OFF TOPIC - Top 20 of 2011 - Longlist

Hi

Forgive the off-topic post, but I wanted to share this with you.  Every year some friends and I compile our Top 20 tracks of the year and compare our choices.  It's a bit of fun and often a good way to pick up on some new music.

My approach is to go back through all the albums I've listened to this year and create a longlist of tracks to select my final 20 from.  This longlist is below for anyone who's interested.

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow morning when I'll post what is (hopefully) an interesting update on the marathon training.  Thanks for allowing me this musical indulgence.

Andy

ARTIST	SONG	ALBUM
The Vaccines	Under Your Thumb	What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
The Vaccines	Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)	What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
The Vaccines	Post Break-up Sex	What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
Christoper Rees	Sparks Flying	Heart On Fire
Arctic Monkeys	Love Is A Laserquest	Suck It And See
Arctic Monkeys	Suck It And See	Suck It And See
Arctic Monkeys	Hellcat Spangled Shalalala	Suck It And See
Arctic Monkeys	Reckless Serenade	Suck It And See
Bombay Bicycle Club	Fracture	A Different Kind of Fix
Boxer Rebellion	Step Out Of The Car	Cold Still
Boxer Rebellion	The Runner	Cold Still
Beady Eye	Four Letter Word	Different Gear, Still Speeding
Erland And The Carnival	So Tired In The Morning	Nightingale
Erland And The Carnival	Map Of An Englishman	Nightingale
The King Blues	Everything Happens For A Reason	Punk and Poetry
The King Blues	5 Bottles of Shampoo	Punk and Poetry
Bon Iver	Best/Rest	Bon Iver
Skint & Demoralised	Lowlife	This Sporting Life
Skint & Demoralised	43 Degrees	This Sporting Life
Tiny Ruins and a Singer of Songs	Little Notes	Some Were Meant For Sea
Tiny Ruins and a Singer of Songs	Running Through the Night	Some Were Meant For Sea
Suuns	Gaze	QC Zeroes
Suuns	PVC	QC Zeroes
The Streets	Without Thinking	Computer and Blues
The Streets	Trust Me	Computer and Blues
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks	Tigers	Mirror Traffic
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks	Stick Figures In Love	Mirror Traffic
Slow Club	Paradise	Paradise
Slow Club	Two Cousins	Paradise
Singing Adams	I Need Your Mind	Everybody Friends Now
Nathaniel Rateliff	Shroud	In Memory of Loss
Nathaniel Rateliff	Whimper And Wall	In Memory of Loss
The Naked And Famous	All Of This	Passive Me, Aggressive You
The Naked And Famous	Eyes	Passive Me, Aggressive You
Moon Duo	Mazes	Mazes
Milk Kan	Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Tunes?	The Junkshop
Miles Kane	Inhaler	Colour of the Trap
Miles Kane	Quicksand	Colour of the Trap
Miles Kane	Come Closer	Colour of the Trap
Miles Kane	Rearrange	Colour of the Trap
Middleman	One Hundred And Thirteen	Spinning Plates
Kurt Vile	Puppet To The Man	Smoke Ring For My Halo
In Helsinki	Burden	Wired EP
Frankie and the Heartstrings	Photograph	Hunger
Fair Ohs	Eden Rock	Everything is Dancing
Emily And the Faves	So Long Sucker	Emily and the Faves
Emily And the Faves	My TV	Emily and the Faves
Brother	Darling Buds of May	Famous First Words
Ben Ottewell	Blackbird	Shapes & Shadows
Alex Turner	Stuck on a Puzzle	Submarine EP
About Group	With Each New Day	Start and Complete
Alessi's Ark	The Robot	Time Travel
TV On The Radio	Keep Your Heart	Nine Types of Light
TV On The Radio	You	Nine Types of Light
TV On The Radio	New Cannonball Blues	Nine Types of Light
TV On The Radio	All Falls Down	Nine Types of Light
TV On The Radio	Troubles	Nine Types of Light
The Strokes	Machu Picchu	Angles
The Strokes	Under Cover Of Darkness	Angles
The Strokes	Two Kinds Of Happiness	Angles
Pigeon Detectives	Lost	Up, Guards And At 'Em
Little Dragon	Ritual Union	Ritual Union
Jay Z & Kanye	No Church in the Wild	Watch The Throne
Jay Z & Kanye	Otis	Watch The Throne
Jay Z & Kanye	New Day	Watch The Throne
Florence & The Machine	Only If For A Night	Ceremonials
Florence & The Machine	Shake It Out	Ceremonials
M83	Claudia Lewis	Hurry Up We're Dreaming
M83	Soon My Friend	Hurry Up We're Dreaming
M83	New Map	Hurry Up We're Dreaming
White Lies	Is Love	Ritual
White Lies	Bad Love	Ritual
Mechanical Bride	Demons	Living With Ants
Mechanical Bride	Walk Into The Forest	Living With Ants
Horrors	Wild Eyed	Skying
Horrors	Endless Blue	Skying
Horrors	Dive In	Skying
Airborne Toxic Event	Welcome To Your Wedding Day	All At Once
Airborne Toxic Event	Numb	All At Once
Airborne Toxic Event	Half of Something Else	All at once
Alvarez Kings	Dark Eyed Children	Patience Is Strength EP
Cat's Eyes	Cat's Eyes, Face In The Crowd	Cat's Eyes
Cat's Eyes	Face In The Crowd	Cat's Eyes

Push things forward

Good evening


Firstly, apologies for this being a bit late.  I was feeling somewhat dreadful yesterday and wasn't feeling up to doing anything.  I hope you'll forgive the tardiness on this occasion.


Secondly, I just wanted to mention a few people who I've talked to this week.  Firstly, congrats to @actualdancrosby who, by his own admission could run very far at all early on in the year, completed a 10K run at the weekend in a respectable time.   Secondly, @Simple_John1 who mentioned to me this week that despite no interest in running or diabetes, he still takes the time to read this every week.  That gives me a decent indication that there's some substance in what I'm writing which is nice to know.


I'm writing this evening having just got back from a 2 mile run.  Circumstance has meant that I've done it not too long after having had dinner so I laboured round with a bit of a stitch again.  It's certainly not something I'll be making a habit of.


I also had a sly look at my time tonight which I haven't really done so far.  I ran 12 minute miles which I guess isn't too bad considering.  That'd be a marathon time of 5hrs 12 if I can maintain that.  I'd like to think I can get down to 11 minute miles by April but that's an aside.  Finishing is my goal.


I'm getting towards the stage where I need to be doing some more intensive training so I'm thinking about trying for 3 runs in a week and entering a 10K or something in the new year.  More on that next time I think.


Having felt a bit under the weather and such I've been tempted to resort to a bit of comfort eating (made all the more tempting having made gingerbread with my daughter at the weekend).  I've coped pretty well with that all things considered.  I've mostly resisted the callings of biscuits and sidestepped a tricky situation with a Kit Kat on Tuesday.  I also seem to have reduced the number of hypos I have which is a good thing.  Being able to stay in the 5 to 8mmol range is pretty good.  I'll have a better idea of how well it's been going after my clinic appointment in December.


Finally, I wanted to have a brief mention of one of my charities.  Whilst I'm sure you can all see my reasons for running for Diabetes UK (@DiabetesUK) but I felt like I should explain my reasons for supporting The Children's Hospital Charity (@tchcharity).


I suppose my reasons are two-fold.  Firstly, becoming a parent has made me appreciate all the work that children's charities do a whole lot more than I ever did.  Secondly, before my daughter was born, the doctor told me that because I have diabetes, there's about a 17% chance that she will get it as well.  And that's something I find very hard to deal with - I have pangs of guilt that I could labour her with this condition which seems so unfair.  The money I raise for TCH will go towards a diabetes camp they have for children.  I think I've mentioned before that I can't imagine a child having to cope with this condition while they're growing up and the work that TCH do feels so incredibly worthwhile.


Once again, thanks again for stopping by and reading - I do appreciate you taking the time to read.  I find it very motivating and it keeps me going when it's a bit cold and blustery outside.  You can find me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or on broomowl@gmail.com if you fancy a chat.


Take care and I'll speak to you again soon


Andy

The long and winding road

Good morning.

I'll apologise up front for the loose interpretation of the Paul McCartney penned song as a title for this post, but I felt it was a decent interpretation of the route I took on last night's run:

This was my first 2 mile run of this training session and it went pretty well all things considered.  I had to contend with a shocking stitch for most of it, but I think if I'm going to insist on eating 2 hours before I go out, I'm going to have to put up with it.

Not feeling any serious after effects of the running just yet either which is encouraging.  The odd ache here and there feels pretty much normal these days and so I'm feeling pretty happy with how things are going so far.

I got up and went for a run first thing on Saturday morning as well so I'm up to 3.5 miles a week at the moment.  I think if I can manage that again this week then I can move up to around 5 miles a week by the end of November and then gradually increase that in the run up to Christmas.  I don't want to get ahead of myself but I'd like to think I could string together a 4 or 5 mile run by New Year if things go well.  I should be on my proper training plan by then which will be an important milestone.

I was talking to a friend this week about how I'm missing running with music on. It's strange because I've always found it very motivating but I think at the moment I'm going to subconsciously start to increase my pace too much or inadvertently try to do too much and I don't want to take that risk right now.  I might try and find some slower music to listen to as my distances improve but I'll leave that for a few weeks.  If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

All things diabetic remain pretty much the same.  I'm generally keeping everything under pretty good control despite the odd indulgence as I catch up with people before Christmas.

As I've said in previous posts, not being able to calculate the right amount of insulin (and having to rely on guess work) is tricky and leads to the odd over or undercorrection.  Waking up in the middle of the night with low blood sugar and having to sit in the dark and pop a few jelly babies to correct your blood levels isn't the greatest of feelings (and does little for your sleep either).

Some of my fingers are starting to resemble a pin cushion from where I check my blood (pin prick on the end of your finger) so I'm making a conscious effort to pick on less used fingers for a while.  The trouble with that is that it becomes a bit more painful.  Just one of those things I suppose.

It was World Diabetes Day on Monday this week.  It passed me by if I'm honest.  I have to say I didn't know there was a World Diabetes Day until I started to see the odd tweet mentioning it.  If you're interested in finding out a bit more, there's a good link just here: World Diabetes Day  You can find out a bit more about the symptoms (useful if you're feeling constantly tired, getting lots of cramps etc).  It's always worth knowing things like this as I effectively diagnosed myself with the condition before I visited the GP on campus at University 10 years ago.

Thanks for taking the time to read through.  I really do appreciate the support from you all.  I'm always happy to have a chat on twitter (@BroomOwl) or on broomowl@gmail.com

I hope you all have a good week.

Take care

Andy

Autumn

Good morning

Like most people, I'm mourning the passing of our very brief summer and looking at the long nights and short days with a fair amount of contempt.  But secretly I'm also quite pleased.

Autumn is my favourite time of year to run - it's cool but not too cold and I prefer to run when it's dark rather than during the day.  I also quite like running in the rain.  Don't ask me to rationalise it because I can't.  The only thing I can come up with is that perhaps I feel like I've worked a bit harder, or it's a greater test of my dedication.  But really I have no idea why I like it so much.

Whilst autumn brings my favourite running conditions it also brings Christmas preparations and so more time gets filled up with seeing friends and family before we all take a well earned break from work.  It just means being a bit more creative with fitting in some training.

Since my last post I've done two more runs - both over the 1.5 mile route I have round the town.  I've had a bit more of an ache the following day each time but all in all I'm feeling pretty good.  It feels good to be able to do two a week and not feel like I'm made of glass.

I'm in the process of planning out a 2 mile run for my next outing which will probably be Saturday morning.  I feel a bit daft exulting a 1.5 or 2 mile run.  Before my injury I wouldn't have considered going out for less than about 2.5 miles but things obviously change.  I think I've got about another 6 weeks (or 12 runs) before I really have to start putting in a distance run once a week - I think that will be a real test of how capable my body is of holding out for the actual marathon.

With regards to diabetes, it's been another fairly successful week - I had one blip last night/this morning where I seemto have miscalculated m dosage on a piece of parkin but all should be back to normal by lunchtime.

Again, the run up to Christmas brings its own challenges for diabetes.  More meals out with friends certainly means extra calories (which I don't particularly welcome) but it also means a lot of uncertainty about looking after yourself.  It's quite easy to get carried away with it all and tell yourself it's only a treat.  The problem is that it gets easier and easier to justify that to yourself and you slip out of good habits and back into bad ones.

Of course I'm not advocating some sort of horribly strict diet over Christmas - diabetes doesn't stop you being human.  But it's not always the worst thing in the world to just go out and have a salad instead of a burger once in a while.

Whilst this may not be strictly true, the way I once had it explained to me was this:

Your diet as a diabetic should be as varied and balanced as everyone else's diet should be.  It's just the consequences of it not being balanced are worse for you than they are for other people.

I think that's fairly sensible advice (although I'm happy to be challenged).  Being diabetic won't get in the way of my customary Chocolate Orange at Christmas.  It just means that it'll get eaten over a fortnight and not a couple of days.

One final point before I sign off, I had a quick medical review at the doctors last night which ended up with them weighing me.  Aftera few weeks of not feeling quite right with myself, my weight was back to 88.5kg (or 195lbs in old money).  Again, I know it's not something to be shouting about from the rooftops, but it's good to know I've lost about 18lbs and all in all, managed to pretty much keep it off.

I'm not sure if this has been a particularly good read or not but thanks for stopping by and sticking with it.  I appreciate you taking the time to do so.

I can always be found lurking on twitter (@BroomOwl) or at the other end of broomowl@gmail.com if the comments pages are playing up again.  I hope you have a good rest of your week and I'll post again soon.

Take care

Andy

Stepping up

Hello.

So it's November already - this means I have 171 days to go until Marathon Day - it still feels ages away but I know it's going to come round quickly.

As the title of this post suggests, I'm making an effort to step up my training slightly this week.  I'm targeting 2 runs this week, both with longer distances, though nothing too outrageous just yet.

I did just over 1.5 miles on Monday night - a cunning ploy to try avoid answering the door to Trick or Treaters.  I felt really good after it - no real pain at all which makes me cautiously optimisitc (although I'm been here before so I'm still erring on the side of caution).  And I only managed to get heckled by two lots of kids dressed up as who knows what.

My plan for this week is to go out again tomorrow night (Thursday) which will mean 2 runs in 4 days.  Under normal circumstances I'd have left it an extra day or so but family commitments mean I can't.  That will put the total number of training miles at a huge 5.  It feels somewhat pathetic saying that but there's still a long way to go yet, and the groundwork I put in now will pay off later.

I also created my fundraising page for next year.  Normally I wouldn't like to put a jinx on it, but there was a prize draw to win accomodation in London for the marathon and some running gear if you set on up before November.  If you want to take a look it's here - somewhat imaginatively titled Andy Runs The Marathon 2012 Perhaps I should leave the PR to some of you eh?

I'm running for two charities - Diabetes UK and The Children's Hosptial Charity in Sheffield.  Choosing a charity is difficult but it's a lot easier to pick something close to your heart (as diabetes obviously is).  The Children's Hospital Charity allow you to specify where your money will go to and I'll be donating it towards diabetes work for children.  I can't really begin to imagine how a child copes with this and so I feel like I'm doing a little bit to help with this.  You can read more about each of them by following these links: Diabetes UK and The Children's Hospital Charity

Please don't take that as a subtle hint for donations. I think it's far too early for that and I'd hate to disappoint all of you as well as myself if the worst should happen.  Besides, I'll be far more explicit when I want your money...

Diabetes-wise, things have been going well.  As half of my weekend was spent out in various shops (Meadowhall and IKEA) I ended up eating out twice which was nice but obviously at odds with my diet and a bit of a struggle when it came to insulin.  I overcalculated a touch on Saturday so had a low blood sugar episode but did better on Sunday which was good.  I think I've only had one high reading since my last post (12.4mmol) but I can pinpoint that being due to indulging in a test slice of freshly made parkin.

I thought I'd just talk briefly about what low blood sugar means for me.  When I get low blood sugar (or hypoglycemia) I always get warning signs which is good news.  Without those I could have dangerously low sugar levels and possibly collapse - not an ideal solution for anyone.  My hands start to shake a bit and it gets difficult to concentrate on what I'm thinking or saying - it's a bit like your brain turning to cotton wool.  I occasionally get a feeling a bit similar to an adrenaline rush and I'm very conscious of my heart beating which is quite odd.  More recently I've noticed that my nose gets cold.  All in all, it's not very attractive to witness.  Plus I get quite short tempered which doesn't help.  During the day this I can cope OK but when your body wakes you up at 2am and your shaking, correcting that hypo is a lot more challenging.  I'm not sure if this is the same for everyone - I assume it differs a little bit from person to person.

I've probably taken up quite a lot of your time so I'll end it there.  As always, I'm on Twitter (@BroomOwl) for a general natter or you can contact me on broomowl@gmail.com.  If you're interested in learning more about my charities, they're also on Twitter (@DiabetesUK and @tchcharity).

Thanks for reading - I appreciate you giving up your time

Take care

Andy