How to stay dry on the beach in 39°C

I’m now powered by Rexona – the world’s No1 deodorant.  The very lovely people from Unilever are supporting my trek in aid of children’s charities in Lebanon.  My limbs may ache, my spirit may flag but my underarms will be dry and my feet lubricated (by Vaseline).  Is this too much information?!  Thank you, thank you Rexona.

Gently glowing on the 55th floor of the Marriot Harbour Hotel

And believe me I have needed something to keep me feeling fresh over the past week. Last Friday we were led up my stair-climb Nemesis – the Dubai Marriot Harbour Hotel – by “just do 10 more floors” P.  I paced myself better this time and certainly was not the quickest up the 55 floors, then down 55 floors, then up 20 floors, then down 10 floors, then up 10 more floors, then up to the top.  Were you keeping up there?  Total 130 floors, up and down.  I had a big smile on my face at the end which was wiped off when I attempted to hobble down my stairs at home the next morning and the next morning and the next.  Astonishingly, P said her calves didn’t feel too bad.  This may be due to her antics on her daughter’s trampoline each morning.  Further details will not pass my lips (unless you make a very generous contribution to Gulf for Good).

This Friday and we were back on the beach for circuits – the last session for the Lebanon challengers as we’ll be there in less than a month.  I’m excited and nervous in equal measure.  Will I be fit enough?  Polly and Candice, personal-trainers who give their time free of charge to support Gulf for Good, devised another ingenious round of activities to prepare us for our challenges and we did a combination of cardio, upper body, lower body, abs and stretching.  They’re good at encouraging you to keep going and stretch yourself just a bit further but you don’t feel a failure if you have to take an easier option.  This is really excellent as we are all different ages and levels of fitness.  I was so impressed that my daughters came with me again for an 8am start on a Friday (the weekend in UAE) – and it was tough at 39°C and searing sun by the end.

Gently glowing on the 55th floor

Candice Howe & Polly Wiseman of Isis Consulting

Stretching our legs

Keeping balance on a palm tree

Finding some shade for stretching

Supporting each other – good practise for our challenges.

Candice leads the stretching

Neck stretches

Side bends – the session’s nearly over.

Polly helping me to further agony

Polly helping P – she can really feel this stretch!

The final stretch – it’s over!

So it’s a few weeks left to train like mad and try to raise as much as I can to help the charities.  21st April is the last day to give me gold – contact me (via the contact page) to find out how.  My next post will be about the kit I’m taking with me to Lebanon and I might even post a video demonstration!  Thanks for the treasure that I’ve been given this week and for all your support.

A black toe and a tale of woe

Starting our beach hike at Marina Walk

While charging around barefoot, early on Friday morning, I closed a door on my little toe.  The expletive that followed woke up my husband who was trying to have a lie-in; I cursed myself for being so stupid, while hobbling round in pain for the rest of the day.  I thought it might prevent me from doing the next Gulf for Good training session.

The day before, with great trepidation, I went to the gym for the first time in over 15 years.  Lovely Ann Harrington at Emirates Golf Club offered to devise a training programme to prepare me for going up and down the steep inclines on my trek in Lebanon.  It was a really good session and I left full of confidence as I wasn’t quite as pathetically unfit as I thought I was (above average fitness said Ann).  Therefore I was quite looking forward to the stair climb that G4G had organised and if I tell you that I always played goal keeper in netball and hockey at school to get out of overly exerting myself, you’ll understand what an unusual state of affairs this was.

At the top of 55 floors - that's a grimace not a smile!

Saturday dawned and thankfully, although my toe was a lovely shade of deep blue, I managed to get my boot on without hitting the roof.  Quite a large group met at the Marriot Dubai Harbour Hotel and after dodging the Sufouh traffic we walked to the beach, along to the Sheraton and back again.  Then we went into the Marriot to climb the stairs (drum roll) to the 55th floor!  Everyone was encouraged to go at their own pace and I kept up with the front group until the 20th floor but gasping for oxygen, boiling hot, with lungs on fire I slowed down a lot to plod up to the top.  I found it really hard and felt sick and dizzy from going round and round.  My toe was probably the only thing that didn’t hurt!  The nice thing about this training is that everyone offers encouragment to each other and I did feel a sense of achievement getting to the top.   It would’ve been great if we’d been able to follow Jo’s suggestion that we slide back down the bannisters. P says we will do a stair climb again as it is really good preparation.  I hope she forgets.

Here’s another thing that started as a tale of woe.  The Hotshots team decided to do a parachute jump for charity last year and started fundraising.  Their main sponsor went bust, one of the team got DVT, the airport was closed for safety reasons (yikes!), the original charity closed and then Charlotte from Hotshots broke her foot.  At this point she decided that kind donors would understand if they didn’t actually jump but donate the funds to a worthy cause anyway – and they chose to support this challenge.   I visited the studio to pick up a fantastic contribution and glean a few photography tips for my trek from the experts.  Massive thanks Hotshots for choosing to help vulnerable children in Lebanon; a happy ending.

There are several ways you can help support this trek (see Give your support and Gold for Good pages on this site).   Have you ever done a stair climb and have you any tips (as I’m sure P won’t forget)?  Please write your comments in the box below.

Cheers – I’ll drink to that

Immerse yourself in the greatest collection of finest wines and luxury spirits to be found anywhere in duty-free shopping.

Another very lovely company has agreed to support this challenge (an Eco-trek through the mountainous region of Lebanon to benefit local children’s charities).  Have you been to Le Clos?  It’s where you can go to get the finest wines and luxury spirits when you are in Dubai International Airport Terminal 3. If you fancy buying some of their special vintages and spirits, you can view them online, order on the way out and pick them up on your way home.  Sounds good to me.  What sounds even better is their contribution to improve the lives of refugee and orphaned children.   Thank you Le Clos for your generous support of this cause (the name incidently, refers to the sort of enclosed or private vineyard that you get in France, particularly Burgundy – very apt).

Me and Debi with the very charming Serge Hochar in Cru, Dubai

Of course, Le Clos stocks some of the best wines from Lebanon including the legendary Chateau Musar 1972.  I was lucky enough to try this vintage at a wine tasting at Cru, Souk al Bahar in Dubai last year and met the equally legendary Serge Hochar of the Musar dynasty.  Cheers!

If your company is interested in becoming a sponsor please visit the SPONSORS page and get in touch (via the form on the contact me page).   Your logo could be featured here among many other benefits (not least being making a real difference to the lives of children in Lebanon.

Personal donations and any broken or unwanted gold (see Gold for Good) items also gratefully received.  P.S. I’m managing to do a 2 hour walk every day, except for this morning; my dogs refused, point blank, to go out in the rain! I’m starting to wonder if they are really Border Terriers or Chihuahuas in disguise.

شكرا لك merci, thank you

Appreciation in the main languages that are spoken in Lebanon (every Lebanese person I have ever met speaks all three).  Another generous sponsor has donated to this challenge which will benefit refugee and orphaned children.  You may not be familiar with Emirates Leisure Retail but you will have heard of their brands particularly if you live in the United Arab Emirates.   They operate international brands such as Costa and  the Noodle House and have plenty of home grown brands too, including Left Bank, Apres, Hey Pesto and Good to Go to name a few.  I’ve also received a voucher for dinner for two at Left Bank (the one at the Madinat is my personal favourite) which I’ll be using to help raise more funds.

Huge thanks to Emirates Leisure Retail for making a great contribution to the amount raised for this charity eco-trek in Lebanon, which will directly improve the lives of some very needy children there.  It’s great to hear some positive news about companies in Dubai isn’t it?

Emirates Leisure Retail - a subsidiary of the Emirates Group. Bringing our customers unique concepts, impeccable products, exemplary service and friendly people.

If your company is interested in becoming a sponsor please visit the SPONSORS page and get in touch (via the form on the contact me page).   Your logo could be featured here among many other benefits (not least being making a real difference to the lives of children in Lebanon.

Personal donations and any broken or unwanted gold (see Gold for Good) items also gratefully received.  P.S. I did another 2 hour walk this morning in my new boots!

Hooray for my first sponsor!

Atom - an integrated full-service agency, with headquarters in Dubai, providing inspiration in brand-development, advertising, below-the-line and web/digital marketing.

Yes! I’ve got my first sponsor for my trek through the mountains of Lebanon.  Ok, ok, it is my husband’s company but they are only committing their hard-earned cash (advertising agency in a recession) because they believe in the charities that benefit.  They are genuinely committed to CSR and as well as treating their staff and suppliers with respect (and paying them on time … this can be rare you know) they subscribe to other charities on a regular basis.  This includes sponsoring a child via ActionAid and purchasing and preserving rainforest through the World Land Trust Action Fund plus they are looking at ways to make the company carbon neutral.  Thank you Atom; I am really grateful for the contribution to my fund-raising.

If your company would like to sponsor me I can say very nice things about you on this blog, the sponsor page and to all my friends.  I am happy to chat about any other ideas.  Plus the funds make a tangible difference to children’s lives in Lebanon through some exceptional charities.  Get in touch through the Contact Me page.