Brave Tiger Eagles

This is a photo of the extremely brave Tiger Eagles negotiating a perilous mountain pass in La Gola d'Infernaccio on their famous retreat in Le Marche, Italy... which also included a  full and demanding seminar programme.. followed by scrumptious food

 

 

and relaxing afterwards, listening to Mice's scintillating Insect Poetry

Applaud trees and skies

This is one of Michael’s photographs from

his Trees and Sky project. The exhibition opens in Marmaris, Turkey on May28

Mice likes this Tuncay lady

He says ‘Can’t wait to meet her. Picked up my small prints today.

And they’re rather tasty’

 

Our ferret heroine (contd)

Post Marathon report
This blog isn’t at all what I expected to write. I thought I’d be raving on about “wow, what an amazing day”, “I feel so proud”, “I’m on a high”, “one of the top 10 days of my life”, “I’m a changed person” but no, dear reader, none of that.
The facts: – I did finish in 5 hours and 17 minutes, hampered by my dodgy leg and the big interruptions to my training. It was incredibly tough but I was determined to finish. I am now very sore and look forward to the day when I no longer have to go downstairs sideways and whimpering!
The emotions: - This is the bit I find more interesting and frankly surprising. I didn’t enjoy the day despite my best intentions. I tried to, I smiled a lot, I waved at the crowd, I jiggled to the bands. But ultimately it was all too hard, too painful (due to the dodgy leg which kicked in at only 3 miles) and in the end just a huge relief to get over the line.
I also don’t feel it was an “amazing achievement” as so many lovely supportive friends & family have said to me. Instead I saw some really, truly amazing achievers around me – the blind guy running and the guy who was assisting him, the Autistic guy, the clearly very old chap, the man carrying a fridge, the many people recovering from major illness or surgery ... the list goes on. I was just a regular person giving it a go and I now firmly believe that anyone could do it. When I entered the marathon way back in June, it felt like a huge goal – thrilling, massive, a vast mountain before me. Now it feels really rather small. Anyone can do it, you simply have to train and do the small steps in between.
I also saw some incredibly moving sights – it was the personal stories on the running vests that struck me. People running in memory of loved ones, children who never had a chance to grow up, sick children, disabled children .. again the list goes on. In comparison I was there on a whim, always fancied doing it and ultimately it was all about me and a personal challenge. There wasn’t the higher calling that so many had.
Yes I was running for a disabled children’s charity and raised over £3,000 but even that doesn’t feel something to be proud of – it was all down to my lovely generous friends and family. And if I’m honest I approached the charity because I’d missed the ballot and it was the only way to get a place so I feel a bit of a fraud.
And then I spoke to my coach - a wonderful Tiger Eagles coach (everyone should get one, they really are rather marvellous!). He helped me sort through my mixed emotions, find out what was really true, what was going on underneath the exhaustion and sore legs. And he helped me see that achieving the marathon feels small because in the last 10 months since I entered it, my bar has been raised. A goal that once seemed huge no longer is. It’s just small and, for me personally, not really that important. And why is that?
I’ve recognised, truly, how ANYONE can achieve WHATEVER they want to. It’s all about actually setting the goal, stepping into the dream, taking the first step on the journey to get there, keeping the end goal and bigger picture in sight and overcoming hurdles along the way.
Lance Armstrong once said “pain is temporary, quitting is forever” ... I used this in my mind when I struggled in the marathon but equally it applies to life in general. Never give up on your goals and you will be able to achieve them.
What else have I learnt?
That what’s more important to me is the fact that 3 others have already told me that my efforts, emails and updates have inspired them to enter the marathon. Others are mulling it over or thinking of entering shorter events. I so love that. I have no desire to do another marathon but I will be a truly fantastic supporter to those that set it as their own personal, thrilling goal.
How about you, dear reader? Fancy giving it a go? You can definitely do it. If you don’t have a medical reason not to then remember that humans are designed to run, it’s how we were made. We were also designed to run long distances to track animals. You may not feel you’re “a runner” but neither was I. You may not feel you have the time but neither did I. You may think it’s too big, scary, thrilling but that’s what makes it the perfect goal for you. The London ballot takes place 4th May – why not put in an entry and let fate decide? After that ANY goal in your life will be possible.
In the meantime my personal homework is to think about “What’s next for me now that my bar has been raised?”. I’ll let you know when I come up with the answer ...
Sue X

Coaching my feet

Hi all,

With only 3 days to go (EEEEEEEEEEK!) until the big day there are positives and negatives ...

Starting with the positives:

1. I am fitter than I’ve ever been in my adult (or possibly entire) life. My original aim of entering the marathon was to get fit and this goal gets a big tick. I’ve lost weight despite eating whatever I fancy & toned up. Forget rubbish diets that don’t work, just start running.

2. From someone who previously thought “I’m just not a runner”, I was able to run a half marathon back in March without stopping in 2 hours 13min, admittedly not at all fast by most standards but for me it was a new World Record!

3. I have impressed myself by sticking to the training plan wherever possible despite dark mornings, pouring rain, mud, more mud, snow and freezing temperatures.

4. Including gift aid, I have raised £3,000 for a Phab disabled children’s charity thanks to you lovely generous lot (www.justgiving.com/sue-saker, it’s not too late) . You really are brilliant. You’ve also given me loads of mental support and encouragement along the way so thank-you.

5. I hope to have an amazing day on Sunday 25th and aim to smile as much as possible on the way round.

6. Before I got injured (more below) I had got to the stage where I could view a 10k run as a pretty easy option which frankly astonishes me. The human body really is amazing – use it wisely!

7. I feel I have done my very, very best and am proud of myself :o)

And now the not so good news:

1. I have had lots of interruptions to my training schedule due to illness. Long distance running lowers your immune system immediately after a run. Combining running with spending my days with 2 young kids who cough/sneeze in my face, wipe their noses on me and expect me to clear up the mess of stomach bugs has been a recipe for disaster. I really should have attempted this 10 years ago when life was simpler.

2. That mildly annoying knee pain that I had back in January, and ignored, turned out to be the beginnings of ITB Syndrome. Because it was bearable, I did (on reflection rather stupidly) ignore it and kept running. It suddenly got a lot worse after my half marathon 7 weeks ago and since then I haven’t been able to run further than about 6 miles without a lot of pain and limping. I’ve had loads of physio, and done every stretch and exercise my physio told me to, but have accepted that I definitely won’t be running 26 miles as to do so could lead to all sorts of other longer term problems. I will be attempting a “run/walk” strategy of running slowly for 5mins, walking for 1min ... repeat for about 6 hours!! However in training my knee has still been too painful after only about 5 miles to keep running so I expect to be walking the vast majority of the course. It all depends on how my painkillers and adrenalin help on Sunday. So, another lesson learnt – get all niggles seen to sooner rather than later. If you are reading this and have a niggle (not running related even) please go and see someone – you’ll be pleased you did when you’re 80 and dancing the Tango!

It is incredibly frustrating that after the months of training in really rubbish weather I won’t now have a hope of running the whole thing but equally I feel I gave it my best shot. The fact that I look like a shuffling duck when I run would suggest that I’m perhaps not a “natural” runner and am hoping this will dissuade me from future attempts to prove I can do it!

If you are watching it on the day my photo is attached so you know what kit to look out for. And if you can’t bear the suspense you can track me on a wap-enabled phone or online via Facebook:

“Facebook: The application will not go live until 24 hours before the event. Log in/sign up via Facebook.com then in the Search box type “adidas marathon tracker 2010”. Now you can either install the app or share it on your profile. Mobile: text the word RUN to 83040 and adidas will send you a link to the mobile tracking service. The tracking service follows your runner by using the timer chip in their shoe as they pass the 5k markers along the course. Simply enter the race number of your runner and the system does the rest”.

My (winning!) number is 44584.

And if you’re thinking about me on Sunday please send anti-inflammatory thoughts to my right knee. Oh and the rest of me too! Oh and hope it’s cloudy too – some of you may recall I ended up in hospital after the London/Brighton bike ride because my body doesn’t react at all well to exercising in heat.

Who’s crazy idea was this???!

Lots of love,

Super Fit Sue X

So what's new?

I like the word 'evolution', it makes my tummy tingle. I think because it throws up the image (at least to me) of a rocket launchpad; you know, solid base and a flash bang zoom... exciting new space to explore etc
What am I talking about?....Events, that's what.
Yes, we Tiger Eagles are so diverse in our experience and talents that our remit goes beyond life coaching.
So, soon you'll see an events page up on this website, featuring workshops and events that Tiger Eagles are planning in the near future.
You'll find all sorts of goodies there, such as Trudi and Alison's 'Inspirational' workshops (contact Trudi at pearcetrudi@yahoo.com), Then Sarah has hers on Public Speaking and then there is Michael who organises Creativity Workshops in Italy.
The page will be up shortly, it will.

Michael
April 14

The great launch

Watch out for the wondrous launch of our website...coming very soon