I went for a run this morning. It was totally rubbish. I came home early because I thought I was going to throw up on the street.
I must be doing something wrong. I had a banana before I went out to try to avoid the inevitable "feeling sick whilst running then vomiting" thing that has happened before. Apparently, today, that wasn't enough. I didn't throw up but I've had a cracking headache all day and had to stop my run after 25 minutes as I felt so rubbish. In that 25 minutes I managed two three minute runs. Oh dear oh dear oh dear! I'm going backwards here!
I think I was a bit low on water, I know I haven't been drinking enough water but it's so flipping cold all I want is tea or nothing. Honestly, I get a bit of a dry throat from time to time but the urge to drink just isn't there like it is in warmer weather. But, I can't blame the weather, I've just got to get on with it, eh? I was also possibly a bit more hungry than usual as I didn't have the most filling dinner the night before. *sigh* There are so many things to balance and think about. Maybe I'm just not back in "the zone"?
However, to further my late night panic plans, I've booked two half days off on consecutive weeks to go for bike rides during daylight. This will involve riding my bike to work which is not something I am looking forward to. I rode my bike four times last year (remembering that I was recovering for a long time) and on two of those occasions I nearly got knocked off. I have lost a lot of my confidence on the bike so this is quite a big deal. But I know it will do me good and as I'm hearing a lot lately - it's ok to stop and walk.
To that end, I have managed to walk to work this week and I intend to walk tomorrow. It's not a lot of fun in the cold but one of the problems I have when it's warmer is that a 45 minute walk laden down with all my stuff means I get very hot and uncomfortable by the time I arrive at work. There isn't a shower which makes it difficult to want to walk in and spend the day feeling disgusting.
So, on the bright side and to finish, walking to work in cold weather is good. Sort of.
Tuesday 26 February 2013
Monday 25 February 2013
Where your donations go
I'm training to run Bristol 10K for the Cancer Treatment and Research Trust but it's probably not terribly clear what they do.
As I explained in a previous post, the department at Charing Cross Hospital (CXH) monitor women post molar pregnancy and treat them should the condition develop into cancer.
I'll explain the first stage of monitoring, or follow up.
Once a woman has been diagnosed she is followed up with fortnightly blood and urine tests. You are sent a cardboard test kit which looks like this:
It's very slim and fits through a standard letter box. They thoughtfully come in unmarked brown enveloples. Of course, you very quickly know what's come through the door.
This is what they contain:
Two aliquot tubes marked with your name, date of birth and tumour reference number and what they should contain; a plastic bag, and an information sheet. This is what you fill out with details such as your telephone number, date of last menstrual period and any changes to your GP or address. Every other week you have to send them your urine and blood. Of course, this involves a visit each time to a blood clinic or GP's phlebotomist. I became very friendly with the practice nurse!
The samples are then sent to Charing Cross Hospital to be tested on their super-duper HCG testing machine. Four days after your samples are posted from the local lab, you can telephone for your results. Each test, you are looking for your HCG count to have gone down. Preferably by a huge amount, but any amount is fine as long as it's down.
These is my schedule of results:
16 Jan 408672 - day of the evacuation. These levels are nearly double those of a normal pregnancy.
1 Feb 1334 - from the local GP
9 Feb 672 - first test from CXH
22 Feb 297
7 Mar 492 - A rise
19 Mar 116
5 Apr 99
19 Apr 74
2 May 36
16 May 2 - WOW! - normal is under 5
Each one of those dates represents a cardboard box. Counting up the six monthly tests I had after my results came to normal equals 16 boxes. The postal cost for each box is about £6 so in total I cost the department £96, let's round that up to £100. I'll need to check how many women are "on the books" at any one time but I think it's a few hundred per year. It soon adds. up. I'd like to help ease that pressure.
However, the main project that we're fundraising for is the research.
Once a molar pregnancy is diagnosed, unless there are clear signs shortly after diagnosis (heavy and persistant bleeding, HCG levels continuing to rise after evacuation) no one can tell whether the tumour will develop into a chroricarcinoma - a cancer requiring treatment.
If you look at my levels above, you'll see that on 7 March 2012 the result from that day showed that my levels had risen. If levels rise twice or stay the same twice, this means the tumour requires chemotherapy treatment at Charing Cross. There was no way of knowing if this was needed. I just had to wait until the next test to see what was going on. Women who have had a molar pregnancy become very good at waiting.
As there is currently no way of knowing whether a tumour will develop into cancer, it really is just waiting to see what happens with the HCG levels and any other symptoms. This is a desperately difficult time, with no possibility for the patient to do anything that will resolve the problem. There is no medication, no activity, no nothing that anyone can take or do to reduce the molar tissue. It's excruciating. The research that the Cancer Treatment and Research Trust at Charing Cross hope to develop a test at the point of diagnosis that will tell us whether a tumour require treatment at that point, not weeks or months into follow-up. It will make such a difference. And mean fewer cardboard boxes.
As I explained in a previous post, the department at Charing Cross Hospital (CXH) monitor women post molar pregnancy and treat them should the condition develop into cancer.
I'll explain the first stage of monitoring, or follow up.
Once a woman has been diagnosed she is followed up with fortnightly blood and urine tests. You are sent a cardboard test kit which looks like this:
It's very slim and fits through a standard letter box. They thoughtfully come in unmarked brown enveloples. Of course, you very quickly know what's come through the door.
This is what they contain:
Two aliquot tubes marked with your name, date of birth and tumour reference number and what they should contain; a plastic bag, and an information sheet. This is what you fill out with details such as your telephone number, date of last menstrual period and any changes to your GP or address. Every other week you have to send them your urine and blood. Of course, this involves a visit each time to a blood clinic or GP's phlebotomist. I became very friendly with the practice nurse!
The samples are then sent to Charing Cross Hospital to be tested on their super-duper HCG testing machine. Four days after your samples are posted from the local lab, you can telephone for your results. Each test, you are looking for your HCG count to have gone down. Preferably by a huge amount, but any amount is fine as long as it's down.
These is my schedule of results:
16 Jan 408672 - day of the evacuation. These levels are nearly double those of a normal pregnancy.
1 Feb 1334 - from the local GP
9 Feb 672 - first test from CXH
22 Feb 297
7 Mar 492 - A rise
19 Mar 116
5 Apr 99
19 Apr 74
2 May 36
16 May 2 - WOW! - normal is under 5
Each one of those dates represents a cardboard box. Counting up the six monthly tests I had after my results came to normal equals 16 boxes. The postal cost for each box is about £6 so in total I cost the department £96, let's round that up to £100. I'll need to check how many women are "on the books" at any one time but I think it's a few hundred per year. It soon adds. up. I'd like to help ease that pressure.
However, the main project that we're fundraising for is the research.
Once a molar pregnancy is diagnosed, unless there are clear signs shortly after diagnosis (heavy and persistant bleeding, HCG levels continuing to rise after evacuation) no one can tell whether the tumour will develop into a chroricarcinoma - a cancer requiring treatment.
If you look at my levels above, you'll see that on 7 March 2012 the result from that day showed that my levels had risen. If levels rise twice or stay the same twice, this means the tumour requires chemotherapy treatment at Charing Cross. There was no way of knowing if this was needed. I just had to wait until the next test to see what was going on. Women who have had a molar pregnancy become very good at waiting.
As there is currently no way of knowing whether a tumour will develop into cancer, it really is just waiting to see what happens with the HCG levels and any other symptoms. This is a desperately difficult time, with no possibility for the patient to do anything that will resolve the problem. There is no medication, no activity, no nothing that anyone can take or do to reduce the molar tissue. It's excruciating. The research that the Cancer Treatment and Research Trust at Charing Cross hope to develop a test at the point of diagnosis that will tell us whether a tumour require treatment at that point, not weeks or months into follow-up. It will make such a difference. And mean fewer cardboard boxes.
Panicking Part II and Calming Down
The 10K I'm running is organised by Run Bristol who also organise the half marathon here and other running events during the year. Well, I assume, I've never done this before!
They do a monthly email newsletter and this month's email pinged into my inbox first thing today. The main topic was the training plans. Hurrah, I thought, how timely. I was freaking out at 1:30 this morning because I've not run for so long. Excellent, a training plan will help calm me down.
I opened up the page, and selected "Beginners". The first run is an "easy 20 mins". WTF?! Panic panic panic, all over again.
Very fortunately for me a very experienced colleague who runs was standing right by my desk. I told her I was freaking out a bit and she reassured me that she's never followed a plan and just trains as she sees fit and there is nothing wrong with run-walk-run on the day. Nothing at all. The whole point of the run is to finish and enjoy the journey of getting there, not to give myself a hard time for not meeting a somewhat arbitrary standard. Life gets in the way sometimes. I know that!
So, thank you to my lovely colleague for calming me down and tomorrow I'm going to restart 5K training and see how I get on with Day 1, Week 1 which is walking for two minutes, walking for one minute times ten.
It's probably going to be very boring, I do find 45 minutes very long, particularly when the music on the MP3s isn't terribly inspiring, but needs must. The better I do, the sooner I can run with my own tunes, eh?
They do a monthly email newsletter and this month's email pinged into my inbox first thing today. The main topic was the training plans. Hurrah, I thought, how timely. I was freaking out at 1:30 this morning because I've not run for so long. Excellent, a training plan will help calm me down.
I opened up the page, and selected "Beginners". The first run is an "easy 20 mins". WTF?! Panic panic panic, all over again.
Very fortunately for me a very experienced colleague who runs was standing right by my desk. I told her I was freaking out a bit and she reassured me that she's never followed a plan and just trains as she sees fit and there is nothing wrong with run-walk-run on the day. Nothing at all. The whole point of the run is to finish and enjoy the journey of getting there, not to give myself a hard time for not meeting a somewhat arbitrary standard. Life gets in the way sometimes. I know that!
So, thank you to my lovely colleague for calming me down and tomorrow I'm going to restart 5K training and see how I get on with Day 1, Week 1 which is walking for two minutes, walking for one minute times ten.
It's probably going to be very boring, I do find 45 minutes very long, particularly when the music on the MP3s isn't terribly inspiring, but needs must. The better I do, the sooner I can run with my own tunes, eh?
Sunday 24 February 2013
Two weeks down and beginning to panic
I tried to go to bed about an hour and a half ago but I couldn't sleep. Working out how many training weeks there are until the big run and how I'm going to get fit enough to do it. I've now lost two weeks to that bloody cold/cough/sore throat/chest infection and I'm not happy at about it at all. Freaking out as to how I'm going to catch back up to where I was, let alone get to where I wanted to be at this point.
It's usually better for me to make a plan, write it down, share it and then sleep will come.
So, here's the plan.
I'm going to run three times a week until the big day. I am going to try to stay as healthy as possible in this time. This means getting out of the office every day at lunch time and taking every opportunity possible to keep my work space ventilated and keeping germs at bay. I will use my alcohol hand gel at every opportunity.
I'm going to take a few half days at work and go on a few long bike rides. I really hope that now it's Spring the weather will warm up enough for me to do this. When I started riding in the winter a few years ago I just couldn't ride when the weather was below 10C as it made my hands too cold. But, I found during previous attempts to run 5K that long bike rides really helped with my general fitness and endurance and isn't as tiring or painful as running. A few weekly trips down the bike path will help.
I need to get a lot more serious about looking after myself and how I spend my time. I'm going to be going to Bristol Women's Literature Festival on March 16 and 17 and once that's completed I will and I must focus entirely on this run. No late nights out, no weekends sitting around not doing anything. I can't say the cold and snow this weekend has made me want to go out and run, but I'm better now so I'm going to have to grit my teeth and get back out there. Rain or shine.
I'm going to do exercise DVDs that help with cardio and conditioning but nothing that'll take me out of action for any length of time. I lost a week to squats last month - that can't happen again. I've got optimise this time as it's running out and I want to finish the run, hit my fundraising targets and not let anyone down.
Time to crack on and crack down.
It's usually better for me to make a plan, write it down, share it and then sleep will come.
So, here's the plan.
I'm going to run three times a week until the big day. I am going to try to stay as healthy as possible in this time. This means getting out of the office every day at lunch time and taking every opportunity possible to keep my work space ventilated and keeping germs at bay. I will use my alcohol hand gel at every opportunity.
I'm going to take a few half days at work and go on a few long bike rides. I really hope that now it's Spring the weather will warm up enough for me to do this. When I started riding in the winter a few years ago I just couldn't ride when the weather was below 10C as it made my hands too cold. But, I found during previous attempts to run 5K that long bike rides really helped with my general fitness and endurance and isn't as tiring or painful as running. A few weekly trips down the bike path will help.
I need to get a lot more serious about looking after myself and how I spend my time. I'm going to be going to Bristol Women's Literature Festival on March 16 and 17 and once that's completed I will and I must focus entirely on this run. No late nights out, no weekends sitting around not doing anything. I can't say the cold and snow this weekend has made me want to go out and run, but I'm better now so I'm going to have to grit my teeth and get back out there. Rain or shine.
I'm going to do exercise DVDs that help with cardio and conditioning but nothing that'll take me out of action for any length of time. I lost a week to squats last month - that can't happen again. I've got optimise this time as it's running out and I want to finish the run, hit my fundraising targets and not let anyone down.
Time to crack on and crack down.
Sunday 17 February 2013
Lost week
Unfortunately, there's not much to say this week as I haven't been very well.
I hadn't really taken it terribly seriously but I'd had a dry cough for a few days. On Tuesday I woke up in the early hours with a *very* sore throat. It was about two hours before I had to get up for a run and I was making lemsip and heading back to bed with it. My breathing felt quite restricted and I couldn't imagine heading out in 3C temperatures in that sort of state.
I felt even worse on Wednesday but I felt I had to get to work as finish off some tasks. I took Thursday and Friday off and although I'm not totally recovered, I'm feeling better although still slightly short of breath, tire easily and have the dry cough.
I'm trying not to let it stress me out but I am quite worried about the loss of an entire week on my training plan, plus the fact that it's not as if I'm going to be able to go out tomorrow and restart 5K training. I'm not even sure what to do to start again as this breathlessness is no fun and I don't want to make it worse, particularly in this cold weather...any suggestions very welcome.
As my walk to work takes about 45 minutes, I'm going to try to walk in at least twice this week in order to get used to that length of time outside again. It's been warmer the last few days so I hope that continues as cold air is not my friend right now. Then perhaps some pilates and maybe a workout DVD to get back into cardio stuff. This does feel like a setback, but I'm used to them, I just hope I keep getting better from now.
I hadn't really taken it terribly seriously but I'd had a dry cough for a few days. On Tuesday I woke up in the early hours with a *very* sore throat. It was about two hours before I had to get up for a run and I was making lemsip and heading back to bed with it. My breathing felt quite restricted and I couldn't imagine heading out in 3C temperatures in that sort of state.
I felt even worse on Wednesday but I felt I had to get to work as finish off some tasks. I took Thursday and Friday off and although I'm not totally recovered, I'm feeling better although still slightly short of breath, tire easily and have the dry cough.
I'm trying not to let it stress me out but I am quite worried about the loss of an entire week on my training plan, plus the fact that it's not as if I'm going to be able to go out tomorrow and restart 5K training. I'm not even sure what to do to start again as this breathlessness is no fun and I don't want to make it worse, particularly in this cold weather...any suggestions very welcome.
As my walk to work takes about 45 minutes, I'm going to try to walk in at least twice this week in order to get used to that length of time outside again. It's been warmer the last few days so I hope that continues as cold air is not my friend right now. Then perhaps some pilates and maybe a workout DVD to get back into cardio stuff. This does feel like a setback, but I'm used to them, I just hope I keep getting better from now.
Monday 11 February 2013
Sunday 10 February 2013
Moving goalposts and knowing your limits
Today I decided I'd aim for a "long run". For me, at the beginning of increasing my distance and endurance, this meant running for 12 minutes non-stop. The 5K training involves quite a lot of starting and stopping and I felt pretty down about it all after Friday.
About five minutes into the run today I said to my partner, "I'm crap at running, I can't do it." He told me to just keep going. I reminded myself of times during my recovery where I just didn't want to do another day of feeling sad, of being in pain, of having to just do this day in my life. But I didn't have a choice. I had to grind on through the difficulties and hope the next day was better. So I thought about grinding through the run, just keeping going and keeping moving. And I did it, I completed a 12 min non-stop run. Go me!
Then my partner suggested running another five minutes. Why not, I thought. Except, I just could not do it. My legs were tired, I was tired. It wasn't happening and I just walked the rest of the way home.
I was feeling pretty crap about myself on that short walk back. I couldn't keep going for just five minutes more, how useless was I?
But the point wasn't that five minutes. The point was that I'd gone out to run 12 minutes and I had done it. I should've been pleased with that. I'd met my goal for the day. That should have been enough, why move the goalposts? It's not fair when people do it at work, or in life, so why do it to myself? I knew I'd find 12 minutes tough but it was achievable. Another five on top? Not so much.
So I cheered up. I know what my limits are. I've got to keep pushing on, but equally, feeling crap about myself for my not managing more than I actually can at any point during this training won't help either. I am finding this 5K training hard, but I know that if I put the work in now, it will get easier.
About five minutes into the run today I said to my partner, "I'm crap at running, I can't do it." He told me to just keep going. I reminded myself of times during my recovery where I just didn't want to do another day of feeling sad, of being in pain, of having to just do this day in my life. But I didn't have a choice. I had to grind on through the difficulties and hope the next day was better. So I thought about grinding through the run, just keeping going and keeping moving. And I did it, I completed a 12 min non-stop run. Go me!
Then my partner suggested running another five minutes. Why not, I thought. Except, I just could not do it. My legs were tired, I was tired. It wasn't happening and I just walked the rest of the way home.
I was feeling pretty crap about myself on that short walk back. I couldn't keep going for just five minutes more, how useless was I?
But the point wasn't that five minutes. The point was that I'd gone out to run 12 minutes and I had done it. I should've been pleased with that. I'd met my goal for the day. That should have been enough, why move the goalposts? It's not fair when people do it at work, or in life, so why do it to myself? I knew I'd find 12 minutes tough but it was achievable. Another five on top? Not so much.
So I cheered up. I know what my limits are. I've got to keep pushing on, but equally, feeling crap about myself for my not managing more than I actually can at any point during this training won't help either. I am finding this 5K training hard, but I know that if I put the work in now, it will get easier.
Saturday 9 February 2013
Who I am fundraising for and why
So, The Cancer Treatment and Research Trust. This the charity I am fundraising for and a charity very close to my heart. On 14 January 2012 I was diagnosed with a complete molar pregnancy and that is where the story begins.
If you Google The Cancer Treatment and Research Trust you get to this site. However, the section I am fundraising for specifically is not on that site. This site is the research trust I'm talking about.
There is a very small department at Charing Cross hospital called the Hmole-Chorio department. This is where they research and treat something called Gestational Trophoblastic Disease. This is also known as hydatidiform mole or molar pregnancy. This is a very rare complication of pregnancy and the site I've just linked to will give you better information about molar pregnancy.
In short, an egg is fertilised but the process goes wrong and the placenta part of the pregnancy, the trophoblast, grows very quickly but no foetus grows, or a foetus with very wrong DNA is formed. This is called the hydatidiform mole and it is a type of tumour. This grows very quickly and produces a lot of HCG hormone, the hormone that gives you a positive pregnancy test, producing all the common symptoms of a pregnancy, but with no foetus there. Women who have a molar pregnancy often have extreme symptoms of pregnancy including sickness and tiredness due to very high HCG levels. Very sadly, this is often only discovered at ultrasound scan and the "products of conception" must be evacuated surgically.
After the evacuation, women should be referred to one of three regional centres for follow-up. Charing Cross Hospital is the largest centre and a world leader in this area of research. The others are in Sheffield and Dundee. Follow-up involves taking fortnightly samples of a woman's blood and urine to ensure that her HCG levels are dropping. The molar tissue can take some time to die away and the HCG, the hormone that the tumour produces, should drop accordingly. This is the first stage of follow-up. If the HCG hormone level stays the same or rises consistently for two weeks, or there are other problems during follow-up, this means a choriocarcinoma has formed and treatment must then begin.
A choriocarcinoma is a type of cancer which needs to be treated with chemotherapy. This happens in about 10% of cases of molar pregnancy. Luckily, it is 100% curable but the cancer can be very difficult to get rid of.
Once the molar tissue is gone, whether naturally or with treatment, there is further monthly follow-up testing only the woman's urine to ensure that the molar tissue is entirely gone. Throughout all follow-up, it is advised that women do not get pregnant again as any remaining molar tissue can affect a new pregnancy, starting the process again.
Unfortunately, at present, there is no way of knowing, once a molar pregnancy is diagnosed, whether or not it will cause cancer. All that can be done is to be tested and wait and see what happens. This can be agonising and emotionally draining for many weeks and months.
The research that I am fundraising for aims to change this. The team at Charing Cross are hoping to develop a test that will find out whether a mole is persistent or not at the point of diagnosis, saving women and their families potentially months of worry and heartbreak waiting for results. It would have made such a difference in the difficult time after my diagnosis to know that after everything I had been through - miscarriage, surgery, recovery - that I was lucky, I did not need treatment. It would have been fantastic if it hadn't taken four months to learn that and I hope that very soon the research will be done which means that other women won't have to go through that horrible wait.
If you Google The Cancer Treatment and Research Trust you get to this site. However, the section I am fundraising for specifically is not on that site. This site is the research trust I'm talking about.
There is a very small department at Charing Cross hospital called the Hmole-Chorio department. This is where they research and treat something called Gestational Trophoblastic Disease. This is also known as hydatidiform mole or molar pregnancy. This is a very rare complication of pregnancy and the site I've just linked to will give you better information about molar pregnancy.
In short, an egg is fertilised but the process goes wrong and the placenta part of the pregnancy, the trophoblast, grows very quickly but no foetus grows, or a foetus with very wrong DNA is formed. This is called the hydatidiform mole and it is a type of tumour. This grows very quickly and produces a lot of HCG hormone, the hormone that gives you a positive pregnancy test, producing all the common symptoms of a pregnancy, but with no foetus there. Women who have a molar pregnancy often have extreme symptoms of pregnancy including sickness and tiredness due to very high HCG levels. Very sadly, this is often only discovered at ultrasound scan and the "products of conception" must be evacuated surgically.
After the evacuation, women should be referred to one of three regional centres for follow-up. Charing Cross Hospital is the largest centre and a world leader in this area of research. The others are in Sheffield and Dundee. Follow-up involves taking fortnightly samples of a woman's blood and urine to ensure that her HCG levels are dropping. The molar tissue can take some time to die away and the HCG, the hormone that the tumour produces, should drop accordingly. This is the first stage of follow-up. If the HCG hormone level stays the same or rises consistently for two weeks, or there are other problems during follow-up, this means a choriocarcinoma has formed and treatment must then begin.
A choriocarcinoma is a type of cancer which needs to be treated with chemotherapy. This happens in about 10% of cases of molar pregnancy. Luckily, it is 100% curable but the cancer can be very difficult to get rid of.
Once the molar tissue is gone, whether naturally or with treatment, there is further monthly follow-up testing only the woman's urine to ensure that the molar tissue is entirely gone. Throughout all follow-up, it is advised that women do not get pregnant again as any remaining molar tissue can affect a new pregnancy, starting the process again.
Unfortunately, at present, there is no way of knowing, once a molar pregnancy is diagnosed, whether or not it will cause cancer. All that can be done is to be tested and wait and see what happens. This can be agonising and emotionally draining for many weeks and months.
The research that I am fundraising for aims to change this. The team at Charing Cross are hoping to develop a test that will find out whether a mole is persistent or not at the point of diagnosis, saving women and their families potentially months of worry and heartbreak waiting for results. It would have made such a difference in the difficult time after my diagnosis to know that after everything I had been through - miscarriage, surgery, recovery - that I was lucky, I did not need treatment. It would have been fantastic if it hadn't taken four months to learn that and I hope that very soon the research will be done which means that other women won't have to go through that horrible wait.
Friday 8 February 2013
More mistakes, more learning
Maybe soon I'll be able to post something that puts some of these lessons I'm learning into place? This has been a hard week on the running front.
On Sunday I did a workout DVD but still managed to run on Monday. It was a rubbish run and I posted about that. My legs felt worse as the day progressed and on Tuesday I was still having to brace on either side of a flight of stairs to go down. So, no run on Wednesday. My legs were feeling better and I went for a swim with my friend Misey. That was good. I did get a bit tired, particularly across my shoulders, but it wasn't like I had to get out of the pool and we had a good time. Looking forward to the next time. Thursday, my knee was hurting! Why?! But it worked its way out during the day. I didn't do anything much, so that was another rest day.
Today I ran and realised...5K training is DOUBLE the mile training. I stupidly skipped week 1, thinking that I could start at week 2. Running for two minutes then walking for 1 minute can't be that hard, can it? Yes, yes it can! Just being out of the house for 40 minutes takes a bit of getting used to. Halfway through the workout I'm thinking "yep, feeling good, time to go home now." I'm used to doing 20 minutes. It's quite a shock when Justin tells me I'm halfway through. That means I have to do what I've just done, all over again. And I'm pooped! Nightmare. I also ran at the bottom of the hill today. It's purely residential and I went out a bit late, so it was rush hour and there were loads of cars zooming around and schoolkids making their way in. Not the most inspiring of places to try to get into this further distance. It was cold, and it's actually quite hilly there - well, any incline counts as a hill at this point!
So, not the best of weeks. But I know what I need to do...keep going! I've already had some sponsorship and I can't let these people down and I can't let the charity down. I do feel quite tired and that I hate running and I'm crap at it. But I never thought I'd be able to run one mile, and I did. So, Sunday, I'll be back out there. Wish me luck.
On Sunday I did a workout DVD but still managed to run on Monday. It was a rubbish run and I posted about that. My legs felt worse as the day progressed and on Tuesday I was still having to brace on either side of a flight of stairs to go down. So, no run on Wednesday. My legs were feeling better and I went for a swim with my friend Misey. That was good. I did get a bit tired, particularly across my shoulders, but it wasn't like I had to get out of the pool and we had a good time. Looking forward to the next time. Thursday, my knee was hurting! Why?! But it worked its way out during the day. I didn't do anything much, so that was another rest day.
Today I ran and realised...5K training is DOUBLE the mile training. I stupidly skipped week 1, thinking that I could start at week 2. Running for two minutes then walking for 1 minute can't be that hard, can it? Yes, yes it can! Just being out of the house for 40 minutes takes a bit of getting used to. Halfway through the workout I'm thinking "yep, feeling good, time to go home now." I'm used to doing 20 minutes. It's quite a shock when Justin tells me I'm halfway through. That means I have to do what I've just done, all over again. And I'm pooped! Nightmare. I also ran at the bottom of the hill today. It's purely residential and I went out a bit late, so it was rush hour and there were loads of cars zooming around and schoolkids making their way in. Not the most inspiring of places to try to get into this further distance. It was cold, and it's actually quite hilly there - well, any incline counts as a hill at this point!
So, not the best of weeks. But I know what I need to do...keep going! I've already had some sponsorship and I can't let these people down and I can't let the charity down. I do feel quite tired and that I hate running and I'm crap at it. But I never thought I'd be able to run one mile, and I did. So, Sunday, I'll be back out there. Wish me luck.
Monday 4 February 2013
5K training
I started 5K training today. It *should* have been pretty good. However, I did a workout DVD yesterday which broke me a little and the run was hard hard hard! It was run x 2mins then walk x 1 mins for ten goes. Quite a lot of running, and clearly building in a bit of stamina there. But my poor quads were knackered after doing lots of squats and lunges the day before. My legs just couldn't manage it.
I'm going to take a rest day tomorrow, and then I'll be running again on Wednesday and very probably a swim, which I'm looking forward to. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be enough time to manage to fit in all the running and conditioning I know I need to do but I hope that this first proper session of strength training will be the hardest and my body will recover better after future training.
The other problem with today was that with the 5K training you're moving for half an hour and you can go pretty far in half an hour! We ran round a park a few times, and up and down some residential streets. That route isn't going to work for future runs, for sure! I'm going to take a look at a map and see what looks good. It's a balancing act as it's very hilly around here, with lots of main roads, and a bit of a grid system. Combine all that and you've got a run that's harder going up, and hard on the knees going down hills, horrible traffic fumes to contend with and lots of slowing down to turn corners. Not really ideal for me, I'm dreaming of a long, straight, flat path in a park! But, you have to work with what you've got so we'll work something out. Trial and error is the name of the game.
I'm going to take a rest day tomorrow, and then I'll be running again on Wednesday and very probably a swim, which I'm looking forward to. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be enough time to manage to fit in all the running and conditioning I know I need to do but I hope that this first proper session of strength training will be the hardest and my body will recover better after future training.
The other problem with today was that with the 5K training you're moving for half an hour and you can go pretty far in half an hour! We ran round a park a few times, and up and down some residential streets. That route isn't going to work for future runs, for sure! I'm going to take a look at a map and see what looks good. It's a balancing act as it's very hilly around here, with lots of main roads, and a bit of a grid system. Combine all that and you've got a run that's harder going up, and hard on the knees going down hills, horrible traffic fumes to contend with and lots of slowing down to turn corners. Not really ideal for me, I'm dreaming of a long, straight, flat path in a park! But, you have to work with what you've got so we'll work something out. Trial and error is the name of the game.
Saturday 2 February 2013
Some things I have learned this week
I think I posted after my Tuesday run this week. I was really pleased that I'd got out there and completed the run after a couple of weeks off.
However.
In my excitement to blog I didn't drink enough water or eat anything. The result being that I was sick and felt pretty rough for an hour or so there.
I prefer running in the morning as once I've done a day at work, the last thing I feel like doing is anything, and running is definitely "anything". (That said, I've arranged to go for a swim with a friend this week which I am really looking forward to.) I find it a lot easier to fit in my runs if I get up a bit earlier, get out the door and then it's done for the day and I'm not dreading having to go out once I'm home. Because I go first thing, I haven't tended to eat anything before going out. Mistake #1.
Once I got back, I focussed on stretching, and drinking some water, and I didn't feel hungry. I just drank a cup of black tea and did a few things before getting ready for work. Mistake #2.
I really hate being sick, particularly if it's completely avoidable. So, the last two runs I've made sure I've eaten. I had just a banana before on Thursday, and today I had an apple and a brazil nut. I was fine. Once I got back I made sure I drank plenty of water while stretching and had some bacon, for protein after. I've been fine and I definitely need to make sure I'm putting fuel in my tank in future.
To get some further advice I bought this introduction to running by CJ Hitz and read half avidly on Thursday evening. It's a really accessible, straightforward read about getting into running, with sections on nutrition, when to eat and so on. Some of the other sections have gone a bit over my head right now, but I hope it will be a good reference book that I can keep returning too.
Another purchase this week was Women's Running Magazine. I was mainly attracted by the "moves to protect your knees" and I wasn't disappointed. I haven't read it entirely, as I like to dip in and out of magazines, but after some home circuit training on Wednesday night, I'm looking forward to giving those moves a go. Finally, I felt, at the the beginning that I'd want to "reward" myself with little treat as I met my milestones. I do like shopping, particularly clothes and make-up, and had my eye on some interesting products for the one mile point. But having bought quite a lot of things this week, the urge has left me. Cheesy as it may sound, I think completing the run is reward enough, for today, at least. Must be the endorphins...
However.
In my excitement to blog I didn't drink enough water or eat anything. The result being that I was sick and felt pretty rough for an hour or so there.
I prefer running in the morning as once I've done a day at work, the last thing I feel like doing is anything, and running is definitely "anything". (That said, I've arranged to go for a swim with a friend this week which I am really looking forward to.) I find it a lot easier to fit in my runs if I get up a bit earlier, get out the door and then it's done for the day and I'm not dreading having to go out once I'm home. Because I go first thing, I haven't tended to eat anything before going out. Mistake #1.
Once I got back, I focussed on stretching, and drinking some water, and I didn't feel hungry. I just drank a cup of black tea and did a few things before getting ready for work. Mistake #2.
I really hate being sick, particularly if it's completely avoidable. So, the last two runs I've made sure I've eaten. I had just a banana before on Thursday, and today I had an apple and a brazil nut. I was fine. Once I got back I made sure I drank plenty of water while stretching and had some bacon, for protein after. I've been fine and I definitely need to make sure I'm putting fuel in my tank in future.
To get some further advice I bought this introduction to running by CJ Hitz and read half avidly on Thursday evening. It's a really accessible, straightforward read about getting into running, with sections on nutrition, when to eat and so on. Some of the other sections have gone a bit over my head right now, but I hope it will be a good reference book that I can keep returning too.
Another purchase this week was Women's Running Magazine. I was mainly attracted by the "moves to protect your knees" and I wasn't disappointed. I haven't read it entirely, as I like to dip in and out of magazines, but after some home circuit training on Wednesday night, I'm looking forward to giving those moves a go. Finally, I felt, at the the beginning that I'd want to "reward" myself with little treat as I met my milestones. I do like shopping, particularly clothes and make-up, and had my eye on some interesting products for the one mile point. But having bought quite a lot of things this week, the urge has left me. Cheesy as it may sound, I think completing the run is reward enough, for today, at least. Must be the endorphins...
1 mile!
This has been a good week! I've done my three runs and today was the cherry on the icing on the cake - I ran my first full mile.
It was a lovely day for it
I ran in Victoria Park, which is in South Bristol. I thought it might be easier than running on the road, no cars and so on. That was actually a huge mistake as after some of the rainfall, a section of the path was completely submerged in water and the grass surrounding it too. I was in "must go forward" zone so paddled through instead of turning around. Silly.
Maybe I'll take up cross country next year? Unlikely!
It felt so great to finish this section of my training. I'll start 5K training next week. I'm using the Personal Running Trainer MP3s which are really great, I highly recommend them for the walk-run-walk training. It's so much easier listening than staring at your watch trying to work out when you've walked or run for a minute.
It was a lovely day for it
I ran in Victoria Park, which is in South Bristol. I thought it might be easier than running on the road, no cars and so on. That was actually a huge mistake as after some of the rainfall, a section of the path was completely submerged in water and the grass surrounding it too. I was in "must go forward" zone so paddled through instead of turning around. Silly.
Maybe I'll take up cross country next year? Unlikely!
It felt so great to finish this section of my training. I'll start 5K training next week. I'm using the Personal Running Trainer MP3s which are really great, I highly recommend them for the walk-run-walk training. It's so much easier listening than staring at your watch trying to work out when you've walked or run for a minute.
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