from no boots to running shoes

This is it

2010-09-15T21:21:00.002+01:00

So I guess it's time to sign off. This was started as a way to get me to last Saturday... mission accomplished. Thank you for reading and commenting over the last couple of years. Plan is to keep running, but not the same distances as I have been for the half marathon, but this story's run its course I think.

I'll leave you with my other blog about my other love, food - Eat Big.

Plus some other running blogs to check out:
Around the year in 24 pints
Hauling my carcass
Running Amok
I run because I love food
Bristol Running Resource

And some photos from the big day (most taken by the best big brother I've got).

The day after the day before

2010-09-06T17:50:00.000+01:00

Although it would be a lie to say I am painfree, I am surprisingly not too bad today. Not very tired, just achey in the legs, with a very sore back and left ankle. Off for a sports massage tonight to relieve some of this, but actually all the pain is being eclipsed by a cold that is creeping up on me.

I suppose I should be grateful to the lurgy (no doubt a gift from Matt) for not coming a day earlier, but it's still not welcome!

The Bristol Half Marathon

2010-09-05T18:19:00.001+01:00

I almost can't believe that I am saying this after everything that's happened - but today I completed the Bristol Half Marathon.

When I first set myself this challenge, I wanted to break the two hour mark, but as it became clear that I was not going to have an easy ride with the training, I was happy to settle for getting round. And today I did myself proud with a time of two hours, five minutes and 31 seconds.

Unexpectedly (for me at least, having not checked the forecast) it was raining as we left this morning and rained for the first half hour of the race. But I had a good start, and probably went a bit fast but enjoyed it. It was amazing to run along the Portway and see the elite runners coming back the other way ridiculously fast, but not long after I got to see and wave at Matt (who managed, even with a stinking cold, to get 1:24) and after that various other friends which distracted me. I barely noticed the distance of that stretch, it flew by. Only bad bit was getting about three stitches in the first 40mins - not nice.

I stuck behind a girl wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with her name - Emily - to piggy back some cheers for a while, and later ran alongside a gorilla to pretend all the cheers were for me again! At the end of the first 10k I felt it, but kept drinking at every stop and had a few energy sweets and then for the next 5km or so I felt AMAZING. I felt like I could take on the world and probably finish in about 1:30. I tried smiling to see if it made me feel better and it did, it also made other people smile back at me and cheer. I was loving it at that stage.

I didn't hurt at any stage, but after 15km I started to feel pretty tired. I was getting shivers as my clothes and hair dried which was a bit unpleasant. I also didn't really know too well where the route would take me from this stage. My friend Sophie thrust some jelly babies into my hand near Queens Square, and I had fun clapping the hands of lines of kids who stood around the edge of the square.

After that, the last 4km or so was really hard work. I slowed right down, and got disoriented which is ridiculous considering how well I know this part of the city. There was a nasty hill with about 3km, and I couldn't find the song I wanted on my Ipod shuffle, but then I spied the finish and got excited. Only 2km to go, and I was at 1:50 ish - I delusionally imagined I could get to the end within the two hour mark but then the course cruelly snaked off around the city centre.

I tried to power up enough to look good in the final 100m, to pass my parents, brother and Matt, threw my arms in the air for the camera on the finish line and then very nearly collapsed. I walked in a daze to get the chip taken off my shoe, got a silver foil blanket wrapped around my shoulders, got a kid to put the medal around my neck and picked up a bag - by this time I was really hurting and feeling exhausted.

Matt was waiting for me as I emerged from the finish area, put his arms around me and I burst into tears - I couldn't believe I had done it!

A great morning, great crowd of runners (apart from the guy who ran past me in the last mile and leant in to inform me he was in the second wave of runners, who started half an hour after my wave, before overtaking me - git) and brilliant support from people who didn't even know me as well as my family, Matt and friends.

I lay in a hot bath when I got home feeling awful - really sick and knackered, but I have perked up a bit after a hearty lunch with my gang at Clifton Sausage with a few glasses of red wine! Now have my feet up on the sofa with ice moving from my hips to my knees to my ankles and back to the start. Toes are covered in blisters. But you know what they say - no pain, no gain.

Job done.

Pictures to follow...

The big day

2010-09-05T07:30:00.000+01:00

I'm up, dressed, I've had a bowl of bran flakes and a banana and am trying to forget that I feel very nervous and sick! I spent all night dreaming about the race - the main one being that I went on Dragon's Den to ask for sponsorship and Carol Vorderman was a guest dragon and she gave me £20,000.

So we're all ready to go. I just said to Matt that I felt really sick.
Matt: "It's because you are. Sick in the head - we're about too run a stupid distance."
Moments later he added: "Hey, Em - your number's got 13 in it."

I've got my new socks on (thanks James and Ben) and my now semi-famous bright pink t-shirt so that my parents can spot me (Matt: "Are you sure you should wear that? If your photo goes in the paper again, everyone's going to think you only have one top and never wash it.").

Bring it on! I think.

This time tomorrow...

2010-09-04T15:23:00.000+01:00

... I will be done!

Can't believe this day is here. I went for a gentle jog this morning so that's it - nothing left to do apart from drink loads and eat lots of pasta! Matt has arrived home after working away with a stinking cold so I am avoiding him like the plague, I don't need any of that thanks.

Meanwhile, my face has (rather embarrassingly) made it onto the front page of the Western Daily Press today. Right between council job cuts and potholes - where I always wanted to be! Although, as Matt pointed out, I am bigger than Monty Don...

One week to go!

2010-08-28T11:04:00.000+01:00

A week to go until the big day.

I wrote a piece for the Bristol Evening Post about the last couple of years - basically what's on this blog, it's in today's paper.

Sleeeeeepy part 2

2010-08-27T22:06:00.001+01:00

A bit yawny again tonight, having done pretty much the exact same run as Tuesday, only backwards. 10km up on the Downs, felt really good tonight and good to unwind after what's been a pretty busy week at work. Got cramp in my foot as my watch read 9.99km... ouch! Hope that doesn't happen on the 5th... aarrgh so soon!

In between days are consisting of icing my knees, eating and resting, although hoping to get some tennis in tomorrow... My face appeared in the Evening Post today - a pic of me and Matt in the Bristol 10k last year where I saw one of the photographers from work and stopped to wave. Bit of a shock as I didn't know it was going in! And also a bit of a joke as the headline was something about "elite running races" - and there I was, a very un-elite runner!!!!

Have booked a lovely meal for after the race with Matt and a few of my old housemates from uni who are running it/supporting - something to look forward to.

Only a week left of this blog too I suppose! Thanks for reading...

sleeeeepy

2010-08-24T20:14:00.000+01:00

I've got that good sleepy feeling you get after you've pushed it hard on a run. I've done a couple of runs in the last week but tonight I went and did 10km on the Downs which was a real confidence booster. It was the first run in ages I have done on the flat, so my pace was much better without even trying. I did two laps - 10km - in 6secs short of an hour, which is good news.

Now I feel like curling up in bed and falling asleep in front of the TV. Not Big Brother, I hasten to add, even if a Bristol girl is going to win...

Three weeks to go!

2010-08-14T13:51:00.000+01:00

Three weeks tomorrow is the half marathon. I'm whispering this, just in case (of what? not sure) - I think I might actually be able to do it.

Since the attack of the flying ants and the 5km race, I have done another few runs along the coast path - a brisk 3km, plus two 11km ish runs which were overall pretty horrible and hilly and tough. I kept finding myself at the top of hills about to run down them, not wanting to because I knew I'd be running back up somewhere along the line.

I did these runs quite early (for me) at about 8am, when the paths were very quiet and all you could hear was the waves on the shore. I saw several birdwatchers with their binoculars and trousers tucked into their socks, and got barked at by a few runner-spooked dogs.

Matt came with me on the one this morning and it helped to have someone shouting at me (in the nicest way possible) as I ran up the hills. I even managed to run all the way up the final hill home - although I all but collapsed at the top. I don't know if it was the early morning, the tough terrain or simply too much wine and food this week, but I felt a bit unfit and out of shape - even though I know I'm not. Suppose there are just days like this.

After the two week break due to knee pain, I am not going to reach my target of running the half marathon distance before the race itself, and I think I'm actually going to keep at a long run distance of about 12km in the next few weeks with lots of smaller faster runs to try and avoid injury before the big day. It's hard to know what pace is going to work for me on the day - I try to keep to a good pace on my long runs but hills etc don't help. Anyway, not long to go now!

A good 5km race

2010-08-11T22:44:00.009+01:00

As part of the build up to the big race, I wanted to do a 5 or 10km race this summer - and the only one that fitted in when I could do it was a 5km race tonight in Plymouth, near where we are staying this week.

It was part of a 5km race series for local runners, around the beautiful grounds of Saltram House. It was a gorgeous summer's evening but not too hot - perfect. I was a bit nervous beforehand that it would just be really serious (fast) runners and I would cross the finish line as everyone drove home, but when we got there I realised there were lots of different abilities.

There were about three hilly sections which I was quite proud of my performance on - all that training on the hill from hell in Stoke Park has done some good! It all began with a very speedy downhill so it was quite difficult setting a pace but worked it out and had a good, fast (for me) run. I really pushed myself and felt like I had worked hard at the end - it took me just over 28 mins.

Matt, of course, finished 5th with a time of about 18 mins and made it look very easy!

The joys of running in the countryside

2010-08-08T22:21:00.001+01:00

When I run in Bristol, I get into as much of the city "countryside" as possible - the green lungs of the city. The Downs, Oldbury Court, Snuff Mills, Stoke Park, Eastville Park. But I forget that this isn't proper countryside.

I'm down in Devon for a week's holiday and after two weeks of grumbly knee/ankle boredom, I am determined to incorporate some running into the week. So this evening Matt and I took to the cliff path for a quick 5km. It was, overall, great - a sunny evening along the Yealm river estuary, through a herd of Dartmoor ponies, past several yachts moored in the sheltered estuary, through green rolling fields and next to and above a gorgeous blue expanse of sea. Matt (who I think I have already said is much faster than me) did about double the distance I did. I was going pretty slow just to ease myself back in, which was too slow for him - to be fair I told him he could run ahead. But in an attempt to still keep me company a bit, he basically did intervals, sprinting off into the distance then running back to join me, before sprinting off again. At one point he almost knocked me over, careering down a rocky downhill bit as I panted my way up it.

It was a slow run - hot, humid, I was nervous about my knees, it was hilly, and uneven ground. But still felt good to be out there. HOWEVER. There are elements of countryside running which I did not much like. My legs and knees have been scratched and stung to within in an inch of their lives by overgrown nettles and brambles. And there seemed to be MILLIONS of flying ants. On the way out (we did a 2.5km there and 2.5km back loop) they covered my legs and shorts, and somehow one got up my top and bit me all across my stomach. On the way home, there were such thick swarms of them you couldn't breath without inhaling them - I resorted to a head down, teeth gritted approach, breathing through my teeth to avoid swallowing the little gits. At least it made me run faster up hill.

The final peril is that when you take to narrow single track roads you have to be ready to dive into the nettles on the side of the road and put up with dust clouds when a car goes past. The only driver I could forgive was our lovely neighbour/farmer's wife/otherwise known as Charlotte - who sped past in her buggy/quad bike with her dog lolling out the side. She is more than forgiven as it is she that provides us with lovely cuts of meat,eggs, cakes etc from her farmshop Moostone Meats, including the melt-in-your-mouth fillet steaks we replenished our tired muscles with at the end of the day!

Grumbles gone!

2010-08-04T20:05:00.002+01:00

All of a sudden, after the knee grumbles disappeared, so did the ankle grumbles a day later. So today I went for a very gently 10 min jog on the Downs to ease myself back in. :)

YAWWWWN

2010-08-02T19:03:00.001+01:00

I AM SO BORED. I can’t run, I can’t cycle, I can’t even blimmin’ walk very far. Niggly knee has gone and made way for niggly ankle. I suppose my body is just telling me it wants a break from running and fair enough, but I’ve had my week off now and I want to get back in the game. I spent the weekend with my feet up, reading and watching TV while my friends had fun at Bristol’s Harbour Festival. I know I shouldn’t be moaning but I’m used to a bit of exercise now and miss it!

I felt exhausted all weekend, sleepy and lethargic – and yet I hadn’t done anything to exert myself. Weird how that works! Matt reckons sport gets your blood going and wakes you up, which definitely feels true at the moment. Anyone know more about the science behind this?

Grumbly knee

2010-07-31T10:23:00.000+01:00

Since my last run - intervals on Monday - I've had a bit of a twinge on the inside of my left knee. I've been resting it, icing it, and stinking out my entire office with deep heat. I notice it most when going up and down stairs so when I woke up this morning I tried the stairs and the pain had gone! But as soon as I started running on it about an hour later, the niggle returned.

So I've had to call my long run off for today, and resign myself to resting even longer. I'm in pretty good shape so hopefully a bit of rest won't be the end of the world and it will get better quickly. Annoying thing is that I can't really do any other cardio because I need to rest the knee - not just from impact but generally. God knows how many times I've said this on here, but fingers crossed....!

More intervals, more blisters, and overtaking Lance Armstrong

2010-07-26T19:42:00.000+01:00

Last night I dreamt that I not only finished the half marathon, but I WON it. And this momentous win included overtaking a flagging Lance Armstrong in the final 200m (can you guess what I've been watching for the last three weeks?!)

So in a bid to make sure this happens, I hit the downs again for some interval training tonight. For these Monday night sessions I go straight from work and park up on the downs, so I get changed in the office toilets. This normally involves coming back out into the office to grab the rest of my stuff, when I get some funny looks for my change of dress. A couple of weeks ago one of my colleagues was giving a little speech on the 40th anniversary of his first day at the Bristol Evening Post, and he mentioned seeing me the night before leaving work in my running kit. "You'd never have seen that 40 years ago," he said. "But you might have seen us running to the pub at about 10am."

The intervals went well, apart from some cramp in my foot when I was doing some warm up skipping - never normally happens. Last week I also had my first stitch for months and months and didn't really know what to do - any tips on stitch management? I've always either tried to run through it while bent awkwardly to one side or stopped altogether.

I felt much faster this week, and I think I was a bit but looking at the stats when I got back and uploaded the data from my watch, it only comes up as a couple of seconds faster per km - I was hoping for dramatic changes! I've also reached the stage where for some reason I am getting new blisters on my toes after every run - nothing too debilitating but they'll be glad I think when the half marathon is over. Now's not the time to be getting bigger shoes, but I do wonder why it's suddenly happening - are my feet bigger? Is it the heat? Hmm....

Morning run

2010-07-24T17:24:00.000+01:00

I got up reasonably early this morning and headed out for a 16km run. Unsurprisingly, it was much nicer running in the cool of the morning than the last two weekends in the midday and afternoon heat! I did alright, a bit slow but I tried a new route - through Purdown and Stoke Park then down to Eastville Park - which meant I did a lot of stopping to work out where I was.

All going ok....

Warm up those glutes!

2010-07-22T18:17:00.000+01:00

Had my six-weekly sports massage last night and apart from being told to roll around on a tennis ball more to loosen up, my masseuse suggested that before going running I should do some clams to "activate" my glutes. She said when I'm running the glutes are the muscles that should be working, not my legs. But she said doing these exercises would get them ready and tell them they are about to do some work. Sounds weird doesn't it? But I see what she means. I'll try and remember to give it a try next time...

Stepping up the intervals

2010-07-19T19:39:00.000+01:00

Another lot of intervals tonight like last week, but this time I did a pyramid set, starting with two lots of 1 min, then 2x 2mins, 2x 3 mins, then coming back down to 2x 2mins and 2x 1min. It's always a bit weird doing this on the Downs as people are just sitting down enjoying the evening, so you end up running past them multiple times and I'm not sure what they think is going on.

But it is quite nice to overtake lots of people who are doing a steady run, normally I would never get to do this! My distances for the sprints were a tiny bit better than last time, but I was finding on the return sprint (eg after the first minute sprint, and minute rest, I then sprint back to the start) I was a few seconds slower each time. It wasn't until the last lot that I realised it might be because I was going a bit uphill on the way back... I can be so observant sometimes.

But it felt pretty good and there was a nice shower of rain at the end to cool me down. That's my 23km done for this week! Can't wait for pilates tomorrow for a good stretch...

Muggy long run

2010-07-18T19:34:00.000+01:00

I am BROKEN.

Just got back from a 15km long run with Matt - this time I ran all the way from home as the distances are getting longer I think a couple of kms on the pavement to get to the start of my loop is probably not too bad.

I knew it would be hard. We had friends over for dinner last night (Matt made an excellent paella) and I may or may not have had a bit too much wine. But I knew I had to do my long run today so I just put my mind to it.

It was more like a lazy jog for speedy gonzales with me, but for me keeping to my 6:10 mins per km pace was a good effort. It was really really muggy, no breeze like last week as we ran across Purdown. But thankfully it was still nice and cool along the river in Oldbury Court Estate.

If I didn't know before, I definitely knew it was a toughie in the last few kms when we hit the killer hill back on Purdown - it was hell. I resorted to shouting encouragement at myself like a crazy lady and almost fell over at the top. But we made it.

Home for a pint of juice and a Mars bar and a nice long bath.... now sleep.

Fighting fit

2010-07-12T20:39:00.000+01:00

I don't know what it is, but all of a sudden I have got a certain feeling back that I've had at other points in my training - once last year when I was nearing the half marathon before I got injured, and once before when I trained for my last half marathon years ago. I feel toned, fit, strong, good about my running and ready to take on the world!

Tonight I hit the Downs after work for an 8.5km run, with an intervals session in the middle - same set up as I did with my personal trainer and then repeated last week - a 15 min warmup, drills, then a series of different length sprints, ending with a 10 min jog.

It was baking hot, but felt good. I've gained myself a cracking blister right on the end of my second toe of my left foot, but at least I won't be running for a few days now... too much else planned this week, what with gigs to review, doctors graduating, tennis and one visiting mum!

Have a good week everyone.

Longer and longer

2010-07-11T14:19:00.000+01:00

I didn't want to get up this morning. It's been a busy couple of weeks, and when my alarm went off at 8am I was not having any of it. "Maybe I just won't do my long run today. I'll do it tomorrow..." I justified, and went back to sleep until 10am. The thing is, I DID have to do my long run today, because I only have today and tomorrow free this week to run, all my other evenings are booked up.

So when I eventually surfaced, I was faced with the prospect of a 13km run in the burning midday sun (this evening I'm off to watch the footie on the big screen in Queen Square so no can run then.) Armed with a full bottle of water, suncreamed up and at least having had a full night's sleep for the first time in ages, I headed for Purdown.

Thank god for the bit of breeze that was blowing across the top - it made it just about bearable. After running around Stoke Park, I ducked under the M32 and did a loop through Snuff Mills along the River Frome and round the Oldbury Court estate (about 5.5km if you're interested! But with optional extras which I might add in next time), before doing my final 3km in Stoke Park/Purdown. There's a KILLER hill at the end of that which I normally end up having to walk, but for the first time I managed to run it, even though I then nearly collapsed and had to stop at the top!

I thought it was 3km back to my car, but actually that was only 2km so I had the gutting task of getting to the car and realising I had another km to do, doubling back for 500m and then dragging myself to the end for the second time. But I did it! 13km, complete, and long runs getting longer! Took me 1hr 25 but that was with a fair bit of hills and getting lost along new routes. Job done.

A quarter marathon!

2010-07-06T13:09:00.000+01:00

Just did an 11km run on the downs - my long run for this week - which means I'm half way to the half marathon distance. It was a toughie. It was hot, I'm recovering from a sore throat/cough and have a hole in the back of my ankle caused by walking too much for work last night in non-sensible shoes with a cut that just got bigger and bigger. That's all my excuses out of the way! But seriously, it was hard work, and none of that helped.

I took lots of little breaks to adjust the dressing on my ankle, and needed to do some hip stretches when I started getting a twinge in my right hip. Normally I aim to keep running but it wasn't possible today. Overall I suppose I'm being hard on myself - I did it in just over an hour, which means I kept to my 6:10 mins per km pace for most of it - and that was the aim today. And I did keep going, even though it wasn't much fun. Suppose you've got to have the runs like this to realise how good the good ones are!

Team Evening Post

2010-07-01T21:17:00.001+01:00

At work we've got a team together to run the half marathon for the business challenge - we'll hopefully be able to get some training sessions in together, and are raising money for The Prince's Trust. You can sponsor us here but I'm not asking you to do that yet unless you feel you really want to! I'm going to make sure I get a bit closer to September 5 injury-free before asking for money...

Here's some of the team!

Cracking on with the training!

2010-06-30T21:34:00.002+01:00

Tonight I had a really good personal training session with the same woman I saw last time - only this time she is 7 months pregnant and I felt half like I should be worrying about her as she ran alongside me and half embarrassed when she was less out of breath than I was!

We discussed a plan of action from here - I'm going to keep raising my weekly distance by 10 per cent, aim for one long run (going no further than the half marathon distance of 13 miles) and two other runs a week. One of those I'm going to try and make a hill training session (maybe six times 400m up a hill, walking back down; or an intervals session. For the intervals session she suggested a 10 min warm up, then some drills to get the legs really ready (she also said this is good to do just before a race) which include skipping, kicking your feet up to your bum etc, then intervals where you run fast for 1 minute, stop for a minute, run back the same distance in a minute. Then repeat for two and three minutes, with matching breaks in between each fast run, but the longer the time is, the slower you go - always faster than your normal running speed. Once I've got that going ok I can try doing it twice, and finish up with a jog. The other thing she said to try is runs where you run slowly to start for about 10 mins, then speed it up a bit for a while, then slower again, varying the pace.

I'm going to stay running on softer ground as much as possible right up until the race, although I might start running to Purdown or the Downs every now and then and then doing the rest of the run on softer ground. I'm also going to try and do a couple of 5 or 10km races - maybe the towpath series - before September.

We also talked about the lead up to the race itself - she suggested not resting the week before, but just doing a few 20 minute runs instead.

I feel like I'm all set to carry on with my training and fingers crossed go all the way through to September!

Glastonbury feet

2010-06-29T21:17:00.001+01:00

Today I went for a 10km run - the longest in quite a while - up on the Downs. It went surprisingly well considering my Glastonbury-related 'injuries' - half a ripped big toenail, blister on one of my little toes, blister on my heel, legs aching all over from walking... moan moan moan. Had a great time (read some of the work I did here), but the feet did get it a bit.

When I left to get up there it was cloudy, but when I arrived it was sunny and baking hot, which made it quite hard work but useful training I suppose for unknown conditions in September. I ran the first 5km quite fast and felt good - but suffered for it in the second 5km and slowed down a lot, but overall did it in an hour so not bad.

Music-wise, I listened to a new playlist of tracks which was good, including some suggestions from people over the last few weeks. Recently I also took up Mike from Bristol Running Resource's suggestion of the running music album De La Soul did for Nike - Are You In? I like it, but I think you might have to like that kind of music to really find it useful.

Audio Fuel

2010-06-21T20:51:00.001+01:00

One of the suggestions that came out of my appeal for new running music was a message on Twitter from someone from "Audio Fuel" - suggesting I try Audio Fuel running music, with a link to a sample. I had a quick look at the time but didn't get round to properly checking it out until the weekend.

The more I read about it, the more I wanted to give it a go, so I downloaded a sample (which you can do here) and then ended up buying a couple of tracks. Basically, they compose music at different BPMs (beats per minute) and put together running soundtracks for different paces. So if you want something to listen to while you jog, you get a set of tracks at a certain pace, if you want to run faster you get a set at a different pace. The music is all quite dance-y, but there are different styles within it so it doesn't all just sound the same. All you have to do is keep up with the beat. And the other things which I think really helps is that you can choose to get an album with someone speaking over the top - not all the time, but every now and then to tell you you're doing well, to relax your shoulders, to take deep breaths etc. I really liked that.

So I bought an album called "Run Free" - a mid intensity speed-level which lasts for an hour, for £10. You download it as one big track, and you can also download the individual tracks which I think is useful because if I want to mix it in with my other running playlists I can.

On Sunday for a 9km on Purdown I listened to it for the first time, and found that for me it was a slightly slower pace than I have been running recently, but is probably a good, slightly slower pace, for my long runs. The music was good, and it was nice to have someone talking to you every now and then!

Today I tried another download from them - a 20 minute interval training session. It was hard work - a pyramid set of intervals, so you started on about 30 secs at a reasonably fast pace and worked up to a 75 sec sprint before reducing the pace and time back down again. It was a hot morning up on the Downs which didn't help, but again the voice kept telling me I was doing well which really helped!!

Definitely worth a go if you're stuck in a rut with your training music, and also if you have problems motivating yourself to keep going or keep a pace up.

Rainy running

2010-06-18T20:58:00.000+01:00

I realised as I drove to the Downs tonight, under black skies with spitting rain hitting my windscreen, that I might be about to get wet. I wasn't going to turn around and drive home again - I was committed to a run this evening.

As I got out of the car, it started to shower. It was actually quite nice and refreshing on such a muggy day, and I felt good. I'm trying to run at about a 6min per km pace at the moment, today was a 7km run. As I got soggier, I still felt good, like a bit of a martyr!! So dedicated to the cause that I chose to run in what by now was torrential rain.But after about 4km (when I ran back to my car to put the car key in my back pocket into a plastic bag) things started to feel a bit harder.

I was soaked through, all my clothes, my shoes, my socks. Water was dripping off my nose and eyelashes. It was still pouring with rain! But I got round, and it was a useful run. I suppose the weather could do anything for the half marathon - I need to be prepared for anything.

Beach running

2010-06-05T21:12:00.001+01:00

Happily I am on holiday in Cornwall for a week, feeling very relaxed!

But I am determined to keep my running going while I am here, so today after an afternoon of tennis and cricket and book-reading on the beach at Carne, Matt and I went for a 7km run along the water's edge.

It was the first time for me doing a proper run along a beach, but it was lovely. I need a softer surface than road and this was our best option. The beach was 1km long at low tide, so it was several times up and down, but there was lots going on so I didn't get too bored. Kids diverting rivers, lads playing football to dodge, plus two tiny rat-dogs who decided to chase Matt...

I felt a bit like a character in one of those films set somewhere exotic where they run along a beach, but I'm pretty sure I didn't look quite so glamorous.This is me, in the photo above...

I always do a good pace running with Matt and today was no exception - my best, fastest run in a while. It took 43 mins, with my lap pace (pace for each km) varying between 6mins 24secs and 5mins 26 secs - the fastest was the last when Matt got me to lengthen my stride so I went faster but weirdly didn't feel like I was working too much harder.

Needless to say was knackered at the end, and I'm now giving my joints some TLC, icing the knees and ankles, but it was a good day and I feel on track for the half marathon in September...

Music needed

2010-05-26T14:04:00.001+01:00

Since my last post about running, I have been going out for two runs a week, adding 10 per cent distance each week. I go once a week to the Downs, and once up to Purdown - which is a nice change, even if it's a lot more hilly.

Today I did 5km up on Purdown which was great - a gorgeous sunny day but not too hot, and my legs felt good. Touch wood they will stay in good shape. So this week it was 10km - next week I'll add an extra 1km and bit by bit I'll get there.

One thing I'm getting a bit bored with though is my music - I have two playlists I alternate on my ipod for gym/running. I love the songs on them, but I've had them at least a year, adding the odd song every now and then. I like upbeat stuff, it can't be too slow, and although I don't mind a dance track I need a bit of a tune to keep me going.

My playlists include everything from Michael Jackson to Bloc Party, The Chemical Brothers to Take That (Never Forget never fails to make me pick up my pace!), Daft Punk to the Pussycat Dolls!! I like a good inspirational track, a good upbeat pop song, a dance track with a decent melody and any faster songs that I like to sing along to.

What's your favourite running track? I'd be really interested to know. If I get enough suggestions I'll make a new playlist and see how it goes!

More biking

2010-05-25T13:49:00.015+01:00

All I wanted to do this morning was stay in bed (I'm on the late shift this week) but I had planned to go for a bike ride so I made myself get up.

I'm glad I did - it was another brilliant bike ride! I was more confident than last time, and it was a beautiful day. I went the same route, up to the Downs, and was planning to come straight home but as I sat at the viewing point looking at the suspension bridge, I decided to go a bit further. I cycled across the bridge and into Ashton Court, then did a loop round there before returning home. All in all - nearly two hours, and 20km. Not bad!

I still got off a couple of times after failing to have the guts to cycle into the middle of the road to turn right (on a couple of faster, busier roads), and I sometimes have a wobble setting off when I have been stopped at a junction. But I think those things will improve with time. The other thing is I get cramp in my feet, not sure how to prevent that. The main thing is that I love it - even going up hill - I love the wind on my face and getting up some speed! And this time, I managed to cycle over the roundabout I had avoided last time - not on the way out but on the way back. I think that's progress.

Running again

2010-05-15T19:02:00.000+01:00

Finally, my (left) foot pain has gone - so today I hit the Downs for a gentle 25 min run. Felt great to be out running again, and all my joints felt ok!

My left knee was a bit dodgy this afternoon afterwards, but I iced it and rested it and it seems better, so hopefully it was just having a short tantrum.

Will there be time to get myself in good enough shape for the half marathon in September?

Brilliant biking

2010-05-14T18:50:00.000+01:00

On my day off today I wanted to go to the gym to do some cardio on the bike. But then I had a phone call from Matt, and he said - why don't you go out on a proper bike? It just doesn't cross my mind at the moment, I haven't been out on my own on my bike in the last couple of years... but today I felt brave! I have been mountain biking and road biking since the accident, but only with Matt, so going out on the road alone was quite a big deal.

I disentangled my bike from the shed and set off for the Downs. I had a wobbly start - panicking a bit with a car behind me and forgetting what finger/thumb did what on each of my sets of gears! But after that it all went well, and I did 10km on the roads (tried to avoid busy ones), and only got off once to walk across a busy roundabout.

It felt great to be out on a lovely day, pedalling across the Downs. And it was a good workout too - all those hills to get there and back got my heart rate going.

A success!

Foot pain subsiding

2010-05-12T21:17:00.000+01:00

Finally, I think my new left foot pain has gone. It's been a long few weeks of rest, but seems to have worked. This weekend I'm planning on a run on the Downs, taking it slowly with fingers firmly crossed! Why am I such a walking disaster?!

Plan of action

2010-04-20T16:12:00.000+01:00

I'm still not running... niggling aches and pains in my left foot, around the ankle and above my big toe. But hopefully it will pass.

In the meantime I went to see a personal trainer who specialises in running last night, who turned out to be the wife of the physio I first saw when I moved to Bristol for my new job after the accident. We spent a good hour talking about how I should step up my training and came up with a plan of action for the next couple of months - assuming my foot gets better...

I am going to try doing most of my running on the Downs/another grassy venue from now on - she said it would do me a lot of good. I'm going to work on doing three runs a week, but not increasing my overall distance by more than 10 per cent a week.

She said I need to work on my endurance base first before working on my speed. To work on my fitness she said I should do some interval training on the bike/ cross trainer.

I'm also going to throw balance exercises back into my resistance training. I used to do lots when I first did lots of physio (things like one leg squats etc) but haven't been doing so much in the last year. She said that will really help with my stability, foot strength and of course balance.

So that's the plan! I'm itching to get on with it, so fingers crossed my foot will get better soon....

Bringing you up to date

2010-04-15T18:09:00.001+01:00

Sorry for falling a bit behind with the blogs. A quick update, because otherwise it could go on and on and on -

1. Took the trainers back - might as well stick with the others as they aren't hurting.

2. Had the report back from the orthopod I saw for my compensation report - all as I expected and he puts the foot injury down to my accident.

3. So I've had a meeting with my solicitor to put the wheels in motion to settle my claim - should happen within
a few months.

4. Running is going well - been lovely weather for some runs outside. My left foot is now hurting a bit around the ankle, but hopefully (touch wood) this is very temporary, I am icing it and resting it over the weekend.

Hope all is well with anyone reading this! x

Latest physio

2010-03-29T22:05:00.000+01:00

I did another 20 min run yesterday in my new shoes, with all the sorbathane and padding etc I use in the old ones. It still didn't feel right, but to be fair my ball-of-foot issue was less pronounced. It was more an all over the feet discomfort which eased as soon as I took them off. Not painful enough to stop me from being able to run though. Has anyone else ever found problems with new trainers, and found they need to wear them in a bit?

Anyway, I went for another physio sesh tonight. She's signed me off for the moment - telling me to sort the trainers, but probably take the new ones back, keep going with my stretches so that the loading on the ball of my foot reduces, ease up my training slowly, and go back to her if I get any problems. After the comments by running shop man, I asked her about my gluts - but she thinks they look fine and the hip dropping may be part of my running style and nothing too much to worry about.

Fingers crossed it's all going to go to plan from now until September...

New trainers. again. Pt 2.

2010-03-27T22:03:00.000Z

So of I went to the gym this morning to try out my new trainers.

A few things to bear in mind.
1. My old trainers, for some reason, have stopped hurting since I saw doc number one in February.
2. I was trying new trainers to see if a more flexible shoe would, in the long run, stop my foot pain coming back.

After 10 minutes on the treadmill - I couldn't believe it. I was meant to be testing to check they felt "smooth" and "comfortable". But forget all that - the ball of my foot was hurting again! What was going on?

I went home, looked at a few flats (we're being evicted, but that's a whole other story), then went back to the gym armed with both old and new trainers. Ten mins in old trainers - no pain. Ten mins in new ones - pain. Hmmm.

Noone to blame here - the running shop guy didn't push me to buy them. In the shop when I tested them on the treadmill they were fine. NOTE TO SELF (and anyone else testing out trainers in a shop) - ask to run for about 10 mins at a faster pace. IE. when I tested them in the shop, I was running at the pace they set me - 5kmh. When I normally run, it's much faster.

So I went back to the shop to take them back, I knew his policy was no refund just an exchange so I was going to ask for a credit note and stick with my old trainers. He suggested instead I keep them a bit longer, chat to my physio and have a few more runs in them - maybe they just need getting used to, bedding in a bit.

I'll give it a go. But what a palava. How on earth have my old trainers, in which my foot pain started in the first place, suddenly stopped causing me pain - if, as the new trainer experiment shows, the capacity for the pain is still there?!? My little brain hurts.

New trainers, again

2010-03-26T20:06:00.001Z

Last night I went to Easy Runner on St Michael's Hill to have a look at getting some new trainers. My physio had recommended this shop and said that they would have a look at my old trainers first and see if I really needed new ones.

The guy in the shop filmed me running in my old trainers on the treadmill, and we compared that with various other trainers that were less supportive, less structured. Last year when I got my current trainers I was advised in the shop to get some that would correct my ankles dropping in (pronating). But what the filming last night showed was that I still had that same problem in my current trainers as in any of the others - suggesting that having that much support wasn't really making much difference.

He said I could stick with what I had, and really didn't push me to buy anything, but I decided to give a new pair a go after what the physio said - she suggested that maybe having a more flexible shoe (my current ones feel quite heavy and clumpy because they are so supportive) would do my foot some good.

We tried all sorts of trainers - I was there for an hour trying different ones, with one on one foot and another on the other to compare. Eventually I settled on a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspires - same brand as my old ones (I think I'm used to them) but a lighter version.
The guy in the shop said if I tried a couple of runs on treadmills I could go back if I had any problems, and exchange them for some others. So that's the plan. Fingers crossed these will be ok though, and they will do the trick with my foot!

One thing I need to remember to talk to my physio about is that the filming showed my hip dropping a little on each side as I run - the shop guy said that wasn't too good...

Knowing my enemy

2010-03-23T20:53:00.001Z

After a long weekend in Barcelona (no running but lots of walking and eating), I got back to it yesterday with a 30 minute interval training session which felt good.

Today I went for another orthopaedic assessment for my compensation claim - I can't believe a year has gone by since my first one. This was much quicker - just seeing how I have been doing since last year. It was a mixture of finding out how I was and the orthopod giving me advice.

He said my squeaky (or "wanggy" - needless to say I didn't mention this highly technical term) right and sometimes left knee after walking distances or running is due to creakiness in my kneecap, which could be helped with more work on my gluts - weights, cycling etc.

Another thing he said was, "I'm sure the thing you're most worried about is getting arthritis." I almost laughed, because what I was thinking was, "No, but thanks for reminding me!" Anyway, he says although my chances are increased, it is only from about 12 per cent (the likelihood of someone with 'perfect' knees getting arthritis) to 20 per cent... so still pretty low. But even so, I guess should start taking cod liver oil again...

The most important thing for me that came out of today was that he really took my foot injury seriously (by the way, it is feeling good so far with the new insoles, fingers crossed). I told him all about it and he seemed to really respect the foot doc's views - apparently that guy is a world expert on feet. He told me in the clearest way that anyone has so far why my accident and ops will have caused the injury: after such trauma, I will have had scar tissue in my legs - calves and hamstrings in particular - which, as it heals, contracts. This has caused the tightness in those muscles, which has caused my running style to alter and therefore caused my metatarsalgia.

He said my foot injury was "entirely due" to the accident - the strongest affirmation I have had of what I believed must be the case. As have explained before, it makes a big difference to know this - I suppose mainly because it helps to know exactly what I am up against. It helps to make me feel like I can beat it!

A quick run

2010-03-16T20:45:00.001Z

After a long day covering the "battle of Stokes Croft", I was a little jaded, under-nourished and sunburnt. The last thing I really wanted to when I got home was go for a run.

But I made myself do it, and it was a good one - a quick 20 mins as suggested by my physio yesterday. I kept a decent pace up and got 3.6km just before it got dark. Now I've got to do those torture stretches (but at least it means an excuse for half an hour of TV - there's not much else I can do sat on a chair with my arms behind my back!

Torture chamber = my living room

2010-03-15T21:43:00.001Z

This afternoon I had a physio session at Clifton Physiotherapy, where my foot doc referred me. I've seen a few physios in the last few years and this lady was really really good. She was nice, didn't make me feel like my tight hamstrings were because I was a bad person/unfit/stupid (!!) and best of all really seemed to know what she was talking about.

She has seen other people with metatarsalgia, so knows what she's dealing with. The first thing she has suggested is that I start doing a couple of runs a week (at the moment I am on one run a week) but not to ramp up the mileage for a while, just keep it at this level (max 7km) for a bit.

She also thinks my trainers might be too corrective - too sturdy and not flexible enough. But she suggested going to Easy Runner on St Michael's Hill to see what they think of my current trainers, then see if they think I need new ones. I hope they don't just try to sell me new ones regardless, but anyway she said not to feel pressured into buying anything and not to buy unless I was "200 per cent sure"! But she reckons my feet may be working too hard in my current trainers.

The other issues I have are very very tight calves and hamstrings - I really believe this is down to my recovery since the accident. I have got some exercises to do to sort that out. Every day I have to do 2x3mins of calf stretches - not just your usual ones. Apparently the very best way to stretch your calves is to build a small ramp - I've put a piece of mdf on top of some cook books - an put it at the bottom of a wall. Stand on it, and make sure you can really feel the stretch in your calves, a really strong stretch (if not, make the ramp steeper). Stick your arms in the air and press against the wall gently. Don't let you bum stick out and straighten your knees. It feels more like torture to me (especially keeping your arms in the air for 3mins) but also feels like it's doing something!

For my hamstrings she has told me that most stretches just stretch out part of your hamstring and therefore aren't much good. I need to sit on a chair, straighten my back and cross my arms behind my back so I don't slouch. Then lift my foot as far as my leg will go up - without moving the rest of me. My leg hardly moves more than a foot off the floor. If you try slouching your back, you'll see what she means - all of a sudden it becomes much easier to lift your leg further. I need to do 10x1min on each leg, every day, and she says it won't make a difference for about three months!

So here goes a few months of stretching/torture. Must be worth a shot. She also said that she didn't see any reason why I can't run with my injuries (as in the original ones, to my knees), which was nice to hear. Maybe I won't completely give up after the Bristol half after all...

Mother's day run

2010-03-14T16:38:00.001Z

Got up early (for a Sunday) this morning and went on a lovely 45 min run to the Downs and back. Fitness still leaving a little to be desired with heart rate hitting 190, but kept up a good pace despite nasty hills and did 6.8km.

It was a beautiful sunny morning and the only other people out and about were other runners and people doing some last minute flower shopping for mother's day. Felt I deserved a big pile of pancakes on my return!

Knees and foot have felt ok since then - touch wood...

Turning right

2010-03-13T19:27:00.001Z

I think I have mentioned before that my (gradually decreasing) fear of roads and traffic has affected me getting on a bike as well as just walking around. Not physically - I am perfectly capable of riding a bike. And I have done since the accident - but only on tracks and very very rarely on roads. I think I did about 2mins on a road as part of the Camel trail in Cornwall, and cycled once to Matt's flat last year, along a pavement!

Before the accident in my final two years of uni I would cycle to lectures, to see Matt and other people, quite happy on the roads. But I feel really vulnerable now as a cyclist on the road with cars, even if I wasn't on a bike at the time of the accident. So today I made a small step to putting that right and Matt and I went for a pedal around where we live. It always feels good to be on a bike, and it felt lovely today in the fresh breeze and sunshine. We started off on quiet roads, just turning left (that way I never really had to think about crossing traffic) and eventually went along some more main roads, did some right turns (drivers seemed to be very kind today and kept letting us pull out in front of them)... finally we did a stretch of the Gloucester Road (which, for non-Bristolians, can be quite busy) but even that was ok.

Thumbs up for my first day back on a bike and the roads. I rewarded myself with a chelsea bun, well-earnt methinks?! Going running tomorrow, and physio as suggested by foot doctor on Monday.

He's not the boss of me!

2010-03-02T14:04:00.001Z

Had a fantastic run today in the sunshine! What a difference a bit of sun makes. I set out for a 30 minute jaunt around Horfield (may sound uninspiring, but it’s flat and that’s what counts!) with my trusty Garmin Forerunner to track my pace and route. I also borrowed Matt’s heart rate monitor this time to see how I did in that field, but rather unnervingly I kept getting a message flashing up saying “Heart Rate too high”. Maybe I should cut down on the cream cakes.

So I managed about 4.5km, at a pace of 6:40 per km and felt knackered (I had done a weights sessions in the gym beforehand) but great. I had to ice my right knee a bit afterwards because it felt ‘wanggy’ (this is a new word which is the only one I can find to accurately describe the sensation! The knee feels a bit tight and uncomfortable and has done after the last couple of runs but I don’t think it’s too serious. Touch wood.), and my poor right foot is not happy now as I prepare to go to work for my evening shift, but I am soldiering on. I have inserted some extra insoles (as well as the sorbothane ones) in the ball-of-the-foot area, but Mr Right Foot is still putting up a fight.

But he’s not the boss of me! (I looked at him when I said that. Note the gender of the irritant – not that I’m a feminist or anything, but it feels natural that it should be a ‘he’.)

Metatarsalgia

2010-02-25T18:05:00.000Z

Why didn't I just listen to myself? Back in July I self-diagnosed my foot issue as metatarsalgia... seven months later I have just had a summary letter (sent to my GP) from the foot doc who checked me out last week and he also says... metatarsalgia. If only I'd stuck to my guns, maybe it would have been sorted earlier. To be fair to the physio I saw back then, the calf stretches were probably just the job, but the podiatrist gave me some duff insoles (which foot doc told me to chuck). My advice with injuries now would be - either go to a doc/physio you really trust, or go to your doc and get referred to a specialist. Skip all the months I've had in between!

Anyway, the letter says: "I think it is a combination of her underlying foot type [my slightly high arch], some tightness of the calf borne of these [referring here to the accident] injuries and probably a little reduction in her intrinsic activity [ummmm?!]."

So... although it wasn't the only contributing factor, he seems to think the accident will have played a part. I know I harp on about this, but it helps me to deal with it to know why it's happening. It makes me feel less frustrated in a way if it is partly down to the accident - I can't really explain why!!

In the meantime, I have bought some heavy duty cushiony sorbothane insoles that he recommended - let's see if they do the trick. Again, I was told way back when by my first physio Lana to get sorbothane insoles, but the shop I went to said they didn't know what they were and just sold me some new trainers. Sucker? Me? Another lesson learnt.

Also, I went for a great run the other day, outside after work when I got home. It felt great, and reminded me why I'm putting myself through this!!!

Very square, but lovely, foot

2010-02-22T19:19:00.002Z

I am very aware that this is getting a bit boring. The only thing I can say is that it is also very tedious for me! I want to keep this blog ticking over… needless to say I still have plans to complete my challenge to myself.

So, the latest in the foot saga. I have now seen a foot specialist in Bristol who x-rayed my foot (looking at these images he said it was “lovely”, “very square”. Which I think was good!) The x-ray did not show any problems, but did show that the arch of my foot was a little high, which will probably be the cause of the pain in the ball of my foot, where my metatarsals are taking a lot of the pressure, especially with increased training. He told me to ditch the orthotic insoles I bought last summer, buy some normal ones from a running shop that have more cushioning under the area that hurts. And he is referring me for more physio. Fingers crossed this will work. Although he can’t say for sure, he says there is a chance all this was caused by the accident – I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to say for sure but I believe that’s what it is.

Anyway, onwards with physio and finding some new insoles and keeping going with the running – I’ll get there….

Update

2010-02-09T18:33:00.000Z

I've now seen the orthopod, who says my foot pain could be a number of things... but probably some kind of nerve problem in my foot which could be sorted with a steroid injection. Would that make me go faster? Make my foot really muscly?!

He has referred me to see a foot surgeon, so I'm waiting for an appointment... in the meantime I am still trying to run a bit....

Foot foot foot foooooooooooot

2010-01-27T19:51:00.000Z

I haven't been entirely honest - mainly because I've been trying to lie to myself. But the truth is, since I've started running again this month, my foot still hurts. Not terribly. But it hurts - in between runs, when I walk.

No need to explain how frustrating it is - been there, done that! I'm off to see an orthopedic surgeon who is a family friend to get a trusted opinion on what's going on. Watch this space.

Getting a bit lost

2010-01-23T17:09:00.000Z

I've just done my first outdoor run in a few months - feeling good now I'm home, showered, and warm!!

I hadn't realised how bloody freezing it was, but after about 10 minutes I started to warm up. I did a good 30 minutes pounding the streets of Horfield, around the Memorial Stadium where Bristol Rovers were playing Hartlepool - so I could hear the cheers and chants and just imagined it was people spurring me on with my run!

I was also taking my Garmin Forerunner watch out for a spin for one of the very few times since August when I got it, so after about 15 minutes when I started to get a bit lost I decided to try out the 'back to start' feature - which brings an arrow up on screen to point you to the point when you started the timer - ie. home. I'm not sure if I was interpreting it right, and I ended up getting more and more lost until I found myself on Gloucester Road and decided to ignore the mischievous arrow and find my own way back.

According to the data from the Garmin, I did 4.6km, at an average pace of 7:15 mins/km - which is about 8.3kmh so a little slower than I have been doing at the gym. But it was probably about right for my first pavement run in a while, as my knees are a little sore now. Ideally I want to get to a pace of 6mins/km - but not quite there yet...

Treadmill boredom

2010-01-20T20:52:00.002Z

There's no two ways about it. Running in the gym, staring at a blank wall - or, possibly worse, yourself in the mirror - is incredibly boring. At the moment it's too dark in the evenings still for me to go out on my own running, so the gym is the only option.

So tonight I thought I'd try and take some entertainment, and took some of the weekend papers' magazines along to read as I ran. It worked quite well when I warmed up on the cross trainer, a bit of Slummy Mummy and a Giles Coren restaurant review helped the time to pass by a bit quicker. But on the treadmill, the mags were basically a health hazard. I quickly discovered I couldn't read them while running - none of the words were focussed and I was starting to feel sick. And then about half way through they almost slipped off the treadmill console thing and would have tripped me up if I hadn't caught them in time.

In the end I resorted to imagining running the half marathon, and crossing the finish line several times, with different songs playing as I sprint-finished, with different people cheering at the end. It still felt like quite a long 30 minutes but I did it - and a good 30 minutes at that. I'm doing 9kmh pace now, so almost back up to my old pace of 10kmh. FINGERS CROSSED the foot feels fine, the knees are their usual creaky selves and the numb one just feels a bit confused - a mix of numbness and blood pumping all muddled up. But we're getting there...

What the hell are Oggy Boots?

2010-01-18T16:00:00.001Z

I keep an eye on how many hits my blog gets through an online service called StatCounter - it tells me how many people read it, where in the world they are, how they found me etc... don't worry readers, nothing personal and I don't know exactly who you are!

But this info has revealed some bizarre trends. For a start, I get hits from all over the world - Czech Republic, the Philippines, Estonia to name a few. Mostly they get to me by mistake. A lot of people search for the Haruki Murakami quote: "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional" which I blogged about last year. But an overwhelming majority of people who read my blog have found it by searching for "Oggy boots". I have no idea what these are, so if anyone has any idea then let me know - but if you try googling the term, my blog is the top suggestion, presumably because of the word "boots" in my title and my mention of the "Oggy oggy oggy" chant during the Bristol 10k last year!

Some of the other searches which have led people to my page include - "shoes sniffing", "my sixth toe", "boots sniffing"and "running shoes not fit for the job, compensation".

s'no more snow!

2010-01-17T15:28:00.003Z

The snow finally melted this week and life got back to normal. I ran for a full 30 mins this week without problems for my foot, so I'm doing ok. Also doing lots of pilates to keep stretched out and weights to strengthen back up again after the slack months...

The best thing about this, which friends and family will best appreciate, is that I can eat what I want again! I love food, but when my exercise dropped off I wasn't really very hungry, so eating wasn't quite so fun anymore. But don't worry I did keep eating, so then I started to go a bit soft around the edges. Which isn't a problem - but I didn't want to let things slip further than that. So now I'm super hungry, and can justify big big plates of food again!! woo hoo.

On another note, if you're a Bristolian, check out this great new-ish blog about Bristol cultural shtuff.

The living hell that is Tesco Eastville

2010-01-09T15:33:00.003Z

I was so proud of myself this morning. Determined not to be snowed in anymore, I managed to dig my car out and decided to go and do some shopping at Tesco Eastville. This snow wasn't going to stop me getting my olive oil and pasta, coconut milk and bagels. I don't normally mind it, even though it can be really busy. But today it was something else.

Apparently EVERYONE had had the same idea. I had to queue around the roundabout to get in. I had to queue to find a parking space. And then there were no trolleys to be found so I ended up dragging one from a remote corner of the car park across the snow. And I can confirm that trolleys do not get on well with snow. I wasn't even in there yet.

The real fun began as I got through the doors and into the throng of shoppers with their trolleys, children and indecision. I battled through the aisles and then queued for about 20 mins to pay, then queued to get out of the car park. I'm knackered - that's my workout for the day.

The flip side of my day - finding this icicle on bedroom window

*Correction - in my last blog I said that my friend Rory had been running a couple of hours to and from work, when in fact I misread a text message and it was a couple of MILES. Still, impressive...

Respect

2010-01-07T19:23:00.004Z

I'm too chicken to go out running in this weather. I think I'm slightly brave walking down the road a few hundred metres to get a bus to work. But some people are being pretty heroic. Just found out my friend Rory has been running a couple of hours to and from work at Southmead Hospital through the snow and ice to get to work. Big respect to him!!! And to all these people...

Still here...

2010-01-06T21:16:00.005Z

So it's been about three months since I last wrote anything. Feel a bit bad because I can see from site traffic that people still stop by here everyday and there's nothing new. And I wouldn't want anyone to think I've given up. Here's a quick run down of the last few months, then I will do my best to be a bit more reliable... Even though this journey is looking more like three years than two, I'm still up for it. I think. Just need to look at a photo like this to remember why I'm doing it - I made a promise to myself back when this was taken and I won't give up on it now...

1. following on from my last blog, I passed my senior reporter exams and somehow managed to win the award. Result! That all meant a lot to me - it feels like I've come a long way since January 17, 2008.

2. In November I went back to London for the first time since I re-sat the exams I had missed because of the accident, back in March 2008. I stayed at the house in Hackney where I lived at the time of it all, which was really weird, and I found it pretty terrifying tackling the London roads. But I didn't make it back to Mile End station - another time maybe.

3. I have been running a little - not much - but a bit. Had a trip to NYC in November, then xmas... well I got a bit lazy and could have started stepping the training up but I didn't. Forgive me?

4. I still get some pain in my foot but so far (I have been running about 20 mins at a time, with my insoles in) it isn't crippling me. I think the trick is going to be stepping it up very slowly, stretching, strengthening my legs and keeping my fingers crossed!

5. I AM FED UP OF THE COLD WEATHER! Trekked to work today through the snow, then trekked some more through some more to find people sledging etc around Bristol, all quite fun, but I'm ready for some warmth now, and dry roads. However, one of the funniest things I saw today was a bloke outside his shop on Gloucester Road sorting out the ground with a can of de-icer. Brilliant. Completely ineffective, but brilliant!

6. Still heading for the Bristol Half Marathon. Let 2010 be the year.

Right. I think we're up to date.

Smiles on a rainy day

2009-10-07T20:46:00.006+01:00

It's been a miserable day, cold and raining. I've spent a couple of hours sat in traffic (the junction of the M5 where a bag of bones has been found didn't help me much) and the rest of the day sat in a cold hotel conference room doing a revision course for my senior reporter exams and probably failing some mock exam papers (I may have suggested in one of my reports that a lighthouse - in the middle of the sea - was to be turned into a museum. Don't ask me how).

It is days like today that you need a bit of a pick up - and it came in the form of Dom and Liz at work texting me as I sat in a lecture saying "well done". For what? They then explained that I'd made it to the shortlist for some trainee journalism awards (grandly entitled the NCTJ awards for excellence! ooh er) for a couple of stories I've written this year (obviously not the lighthouse one) - which put a great big smile on my face. I'm the kind of person that likes to get a bit of encouragement, which can be hard in a newspaper environment where a lot of the time you learn from mistakes and sometimes don't get much positive feedback - so this is just the pat on the back I needed to make me feel, yes I can do these exams and yes - I can do my job! I'm making a big deal of the being shortlisted part - because I am pretty sure I won't win my category, so I might as well bask in this little but of glory. Why not?

More relevantly to this blog, I also have a smile on my face this evening because I did another 15 minute run, and my bad-ball-of-foot is ok, even if once again the rest of my feet KILLED. I lay on a mat doing my stretches afterwards, inwardly sobbing with the throbbing pain... which lasted about.... well, a minute. I'm not convinced that it will be perfectly ok from now on, I am trying to take it really slowly. Come on foot, you can do it.

Step forward?

2009-10-05T18:49:00.007+01:00

Just been to the gym to do 15mins on the treadmill, a slow jog. It felt ok - the ball of my right foot (where I have been having problems) felt alright, maybe a little achey but I think that's just because I'm super-sensitive about it. HOWEVER. The rest of my feet were really not happy!!! The podiatrist did warn that the insoles might feel a bit strange, but they have felt fine when I've been walking/cycling/playing tennis in them. Running is obviously a different ball game, and although they feel fine now, at the time and immediately afterwards they were really uncomfortable. I think the lump in the middle of the insole will just take a bit of getting used to.

Next stage... will try a little run on Wednesday evening. Right now - dinner!!

Shepherd's Pie... not quite what mine looks like

Time for another go!

2009-10-04T20:01:00.002+01:00

I haven't been blogging because I haven't been running. I got my new insoles - swanky carbon fibre on the heel, with a big round bump in the middle just before the ball of the foot. I have been wearing them in a bit, the only shoes I have that they fit in are my trainers so I wear them around the house and whenever I can and have been wearing them for other sports - gym classes (I started going to a few at my gym to motivate me a bit... including a body-breaking "body conditioning" class involving an hour of weights exercises - I was left in agony for a week after the first one, unable to walk up and down stairs or lift my arms above my head!) and tennis lessons (Matt joined me up to the tennis club down the road for my birthday and now I'm having group improver lessons which I'm loving... slowly improving enough so that I don't have to apologise after every ball I hit!).

It's hard to tell if it is helping. But now it's probably time to start running again - so tomorrow's the day. Once again, the fingers are crossed. Hopefully the rest over the last month from running will have helped some more. I'll start with 15 mins and go from there...

Thank you to everyone who has been getting in touch with messages of support - it means a lot. Dan, I hope I don't have to take your advice and see the sports specialist guy, but if tomorrow is no better maybe I will.

Send my foot some good luck thoughts!!!!!

shhhhh

2009-09-09T20:19:00.000+01:00

I'm a bit tentative about writing this... in case it jinxes things... but I went for a run last night, 10 mins on the treadmill, and (I'm whispering) my foot did not hurt. Today, my foot has not hurt when I've walked around. Could things be improving?

My feet are a lot better off than Matt's anyway - he did an amazing 1:28:51 half marathon run - but has two black little toes and is hobbling around with a huge burst blister in the arch of one foot. Ouch. The event was really good, it was a great day to be a spectator. I watched the start, then went to Queens Square to watch at the 10mile point, then watched the end. I couldn't believe just how fast people were running that crossed the line in the first 90 minutes. I saw the Bristol woman who won, Claire Hallisey, cross the line - with her coach or family member running along behind the crowds shouting at her that she had done really well. There was also a pretty inspirational guy running who had lost both legs beneath the knee and was running on blades - he did sub 90 mins.

Matt crossed the line, picked up his goodie bag and then as I walked to meet him he just lay down on the pavement, worrying me and the St John's Ambulance people quite a bit, but he was ok just knackered.

Maybe next time for me...

Two days to go

2009-09-04T12:51:00.003+01:00

The Bristol Half Marathon is on Sunday, and I'll be there - not in my running shoes, but in my role as dutiful girlfriend. Matt's aiming for somewhere around the 1:30 mark, so not too long for me to wait around!!

I've been working nights this week, and the other night I did a job in Shirehampton. I drove out along Hotwells Road, then along the Portway - and felt really pissed off that I wouldn't be running it in a few days time. If my injuries allow, I think I'd love to do it next year, and maybe do one somewhere else in the mean time. But this foot of mine needs sorting first.

Since my last post, I have seen the physio again and the podiatrist, I'm getting some orthotic insoles made to see if that helps. But most of all I just feel a bit confused - I don't feel convinced that they know why this has happened. The podiatrist says it is genetic, the way my feet pronate, and that is putting extra pressure on the ball of my foot. He says my calf muscles and hamstrings are really tight, which won't be helping. I guess the more intense running has then sparked the injury off, but why now? I didn't get this when I did my last half marathon a couple of years ago, and I ran a lot then. I can't work out if my knee issues will have contributed or not. And most of all I'm not sure how my foot will get better - I have rested quite a while now but still whenever I run the pain is there, just less. Will insoles really help?

Finally for this post... the latest on the compensation claim. Went to see a psychologist yesterday to get an assessment, which went fine. Getting there, bit by bit!

No half marathon for me

2009-08-25T21:29:00.002+01:00

After a week's rest, I did ten mins onthe treadmill yesterday and... my foot started hurting again. I haven't had a problem all week, I've even done long walks (with my 6th toe) and felt fine. But I think the half marathon is a no go, unfortunately.

Hopefully physio/podiatrist will sort me out, I now have to decide whether to keep going with the running once I'm fixed and try and do one in the future or whether I should focus on other ways of keeping fit - maybe running's not going to be the best option for me. I'm torn between wanting to finish what I set out to do and wanting to avoid injury and enjoy sports other than the running...

Needless to say, I'm feeling quite deflated, can't motivate myself to get to the gym even to go on the bike - just can't be bothered!

Keep all fingers and toes crossed

2009-08-14T09:20:00.002+01:00

I'm off to the beach for a week (week long birthday celebrations!) and will be resting more from the running. Upon my return I shall be injury free and ready to go (that's where the crossed fingers come in)

Will be back on the blog when I'm home...

Half marathon not looking good

2009-08-10T21:34:00.002+01:00

Foot still hurting a bit when walking distances, and after I run, even if just for 10 mins. Physio today gave me a bit of a massage in my foot and calf, but essentially I just have to do more of the same. Quickly saw a podiatrist as well today who said I should get orthotics to sort the feet out properly - but I can't get an appointment with him for two weeks - days before the half marathon. Not looking good. SOOOOOOOO FRUSTRATING! Situation not being helped by possibility of the house I am renting being repossessed. Got some good luck spare? Send it my way please...

My sixth toe

2009-08-06T20:29:00.002+01:00

So I have bought myself a toe spacer jobbie, a little squidgey silicon thing which I have been wearing in between big toe and toe number two. It looks a bit weird, and is affectionately known as my sixth toe. Or eleventh. Anyway, I have also been diligently doing my corrective exercises and keeping my cardio going with cycling and xtraining, and tonight.... I ran.

Only for ten minutes, with 6th toe in place to stop big toe pronating, but for those ten minutes of jogging on the treadmill I had no pain. This is good news. I then tried 5 mins without sixth toe (got some funny looks in the gym taking shoe and sock off and removing little rubbery shape from between my toes!) and was still ok. That was enough for one day.

But we have progress!!

Still no joy

2009-08-03T20:28:00.003+01:00

It's been two weeks since I was last able to run. I tried a five minute jog on the treadmill on Thursday and my foot still hurt, and it is still hurting sometimes when I walk, so I booked myself in for some physio and went tonight.

The verdict is that the half marathon is not out of the question, I might be able to get this sorted in time and if I keep working on my fitness I should be ok to do it. My right foot apparently pronates (rolls inwards) a bit, which is probably what has caused the pain in the ball of my foot - I need to do some exercises twice a day to try and see if I can correct it. I need to buy a 'toe spacer' - which I'm yet to work out exactly what it is - to keep my big toe away from toe number two, and work on correcting my foot position, which is a bit weird. But physio Gill reckons it could work.

As for running, in a couple of days I'll give it another go andsee if it is any better. I'll go back to se Gill next week and go from there. As for the cause of the pronation - it's probably a combination of things. 1) people just get it, it happens. 2) the running and increased training has made it more apparent. 3) my accident, subsequent injuries and crutch use probably didn't help a lot, and could have sparked it in the first place.

SO.... exercises, continued fitness and running attempts are on the menu, but the clock is ticking until September 6. It's very frustrating as this will almost certainly mean I am just doing th half marathon to get round it, not to get round in a good time. It's also frustrating because my plan was to do the half and then ease off the running a lot, do other sports, because in the long run, running probably isn't going to be my best option considering my injuries. But I did really want to prove to myself that this would be possible. grrrr

Resting up

2009-07-28T19:21:00.002+01:00

I rested up over the weekend, no running just a bit of surfing down in Cornwall. But yesterday I spoke to one of the trainers at my gym and she reckons I should give it another couple of days off, and do some cycling instead to keep my fitness up.

She also suggested doing daily exercises to strengthen my gluts, and said that when I start running again maybe on Thursday I should see how my foot feels - if it still hurts I might need to see a physio, so I'm hoping it will be better. Otherwise, I can do a couple of gentle runs and then slowly build things back up - I may be a bit behind with my programme of training and therefore my two-hour half marathon hopes might be a bit dashed, but I should still be able to get round it.

Watch this space...

Sore foot

2009-07-23T09:40:00.002+01:00

I've had pain under the ball of my right foot for a few days now and am stopping myself from running - I can run and it isn't agonising but it does hurt and I don't want it to get worse.

A quick google suggests its a running-related injury, metatarsalgia. Hopefully after a rest this weekend it will be better, but the suggestion for how to solve it seems to be getting some inserts fr my shoes. Will see how it goes...

Achey breaky

2009-07-19T19:12:00.002+01:00

I'm a bit broken after lots of running in the last few days. After yesterday's eight miler today I did a quick three-mile run in the rain before heading to Cafe Delight on Gloucester Road for a VERY tasty cooked brekkie courtesy of our mate Greg who had come to stay. Really one of the best cooked breakfast I have ever head outside of mum's kitchen. But even that was not enough to fully re-fuel me, and I sat at work this afternoon feeling a bit achey and shattered! But in a good way.

The three-mile run was pretty good, incidentally, probably because I have been doing quite a few runs that distance recently on the treadmill at the gym, on an incline, so maybe outside it feels nicer and better and (maybe?) easier.

Well, more running tomorrow and the rest of this week before heading down to the coast for the weekend....

Hitting eight miles running

2009-07-18T13:29:00.003+01:00

Just been out on my longest run so far - eight miles. Went up to the Downs and round, and only four minutes slower than my seven mile run last week! Still slower than I'd like, but doing ok at about 6:40 mins per km pace.

Have also done two runs in the gym this week to escape the rain - three miles each, one slow, one race pace. And another one planned for tomorrow! Quite hard work... definitely harder work than when I trained for my last half marathon as a second year English student with no work to do and hours and hours to play with every day. Now it's home from work, out for a run, eat, shower, crash. I'm just about managing to fit in a life around it but will be glad when it's over and I can chill out a bit!

Off to re-fuel...

Surfing and windsurfing back on the menu

2009-07-16T21:16:00.002+01:00

What I used to be able to do...

A successful weekend in Devon with Matt saw me giving surfing and windsurfing a try for the first time since the accident - actually the first time in two years if you count the six months before when I was studying in London.

Good news is the legs/knees weren't an issue. And in the rainy weather of the weekend, the sea was the best place to be. We surfed at Wembury beach just outside Plymouth, and windsurfed on Roadford Lake to give me a safe and easy start.

Bad news is that I still am not really much good at either sport - so although the knees aren't an issue, my skill levels are!!

Pilates and payments

2009-07-07T21:48:00.006+01:00

ouch. not me quite yet

Had my fist ever Pilates class tonight, at recommendation of sports masseuse to help my back out (which is taking some of the strain away from my knees). I thought I would hate it, that it would be all slow and airy fairy (I had a disastrously dull experience with Alexander Technique at school which put me off all that area of exercises) and I would be impatient and probably just fall asleep.

In fact, it was really good. I was in a beginners/intermediate class of five people, and we started with all the basics - breathing, pelvic floor, 'naval spine', some easy exercises. But I felt it doing something, and I feel all nice and stretched now.

Apparently, according to the teacher, we should feel a difference very soon, especially in our backs. Chatting to her afterwards, she didn't seem to believe I hadn't done it before (ha! I'm a natural - first time ever in a 'sport'), asking me if I was sure I hadn't ever done it, whether I was a dancer (not since the age of five when I was the podgiest little girl in a tutu in my class and more of a stomper than a fairy. I was then cast as a thundercloud in the school play - enough said.) and finally, did I do a lot of fitness. So I said yes, and explained the running - which led her to ask - "how are your knees then?" Now there's a question.

I hadn't been planning on telling her, but gave a 20 second summary to explain and she said Pilates should help out, but then I guess she would! My knees are getting there though, I get some pain running, and still find it very uncomfortable kneeling and crouching, but we're on track for the aim of getting to stage when I can pretend it never happened.

Another quick update - I've had a nice little interim payment from Mr Renault Laguna's insurers, will be another year before I get the rest of my compensation but this is a very nice addition to the bank account! Along with £250 from British Gas for the bills I overpaid last year and £1400 from the tax man (I've been paying far too much tax every month for the last year) I feel a bit like I've won the lottery. Thinking about retiring sometime soon... as if.

Catch up

2009-07-06T21:20:00.002+01:00

Where does the time go? Blogs have been piling up in my head unwritten so here's a bit of a summary of the last few weeks to get me up to date again.

Running is going ok, generally, although with lots of weekends away planned I am having to try and do my long runs mid week which can be a tight squeeze.

Interval training - I worked out a nice route round St Andrew's Park for my intervals, although it is a bit uphill/downhill. Did 4x400m sprints with 400m jog between, all good. Another guy out running I soon realised was doing exactly the same, in the opposite direction - so kept passing him and laughing.

I've done a few good fast treadmill runs including a 4mile one tonight - quite a good way to escape the heat outside. Keeping those nice and fast (by my standards!) to work on getting a good pace for the longer stints.

Talking about the heat we've had recently, I had a horrendous run last week when I went out after work to do a seven mile run around the harbourside. It was really hot, and I set out at my 10k race speed which was just too fast. So at 6km, I had to sit down for a few minutes because I felt about ready to pass out, but from there managed to keep going til the end, albeit at a much slower pace. Note to self: if it's hot, go slower!

Yesterday was the Cheltenham Race For Life which I ran with my mum, we did it in about 37 minutes, just taking it nice and slow. Rubbish 'track' though - incuding a couple of hundred metres on SAND and a lot on some really loose wooden chippings. We weren't impressed!

Sniffing out pasties and fish and chips

2009-06-19T23:00:00.001+01:00

Tonight I'm off to Cornwall for a few days of sea air and heavy furniture moving at Matt's mum's new pad. We're planning on doing some good bike rides including the camel trail, a 17 mile traffic free route based on an historic railway track which ends in Padstow (I'm holding out for some fish and chips when we get there, and no I'm not intending to do the whole 17 miles there and back - just part of it!).

Probably won't do my long run until next week sometime, and Mike and Phil at Bristol Running Resource have given me some good tips for achieving my two hour half marathon time, so I'll give them a shot then. Quite handy tips - so I thought I would include them here...

Mike said: Maybe try and do some speed work too. Eg, I did x5 850m reps up on the Downs yesterday. Last year, I found doing this really helped my speed on longer runs.

Phil said: Emily, you can also try doing fast sections in your long run with rest an easy run in between (1k at the pace your require to complete the half in 2 hrs, and 1k at an easier pace), as the weeks go on you should try to reduce the easy run periods.Another tip is once you have got your mileage up is try to do a couple 14 mile runs, when it comes to the last three miles of the half, mentally you know that you have been further which should, hopefully make it easier to push yourself for you 2 hour mark.

Food food food

2009-06-19T12:00:00.002+01:00

It's been a successful week of late shifts, and I have managed to keep training even as I got more and more tired as the week went on. Yesterday's session at the gym (a 3 mile fast run on the treadmill followed by a review with one of the trainers of my resistance programme) was tough, and I probably shouldn't have done such a hard run just before doing the weights. In fact, I felt about ready to pass out and was packed off home by Jules at the gym with instructions to eat a lot. Which I did - two big tasty meals for lunch and dinner. Fish fingers chips and peas, and bread and butter, before going to work, and then a hefty portion of venison sausage and lentil casserole from my freezer. Mmmmmm. Plus a stash of fruit and chocolate and nuts at work.

I can't seem to stop eating at the moment (yes, friends and family, I know this is not unusual, but I'm worse than ever) and it must be down to such a good week of exercise. I am looking forward to getting my paws on a copy of Kate's book Go Faster Food with lots of energy-boosting recipes (check out her blog here) and also am interested to know if anyone has any handy bitesize tips for fuelling/re-fuelling before and after exercise. My knowledge is pretty limited, I just eat and drink a lot and hope for the best! Apart from eating lots of carbs generally, I know not much. Any ideas people?

Harbour fun run

2009-06-17T11:26:00.003+01:00

It was a gorgeous sunny evening last night for the Bristol Harbour Fun Run - hundreds turned up to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, including a few interesting people. I wasn't there to run, but to work, and you can read the report here. There was one guy running barefoot in preparation for a barefoot Bristol Half Marathon - apparently he prefers the feel of running without trainers! Another man, running with his son, was running as a survivor - having suffered a heart attack last year. He told me he felt fitter than he had before the heart attack, and had lost about a stone.

That was a story I could relate to, even though thankfully I have not had to survive a heart attack. I feel fitter, stronger and more in tune with my body now than I ever did before my accident. I suppose there must be a lot of people out there with similar stories, who have had a jolt to spur them into action.

One man who should have been running last night was someone many Bristol runners knew - an inspirational runner. Alan Rundle, who ran seven marathons in his lifetime including two in the last two years since - wait for it - a quadruple heart bypass - sadly died at the end of last week. He had collapsed in the middle of the 2nd race in the Towpath series on June 5. But, as you can read in my article, this is just how he would have wanted it. He often said to friends and family that if he died running, he would die a happy man. RIP Alan - never met you but you sound like an amazing guy.

Pacing myself

2009-06-16T13:45:00.003+01:00

It's time for another week of late shifts, but this week I am determined not to get too tired and keep up the training. I have printed off a 12-week intermediate half marathon training programme and yesterday kicked it off with a five mile run around Bishopston and Horfield.

I chose the wrong day to run the streets of this area - it was bin day. So not only was there the stench of bins that haven't been collected for weeks during the binmen strikes, but also the obstacles of binmen (now working again) and emptied bins, left in the middle of the pavement. But other than that it was a good run, I did it at about a 6:30 mins/km pace.

Which left me yesterday wondering whether my goal of the half marathon in two hours is realistic or not. The 5k and 10k races I did recently were at 5:20 and 5:40 pace respectively, and I'd need to do 5:40 mins/km to get a two hour half marathon, but could I really keep that pace up for so long? The 6:30 pace yesterday, however, felt like it would be manageable, even if a challenge. After a pep talk from Matt, I decided to try and aim for the faster pace in my long runs and give it a go. After all, if I aim for two hours but take 2:10 on the day, I haven't exactly failed.

Race For Life

2009-06-13T16:23:00.005+01:00

It was another hot day for race number two - the Race For Life up on the Downs today. It was quite moving to see all the names on women's backs of who they were running in memory of. I was just doing it for a race practice, but most of the 5,000 people were there to raise money for Cancer Research.

Considering I am an embarassingly organised person, I was incredibly all over the place this morning. With half an hour to go before I left my house, I realised my only running shorts and leggings with a zippable pocket for my car key were in the washing machine. I was doing the race on my own so I needed some way of keeping my key safe... round my neck didnt feel too secure so I wans't sure what to do. I managed to work out the tumble dry function on the washing machine, but then it wouldn't stop! With 5 mins to go, I was stood in my kitchen in trainers, t-shirt, hat... and knickers, frantically flicking through an instruction manual to stop the thing, release the door and get my leggings out. Turning it off didn't work. Kicking it didn't work (only joking landlords Ian and Meg, if you're reading). But finally I found the right button and I was off.

I was so quick to get out the door, I forgot my watch and my Ipod, two essential ingredients. Without a race chip, the only way I was going to get an accurate time (and that was really why I was doing it) would be to get to the front of the pack and start on the start line with the horn. Elbows out - I pushed to the front.

It went well, I felt like I was going fast and it felt hard work and muggy. I kept thinking I didn't know how I managed a 10k. A highlight was being overtaken by a five-year-old girl... but I think she had underestimated the competition because I stormed past her a minute later. Ha! Is it wrong to be pleased to have beaten a small child?

The last km was tough, but I managed a sprint for the last 150m... and got a time of 26:31 - not too shabby! Very pleased with that, at least I was keeping a good pace, shows I can do it without my trusty sidekick (Matt).

Thoughts upon returning from sports massage which mainly focussed on my back

2009-06-10T21:18:00.002+01:00

Losing myself

2009-06-10T17:54:00.004+01:00

Long run accomplished - but it was a bit of a frustrating one. The last long run I did was with Matt about 10 days ago, when we did 70 mins - but very slowly, I just wasn't feeling it. So today's plan as to do 70 mins at a decent pace. And when we were up in the Purdown/Stoke Park area, I had seen someone running along a track lower down and so today I wanted to see if I could find where that started, to work out a loop to do instead of the there-and-back route I do at the moment.

You might think that the obvious thing for me to have done would have been to go up to Purdown as usual, then hit the lower track, and see where it took me. But for some reason I decided it would be best to try and find it from the other side. So I had a nice run down through the allotments (past two guys who are always there it seems when I am out running, tending their crops) and instead of going straight up into the fields I ran down Muller Road and on a bit of a mission. The road I had hoped to find a path at the end of turned out to be a dead end. Rubbish - I wasn't really sure where to go from there.

I had a little scoot around, down some other roads and down a little forest track, where I got attacked by stinging nettles, and then realised it was about time to be turning back home, so gave up.

In the end, it was an ok run, I only did 9.5km but there were lots of hills involved. Job done (ish). I rewarded myself by baking some amazing choc chip and pecan cookies and hitting the pub (if only for a few fruit juices) with ex-work pal Rupert - and now I'm off for my monthly sports massage... not a bad day!

Poor neglected blog

2009-06-09T19:01:00.004+01:00

I’m not sure where the last couple of weeks have gone, but I have clearly neglected blogdom – I think it started with the nice weather, making it too hot to sit at my computer, and was compounded by slugs eating my runner beans, house issues, plans for our housewarming (by which time the nice weather had done a runner) and… no that’s it, run out of excuses.

Anyway, I have actually been running – a few different runs in the last couple of weeks. And I also went off to the Forest of Dean with Matt mountain biking – the first time I have been back on my bike since the accident. I can’t bring myself to cycle on roads yet, even though I was a pedestrian when I was hit, so we drove with the bike on the roof to the forest and I had a great time back on two wheels, it felt so good. Good enough to make me want to try conquering my road-fear sooner rather than later.

Tomorrow is a day off work an therefore perfect chance to do a long run – there, I’ve said it, can’t back out now (like I did on Saturday morning when bed was just too comfortable to contemplate leaving). And then Saturday is Race for Life day in Bristol so I’ll be trying to get a decent time for my 5k.

Harbour run

2009-05-26T20:28:00.002+01:00

In the quest to vary my running a bit I decided to tag along with Simon and Marc for a run this evening, having read about their regular jaunts on Simon’s blog (shameless plug for that – check it out it’s brilliant). However, Simon apparently thinks it’s acceptable to go on holiday and desert his training (how dare he!) and it was just me and Marc in the end.

But it was great fun – it’s so much better running with someone and it was good to try a route somewhere else. I have always been wary of running with other people because I assume I will always be slower than them and hold them back, but I think tonight showed me I’m not as much of a snail as I thought. We went straight from work (past fire engines, ambulances, injured tramps and through wafts of fake smoke – Casualty were filming in our car park today!) and did a nice flat 45 minute run around the harbourside, in the evening sunshine and showers. I think it must have been about 7k, but we did stop a couple of times for breathers.

It felt good, and we were both pretty tired at the end, especially having chatted all the way round. I really feel like I’m at a good point with my running, fit enough to enjoy it, and going at a decent speed.

Exploring

2009-05-24T22:07:00.008+01:00

What a weekend! I’ve felt like I’ve been on holiday for the last two days (even with mowing the lawn and going to Sainsbury’s) - the sun is most welcome.

This afternoon I decided to give Mike’s advice a go and have a bit of an explore of what running route I could do from my new home. Armed in the heat with a cap and water bottle, I ventured out.

Within about two minutes I was lost, somehow having missed a turning and running round identical-looking residential streets, ending up where I started. Felt like a bit of a plonker. Then I realised I had cleverly timed the start of my run with the end of the one day cricket international between England and the West Indies, taking place round the corner from my house. People were pouring out of the ground, and I was going against the flow, which was pretty hard work, and putting up with people shouting drunken encouragement/abuse at me.

At last, having run a little down Ashley Hill, I reached the top of the allotments and dropped down through them – having a nose at what vegetables everyone was growing as I went. Then I had my first ever view of St Werburgh’s City Farm, a delightful smell of manure in the air! Managed to resist stopping off for a Sunday roast at the café… but only just. At this point I didn’t really have a clue where I was or where to go – Mike had suggested heading for Purdown so I was trying to find the mast on the horizon.

But I ended up going the wrong way, an interesting detour, but still the wrong way. Found The Climbing Academy but then hit a roundabout with a halaal butchers on – the very one I drive past on my way home from work every day. Which meant I was basically at the bottom of Ashley Hill and not getting very far.

So I turned around, tried the other direction and found a footpath (think it might have been the new cycle path from Hopetoun Road to Muller Road but not sure) through another load of allotments. And finally, I could see the mast. By this point I had been running for about 30 minutes, and from this point on I mixed running and walking as I worked out where to go next and gave my knees a rest every now and then. By the time I got home I had been out nearly two hours what with all the exploring and wrong turns, so some walking was necessary.

I wove my way through Lockleaze until I found the vast green expanse that the mast sits in and I was stunned. How had I never known that this place existed? On this beautiful summer’s evening, with barbecue smoke filling the air, I was blown away by the views over Bristol and the fields full of dandelions and daisies.

Definitely one to investigate more in my next long run, preferably without all the detours along the way!

Steve Cram's words of wisdom

2009-05-20T19:10:00.003+01:00

Check out this video of Olympic medal winner Steve Cram's tips for the Bristol Half Marathon.

He won a silver medal in the 1,500m at the LA Games in 1984... so presumably knows what he's talking about!

Back to it

2009-05-19T20:36:00.002+01:00

I'm aching a bit today after a good session in my new local gym yesterday - I thought I was going for an induction in the weights room but found out that personal training sessions are basically free there, so ended up with an hour one-to-one session going through my resistance programme. I have to confess I haven't done weights for a while, what with the move an the cheeky week off after the 10k, so I was a bit rusty.

But it was really helpful - trainer Jules gave me lots of tips and ideas, encouraged me to start doing one leg squat/dip things again (I had stopped doing them because I always felt a bit embarassed standing on a bench doing something that made everyone look at me with confusion), and suggested - as other people have - that I consider joining a running club. I have been a bit dubious before - it all sounded a bit serious and surely I wouldn't be good enough.

But this time, I asked a few more questions and realised that it is actually a really good idea - most apparently are cheap to join (about a tenner for a year) and you pay 50p or something similar to join a session, and there are all sorts of levels of ability. Definitely something to look into - suggested clubs so far are Sole Sisters (all-women club) and Westbury Harriers. Putting this into the blog should give me extra incentive to get it done!

I'm not so sure I can manage the five sessions a week Jules suggested, but will give it a go. Did my first run tonight since the 10k. Didn't fancy venturing outside into the rain and the new local streets - too many hills for my liking! I need to work out some good routes from my base in Bishopston, preferably with a bit of green space... I'm missing the Downs a bit. Any ideas from locals (bearing in mind I am not going huge distances - the 10k is my long run distance at the moment) would be welcome!

It's official

2009-05-11T14:58:00.003+01:00

My official 10k time - 57 mins 35 secs.

That's 3283rd!

Pic by Simon Galloway

Oggy oggy oggy…

2009-05-10T18:42:00.006+01:00

So – I made it round the Bristol 10k, with (I think) a fairly respectable time of roughly 57 minutes! Don’t think I could have done it without Matt running alongside (actually mostly in front of) me keeping my pace up at the hard bits. As other fellow runners will tell you, it was very sunny and hot, but a great day. I threw most of the water I picked up at the half way point all over myself as I ran, getting a nice mouthful of salty sweat-water as it trickled down my face... mmm. Great crowds, lots of people taking part. Including some ghostbusters, a few cross-dressers, pirates and 6ft Scooby Doos.

My dad also got round in about the same time but in a different wave of runners so not with us (I’m posting before the official results are in but we reckon we’ve got the times sussed) – well done dad! And thanks to Maz and Jimbob for their support and the supply of cookies at the end.

I really enjoyed it overall. I was very nervous that I just wouldn’t get round but the fears were unfounded. I was in such good spirits that I even led a round of “Oggy oggy oggy” (Og og og) in the suitably echoey tunnel on the Portway. (Matt was about ready to ditch me after that. And I am slightly embarrassed to think I did it.)

Tiredness really kicked in at about 45 minutes, and in the last 1km I felt all tingly and about ready to pass out but had enough juice in me to challenge Matt to a bit of a sprint 100m finish – just about finished me off and I staggered over the finish line.

Feeling pretty broken now, veeeeeeeery sleepy and achey. But it was worth it. Half marathon, here I come. And - in your face, Mr Renault Laguna!

Free muesli?

2009-05-08T18:00:00.001+01:00

Very kind lady Helen has nominated me for the 'Little blog awards'.

If you like the blog, please vote by clicking on the link below - you could win some muesli! What more of an incentive do you need?!?

Drive by ketchupping

2009-05-07T16:12:00.006+01:00

The big move from west to east Brizzle is now complete, and Matt and I are successfully installed in our new pad. I am shattered after the three-day effort, but all went well.

One question though, does lugging boxes all over the place (though Matt and superman Dom did most of it) count as 10k training? I say yes, because I am far too tired to think about doing anything else this week in preparation. Maybe I will stretch.

On a separate note, about a separate Dom, I must put out a warning - beware drive bys on the Downs. My work colleague Dom got mercilessly hit the other night in a random 'attack' whilst running past the viewing point - with a paper cup full of ketchup. Don’t laugh…! It could be you next time, rubbing your backside on the grass to get rid of the stains, and the smells…be warned!

Bristol 10k??

2009-05-02T12:00:00.004+01:00

Earlier this week I decided it was crunch time for my decision on running the 10k in couple of weeks. So I ran for an hour solid at a steady pace, and worked out the distance on Google pedometer when I got home. It was make or break.

It felt good – the sun was out, but it was cool, and I had perfect energy levels after scoffing brownies and bananas all afternoon at work! I did about 35 minutes of it on pavements, which felt fine.

At about 35 minutes, my knees felt a bit creaky but not painful, so I pushed through. I was glad I did because at about 55 minutes I was feeling great – like I could just run and run. If the distance was good enough, I definitely felt fit enough to run the 10k.

It was lucky that I was feeling good, because I had to do that awful thing – having mistimed my run by about 5 minutes, I got home too early, and had to keep on going, past my turning. That took some doing – who would know if I just knocked a few minutes off?

Anyway. Looks like we’re on for the 10k – my run ended up being 9.7km. I’m now in talks with Matt and dad (both also running on the 10th) about maybe running it all together...

RIP

2009-04-30T09:00:00.000+01:00

Last week at work was an emotionally draining one – interviewing not one, not two, but three sets of bereaved relatives.

All three were good stories an obviously I realise its considerably harder to be the interviewee in that situation, but still it was hard work.

What these stories do make you realise though is that you have to make he most of your life while you have it… yet another reason to spur me on and keep running, to reach my goal.

So this is also for you, and in your memory, Charlie-Bob, Brian and Emma.

Fun runs

2009-04-28T18:00:00.002+01:00

Apart from the lost key incident, the running has been going very well recently. I am now up to 50 minutes running, which best mate Sophie said “is more than most ‘normal’ people can run”, and about 20 minutes of that on harder surfaces.

I have been doing lots of interval type training – either 10 minutes easy, 15 minutes faster than steady pace, 10 minutes easy, or 10 minutes easy, then 10 two-minute sprints with a one-minute jog in between. I’m feeling good for it, and looking forward to trying a steady 50 minute run to see how far I go. Two weeks to go until the Bristol 10k – I feel like it could be just within my reach. Fitness will be fine, as long as it doesn’t take me too much longer than an hour, it’s just how the knees will hold out on a harder surface for all that time.

I’ve also had one really good, feel-good run recently – the type of run which makes all the hard-slog ones worth putting up with. I hadn’t had one like that for ages, and was starting to wonder why I used to like running so much, but it brought it all back. Some good music, a nice spring evening, a perfect amount of energy – yes please. More runs like that would be good.

Zips are your friend

2009-04-26T13:00:00.000+01:00

What a palava. Here’s a tip for you – if you go out running, and put your house keys in a pocket in your shorts, why not do the zip up? It’s a handy feature, which funnily enough stops them from falling out.

Can you see where I’m going with this? Yep. Muggins locked herself out of her flat the other night after losing her key somewhere on the Downs, only realising after the 20 minute walk home. Knowing I hadn’t a hope in hell of finding it again, plan B was to hunt down my spare set. Only one problem – it was 6.30pm. I knew Matt (who had aforementioned spare set on his key ring) was going out for a run himself at 6.30pm.

So, with fingers firmly crossed (I was in shorts and a tshirt, and it was getting decidedly cooler), I tried my brother’s buzzer just up the road from my flat, and thankfully he was in. He clothed me in one of his tracksuits, gave me some toast, and while I warmed up I tried to call Matt in case he got home and could hear his phone. An hour and a half later, still no luck, so I walked all the way back up to the Downs, where Matt lives, found him cooking fish fingers with his phone muffled in the depths of his room somewhere, took my keys and walked all the way home again, feeling a bit sorry for myself – and pretty knackered.

Learn from my mistakes people. Do up the zip.

Nuisance knees

2009-04-24T21:57:00.001+01:00

The latest on my compensation claim is that my solicitor has advised me to wait another year to make a full claim – but in the meantime we are going to ask for an interim payment which will help a bit.

This comes after my report from the orthopod came back – he is of the view that over the next 12 months my symptoms are likely to improve to “nuisance level”, so I am going to see him again in a year. I wonder what nuisance level feels like – will I just occasionally feel like slapping my knees as if swatting away an annoying fly?

The report, which I have been able to read through, was accurate and as far as I can make out it adequately describes my last 15 months. The bit that struck me most was where he wrote in his ‘opinion and prognosis’ that I had been involved in a “terrifying road traffic accident”. I can’t really explain why that hit me so much, but I think it is the feeling that someone recognises what has happened as being pretty scary as well as very inconvenient. I know that people do realise this, but they don’t always say it, so to see it written down really hit home.

Pleasure/pain?

2009-04-18T13:48:00.005+01:00

At the insistence of my physio, I had my first "sports massage" on Wednesday night.

What's the difference between sports massage and just a normal massage? I was under the impression that it was the difference between pure (but ultimately beneficial) pain and a blissful, relaxing snooze-inducer.

I still don't really don't really know exactly the difference, other than that sports massage is more about mangement and rehabilitation of muscles and making sure you are in good shape for sportiness. I was told to do it to prevent any unecessary injury.

Anyway, to my surprise, it was actually quite relaxing and I found myself dozing off a few times. It did hurt a bit, especially in my shins and ITBs, but that was where the masseuse Emma said my muscles we a bit tight.

She has given me some stretches to do to keep my shins a bit happier but that involves kneeling on the floor,which is a bit tricky still for me. The best bit about it was that I slept the best I have slept I think this year, all the way through the night. What a good feeling!

Also in the news: I worked out on my Asics page that my route on Monday around the Downs (35 minutes) was about 5.5km, which means I am going at a healthy pace of 10kmh. Maybe the 10k is not such a stupid idea after all. Will wait and see...

Late shift lethargy

2009-04-13T18:37:00.003+01:00

Resting up from shin pain (don’t think it was anything more than that) quickly became a severe lack of motivation last week – a week of late shifts, tiredness and a realisation that doing the Bristol 10k in a few weeks time is probably a little unrealistic, conspired to make me want to give up on the half marathon altogether. Thankfully, a lot of this was the late shift lethargy – I hate working this week of shifts because it really throws me and makes me feel very unlike myself.

A week after my last run, after a few days off over the weekend, some nice food, fresh air and relaxation I again cajoled Matt into accompanying me in another foray across the Downs.

And it was a great run! 35 minutes at a good, steady pace, 15 of those on the pavements. It was great to have someone there with me – Matt said (and I think genuinely thought) that I was going at a good speed and doing well. He made it interesting for himself (my speed barely sees him break a sweat) by also kicking a football around, kicking it diagonally across my path, chasing after it and doing the same the other way, often barely missing my feet… but I think that was half the fun for him. It certainly kept me on my toes.

The 10k is now removed from my radar, as I think it would take too steep an increase in distance and too quick a change in running surface to be viable without risking injury. No big shakes, as I only signed up in case I could do it. Just focussing on slowly ramping it up towards September.

Shin shtuff

2009-04-06T14:05:00.001+01:00

I managed to drag Matt out with me to do some interval training on the Downs yesterday – six three-minute fast runs, with a minute’s walk in between. All went ok, although Matt reckons my right leg is coming through too sluggishly when I run… not too sure how to correct that. I also woke up this morning feeling a bit of pain in my shins and ankles – hope it’s not shin splints as that would be a bit unfair! Never had them before so all my fingers crossed it’s not that…

I’m on late shifts this week so I’m planning on making the most of it by trying to do some daylight runs on the Downs (shin-dependent). This morning I did some more, longer intervals, and did about seven minutes of that on pavements – my first attempt at hard surfaces since the op in January. It felt fine, and my knees are feeling good – shins about the same. I’ll take tomorrow off and go from there.

Any shin splint advice very gratefully received!

Don't forget the sun

2009-04-05T19:52:00.002+01:00

Live in Bristol? Don't live in Bristol, but like photography? Don't live in Bristol, don't like photography but have a spare five minutes?

Check out my arty-eyed sibling's blog Don't forget the sun.

Handbags and big-enough-bags

2009-04-01T22:16:00.002+01:00

When I picked up my new trainers the other day I also put the poor Moti staff-member serving me through a bit of mild customer service hell, not intentionally. While I was there I thought I would check out their range of rucksacks, because when I move across town next month I might try walking to work (and eventually running home too every now and then). All the bags are on hooks hanging from a rail above head-level, and stuffed with plastic and paper etc. I wanted to see if my work handbag would fit in (don’t laugh, like his colleague did, and say “a WORK handbag? I’m so glad I’m not a woman” – yes I have a handbag for work, a smart one that was a present from my folks) so I made him reach down and empty each different bag I considered to see if it would fit in, along with my lunch, some shoes and other clothes… Then I told him I would have to think about it, didn't buy any of them, and felt a bit bad leaving him to sort out the mess I left behind. Sorry, Mr Moti man!

Anyway, I think I might get a 30l size bag to fit all my work stuff in and potentially a change of clothes. Does anyone who runs to work have any advice on this? What are the good features to look out for in a rucksack for running?

Subarus of the shoe world?

2009-03-31T22:33:00.000+01:00

There’s nothing like a new bit of gear. I picked up a new pair of trainers from Moti today, Mizuno Wave Nirvanas – an updated, more cushioned version of what I have been running infor a few years. I reckon they look pretty fast! Although maybe not quite as good-looking as Hauling my carcass’s.

Haruki Murakami writes about his Mizuno’s that he likes that fact the brand “doesn’t have any extra bells and whistles” and I’d agree, I love my old pair and already love the new ones even though I’ve just been wearing them to pad around the flat so far! He also calls them the Subaru of the shoe world – “no gimmicks, no sense of style, no catchy slogan”. But I wouldn’t go quite that far… I think they look sparky enough for me.

From french food to free weights

2009-03-31T09:00:00.001+01:00

I got a bit carried away with the toe stuff last night and neglected to mention that I also did a very good run and launched back into my muscle strengthening programme yesterday evening at the gym.

I had been dreading the return to fitness after a week-long regime of Rosé, daube de boeuf and Italian ice creams, but surprisingly I enjoyed my 25 minutes on a one per cent incline at 9kmh, with a jazzy little 11kmh sprint at the end. Hell yeah.

After I got back to gymming after the accident, and before I had my most recent op, I had a few personal training sessions with a legend of a guy called Dave at my gym (then Cannons on the Triangle, now Nuffield Health). He’s a great guy, really friendly and knows his stuff – and so he should after training Navy personnel for years and years previous to this job. Anyway, he was quick to tell me that although doing all the cardio is great and makes you feel good and fit etc, if you want to train for a sport (such as running) you really need to actively work on your muscle strength and tone too. Your muscles will obviously do a certain amount on their own if you run a lot, but for optimal performance and to reduce risk of injury you need to have a muscle strengthening regime too.

For obvious reasons, it was and is particularly essential for me to give my leg muscles an extra nudge along. So Dave sorted me out with a weights and core-strength programme which he updates whenever we meet again. I'm talking sit ups with added extras, the dreaded "plank", quick successions of reps of leg pressing, chest pressing, etc etc. Last night saw me return to the full set of exercises for the first time since the op in January, and I think I can safely say it hurt!