ASN March newsletter

Here you go:

• International Women’s Week brings many ways to support abortion rights!
• ASN in the News
• Women we’ve helped
• Running for Choice
• Have a flair for leadership, or a spare room?  

Supporting abortion rights this International Women’s Day
We’re so keen to celebrate women and hope you’ll forgive us if we stretch it out for a few extra days. This is also the season of Lent, which means the anti-choicers are out in force, protesting outside of clinics as part of “40 Days for Life”. Following are three things you can do to support abortion rights during this time.

Support ASN
Last week ASN launched an appeal  in response to THIS REPORT from Education for Choice, investigating rogue Crisis Pregnancy Centres in the UK. ASN has heard from many women who have been shamed, manipulated, and flat out lied to, not only at Crisis Pregnancy Centres but by healthcare professionals as well. When women contact ASN, we make it clear that we are not counsellors or doctors but there to give them practical advice and financial help, not shame or judgement. Please donate today.

Join the Debate
ASN’s Mara Clarke has been invited to take part in a debate being held as part of the King's College London's Student Union's Women's History Month Thursday 13 March at 6.30 pm. The motion up for debate is “Abortion Must be Banned”, and we are expecting a heated debate. Come along and show your support for a woman’s right to choose abortion. More info is here.

Support 40 Days for Choice
40 Days for Choice opposes the harassment of clinics by “40 Days for Life” as positively as they can. This time we’re thrilled that they are doing so by raising money for Abortion Support Network as well as raising awareness of abortion-related problems both in the UK and worldwide. Check out their Tumblr, follow them on Twitter or visit this site to support their campaign.

ASN in the News
Following are a few of the places ASN was featured in the media this past month:

25 February
...so to speak (Blog)
ASN volunteer Sophie Rowan writes about the experience of young women who find themselves pregnant in a country without abortion access.

1 February
Voice of Russia Radio
Sex-selective abortions in the UK - is it happening and if so, why?
ASN’s Mara Clarke joins others on a panel to discuss sex-selective abortion.

27 January
Edinburgh Eye
Every woman who needs a abortion should get it on the NHS
The fabulous Jane Carnell of Eye Edinburgh cites ASN in her piece on the absurdity of the fact that women in England, Scotland and Wales can get an abortion on the NHS and women in Northern Ireland need £400-£2000 and a plane ticket.
 
Women We’ve Helped

In February, ASN heard from 63 women, couples and families.

A young university student, unable to pay for her abortion but also terrified at what her future would look like if she was forced to drop out of school to raise a child.

A woman supporting herself as best she can on one day per week of work.

A young mother who, despite having a job, was unable to raise the cost of her termination, which pushed her further into pregnancy. When she contacted us, she was 20 weeks pregnant but had only raised £1050 towards the cost of a £1310 termination – plus flights. ASN was able to fund the reminder of the procedure as well as provide the client with a host.

A mother who had been told that any future pregnancies would be difficult and potentially unsafe for her.

A young man and woman contacted us after finding that their one night stand had resulted in a pregnancy. They had discussed all their options and decided they wanted to terminate the pregnancy but neither had enough funds to cover the cost.

This was also a month of fours:

Four mothers calling on behalf of their pregnant teenage daughters, aged 15-17.

Four women who, after initially calling ASN for help, were relieved to miscarry their pregnancies, meaning they didn’t have to raise the cost of travelling and paying privately for an abortion in England.

Four undocumented immigrants unable to obtain the visas they needed to travel for an abortion. Only one was able to access an early medical abortion via Women on Web. The other three women, despite checking with migrants’ rights and other organisations, were forced to continue their pregnancies.

And finally, we received this email, which pretty much sums up the experience of many of our clients:

"I am finding the process of organising this journey mind boggling. Maybe my brain is not relaxed enough. I do not have funds yet but am trying to secure a loan. I do not know which clinic is the better option in terms of cost and ease of travel to England. I have no support and am trying to organise this on my own. I would appreciate some assistance as I am currently out of work.”

We thank these women and men for allowing us to share their stories – and for your support, which enabled us to help them. Please note that all monies are written as GBP regardless of where clients are resident, and that “Ireland” can refer to Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.

Running for choice
Are you planning to run the Flora Mini Marathon? Why not run it for ASN? Last year we had a team of five raise just over £1000 for ASN and we’re looking to put another team together. Please contact events@abortionsupport.org.uk if you are interested!

Have a flair for leadership, or a spare room?  
The deadline to apply for the ASN Board of Trustees is Friday 28 March. Trustees work with ASN’s Director and have specified responsibilities along with providing strategic oversight for ASN and helping us fundraise. Please contact mara@abortionsupport.org.uk to request a role description and application if interested.

We are also still seeking volunteer hosts in LIVERPOOL. Do you have a spare room, pull out sofa, or air mattress and the desire to help a woman in need and live within a 30 minute commute of the bpas Liverpool clinic? You won’t be called to host often but when you are, you will know you are having a direct impact on a woman’s life. If interested, please contact us volunteer@abortionsupport.org.uk.
***

Thank you again for all your support. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to provide financial assistance, accommodation and confidential, non-judgemental information to the many women who have contacted us for support.
ASN's website: https://www.abortionsupport.org.uk/

Another ASN update/worldwide pickets planned for abortion clinics

40 days of Life are a Christian organisation that picket outside abortion clinics, over (I presume) the Lent period trying to scare and shame women into not having abortions.  Clearly, they disgust me.  If you want to lower abortion rates you need to provide good sex education, free contraception, free childcare and improved benefits for mothers (and fathers).  You do not lower abortion rates by protesting/gathering/praying outside abortion clinics.  A list of clinics they are going to picket is available on their website here: http://www.40daysforlife.com/location.html
I suggest that if you are near a clinic, and feel safe doing so, form a counter picket, or bring in nice goodies to the staff at the clinics.  Cakes, biscuits and fruit would probably be welcomed.

On a similar note, here is a direct fundraising appeal from ASN: 

Have you heard about the recent investigations into rogue Crisis Pregnancy Centres in the UK?Unregulated, anti-choice ‘counsellors’ are telling women that abortion could give them cancer, make them infertile, or even turn them into child abusers. Disgusting, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, this story is all too familiar to me. Crisis Pregnancy Centres inIreland are just as willing to shame, manipulate and flat-out lie to women to suit their anti-choice agenda.

Lorraine - a single mother of three - was over 13 weeks pregnant before she got our number. A ‘counsellor’ at a CPC in Dublin told her that doctors in Britain are “butchers” who would leave her “permanently scarred”.

But that's not all women in Ireland have to worry about. At ASN, we hear from an equal number of women who are horrifically treated by the people they should be able to trust - their own doctors.

When fifteen-year-old Niamh went to her GP for advice, he dismissed her fear and scolded her for wanting an abortion. After the appointment, he made sure everyone in the waiting room knew that the young girl with him was pregnant.

We believe that Irish women who need to end a pregnancy need practical advice, not shame, judgement, and lies. 

When women contact us, we are very clear to them that we are not counsellors or health care professionals. Thanks to your donations, our helpline and email are there to give information and non-judgemental, practical support; if a woman needs, we also arrange hosts and give grants towards their procedure and travel.  If a woman asks for a local resource for medical information, counselling, a rape crisis centre, or a place where she can speak to someone face to face, we only refer to non-directive, pro-choice organisations.

Your donations help us be at the other end of the phone for women like Lorraine and girls like Niamh every day – thank you so much. If you could spare a little more today, every penny or cent helps.

Thank you, as always - here’s to helping more women, together!

Mara Clarke
Director, Abortion Support Network
 
 
*Some details have been changed to protect our clients’ privacy.

ASN February newsletter

Here is ASN's February newsletter:

• We need to talk about abortion
• ASN in the News
• Women we’ve helped
• Get involved with ASN! Two roles available
• Change is coming/Save the Date

We need to talk about abortion

Despite the fact that one in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime, talking about abortion is not something that is often done. We love this poster from Heather Ault of the 4000 Years for Choice, which says, “I am proud to say it loud, ABORTION! ABORTION! ABORTION!” Talking about abortion is hugely important for many reasons. It transforms abortion from an abstract issue to something that can happen to anyone we know, and also helps make the women having abortions feel less shame and fear. 

We wanted to take the opportunity to shout out to all the women who are out there talking about abortion, from the group Termination for Medical Reasons for putting a face on Irish families facing the double tragedy of losing a much wanted pregnancy to a fatal foetal diagnosis, to the wonderfully brave Janet S who, during her week at the helm of @Ireland, detailed her experience of travelling for abortion. The entire feed can be found here. And while we’re at it, huge thanks to The Institute of Research in Social Sciences at the University of Ulster for hosting a daylong conference on access to abortion with a focus on Northern Ireland, Storifyed here.

ASN in the News

Speaking of talking about abortion, following are a few of the places ASN was featured in the media this past month. A number of people have asked why we’ve been in the news less this year than last, and we feel this is because, like the people above, more and more women are speaking out about their own abortions. This means there is less of a need for ASN to talk about the women we are hearing from and helping. Which is fantastic!

Jezebel
3 January
Abortions Now Legal in Ireland under extremely limited circumstances
“Even if this law is enacted, only a very, very small percentage of women who need abortions will be able to access them in Ireland.”

Voice of Russia Radio UK
13 January
Bleach and suicide mask Northern Ireland Abortion Dilemma
"We’ve heard from women who’ve been so desperate they’ve drunk bleach and attempted suicide and attempted self-abortion.”

Irish Times
22 January 2014
Women seeking UK abortions more likely to have suffered abuse
“In 2013 at least 26 of the women we heard from were in or escaping abusive relationships. We expect the number is higher than this as we don’t ask women if they are in these relationships.”

Women We’ve Helped

In January, ASN heard from 49 women, couples and families.

A woman with health issues that had a high chance of causing a stillbirth later in pregnancy. Not wanting to go through losing a later term pregnancy on top of her other medical issues, including a scheduled major operation and the need to take care of her existing children, she made the decision to travel for an abortion.

A woman who took out a loan where you borrow £600 but pay back £900. We hear from many women so desperate that they have taken out these loans despite having no way of paying them back.

A single, unemployed mother pregnant after being drugged and raped shortly after going through an additional personal tragedy. As she had no credit or debit card or internet access, we paid for her flights and arranged for someone local to print her boarding passes.

A single mother who found out she was pregnant at six weeks and started saving for her termination. However, nine weeks later she was still short of the fee she had been quoted and, since she was past 14 weeks gestation the price had risen by more than £200.

A young woman and her mother who were assaulted by anti-choice protesters outside their family planning clinic in Belfast.

A woman who came to England for her procedure only to be past the gestation she thought she was at. As there was no doctor available to perform the later procedure that day, she had to go home, book a second set of flights, and raise the additional funds for the more expensive procedure.

A woman who found she was pregnant while in the process of leaving her abusive partner and homeless.

Comments from women

“I’m freaking out about how far gone I am. I can’t have a baby for many different reasons and I am not against abortion but I have no money at this time and I’m so afraid because the price of an abortion almost triples the longer gone you are!”

“I was raped last month but never did anything about it as I blamed myself. I have now discovered I’m pregnant. I can’t possibly bring a child into this world at this time in my life and I would rather die than go through with this pregnancy. I need to have an abortion but I haven’t got a lot of money to spare. That’s another reason I can’t have this child as I’d have no means to support it.”

“I am a single mother and her dad left us when she was a baby and I am really scared of being left with another one. I cannot afford the fees of a termination and I feel like there is no way out.”

And our favourite comment, from a mother of two helped by ASN in January:

"What you have given me has just saved my life."
 
We thank these women and men for allowing us to share their stories – and for your support, which enabled us to help them. Please note that all monies are written as GBP regardless of where clients are resident, and that “Ireland” can refer to Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.

Get involved with ASN! TWO roles available

GET ON BOARD THE ASN BOARD!
ASN seeks up to two new trustees for our Board. Trustees work with ASN’s Director and have specified responsibilities along with providing strategic oversight for ASN and helping us fundraise. Desirable skills and qualities include some combination of the following: volunteer management; fundraising with major donors; grant writing; experience with signposting agencies (e.g. clinics, family planning agencies, rape crisis centres); and governance experience, including as a trustee  or knowledge relating to charity commission matters. Interested? Email ASN to request a role description and application. Applications are due Friday 28 March.

HOSTS IN LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER
Do you have a spare room, pull out sofa, or air mattress and the desire to help a woman in need? ASN is seeking a few additional hosts near the bpas Liverpool clinic, the South Manchester Private Clinic, and the MSI Manchester Clinic. You won’t be called to host often but when you are, you will know you are having a direct impact on a woman’s life. We ask that hosts live within a 30 minute commute of the clinic (public transport fine). If interested, please get in touch. Apologies for an incorrect email address in last month’s newsletter!

Change is coming/Save the Date

There are lots of exciting things afoot here at ASN towers – contacting potential sign-posting organisations in Ireland and Northern Ireland to help reach more women, planned updates to our website, and a date for our third AGM and party at which we will reveal our most recent annual report. The AGM and party will both be held on the evening of Thursday 15 May so save the date and watch this space for additional details.

***

Thank you again for all your support. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to provide financial assistance, accommodation and confidential, non-judgmental information to the many women who have contacted us for support.

 Find ASN on facebook.
Find ASN on twitter.
Visit the ASN website.

ASN January newsletter

Here is ASN's Janaury newsletter.  Apologies for being slack with posting these over the last few months - tons of stuff has happened in real life which has taken me away from blogging duties.

ASN January Newsletter: Exciting news for the new year!

• ASN receives a grant from the Feminist Review Trust
• Success of Holiday Fundraising Appeals
• Women we’ve helped
• Volunteer counsellor sought
• Seeking hosts in Liverpool and Manchester

ASN receives a grant from the Feminist Review Trust
ASN is ECSTATIC to share the news that we have received a grant of £7500 from theFeminist Review Trust. Until recently, ASN has been an all-volunteer organisation (with the exception of a three-day per month stipend for our director). However, in the four years since we launched, we have experienced a threefold increase in calls as more and more women and families have needed our services. With this grant, we are able to pay a part time coordinator for the duration of this year, in order to help ASN meet increased demand from women and families, ensure continued high standards of care and help safeguard the long term sustainability of our work. As this grant is specifically to cover the cost of a part time coordinator, we will continue to fundraise and use donations to help women travel and pay privately for abortions.
 
Success of Holiday Fundraising Appeals
Speaking of fundraising, thanks so much for everyone who donated to our holiday appeal, to the lovely people in Northern Ireland who pledged a protestor to ensure a pro-choice presence during an anti-choice vigil outside the MSI Belfast clinic, to the fabulous Agender Society at SOAS (Facebook/Twitter), and to Amelia B who raised funds for us via OxFizz. Together it brought in more than £1200, all of which will directly go to helping women living in Ireland and Northern Ireland forced to travel to England.
 
Women We’ve Helped
In December, ASN “only” heard from 30 women, couples and families. Here are some of their stories, in their own words:
 
"I'm 15 and I think I'm pregnant, I cannot tell my mum about this or I will be thrown out of the house, I'm really worried and would like to see if it’s possible for me to go to England for an abortion." 
 
“I'm a student and have no job. There is no way I can afford any treatment like this and having a child is not an option. I don't know how to get money for this. Is there any way you can help me? Please get back to as soon as possible, I am in panic.”  
 
“Please I need help. I am living in Ireland I am 11 weeks pregnant. I have been evicted from my home and I am homeless. I have a child. I don't have anything no one will help me I have no passport and I honestly am suicidal. This is not my email I am just using it as I have none myself. I don't know where to turn.”
 
“I’m pregnant but I’m looking for help with an abortion. I can’t carry this child as I’m in a very abusive relationship and he told me if I ever fall pregnant he would kill me and my son that I already have. We are not safe with him and he has left me in hospital numerous times. I’m terrified and I can’t tell my family or anybody else about this as I was told by my family if I stayed with my abusive boyfriend they would disown me. I can’t afford to pay for this abortion...I’ve not even got no proper roof over my head. I’ve so much stress and worry on me.”
 
“Please help. I've tried everything to try to miscarry...I've been drinking excessively, I've tried throwing myself downstairs, and even tried to overdose. I can't have this child. I don't want it!!! I'm completely on my own. No one else knows and I'm at the end of my tether, I feel like I'm going to have a breakdown.”
 
"I didn't even know abortion was still illegal in this country - I was naive enough to think things had changed. It's so wonderful to know, during this difficult time, that there are people like you who are working to help. Thank you so much." 
 
We were also able to help a number of women access a safe early medical abortion (abortion with pills) via www.womenonweb.org, including:
 
A woman who experienced severe mental health issues after the birth of her last child; a mother of four, unable to get childcare while she made the trip to England; and a woman unable to obtain a visa to travel to England.
 
A woman we couldn’t help.
 
"I'm calling you in complete and utter desperation" – We spoke to a young woman made homeless after leaving her abusive partner. We agreed to cover the entire cost of her procedure and, if necessary, her flights, but we unfortunately lost contact.
 
We thank these women and men for allowing us to share their stories. Please note that all monies are written as GBP regardless of where clients are resident, and that “Ireland” can refer to Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
 
Volunteer counsellor sought
ASN’s phone volunteers spend their days responding to calls and emails from women, couples and families in incredibly desperate circumstances. They are the life blood of our organisation and we are looking for more ways to support them. If you have experience as a counsellor, social worker, psychiatrist, psychologist or other support worker and are interested in providing a bit of support to our team, please contact us. 
 
Seeking hosts in Liverpool and Manchester
Do you have a spare room, pull out sofa, or air mattress and the desire to help a woman in need? ASN is seeking a few additional hosts near the bpas Liverpool clinic, the South Manchester Private Clinic, and the MSI Manchester Clinic. You won’t be called to host often but when you are, you will know you are having a direct impact on a woman’s life. We ask that hosts live within a 30 minute commute of the clinic (public transport fine). If interested, please get in touch.

***
 
Thank you again for all your support. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to provide financial assistance, accommodation and confidential, non-judgemental information to the many women who have contacted us for support.

Find ASN on facebook.
Find ASN on twitter.
Visit the ASN website.

Link time!

I keep seeing cool things I want to talk about but not finding the time to do a proper post.  So here comes another link list:

 

Lesbians in Archie comics discussing the stress of a closeted relationship:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/11/20/and-now-americas-typical-teenage-girl-is-a-lesbian-thanks-to-archie-comics/

 

Advert advocating engineering toys for girls!

http://www.upworthy.com/if-3-little-girls-did-this-to-my-house-id-do-everything-i-could-to-get-them-full-rides-to-stanford?g=2&c=ufb1

Or rather, trying to sell engineering toys for girls.  It’s an ace advert, go watch.

 

How to submit writing samples to comic publishers:

http://www.comicsvanguard.com/2013/11/how-do-i-submit-writing-work-to-comic.html?

 

Steampunk variant covers for DC:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=49023

 

Fantagraphics kickstarter:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fantagraphicsbooks/fantagraphics-2014-spring-season-39-graphic-novels

Loki meets some school kids and pushes one of them off her seat:

http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/05/watch-loki-push-a-kid-over-after-she-says-thor-is-better-than-him-4174587/

 

New Ms Marvel:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/11/05/ms-marvel-the-muslim-teenage-jersey-girl/

I’m dead excited about this.

 

DC moves to the west coast:

http://www.newsarama.com/19425-dc-comics-moving-to-burbank-to-join-dc-entertainment.html

I feel sorry for the staff who now have to choose to relocate or lose their jobs.

 

Marvel animal variants:

http://marvel.com/news/story/21532/take_an_exclusive_first_look_at_marvel_animal_variants

A write up of the kid book group comics discussion from last week:

http://didyoueverstoptothink.wordpress.com/2013/11/15/comics-kidbkgrp/

 

ASN newsletter October 2013

Here is ASN's October newsletter.  Please read and consider supporting them.  Or, if you want to sponsor me for my 10k training and subsequent race, the fundraising page is open for another 3 months: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/sagreenious1.  PS: I got another donation this week bringing the total raised to £317.50!!!  :D

To the newsletter:

• Brilliant stigma breaking videos
• 4 Years in: Our 1,000th call
• ASN in the News
• Women we’ve helped
• Putting the fun in fundraising
• Events survey

Brilliant stigma breaking videos

The ifpa the ippf, as well as Decidir Nos Hace Libres have released two fabulous movies around the International Day to Decriminalise Abortion. Have a look at these wonderful tributes to the fact that abortion is a common experience for women worldwide.

Women have abortions every day. It’s just one choice.

Who are the women who opt for abortion?

Four Years In: Our 1,000th call

When we opened our virtual doors in October 2009, we had no idea what the future would bring. It seems incredible that two weeks ago we sent an email to share an ASN milestone: 1,000 calls to our helpline. As the result of our appeal, over £440 has been donated towards the next 1,000 calls. Thank you so much to everyone who donated! This is enough money for us to give a typical grant to three women. Or one grant to a woman in exceptionally difficult circumstances. It’s only thanks to support from people like you that we were able to answer those 1,000 calls - and the 15 calls we’ve received since we sent our last email bulletin. If you have been thinking of donating, today would be a great time! £20, £10, even £5 - whatever you can give is always welcome.

ASN in the News

New Statesman
“When will abortion become legal for women in Northern Ireland?”, quoting ASN Director Mara Clarke, the Royal College of Nurses, Goretti Horgan of Alliance for Choice and Dr Fiona Bloomer of the University of Ulster.

Women We’ve Helped

In September, ASN heard from 37 women, couples and families, including a number of young teens as well as several women who were pushed into later gestations as they struggled to raise funds. Here are some of their stories:

A mother in her 30s who was almost completely debilitated by the pregnancy, which made it increasingly difficult to hide. She did everything she could think of to raise funds but was still short, and was then pushed into the next price bracket, meaning she needed to raise even more. ASN was able to help her with a grant.

A woman who had moved from another country to be with her partner. When she arrived, he became abusive and she left him. Her visa has run out which is limiting her ability to work. We were able to give her information on accessing early medical abortion pills from www.womenonweb.org.

A single mother who was 16 weeks pregnant. She had gone to her GP for the morning after pill but was told that she couldn’t get pregnant because she “wasn’t on her cycle”.

The parents of a young teen facing an unwanted pregnancy, as well as serious mental health issues. Said her mother, “I know nobody can judge this because nobody has the right to judge this choice a woman needs to make for herself."

A young woman who initially sought our advice on how to obtain an abortion but then after several roadblocks were put in her way, she decided to continue with the pregnancy. She said, “I am feeling that although I did not want this child, perhaps it wants us! I simply cannot go ahead as planned with the abortion. I am full of fear and panic, but I will just have to deal with my own emotions before this person is born.”

A single mother who fell pregnant despite taking birth control pills.

A woman who travelled to England for a termination only to find that she was several weeks further into the pregnancy than thought, and as there was no doctor available to do the later procedure, she was sent home. An unexpected emergency required her to spend most of the funds she’d borrowed from a disreputable money lender for the procedure. ASN was able to help her with £700 towards the £1600 cost of travel and procedure.

A young mother living on the Isle of Man – where abortion is also illegal.

A foreign national living in Ireland who felt so trapped by the unplanned pregnancy and lack of family support that she resorted to self harming to try and induce a miscarriage.

Two women in the process of escaping abusive relationships.

We thank these women for allowing us to share their stories. Please note that all monies are written as GBP regardless of where clients are resident.
 
Putting the fun in fundraising

Thanks to? Doctors for Choice, Cork Woman’s Right to Choose, and Dublin Nights for Choice for raising almost €700 from running a race, fundraising at a panel discussion entitled “After the X Case, What Now?” and a collection at the March for Choice. Not to mention the sale of twelve knitted uteruses in Dublin!

And there are a number of excellent events coming up for all you pro-choice party people in Dublin:

19 October
Dublin Nights for Choice hosts a clothing swap with all proceeds going to ASN! Schwoop for choice! Click here for more info'.

27 October
ARC, the Abortion Rights Campaign of Ireland is hosting a book, zine and record swap.

15-16 November
Dublin hosts its first ever Festival of Choice! Two nights of fabulous acts with all proceeds going to the Abortion Rights Campaign and ASN. Find out more here.

19th November
And for those of us in London, SAVE THE DATE. ASN is planning an exciting, one of a kind event on 19 November. Stay tuned for more info!

Events survey

Did the events above inspire you? Or possibly frighten you off the idea of fundraising?
Fundraising for ASN takes all shapes and sizes and can range from having a few mates round to watch a film to organising a club night, and now those of you keen to fundraise have the fab Lydia to help you on your way. Whether you are interested in running a race, holding a bake sale or organising a club night, you can contact events@abortionsupport.org.uk for help. To help us help you out with this, we’d like to ask that everyone who has done any fundraising for ASN to provide feedback through this super quick survey. Thanks in advance for your time!


***

Thank you again for all your support. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to provide financial assistance, accommodation and confidential, non-judgemental information to many women who have contacted us for support.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AbortionSupportNetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbortionSupport

Website: http://www.abortionsupport.org.uk

Call +44 (0) 7897 611 593 or email info@abortionsupport.org.uk

I did the 10k run!

I did it yesterday!  I didn't collapse, or trip over, or break my ankle or ANYTHING.  I did nearly turn my ankle once, but it wasn't serious.  I did it in 1 hour 11 minutes and 11 seconds, according the timekeepers, which I'm pretty happy with.  That means I was running at 5.17 miles an hour which is fine.  I also didn't come last, woo-hoo!

I did it at the RSPB's Lakenheath Fen reserve.  They hold an annual Race for Wildlife.  It's a suggested £10 donation for the entry fee and there are courses of 5K, 10K and 2K.  The 10K route takes you round parts of the reserve not usually open to the public.

I did want to do it an hour but as soon as I started I knew that wasn't possible.  Nearly everyone else there was from a running club and as soon as we started most of them tore off ahead of me.  I think I had a few seconds of attempting to keep up but very soon slowed down to a more reasonable pace.  I guess I could have tried to go faster and got a better time, but I didn't want to.  I just wanted to do it.

As I was going round, especially at the start, I wasn't sure I was enjoying it, it was just something I had to do.  I got a stitch fairly early on, then it went, then it came back close to the 30 minute mark (and came back again towards the end), so I walked for one minute then started running again.  At about 32 minutes I got to the water station and stopped for, I dunno, half a minute?, to drink some water.  I was told this was about the halfway point.  Then the track suddenly got a lot more uneven and I was forced to slow down.  The only other part I walked was down a steep 3 foot slope, and that was because I didn't want to fall down.  The rest of it I ran.  I'm quite proud.  Thankfully the reserve is really flat - it used to be carrot fields, so I had no horrible ascents to deal with.

As usual, I felt a whole lot better once I'd finished it than when I was doing it.  It didn't destroy me, I could talk afterwards and I could walk.  In fact, I went for a walk with my friends afterwards and we spotted this awesome mushroom.  At the time, I felt like I could have gone further, but I think that might be wishful thinking.  I was certainly glad when the finish line came into view.  Incidentally, my friends came first in the men's 5K and third in the women's 5K.  That's because they are superfit and do lots of running.  The winner of the 10k did it in 36 minutes.  I wasn't sure that was possible, until a friend told me the world record for a 10k is 27 minutes or so.. Christ that's fast..

Today I feel battered.  My right knee was hurting a bit last night, after I'd been sat down for a while.  Today I'm not in pain but I do feel a bit achey and really rather tired.  When I woke up yesterday I had a dead stuff neck - I must have slept on it funny.  After the race it felt much better and today it is fine.

Since I was running on a nature reserve I should probably mention the wildlife.. I saw swans, tiny moths (or possibly butterflies), dragonflies and I heard a bearded tit calling.  I'm pretty sure it was a bearded tit.  The weather was fine - it was warm and it didn't rain.  I was dreading it raining.

Would I do it again?  Yeah.  But possibly not for a while.

EDITED TO ADD: I lost my navel bar when I was running.  That's only happened once before when I was in the gym doing an abs class.  Obviously I was particularly sweaty on this run and the ball must have worked loose.  I'm quite glad I didn't also lose the hoop at the bottom of my navel (I have two piercings in my navel - top and bottom). Now to ebay to replace it.

In terms of fundraising (donation page here) for the Abortion Support Network, here are the results:

Total raised: £305!!!  I think that's worth saying again - £305!!  That's amazing!  Thank you to all my sponsors!
Money from me: £48. I think it should have been £46 but somewhere along the way I miscounted by £2.  So I've stuck with that.  I have included £3 for last week's training sessions that I didn't do, and £1 for the race itself.
Offline money from others: $20 (American).  I've counted that as £12.
Donations through the fundrasing page: £196
Gift aid: £49.

That's amazing.  That's really really generous of everyone.  Thank you!

Regarding the donation page, there's currently a glitch in their system where when you edit the amount of offline donations it forces you to change the event start and end date to a future date, so the event details now read as happening on 21st October, not 19th October.  I'll change it back when they've fixed it.  But you can still donate for a further 3 months, if you would like.  If you do, thank you!

Couch to 10k: Week 13, session 2 and 3

Man I'm slack at reporting on this.  I'll  explain why in a bit.

Session 2 - 43 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 3 times.
Session 3 - 52 min. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

So session 2 was fine.  It was short, it didn't leave me feeling invigorated, it just was.   It was cold though.  Session 3 I did today and I attempted to run up Gas Hill again.  I failed.  I'm basically lazy.  I'm sick and tired of running now and I'm a bit sulky that I still have to do it. It was OK earlier on in the programme because I knew I had to raise money and I knew that I had a long way to go to improve.  Now I'm pretty certain that I can run the 10k and I'm fed up of training.  And I've exceeded my fundraising target.  I'm also probably not going to be able to do sessions 1 and 2 of the final week's training because I'm away with work, so I'm grumpy about that too.  Perhaps I'll manage session 1 tomorrow before I go to work.

Today it was bloody cold outside and running didn't really warm me up that much.  Perhaps I should have run faster.  Running in the cold is horrible because I get cold nipples.  That is no fun.  Ugh.  Perhaps I should take a hoody out with me tomorrow morning.

Funds raised to date:

£44 from me - I'm donating £1 for every training session I complete, plus an extra quid for every additional session at the gym.
£161 from some amazing sponsors.
Total: £215
Gift aid: £40.25
Total including gift aid: £255.25  And yaayyyyy I've exceeded my target!  Thank you all ! So pleased!

$20 from an American (about £12.41 I think).  So I think that's about £267.  Aces!  Amazing aces!

I have also been told that Americans can't donate through my fundraising page on my donate, but ASN have improved their Donate pages: https://www.abortionsupport.org.uk/support-us/donate/ - and now you can pay by paypal or by standing order.  Please consider donating.

Finally, the my donate site is a bit broken so I can't update the total funds on there.  It should be fixed tomorrow so I'll try to update it then.

Couch to 10k: Week 12, session 3

Edit: This should have been posted before this entry, but it seems I never hit publish.  Oops.
 
I copied an earlier session and did:

57 min. Run 20 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 15 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Run 10 minutes.

It felt OK.  Then I got home and realised I was quite slow.  I don't have the stats to hand - I've been so busy I'm a bit delayed writing this.

I have one more week of training to go.  then I'm away with work for a few days then I do a 10k race.  eep.

Funds raised to date:

£42 from me - I'm donating £1 for every training session I complete, plus an extra quid for every additional session at the gym.
£161 from some amazing sponsors.
Total: £213
Gift aid: £40.25
Total including gift aid: £253.25  And yaayyyyy I've exceeded my target!  Thank you all ! So pleased!
Gift aid: £40.25
Total including gift aid: £253.25  And yaayyyyy I've exceeded my target!  Thank you all ! So pleased!

$20 from an American (about £12.41 I think)

I have also been told that Americans can't donate through my fundraising page on my donate, but ASN have improved their Donate pages: https://www.abortionsupport.org.uk/support-us/donate/ - and now you can pay by paypal or by standing order.  Please consider donating.

I should go out for another run either today or tomorrow.  Not sure which I'll do yet.

Couch to 10k

I forgot to add in yesterday's update that the run I did on Sunday was the first one since I fell over where my knees didn't hurt.  Hoozah.

I had some aches in my bum though.  I had a deep tissue massage on the Saturday which involved dealing with some really deep seated knots and as a consequence I could feel some points deep in my bum cheeks which ached the next day.

I am determined to go out running tonight.  The mind is having a strop but the body is willing.  i have my route mapped out and I aim to do about 5.6 miles in 50 or 60 minutes.  This will be my last big run before the race in a couple of weeks.

Oh, and here's some beginner's running tips from a friend's blog: http://www.sunnysweetpea.com/2013/10/beginners-running-tips.html
I'd add in go to the toilet before you leave the house and make sure you know where the public conveniences are.

Couch to 10k: Week 12, session 2

Because I’ve got an extra week before I do my race I’m veering away from the training programme a little.  I should have done:  43 min. Run 10 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 3 times. 

I did 4 rounds instead of the 3 rounds.  Incredibly slowly.

Really, today should have been titled How Not To Do A Running Session.

So I got up at 6.  Had a breakfast of porridge and then left the house 45 minutes later.  Thing was, I was still pretty full from yesterday’s dinner so ended up feeling a bit sick as I was running.  This made me slow down to a snail’s pace.  My stats for today are 3.68 miles in 44 minutes, at an average speed of 5.01mph.  The first mile was done in 10 minutes 36 seconds.  The second was done in 12 minutes 2 seconds and the third mile was done in 12 minutes 38 seconds.  That’s pitiful.

I decided to wear a long sleeve top as I imagined it would be very cold at 7.05 in the morning.  It wasn’t. It was humid. I got quite hot.  I should have worn a vest.

Seriously, this was a badly planned session.

Wildlife: I saw a ginger cat as I was running.  I also came across a dog that was proper growling and barking and so I stopped till the owners had called it away.  Bah.  I also got a few threads of spider web across my face as I was on the heath.  That was interesting.

I plan to go out again on Sunday morning and do week 11’s third session again.  Then next week I will do the week 12 running as they advise.  Although I might increase the 50 minute run to 60 minutes.  We’ll see.

A reminder that the running programme I am using can be found here.

A reminder that I am using this training as an opportunity to raise money for the Abortion Support Network who provide funds to Irish women so they can travel to England and access safe, legal abortions.  You can sponsor me here or donate direct to ASN - see info on their website.

Funds raised to date:
£41 from me - I'm donating £1 for every training session I complete, plus an extra quid for every additional session at the gym.
£161 from some amazing sponsors.
Total: £202

Gift aid: £40.25
Total including gift aid: £242.25  And yaayyyyy I've exceeded my target!  Thank you all ! So pleased!