Emma Boylan and Nikki Bradley.
ON FRIDAY, April 4 I attended an event called Fashionista Friday in the Clanree Hotel. It was a charity evening in aid of The Irish Cancer Societies Action Against Breast Cancer.
I had a wonderful time compering for two fashion shows which showcased clothing from Watson Menswear and Clare Clothing. The highlight of the evening was a sponsored head shave in support of a young girl called Emma Dunnion.
Her three brothers shaved their head to support their sister which I thought was so kind. One of her brothers had his head shaved on stage while the others arrived at the event showing off their newly shaved heads.
It brought me back to my days of treatment and I felt overwhelming admiration for Emma who bravely walked around sans wig. I have massive respect for her and her supportive brothers.
Junior Chamber International
I am joint Vice President of Junior Chamber International Donegal which involves attending various meetings and training events. We travelled to Roscrea in Co. Tipperary at the weekend to take part in a leadership academy.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and a great opportunity to meet like minded people. Running my campaign and working from home as a sales and marketer for MeanIT involves quite a bit of self motivation.
Training daily also requires a high level of motivation. JCI helps me with that. It also helps with public speaking among many other things.
I must say I find it very rewarding and have grown as a person because of it. Anyone from the age of 18-40 can join so if you feel that this may be something for you then you can e-mail jcidonegal@gmail.com. We are currently on the look out for an outstanding young person to enter them into The Outstanding Young Person awards.
If you know of anyone who has really made a difference to their community or has excelled in a particular field then we want to hear from you.
Gym clothes
I received a call from my campaign sponsor, Gareth Britton owner of All Sports in Donegal Town, to say that some of my gym clothes have arrived. I was like a child at Christmas! Gareth is very kindly sponsoring all my workout clothing and will be attaching my logo to all garments.
I cannot wait to see my logo on the clothes. It was designed by one of my best friends, Emma McConnell so it means more to me for that reason.
I will feel extremely proud to wear it on my clothes as I train. I was contacted by some friends and family who are currently living in Australia and New York. They too want to strut around in Ewing’s branded clothes which delighted me!
It also got me thinking. Quite a lot of my friends have emigrated to various corners of the world which made me sad initially but now I see them all as potential ambassadors.
I cannot think of a nicer way to spread the message of Fighting Fit For Ewing’s than to have my friends help from all around the world.
The Prowler.
The Prowler
I tried two new exercises in training this week, neither of which I expected to be able to do. The first involved lifting myself off the ground and pulling my knees upwards.
This was fun, at first! It grew tiring on my arms quite quickly but it is a great strengthening exercise for your arms while simultaneously toning your stomach.
The second involved pushing a machine called a prowler. This same exercise is used in rugby training and is great for both your legs and arms. I didn’t expect to be able to do this one as it involves walking with the machine in a kind of crouched position.
Alas, my trainer Aoife had faith in me and I surprised myself. I love that feeling. We attached weights to the machine once we were confident that I could walk with it and although that slowed me down a bit, it added to the workout which felt great.
Nikki Bradley is the founder of Fighting Fit For Ewing’s, a campaign to promote awareness of Ewing’s Sarcoma. Nikki is sponsored by All Sports in Donegal Town. Support her campaign by giving ‘Fighting Fit For Ewing’s’ a LIKE on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @nikkibradley59
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