Training miles completed this week: 10
Total training miles completed: 78.5
Training miles left: 167.5
Training runs left: 26 + taper off period
Hello - Happy Wednesday - thanks for dropping in.
Another 10 miles down this week and I've gone through the first psychological milestone on my plan. I'm very much focussed on taking this one run at a time now and being able to tick the miles off every week is becoming very satisfying.
My weekend run was brought forward slightly to Friday night due to commitments I had at the weekend. I managed the whole distance in 69 minutes and also managed the first 3.3 miles non-stop. Whilst that felt like a good time (for me at least) and it felt really good to do a significant part of the distance in one burst, I realised that I'm starting to let my focus shift from my real goal - to do the marathon.
Don't get me wrong, I understand the importance of knowing how fast I can cover a set distance and knowing my mile split times etc but I feel like I'm starting to convince myself that every run must be better than the last but really that simply isn't true. I do feel very satisfied when I post a good time, but I also know that pushing myself harder each time I step out of the door isn't really going to help in the long term.
My guide time (and I think it'll help if I refer to it as such) is a 12 minute mile average. I've consistently run inside this for a few weeks now which is good over a relatively short distance, but in a month's time I'll be talking about a 14 mile run not 6 miles. Pushing myself over a shorter distance is one thing, but my approach and mindset will need to be completely different for the proper distance runs and I need to concentrate on adjusting my attitude for what's coming up if I want to avoid another injury.
With that in mind my 3.5 mile run tonight was an easy one - I took it at a gentle place, stopped a couple of times (partially due to an annoying stitch - symptoms of wrong food at the wrong time and not enough water I think) and still managed the distance in a respectable 39 minutes. What was most interesting was how the extra rest day affected me. I thought I'd be a lot fresher and find it easy going. In fact this morning I was actively looking forward to getting out there. The reality was slightly different. My ankle started to feel a lot stiffer and harder to run on after a while which was unexpected. I think regular exercise is benefiting it more than I thought and perhaps I need to focus on the steady pace and minimising the impact. Hopefully Saturday morning will be easier going.
As an aside, to give you an idea of what's coming up, in the next 4 weeks, I'll run 61.5 miles with a maximum distance of 14 miles!
My diabetes has been slightly better behaved this week but I remain convinced that my immediate approach to my insulin has to change, as well as how I medicate myself in the run up to the marathon. Yesterday was the first day in a few weeks where I made it from breakfast to lunch without the need for a snack or something to boost my blood sugar mid-morning.
As I think I mentioned last week, I've got a consultant appointment next Wednesday (Feb 1st) which will give me a good chance to sit and talk through all my concerns about training in detail. Hopefully next week I'll be able to elaborate a bit more on what it's going to mean.
It's been a good week on the sponsorship front as well - I've raised another £100 since the last blog taking the current total to £257 - just over a quarter of the way there. I'm very fortunate to have the support of so many generous people. There's 13 more weeks until race day to raise the remaining £743 and I think the fundraising page stays open until the end of July so hopefully I can get close to the target by then. All money raised will be split between Diabetes UK and Sheffield Children's Hospital so if you have £1 to spare, then please consider clicking on the fundraising page link above and donating it.
I talked last week about keeping a better eye on my weight and trying to lose 20lbs over the next few weeks in time for the marathon. As well as feeling and looking fitter, it's a lot of weight I won't have to carry round the course with me so it can only be a good thing. My starting weight a fortnight ago was 199.4lbs. By last Wednesday I was down to 197lbs and tonight I'm at 192.2lbs which is surprising (I've had Chinese and cake this week) but pleasing. It adds a bit of support to my theory of lagged weight loss - expect minimal change next week. I'm doing this weight loss with a couple of friends and having their support has been really great and inspiring so long may this continue :-)
I think I'll come to a close there. It feels like it's been a really good week which is nice to be able to say after so long. I was thinking back to the posts in early September about how positive it felt to finally be able to go out and run a mile (with walk breaks) and now I'll be doing a minimum of 13 miles a week. Progress indeed.
Take care and thanks again for your support
Andy
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Patched Up
Training miles completed this week: 10
Total training miles completed: 68.5
Training miles left: 177.5
Training runs left: 28 + taper off period
Hello - thank's for dropping by.
There are 95 days to go until the marathon - it's starting to feel very close now, and I've still not done over 6 miles yet. But that's about to change quite quickly over the next few weeks.
I'm now heading into the stage of long run/short run, with the next two being a slight exception. When I originally finalised my plan, I realised I'd ended up with all my distance runs mid week and my shorter runs at the weekend - and running 14 miles on a Tuesday or Wednesday night didn't seem appealing so I swapped at one week. This coming week is the changeover week.
I've done 10 miles this week (4 and 6) and 10 miles are planned in next week (6.5 and 3.5) and then it's 2 miles a week extra on the distance run until the end of March.
The title of this week's post is a reference to how I'm feeling at the moment. My foot aches quite a lot of the time now, particularly after the long runs and on Sunday, I felt some pain in one of my toes so I've strapped it up as a precaution. I think at worst, it's a tiny stress fracture but there's no evidence of that really - I'm just being cautious. I also felt a bit of a cold coming on this week but I think I've held it at bay for now.
I think that feeling like you're facing a constant battle is probably natural during any kind of training like this. There's probably a lot to be said for mental fitness as well as physical fitness and I've overlooked that up until now. I'll be trying to focus a lot more on the positives over the next few weeks.
Saturday's run went pretty well - 4 miles in a few seconds over 44 minutes was pleasing. The 11 minute mile is nice, but realistically I know that as I start going further and further, that will probably push back out closer to the 12 mile mark overall. It's not something I'm overly worried about, but it's good to be able to track what you're doing. Another bonus was that it didn't feel too horrific getting up at 4am to fuel up before running. As I get in to longer distances, I'll probably be leaving the house at a more sensible time so I can adjust my eating time accordingly.
I did 6 miles tonight in 65 minutes - consistent with my last run at this distance. It might be a sign of how far I've come that I'm disappointed that I didn't do it faster. I managed to run the first 3 miles without stopping which felt great - an actual sense of achievement. I'm not sure if it's the cooler air, my determination to run whilst feeling patched up or the fact that I remembered I'd forgotten my inhaler and so paced myself a lot more but it felt a lot easier tonight than probably any other run I've done. My foot started feeling heavy towards the end of it and I've not doubt it'll hurt tomorrow, but I'm celebrating while I can! I may have mentioned that I was using Endomondo to track my runs. Here's an example of tonight's 6 mile run (though you can see that the GPS is a bit off on the map) - I thought I'd share it with you.
It's been a very strange week from a diabetes perspective. Since my run last Tuesday, I've really struggled to keep my blood sugar in check, but not in the way I've been used to. I've found that it's been really difficult to maintain a decent level and that I've crashed a few times a day. Whilst it's obviously good to be having lower blood sugar, too low is as bad as too high and as I've mentioned before, it's walking that tightrope in between the two.
I've been experimenting by lowering my insulin doses with meals but it's a lot of trial and error at the moment. I've got a consultant appointment at the hospital on Feb 1st so I'll be able to talk through it all in a lot more detail then - I'll just need to muddle through on my own until then. Runsweet have a lot of good information and advice for people with diabetes but I'm wary of making any drastic adjustments without speaking to a doctor first - I think that's just sensible.
I was talking to someone last night about how frustrating it feels in many respects. I've made a conscious effort to adjust my diet and get back into a proper diabetic regimen for a good few months now and it almost feels like I've got to start and learn how to do it all over again. I think I probably just need to understand the science behind it and it'll hopefully be fairly straightforward.
A quick mention on diet and such as that feels like quite a good segue there. I've started tracking my food through the MyFitnessPal which is giving me a good idea of how many calories I need to lose about 20lbs over 20 weeks. It also helps track what I'm eating around training days and my carb levels (to aid insulin doses). It's quite a useful tool. I'm think I'll print off the reports to take along to the hospital in a couple of weeks.
Final quick update on sponsorship. A few very wonderful people have chipped in this last week and the total (exclusing gift aid) currently stands at £157 which is quite good I think. You can keep an eye on progress, stay up to date with the latest blog and track the countdown to the main event by visting the fundraising page. All the money is being split between DiabetesUK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity and you can read about all their work by clicking on one of the links.
A hectic weekend meant I wasn't able to go out and get any pics for my Sheffield photobook, but I'm hoping to rectify that this weekend so I can get a good start on that.
I'll leave it there for this week - appreciate I've gone on a fair bit there so thanks for sticking with it to the end. I mentioned a few weeks back that the end of this week was critical and it's really positive that I'm just about through it relatively unscathed.
Thanks for your support - the messages I get really mean a lot
Take care
Andy
Total training miles completed: 68.5
Training miles left: 177.5
Training runs left: 28 + taper off period
Hello - thank's for dropping by.
There are 95 days to go until the marathon - it's starting to feel very close now, and I've still not done over 6 miles yet. But that's about to change quite quickly over the next few weeks.
I'm now heading into the stage of long run/short run, with the next two being a slight exception. When I originally finalised my plan, I realised I'd ended up with all my distance runs mid week and my shorter runs at the weekend - and running 14 miles on a Tuesday or Wednesday night didn't seem appealing so I swapped at one week. This coming week is the changeover week.
I've done 10 miles this week (4 and 6) and 10 miles are planned in next week (6.5 and 3.5) and then it's 2 miles a week extra on the distance run until the end of March.
The title of this week's post is a reference to how I'm feeling at the moment. My foot aches quite a lot of the time now, particularly after the long runs and on Sunday, I felt some pain in one of my toes so I've strapped it up as a precaution. I think at worst, it's a tiny stress fracture but there's no evidence of that really - I'm just being cautious. I also felt a bit of a cold coming on this week but I think I've held it at bay for now.
I think that feeling like you're facing a constant battle is probably natural during any kind of training like this. There's probably a lot to be said for mental fitness as well as physical fitness and I've overlooked that up until now. I'll be trying to focus a lot more on the positives over the next few weeks.
Saturday's run went pretty well - 4 miles in a few seconds over 44 minutes was pleasing. The 11 minute mile is nice, but realistically I know that as I start going further and further, that will probably push back out closer to the 12 mile mark overall. It's not something I'm overly worried about, but it's good to be able to track what you're doing. Another bonus was that it didn't feel too horrific getting up at 4am to fuel up before running. As I get in to longer distances, I'll probably be leaving the house at a more sensible time so I can adjust my eating time accordingly.
I did 6 miles tonight in 65 minutes - consistent with my last run at this distance. It might be a sign of how far I've come that I'm disappointed that I didn't do it faster. I managed to run the first 3 miles without stopping which felt great - an actual sense of achievement. I'm not sure if it's the cooler air, my determination to run whilst feeling patched up or the fact that I remembered I'd forgotten my inhaler and so paced myself a lot more but it felt a lot easier tonight than probably any other run I've done. My foot started feeling heavy towards the end of it and I've not doubt it'll hurt tomorrow, but I'm celebrating while I can! I may have mentioned that I was using Endomondo to track my runs. Here's an example of tonight's 6 mile run (though you can see that the GPS is a bit off on the map) - I thought I'd share it with you.
It's been a very strange week from a diabetes perspective. Since my run last Tuesday, I've really struggled to keep my blood sugar in check, but not in the way I've been used to. I've found that it's been really difficult to maintain a decent level and that I've crashed a few times a day. Whilst it's obviously good to be having lower blood sugar, too low is as bad as too high and as I've mentioned before, it's walking that tightrope in between the two.
I've been experimenting by lowering my insulin doses with meals but it's a lot of trial and error at the moment. I've got a consultant appointment at the hospital on Feb 1st so I'll be able to talk through it all in a lot more detail then - I'll just need to muddle through on my own until then. Runsweet have a lot of good information and advice for people with diabetes but I'm wary of making any drastic adjustments without speaking to a doctor first - I think that's just sensible.
I was talking to someone last night about how frustrating it feels in many respects. I've made a conscious effort to adjust my diet and get back into a proper diabetic regimen for a good few months now and it almost feels like I've got to start and learn how to do it all over again. I think I probably just need to understand the science behind it and it'll hopefully be fairly straightforward.
A quick mention on diet and such as that feels like quite a good segue there. I've started tracking my food through the MyFitnessPal which is giving me a good idea of how many calories I need to lose about 20lbs over 20 weeks. It also helps track what I'm eating around training days and my carb levels (to aid insulin doses). It's quite a useful tool. I'm think I'll print off the reports to take along to the hospital in a couple of weeks.
Final quick update on sponsorship. A few very wonderful people have chipped in this last week and the total (exclusing gift aid) currently stands at £157 which is quite good I think. You can keep an eye on progress, stay up to date with the latest blog and track the countdown to the main event by visting the fundraising page. All the money is being split between DiabetesUK and The Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity and you can read about all their work by clicking on one of the links.
A hectic weekend meant I wasn't able to go out and get any pics for my Sheffield photobook, but I'm hoping to rectify that this weekend so I can get a good start on that.
I'll leave it there for this week - appreciate I've gone on a fair bit there so thanks for sticking with it to the end. I mentioned a few weeks back that the end of this week was critical and it's really positive that I'm just about through it relatively unscathed.
Thanks for your support - the messages I get really mean a lot
Take care
Andy
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
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
We're not in Kansas any more
Hello and welcome to my first post of 2012. I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. Apologies if this is a bit of a longer post than usual - I do appreciate that I'm more suited to brevity...
With only 108 days to go until marathon day, I'm going to start each new blog post like this:
Training miles completed this week: 9.5
Total training miles completed: 47
Training miles left: 199
It's as much as a reference for me as anything else, but it saves you reading the whole thing if you're in a hurry... The mathematically minded among you will probably notice that by the time I line up, I'll have banked nearly 10 marathon's worth of training miles.
The official London Marathon 13 Week Training Plan kicked in on January 1st (although I actually started on New Year's Eve). As I've mentioned a few times, they provide you with a few plans depending on what your goal is. Given my circumstances, I've opted for the 'Just-to-get-round plan' which, in practice is the 'Just-to-get-to-the-start plan'
Under this plan, you get a schedule of 3 weekly runs. The overwhelming problem is that I can't physically manage 3 runs a week - certainly not of any great distance. That's become apparent recently with the amount of time I'm needing to recover. Whilst I'm not getting the same pain as I've had previously, the aches are becoming more profound and I don't want to do myself any further damage. The physio exercises do help a bit though.
Instead I've modified their plan into a 2 runs per week schedule, taking the longest 2 of the three runs and adding a little on to the other one. I might post it as a separate entry so you can see what's coming up. I'm going to run each Wednesday and Saturday so I've got 32 more runs before I line up at Blackheath on April 29th. That feels like a long way off yet, but I know it isn't. If you're interested, there's an interactive map of the marathon route
As part of my preparations, I've now got a hotel booked for three nights from Friday 27th April. The non-refundable nature of the booking just adds an extra incentive!
Last Saturday I got up and did, what looked on paper, to be a fairly straightforward 4.5 mile run. What actually happened was that my "local knowledge" conned me into forgetting how unforgiving a couple of hills were and it felt like an incredible slog getting round. I managed it in 52 minutes (just inside my target 12 minute mile pace).
Tonight, I'd learned from that "mistake" at the weekend at chose a flatter route to do 5 miles. Given the howling winds and rain, I managed a respectable 56 minute time. However much I may have been seeking a bit of sympathy, I actually really enjoyed it. It was the first run I've done with music as well and it didn't affect may pace one way or another which was very pleasing. I also discovered that my running top isn't as waterproof as it looks, so that was fun...
With regards to my diabetes, Christmas was as I expected it to be really. A few highs, a few lows and a bit inbetween as well. The effects of a sneaky couple of After Eights is not to be taken lightly. I had a check in with the specialist nurse at the hospital yesterday and she's happy that I'm doing the right things on my own. I've got an annual review at the beginning of Feb where we'll start to really see how much progress I've made. As long as my blood sugar is trending downwards, I'll be happy. I'll have a blood test that works out my blood sugar levels have been over 3 months (as opposed to the tests I do at home myself). Christmas will have affected the results of that test a bit but we'll wait and see what happens.
I'm back on my diet proper after Christmas (where I think I only put on about 3lbs) so I'm confident of a normal return to blood sugar levels very soon.
As an aside, I've realised that as well as pacing myself with running and "hydration strategies" I'm going to have to pay a lot more attention to my blood sugar levels before and after running. I need to monitor what the distance is doing to me and making sure that I don't go low when I'm 6 miles from home.
Finally, you all know I'm fundraising for Diabetes UK and Sheffield Children's Hospital Chairty but whilst I'm not asking for your money (just yet!) what I am after is your fundraising ideas if you have any. These are a few that have been suggested so far. I'm not sure I can manage them all but I'm prepared to have a go at just about anything to raise money:
I'll leave it there for now - you've been very patient if you've made it this far, for which I'm grateful as always. This blog managed just over 750 views between 9th September and 31st December and I'm very thankful for each and everyone one of those. I'm hoping that I can encourage others to spread the message about what this training is like for me and how much it's going to mean to achieve something I've wanted to do for over 20 years.
As always, you can find me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or drop me a line (broomowl@gmail.com) if you'd like to get in touch.
Thanks for reading and I hope that 2012 is a great year for you.
Take care,
Andy
With only 108 days to go until marathon day, I'm going to start each new blog post like this:
Training miles completed this week: 9.5
Total training miles completed: 47
Training miles left: 199
It's as much as a reference for me as anything else, but it saves you reading the whole thing if you're in a hurry... The mathematically minded among you will probably notice that by the time I line up, I'll have banked nearly 10 marathon's worth of training miles.
The official London Marathon 13 Week Training Plan kicked in on January 1st (although I actually started on New Year's Eve). As I've mentioned a few times, they provide you with a few plans depending on what your goal is. Given my circumstances, I've opted for the 'Just-to-get-round plan' which, in practice is the 'Just-to-get-to-the-start plan'
Under this plan, you get a schedule of 3 weekly runs. The overwhelming problem is that I can't physically manage 3 runs a week - certainly not of any great distance. That's become apparent recently with the amount of time I'm needing to recover. Whilst I'm not getting the same pain as I've had previously, the aches are becoming more profound and I don't want to do myself any further damage. The physio exercises do help a bit though.
Instead I've modified their plan into a 2 runs per week schedule, taking the longest 2 of the three runs and adding a little on to the other one. I might post it as a separate entry so you can see what's coming up. I'm going to run each Wednesday and Saturday so I've got 32 more runs before I line up at Blackheath on April 29th. That feels like a long way off yet, but I know it isn't. If you're interested, there's an interactive map of the marathon route
As part of my preparations, I've now got a hotel booked for three nights from Friday 27th April. The non-refundable nature of the booking just adds an extra incentive!
Last Saturday I got up and did, what looked on paper, to be a fairly straightforward 4.5 mile run. What actually happened was that my "local knowledge" conned me into forgetting how unforgiving a couple of hills were and it felt like an incredible slog getting round. I managed it in 52 minutes (just inside my target 12 minute mile pace).
Tonight, I'd learned from that "mistake" at the weekend at chose a flatter route to do 5 miles. Given the howling winds and rain, I managed a respectable 56 minute time. However much I may have been seeking a bit of sympathy, I actually really enjoyed it. It was the first run I've done with music as well and it didn't affect may pace one way or another which was very pleasing. I also discovered that my running top isn't as waterproof as it looks, so that was fun...
A to B and back again...
With regards to my diabetes, Christmas was as I expected it to be really. A few highs, a few lows and a bit inbetween as well. The effects of a sneaky couple of After Eights is not to be taken lightly. I had a check in with the specialist nurse at the hospital yesterday and she's happy that I'm doing the right things on my own. I've got an annual review at the beginning of Feb where we'll start to really see how much progress I've made. As long as my blood sugar is trending downwards, I'll be happy. I'll have a blood test that works out my blood sugar levels have been over 3 months (as opposed to the tests I do at home myself). Christmas will have affected the results of that test a bit but we'll wait and see what happens.
I'm back on my diet proper after Christmas (where I think I only put on about 3lbs) so I'm confident of a normal return to blood sugar levels very soon.
As an aside, I've realised that as well as pacing myself with running and "hydration strategies" I'm going to have to pay a lot more attention to my blood sugar levels before and after running. I need to monitor what the distance is doing to me and making sure that I don't go low when I'm 6 miles from home.
Finally, you all know I'm fundraising for Diabetes UK and Sheffield Children's Hospital Chairty but whilst I'm not asking for your money (just yet!) what I am after is your fundraising ideas if you have any. These are a few that have been suggested so far. I'm not sure I can manage them all but I'm prepared to have a go at just about anything to raise money:
- Raffle
- Finishing time sweepstake
- Have my legs waxed (and apparently ask for extra donations if you want to tear the strips off yourself)
- Bag packing at a supermarket
I'll leave it there for now - you've been very patient if you've made it this far, for which I'm grateful as always. This blog managed just over 750 views between 9th September and 31st December and I'm very thankful for each and everyone one of those. I'm hoping that I can encourage others to spread the message about what this training is like for me and how much it's going to mean to achieve something I've wanted to do for over 20 years.
As always, you can find me on Twitter (@BroomOwl) or drop me a line (broomowl@gmail.com) if you'd like to get in touch.
Thanks for reading and I hope that 2012 is a great year for you.
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
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