Welcome to the 6 x 10’s

Given that this week marks my 6 x 10 birthday, I took the time during my last run to reflect on a few of the decades that have got me to this one.

Have you noticed how I can’t bring myself to even write the number!

Yet.

Thirties – doing some “adulting”.

Katherine arrived into the world when I reached 30, the rest of the decade brought along Matt and William, along with moving home TEN times, including spending three fabulous years in Italy before moving to France, and working in Switzerland.

Those “babies” are now the most wonderful adults who are kind, thoughtful and of whom I’m very proud.

And England won the rugby world cup!

Roaring Forties – proper “grown up”.

At 40, I took on my first ever sprint triathlon and studied for the distance learning MBA with the Open University. This decade saw me returning to full time work and travelling across Europe as part of my job. I finished (only just) my first ever amateur stage of the Tour de France, raced around lake Geneva on my bike several times, contributed to raising funds for the Anouk Foundation, the English-Speaking Cancer Association (ESCA) as well as organising through work, fund raising for some local Swiss charitable organisations.

And during this decade, those “babies” turned into young adults, taking up their place at university.

My forties included me taking a massive decision and applying to take part in the Clipper Round the World Yacht race.

It was also a time for saying goodbye to my dad, just before the end of the decade.

The Half century – ever wonder how different life would be if that one thing never happened?

So, the fifties arrived.  And there I was, somewhere between Singapore and Hong Kong, on the 2200h til 0200h watch, on board Mission Performance, not even my own beloved Team Switzerland, due to MP needing crew or else they couldn’t race. And at midnight, I came up on deck to what appeared to be a ghost ship. Only to find the watch hiding and then jumping out with a huge Happy Birthday chorus. I’m still surprised the off-watch didn’t tell us to be quiet.

One of the best things about the yacht race was, as a crew, raising over USD40K for Mercy Ships. As well as the fundraising I managed to achieve for women’s education charities in Kenya and India.

The 50’s seems odd when I think about it. I struggled to find my place in the world after the yacht race. I kept up the cycling – another couple of Etape du Tours. Oh, and a summer of cycle tour leading throughout Provence. Now that WAS cool. I ventured to Cape town and worked with the fabulous Sue Knight on leadership development. That was such a privilege of an experience.

I took on some public speaking opportunities, thanks to my dear friend and encourager extraordinaire, Maureen Steele. And in 2018 moved to Mauritius to take up the career pinnacle of a job. Most of my time was spent between South Sudan and Kenya with a couple of stints in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The experiences were life changing.

Climbing Kilimanjaro with Clipper crew buddies, friends and husband just before returning from East Africa was a highlight.

I then returned to France, working in Geneva for a year before a six-month stint in Bangkok followed by South Sudan for 17 months, I only returned home just over a year ago.

“Grief is the price we pay for love” – ER II

The quote above is from Queen Elizabeth II who also left us during this decade.

The last 11 months in particular have been hard, losing close friends. The heartache that creates has been tough to get through. As well as friends becoming ill. Yet, friends still being here. Friends who have stuck by my side through thick and thin, through awfulness and joyfulness.

My reflections reminded me how important my family is to me, my hubbie, my kids, my mum and those cousins who I don’t see often enough.

I’m reminded of the importance of my friendships, especially those in my life who have been there, no matter what, through tears of loss and heartache, through illness and despair, tears of laughter, hope, joy, excitement and just sheer and utter silliness.

Someone once asked me why I do these kind of extreme sporting events, and what was I trying to prove. Well, on reflection, it’s not about proving anything. I simply love sport, I enjoy the challenge of seeing if I can be better than I was the last time. It’s about learning and growing. What will make it easier, what can I do to avoid injury, or go faster or longer. I love that it brings people together and that through sport you can do things for and with others. I love the resilience it teaches you, the collaboration and “team spirit”.

So, at the still young age of sixty, yep – I wrote it – I said it out loud – SIXTY – here I am, about to embark on the iconic London marathon. I can’t wait. Just eight weeks to go.

And as my friend John Holloway said recently, “what’s in a number”. My message to you whether you’re younger or older, is this (not just attributable to Nike) – Just do it! Live it, love it, learn from it!

The encouragement and motivation that I get seeing the sponsorship amount rise, is truly out of this world, giving me energy when my alarm goes off at 0555h for me to get up and go running. Thank you! Here’s the link to the sponsorship page.

Always young at heart 🙂

TEN

Ten weeks until marathon day.

Ten years ago I wrote about sailing in the Celebes sea, the leg of the Clipper round the world yacht race between Brisbane and Singapore.

And according to numerology – I KNOW…. I did say I wouldn’t go there again, but I just couldn’t resist because when I read about the number ten, I liked reading that number ten is said to be a symbol of completion, independence and “infinite potential“.

Infinite potential is how I’d describe my wonderful friend, Jodie Cole, who I met just under ten years ago, after her first cancer diagnosis. She was a great inspiration, always looking for the best in people, in teams and in situations.

I first met Jodie when I returned from the yacht race and was asked to speak at a lunch hosted by the Career Women’s Forum in Geneva, which Jodie was attending. The topic was leadership and communication, one of Jodie’s many strengths. I remember seeing a bright pink flash in her hair, a huge smile and was drawn into conversation with her at the end of the lunch.

Jodie took every opportunity that life threw at her, and that she created. Only last November, she ran in the Alice in Wonderland Disney race dressed as the Queen of Hearts. She had what many people would consider significant set backs, and still came through, wearing a big smile and positive outlook, every time.

So whilst a positive covid test might be a bit of a set back and slow down/stop my training, relatively speaking, it’s an insignificant cloud passing over the sun. If there’s one thing that the yacht race taught me in real time, it’s that after every storm, the sun does indeed shine again, the calm returns and another day dawns.

I recently read this and it sums up much of what Jodie meant to me:

“When they judge you, yawn.
When they misunderstand you, smile.
When they underestimate you, laugh.
When they condemn you, ignore.
When they envy you, rejoice.
When they oppose you, prevail.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

RIP dear Jodie…… infinite potential is indeed what you meant to me xxx

Let’s ensure that every family and every child with DMD can achieve their potential.

Please sponsor my fundraising for the Duchenne Family Support Group (DFSG) and click HERE

Thank you xx

The wonderful thing about Tiggers

“Life is not about how fast you run or how high you climb, but how well you bounce“…… said Tigger.

Except that is, if you’re aiming to run a marathon. Too much bounce and the impact on your joints can cause all sorts of issues. I’m now learning to run differently and have even had a metronome beat to run to. 165 beats per minute, in this case – 165 foot strikes per minute.

Feels kind of odd, yet reduces the bounce. Like your legs are moving really quickly yet your body is slow. Core and arm strength a definite plus.

Over the last couple of weeks, thanks to physiotherapy input, I’m adding extra strength building to my glutes aka a strong bum. Nowt wrong with that she says to herself.

And ice. Ice after a run on the knee tendon and anything else that appears niggly.

What I’m noticing that’s different to training when younger, is that once you’ve fixed one bit of the body, something else shouts at you. All that said, given that I prefer early morning training sessions, I’m enjoying the first rays of light, the sunrises, the view of the mountains – I mean, what could be better than a view of the Alps and the Jura.

It’s now 11 weeks to the marathon. Sunday 21st April for anyone who fancies coming along and shouting encouraging words. I managed a 22km run today and based on that, whilst I won’t be fast, I will finish before the cut off of 8 hours. Thinking between 5 and 6 hours at the current training pace. Hoping less than five hours, although I should be realistic from the perspective of wanting to be able to continue with the activities I love after the marathon.

Just in case you’d forgotten, I’m “running” the marathon to raise money for the Duchenne family support group (DFSG) https://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/alysoun-sturt-scobie.

Please help me support DFSG by donating anything you can afford in these challenging times.

Thank you 🙂

“The comeback is always stronger than the set back” – said someone incredibly optimistic.

I had the scan on my left knee, and basically, it’s a problem that needs to be fixed.

In very lay people speak there are bits of bone in the tendon that attaches the kneecap to the shin bone. With the irritation of using the knee more than I usually would, it became inflamed and therefore HURT.

I had an injection of corticosteroid into the inflamed site, continued with the high dose anti-inflammatories and here’s hoping that with some physio and patience it will improve. In fairness, I can walk downstairs without wincing now. Which is good.

In the meantime, I’m trawling our local fancy dress shop as well as on-line options for a tortoise costume. My plan is that if I can’t run the marathon in style, then I’ll walk it in the style of a genteel, fun loving tortoise.

Why not!

I feel incredibly fortunate to have a place allocated to me in one of the worlds’ most iconic sporting events. It’ll be great to just be there, and be a part of the amazing experience AND raise money for a really good cause.

Speaking of which, thank you THANK YOU to the 13 friends who between them have contributed £590.  Next time you fancy a Big Mac, a Starbucks grande latte, a pint of beer or a bottle of wine …… please head to the sponsorship page and donate to the DFSG charity. They’re small and they need it.

Sponsorship pagehttps://2024tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/alysoun-sturt-scobie

Back next week with more updates and/or musings. Til then, take care & thanks for reading.

15 weeks to go!

Did you know that according to numerology, number 15 signifies leadership, wisdom, finances and business as well as relationships and love. Actually, just google it and the number 15 covers just about any base.

As I was hunting ideas for this week’s blog and looking at the significance of the number 15 (if there was any) I also came across an Angel Number. No idea what an angel number is, although the angel number of 15 talks about “remaining focused on your goals, making positive life changes, welcoming change and recognizing your full potential using your inner wisdom”

So, with fifteen weeks to go until I get to the start line of the TCS London marathon and keeping “15” in mind, I shall remain focused on my goal, and consider that the rest of what one can read into “15” is actually just business as usual.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to numerology you for the duration of this, or any other blog.

I walked in the early morning dark and the lashing rain last week whilst in the Lake District. Was woken by the howling wind on Monday morning, the gate banging, and still went out for my morning training session.

Week 2 of the beginners sixteen-week TCS training program has you walking and running for an allotted amount of time. Instead of doing the running bits, coz that still hurts too much, I’m doing very brisk walking.

Keeping up with the strength – core, glutes, arms, is still super important and something I can do. Although anything that requires me to kneel on my left knee, requires a cushion. BUT…. I CAN do the exercises. I do need to resort to ice afterwards, but hey ho.

I’ve been contacted by one of the runners who is also raising money for the Duchenne’s family support group (DFSG), he seems rather an accomplished runner. It’s great that they have at least one person in the group who will (at this point in time) actually be RUNNING the marathon.

I’m hoping that my knee will make a miraculous recovery, after all, I’m doing everything I can to achieve that. And on that note, I am having a scan on my knee this morning. My Dr has recommended 600mg of ibuprofen, three times a day for the next week, to really attack the inflammation of the tendon – the bit that specifically attaches from the tibia (shin) to the knee cap. We’ve narrowed it down to that – no ACL nonsense or other instability – which is good news. I think.

Training this week has so far been indoors – 20 mins yoga every morning with 40 or 20 mins on the indoor bike. The weather didn’t really provide any other options given we had about 20cm of snow fall yesterday.

Onwards n Upwards or “where there’s a will there’s a way”.

More next week. Til then – petit a petit as they say in these parts.

Thank you so much to those of you who have already donated something to the great cause I’m “running” to support. Please add your contribution via the just giving site HERE

And another….

Well, it has been a while. Hello again lovely readers and welcome to 2024.

 As I was sneakily peaking over the shoulder of my husband, who was avidly reading his Gardeners World magazine, and not wanting to be confused with someone who actually enjoys reading gardening magazines, I came across this piece of writing by one of their contributors called James Alexander-Sinclair:

“The Roman God Janus after whom this exciting but not exactly affable month is named, had two heads. One of them looking backwards with a mixture of fondness and relief to the year just passed. The other looking forward with trepidation and a rising sense of anticipation to the looming thrills of the new year”

I can honestly say that as I look back on last year, there’s not much fondness, more like overwhelming relief that the year 2023 is o-v-e-r. The year was somewhat challenging. However, as we know, following the experiences of the round the world yacht race a decade ago (I know right – TEN years ago!!!!) after every storm the sun really does shine.

So in between the storms, the rain clouds, and with a teeny bit of sun shining through the cloud, I decided that it was about time to take on another challenge – well, what I mean is to actually undertake a challenge that I choose to do (rather than endure one that just randomly and horribly happened).

I also reach another milestone birthday in February so what better time to choose a little something.

That “something” is running the London Marathon on April 21^st 2024. I haven’t actually run for over 20 years, so whilst not quite the same kind of challenge as the 2013/14 Clipper Round the World Yacht race – it’s a BIG challenge for my (not quite as young as it was) body.

I had a great plan to start slowly, building up base strength and fitness with weights and stretching for 3 months, followed by the couch to marathon approach of walk/run for a couple of months. The idea being that you extend the running whilst decreasing the walking, albeit you can still walk if you want to.

And all was going really well. I got to running 10km in just over an hour without really trying AND with walking. Strength training 2 x 40 mins per week, and cycling 40km or so once a week in and out of work.

I’d even built in a six-week contingency in case I caught a cold, covid (ugh) or had a niggly injury.

Even getting out and running in the dark, in the rain, at 6am was becoming a pleasure. All was just hunky dory.

Then it wasn’t. First it was a niggly lower back. This was followed a few weeks later by a left knee that just hurt.

As I type this, the London marathon feels as though it’s going to be more of a long walk rather than a gentle (LOL) jog. I had a four to five-hour finish time in mind. I’d love to have got closer to less than-four hours, although my older and (a little bit) wiser self suggested to me that perhaps that was a little over-ambitious.

I’ve decided to focus on what I CAN do. Walking is okay, no pain, as are some strength exercises and some yoga poses. Nutrition is all good – yep, I even booked myself into discuss nutrition with an expert given that I’ll be sixty years young and want to have enough energy to train AND do my job and recover.

I also have the most fabulous sports rehab’ support. He has been putting my body back in shape for over a decade now. I can often go years without needing a visit to him, yet when he’s needed, he’s there and seems to work miracles.

This is what I’m hoping for now….. a New Year miracle.

I’m sure that you’ve all had your ups and downs since I last wrote, and I very much hope that you’ve got through them with the love, support and care of good friends.

Our good friends of many, many years lost their son, Christopher, to Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) in March 2023.

Christopher was 27 when he passed away. My aim in running the London Marathon (or walking it!) is to raise money for a fabulous charity that supports families who have to manage their way through not just the emotional turmoil of this disease, but also the medical and practical information that needs to be received, digested and understood and the various systems that have to be navigated.

Please help me to help other families dealing with this devastating diagnosis –by clicking on this link and donate to the Duchenne Family Support Group (DFSG)

Looking forward to being back in touch and hearing from you. Meanwhile, I wish you all a happy, healthy, and joyful 2024.

A shout out to David Lewis and Maiike Kruseman for their professionalism and general all round awesomeness.

“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place”.

Thank you to George Bernard Shaw for that classic quotation.

I’ve worked with a number of training organisations throughout my career and the one that I find myself returning to more often than not is ‘The Training Box’.  I love the simplicity of what they do whilst achieving outstanding results.

I was very kindly asked by them to write a piece about communication for their recent newsletter and I thought I’d take the opportunity to share it with you.

Click here for the link to their Facebook page and my article, and if you’re not on Facebook, you can also find the article here

Do check out what ‘The training box‘ is all about and have a chat with them.

 

 

Drifting?

“To reach a port, we must sail – sail, not tie at anchor – sail, not drift.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

I was in Coverack, Cornwall last week and saw this boat in the harbour and I started thinking about drifting – not just at sea but in life, or whether we are anchored to anything, and whether that ‘anything’ is useful. An odd thought perhaps and it may well have been at the moment I needed just one more Cornish cream tea or a Cornish pasty.

There are so many metaphors from sporting activities, and as I was learning to sail, I found those linked to sailing really interesting. Some might even say clichéd. But I love them, they’re so expressive.

However…………

Since I returned, I have to admit that I did find it hard to settle down into “normal” life, whatever “normal” is supposed to look like. And if I was to admit it, I had perhaps drifted into things that appeared at the outset interesting and exciting, and also to some extent, feeling as though I “should” take on a particular role, rather than be more discerning.

In the job I’d done prior to sailing, I had a great team; we supported each other and worked together with a clear end in mind, always considering the art of the possible. And as a racing crew, I loved that team spirit and wanted to replicate it in the work that I undertook following the race. Achieving the art of the possible.

Yet what I too often found in some of the work environments was a situation where some people were more interested in retaining the status quo, or told me that ‘it had never been done before, so it can’t be done’. For those of you who know me, you can imagine how I felt hearing those kind of words.

Yes, grrr and gnashing of teeth!

So back to the picture of the boat – to get away from drifting, it was time for me to take stock. And to do this, I worked with a friend who helped me to challenge and consider what was important to me, to think about my personal anchors in life, aka values. In other words knowing what I value most, recognising my guiding principles. This is what we came up with and which I thought I’d share with you: Family, Friendship and Integrity along with Curiosity, Courage, Authenticity and Fairness.

Thank you to Malin www.the-expatcoach.com for helping me define what is important to me. Now that I have this, I can more constructively figure out what next so that I can find an environment, and a role in which I can be the best that I know I can be. I also had a conversation with a coach called Dan Beverly http://danbeverly.com who helped me focus, knowing what my values are, on how I get to where I want to be.

Am I there yet? Not quite.

Yet I am closer to being there than I have been. And I have the end in mind – working with curious, authentic people, who want to be the best they can be by being courageous and fair, living and working with integrity, in what they do for themselves, their team and the organisation – and ultimately for something much bigger.

If, as you’re reading this, you’re wondering where you’re at, what next, and/or what’s important to you, I’d highly recommend that you take time to define your own personal values and goals. I’m not suggesting that you should take on a round the world yacht race in order to help you to be clear about who you are and what you stand for, yet I do encourage and perhaps challenge you to have that conversation with yourself.

My challenge to you to do this is not just for the sake of securing a great job but also about living your life to its fullest. Some of you may have read the articles by nurses working in palliative care, about regrets of people who are dying. The top five regrets were noted as:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
4. I wish I’d stayed in touch with friends
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier

Reference: “Inspiration and Chai”

I dare you – have that courageous conversation with yourself if you haven’t done so already. And then consciously choose your path – set your sails and aim for that destination. You might end up drifting every now and again, but you know what – with a good anchor, even when the tide might appear to be dragging you backwards, your anchor will hold until the tide turns and you can then move forward once more.

Need some help with that conversation – drop me a note -alysouns@hotmail.com , or catch up with Malin, Dan or Lesley (my inspiration for racing the yacht that she a year earlier had sailed around the world 😉 ) You can reach Lesley at https://www.braveconversations.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

How time flies

Has it really been over two years since my last post on this blog site? Yikes.

Since I finished the round the world race, I felt that perhaps I didn’t have anything “worthwhile” or “exciting” to share. And there are rather a lot more spokes than spinnakers at the moment.

This year, it appears that I’ve ridden, rather than sailed, almost 5,000 kilometres, of which 54,000m has been ‘up’. That’s sort of the equivalent distance of six times up Mount Everest. Before I competed in the Round the World Yacht race, I’d ridden about 3,000km to this point in the year. I did another Etape du Tour aka the amateur stage of the Tour de France in 2016 and then again this year as well as riding in the London Prudential 100 mile event.

In my first year back after the race I really didn’t want to do anything that stretched me physically and mentally. I shied away from anything that was, as I saw it, a challenge. I was tired, exhausted even and didn’t “need” anymore challenges.

How the pendulum has swung since then.

A friend of mine told me that the London 100 was an ‘event’ and not a “race”, at which I screwed up my face and thought, “hmmm, what does that mean?”. A little bit like the quizzical look I had when talking about what I would be doing during 2013/14, and some people would have a different interpretation entirely (to me) of what it was. The clue of what I was embarking upon was in the title. Simple and clear, a “round the world yacht race” – obviously…..!

A lot of what has happened since the race has got me thinking about the meaning of the language that we use (that I use), and its impact on others (and on myself). I’ve spoken to groups about my learning from the race experience, my preparation for the race and my experiences since returning, focusing on how we choose to do things, or not as the case may be. One of the people who inspired me, when asked about what she did, says that she, “sailed around the world” whereas my description of exactly the same event is, “I competed in a round the world yacht race”.

When I thought about continuing with this blog, I was struck with questions to myself about whether people would still be interested in hearing from me.

Just that sentence with the words, ‘struck with’ makes me take a step back. Was I actually hit with a question? Of course not, yet, the word ‘strike’ suggests to me, being hit, and in that happening, stepping back (or being pushed back). And that is in fact what has happened, what I allowed to happen. I’ve stepped back from doing what I love doing – writing, and sharing my ‘thinking out loud’ moments.

What are the words that you use most frequently and how do they impact how you think and act?

I’ve had so many exciting moments and quite a few not so exciting moments since Christmas 2014 – think time stuck in the doldrums kind of moments. I’d like to re-kindle my love of writing and thinking out loud, and take some time over the next few weeks, or maybe longer, to share with you some of the “what happened next” episodes to “spinnakers and spokes”.

So here’s to raising the spinnaker once more, to heading downwind in a leisurely, cruising kind of way. The sun is shining; the birds are gliding above us, perhaps even Trevor the pigeon will reappear on deck. Remember the smell of fresh made bread as the dawn breaks, with the dolphins leaping, leaving behind glowing silver phosphorescent streaks in the still waters of the ocean.

Those words and the images they evoke leave me with a sense of calm.

Here’s wishing you all a peaceful, calm week ahead.

 

 

Happy Christmas lovely friends, family and blog followers,

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have but rather of recognising and appreciating what we do have.” ~ Friedrich Koenig

Christmas Eve last year involved ensuring the boat was ready to race. Last minute preparations and team briefings to clarify race start roles and our tactics for the infamous, famous and treacherous Sydney Hobart yacht race.

Christmas day in Sydney was rainy, and without my youngest son and my Mum it wasn’t quite altogether. No “usual” pre-Christmas parties with friends and family, however a great evening of secret Santa gifts at Charlie, Nick and Ralf’s apartment.

And this year, parties galore, friends all around and a feeling of warmth and happiness and comfort. Not to mention the amazing amount of cycling we’ve been able to do, right up to today. Not great for those hoping for a white Christmas in the Alps. Great though for those of us mad enough to ride out in 5°C on a Sunday morning.

I’ve now been home five months since the race finished, applied for about a dozen jobs, had half a dozen interviews, decorated two of our bedrooms, cleaned out cupboards, made numerous trips to the charity shops, caught up with friends and cycled over 2,000km.

Two great friends and race followers have got married, my friend and inspiration for joining the race has had a baby girl, and my daughter is in her final year of University having directed an amazing youth production of the musical “Hairspray” in August. Middle son is doing well studying his fine art degree and young son is having a ball, excuse the pun, playing rugby and studying A-levels. I found out that another friend I met back in the 80’s had died of a brain tumour, another has had a double mastectomy and others are creaking at the seams.

I am thankful on a daily basis for good health, stamina, resilience and a darn good sense of humour.

I may not have found paid employment ……..yet, and please don’t get me started on on-line application sites……. However, I am home, safe and warm with family and great friends. I stretched myself beyond what I imagined possible last year. I still have a distinct and profound dislike of the Tasman sea and have no great desire to sail in those waters e-v-e-r again (sorry Viki Moore!) But then Viki is in NZ and has the roaring 40’s to contend with on potentially a daily basis. The 40’s are Viki’s playground, hats off to her! Viki writes a great blog under “Astrolabe Sailing”.

Photo credit: Viki Moore

 

And Bailey boat cat is one of my heros , he’s a pawsome individual who I would never have expected to meet. Bailey is a male seal point Siamese cat who lives on a yacht on the coast near Rome and through his blog kept me entertained during my round the world adventure. He even has a book called “Adventures of a feline afloat”. Check his stories out at www.baileyboatcat.com

Photo credit: BaileyBoatCat

 

So on Christmas Eve, from my home in France, with my family around me, I bid you all a wonderful festive season and good wishes, good luck, good health and happiness with a huge dose of fun and laughter to you all during 2015.

Cycling on Christmas Eve

“Learn to appreciate what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had”