Training miles completed this week: 9
Total training miles completed: 232
Training miles left: 0
Training runs left: 0
Hello again. Welcome to my last pre-marathon blog post! It feels a bit surreal writing that to be honest.
I completed my final training run tonight - a steady 3.5 miles (in a torrential downpour) over my old route as a wind down in preparation for Sunday. I managed another 5 miles last Saturday night although the inclines are still causing me some shin-splint esque pain. I'm still hoping that the flatter course will make the difference there (aided by pre-race paracetamol as well I think).
At the start of the week I was considering how it felt to be at the end of my training, to have done my last bit of race preparation, and to be honest, it's quite emotionally overwhelming. I went back and read some of my earlier blog posts from September/October time, and I can't quite believe the progress I've made since then. Going out and completing a mile (with a number of walk breaks thrown in) was a massive achievement back then and now it hardly feels woth going out to do less than 5 miles.
It also feels strange that I've wanted this so much since my Dad ran the marathon in 1988 (ish - I'll confirm that when he finds his medal) and now it's only a few days away. I guess I'll not be focussing on that too much at the start on Sunday - I expect I'll be somewhat over-awed by the occasion and I'll be buzzing from the adrenaline a fair bit. However, I do expect that when I turn down The Mall and finally see the finish line, there's a good chance I'll turn into some sort of blubbering emotional wreck (though I don't want to spoil my finisher's photo so I'll try and hold it together a bit).
I'll take injuries (most notably these shin splint pains that I can't shift) with me to the start line but as I said in one of my first ever blog posts, my aim is to get to the start line intact. Once I've done that I know I can get to the finish one way or another.
I promised you a bit of a Marathon-By-Numbers post last week and so here's what I've come up with:
17626 - my marathon running number. I'll be going from the blue start at Blackheath
30,000 - number of other people also starting at Blackheath on Sunday
232 - number of training miles I've run since 18/10/2011 (just shy of 9 full marathons)
183 - days since my first training run. It's been fully 6 months of training to get me to this point
4,500 - approximate amount of pressure (in tonnes) that I've put through my body whilst training (the "average" person sends 500 tonnes of pressure through their body over the course of a marathon run)
2-3 approximate difference in centimetres in your height between the start and end of the marathon - compression of the discs in your back means you lose about an inch in height over the course. I'm going to test this on Sunday.
72 - the number of people to date that have parted with their money to sponsor me for the marathon
26 - people I've never actually met or spoken to (excluding the realms of the internet) that have sponsored me - thank you
1128 - the amount of money I've raised for Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity to date
10.91 - my average minute mile since I started tracking my time on New Year's Eve
36 - total number of hours I've been out running throughout my training
6 - number of scheduled training runs I've missed in the last 6 months
5.25 - my projected finish time (in hours) for the marathon this weekend
1724 - (at the time of writing) the number of hits the blog has had since it started
I'm not sure what I'll do with this blog when the marathon is all over and done with. I'll obviously be back next week to let you know how it all went, but after that.... I don't know. I'd like to keep writing something, but I don't want to be one of those people that thinks having a blog equates to having a right to force their opinion on everything/anything on the world. I have a Twitter account for that. I'll guess we'll see eh?
I'm travelling down to London on Friday to get to the Expo to register and collect my running number and shoe tag and then I'm meeting up with my closest friends in the evening and we're seeing a show in the West End. Saturday my lovely wife and I are having the laziest day possible (mostly hanging around the cinema in Leicester Square I think) before the race on Sunday. I'll try and fire off a few tweets before the race starts if I can to show the start area and the build up etc (@BroomOwl if you're interested). I'm not planning on doing anything during the race other than texting my family when I'm roughly half way round but I'll let you all know how it went afterwards.
There's not much left to say now I think except a huge thank you to every one of you that's read the blog, sent me words of encouragement or clicked on the fundraising page to donate some money (you can still click on the link to donate if you want to). Reaching my target with a week to spare has been a fantastic achievement and I won't let you all down now. The support you've all shown me over the last few months has been incredible. My Dad and brother-in-law are travelling down on Sunday morning to watch so I'll be looking out for them around Wapping and I'm so grateful they're making the journey down to support me.
I also owe my wife a massive thank you too. Even though she doesn't actually read this blog at all ("it's too long"), she's made a number of sacrifices over the last year or so, and I really honestly couldn't do this without her and I hope she knows how thankful I am for everything she's done.
Thank you everyone. I'll speak to you again from the other side of the finish line.
Take care
Andy
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
The final countdown
Training miles completed this week: 15
Total training miles completed: 223
Training miles left: 9
Training runs left: 2
Hello again
I'll start with an apology this week. I didn't write a post last week and that was essentially for no other reason than I was sulking a bit about not running.
A day or so after my 20 mile run, I started to feel a bit of pain in my foot so I took a conscious decision to miss a run and let it heal a bit. There's obviously no point running for the sake of it - an injury this close to the marathon needs to be looked after. I thought I could miss one run and be back out to properly start my tapering.
Unfortunately I got a migraine which floored me for about 4 days (I think I've mentioned these before) and so I ended up missing another training slot. That left me feeling a bit downbeat about the whole thing and I didn't feel that blogging any of that negativity would be particularly cathartic. But I'm back now with my penultimate blog before race day.
I've managed 3 runs this week totalling 15 miles which is encouraging. I did 4 miles last Thursday and followed that up with 5 and 6 miles. It's a bit of a twist on the taper plan I had in mind, but I need to bear the injuries in mind and so I've opted for an extra shorter run rather than doing, say, 12 miles and reducing down after that. I just need to make sure my legs still worked and I'm happy to report that they do.
Skipping the two runs last week has meant I've developed a bit of a complex about being underprepared. I'm not sure how much of that is the "to be expected" pre race nerves, and how much of it I really believe. By the time I get on a train to London at the end of next week, I'll have already run 232 miles - equivalent to about 9 full marathons. I'd like to think that stands me in good stead but at the same time I have a nagging doubt that having done no great distance for a few weeks will be a bit of a set-back. Hopefully it's the former.
I think nerves are natural at this stage. I'm venturing into the unknown in more ways than one. Obviously I've never run a marathon before and equally, I'm running on a route I'm wholly unfamiliar with. I've also not run with anyone in this sort of race environment for about 17 years (The Rother Valley 10k for those of you in Sheffield). All this is easily overcome I suppose - I'd just not really considered all these factors until recently.
I'm going to have to focus on my pace in the early miles - I don't want to set off too quickly and burn out too soon. I know the first 5 or 6 miles can be done at around a 10 min/mile pace and I should hopefully be able to replicate my 11.5 min mile (ish) time to 20 miles. That gives me a good guide to where I should be and when. As I've stated all along though, as long as I get round before the medals run out (6pm) then I'll be ecstatic.
I'm considering Google-mapping the route before I set off. I'm not sure if that's a bit OTT or whether I'll genuinely feel calmer for having visualised the route at least once before I set off. In all likelihood, I'll probably get bored/frustrated after 2 miles of trying, but it could be worth a shot.
There's been some movement on the fundraising this last 2 weeks which is excellent! Current total is £837.50 which is another £130 since I last blogged. The generosity everyone has shown has been incredible! I do still have some more donations that I've been promised as well so I hope I'll be able to get very close to the £1,000 target. If you're thinking about donating then please know that even a couple of quid will make a difference - you can click on the subtle fundraising link above, or the less subtle one at the end of this post to donate. Again, I can't thank people enough for what they've already done - I couldn't have wished for more.
As always, all money that I raise is being split equally between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes. The Children's Hospital money will be going to help fund a summer camp for children with diabetes which is very worthwhile.
I'll blog next week after my last training run which in itself feels like quite an emotional milestone. I'm going to do a bit of a "Marathon Training by numbers" post which will either be a bit interesting or not half as fun as I thought it would be - who knows?
As with the running, I feel a bit rusty with the blogging so hopefully this has been a moderately interesting post for me to return with. As I say, I'll try and sum everything up next week and perhaps talk about where this blog goes after the marathon is all done, because to be perfectly honest with you, I don't have an answer for that just yet.
Thanks for sticking with me today and if you've been with me since the start, thank you for making it this far. I really appreciate all the support you've all given me.
Take care and have a good week
Andy
Total training miles completed: 223
Training miles left: 9
Training runs left: 2
Hello again
I'll start with an apology this week. I didn't write a post last week and that was essentially for no other reason than I was sulking a bit about not running.
A day or so after my 20 mile run, I started to feel a bit of pain in my foot so I took a conscious decision to miss a run and let it heal a bit. There's obviously no point running for the sake of it - an injury this close to the marathon needs to be looked after. I thought I could miss one run and be back out to properly start my tapering.
Unfortunately I got a migraine which floored me for about 4 days (I think I've mentioned these before) and so I ended up missing another training slot. That left me feeling a bit downbeat about the whole thing and I didn't feel that blogging any of that negativity would be particularly cathartic. But I'm back now with my penultimate blog before race day.
I've managed 3 runs this week totalling 15 miles which is encouraging. I did 4 miles last Thursday and followed that up with 5 and 6 miles. It's a bit of a twist on the taper plan I had in mind, but I need to bear the injuries in mind and so I've opted for an extra shorter run rather than doing, say, 12 miles and reducing down after that. I just need to make sure my legs still worked and I'm happy to report that they do.
Skipping the two runs last week has meant I've developed a bit of a complex about being underprepared. I'm not sure how much of that is the "to be expected" pre race nerves, and how much of it I really believe. By the time I get on a train to London at the end of next week, I'll have already run 232 miles - equivalent to about 9 full marathons. I'd like to think that stands me in good stead but at the same time I have a nagging doubt that having done no great distance for a few weeks will be a bit of a set-back. Hopefully it's the former.
I think nerves are natural at this stage. I'm venturing into the unknown in more ways than one. Obviously I've never run a marathon before and equally, I'm running on a route I'm wholly unfamiliar with. I've also not run with anyone in this sort of race environment for about 17 years (The Rother Valley 10k for those of you in Sheffield). All this is easily overcome I suppose - I'd just not really considered all these factors until recently.
I'm going to have to focus on my pace in the early miles - I don't want to set off too quickly and burn out too soon. I know the first 5 or 6 miles can be done at around a 10 min/mile pace and I should hopefully be able to replicate my 11.5 min mile (ish) time to 20 miles. That gives me a good guide to where I should be and when. As I've stated all along though, as long as I get round before the medals run out (6pm) then I'll be ecstatic.
I'm considering Google-mapping the route before I set off. I'm not sure if that's a bit OTT or whether I'll genuinely feel calmer for having visualised the route at least once before I set off. In all likelihood, I'll probably get bored/frustrated after 2 miles of trying, but it could be worth a shot.
There's been some movement on the fundraising this last 2 weeks which is excellent! Current total is £837.50 which is another £130 since I last blogged. The generosity everyone has shown has been incredible! I do still have some more donations that I've been promised as well so I hope I'll be able to get very close to the £1,000 target. If you're thinking about donating then please know that even a couple of quid will make a difference - you can click on the subtle fundraising link above, or the less subtle one at the end of this post to donate. Again, I can't thank people enough for what they've already done - I couldn't have wished for more.
As always, all money that I raise is being split equally between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes. The Children's Hospital money will be going to help fund a summer camp for children with diabetes which is very worthwhile.
I'll blog next week after my last training run which in itself feels like quite an emotional milestone. I'm going to do a bit of a "Marathon Training by numbers" post which will either be a bit interesting or not half as fun as I thought it would be - who knows?
As with the running, I feel a bit rusty with the blogging so hopefully this has been a moderately interesting post for me to return with. As I say, I'll try and sum everything up next week and perhaps talk about where this blog goes after the marathon is all done, because to be perfectly honest with you, I don't have an answer for that just yet.
Thanks for sticking with me today and if you've been with me since the start, thank you for making it this far. I really appreciate all the support you've all given me.
Take care and have a good week
Andy
You can donate at any time by clicking on this fundraising link
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
200 up
Training miles completed this week: 20
Total training miles completed: 208
Training miles left: 30
Training runs left: 6
Hello again - thanks for taking the time to drop in.
This week saw another 2 big milestones in my quest for the marathon. I completed my longest run on the training programme (20 miles) and also saw me break the 200 mile mark overall.
All this came at a bit of a price as I've picked up another niggling injury which means I'm going to be taking it really steady over the next few weeks. The summary above says another 30 miles over 6 runs but it's increasingly likely that I'm going to just do 3 runs to minimise the risk of any serious injury. I've worked too hard over the last few months to not get to the start line and now I feel mentally prepared to take on the full distance - I just need to be physically able !
The 20 mile run went really well which was something of a surprise. I was convinced after my 18 mile horror show that I would struggle a lot but it wasn't really the case. I think I've probably perfected a decent run/walk strategy which conserves enough energy for the latter parts of the run and I've also got a good understanding of how my blood sugar will react and what insulin doses I need on the day.
I managed 20 miles in 3 hours 53 which felt good. A 12 minute mile pace would be 4 hours so I'm still to do a run that's over that pace which is encouraging. Again, I'll stress that my finish time isn't important to me, but knowing my pace so I can predict where I'll be and when is key so having that understanding is good. I also managed the last 6 miles in 72 minutes which makes me think I can complete the course in about 5:15.
My 'shin splits' (or whatever that particular pain is) were still uncomfortable during the early parts of the run (the part with the most hilly terrain) and I've picked up a pain very similar to the one that forced me out of the Sheffield Half Marathon 4 years ago, but this time in my left foot. I'm hoping it's a bit of bruising and nothing more but I'll keep the weight off it and only run when it feels right.
Doing that 20 miles has convinced me I have a strategy to complete the marathon and still be standing afterwards and that has to be a hugely positive thing. If you weren't familiar with my starting position when I went into this training, this introduction blog post will give you an idea of how far I've come.
My final marathon pack came in the post this week and it contains all the details you need to register, get to the start, and know what to do at the end. You have to go to the EXCEL Centre (Custom House) in London to register and pick up your running number and timing tag. I'm doing all that on the Friday before the marathon so I can hopefully have a day or so of rest in London before the race.
I'll be starting from the Blue start at Blackheath at 9:45am on April 22nd. This is where most of the mass runners will start but everyone from the other 2 start areas will merge together by about mile 3. I think this first 3 miles will be a bit tricky due to the sheer volume of runners on the course. I'm guessing that this will take a bit of time to get through but hopefully I'll get into my stride as soon as possible after that.
For a look at the course map, click on this Interactive Map
There's been a lot more fundraising money in this week which is good news! Current total is £707.50 which is more than £130 in the last week alone. The generosity everyone has shown has been incredible! I do still have some more donations that I've been promised as well so I hope I'll be able to get around £800 in total which would be a really amazing. Again, I can't thank people enough for what they've done.
As always, all money that I raise is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes. The Children's Hospital money will be going to help fund a summer camp for children with diabetes which is very worthwhile.
I'd also just like to say thanks again to the virtual running club on Twitter - you all give me a lot of motivation to keep going when it always seems easier to stop. Thank you.
I'll sign off this week with a quote a good friend of mine gave me from her marathon finisher's t-shirt from a few years back: You see impossible. I see the finish line. Impossible is nothing. That'll be at the front of my mind over the next few weeks now. 25 days and counting.
Thanks for reading - I'm not sure I do enough to express how important your support is.
Take care
Andy
You can donate at any time by clicking on this fundraising link
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Pain management
Training miles completed this week: 16
Total training miles completed: 188
Training miles left: 25 + taper off period
Training runs left: 8
Hello again.
There's only 31 days left until I'll be lining up to start the marathon. It feels like yesterday I remember the countdown being 180 days and thinking I had all the time in the world to train and prepare.
Training is definitely beginning to take it's toll now, with pretty much every day spent ignoring some form of pain. I think that it (being in pain) has been so much of the norm for me over the past 4 years that I'm surprised that I can still really feel it at all.
But I can feel it and the major battle I've had this week has been in my mind. For those of you who know me, you'll know that I'm a bit stubborn from time to time, and training is one of those areas where I'm the most bloody-minded of all. I'll try and explain...
I've come to terms with the fact that it's unlikely I'll ever really lose the aches and pains in my foot if I want to continue any form of running based exercise. It's the new, less familiar pain that I'm struggling to get used to. When I did my 4 mile run last week, I had a bit of pain in my ankle joints and in my legs, but I passed it off as lack of proper stretching and warm-up. I did 16 miles on Saturday morning and the pain was there again but I ran through it and it disappeared after about 4 miles. (I managed the distance in 3:04 and I felt like I could have kept jogging/walking as well which was pleasing)
I Googled shin splints when I got in as it seemed to be the only condition I could think of that would make sense. And reading through the causes and symptoms, it does make a lot of sense. I'm not going to visit my GP for it as I know the answer is rest. I also don't want someone to tell me I can't run because I've worked too hard to get to where I am.
On the other hand, I constantly remind myself that I've already done less training than someone preparing for their first marathon should do and so missing any distance at all never really seems acceptable to me. I'm into the mindset that I'm 'only' doing 6 miles so it shouldn't be a problem, not really letting myself understand that 6 miles is a distance that means I need to take care.
Ultimately, my goal is to do the marathon and if that means cutting back on my training and resting sensibly then that's what I should do, no matter how hard it might be.
I've decided to skip my 6 mile run for tonight in favour of resting and keeping my 20 mile run on track for the weekend. Whether that turns out to be a sensible decision or not, only time will tell but it feels like a good compromise. I think I wrote some weeks back about saying that I'd cut down to one run a week if that's what I needed to do. There's only 4 weeks left and I think getting this close to race day and feeling ready to compete is an achievement in itself. If I only do 4 more runs instead of 8 then it doesn't really matter - I just need to convince myself of that.
I've conquered my battered ankle, (possible) shin splints, at least one stress fractured toe (possibly two) and now I just need to get the better of my own psyche.
I managed my blood sugar really well again on the last 16 mile jaunt (reaffirming my belief that the 18 mile run was so painful because I got things wrong). I'm convinced now that 8 miles and then 4 jelly babies every 4 miles will get me round comfortably. I'm glad to have one less thing to worry about.
There's been some more fundraising money in this week which is good news! Current total is £575 and I'm hoping I can break the £700 barrier before April 22nd. I'm becoming a bit more direct in terms of sponsorship requests now (as the people in my office will be finding out this week) so I'm still hopeful of making at least £700 before I top up the rest to £1000. The generosity everyone has shown has been incredible!
As always, all money that I raise is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes. The Children's Hospital money will be going to help fund a summer camp for children with diabetes which is very worthwhile.
I had an interesting conversation with my daughter this week. She came up to tell me that she had a poorly tummy and she needed an injection to feel better. She sees me injecting before meals and asks what I'm doing. I tell her it's because I'm not very well and I have to take medicine. It's hard to see her mimicking what I do because one of my big fears is that she'll end up the same way. But I don't see the point in hiding it from her either. Fortunately, this only lasted a couple of days this time.
Finally, a word on another blog you might enjoy. A friend of mine has entered the Tough Mudder event in November and has started a training regime that will ultimately put me to shame. You can follow Sam's progress here - it's a great read. We seemed to have a bit of a virtual running club on Twitter at the moment and it's great to get support and chat things through with people doing the same thing. A really valuable way to stay sane. Thanks - you know who you are.
Have a good week - hopefully next time I'll be able to report on a decent 20 mile slog.
Take care
Andy
Total training miles completed: 188
Training miles left: 25 + taper off period
Training runs left: 8
Hello again.
There's only 31 days left until I'll be lining up to start the marathon. It feels like yesterday I remember the countdown being 180 days and thinking I had all the time in the world to train and prepare.
Training is definitely beginning to take it's toll now, with pretty much every day spent ignoring some form of pain. I think that it (being in pain) has been so much of the norm for me over the past 4 years that I'm surprised that I can still really feel it at all.
But I can feel it and the major battle I've had this week has been in my mind. For those of you who know me, you'll know that I'm a bit stubborn from time to time, and training is one of those areas where I'm the most bloody-minded of all. I'll try and explain...
I've come to terms with the fact that it's unlikely I'll ever really lose the aches and pains in my foot if I want to continue any form of running based exercise. It's the new, less familiar pain that I'm struggling to get used to. When I did my 4 mile run last week, I had a bit of pain in my ankle joints and in my legs, but I passed it off as lack of proper stretching and warm-up. I did 16 miles on Saturday morning and the pain was there again but I ran through it and it disappeared after about 4 miles. (I managed the distance in 3:04 and I felt like I could have kept jogging/walking as well which was pleasing)
I Googled shin splints when I got in as it seemed to be the only condition I could think of that would make sense. And reading through the causes and symptoms, it does make a lot of sense. I'm not going to visit my GP for it as I know the answer is rest. I also don't want someone to tell me I can't run because I've worked too hard to get to where I am.
On the other hand, I constantly remind myself that I've already done less training than someone preparing for their first marathon should do and so missing any distance at all never really seems acceptable to me. I'm into the mindset that I'm 'only' doing 6 miles so it shouldn't be a problem, not really letting myself understand that 6 miles is a distance that means I need to take care.
Ultimately, my goal is to do the marathon and if that means cutting back on my training and resting sensibly then that's what I should do, no matter how hard it might be.
I've decided to skip my 6 mile run for tonight in favour of resting and keeping my 20 mile run on track for the weekend. Whether that turns out to be a sensible decision or not, only time will tell but it feels like a good compromise. I think I wrote some weeks back about saying that I'd cut down to one run a week if that's what I needed to do. There's only 4 weeks left and I think getting this close to race day and feeling ready to compete is an achievement in itself. If I only do 4 more runs instead of 8 then it doesn't really matter - I just need to convince myself of that.
I've conquered my battered ankle, (possible) shin splints, at least one stress fractured toe (possibly two) and now I just need to get the better of my own psyche.
I managed my blood sugar really well again on the last 16 mile jaunt (reaffirming my belief that the 18 mile run was so painful because I got things wrong). I'm convinced now that 8 miles and then 4 jelly babies every 4 miles will get me round comfortably. I'm glad to have one less thing to worry about.
There's been some more fundraising money in this week which is good news! Current total is £575 and I'm hoping I can break the £700 barrier before April 22nd. I'm becoming a bit more direct in terms of sponsorship requests now (as the people in my office will be finding out this week) so I'm still hopeful of making at least £700 before I top up the rest to £1000. The generosity everyone has shown has been incredible!
As always, all money that I raise is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes. The Children's Hospital money will be going to help fund a summer camp for children with diabetes which is very worthwhile.
I had an interesting conversation with my daughter this week. She came up to tell me that she had a poorly tummy and she needed an injection to feel better. She sees me injecting before meals and asks what I'm doing. I tell her it's because I'm not very well and I have to take medicine. It's hard to see her mimicking what I do because one of my big fears is that she'll end up the same way. But I don't see the point in hiding it from her either. Fortunately, this only lasted a couple of days this time.
Finally, a word on another blog you might enjoy. A friend of mine has entered the Tough Mudder event in November and has started a training regime that will ultimately put me to shame. You can follow Sam's progress here - it's a great read. We seemed to have a bit of a virtual running club on Twitter at the moment and it's great to get support and chat things through with people doing the same thing. A really valuable way to stay sane. Thanks - you know who you are.
Have a good week - hopefully next time I'll be able to report on a decent 20 mile slog.
Take care
Andy
You can donate at any time by clicking on this fundraising link
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
150 not out
Training miles completed this week: 21
Total training miles completed: 150
Training miles left: 69 + taper off period
Training runs left: 12 (inc taper period)
Hello again
This last week has seen a couple of milestones fall by the wayside. Firstly, as this week's title suggests, I completed my 150th training mile. It sounds like a lot but I guess having that spread out over a fair few months it's probably not quite as fanfare worthy as it seems.
The other milestone was ticking off a 16 mile run on Saturday morning. This one is important for a number of reasons I think. Firstly, it's the furthest distance I've ever managed and I'm not hobbling around in agony so that's promising. Secondly, I've now got an idea of how much the full distance is going to hurt and I know I can cope with the aches and the pains (to a degree) so that's good to know. I managed it in a respectable 3 hours, which, considering how I felt after about 7 miles, was a more than decent time. Finally, I managed the distance with good control of my diabetes.
Following on from my dietician appointment, we'd discussed monitoring my blood sugar while I was running to understand what I'll need to do to be at my bets come race day. My figures looked like this:
Start: 22.1mmol (high but I'd eaten a decent breakfast and had a slightly elevated level from the night before)
8 miles: 8.0mmol - ate 4 jelly babies
12 miles 9.6mmol
14miles 5.6 - ate 4 jelly babies
Finish (after cool down etc) 6.4mmol
To be honest, I don't think I could have wished for it to have been any better than that. Obviously I can't use one run as a guide and I'll be testing over the next 3 weekends as well, but it seems the "1-2 jelly babies per mile" advice that I read seems to hold out OK. I'll monitor that going forward.
I did an easy 5 miles tonight but managed to do it in a record 50 minutes flat - knocking another 3 minutes off my best time for the distance. Over the past fortnight I've got it down from 55 to 50 minutes so I'm very pleased with that.
I've been struggling over the last week with running. Not in a physical way per se (although the aches after the long runs are a challenge). It's the mental aspect of it which is now daunting me. I'm confident I'll survive the course now - I've run enough to know that I think. I don't think I've been prepared for how emotionally draining the training gets over the final few weeks. Getting myself into the mindset of running long distances, and having the inner strength to keep myself going is a lot harder than I'd imagined and I'll really need to work on that between now and the race.
I think that's part of the reason I ran so quickly tonight - I wanted to blow away a few cobwebs and try and motivate myself.
I've been wanting to go out and do a few extra runs over the last week or so - nothing major - just an extra couple of miles a week but I've stopped myself because I'm scared I'll overdo it and injure myself. I found the 16 miles tough at the weekend and I guess that's to be expected at the best of times, but when I remember what I've been through to get here, coupled with the fact that a basic training schedule should be 3 runs per week, I think I should be pleased overall. I feel confident I can finish the distance now and that's a great boost.
Nothing much happening from a diabetes poiint of view which I suppose is good news really. I've been having a few higher readings in the morning of late but if I'm a bit stricter about testing my blood sugar a couple of times before bed then I should be able to eradicate those. I've probably also been suffering from the effects of eating leftover birthday cake from my daughter's party but that contributing factor has now been dealt with...
A bit more fundraising money has come in this week which is good news! Thanks to those that contributed this week, and another thank you to everyone who's put their hand in their pocket so far. I'm now exactly halfway to my £1000 goal so, with a little over 6 weeks to go, there's a big push to get as close to the target as possible. I had some incentives put my way this week, in that a couple of people have pledged £30 each if I get my time below 4:48 for the marathon. As I've said all along, my time isn't important to me, but if I'm through mile 25 and that time is in sight, it should give me the motivation to get over the line. As always, all money raised is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes.
As I suggested over the last few weeks, the closer I get to April 22nd, the more I might shamelessly beg you for a few quid, so if you can spare anything at all, please click on the fundraising link above and donate. I'll be eternally grateful if you do.
I'll leave it there for this week - got a big 18 mile run ahead of me on Sunday. Hoping it goes as well as last weekend.
Thanks, as ever, for taking the time to read this - your support is incredibly important to me.
Have a good week
Andy
Total training miles completed: 150
Training miles left: 69 + taper off period
Training runs left: 12 (inc taper period)
Hello again
This last week has seen a couple of milestones fall by the wayside. Firstly, as this week's title suggests, I completed my 150th training mile. It sounds like a lot but I guess having that spread out over a fair few months it's probably not quite as fanfare worthy as it seems.
The other milestone was ticking off a 16 mile run on Saturday morning. This one is important for a number of reasons I think. Firstly, it's the furthest distance I've ever managed and I'm not hobbling around in agony so that's promising. Secondly, I've now got an idea of how much the full distance is going to hurt and I know I can cope with the aches and the pains (to a degree) so that's good to know. I managed it in a respectable 3 hours, which, considering how I felt after about 7 miles, was a more than decent time. Finally, I managed the distance with good control of my diabetes.
Following on from my dietician appointment, we'd discussed monitoring my blood sugar while I was running to understand what I'll need to do to be at my bets come race day. My figures looked like this:
Start: 22.1mmol (high but I'd eaten a decent breakfast and had a slightly elevated level from the night before)
8 miles: 8.0mmol - ate 4 jelly babies
12 miles 9.6mmol
14miles 5.6 - ate 4 jelly babies
Finish (after cool down etc) 6.4mmol
To be honest, I don't think I could have wished for it to have been any better than that. Obviously I can't use one run as a guide and I'll be testing over the next 3 weekends as well, but it seems the "1-2 jelly babies per mile" advice that I read seems to hold out OK. I'll monitor that going forward.
I did an easy 5 miles tonight but managed to do it in a record 50 minutes flat - knocking another 3 minutes off my best time for the distance. Over the past fortnight I've got it down from 55 to 50 minutes so I'm very pleased with that.
I've been struggling over the last week with running. Not in a physical way per se (although the aches after the long runs are a challenge). It's the mental aspect of it which is now daunting me. I'm confident I'll survive the course now - I've run enough to know that I think. I don't think I've been prepared for how emotionally draining the training gets over the final few weeks. Getting myself into the mindset of running long distances, and having the inner strength to keep myself going is a lot harder than I'd imagined and I'll really need to work on that between now and the race.
I think that's part of the reason I ran so quickly tonight - I wanted to blow away a few cobwebs and try and motivate myself.
I've been wanting to go out and do a few extra runs over the last week or so - nothing major - just an extra couple of miles a week but I've stopped myself because I'm scared I'll overdo it and injure myself. I found the 16 miles tough at the weekend and I guess that's to be expected at the best of times, but when I remember what I've been through to get here, coupled with the fact that a basic training schedule should be 3 runs per week, I think I should be pleased overall. I feel confident I can finish the distance now and that's a great boost.
Nothing much happening from a diabetes poiint of view which I suppose is good news really. I've been having a few higher readings in the morning of late but if I'm a bit stricter about testing my blood sugar a couple of times before bed then I should be able to eradicate those. I've probably also been suffering from the effects of eating leftover birthday cake from my daughter's party but that contributing factor has now been dealt with...
A bit more fundraising money has come in this week which is good news! Thanks to those that contributed this week, and another thank you to everyone who's put their hand in their pocket so far. I'm now exactly halfway to my £1000 goal so, with a little over 6 weeks to go, there's a big push to get as close to the target as possible. I had some incentives put my way this week, in that a couple of people have pledged £30 each if I get my time below 4:48 for the marathon. As I've said all along, my time isn't important to me, but if I'm through mile 25 and that time is in sight, it should give me the motivation to get over the line. As always, all money raised is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes.
As I suggested over the last few weeks, the closer I get to April 22nd, the more I might shamelessly beg you for a few quid, so if you can spare anything at all, please click on the fundraising link above and donate. I'll be eternally grateful if you do.
I'll leave it there for this week - got a big 18 mile run ahead of me on Sunday. Hoping it goes as well as last weekend.
Thanks, as ever, for taking the time to read this - your support is incredibly important to me.
Have a good week
Andy
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Moving on up
Training miles completed this week: 16
Total training miles completed: 112
Training miles left: 106 + taper off period
Training runs left: 18 + taper off period
Hi and thanks for stopping to have a read.
It's been a good week this week - something I'm really pleased to be able to say after the last couple of weeks.
I've done 16 miles since I last blogged (and actually 21 in the last 7 days) and I'm not feeling too worse for wear for it. Friday night saw me finally get through the 10 mile barrier, which I did in 1hr 53 which is just over an 11 minute mile pace. Remember that I'm forecasting about a 12 minute mile average so getting through 10 miles inside that time is encouraging. Here's the route:
It was definitely the most gruelling run and the first time I've really got home and thought "that hurt". Fortunately, a shower and a sleep seems to be enough to get me back on my feet.
I ran 6 miles last night in 66 minutes. I was more than happy with that as I'd done it after a 4:30am start and a return trip to London. I'm feeling the aches and pains a bit today but it' be foolish to expect anything else given the amount of training I've done.
This coming Friday marks the end of my evening distance runs. I'll be doing 12 miles that night and then all my long runs after that will be done during the day at the weekend. That's partly to get accustomed to race conditions, and partly because I can't reasonably run 16+ miles on Friday night and still find time to eat.
I recently finished reading The London Marathon by John Bryant (a Christmas present) and I've never felt so inspiried and terrified at the same time. The book is a history of the race mixed with notable performances of elite and "fun" runners. It also highlights (on several occasions) the amount of physical stress your body goes through when actually running the marathon. Whilst I won't bore you all with endless quotes and references, two of the things I've read have stuck with me and reminded me how important it is that I take it steady in the build up and on the day:
1. Running a marathon is approximately 32000 paces. Couple this with your (average) body weight and you can put up to 500 tons of pressure through your feet and up your spine during the race
2. Linked to the first point, it's said that you can be up to 1cm shorter at the end of the race than at the start due to the compression of the discs in your back as you pound the streets
I'll be taking it very steady I think.
Managing my diabetes has been a bit of a rollercoaster this last week or so. I'm finding my morning readings are higher than I'd like and this is difficult to control when I've run the night before. I'm eating to replenish my energy levels and then going to sleep so it's difficult to understand whether my insulin doses are correct. During the day I'm pretty normal but over night it's a bit trickier.
Obviously diet, running and diabetes are a tricky threesome to manage and so tomorrow I have an appointment with a diabetes specialist dietician at the hospital to discuss what I should be eating and when, how to adjust my doses and what, if anything, I can do to try and avoid hitting "the wall" towards the end of the marathon. I'll talk about that in next week's post.
Not too much to report from a fundraising perspective this week - no new donations have come in so I'm still sitting pretty on £482. As the big day approaches (59 days to go!) you may see me being a bit more active in terms of asking for donations so I'll apologise for that up front. All money raised is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes.
My weight has also stayed constant this week (perhaps the two are linked...) at 188.6lbs. I'm not going to complain too much about that really. I feel fitter and slimmer and that's probably the most important thing when all's said and done. I also maintain the belief that your diet and weight loss have a lagged effect and all that takeaway from a fortnight ago has negated this week's running. Hopefully I can drop another pound or so next week.
As I mentioned earlier, I was in London yesterday for a meeting. It gave me a good chance to do a bit of a recce of the mile 17 to 19 stretch of the course around Canary Wharf. What struck me the most was when I look at the course map, I never really visualise any of the surroundings other than the really famous landmarks I know (Tower Bridge at mile 13, Cutty Sark (as it is) at mile 7, Buckinghma Palace at the end). Seeing the route as just a normal road just under the DLR tracks made it all seem a lot more real than it has done before.
For some reason, when I do look at the course map, the distance never really looks that far. I can't explain why, though it's probably the soothing blue line that weaves around London that makes me think it's all going to be OK. And I'm sure it will be OK, just a bit painful along the way. I'm really excited to be doing it and while the weeks seem to pass quite slowly, I know it'll be here before I know it.
Head down and focussing on 17 miles next week now.
Thanks for stopping by to read this. I know I say it every week, but the encouragment and messages I get really do mean a lot to me. You can find me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) if you want to get in touch.
Take care - have a good week
Andy
Total training miles completed: 112
Training miles left: 106 + taper off period
Training runs left: 18 + taper off period
Hi and thanks for stopping to have a read.
It's been a good week this week - something I'm really pleased to be able to say after the last couple of weeks.
I've done 16 miles since I last blogged (and actually 21 in the last 7 days) and I'm not feeling too worse for wear for it. Friday night saw me finally get through the 10 mile barrier, which I did in 1hr 53 which is just over an 11 minute mile pace. Remember that I'm forecasting about a 12 minute mile average so getting through 10 miles inside that time is encouraging. Here's the route:
It was definitely the most gruelling run and the first time I've really got home and thought "that hurt". Fortunately, a shower and a sleep seems to be enough to get me back on my feet.
I ran 6 miles last night in 66 minutes. I was more than happy with that as I'd done it after a 4:30am start and a return trip to London. I'm feeling the aches and pains a bit today but it' be foolish to expect anything else given the amount of training I've done.
This coming Friday marks the end of my evening distance runs. I'll be doing 12 miles that night and then all my long runs after that will be done during the day at the weekend. That's partly to get accustomed to race conditions, and partly because I can't reasonably run 16+ miles on Friday night and still find time to eat.
I recently finished reading The London Marathon by John Bryant (a Christmas present) and I've never felt so inspiried and terrified at the same time. The book is a history of the race mixed with notable performances of elite and "fun" runners. It also highlights (on several occasions) the amount of physical stress your body goes through when actually running the marathon. Whilst I won't bore you all with endless quotes and references, two of the things I've read have stuck with me and reminded me how important it is that I take it steady in the build up and on the day:
1. Running a marathon is approximately 32000 paces. Couple this with your (average) body weight and you can put up to 500 tons of pressure through your feet and up your spine during the race
2. Linked to the first point, it's said that you can be up to 1cm shorter at the end of the race than at the start due to the compression of the discs in your back as you pound the streets
I'll be taking it very steady I think.
Managing my diabetes has been a bit of a rollercoaster this last week or so. I'm finding my morning readings are higher than I'd like and this is difficult to control when I've run the night before. I'm eating to replenish my energy levels and then going to sleep so it's difficult to understand whether my insulin doses are correct. During the day I'm pretty normal but over night it's a bit trickier.
Obviously diet, running and diabetes are a tricky threesome to manage and so tomorrow I have an appointment with a diabetes specialist dietician at the hospital to discuss what I should be eating and when, how to adjust my doses and what, if anything, I can do to try and avoid hitting "the wall" towards the end of the marathon. I'll talk about that in next week's post.
Not too much to report from a fundraising perspective this week - no new donations have come in so I'm still sitting pretty on £482. As the big day approaches (59 days to go!) you may see me being a bit more active in terms of asking for donations so I'll apologise for that up front. All money raised is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity - two very worthy causes.
My weight has also stayed constant this week (perhaps the two are linked...) at 188.6lbs. I'm not going to complain too much about that really. I feel fitter and slimmer and that's probably the most important thing when all's said and done. I also maintain the belief that your diet and weight loss have a lagged effect and all that takeaway from a fortnight ago has negated this week's running. Hopefully I can drop another pound or so next week.
As I mentioned earlier, I was in London yesterday for a meeting. It gave me a good chance to do a bit of a recce of the mile 17 to 19 stretch of the course around Canary Wharf. What struck me the most was when I look at the course map, I never really visualise any of the surroundings other than the really famous landmarks I know (Tower Bridge at mile 13, Cutty Sark (as it is) at mile 7, Buckinghma Palace at the end). Seeing the route as just a normal road just under the DLR tracks made it all seem a lot more real than it has done before.
For some reason, when I do look at the course map, the distance never really looks that far. I can't explain why, though it's probably the soothing blue line that weaves around London that makes me think it's all going to be OK. And I'm sure it will be OK, just a bit painful along the way. I'm really excited to be doing it and while the weeks seem to pass quite slowly, I know it'll be here before I know it.
Head down and focussing on 17 miles next week now.
Thanks for stopping by to read this. I know I say it every week, but the encouragment and messages I get really do mean a lot to me. You can find me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) if you want to get in touch.
Take care - have a good week
Andy
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Sacrifices and good news
Training miles completed this week: 12.5
Total training miles completed: 91
Training miles left: 155 + taper off period
Training runs left: 24 + taper off period
Hello and thanks for taking the time to read this week's post.
I've been deliberating whether to write this post for a few weeks now and I've decided to give it a shot. I'm a bit worried that it won't sound quite right and I'll end up coming across as a bit self-aggrandising. I hope regular readers and those who know me would back me up in saying that's not how this is meant to be.
The trigger for actually writing this came from an advert of all places - specifically this one:
I suppose it struck a chord with me because, whilst I knew that training for a marathon was no mean feat, I'd never really understood the actual extent of what it takes until I started doing it myself. I've got friends who've run the London Marathon, and my sister and my dad have both done it too, but I've never really grasped the enormity of the challenge until very recently. The line in the above that says "I am all the days you don't see" pretty much sums it up for me.
The thing is, that it's not really me that's making the sacrifices - it's my family. At the moment, my wife has to put our daughter to bed on her own twice a week while I'm out running and as I start getting above 12 miles in the next few weeks, I'll be taking large chunks out of our weekends to prepare.
Whilst I do make sacrifices of sorts (getting up early for weekend runs, not getting home til 9pm some nights) I'm doing that voluntarily. My family take the extra burden to let me do this and I think that aspect is overlooked as much as "all the days that you don't see". I hope I've articulated that in a decent way.
Back to running and I've banked a decent 12.5 miles this week. A 7.5 mile run last Friday night was a good test and despite feeling a bit of a twinge in my thigh muscle and feeling like I'd lost a lot of energy after 5 miles, I still put in a respectable 80 minute time. Going back to last week's post again, I'm not setting out to run any of these distances in a "good" time - I'm setting out with the hope of getting back in one piece. I'm keeping an eye on the mile times, but only as a reference, not a target to beat. Fortunately that twinge in my thigh subsided quite quickly and I've not felt any additional pain in my foot yet.
It's been cold in Sheffield this week but the 5 miles last night felt pretty good. A solid 55 minute time with no reaction afterwards is good. I think it's a sign of how far I've come that when my wife asked me how far I was going I replied "only 5 miles". In September, doing a mile filled me with fear and now 5 miles doesn't feel like much.
I had my diabetes review at the hospital today and had some really good news! My long term blood sugar level (used in essence to monitor how well you're managing your condition) has dropped from 10.1 to 7.4 since August which is very pleasing. I know it may not mean much out of context so I've handily got a picture (below) which might illustrate it better.
On a fundraising note, it's been another good week as I've managed to add another £100 to the total - taking it to £357 so far - more than a third of the way there. I just need to find another 65 friends who have a tenner to spare to make the target now! In all seriousness, people have been incredibly generous so far and I never even dreamed I'd have raised this much by January! I'm still committed to making up any shortfall via a company donation, but it would feel even better to add money on top of the £1000 if I can reach the target. As a reminder, you can visit the fundraising page by clicking on the link. All money raised is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity
A final mention on my weightloss target. It's felt like another good week of eating sensibly and the Weigh-In has me at 191lbs (a loss of 1.2lbs since last week). I think that's decent as I'm still slightly suspicious about last week's weigh in - 8.4lbs lost in 3 weeks is good - another 11 to go though!
I'll leave it there for this week - appreciate that's been a long post so thanks for sticking with it and for indulging me a bit at the start. Once again, your continued support means a lot to me so thank you very much. The blog passed the 1000 view mark last week - I never thought we'd get that far so that was a pleasant surprise. I appreciate you all taking the time out to read this. I won't let you down.
Have a good week and take care
Andy
P.S. Other brands of trainers are available etc etc - I'm not endorsed or sponsored by Asics - the advert just struck a chord with me.
Total training miles completed: 91
Training miles left: 155 + taper off period
Training runs left: 24 + taper off period
Hello and thanks for taking the time to read this week's post.
I've been deliberating whether to write this post for a few weeks now and I've decided to give it a shot. I'm a bit worried that it won't sound quite right and I'll end up coming across as a bit self-aggrandising. I hope regular readers and those who know me would back me up in saying that's not how this is meant to be.
The trigger for actually writing this came from an advert of all places - specifically this one:
I suppose it struck a chord with me because, whilst I knew that training for a marathon was no mean feat, I'd never really understood the actual extent of what it takes until I started doing it myself. I've got friends who've run the London Marathon, and my sister and my dad have both done it too, but I've never really grasped the enormity of the challenge until very recently. The line in the above that says "I am all the days you don't see" pretty much sums it up for me.
The thing is, that it's not really me that's making the sacrifices - it's my family. At the moment, my wife has to put our daughter to bed on her own twice a week while I'm out running and as I start getting above 12 miles in the next few weeks, I'll be taking large chunks out of our weekends to prepare.
Whilst I do make sacrifices of sorts (getting up early for weekend runs, not getting home til 9pm some nights) I'm doing that voluntarily. My family take the extra burden to let me do this and I think that aspect is overlooked as much as "all the days that you don't see". I hope I've articulated that in a decent way.
Back to running and I've banked a decent 12.5 miles this week. A 7.5 mile run last Friday night was a good test and despite feeling a bit of a twinge in my thigh muscle and feeling like I'd lost a lot of energy after 5 miles, I still put in a respectable 80 minute time. Going back to last week's post again, I'm not setting out to run any of these distances in a "good" time - I'm setting out with the hope of getting back in one piece. I'm keeping an eye on the mile times, but only as a reference, not a target to beat. Fortunately that twinge in my thigh subsided quite quickly and I've not felt any additional pain in my foot yet.
It's been cold in Sheffield this week but the 5 miles last night felt pretty good. A solid 55 minute time with no reaction afterwards is good. I think it's a sign of how far I've come that when my wife asked me how far I was going I replied "only 5 miles". In September, doing a mile filled me with fear and now 5 miles doesn't feel like much.
I had my diabetes review at the hospital today and had some really good news! My long term blood sugar level (used in essence to monitor how well you're managing your condition) has dropped from 10.1 to 7.4 since August which is very pleasing. I know it may not mean much out of context so I've handily got a picture (below) which might illustrate it better.
You should be able to pick out roughly where 10.1% is using the top scale and roughly where 7.4% is too. Basically moving from red to green is the good new story of today!
I'm hoping to get to see a specialist nurse or dietician about running the marathon with diabetes as the consultant felt that would be the best approach. Hopefully I'll get to do that sooner rather than later as there's some big distances coming up soon.
On a fundraising note, it's been another good week as I've managed to add another £100 to the total - taking it to £357 so far - more than a third of the way there. I just need to find another 65 friends who have a tenner to spare to make the target now! In all seriousness, people have been incredibly generous so far and I never even dreamed I'd have raised this much by January! I'm still committed to making up any shortfall via a company donation, but it would feel even better to add money on top of the £1000 if I can reach the target. As a reminder, you can visit the fundraising page by clicking on the link. All money raised is being split between Diabetes UK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity
A final mention on my weightloss target. It's felt like another good week of eating sensibly and the Weigh-In has me at 191lbs (a loss of 1.2lbs since last week). I think that's decent as I'm still slightly suspicious about last week's weigh in - 8.4lbs lost in 3 weeks is good - another 11 to go though!
I'll leave it there for this week - appreciate that's been a long post so thanks for sticking with it and for indulging me a bit at the start. Once again, your continued support means a lot to me so thank you very much. The blog passed the 1000 view mark last week - I never thought we'd get that far so that was a pleasant surprise. I appreciate you all taking the time out to read this. I won't let you down.
Have a good week and take care
Andy
P.S. Other brands of trainers are available etc etc - I'm not endorsed or sponsored by Asics - the advert just struck a chord with me.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Open and Honest
Training miles completed this week: 11.5
Total training miles completed: 58.5
Training miles left: 187.5
Training runs left: 30
Hi - thanks for stopping by.
Whilst I only write these updates once a week, it feels like they're coming around a lot more frequently. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or a good thing. It's always nice to be able to give an update on how things are going, but with every week that passes, I'm getting closer to the start line without really feeling prepared.
This week I've managed another two runs and I've had the chance to try and start to really plan for doing some bigger distances. Running on a weekday evening is usually quite straightforward - I can have a snack (current choice being a banana) before I leave work and then I feel sufficiently fuelled up to run in the evening.
It's a bit more inconvenient for a Saturday morning run though. This past weekend I did 5.5 miles in a very respectable 58 minutes - it felt like a good run at the time and I was very pleased with the pace. As I'm usually out running by 7am, getting adequately fuelled meant waking up at 4:15am to eat something then having a couple more hours in bed before setting off. I think that may become a feature over the next few months - particularly with a 12 mile run on the cards at the end of February. It's not ideal by any means, but needs are...
The 6 miles tonight went well in some respects but not so well in others. I managed the distance in 65 minutes which is pretty respectable considering everything. I started to get a bit of pain between mile 3 and 4 but got through it. It feels uncomfortable now as I'm typing but I'm hoping 3 days of rest will help to reduce any lingering effects. Keep your fingers crossed...
I've talked previously about various routes I've taken but I think I've finally found one I can use to build up to at least 10 miles without too much trouble. If you have a look at last week's post you'll see the map I used for 5 miles. As this is a fairly flat route (for Sheffield at least) I plan on just running slightly further from home each time before turning back. I used this for the 5.5 miles and the 6 mile run this week as well.
With regards to my injury, I'm definitely feeling a lot more discomfort in between runs now (and during them as you've seen above). The physio exercises do help but I think I'm coming round to the idea that I'm just going to have to put up with the aches and the pain over the next few months. I'm already putting in the lower end of the required amount of training and can't really afford to fall further behind. As long as I can run, I'm going to keep doing so. It's been nearly 4 years since the injury and the fact that it's still giving me pain makes me feel like it's something that I'm not going to be able to shake off. Time will tell I think.
Following on from last week's diabetes update, my levels have come back down to sit within the normal range they were in before Christmas. I've got a blood test next week (I hate needles by the way - not ideal for a diabetic at the best of times, but blood tests really bring out the worst in me), and should have the results when I see the consultant on Feb 1st. That'll really give the best indication of how well my control has been. Anything under 10 will be great, whilst I'd love to see a number under 8.
That consultant appointment will give me a good opportunity to discuss whether or not my medication regime needs to change in the build up to the marathon. I've read a lot of articles about how people adapted their injections to cope with a run, but everyone is different so it'll be good to have that conversation and try and figure out the best approach.
I've not been sleeping too well recently and I think that's for a couple of reasons. Firstly I'm finding it hard to switch off. My life feels like a never ending stream of numbers and maths problems at the moment - mile times, distances, blood sugar levels etc. As I mentioned last week, I'm trying to understand the effect that running has on my sugar levels as well so that's something else to add into the mix as well. Obviously feeling fully fit and rested is key to running - I think I just need to find some good relaxation techniques before bed.
Secondly, I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll get on to serious distances and I'll break down. I'm scared all this hard work will be in vain. I'm scared I won't raise any money. I'm scared I'll lose control of my diabetes. I'm scared I'll have a diabetic episode halfway around London. And I'm scared I'll let people down. I know I shouldn't be - everyone is so supportive and I can't thank them enough for their kinds words and encouragement. But fear isn't a rational reaction and I need to conquer it pretty quickly, to rid myself of the distractions. I'll probably come back to these points in the next week or so.
Finally a more positive word about fundraising. I had a conversation with @Victoria1867 on Twitter and she suggested putting together a photobook of well known Sheffield landmarks with a bit of a twist on the images to make them unconventional yet still recognisable. I'm fairly confident I can get some good shots over the next couple of weeks and then it's a case of editing them and getting some printed. Proceeds will all go to the charities I'm fundraising for so if that sounds like something you'd be interested in buying then do let me know. And a big thank you to Victoria for taking the time to talk through some fundraising ideas - it's really appreciated. Don't forget you can visit the fundraising page or find out more about Diabetes UK or The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity by clicking on the links.
I think I'll leave it there for this week. The mantra remains pretty much the same - build up the distance, keep doing what I'm doing, and mitigate the pain as best I can.
Thanks for reading - I hope it's not starting to feel like too much of the same each week. It's starting to get into a critical few weeks for the training so hopefully all the hard work over the last 4 months will start to pay dividends. Your continued support means a lot.
Take care
Andy
Total training miles completed: 58.5
Training miles left: 187.5
Training runs left: 30
Hi - thanks for stopping by.
Whilst I only write these updates once a week, it feels like they're coming around a lot more frequently. I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or a good thing. It's always nice to be able to give an update on how things are going, but with every week that passes, I'm getting closer to the start line without really feeling prepared.
This week I've managed another two runs and I've had the chance to try and start to really plan for doing some bigger distances. Running on a weekday evening is usually quite straightforward - I can have a snack (current choice being a banana) before I leave work and then I feel sufficiently fuelled up to run in the evening.
It's a bit more inconvenient for a Saturday morning run though. This past weekend I did 5.5 miles in a very respectable 58 minutes - it felt like a good run at the time and I was very pleased with the pace. As I'm usually out running by 7am, getting adequately fuelled meant waking up at 4:15am to eat something then having a couple more hours in bed before setting off. I think that may become a feature over the next few months - particularly with a 12 mile run on the cards at the end of February. It's not ideal by any means, but needs are...
The 6 miles tonight went well in some respects but not so well in others. I managed the distance in 65 minutes which is pretty respectable considering everything. I started to get a bit of pain between mile 3 and 4 but got through it. It feels uncomfortable now as I'm typing but I'm hoping 3 days of rest will help to reduce any lingering effects. Keep your fingers crossed...
I've talked previously about various routes I've taken but I think I've finally found one I can use to build up to at least 10 miles without too much trouble. If you have a look at last week's post you'll see the map I used for 5 miles. As this is a fairly flat route (for Sheffield at least) I plan on just running slightly further from home each time before turning back. I used this for the 5.5 miles and the 6 mile run this week as well.
With regards to my injury, I'm definitely feeling a lot more discomfort in between runs now (and during them as you've seen above). The physio exercises do help but I think I'm coming round to the idea that I'm just going to have to put up with the aches and the pain over the next few months. I'm already putting in the lower end of the required amount of training and can't really afford to fall further behind. As long as I can run, I'm going to keep doing so. It's been nearly 4 years since the injury and the fact that it's still giving me pain makes me feel like it's something that I'm not going to be able to shake off. Time will tell I think.
Following on from last week's diabetes update, my levels have come back down to sit within the normal range they were in before Christmas. I've got a blood test next week (I hate needles by the way - not ideal for a diabetic at the best of times, but blood tests really bring out the worst in me), and should have the results when I see the consultant on Feb 1st. That'll really give the best indication of how well my control has been. Anything under 10 will be great, whilst I'd love to see a number under 8.
That consultant appointment will give me a good opportunity to discuss whether or not my medication regime needs to change in the build up to the marathon. I've read a lot of articles about how people adapted their injections to cope with a run, but everyone is different so it'll be good to have that conversation and try and figure out the best approach.
I've not been sleeping too well recently and I think that's for a couple of reasons. Firstly I'm finding it hard to switch off. My life feels like a never ending stream of numbers and maths problems at the moment - mile times, distances, blood sugar levels etc. As I mentioned last week, I'm trying to understand the effect that running has on my sugar levels as well so that's something else to add into the mix as well. Obviously feeling fully fit and rested is key to running - I think I just need to find some good relaxation techniques before bed.
Secondly, I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll get on to serious distances and I'll break down. I'm scared all this hard work will be in vain. I'm scared I won't raise any money. I'm scared I'll lose control of my diabetes. I'm scared I'll have a diabetic episode halfway around London. And I'm scared I'll let people down. I know I shouldn't be - everyone is so supportive and I can't thank them enough for their kinds words and encouragement. But fear isn't a rational reaction and I need to conquer it pretty quickly, to rid myself of the distractions. I'll probably come back to these points in the next week or so.
Finally a more positive word about fundraising. I had a conversation with @Victoria1867 on Twitter and she suggested putting together a photobook of well known Sheffield landmarks with a bit of a twist on the images to make them unconventional yet still recognisable. I'm fairly confident I can get some good shots over the next couple of weeks and then it's a case of editing them and getting some printed. Proceeds will all go to the charities I'm fundraising for so if that sounds like something you'd be interested in buying then do let me know. And a big thank you to Victoria for taking the time to talk through some fundraising ideas - it's really appreciated. Don't forget you can visit the fundraising page or find out more about Diabetes UK or The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity by clicking on the links.
I think I'll leave it there for this week. The mantra remains pretty much the same - build up the distance, keep doing what I'm doing, and mitigate the pain as best I can.
Thanks for reading - I hope it's not starting to feel like too much of the same each week. It's starting to get into a critical few weeks for the training so hopefully all the hard work over the last 4 months will start to pay dividends. Your continued support means a lot.
Take care
Andy
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
2011 - A Review
Hello.
I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. And allow me to wish you an early 'Happy New Year' as well.
This is almost certainly going to be a longer post than normal so bear with it a bit. I'm going to do my usual stuff about running and all that but finish off with a bit of a review of 2011 and a look forward to next year.
I mentioned in my last blog that I had three runs left before New Year. Sadly that didn't quite turn out to be true. I was all geared up to go running on Christmas Eve morning but I'd been feeling a bit more of an ache in my foot than was 'normal' so I decided to give it a miss. I beat myself up about it for the rest of the day, but I think it was the right thing to do. It seems like there's no point doing all the hard work just to be belligerent and run when I don't think my body can take it.
I did, however, get up at 6:45 this morning and managed 4 miles in a respectable 46 minutes. The route is below, although I can't stress enough how steep two hills are over this distance. Fortunately, these coincided with a couple of walk breaks so that was quite good...
It was nice to see the sun rising as I made it to the top of the first hill. It was also nice to think I only had a mile left by that point as well. Running on the flat feels really good and I managed a bit of downhill running as well today which felt OK. I suppose training on the slopes of Sheffield can only be beneficial for the relatively flat course in London.
I'm starting to feel the after effects a bit more now and I'll have an ache and a bit of pain for a few days after each run now where before that wasn't the case. With that in mind, I've decided to cut back down to 2 runs a week for a little while and see if that helps. It'll make training a bit more difficult but as I've said a few times already, it was never going to be easy.
I've negotiated Christmas Day and Boxing Day meals relatively unscathed diabetes wise which is really promising as well. It's fair to say that December hasn't been as controlled as other months, but I feel like my understanding has been refreshed and that in itself means I can get through more difficult periods like Christmas without feeling like I'm spiralling out of control.
I've done pretty well to resist the various cakes, chocolates and biscuits that are laying around the house (to a certain degree at least). I think my experiences with my diet and migraines over the last week or two is a bit of a factor in that as much as the diabetes, and, when all's said and done, I don't have the same appetite I used to have when I could eat plates of food without thinking. I guess the diet and exercise has paid off quite a bit.
I had a bit of a difficult moment on Boxing Day when all the family went to my sister's house for lunch. I'd just done my insulin injection (into my stomach as usual) when my daughter asked me what I was doing. I told her that daddy had to do some medicine (which I've told her before). But then she lifted her top up and started copying me saying "I do medicine".
I think I mentioned a while back when I was talking about my sponsorship and things about how I constantly have a worry that I've passed on my diabetes to her. When she started mimicking my actions, it was quite difficult to take. I'm now torn between doing my shot away from her so she can't see, or carry on as everything is "normal" - which of course it is for me. I guess that's something I'll deal with over the next few weeks.
So - what has 2011 mean for me? I've been thinking about some of the major things that have happened this year and while it's impossible to remember or mention everything, here are a few that have stood out for me:
- We finally moved house to be back closer to our family. We sold pretty much a year ago and finally moved at the beginning of March
- Celebrated my daughter's first birthday (and now her second is on the horizon already), the old saying about how time flies never seems more true than when you're watching your kids grow up
- I had my first casino experience when I went to Las Vegas in September. I've wanted to go for so long and it exceeded my expectations more than I thought possible
- I've made a lot of trips to see my beloved Sheffield Wednesday this season - one of the perks of being back home
- I've made a lot of new friends and contacts on Twitter which is really good
- I've got my physical condition back under control after a good three years of disregarding what I should be doing
- I've started running again after almost 4 years back when I thought it would never actually be possible again. I know that sounds melodramatic but it's the honest truth
And now there's 2012 to look forward to:
- My daughter's second birthday
- Running/walking/crawling round the London marathon course and hopefully making my magic £1,000 fundraising target
- A trip to the Olympics in London over the summer
- Hopefully a couple of long weekends away somewhere
- A friend's wedding in Poland on my birthday
- Get good enough at photography to get one picture published somewhere
- Keep running and training for the Sheffield Half Marathon in 2013 (my nemesis)
- Do my best to focus on expanding my company
- Stay involved with the community through sponsorship and donations
- Try and turn some online friendships into real life ones (if anyone online wants to of course)
- See at least 12 gigs (one a month seems a reasonable goal)
- Carry on my blog in some form or another after the marathon
You can follow me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or drop me an email (broomowl@gmail.com) if you fancy a chat.
Again, I hope you all have a great New Year's Eve, whatever you've got planned and I hope 2012 brings you joy and happiness.
Thanks for reading, take care
Andy
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
So this is Christmas...
The eagle-eyed amongst you have probably spotted that I've been naming most of my recent blog posts after 'appropriate' song lyrics so this title should come as little surprise.
This is the penultimate post of 2011 so I'll be firmly on topic for today. Next week's will be a bit of a mix of training progress and a 2011 review/2012 preview.
I'm a bit sketchy on my dates this week (blame the impending chaos of Christmas) but I think I've run twice since I last updated this - 6 miles in total. I had a mostly very pleasant 2.5 mile jog round Centre Parcs (Sherwood Forest) on Saturday morning. It would have been completely pleasant had I not accidentally run through a bush at the side of the road and cut my face. Whilst this is apparently amusing, I didn't see the funny side at the time.
Tonight I've done 3.5 miles (a new best distance) in 39 minutes which is just inside a 12 minute mile time. Here's the route:
I managed my most sustained period of running to date as well which was pleasing. I managed all the way from the start marker (above) to practically the Crown & Cushion pub. It's not that far (just over a mile) but it represents a lot to me which is good. Being able to take that impact without needing a break is good and hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be able to improve on that.
I've got 3 runs left before January and I'm hoping I can get a decent 4 mile run in before New Year. My fundraising page tells me I've got 123 days to go before the marathon. I truly believe that if I keep chipping away at it, I'll get there no problem!
Being diabetic this week has been....challenging. As you probably know we had a long weekend at Centre Parcs this weekend. That basically involved eating out for 3 meals a day for the better part of 4 days. It also meant more indulgences that a) I'm used to and b) should have. I roughly managed my blood sugar OK. By that I mean I probably did as best I could given how difficult it was to find time to test my blood and make an educated guess about what I was eating. I managed a horrifying 20mmol on the Saturday morning, and swung the other way to 2.7mmol on Sunday night.
As I've probably mentioned a few times, it can be quite frustrating when you're not exercising the amount of control you should be and that was certainly true this weekend. I also 'confirmed' something that I've suspected for a little while, which is that a bad diet, even for a short time, leads to migraines. I was in tears with pain on Sunday night which is probably the worst I've been for a long time. I also know that once it's started, it's a good 3 or 4 days before it subsides properly. It's just even more of an incentive to eat properly I guess. Apologies for that segue...
I shall sign off there for this week. To summarise, running - good, diabetes - OK, diet - causes migraines.
Thanks ever so much for all your support and kind words since I started this blog, you're all incredible and I truly thank you for all your encouragement. Hopefully I'll do you all proud next year. Remember you can donate (or invite others to) at the fundraising link above. I know the charities don't affect a lot of you personally and I wouldn't dream of asking you to support something you didn't want to. But if you know anyone who might like to then please feel free to share the link to the blog.
I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a good break from work if you're taking one.
Merry Christmas
Andy
This is the penultimate post of 2011 so I'll be firmly on topic for today. Next week's will be a bit of a mix of training progress and a 2011 review/2012 preview.
I'm a bit sketchy on my dates this week (blame the impending chaos of Christmas) but I think I've run twice since I last updated this - 6 miles in total. I had a mostly very pleasant 2.5 mile jog round Centre Parcs (Sherwood Forest) on Saturday morning. It would have been completely pleasant had I not accidentally run through a bush at the side of the road and cut my face. Whilst this is apparently amusing, I didn't see the funny side at the time.
Tonight I've done 3.5 miles (a new best distance) in 39 minutes which is just inside a 12 minute mile time. Here's the route:
I managed my most sustained period of running to date as well which was pleasing. I managed all the way from the start marker (above) to practically the Crown & Cushion pub. It's not that far (just over a mile) but it represents a lot to me which is good. Being able to take that impact without needing a break is good and hopefully over the next few weeks I'll be able to improve on that.
I've got 3 runs left before January and I'm hoping I can get a decent 4 mile run in before New Year. My fundraising page tells me I've got 123 days to go before the marathon. I truly believe that if I keep chipping away at it, I'll get there no problem!
Being diabetic this week has been....challenging. As you probably know we had a long weekend at Centre Parcs this weekend. That basically involved eating out for 3 meals a day for the better part of 4 days. It also meant more indulgences that a) I'm used to and b) should have. I roughly managed my blood sugar OK. By that I mean I probably did as best I could given how difficult it was to find time to test my blood and make an educated guess about what I was eating. I managed a horrifying 20mmol on the Saturday morning, and swung the other way to 2.7mmol on Sunday night.
As I've probably mentioned a few times, it can be quite frustrating when you're not exercising the amount of control you should be and that was certainly true this weekend. I also 'confirmed' something that I've suspected for a little while, which is that a bad diet, even for a short time, leads to migraines. I was in tears with pain on Sunday night which is probably the worst I've been for a long time. I also know that once it's started, it's a good 3 or 4 days before it subsides properly. It's just even more of an incentive to eat properly I guess. Apologies for that segue...
I shall sign off there for this week. To summarise, running - good, diabetes - OK, diet - causes migraines.
Thanks ever so much for all your support and kind words since I started this blog, you're all incredible and I truly thank you for all your encouragement. Hopefully I'll do you all proud next year. Remember you can donate (or invite others to) at the fundraising link above. I know the charities don't affect a lot of you personally and I wouldn't dream of asking you to support something you didn't want to. But if you know anyone who might like to then please feel free to share the link to the blog.
I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a good break from work if you're taking one.
Merry Christmas
Andy
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Inhaler
Hi - thanks for stopping by to read.
I'll start off with an apology - I feel like the last couple of (on topic) posts have had little variation of substance and it's unfair of me to expect you to keep reading if I'm not going to try to keep to a standard. I'll be making a more concerted effort going forward.
This week has been a 3-run week and I've managed 7.5 miles since last Wednesday. I was feeling somewhat under the weather last week so I did a smaller, 1.5 mile route just to keep some momentum. Fortunately my man-flu had mostly subsided by Saturday morning and so I went for my longest distance to date and did 3 miles - something I repeated this evening.
Saturday morning was OK as things go. I'd forgotten my inhaler before I left (I have mild asthma on top of everything else) and it was incredibly icy. I managed the route in 40 minutes which felt OK considering the circumstances. I wanted another crack at it without the ice slowing me down and did the same route in 37 minutes tonight - roughly on track for 12 minute miles.
The problem is that I feel like I'm my own worst enemy sometimes. I got about a mile into my run tonight before I started with stitch again. I'd been round Leeds Christmas market after work tonight and naively thought that a German sausage then wouldn't hurt before I came home to go running. What I neglected to tell myself is that it was still only a couple of hours before and that being in a different city doesn't actually make a difference. I need to be a lot stricter and more disciplined with myself because silly things like that don't help.
The good news is that I'm starting to believe that I can actually make it round 26 miles if I continue to be sensible. I'm not usually low on self belief, but I'm wary of jinxing myself a bit with this. When I'm out running, I feel like I can actually do it and that sort of belief is pushing me on.
I'm taking a lot of care when I run and I'm getting better at measuring my stride so I'm not coming down off a curb onto my bad foot and I'm not pushing off with it going back up a curb either. I'm also starting to feel like I can open up my stride a bit and push myself a bit more.
I've had a bit of a roller-coaster week diabetes wise. I had a work Christmas do on Friday and I had a decent reading before bed (6 ish if I remember correctly) but it was 20.5 when I woke up Saturday morning! In trying to correct that I ended up going low three times that day and I've felt like I've hit peaks and troughs since then rather than any real stability. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was sort of anticipating this with Christmas coming up. I just need to work extra hard to keep it in check over the next few weeks now. If I was consistently getting high readings I'd be concerned but it's just a product of the time of year I think. Hopefully I can keep it relatively under control.
I've also finalised my fund raising page on Virgin Money Giving today - you can see it here: AndyRunsTheMarathon2012 I also gave myself the first donation to kick start it. I've talked about the charities a fair bit over the last week or two so please feel free to skip back a few posts and read up about the work they do. I wanted to just briefly talk about my fundraising goal before I sign off.
My aim is to raise what I'd like to think is a relatively modest amount of money for each charity - namely £500 each. It's not a lot in the scheme of things as far as the charities themselves are concerned (for examples, it's only about 12% of the funds The Children's Hospital need just to run their diabetes camp for kids for one summer - let alone the rest of their projects) but it's a target I think I can achieve.
I worked out that if every one of my Twitter followers gave £2 (less than the price of a pint as I understand it) then I'd reach my goal with money to spare. I'm not for a single second suggesting that I'd expect or even ask that they would, but it's just an illustration of why I think it's achievable. I've put £50 in myself to start and hopefully that'll grow and grow over the coming months. I'm committing that my company will make up any shortfall to the £1000 total but I'll also put in £500 extra if I can raise more than £1000 in total. I know Christmas isn't the best time to discuss these things, especially given the current financial climate, but I wanted to just talk about my goals for fundraising and given you my honest viewpoint on what I'm trying to do.
This has been a bit of a longer post than I'd anticipated so I'll leave it there. I need to rest my foot a bit as the aches, whilst not crippling, are worse after a run and I could do with my feet up for half an hour before bed.
Thanks again for reading (if you made it this far) and don't forget you can always find me for a chat on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or drop me an e-mail (broomowl@gmail.com).
Take care and I'll update you in my last blog before Christmas next week
Andy
I'll start off with an apology - I feel like the last couple of (on topic) posts have had little variation of substance and it's unfair of me to expect you to keep reading if I'm not going to try to keep to a standard. I'll be making a more concerted effort going forward.
This week has been a 3-run week and I've managed 7.5 miles since last Wednesday. I was feeling somewhat under the weather last week so I did a smaller, 1.5 mile route just to keep some momentum. Fortunately my man-flu had mostly subsided by Saturday morning and so I went for my longest distance to date and did 3 miles - something I repeated this evening.
Saturday morning was OK as things go. I'd forgotten my inhaler before I left (I have mild asthma on top of everything else) and it was incredibly icy. I managed the route in 40 minutes which felt OK considering the circumstances. I wanted another crack at it without the ice slowing me down and did the same route in 37 minutes tonight - roughly on track for 12 minute miles.
The problem is that I feel like I'm my own worst enemy sometimes. I got about a mile into my run tonight before I started with stitch again. I'd been round Leeds Christmas market after work tonight and naively thought that a German sausage then wouldn't hurt before I came home to go running. What I neglected to tell myself is that it was still only a couple of hours before and that being in a different city doesn't actually make a difference. I need to be a lot stricter and more disciplined with myself because silly things like that don't help.
The good news is that I'm starting to believe that I can actually make it round 26 miles if I continue to be sensible. I'm not usually low on self belief, but I'm wary of jinxing myself a bit with this. When I'm out running, I feel like I can actually do it and that sort of belief is pushing me on.
I'm taking a lot of care when I run and I'm getting better at measuring my stride so I'm not coming down off a curb onto my bad foot and I'm not pushing off with it going back up a curb either. I'm also starting to feel like I can open up my stride a bit and push myself a bit more.
I've had a bit of a roller-coaster week diabetes wise. I had a work Christmas do on Friday and I had a decent reading before bed (6 ish if I remember correctly) but it was 20.5 when I woke up Saturday morning! In trying to correct that I ended up going low three times that day and I've felt like I've hit peaks and troughs since then rather than any real stability. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was sort of anticipating this with Christmas coming up. I just need to work extra hard to keep it in check over the next few weeks now. If I was consistently getting high readings I'd be concerned but it's just a product of the time of year I think. Hopefully I can keep it relatively under control.
I've also finalised my fund raising page on Virgin Money Giving today - you can see it here: AndyRunsTheMarathon2012 I also gave myself the first donation to kick start it. I've talked about the charities a fair bit over the last week or two so please feel free to skip back a few posts and read up about the work they do. I wanted to just briefly talk about my fundraising goal before I sign off.
My aim is to raise what I'd like to think is a relatively modest amount of money for each charity - namely £500 each. It's not a lot in the scheme of things as far as the charities themselves are concerned (for examples, it's only about 12% of the funds The Children's Hospital need just to run their diabetes camp for kids for one summer - let alone the rest of their projects) but it's a target I think I can achieve.
I worked out that if every one of my Twitter followers gave £2 (less than the price of a pint as I understand it) then I'd reach my goal with money to spare. I'm not for a single second suggesting that I'd expect or even ask that they would, but it's just an illustration of why I think it's achievable. I've put £50 in myself to start and hopefully that'll grow and grow over the coming months. I'm committing that my company will make up any shortfall to the £1000 total but I'll also put in £500 extra if I can raise more than £1000 in total. I know Christmas isn't the best time to discuss these things, especially given the current financial climate, but I wanted to just talk about my goals for fundraising and given you my honest viewpoint on what I'm trying to do.
This has been a bit of a longer post than I'd anticipated so I'll leave it there. I need to rest my foot a bit as the aches, whilst not crippling, are worse after a run and I could do with my feet up for half an hour before bed.
Thanks again for reading (if you made it this far) and don't forget you can always find me for a chat on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or drop me an e-mail (broomowl@gmail.com).
Take care and I'll update you in my last blog before Christmas next week
Andy
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
An off week
Hello!
I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who read and also messaged me with comments on the couple of music-based posts I did this last week. You're all very kind and I've now got some new suggestions to be getting on with.
I'm firmly back on topic today though although it may be a bit briefer than usual.
I went for a 2 mile run on Saturday morning as my usual Friday night slot was occupied by babysitting. I'm actually considering switching to Saturday mornings altogether. Firstly, it means I can enjoy my Friday night at the end of the week without feeling like I have to get a run 'out of the way' and secondly, it'll be good to get used to running in the mornings in preparation for April next year.
It was a really good run as it happens, managed 11 minute miles which, if I was looking to pace myself, that's what I'm aiming for. I also managed longer periods of sustained running without cramping up or feeling like I had to stop because of the old injury. Most of all, I felt no after effects which is really promising stuff - hopefully that will all continue.
Diabetes wise, it's been a bit of a struggle for the latter part of this week as I've ben struck down with the dreaded man-flu. What I'd forgotten is how much being even a tiny bit off colour can affect your blood sugar. As a rule, I'll just aim to keep my readings under 10mmol while I'm ill and even that's been a struggle this week.
I couldn't explain to you why it happens, but I know that it does and so the last 3 days I've been dialling my insulin dose up a bit to try and stay in control. It'll pass soon enough and then I imagine a short period of adjustment will follow before I'm back to normal again. That might coincide with Christmas a bit, but that's just one of those things - no-one can help being ill.
I'm still undecided if I'll go running tonight. I want to (which is good). I feel better than I have done for 3 days (also good) but I can't tell if I'm really physically up to it. It's difficult because I don't want to feel like I'm losing ground, especially as I feel like I'm already behind where I'd like to be. On the other hand, running for the sake of it, when I don't fee right is quite plainly silly.
If I feel right later on I might do a shorter run (1.5 miles) just to get the blood flowing a bit. I'm looking at a longer run on Saturday morning (3 miles) which will be good to get the momentum going.
I'm going to leave it there for now. Thanks for reading - appreciate it's a bit thin on content this week but I didn't want to ramble on for the sake of it.
Feel free to give me a tweet (@BroomOwl) or an e-mail (broomowl@gmail.com) if you fancy a chat.
Take care
Andy
I'd just like to say thanks to everyone who read and also messaged me with comments on the couple of music-based posts I did this last week. You're all very kind and I've now got some new suggestions to be getting on with.
I'm firmly back on topic today though although it may be a bit briefer than usual.
I went for a 2 mile run on Saturday morning as my usual Friday night slot was occupied by babysitting. I'm actually considering switching to Saturday mornings altogether. Firstly, it means I can enjoy my Friday night at the end of the week without feeling like I have to get a run 'out of the way' and secondly, it'll be good to get used to running in the mornings in preparation for April next year.
It was a really good run as it happens, managed 11 minute miles which, if I was looking to pace myself, that's what I'm aiming for. I also managed longer periods of sustained running without cramping up or feeling like I had to stop because of the old injury. Most of all, I felt no after effects which is really promising stuff - hopefully that will all continue.
Diabetes wise, it's been a bit of a struggle for the latter part of this week as I've ben struck down with the dreaded man-flu. What I'd forgotten is how much being even a tiny bit off colour can affect your blood sugar. As a rule, I'll just aim to keep my readings under 10mmol while I'm ill and even that's been a struggle this week.
I couldn't explain to you why it happens, but I know that it does and so the last 3 days I've been dialling my insulin dose up a bit to try and stay in control. It'll pass soon enough and then I imagine a short period of adjustment will follow before I'm back to normal again. That might coincide with Christmas a bit, but that's just one of those things - no-one can help being ill.
I'm still undecided if I'll go running tonight. I want to (which is good). I feel better than I have done for 3 days (also good) but I can't tell if I'm really physically up to it. It's difficult because I don't want to feel like I'm losing ground, especially as I feel like I'm already behind where I'd like to be. On the other hand, running for the sake of it, when I don't fee right is quite plainly silly.
If I feel right later on I might do a shorter run (1.5 miles) just to get the blood flowing a bit. I'm looking at a longer run on Saturday morning (3 miles) which will be good to get the momentum going.
I'm going to leave it there for now. Thanks for reading - appreciate it's a bit thin on content this week but I didn't want to ramble on for the sake of it.
Feel free to give me a tweet (@BroomOwl) or an e-mail (broomowl@gmail.com) if you fancy a chat.
Take care
Andy
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