Chocfest...

a strange day with surprising results!

No longer having to sort day care for C and H (to be fair it's been a while!) we now find ourselves having to consider what to do with the dogs if both Al and I are going to be out.  Sid is no problem, he will happily go around to my parents and spend the day being fed biscuits and curling up in the warmth of their heating always on home,  Dougal on the other hand requires a bit more exercise and entertainment and so gets sent to Doggie Daycare! (oh yes - such a thing does indeed exist!).

Dropped off by Al this morning, I had a blissful hour being able to leave food lying around without worrying that when I returned it would no longer be there, before going to pick up HMG and head up to York for the juggling convention.

The set up was a little different to Leeds, and we were asked to set up in the foyer. This was great in giving HMG and I the ideal location to sit with a cup of tea and have a long overdue catch up, but wasn't great for business, I think I painted four faces.  To be fair there weren't many children there, which also led to zero interest in our crafting activities, apart from one lucky lady who's partner was arriving home on Saturday night with one of our craft bags as a present (I think she may have preferred some cake!).

As there was no facilities for food on site, or indeed in the vicinity of the school I had wrongly assumed that we would do a roaring trade, but in reality what it meant was that everyone had brought their own supplies and our baking trade was far from brisk!

Just when all seemed to be lost, and another day was set to be written off as a fundraising fiasco, people started coming to donate money for what would otherwise have been free T-shirts! Confused to say the least, it transpired that on learning what we were doing, one very kind lady had written a note next to the T-shirts saying that donations were to be made to us! Kerching!!

That, and a trip round the hall with the baking and a begging box (thank you Al and HMG) saw us come home with a whopping and quite unbelievable eighty three pounds! A further donation by Doggie Daycare who wouldn't take payment and then gave me a further tenner on top and I've made the sixteen hundred pound mark! Whooooo Hooooooo!!! Very very happy with this, and definitely not going to let it be tainted by the fact that my cake didn't score a mention let alone a prize - heathens!

M - 465

Brighton Half - 22
Liverpool Half - 134

Glasgow Half - 246
Total Distance covered   460 miles

Off-line

For four days?!!

Somewhere between Thursday night and Friday morning, our internet connection died. I have no doubt that both C and H could probably give me an exact time, both still being awake and in all probability using the internet but I was asleep and didn't discover this predicament until this morning. The fact that neither of them woke me up to tell me that their broadband dependable world had come to an abrupt end makes me assume that it was somewhere around midnight and that they knew the response they would have got would have been to go to sleep!

No internet in the wee small hours I can live without - not having an engineer come to fix it until MONDAY is a different consideration altogether! (sense would have told me to write my blog anyway and post it when I could - the fact that it is now Wednesday and I've only just started playing catch up tells you I didn't listen!). Thankfully I had more than enough to be getting on with on Friday not to miss it - until it came to sorting out directions for tomorrow (more on that later).

Unable to get to the gym because I was waiting for the boiler man (different part - that'll be £262 please) it was like living in a bakery! Three batches of fairy cakes cooked and stored out of Dougal's reach to cool, enough cake salvaged from yesterdays mishap that now needed decorating and a fresh batch of brownies to bake after C went off to a GB Training weekend with the ones I baked yesterday. All that was needed now was some hungry jugglers tomorrow when we got to Chocfest.

And there in lay the problem with no internet - no way of looking up where we were going and the sinking realisation that C had been allowed to rip the pages out of our road map for some art project several years ago and we've never got around to getting a new one! Thankfully HMG has a SatNav she can bring, and Al has discovered that he can get SatNav on his phone - oh how slowly we are entering the twenty first century!

Cake decorated, baking boxed up, face paints retrieved from where they were stashed (almost) out of sight on top of our wardrobe, arts and crafts box brought down from the same hiding  place, and we're good to go!  Bit apprehensive having not painted a face since my one day as a face painter in November but oh well.... here goes!

M - 466

Brighton Half - 23
Liverpool Half - 135

Glasgow Half - 247
Total Distance covered   460 miles

DOG FOR SALE

FREE TO GOOD HOME....

I am completely done with the weather.  The weather app showed snowfall overnight, which raised everyone's hopes of a day off school today, and put my attendance at the funeral of a close friend's mum in question. The overnight snow didn't come, disappointing all three of my boys and making me miss them all the more, but the early morning snow arrived as forecast, played havoc with the roads, gridlocked the traffic and led to the decision that driving to the funeral wasn't worth the risk.  But I wanted to be there, and I'm sorry that I wasn't, right decision or otherwise.

Busy morning baking for my cake stall at the weekend, and also my entry for the legendary Chocfest chocolate cake competition. Having spent last week perfecting my Quinoa cake I had high hopes for it at least scoring a mention on Saturday night. Not to be however, unless I get time to bake another - whilst on the phone to the boiler company and giving them my credit card details so they can deduct two hundred and sixty pounds out of my account, if the reason the boiler is dripping water into the kitchen isn't the same fault as last time - Dougal snuck in and ate the cake!

Feeling thoroughly fed up I went for a walk hoping that I might be able to walk off my glum mood in the winter sunshine.  Half way round and the weather changed, the sky darkened and before we knew it we were being blasted by horizontal hailstones, whilst watching the clouds whip across the sky chasing down what little bit of blue there was, until we were caught in the middle of a blizzard with visibility down to about twenty feet.  By the time we got home however it had moved on, and the sky was once again blue.

I love watching the sky, knowing that even when it's grey and miserable there is blue behind just waiting for a chance to show it's face, and I think that what's today was trying to show me. Things might feel a bit difficult at the moment but they will pass, we've just got to hold on to our belief that better times are on their way, and weather the storm in the meantime.

On arriving home, I spotted our first flower of the year in the garden. One solitary snowdrop peaking up above the snow.  Decided that it might make a nice photograph for my blog, a sign that spring is on it's way, and it would have done, if, whilst investigating what I was up to, Dougal hadn't trodden on it! Pointer anyone?!

M - 467

Brighton Half - 24
Liverpool Half - 136

Glasgow Half - 248
Total Distance covered   460 miles

Willpower

Finding what it takes...

Tired having been up since four with the dogs, worried about the snow that was forecast during the day (but didn't arrive), exceptionally busy baking for Chocfest on Saturday and in need of making a card so I can get an overdue gift off in the post, I found myself making all manner of excuses as to why I didn't have the time to go to the gym today, but on the other hand I knew that I had to go. It was as much about a statement of intent as anything else.  I had to prove to myself that I could do it, however much I didn't want to.

Gym program printed out I discovered that there were a couple of things on there that I couldn't remember doing - either I have erased the memory or they paled into insignificance next to the other exercises! Message requesting clarification fired off to the Biomechanics Man all I could do was sit and wait.... unfortunately he replied almost immediately and that was that excuse blown out of the water! In the end it was the (wrongly) forecast heavy snow shower early afternoon that made me just get on with it and go this morning.

I can't say I enjoyed it, but I'm glad I went.  Still hate the rope waggle, and had to suffer the humiliation of pushing the Geoff Capes past a fit looking woman on a cross trainer, but hey she might not have looked quite so flash if she was moving the equivalent of two sacks of dog food along the floor!

It was hard forcing myself to stick to the full number of sets and repetitions per set, but I'm proud to say I didn't cheat! Not for the first time I wished that I could afford to have a personal trainer there every time I go, but perhaps finding the willpower to make me do it is an important part of it too.

There are three quotes adorning one of the walls, one from Arnold Schwarzenegger (really?), another from Rocky Balboa (who isn't even real!) and finally one that I can relate to....

First title fight - The Brighton Half Marathon Finisher!

M - 468

Brighton Half - 25
Liverpool Half - 137

Glasgow Half - 249
Total Distance covered   460 miles

100 Marathon Club

Any takers?!

Walking the dogs this afternoon and I caught myself in the midst of a daydream about becoming a member of the One Hundred Marathon Club - one day in the gym and apparently I think I'm ready for anything! A sharp return to reality when I realised that I'd have to live to one hundred and forty five, or ninety five, or seventy eight  - which might be doable but would mean running three marathons a year, every year, between now and then! I think I'd better stick with the One Hundred Parkrun Club - and even that milestone isn't going to happen if I don't get back out there and run. So, with very heavy legs and a somewhat painful gluteus maximus I set out on my first three mile run (and walk) in a fortnight.

It wan't easy.  I didn't enjoy having to walk, and I was very tempted to try and run the whole thing, but I forced myself to follow the advice that I'd been given and do as I was told for once! I think I should have taken a watch with me and been a bit more methodical in my intervals of walking and running, instead of just walking all the steep bits, but I made it round WITHOUT KNEE PAIN! Unlike my backside, which following yesterday's gym session is in agony and has made sitting less pleasurable than it once was! That said if it wasn't for the pain, perhaps I might have been able to convince myself that yesterday was a bad dream! Or rather a recurring nightmare as I'm due to go back tomorrow!

M - 469

Brighton Half - 26
Liverpool Half - 138

Glasgow Half - 250
Distance covered            3.1 miles

Total Distance covered   460 miles

What have I done?!

I want my previous life back!

HUGE excitement last night - a reply to my blog from the podcast man! Equally huge crash back down to earth this morning when it started to dawn on me that all the blog readers and Twitter followers in the world were not going to be able to help me with the next part of my campaign, there is no one who can do this next bit for me, and I suddenly felt very small and very alone. Except that I wasn't.  The Biomechanics Man was waiting for me at the gym with my program all ready for me - nothing else for it but to bite the bullet and start!

I should perhaps point out that the gym is a far cry from anything you will have ever seen in a hotel, or sports complex, and is instead in an old mill with lots of space and although there are some conventional pieces of gym equipment I didn't get anywhere near them!

The benefit of having my gym program written by my biomechanics coach is that he knows exactly what I need to do, the bad bit is that this involved starting off with a bit of tennis ball rolling! If I felt ungainly on my bedroom floor, it's nothing to how I felt doing it in public! Worse was to come with some strange squat crab move, where I had to maneuver myself across the floor sideways whilst maintaining a squat - this might work wonders for setting me up for my exercises but did nothing for my self esteem!

Squats whilst holding a kettle bell, pelvic lifts with my feet on a stool, a strange pulling myself up using some straps exercise, an equally alien core strengthening thing, some one legged balancing act that I couldn't do for toffee, a side to side over a step which should have been easy but made me feel extremely unfit, all finished off with some hideous rope waggling, where I wasn't strong enough to get the wave to the end of the rope and the car push... only it wasn't a car but some custom built piece of ironwork which I had to push along the length of the gym and back again, like some contestant on Worlds Strongest Man and from here on in I shall think of as the Geoff Capes exercise!

I don't think the Biomechanics Man has ever had anyone turn up for their induction with less enthusiasm, nor look at him with such an expression of disdain bordering on hatred (and here was me thinking a Sports Massage was the top tool in his torture repertoire!). Like I said as I left, I may thank him one day, but not today, and certainly not tomorrow when I try to get out of bed!

Shell shocked I returned home, put on some period drama and caught up on my emails from the of wool and fabric. Marathon girl?! Is it too late to change my mind? I think I'd rather be Knitting Woman!

M - 470

Brighton Half - 27
Liverpool Half - 139

Glasgow Half - 251

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Where the magic happens...

... is only a (albeit lycra clad) leap of faith away!

Catching sight of myself if a full length mirror recently I was quite horrified by how bad my posture is, in particular around my core. I stand with my pelvis tilted forward and stomach hanging out, not a good look on anyone, and certainly not on a wannabe marathon runner!

Actually I've known this about myself for a long time and way before it was encapsulated on video by the Running Man I consulted back in July. However when I heard "feet turned out, possibly collapsed in, pelvis dumped, head pushed forward" on the podcast* I've been listening to, I realised it could have been me they were talking about!  On the plus side it means I'm not alone, on the downside it was in reference to why so many runners end up with injuries.

Taking this posture as the starting point, before you add speed or distance into the equation, it is not difficult to see why problems arise, but what came next was a bit of a wake up call.... one step with my body this far out of alignment is going to put stresses on bits that are compensating for the bits which aren't working properly (he was a bit more technical about it), at fifteen hundred steps per kilometre (on average) and forty kilometres in a marathon, that's sixty thousand repetitions out of kilter - I don't even want to contemplate the maths for the five hundred or so miles of training that I've still got to do before I even get there! It is almost enough to make me hang up my running shoes altogether to save further injury!

Add force into the equation and it's no wonder I keep getting injured! There was some sums and terms that all sounded a bit too much like gym terminology for my liking but I think the premise was that a five kilometre run is like doing a million one kilo calf raises in one session! I'm hoping that the Biomechanics Man is going to go easier on me tomorrow!

I am apprehensive about my début in the gym. It is way out of my comfort zone, but as I saw recently on Facebook (so it must be true) that is where the magic happens...

M - 471

Brighton Half - 28
Liverpool Half - 140

Glasgow Half - 252

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

* picture courtesy of my friend's friend - hope he doesn't mind me sharing!
* podcast for those of you who may be interested...
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/stop-chasing-pain/id381697894?mt=2&i=326163458

Formula One

Think I'm nearer the other end of the spectrum!

Still not able to run, I did contemplate attempting another Saturday morning lie in, but then remembered that I'd to get up extra early with H! That plan scuppered only one thing for it, parkrun!

A very cold morning for volunteering and entrusted with the job of timing, it was then a matter of trying to keep my hands warm enough to operate the stop watch ninety three times which I did, AND without making a mistake this time! A one off, getting better with practice, or the added pressure of my fellow timer being the run director? Who knows!

Undoubtedly I would have been warmer running, but that aside I was surprisingly OK about not running. I'd like to say that this is because I've got my head around the need to rest up and repair however, for whilst I have made huge gains on this recently, I am also starting to feel a little anxious about running again. There is a certain safety for me now in not running - a place where I can hide from the potential disappointment if my IT Band hasn't settled enough for me to run - and I know it's going to take quite a bit of courage to step back out in my running shoes to face the truth (I'm hoping I will be pleasantly surprised!).

On the suggestion of the Biomechanics Man, I listened to a pod cast yesterday (my first!) during which the analogy was made between running and Formula One, and the amount of time a F1 car spends in the garage being fine tuned for a race as opposed to the amount of time runners put into making sure they are set up right, ready to run!  The fact that I was listening to this whilst walking to the garage to collect my car from it's MOT reinforcing the point!

At almost fifteen years old my car is about as far removed from an F1 car as you can get, and required a bit of welding and some bits to be replaced before it could be classed as roadworthy and pass it's test - which then came with the warning that the front tyres are close to wearing out.  I can't help but see the parallel's between this and me! I've been botching myself back together for too long just to get back out on the road, and if I want to take it up a gear than I'm going to have to get a solid baseline level of fitness to work from and only then can I look at making some performance improving adjustments.

Thankfully I reached this conclusion post hot chocolate and cake in our new found post parkrun café  - for all the deliciousness that it was, fine tuning it was not!

M - 472

Brighton Half - 29
Liverpool Half - 141

Glasgow Half - 253

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Sowing seeds

How about it HMG?!

I've mentioned before that I haven't really got the hang of Twitter, but with two retweet's last night I thought it was about time that I tried!

I don't think I'm supposed to thank everyone personally who 'favourites' one of my tweets, but as the number doing so is so low, I feel I ought to show my gratitude for the fact that they've taken the time not only to read but to go one step further and do something about telling me, and everyone else who's looking that they liked it.  Trouble is it takes me so long that my window for writing this was halved by the time I was done - especially as I then felt the need to  have a look at who these 'favouriter' and more importantly 'followers' are, and before I knew it instead of writing my own blog, I'm busy reading someone else's!

Of my two ultra running twitter companions one is recovering from IT Band issues, know how that feels, but is using thirteen miles as a starting point to ease himself back into long distance, not dreaming of it as some glittering prize!  (Good luck with the recovery @alexultraruns). The other (@IraRainey) warns of seeds sown unwittingly, which grow into ideas, that eventually found him taking a train late one evening to a destination thirty something miles away so that he could run home overnight in the dark. I was at this point seriously questioning if we had anything in common until I read that on reaching home the first thing he did was turn round and head back out to go to parkrun! It wasn't quite as extreme, but there is definitely some affinity between that and getting up in, what felt like, the middle of the night to run TO parkrun!

It's been a good day. My positive mental attitude has remained with me, even through cleaning the bathroom, and I'm feeling optimistic about the four weeks between now and Brighton.  My favourite favouriter is here for tea, and I found the special somethingl I was searching the internet for yesterday.

Strangely however as the day has worn on, I have found myself in a most peculiar situation. It would appear that a little seed I didn't know would find shelter in my head has indeed got lodged in some dark crevice ideal for germination. Question is... if I look up the times of the last train to York is that tantamount to it taking root?!

M - 473

Brighton Half - 30
Liverpool Half - 142

Glasgow Half - 254

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

1 Month to Brighton

I can - I am - I will!

I needed to have a very productive day today, ticking off a long list of jobs and maintaining my focus. It so didn't happen! Instead my day and mind flitted from one thing to the next never quite settling long enough to actually get on with anything.

First up there was a Twitter distraction, the likes of which I haven't seen before - TWO NEW FOLLOWERS neither of whom I know! Both ultra runners, which is a bit beyond my comprehension especially at the moment when I'm struggling to run two miles, let along fifty two, but I managed to spend at least part of the morning contemplating it! Nice to have you on board!

Next a request from someone I don't know who would like to join me to her professional network on Linked In, which is odd as I have neither a Linked In profile or a profession! I have no idea how she has got my email address and am left wondering if she's a reader (in which case hello!) or if someone else has suggested that I might be in need of her services when I read that she's a Life Coach!

At lunchtime I received a phone call from WaterAid, just to check how my fundraising and training was going for Brighton. Not sure he was prepared for either of my answers - finished my fundraising in September thanks, currently can't run at all!

Not long after an email arrives from Brighton Half, alerting me to the fact that it is a month today! Help! I hadn't made the connection at all - but it is all starting to feel alarmingly close!

Not quite so close as Chocfest however, which I know is next weekend, but I hadn't really put it in the context of no running at parkrun therefore for the next two weeks! It also means that next week is 'baking and preparing to face paint 'week, which is a shame as it is also 'start going to the gym' and 'hopefully get out running again' week!

A couple of hours lost to an internet search for a special present, yet I couldn't quite find anything I liked enough and my day had disappeared, the jobs that I absolutely had to do today undone.  Time for a pep talk from C, fresh from his motivational Team GB Seminar at the weekend. I need to change my internal dialogue! No more I can't... instead it's all about positive affirmations! But I'm not sure they count if you mumble them and are so tired that you're yawning throughout!  I did however manage to get the card made that was already overdue, make a decision on the present that will at least narrow my internet search tomorrow, and fulfil half of my chauffeuring duties this evening (thank you Al for doing the other half, despite only having just got in from a fourteen hour day at work - oh the joys of parents evening!).

I desperately need to go and get some sleep, but not before I sit up straight, shoulders back, head raised, take a deep breath and proclaim...

I CAN RUN A HALF MARATHON
I AM GOING TO FINISH
I WILL DO IT!

M - 474

Brighton Half - 31
Liverpool Half - 143

Glasgow Half - 255

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Rewards

Helping those who help themselves

It could be coincidence but I can't help but feel that I am being rewarded for finally working out that I need help to make some changes, doing something about it (by deciding to join the gym) and trying to be a little more organised.

Having ignored the email to provide gas and electricity meter readings for a couple of weeks, I didn't then ignore the reminder that arrived in my inbox yesterday, consequently I have discovered that we are marginally in credit (which might mean I can put the heating on during the day slightly more than I do) and that my direct debit is being reduced just when I am going to have to find the money for gym membership - thank you!

I have also heard from the organisers of Chocfest the juggling convention in York next Saturday confirming that they will be happy to have me attend in my face painting capacity and I can bring some baking to sell! I say organisers but actually it was just one, a young lad possibly in his early twenties who I inadvertently sent a 'wink' to instead of a smiley face and now can't quite shake the notion of him receiving it thinking -  aaaarrrggghhh she's old enough to be my mother! He may be regretting saying it was OK for me to go!

I'm not sure what the universe has planned for me as a well done for cracking on with the filing this morning, perhaps the feeling of achievement is all the reward I need, or perhaps you don't get rewarded when it's just the lesser of two evils and given that the other option was cleaning the bathroom, I sat down this morning and sorted the file that I'd got stuck on yesterday.
Filed, actioned or binned I worked through the fragments of unfulfilled dreams until they were all neatly organised for future ventures!  Interestingly I came across my first running schedule which saw me go from zero to ten kilometres - bin! - however on recent performance perhaps I should have kept it!

M - 475

Brighton Half - 32
Liverpool Half - 144

Glasgow Half - 256

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Streamlining

If only weight loss was as easy as shredding paperwork!

All very exciting last night after I published my blog - a 'retweet' from Marathon Man, and 'favourited' by three people I don't know! One of whom is the co-founder of UKRunChat! Thank you so much for your moral support (I'll thank you in person just as soon as I work out how!).

In stark contrast today has been incredibly boring! Recognising that it's more than just my body that needs to get in shape, I've been trying to sort the paperwork!

It's been a bit of a mammoth task and I haven't finished yet, but once bulging files are now streamlined and up to date after a couple of years of neglect!  It was a relief to find that not only are both cars still insured but I now know by whom! Some of the files were quick to go through (it didn't take long to sort the one payslip from last year that Al has managed to bring home!) others, and one in particular, has caused a bit of a stumbling block.

If I were to label it perhaps 'one day' would describe it best.  Magazine cuttings, flyers, promotional material and recipes all kept for some unspecified day in the future when I am going to have enough time or inclination to look at, let alone action. I'm not sure which is worse, Al keeping nothing or me hording everything yet not doing anything with the stuff I keep.

It's hard going, seeing all my unfulfilled dreams and ideas bundled up together, yet awash with my new found determination to break the cycle I've been going round and round for longer than I care to admit, it's time to either action, file for future reference, or bin.

Trouble is the only thing I am really awash with this evening is tiredness, or as my friend has just posted on Facebook, exhaustipation - when you're too tired to give a sh*t!

M - 476

Brighton Half - 33
Liverpool Half - 145

Glasgow Half - 257

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Determination

Doing whatever it takes!

Taking the boys to school this morning, sat on a slight incline waiting to turn right, my turn came and the car wouldn't go anywhere - we were sat on top of some ice and the wheels were just turning on the spot.  If ever there was a scenario to mirror what I was saying yesterday about my running this was it!  I had to sit there whilst the seven or so cars behind overtook me, roll back off the ice, and then make my way back up the road taking a slightly different route!

I hate this icy weather and I caught myself thinking about joining a gym in November so as to avoid having to run on icy roads next winter.  I then asked myself the question - why am I waiting until November? How much better off would I be IN November if I did something about joining now?!

Problem, I don't do the gym. Problem, I'm not going to be able to progress at the speed I want, to the distance I want to run without it.  I can continue the way that I have been and like today, I can visit the Biomechanics Man and have my pelvis and hips 're-set' but I am never going to move past this point without starting to do some strength work.  In the nine months since I started I've already been here on more than one occasion and what I don't want to do is find myself back here in another nine months time having visited several more times along the way! Time I stopped playing at this, and got serious!

I am a little daunted at the prospect, and not yet sure how it is going to fit into my daily routine, but am looking forward to having a proper plan in place with specific non distance or time related goals to achieve! The best bit about it however is that it is the Biomechanics Man who will be writing my program and taking me through my paces next week, so it will be targeted just where I need it - I can feel the pain in my backside already!

M - 477

Brighton Half - 34
Liverpool Half - 146

Glasgow Half - 258

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Procrasti-writing

Write my blog rather than get on with my jobs - me?! 

I had an unexpected lie in until half eight this morning (but it doesn't really count as I was awake at quarter to one having two text conversations, the first with my friend who is in hospital and couldn't sleep, the second with C who, after reading my blog, thought he'd better get in touch to tell me he had arrived in Manchester!) followed by a difficult day.

I am not enjoying not being able to run.  Parkrun I can just about cope with, hearing about my friends long Sunday morning jaunts around our favourite routes HMG is proving to be a lot harder! I am so envious and so wish that I'd been able to join them this morning. One Saturday not at parkrun and I feel cut off and out of the loop, which is ridiculous! Thinking about it I actually I felt much the same reading that my friend who lives two hundred miles away ran eleven miles yesterday!  I JUST WANT IT TO BE ME TOO!!

Been a week without any of my normal routine and I need to get myself organised to hit the ground running tomorrow, if only in the literary sense! Which is why I think I'm hiding by writing this instead! I'm not quite ready to pick myself up or pull myself round, and think I deserve some more time wallowing in my own self pity - especially after H inadvertently dropped something really heavy on my my toe last night! Badly bruised but I think unbroken!

Trouble is, self pity doesn't actually get me anywhere.  I need to remember how I'm feeling now to motivate myself into doing everything I can to get back to where I want to be! I need to find some positive mental attitude from somewhere and fast!

I need to set myself some non running related goals to achieve whilst my body does it's repair work, like raising the seventy pounds I need to take me to the fifteen hundred pound marker! Time, me thinks, to write last week's untouched 'To Do' list into this week's plan and get going, but I may just have a cup of tea and 'last' piece of cake to mark the end of my old ways before I start!

M - 478

Brighton Half - 35
Liverpool Half - 147

Glasgow Half - 259

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Sod's Law

Can't sleep when I've got the opportunity, all I want to do when I don't!

During the week when Al leaves for work, more often than not I am dead to the world, or at least holding on to the last five minutes before I have to get up and get on with my day, this morning when I've opted for, and worked hard to facilitate, a lie in I'm awake an hour earlier than normal!

When I was getting up extra early on a Saturday morning to run with HMG, I would just get up and go without too much thought to what the boys would do without me (err just get on with things?!) however because I was going to be at home this morning I seemed to think they wouldn't be able to cope without my input and went to great lengths to see that they were all sorted for the morning, especially C who is going away for the weekend, so that by the time I went to bed last night I had organised everyone as much as I could and the path was clear for my long lie.

Unfortunately things didn't quite go according to plan. I woke earlier than usual, a fundraiser fiasco apparently being my subconscious entertainment last night! Once awake my mind started fixating on all sorts of things that didn't need to be thought about today AT ALL, let alone at half six this morning.  Next there was the weather to check on - had it snowed? Would parkrun be on? Would C make it to Manchester? None of the answers to which actually made any difference to my morning but nevertheless I couldn't settle till I knew!

Quick check on FB - fellow parkrunner had looked outside, couldn't see any snow but the weather app was telling her a different story! There then followed a steady stream of snow reports from other FB friends -"snowing here" - "and here" - "none here yet!"- and I was gripped! In the end parkrun was cancelled at which point Al came back to bed and promptly fell straight back to sleep! How does that work?!

Many hours later and I still don't know if C made it to Manchester, but apparently that's not enough to keep me awake in the middle of the afternoon! As soon as I'm too busy to snooze, it is all that I want to do.  Perhaps sleep is one of those things you can't plan, a bit like running a PB! As soon as you start to think about it, it's gone (not that I've been close to mine in a very long time!) and I obviously over thought my lie in this morning, oh well you live and learn.

It's not surprising really when it's been over a year since I last attempted one on a Saturday morning, although given that there's every chance it will be another year before I try again, and in all probability longer till I PB, it obviously isn't worth loosing any sleep over!

M - 479

Brighton Half - 36
Liverpool Half - 148

Glasgow Half - 260

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Can't win!

Even in my sleep my mind is plotting against me!

I was really proud of myself yesterday for getting my head into a good place over Brighton, and the fact that it isn't about my time, or how well I run.  I am going to spend the weekend with my sister and my friend, we are going to have a good time and somewhere in and amongst that we will cover a distance of 13.1 miles, having probably walked just as far around the shops the day before!

Unfortunately my subconscious has yet to catch up with this new found mind set and relaxed approach, and I awoke this morning from my first Brighton Half themed anxiety dream! It was an odd one! Centred around getting ready at the start and me being particularly disorganised, instead of taking bags to store my things in I had taken cardboard boxes, and for some reason I decided the best footwear to run in was wellies!

Four miles around the woods with the dogs today in the mud, and my knee is much the same as yesterday, I have also developed a pain in my right heel which I'm hoping the Biomechanics Man will be able to fix on Monday!

Struggling to stay awake long enough to write this, but really not wanting to start tomorrow playing catch up from today, I think I need to get to my bed and stay there for as long as possible, which means - no parkrun for me tomorrow, but looking at the weather forecast I'm not sure it is going to be on as heavy snow is forecast for tomorrow morning.

Part of me is pleased that there is a chance that I won't actually be missing anything, the other part of me a bit miffed that having laid my cards on the table and made the difficult decision to stay at home, Al, C and H might find their plans cancelled and we'll ALL be at home, which is fine just as long as no one wakes me!

M - 480

Brighton Half - 37
Liverpool Half - 149

Glasgow Half - 261

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

PS Lovely to see you today Etsy Favouriter, sorry for forgetting that you read my blog and telling you a whole pile of stuff you already knew but were too polite to say!

There's good news...

and there's bad news - so which do you want first?!

Lets start with the bad... my three mile test run was not a success.  It started off fine, legs felt OK, a few twinges in my shins but nothing really of note, however just after two miles and at the end of a downhill section, my left knee stiffened and that was it.  The good news is that my right leg was fine so I'm half way to being fixed!

Had a lovely dog walk with HMG afterwards and for whilst hobbling round Brighton was never our goal, neither was finishing in a particular time. We always said this one was about 'just finishing' and are trying our best to remain optimistic about it.  It is just such a shame that we won't reach Brighton at our peak, especially as we were doing so well before Christmas, but hey the longer it takes us the more chance we'll have to chat! Wave as you pass us sisterofMG750 - we're preparing ourselves for your "well you can over train" comments! Alternatively perhaps we should get ourselves a pair of comedy tap or toilet costumes HMG and go as fun runners, or tie our poorly legs together and run a three legged race at which point you'll pretend not to know us as you pass sis!

I think I may have been a little naive thinking our training was all going to go to plan, and it looks like my recovery isn't going to either, but this evening sitting writing this I actually don't care - I may even have a lie in on Saturday morning and MISS PARKRUN!

If I'm not yet fit to run, then my body obviously still needs time to repair and what better way to do that but with sleep and recovery cake! (First attempt didn't quite go according to plan either, but was tasty enough to warrant a second attempt tomorrow!) There's a lot of sugar and cocoa for something that is supposed to be healthy but I'm sure the quinoa cancels that out!

M - 481

Brighton Half - 38
Liverpool Half - 150

Glasgow Half - 262
Distance covered               3.5 miles

Total Distance covered   456.9 miles

Phew!

Am I glad that's over!

There really isn't much to say about today, except that I wish I'd taken the option of a sedative! But it would have been a shame to miss out on firstly being asked if I wanted to watch ("err that would be a no" or words to that effect) and secondly being taken into the recovery ward post procedure, told to lie on my side with my knees up towards my chest and expel as much air as I could! Too much information? Sorry! But I've clearly already lost what little dignity I had left!

Good news is that I got the all clear, which begs the question of what is causing the dietary issues, but not to worry I can discuss this at my follow up appointment on the 5 May!

Tired and a little washed out this evening, I'm hoping that a hot bath, early to bed and a good night's sleep will see me feeling better in the morning - hope so! Three mile tester run tomorrow if I feel up to it, and plans to bake a quinoa chocolate recovery cake whether I run or not! Not sure this is quite what you had in mind sis when you told me to go binge!

M - 482

Brighton Half - 39
Liverpool Half - 151

Glasgow Half - 263

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Noah

Anyone got a boat?!

I think after two hundred and sixty seven posts, you are all well aware that I don't always follow through with what I say I am going to do and, dear readers, you might be excused for thinking that I'm full of brown stuff. Oh but how wrong you would be.... no food at all today and (I kid you not) two litres (or for my American friends just over half a gallon) of laxative have put paid to that idea!

It's been a difficult day, in a difficult week, and when I sat with HMG this morning I don't think either of us could have envisaged just quite how low we would be feeling at this point, for similar and very different reasons.

I'm not feeling particularly well this evening, but I am feeling a little philosophical - it is forty days to Brighton, and possibly forty nights (I haven't counted) here's hoping it doesn't rain for all of them, but I can't help feeling somewhat desolate and wishing that things were different.  I'm not sure that Brighton awaits us like an oasis from the storm, but much as we feel like we're drowning at the moment, we will hit dry land HMG - promise!

In the words of Noah and the Whale L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N - the weather will get warmer, the days will get longer, Spring will come and who knows maybe even summer, our legs will repair and get stronger and we will see you in Brighton sisterofMG750 where a tapas bar and bottle of Rioja awaits us whether any of the above have happened yet or not!

M - 483

Brighton Half - 40
Liverpool Half - 152

Glasgow Half - 264

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Reversed Psychology

From 'Can' to 'Can't' and back again!

Lovely weekend with Al, and I really didn't want him to go back to work this morning -  luckily I have C at home for company (great thing study leave!) although he spent the majority of the day hiding in his room.  So when I didn't want to walk the dogs this afternoon it seemed liked the best place to go hide too!

Unconvinced of my plan, he skipped trying to use any of his words of wisdom (although with another Team GB Motivational Seminar at the weekend that could all change next week!) and went for the physically removing me option.  I'd like to think that I put up a reasonable fight, but it wasn't long before he had pushed me out of his room, across the landing and perilously close to the top of the stairs, thankfully he stopped short of actually pushing me down them (I told you it was going in my blog!) and with no where left to go the only option was to don my waterproofs and wellies - again - and take the dogs out.

Always a good time for me to process my random thoughts into something more coherent, I'm glad I went as I came home with a much clearer head about the way forward!

On Wednesday I am going for a small investigative procedure to have a look at the inner workings of my digestive system, tomorrow I have the pleasure of drinking a solution that will clear the way and for the past two days I have been eating what is referred to as a low residue diet to aid the process!  I am not allowed to eat any vegetables (which isn't easy for a vegetarian) or any wholemeal or fibrous food including fruit. Basically I'm left with white bread, pasta, cheese, cake and biscuits, and I don't want any of it! All I want to eat is an apple - which is seriously out of character!

This is undoubtedly reverse psychology - I want what I can't have - and it got me thinking that perhaps instead of surrounding myself with my friends and family who have been supportive of my endeavours, I should solicit the opinion of some people who don't like me and don't think I can do this with a view to instilling in me a 'I'll show them' attitude!  However not actually ever wanting to have contact with said individuals again I am hoping I can do this by proxy! Thankfully my head carries around enough nonsense for this to be a viable option, and I think I might be on to something!

Certainly when Al comes home and takes Dougal out for five miler and my running ban isn't lifted until Thursday, it is ALL I want to do! So perhaps that's it - I have to imagine that I'm being surrounded by CAN'T and I'll damn well show you I CAN!

M - 484

Brighton Half - 41
Liverpool Half - 153

Glasgow Half - 265

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

One Hundred and Eighty!!!!

I've hit the jackpot!

Having worked out that I want to run but I don't want to train, my mind set to work to see which other areas of my life followed the same pattern. First up when I thought of hobbies was knitting - wool bought last Christmas, knitting (that I enjoy) finished a couple of months ago, sewing up (that I don't enjoy) not done!

So in an attempt to prove that I CAN apply myself to tasks that I don't want to do, and to try to stop my mind from disecting any more of my life, I fetched the various pieces out of the cupboard and set about sewing it up into a jumper. All good so far...

Trouble was that for whilst the pieces remained as separate parts I didn't have to acknowledge the inevitable that they are too small, once constructed into an actual item of clothing the truth was harder to escape! I'm also not entirely convinced that it suits me - which is odd given that the model in the photograph is at least twenty years younger than me and a completely different body shape! Still it was enough to compound my feelings of fat and almost saw me retreat back into my pyjamas for the rest of the day.

I'm not in a particularly good head space at the moment and know that I am going to have to pull myself round sooner or later, but I'm not sure how to do it.  I think part of my problem lies in the fact that the only people I socialise with on a regular basis are runners, of the turn up religiously every week addicted variety! Thankfully the post run chat hasn't ever got as far a calories, but none of them seem to have yo-yoing weight issues whereas I can bounce from one extreme to the other, either being extremely disciplined in what I eat, or showing no restraint whatsoever!

Perhaps then, what I need is a change of perspective! However, a new group of friends seems a bit drastic, and actively seeking out people with a similar exercise ethic to mine, in an attempt to feel better about my laziness, seems somewhat counter-intuitive and I'm guessing not particularly proactive... but an evening spent glued to the BDO Darts final?! Drama, tension, excitement (yes really schoolfriendofMG750) and a realisation that in certain circle I'm positively svelte!

M - 485

Brighton Half - 42
Liverpool Half - 154

Glasgow Half - 266

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Cross Training

Has the penny finally dropped?!


Not sure whether it was the large number of volunteers, or my previous mishaps with both the timing and scanning that saw me given the job of marshal at parkrun this morning. Very windy and slightly on the chilly side, I stood and tried my best to encourage the runners as they ran past, wishing I was one of them, not least because then I would be warm!

It's a strange job, some people take time to acknowledge you as they run past, some thank you afterwards, some you can almost see scowl as your 'well done' is received with a look of 'can't you see I'm having a bad run!', others wouldn't know if you were standing there or not! It has to be said that few looked like they were enjoying it, and one lady in particular looked downright miserable! Enough to make you wonder what on earth we do it for?! Thankfully sitting round the table at SC's gorgeous home later (not previously referenced as Style Consultant for nothing!) enjoying tea, coffee, teacakes, bagels, home made jam and the best ever lemon curd, it started to make much more sense!

Not surprisingly what was also apparent from watching those running this morning, is that the fastest runners are the ones who look the fittest! Consequently if I want to get faster....

I know I've mentioned it before but it's taking a while to sink in - I am going to have to cross train. Mrs Motivator, pointed out this morning that she's told me all of this before, but I think it's one of those things that until you have actually made the connection for yourself it is all just words. However now that it is starting to register, I find myself in a position which if I'd worked out before I started, I may not have decided to run a marathon!

I don't want to cross train. I am inherently lazy and don't want to do it, yet without it I can't run at the speed or distance that I want to.  I guess this is how C feels who needs to increase his fitness to play Underwater Hockey for GB and now finds himself having to accompany us on a Saturday morning!

I need to make the most of this week of simple exercises and twice daily tennis ball torture sessions whilst it lasts! I have a feeling things may be about to move up a level!

M - 486

Brighton Half - 43
Liverpool Half - 155

Glasgow Half - 267

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Thinking of you HMG xxx

Smithereens

Everything's falling apart!

With hindsight I think it's all for the best that I fell asleep before getting the chance to write this actually on Friday - it was definitely a day where my glass was half empty!

Strong winds overnight had lifted a couple of panels out of the greenhouse, to add to the one that broke the night before.  H came outside to find me standing on the garden wall surveying the damage, the wind having just caught my skirt a là Marilyn Munroe, yet with none of the style of the iconic image and instead a mental picture of his mother standing in her tights that I'm sure he will be quick to eradicate! Panels safely in the garage it was time to get H to school and the dogs to the woods to meet my friend.

Pain free since going to see the Biomechanics Man on Tuesday, I was very disappointed when half way around our walk my left knee started to complain. having so hoped that it was getting better.  If I can't manage four miles walking, how will I ever be able to run three in less than a week's time, and if I can't run on Thursday then how will I ever be ready for Brighton?

Came home to find glass all over the patio as another pane had fallen - thankfully it's toughened glass and therefore dog friendly (it's almost like we foresaw it happening!) but it 'explodes' into so many pieces that it looks at first glance that the whole thing was down.

However it wasn't until I phoned Al at lunchtime to tell him the glad tidings that I discovered quite how desolate I was feeling! Poor man!  Quite what he was supposed to do with the information about the greenhouse whilst he was at work, or deal with his wife who was behaving like the end of the world was nigh I'm not sure... but information dumped on him I set about trying to salvage something of the afternoon.

I think I knew at the time, and definitely do with the benefit of hindsight, that none of it is that important in the grand scheme of things.  It will all get sorted in time, whether or not I ever find any rhyme or reason for it happening in the first place, but I'll mull it over for a while yet just in case anything should come to light!

One thing it isn't is some grand conspiracy to make my life rubbish, some days are just harder than others. However one thing it has done is push the price per home grown tomato up considerably - it may be many years before we ever see any return on investment especially if the same thing happens next year!

M - 487

Brighton Half - 44
Liverpool Half - 156

Glasgow Half - 268

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Misfits

Or alternatively Hungry Hippo's?!

Four days since I last ran, and I'm starting to get itchy feet and a very fat tummy! The first I'm taking as a sign that my legs are getting better, the second has nothing to do with not exercising since Saturday, it's been a far longer time in the making! Question is, what am I going to do about it?!

Post Nostell Priory parkrun on New Year's Day, I did decide that perhaps visualisation was the way forward.  There were a few very fit looking women amongst the crowd, in enviable running kit (and there in lies the true sign that I am an addict!)  I couldn't help but wish that I looked like them. For a few days afterwards I kept this picture in mind and tried to use it to help me cut down on the quantity of food I was consuming. To an extent it worked (if you count only having one piece of cake for pudding instead of three), but as the week has worn on (was that really only seven days ago?!) I seem to be slipping further and further away from this image of elite sportswoman and nearer and nearer comfy couch potato - or Hungry Hippo if we're sticking with the board game references!

Not that I am trying to emulate a 1950's housewife who was encouraged to make herself look nice for her husband returning from work, but poor Al has come home all week to find me looking a bit like a living version of 'Misfits' (if you remember the game?) as if the three sections of my body belong to three different people. My top half is fairly smart, my bottom half is in it's pyjamas, and because I'm cold my head and shoulders are dressed for the outdoors with a scarf round my neck!

Unable to run, I decided this morning that it was time to 'think myself thin' - I was never going to feel like an athlete if I was dressed like a slob. Not quite prepared to spend the day walking round in my running kit going nowhere, I did at least put my pyjama bottoms in the wash basket and make a bit more of an effort to match my top and bottom halves! Which was just as well as we had a most welcome surprise visit from Etsy Favouriter this lunchtime!

Walking back home after taking the dogs out this afternoon and I did begin to wonder if it was all just too much like hard work! I could happily eat my way up another half stone instead of trying to starve myself down three quarters!

But then as I said at the start, my legs are getting restless and I know that my days of dieting and exercise aren't done with yet, whether I ever reach my visual goal remains to be seen, but for now my pjyama days are over - at least until I've done the washing!

M - 488

Brighton Half - 45
Liverpool Half - 157

Glasgow Half - 269

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

The Waiting Game

can't see it somehow!

For a while after I got up this morning I was a little concerned that when I came to do my exercises I wouldn't be able to find the 'spot' that I am, with the aid of a tennis ball, supposed to be manipulating. Oh how I almost smiled, when I actually came to doing it - the pain led me straight there! I am however now wondering if perhaps I've been a little over zealous as the designated spots now ache all by themselves without the aid of any instruments of torture! And I'm a little curious as to why running through the pain is bad yet inflicting pain upon yourself in the name of recovery is good?

Not running through the pain had something to do with the brain remembering pain and associating it with running and putting the two together next time you run whether there is actual pain or not, which I think may mean that for the rest of my life I will wince at the sight of a tennis ball!

Consequently I am not feeling quite as optimistic about the path ahead as I was when I left the biomechanics man yesterday.  It feels like a long long road ahead of me, and if, in my current state a half marathon seems almost inconceivable, then a full one definitely does!

Not allowing myself to wallow in self pity, I decided that it would be a good time to ring Barnardo's and find out a little bit more about the application and selection process to be one of their London marathon runners!  Very quick to point out that I wasn't ringing about THIS year's marathon, I spoke to a lovely lady who informs me that applications will open the day after (on 27 April).  They don't operate a first come first served basis, instead applications are looked at monthly and rated according to a point system - those that make the grade are offered a place, those that don't are rejected but can apply again in an attempt to improve their scoring.

What I forgot to ask was whether there is a limit to how many people are selected in a particular month, in which case it might be easier to 'pass' after the first flurry of interest has died down. I did spend some time today trying to weigh up the pro's and cons of waiting, but having been planning this for, what will be, a year, and having given myself over three months to write my application I have a feeling I may be one of the 27th April brigade!

M - 489

Brighton Half - 46
Liverpool Half - 158

Glasgow Half - 270

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Miss A Turn

... or rather nine!

Feel so much better having been to see the Biomechanics Man! Physically because he set to work on my legs, and mentally because he is confident that HMG and I will make it to Brighton to join you sis! (Apparently having run twelve miles we can run a half marathon - didn't like to say we'd heard it was ten!).

The problems I've been having stems from my weak glutes, as soon as another muscle group becomes dominant they (wait for it) take a back seat!  I am officially a lazy arse!  All is not lost however, and although not quite back at square one, to continue yesterday's board game analogy, I have landed on 'miss a turn'!

Having taken my running schedule with me for his perusal, we have decided that my next run won't be until next Thursday  and then only for three miles to see how it goes.  If it goes OK, I am allowed to do parkrun on the Saturday before going back to see him a couple of days later.  What I am not allowed to do is run through the pain... apparently it isn't heroic or a test of my pain barrier or something that will go away!

In the meantime I've been given some exercises to do, one nice relaxed resistance one done lying down on my back, one horrid tennis ball torturous one done in the most ungainly fashion on the floor. My practise attempt wasn't great, I'm not looking forward to trying it again, but I will, twice a day - promise!

Waiting in the reception area this afternoon watching people in the gym, I couldn't help but think about how little I like exercising! I want to RUN but I have no interest in doing repetitive exercises in a gym, or at home come to think of it, and not for the first time I started to wonder about whether or not I chose the right hobby!  Suddenly my enjoyment of running has been overshadowed by the need to do exercises, it's  a lot like playing a musical instrument and not wanting to practice.  I was rubbish at practising and week after week went into my lessons hoping to wing it and that the teacher wouldn't notice.  Then, as well as now, the only person I was fooling was me!  There comes a point where you can't pretend any longer and the only way to improve is to get on with the boring bit!  But I don't want to!

Looking for positives.... 1) The problem with my legs is something that I can do something about and only requires a short break from running 2) Needing to lie on my bedroom floor may motivate me to tidy it up! 3) My wonderful husband brought me in a rather lovely surprise bar of nice looking chocolate this evening - which strikes me as the ideal reward for exercises done! What am I waiting for!

M - 490

Brighton Half - 47
Liverpool Half - 159

Glasgow Half - 271

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Snakes and Ladders

Think I've just landed on a snake!

I have now been writing this for so long that I'm beginning to forget what I've said before, so apologies if I'm repeating myself, but then again given my propensity to waffle on about certain pet topics and/or personality traits you must be used to it by now!

A quick glance at Facebook this morning and sisterofMG750s green light was on... my message to her of 'get on with your work' was responded to with 'get on with your to-do list!' - no procrastinating for either of us on FB today! Worked a treat, I have been very industrious but wading through the finances has been hard work, and I have not made as much progress through them as I would have liked to!

Given that I am amongst the most disorganised people as far as Christmas is concerned, December disappears into a blur of both general panic and panic buying! Added to which there is a two week holiday at the end during which I have no inclination to shift through the piles of receipts trying to get the books (or in this case my badly written spread sheet) to balance. So by the time this morning arrived it was a good five weeks since I'd last tried!

That was the bit I was unsure as to whether or not I'd 'talked' about before - the fact that I spend most of January trying to pick up where I left off with things in November.  What I am in no doubt over mentioning previously, is the benefits of doing my finances often, and keeping on top of it as I go along so as to avoid days like today where there is a huge mess to sort out, and the obvious analogy between this and my attitude towards exercises!

Biomechanics appointment tomorrow - it's been a long time coming and there have been too many miles run on dodgy legs in the meantime! Taking a (slightly) educated guess I think what has happened is that without doing the necessary repetitions of my exercises to get my muscles to hold in the correct position they have reverted back to the way they were when I first sought help, and we're back to square one! All that time spent making progress, with the odd (I've been doing my exercises) ladder along the way to 'fast track' me up a level and I've come slithering down the beginning again!

Nothing for it but to pick myself up, dust myself down, pick up the dice (I know it should be die) and carry on - lets hope it's not as bad as it could be, and that perhaps I'm not all the way back to where I started, or that if I am, I am lucky enough to roll six!

M - 491

Brighton Half - 48
Liverpool Half - 160

Glasgow Half - 272

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Diary Day

OK 2015 I'm ready for you now!

In contrast to yesterday, today has been a good day! My legs don't hurt as much as I thought they might and I've started planning the year ahead albeit on a level that requires the least amount of effort!

Back in 2009 I ran the Jane Tomlinson York 10K for the first time, couldn't walk at the end of it, and didn't run until I started training for the same race a year later after which the same thing happened -only this time when I put my shoes on the shoe rack they stayed there untouched for eighteen months. Finishing parkrun yesterday in much the same state, I did have concerns over how I would be feeling when I woke up this morning, but I'm pleased to report that although stiff my legs aren't as bad as I thought they were going to be and I am determined to get back on the road as soon as the 'doctor' (or rather biomechanics man) will let me.  I am however preparing myself for an enforced rest period, to the extent that I may be a little disappointed if he doesn't prescribe one!

My optimism has not just been reserved for my running! Today has been Diary Day! The day where I get this years diary out and write in all the birthdays, holidays, dentist appointments and, new for this year, HALF MARATHONS! It is one of my favourite jobs. I love the clean pages, and the feeling of order as I write everything in neatly, knowing that once tomorrow comes and the new year starts for good (when the boys go back to school and work) the chaos will return, my plans may go awry and things may have to be scribbled out - heaven forbid! But for now it sits there like an oasis of calm on my desk!

Would be remiss of me not to congratulate sisterofMG750 who made the ten mile milestone today - whoo hooo! Apparently a woman in the running shop is to 'blame' after telling her that if she can run ten miles she can run thirteen.... in which case what are you going to do with the next seven weeks sis?!  Al doesn't know it yet but ten miles is the next goal that I'm surreptitiously adding to his running list, having ticked 10K off it earlier this week! (You had to know it isn't just my life that I like to organise!)

M - 492

Brighton Half - 49
Liverpool Half - 161

Glasgow Half - 273

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

Going Backwards

I am a fool! And only have myself to blame!

HMG and I set off for a four mile run to parkrun and my right leg wasn't happy, it did however seem to get better as we warmed up and a mile or so in I was feeling OK.  However after a long down hill stretch it was a different story - only this time the problem was with my left knee. Never mind, flat stretch to get us to parkrun and we made it in a time that we were both happy with, given our injuries and the fact that we haven't done any long distance for a while.

Parkrun started OK, but mainly because it was uphill! Then slowly started to unravel, to the point where I felt like I was running backwards as the number of people overtaking me increased! It wasn't a sensation I am particularly familiar with and I didn't like it very much! Severely hampered on the down hill stretches and only marginally better on the uphill I finished over four minutes slower than I usually do, which considering I usually gauge my performance in a band of about twenty seconds is quite a drop. (Thank you for checking if I was OK after seeing the results fellow parkrunner!)

In an attempt to help somebody else to achieve their fundraising goal, HMG and I rushed off post run to go to a charity fitness class.  It was quite easily one of the most bizarre hour's we have ever spent doing an odd selection of lunges, core stability work, and more lunges, rounded off with a game of dodge ball (which we didn't join in with - sometimes injuries come in very handy!). Having informed the instructor that we were suffering from IT Band Syndrome, his first suggestion was that we put our arms across each others shoulders and do the lunge walk across the gym attached to each other for additional stability - which might have worked well if we hadn't been laughing so hard! Seeing our attempts he then pulled us out of the 'class' altogether, showed us an IT Band stretch against the wall and then left us there, with our legs tied in knots, whilst the rest of the class continued with their lunge work. We left still unsure as to what the purpose of the hour really was, other than perhaps to sign up to join some protein drink diet (who just happened to be sponsoring the fundraising!).

I am still determined to make it to both the start AND finish line in Brighton in seven weeks time, and have every faith that the Biomechanics Man will be able to patch me up to get me there, but finishing in good enough shape to start training for my second half marathon will be an altogether bigger challenge! Why, oh why, oh why did I not listen to him in the first place and do my exercises? And can I REALLY change my habits and start listening to, and more importantly following advice that I don't like?! Hmmm a topic for another day me thinks!

In the meantime WELL DONE Al and KS on completing your fiftieth parkrun's this morning... I'm only sorry I was so far behind that I didn't get to share in any of the finish line euphoria! But hey coffee and cake next weekend to celebrate sounds like a good alternative!

M - 493

Brighton Half - 50

Glasgow Half - 274
Distance covered               7.2 miles  

Total Distance covered   453.4 miles

A new approach

And a new 'to do' list! 

A while ago someone (I think it was schoolfriendofMG750) 'liked' a post on Facebook, which went something along the lines of

"I can't make any plans for 2015, I haven't finished what I was doing in 2014, which I started in 2013, having planned in 2012 and first mentioned in 2011....."

This had also been 'liked' by several thousand other FB users for whom it struck a chord and filled me with hope that I am not alone! The unfortunate truth is however, that there are jobs on my 'to do' list which actually go further back than that!

I can't blame lack of time for all of them, some I clearly don't want to do, even if I had all the time in the world! What I need to decide is whether after all this time they actually NEED doing, in which case get on with it, or strike them off the list, stop berating myself for my lack of motivation, and get over it!

A third of the way through my two year marathon plan and over two thirds of my fundraising done, I think a slight change of pace or at least priority is called for! Part of me wants to carry on, full steam ahead with the fundraising to get to my two thousand pound target as quickly as possible, and in advance of my application to Barnardo's, another part of me wants to acknowledge that all my hard work fundraising has come at a cost and I need to take a step back and take a slightly more pragmatic approach this year.

Hobbling round the fields with Al and the dogs today it was clear that my legs are in a bit of mess, my hips hurt and my knees really didn't want to walk down hill! If I don't start making getting into better shape top priority then I won't be running anywhere irrespective of how much money I have managed to raise!

Besides which all this planning is all very well but I am actually still on my holidays so had decided to give myself to the start of next week to laze around guilt free on the sofa in the name of rest and recuperation, when it dawned on me that it's Saturday tomorrow which can only mean one thing!
See you in the morning HMG!

M - 494

Brighton Half - 51

Glasgow Half - 275

Total Distance covered   446.2 miles

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing you all a year filled with good health and happiness

Perhaps odder than running on Christmas Day, the New Year's Day parkrun brings out the real addicts, not only because we're up instead of lying in bed nursing hangovers, but because for some of us we get the opportunity to do it twice!

For those of us running in England, parkrun starts at nine o'clock every Saturday, doesn't matter which event you attend, that's when it is.  New Year's Day is a little bit different, firstly not every 'club' runs an event, secondly there seems to be a little bit of leeway in the starting time, which I imagine was initially to give people the chance for a lie in.  What happened however is that we use this change in start time to run half an hour EARLIER, to enable us to then attend another local event that is setting off late, and thus the parkrun run double was born!

Last year, I did my local parkrun but didn't feel fit enough to go on and run elsewhere. This year not only did I do it, but Al came too! 10K being the furthest he's run in over four years - well done Mr L, so very proud of you.

Our second event was at Nostell Priory a National Trust property and although a far grander setting than we're used to it didn't unfortunately make the running any easier!  With an average turnout of around one hundred runners they were somewhat swamped when over four hundred of us turned up! Didn't make for fast running and although disappointed that last week's cancellation meant that it wasn't also your fiftieth parkun Al, it does mean that you've still got a chance to PB on Saturday back on home turf, or rather tarmac!

M - 495

Brighton Half - 52

Glasgow Half - 276
Distance covered             6.2 miles

Total Distance covered   446.2 miles