it but this week Team SuperBASS (or Team SuperbASS as I like to call us) have been wrapping up the training by one last brief refreshing (sub 10 degrees, I'm sure) swim in the Hampstead ponds.  Ambling down the foliage draped path towards the pond, we had our first encounter of Roger....

Roger the rat having a hug with a strange moustached man

He's obviously found out this was our last trip to the ponds and decided to join us; in the pond and then later in the changing rooms where he was cheering us on as we practiced getting out of our wetsuits - or the T1 transition as us triathletes say. Personally, I feel he was just trying to sneak a peak at Brid's boobs and Sinead's ass.  I think I'll be making him the honorary fourth team member (Don't worry Stephanie, he'll never completely replace you, he's not as quickwitted).   

Hello there Sinead's belly button!

In these final hours we will be carb loading and trying to move as little as possible until Saturday. Need some assistance to complete your PADLS and DADLs? Sorry patients, I can't possibly help you. I'm an elite triathlete and need to rest. (Not really, we wouldn't DREAM of doing such a thing HPC, Barbara, jury of the court....)

I don't know about Brid and Sinead but I will be taking it easy until after the triathlon.  After reading copious amounts of literature on how to complete a tri, I am formulating my own approach. I don't really want to push myself too much. I don't want to get too out of breath.  I don't have a set time.  Completion will happen naturally.  This way I still have lots of energy for our AFTER PARTY!  We will be drinking away (hopefully) our success of the day upstairs at The Star of Bethnal Green this Saturday from 8pm onwards.  Everyone welcome!!!!

As for the money side of things, we've been scrambling around for sponsorship in the last few weeks and here are a few strategies I have tried; some successful, some not so.

1.  Ask people using this thing called social media i.e. Facebook as I don't know how to use anything else (moderately successful)

2. Ask people using email (completely ignored - fail)

3. Ask people to their actual faces  (Some people will actually say 'no' outright! However, most people feel too awkward and will almost always say yes unless I start to feel awkward first and insist they don't have to sponsor us - absolute failure on my part but I'm getting better).

4. Set up a text service!!! We only set this up last night and have still to get our first text donation. First text donor will win Sinead and/or Brid to do whatever you want with them.  They're so dedicated to the cause. 

Here's how you can win your prize(s)

Just text our code BASS69 to 70070 with your donation amount

I have to mention all the people who have sponsored us since my last blog. Massive special thanks to Lieu, Mouse, Jack and Shannon, Sue and Keith, Jill, Leah and the entire population of the Essex town of Brentwood.

www.virginmoneygiving.com/superbass 

Thank you everyone for your continued support!! We love you!!

Love,

Alison, Brid, Sinead and Roger xxxxx 

Team photo

Cakes 'n tings

Some time has elapsed since the first (and only so far) blog entry thing. And my, how things have happened!

As Team SuperBASS, we’ve had a bit of reshuffle. Four have now become three. Unfortunately, Stef had to drop out due to work commitments.   But our spirits have not been dampened by the loss and we have persevered….kind of.

We held our first fundraising event at Whipps Cross selling baked goods. And the people of Whipps do like to eat cake! We raised an amazing £419.31!!!!

 I personally found helping out at this event extremely stressful and by 1pm was threatening to use my next pay packet to buy out the stall (it was a very hot day and I was hungry unfortunately not for cake). So big ups to Sinead and Brid who were relentless and smiley and managed to sell every last crumb.  Not forgetting Karlene, Michelle and Age UK volunteers Helen, Celia and silver surfer John who were really helpful on the day.  

 Thanks so much to all our bakers; Katy S, Barbara, Meryn, Brid, Pete, Me, Maggie H, Tanya, Geraldine, Anita, Ellie N, Lukasz, Prity, Karlene, Jackie, Me, Mandy A, Anna G, Sinead, Dierdre, Una, Caroline, Johnson, Me, Michelle, Leah, Lily, Alison (League of Friends) Deeane, Christine (Age UK) and me!  We were overwhelmed by the amount of cakes we received, we had to sell for an additional hour just to get rid of them all! Apologies to anyone I’ve left off the list.  Special thanks to Anna L who guru’d me through the process and Caroline P whose flapjacks looked good but would’ve incurred dental work costs with the purchase!

We also received a few big donations which we have been so greatful for: James Hyett,  John Coffey, Pilar Lizana and Ollie and Anne! You are all wonderful – thank you so much.

Training is well underway with less than 4 weeks to go…. Our first outing to the Serpentine happened today and lots of lessons were learnt.

1. Open water is murky.  But maybe it’s better that way as we don’t know what exactly the ‘murk’ is. 

2. Expect to be joined by other swimmers in somewhere like a lake. i.e. ducks.  

3. Don’t let Sinead borrow your nose clip. She’ll snot all over it and not apologise.

4. Don’t use lube you’ve bought from Superdrug (Brid) to help you ease in/out of your wetsuit. It doesn’t work.

 5. In fact, don’t buy lube from Superdrug at all (it dries out quickly and it’s harder to get rubber over it. Noted)

As well as the swimming, we’ve been working at the other stuff too.  Sinead helpfully has advised us to wear glasses when cycling.  This is so flies don’t get in your eyes and hurt them. Thanks Sinead. I’ll be mindful of that.  There has been an incident of saddle soreness and I was told that I needed to ‘harden my gooch’.  I replied ‘how does one harden one's gooch?’ I was met by silence.  This person was a man. Obvs.

Ok, enough about lube and gooch.  

Thanks everyone for all your support so far, we love you! x

 

Love,

Alison, Brid and Sinead

Team SuperBASS 

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/superbass

 

Introducing the team!

Hello all!

Welcome to Team SuperBASS's blog!

            Team  SuperBASS are Brid Coffey, Alison Vargas, Stef Parry and Sinead Stack

 (N.B. Taken in black and white, not for artistic affect but because colour wasn't our friend that day and neither was the "thumbs up" pose I adopted but it managed to sneak in, dammit)

The origin of Team SuperBASS began one night with me (Alison) randomly accepting the challenge to complete a triathlon despite the fact I take absolutely no interest/pleasure in any kind of physical exertion!  And I am not alone in this challange! My fellow team members and fundraisers are Brid and Sinead, who like myself are occupational therapists, and my friend Stef who's not an OT but knows how to raise a few quid!

The planning of training sessions have commenced, the acutal training TBC.   We have some Hampstead Heath training sessions on the agenda and some party tricks up our sleeves to hit our fundraising target.  Personally, I'm attempting to graduate from doggy paddle to a swimming stroke I can do in public whilst avoiding the inhalation of chlorinated water via the nasal passage.


Luckily for us, Age UK have given us places in the London 2012 Triathlon to fulfill this challenge and also the opportunity to fundraise for a charity that we have had many dealings with in our day jobs as OTs.  Many times we've recommended patients and their families to seek advice/help from Age UK where public resources have stopped short.  In the ever depressing "current climate" and "big society" where public funding is squeezed and public services are being cut, we are becoming increasingly more dependent on charities like Age UK to fill this ever growing gap.

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/BrandPartnerGlobal/londonVPP/Document//IDBB165%20Age%20UK%20London%20Cuts%20Report%20Interactive%20FINAL.pdf

This is where we need you! (and if you've been able to put up with my exclamation marks and quotation marks and general amatuer blogging then thank you!).  We would appreciate very much if you took the time to sponsor us for this wonderful charity. In return, we will attempt to complete the London triathlon for your amusement :-) And amusing I'm sure it will be!

Thanking you already....

Lots of love,

Alison, Brid, Stef and Sinead
Team SuperBASS