must do more yoga

I tried the yoga DVD out this morning and despite my expectations that it would take a few sessions before I started to feel anything I did actually feel better at the end of it.

All I need to do now is get back into running - it's now been 12 days since I last ran anywhere, scary. I have 11 weeks to go and I've missed a whole week of the schedule. I also know there will be a few more occasions when work is due to get in the way of the schedule as I need to travel far or attend a long day meeting.

One thing is for sure I cannot afford to make myself ill again - must do more Yoga.

Dreich, dreich, dreich

Just as my health improves the weather goes sour.

It has been raining on and off since Friday now. We had planned a trip to the zoo and the air museum both of which depend on decent weather to enjoy them.

At least the Easter dinner went well - everyone seemed to have a good time and the food was lovely - so much better when your stomach is capable of digesting it.

After the big clean up operation this morning we decided to go for a wet-weather attraction in Fife - Scotland's Secret Bunker. Ok so it's hardly a secret anymore but it used to be a well guarded secret for the past 50 years. It's a fascinating place to visit if a little grim in it's history. We had a great time and learned a great deal.

Afterwards we went to the award winning fish and chip shop in Anstruther for a fish supper which we were forced to eat in the car due to the inclement weather.

Back to normal tomorrow - work and work-out wise.

Getting Better - Slowly

Ahhhhhhhhh it's good to eat and drink as normal and more importantly shit normal too.

Today was a bit of a let down as we had planned to go to the zoo for a relaxing day and then set up the house for Easter dinner. However the weather thwarted it - it was damp, foggy and darn cold.

However there was some good fortune - I got a gift voucher for a free box of thornton's choccies from Sainsburys as a birthday present. There was no stopping me from getting in there to claim my pressie (even if it is a month early).

We then got the house tidy and watched the new Doctor Who pilot show - excellent, I only hope the Italy Vs Scotland match is as good.

It's OVER

Finally!!!

I woke up today absolutely STARVING hungry and with a major craving for a bowl of porridge which I ate and didn't get any pain from.

I felt a bit woosey during the day but then this was the first time in 6 days that I had eaten anything so I guess I was a little short on vital vitamins and nutrients.

I watched the Wigan VS Saints Rugby League match with the other half and managed to wolf down 2 chocolate biscuits - yes I know this wont exactly replenish what I am missing but I figured I should just get on and eat whatever I fancy for today at least after all it's a novelty having an appetite.

Has the corner been turned?

A slight development - the frequency of toilet visits has decreased somewhat and dare I say it is even getting a little more solid.

I am still in pain however and although I feel like eating I can't actually think of anything that turns me on enough to risk the pain of another swift ejection.

I am now 10Ibs lighter than I was on Saturday - a mere 5 days ago.

Will I ever eat again?

Day 4 of the bug from hell.

Well the immodium did as promised - it stopped me shitting for a good 12 hours but it did little else - I still haven't eaten, I have absolutely no desire to eat anything. I went to the newsagents to get some gossip mags and was positively put off by the array of chocolate. This is not good.

On a lighter note (literally!) I have lost half a stone in weight.

This is bringing a whole new dimension to the term "feeling shit"

Not funny anymore

Day 3 of the tummy bug from hell and I have lost everything-

Lost my appetite for anything (even chocolate)
Lost 5Ibs in weight (this is good I guess)
Lost far too many hours on the toilet
Losing my will to live

I rang the NHS helpline to ask for advice on how to treat it - apparantly immodium can help but it only provides symptomatic relief, sounds reasonable if it means I can get out of the house for the haircut I have booked.

I was also told the most likely cause was a bug (which is apparantly unlikely being I am the only one in the house to suffer) or it could be stress-related. Given all the things I have to worry about at the moment I can believe the stress reason and I went on Amazon this morning and got myself a Yoga DVD - I have been meaning to do this for a while as it's meant to be very good for runners to do yoga for muscle tone as well as de-stressing. It arrives in 3 days apparantly, along with a few other purchases I couldn't resisit (well I allow myself a £50 a month spend on Amazon and I did get paid last week). I got the comic relief single by Tony Christie and Peter Kay "Is this the way to Amarillo" on DVD, the "Belle Du Jour" novel in hard back and the A-Team season 1 on DVD (I thought we had already established my sad taste in entertainment ok).

I'm now off to see if I can get some immodium and get my haircut.

Riding out the storm

I'm actually meant to be on holiday from work this week - to prepare for the Easter dinner on Sunday, but instead I am still laid up with the tummy bug from hell.

In one way its a good thing I'm on holiday as it means I don't get a sick day on my record but in another way it's bad to be ill while you are meant to be on holiday - I feel robbed!

Yesterday was bad, I ate zilch, anything I tried to eat caused immediate pain and very quick ejection - including water. I am now very tired, dehydrated and hungry. I still can't eat although I have now lost the desire to eat anything anyway. I certainly wont get out running tonight - I've done the running on empty thing before and it's sooooo not clever.

Not the kind of run I expected

As I write this I should be running a half marathon in Alloa.

Unfortunately I am dealing with a different kind of run - diabolical diarrhoea.

It started late last night and has continued on to this morning, it ain't fun and it's also the first time I've ever had to miss a race. Unfortunately there is no "next year" for this one, today was the last ever Alloa Half Marathon and was fully subscribed to weeks ago (I was one of the last lucky people to get a place) so I feel rotten to the very core as I have deprived someone of a place and will never be able to take part.

I did have ideas of taking some immodium and hoping for the best but I actually didn't feel that good when I woke up and I'm unable to hold on to water (need the bathroom after drinking pure water) hence I would just dehydrate at about 4 miles in. Besides which the other half banned me from even thinking about it - I guess he didn't fancy carting me off to the nearest A and E department when it all went wrong, bless him for thinking of me.

So the only running I will be doing today is to and from the bathroom (boom, boom).

A little Penguin Wisdom

I've already said how much I admire the writings of John Bingham and tonight was one of those times when his wisdom held true.

One of the Penguin's wise phrases is that "there are times when you just don't feel like running and you really should and there are times when you really feel like it and you just shouldn't".

Tonight was one of those nights where I literally had to drag my PMT ridden body out of the house kicking and screaming to duck under the duvet with a hoard of chocolate, but it was WORTH it. I had a good time in the end, I really needed to get out and I'm glad I did.

It's nights like tonight that lift the spirits - it was a cool evening with a heavy wind which meant I had to walk sections to avoid getting blown away. It was also a very quiet night and as I came down a less blustery stretch I came face to face with a fox, it was a wonderful moment - we caught sight of each other and both of us stopped dead in our tracks for a few seconds before running off in our opposite directions. But really, it's moments like that which make it all worthwhile.

Tiredness, Pain and Runners Trots

They say that if you have one nights bad sleep then it takes the next two nights to catch up. The same also seems to apply to when you are just dog-gone tired - one nights sleep does not make a catch up.

I thought today would be ok as I didn't have a ridiculously early start but it was harder to get up at 8am today than it was to get up at 4am yesterday. It was a fairly eventful day but nothing that would usually leave me shattered so I thought I would be ok to run tonight.

Unfortunately the residual tiredness that was dogging me turned all the niggly pains I felt into full-blown agony. I managed to get 1.5miles before I had to stop and walk a little, I got another 0.5miles before I had to stop for traffic at a main road. From then on it got harder and harder to start again. Aches and pains cropped up everywhere and then the dreaded runners trots started.

Runners trots are more painful than any muscular pain. It starts suddenly - a faint feeling of needing to go soonish then as you progress it gets more and more pressing until it really hurts and at that point you have to stop and take a walking break but that's the killer because as soon as you start to move faster it the jobbie jiggles faster. You would think it would be best to speed it up and get to a loo but that makes the jobbie jiggles worse and you have to walk calmly to allow the pressure to subside. Eventually walking gets difficult too and you try to put on a last spurt to make it home before it all falls out, this is usually the point when it rains really heavily (just as it did to me tonight) or you see someone you know and they want to stop and chat. Sweat is pouring down your face and your gait looks ridiculous.

When you do make it home and sit on the throne you feel such bliss at the super-sonic ejection and sudden feeling of weightlessness its almost worth the pain of feeling like your bowels are going to explode.

Hopefully a night of catch up sleep and an easier day tomorrow will enable me to have a decent training run - heaven knows I need one with the half marathon coming up on Sunday.

Shattered

I had high hopes of sticking to the plan today but it didn't quite work out.

I had a 4am start this morning in order to catch a flight to London and I honestly thought I could get through the day and come home and go running. Unfortunately I forgot what a 4am start mixed with a up and back flight did to the system.

The 4am start went reasonably well - I was awake before getting in the shower (unusual for me as I am not a morning person, nor am I a night owl for that matter, I prefer to think of myself as a highly active Sloth - well compared to general Sloth behaviour I am positively live-wire.) Check in was a drag as I was flying with a well-known no frills carrier which meant there was no option to use a self service check-in, there was also the usual queue at security although I managed to get through without setting off the alarm for a change (must have been a low-alert day).

I got to London at a hellishly early hour and enjoyed a cup of Earl grey tea before heading to the office.

The day at the office went fairly well, I managed to pay attention for the entire day (But then I did leave shortly after lunch).

On returning to the airport I joined the mass of 200 or so people all trying to check in at 2 open desks that took all flights. I got to the front of the line with 5 mins to spare before check in closed for my flight which meant there was no time to dawdle at the shops - it was straight over to the gate to stand and wait for the mad dash refered to as "boarding".

After all that I got a seat and opened my book to read for a while but found I was barely able to keep my eyes open for the safety demo. I had a few naps on the way back and some not unpleasant dreams involving George Clooney and little else. We got back so far ahead of schedule that I was actually able to be at home in time to see Neighbours.

Tiredness really set in after that though and I battled with my wills as to whether I should or shouldn't go. In the end shouldn't won through but only because I couldn't find the strength to get upstairs to get my kit ready. I spent the rest of the evening cursing myself for not getting out and ended up doing some work as penance.

When the Weather man says it's raining he's probably lying

Well the threatened snow and ice failed to show today for my race. There was a chilly wind but nothing that bad once I was warmed up and into the race.

I had been quite scared of my predicted time for todays race as the runners world race calculator had me down for 65-68mins based on my 1omile result and my 4mile training run during the week and I was ready to believe them when I went past 1km at 6mins 20secs and 2km at almost 14mins but then the first 1-3 miles are always the toughest in longer races, you can't afford to zoom off and keel over halfway yet you don't want to be too slow either and give yourself too much to catch up on.

In the end I finished a shade over the hour (official time not yet released) which was at best a good 40secs faster than last seasons best time over the same distance. All I need to do now is work hard on the speed sessions when they occur in my training plan and I should be looking at a 10km PB at the end of the season.

Post-race recovery was good today, when I first started fun runs all I could do post-race was lie on the sofa and hobble to the loo every now and again. This time it was vastly different, after a shower and some lunch I was ready for some afternoon fun with the other half.

In need of a long soak in the tub and all the chocolate in the world

What a Day!!

It was far worse than yesterday. Good job it's a rest night for training as I was so busy today all I managed to eat were 2 bowls of cereal and an apple! I almost dare not go anywhere near the shops in case I devour all their chocolate supplies before I can get to the checkout.

At least now it's over with I can enjoy the weekend even more and I guess in a way I should count myself lucky as there are plenty people having a worse day than me - Mars, the RAF and the BBC have all announced massive job cuts today and our own dear PM is having a heck of a time trying to get his ridiculous anti-terrorism bill through parliament but then that's not entirely a bad thing.

I need to go dig out my DVD's of "Labyrinth" and "Slipper and the Rose" and watch my fave scenes - Labyrinth the "As the world falls down" song and the "Secret Kingdom" scene at the ball in slipper and the rose. They always chill me out.

The only thing missing is CHOCOLATE!!!

A Rest day

Today is a scheduled rest day and I intend to rest well as today is also comic relief night so there will be much merriment to enjoy on the TV tonight - Little Britain Sketches, Comic Relief does Fame Academy and other bits of silliness.

But first I have to go to work and pick up the pieces of yesterdays disaster - funny how now the shit has really hit the fan everyone is falling over themselves to help when a month ago I couldn't even get someone to return a phone call. I fear it's too little too late but then I have always been a pessimist although I prefer to use the term "realist". Ah well, we shall see how it all turns out.

On the pessimist front the weather reports look a little scary for my weekend race, I am taking part in a local 10km road race on Sunday but we have a forecast that involves very strong, cold winds, ice and snow - lovely.

Total, utter disaster

Today was just one of those days I guess, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

I woke up this morning with agonizing pain in my big toe - the nail has started to become ingrown, oh marvelous! I tried to cut it to alleviate the pain and after an hour it began to subside but I need to get it checked out properly which could well mean time out of training.

It was a horror of a day at work, lunch was ruined as the blender broke down as it came time to liquidiser my home made soup which left me with a somewhat stale hummus sandwich to chow on. Can you tell what this was building up to?

Problems with the works server in the afternoon did not help me progress the problems that I encountered in the morning and every number I rang had an ansaphone on the end rather than a human being.

As it's the final week before pay day I am of course totally penniless and therefore the usual consolation provided by chocolate was out of reach.

I tried to have a good bulky dinner of pasta with spinach and mushrooms however it was all in vain as I had failed to fuel sufficiently during the day and boy did I pay for it.

I set out at the usual time, jog 1 mile then 2 miles brisk and jog the last mile home. I used mapminer http://www.mapminder.co.uk to pinpoint the milestones for the intervals and headed off.

I managed the first mile of jogging in about 10mins which was good as it felt easy. But then as I tried to push on for the brisk section it all fell apart - I ran out of fuel. How stupid did I feel? It's the golden rule of training - eat right. I tried to walk for a while to see if I could run/walk the rest of the course but then a seriously bitter wind arrived. I was now both cold and hungry. Then my toe began to hurt again and I began to walk awkwardly so as not to aggravate it but all this did was start a shin splint. So now I'm cold, hungry, tired, sore and very, very annoyed with myself. After 40 mins of walking I gave up and took a shortcut home - up a great big hill.

So I learned a valuable lesson first hand - you really do need to fuel up sufficiently on training days or else it really hurts you.
But hey-ho in the words of the feminine icon Scarlett O'Hara "tomorrow is another day".......

me
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Another 4 miles

Woke up this morning with no pain! Wayhey!!

A good thing too as it was a 4mile "easy" (hah that's a lie cos it's never, ever easy!) jog according to the training plan today.

Despite the fact it had been a lovely day all day while I was out at work the minute I went upstairs to get ready for the run it started to rain. Which for some would be a reason to put it off for another day but not for me because I am a Marathoner and I love to run! Especially in the rain (I already admitted I am mad!) the rain is great to run in as it's so much quieter and almost surreal to watch, admittedly I always put on my light waterproof and a baseball cap to keep the rain off my face so I can see clearly but I always look at it like this - if this was race day and the weather was like this would I still run? The answer is always yes, of course I would.

The only things that have upset the training plan are severe ice on the roads or gale force winds which we had earlier in the year. I did actually attempt it once during the high winds and made almost 1 mile out before it got the better of me and I gave up and went to the gym for cross training instead. I always ensure if I can't get out then I cross train, it's not quite the same but it's good enough for those odd days.

So after a blissful 4miles in 43mins I had a shower, got cosy in my dressing gown and settled down with a cup of hot choclate and watched Comic relief does fame accademy which I had videoed earlier - what a stormer of a show it was tonight, emotions are running pretty damned high at the moment and there were many outbursts from the judges and contestants - very entertaining. I'm now voting for Reggie as I always back the underdog.

Got a hard run tomorrow but then 2 days rest after that so I can afford to give it my all and then enjoy a glass of wine and a choccy bar.

Running again already

Still got sore legs but not sore enough to cry off a training day.

Got to cover 1mile jogging, then 2 speed reps of 12 mins followed by a 5mins recovery and another 1mile jog home. Already got my 5 mile course mapped out to cover it. Bit worried about the idea of running fast uphill on a sore leg though.

The whole thing was a lot easier than I thought it would be - finished it in under 50mins which was ok considering there was 10mins of walking!

The morning after

Ow was the first thing I thought this morning.

Yes it does hurt - but hey not as much as it has in the past. I was able to walk around the town easily enough and even managed to get to the gym in the evening and lift some free weights although walking on the treadmill was a little painful so I just sat out the resting periods and watched Comic Relief does Fame Academy on the big screen tv.

The First 10Miler

Wow that was a milestone!!

My first ever 10mile run took place at the Lasswade Atletics Club BUPA 10 mile road race. It was damned hard - very hilly, hilly and then a few more hills but I managed to finish just like a gazelle - on all fours!

We had to arrive at Polton Hall Recreation Club at 10:30am in order to register my participation in the race which didn't start till 12pm. Needless to say my other half was pretty fidgetty during the wait. As it was a pretty cold morning I spent most of the time running to and fro the bathroom.

We set off to time and I was immediately right at the back of the pack, after the first mile I managed to overtake a couple of lassies on one of the first of the killer hills. All the pride gained by moving further to the front of the pack was soon evaporated when the sweeper bus overtook me at mile 2, thankfully the driver didn't offer me a lift to the finish so I must have looked comfortable enough.

A little while after the other half swept past in the car shouting "knees up, lengthen your stride, keep going" before pulling over to take my photo just as I reached the brow of the first of the hills - all red faced and dripping in sweat and tears.

I then had a short bit where it was level and then a blissfull downhill stretch which allowed me to catch up with another 3 people - I now had 5 people behind me and about 345 in front of me.

I got to the 6 mile point - the point at which everyone had promised it would all be downhill to the end. Funny really as I could have sworn I was going uphill to the drinks station at mile 6.5, maybe I was hallucinating in the hot sun?

As we joined the main road again at mile 7 it was fairly flat and as we rounded the last 3/4 of a mile it really was downhill to the finish where I pipped a couple of people at the last dash to finish in 1hr 51 mins and 10secs. I must have looked quite a state as the woman handing out bottles of water insisted I must take 2 as I looked like I needed it - nice.

There wasn't much in the way of vegetarian sandwiches left so I took a piece of shortbread and wolfed down the brie and cranberry sandwich I had brought with me courtesy of the loving hands of the other half.

The showers didn't look too inviting so I took the risk and got into the car for the 20minute ride home to shower there. On arrival at home the 20mins journey had been enough for me to sieze up and I was turtled. I could not get out of the car, thankfully the other half assisted me (but only after a good spell of laughter of course). I then took a long soak in the tub before getting changed and setting the table for a Mothers day dinner for the in-laws. I made sure the medal took pride of place in my outfit and made damn sure it chinked of everything I came near so people noticed it.

The medal is very lovely - one of the best I've had so far and the one I worked the hardest for to date. Back to work tommorrow but I am only in the office so I can continue to wear my nice shiny medal and revel in my glory.

Marie Curie and the Marathon

I have already explained the madness behind the decision to take on the ultimate fun run so I guess I should now explain why I am trying to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Here is some official information about the work they do - you can read more on their website http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/

Marie Curie Cancer Care provides high quality nursing, totally free, to give terminally ill people the choice of dying at home supported by their families. Research shows that 75% of people seriously ill with cancer would like to be cared for at home. Every year, Marie Curie Nurses make that wish possible for thousands of cancer patients in cities, towns and villages across the UK. Marie Curie Nurses now care for almost half of all cancer patients who die at home. They work through the night or during the day to provide one-on-one care for the patient and provide practical and emotional support for families at what can be an exhausting time.

I first came into contact with Marie Curie nurses when my good friend and house mate was told his cancer had become terminal. At the time we were living in a house-share but it soon became obvious it would be difficult to maintain the house between the two of us and so my friend decided to look at his options for care.

My friends parents still lived in the house he had grown up in as a child and they were more than happy for him to return to his old room however as his parents were both elderly and lived some distance away from where I was based it was going to be difficult.

My friends parents contacted the local district nurse to ask about possible support with the care of their son as he really wanted to stay in familiar surroundings with his family nearby. The district nurse put my friends parents in touch with Marie Curie Cancer Care and a nurse was assigned to provide overnight care on a regular basis allowing my friends parents to get some sleep but besides this the nurse also provided much needed support and advice to the family and myself - the nurse helped us to understand in practical terms what would happen as the cancer progressed and what we could do to help. The nurse provided wonderful emotional support to my friends parents and all around him including myself, the nurse also provided fantastic practical help with finding a new bed to make my friend more comfortable and even helped us to track down an obscure sci-fi movie on video that my friend had been looking for.

My friend spent 4 months at his parents home before he sadly passed away just after a new year party. I can't begin to describe the value of help we received or the value we could place on having my friend stay in a familiar place surrounded by loved ones throughout the final stages of his illness, all of us were able to spend quality time with my friend in a relaxed environment. I often stayed over at weekends where we would sit up all night watching star trek movies and discussing the finer points of life, the universe and everything. I am extremely grateful for this time we had and I am in no doubt that it would not have been possible without the help of the Marie Curie nurse.

So in my mind Marie Curie Cancer Care is an amazing organization and deserves to get all the money I can possibly raise.

If you would like to make a donation please visit the website and follow the "donate now" link or alternatively if you would like to sponsor me to run the marathon for Marie Curie Cancer care then email me now!

http://www.mariecurie.org.uk

How it all began

How did this madness ever begin?

How on earth did I ever concieve I would be able to carry my ample curves 26.2 miles along Englands finest seashore?

Well it all began when I started weightwatchers online http://weightwatchers.com in an effort to lose some of the flab, at the same time I took up running at the gym as it seemed the simplest and most effective form of excercise.

One fine day in March 2003 a poster went up for the Race for Life series advertising a 5km run in Stirling and my other half suggested it would be a good target for my fitness - to run 5km non stop. http://raceforlife.org.uk

From that moment on I was addicted to fun runs - run around for a bit and get a nice shiny medal and goody bag for your efforts then feel on top of the world for the rest of the day.

I went on to compete in the Falkirk Rotary club 3km and then as my ego became ever inflated I went for the Great Scottish Run 10km run in Glasgow http://www.runglasgow.org/. This time however there was more than just a shiny medal at stake, I was now a fundraiser.

In June 2003 my other half and I went for a walk in Glencoe, it was a beautiful, sunny day and we were on course to conquer Beachille Etive Beag or at least we were until my other half took a step up the way and then fell down 30ft after dislocating his knee. Thanks to the wonderful folks at Glencoe mountain rescue team http://www.glencoe-mountain-rescue.com/v2/team.htm, the Highland Constabulary and the RAF rescue team at Lossiemouth we got off the mountain safely. After that event I found out that the Mountain recue teams are made up entirely of volunteers and recieve no Government funding for equipment. Hence I designed a sponsor form and started door knocking and training hard.

By the time the race day came I was terrified - I had missed the final 2 weeks of training due to injury and had never actually managed to run more than 4.5miles in training - I had to get around 6.1miles!

Somehow I found the strength to get through it and finished in 59mins 49seconds raising £211 for the mountain rescue team in the process.

After that I continued to compete in fun runs of around 10km or less and it was fun for a bit but the drive to achieve more started to affect me and I began to toy with the idea of the ultimate fun run - the Marathon.

And so here I am - 15 weeks to go and I will be at the "Big One" in more ways than one, on June 19th 2005 I will run the Asics Blackpool Marathon http://www.blackpoolmarathon.com/

This time I intend to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer care http://www.mariecurie.org.uk as they have played an important part in my life when they helped a good friend of mine stay at home with his family during his terminal illness - more on this story in another posting "Marie Curie and the Marathon"