. . . Now where was I?
Aaaahhhhh yes, running round the village in tights, feeling ever so slightly self concious!.
Now it would appear, despite my descriptions Jan had vastly overestimated the speed of the lope because as I said 'go' she shot off and was half way to the pond before I had reached the end of the track. I wasn't particularly worried, I had been 'marathon training' for some weeks longer than she had so I smiled a knowing kind of smile to myself and thought, she's gone too fast, she'll regret it later on.
Realising I wasn't behind her she turned around and ran back to me,
'is this the lope?' she asked
'yes' I said 'this is it'.
'you don't speed up at all?' she asked, like she thought there must be a second gear.
'no' I said 'this is it'
'ok' she said, the reality of just what we were dealing with setting in now.
'you shouldn't start too quickly anyway' I said like I was Haile Gebrselassie running mate
'No' she called as she started to pull away again
I continued to plod along at my usual pace as Jan trotted off on her toes like a thoroughbred pony in a dressage competition, she would go so far and then bounce about on the spot like Mohamed Ali on speed while she waited for me to catch up. At times she ran back and attempted to lope with me for a few paces before pulling away again, other times she walked alongside me, still managing to keep up and told me that she actually found it easier to go faster!. I got to the end of the Mall where she had stopped (I've broken her I thought) 'we'll go up and down again' I panted (again smiling inwardly) 'ok' she yelled behind her as she shot off again on her toes up the hill. On the way down on her third or fourth trip back for me she started flapping her arms up and down telling me it helped geese to get off the ground, it really didn't help me and it wasn't - at the time - particularly funny either.
We made it home and I think reality struck for both of us. Jan was aiming for sub-4hrs (which I think means under 4 hours?) I was aiming at anything ahead of the dustcart's, we were either going to have to work out a compromise or all our 'crossing the finish line' training we had done Christmas night was going to go to waste because we wouldn't be finishing together!
Yesterday before Jan left for home we went out again, I recited over and over 'it's easier to go faster, it's easier to go faster' . . . it wasn't, I just got out of breathe quicker and had to walk a couple of times in order to breathe. On our return we held a meeting on the patio and it was decided that my cardio vascular system needs a great deal more training. This I now realise is where the 'fartlek' training comes in. It's all about doing short bursts flat out and this is what increases your capacity to train, meaning you are building each time you go out to go further, faster and recovering more quickly - at least I think that's what it does???.
So, I'm here on my own now, contemplating a little bit of 'Fartlek' for the afternoon but I feel I've left it a little late, all I want to do is put something daft on the TV and curl up in front of it but I know I can't do that, I must get out there. Next week Jan will be doing 'bootcamp' 3 mornings a week which means she will get fitter and stronger and probably go even faster. I can't afford bootcamp and the only personal trainer I have is called 'google' so I have to work harder and for longer. I really don't know about sub-4 but I am determined now to run this thing and not lope it!!!!!.
Running for health, happiness and a good laugh whatever your age, size or fitness level
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Christmas with the Kanharn's
Many years ago I used to have a dream about Christmas, I guess it's very similar to the dreams that millions of us have, pick any of the Christmas adverts which involves family and you're more or less there, the big house, farmhouse kitchen, huge Christmas tree that doesn't take over the room, spare bedrooms with matching bedding for all our guests, a never ending stream of home-cooked delights perfectly prepared in all my spare time leading up to the big day, a table that everyone can fit round on proper 'matching' chairs to eat a perfectly cooked Christmas dinner with carefully chosen wine, using 'matching' china, glasses and cutlery. A new little designer number to go with the perfectly wrapped 'tiny' gifts - I'm sure you've all been there and for some of you possibly the dream came true. For us, at least, materially, we are still waiting. That's not to say I am not grateful for what we have, we have a huge amount more than many, many people and we have each other and that just about aces everything else and besides that where would be the fun?
In Contrast . . .
Our Christmas started with 48 hours of 'cramming' the house had to be sorted from top to bottom, bedding (not matching) had to be organised and weeks of cooking was 'built' in just a few hours, the result being a reasonably successful Christmas trifle and a pavlova that looked like a scene from casualty! I spent an hour or so playing the fridge game trying to fit everything in alongside the 2, yes 2 turkey's (another 'online' mishap!) while Andrew played the airbed game, inflating one after the other and lining the walls of the hall and landing until it resembled the inside of a padded cell . . . . I would imagine, I've never actually been in one - !!!.
For the first year ever we cut out the middle man, Andrew drank the whiskey, oddly I wasn't in the mood for a carrot so I had a couple of celebrations and we cleared away the glass and the papers before we went to bed assuming no one was in the least bit fooled any more by the empty glass and carrot stalks in the morning - oh, how I hung on to that one!. Once in bed we waited for the keys in the door before finally wishing each other a Happy Christmas and going to sleep.
We were both up before the kids and had to coax them out of bed in order that timings could be adhered to, they arrived in various states of hang over and we opened the presents which is always fun and was made even more fun this year by a little idea that Madi had some time ago. She decided to buy us each an animal 'onesy' so ten minutes in we were all opening our presents in a variety of animal suits which was funny but took on a whole different perspective when an hour later I was a little cross that Andrew was sitting reading a book while I was running around the house and I, dressed as a penguin was doing the 'I'm dashing about like an idiot while you're sat reading and there's so much to do' bit to Andrew who was dressed as the devil complete with tail and horns!!!!. I discovered that cross penguins do look a little ridiculous and people just laugh at you!. Goodness only knows what the neighbours must have thought when he went to collect mum and dad and his mum still in his devil suit. I think it will take some time to forget the picture of him walking up the garden path, car keys in hand with his tail swinging from side to side - I just can't stay cross with him for very long!.
Anyway, following the arrival of Jan (marathon partner) and nephew Jack the day became ever more chaotic. Dinner in fairness, was ok but as always, quite late, somehow we all got round the table but once again, as we all struggled to sit down, the wonderful Peter Kay and his 'emergency chairs' sketch popped into my head. After dinner there was the 'tree present' pantomime followed by an attempt at a few games though we had a slight problem getting the Tesco 'blue stripe' jam to stick the marshmallows to our noses - don't even go there!!!!. Then there was the highlight of the entire day - those lucky enough to have a bed to go to disappeared like first class 'titanic' passengers and left us, in second class to grab an airbed, a bedding pack and fight each other for a space to lay it out. As usual Andrew and I got the one with the leak and were slowly eaten during the course of the night so that when we woke in the morning we were rather more in the airbed than on it. Getting up from said airbed is possibly the most excitement we have experienced in a bed for several years leading to much laughter and screaming which in turn led to a lot of 'Sssshhhhhhh' 'shut up' & 'do you minds' from those in first class. Eventually I managed to extract myself from the clutches of the airbed and crawl out into the landing which was the only place I had to go. I went back to attempt to rescue Andrew who without my weight next to him was at risk of being completely devoured, he had already hit the floor and was disappearing beneath layers of rubber . After a lot more pulling, pushing, laughing, screaming and hushing from first class we managed to surf down the stairs where we were able to re-construct our spines ready for day 2!
After breakfast I changed into my new 'running tights' complete with high vis stripes, my new running 'vest' and a fairly reasonable hat in preparation for my first run with my marathon mate. Now to be honest, after several weeks of training on my part I was fairly confident that I was some ways ahead . . . after a quick warm up we set off - it's now well past midnight so the next bit will have to be continued later, but I promise, it will be worth the wait.
To be continued . . . . .
In Contrast . . .
Our Christmas started with 48 hours of 'cramming' the house had to be sorted from top to bottom, bedding (not matching) had to be organised and weeks of cooking was 'built' in just a few hours, the result being a reasonably successful Christmas trifle and a pavlova that looked like a scene from casualty! I spent an hour or so playing the fridge game trying to fit everything in alongside the 2, yes 2 turkey's (another 'online' mishap!) while Andrew played the airbed game, inflating one after the other and lining the walls of the hall and landing until it resembled the inside of a padded cell . . . . I would imagine, I've never actually been in one - !!!.
For the first year ever we cut out the middle man, Andrew drank the whiskey, oddly I wasn't in the mood for a carrot so I had a couple of celebrations and we cleared away the glass and the papers before we went to bed assuming no one was in the least bit fooled any more by the empty glass and carrot stalks in the morning - oh, how I hung on to that one!. Once in bed we waited for the keys in the door before finally wishing each other a Happy Christmas and going to sleep.
We were both up before the kids and had to coax them out of bed in order that timings could be adhered to, they arrived in various states of hang over and we opened the presents which is always fun and was made even more fun this year by a little idea that Madi had some time ago. She decided to buy us each an animal 'onesy' so ten minutes in we were all opening our presents in a variety of animal suits which was funny but took on a whole different perspective when an hour later I was a little cross that Andrew was sitting reading a book while I was running around the house and I, dressed as a penguin was doing the 'I'm dashing about like an idiot while you're sat reading and there's so much to do' bit to Andrew who was dressed as the devil complete with tail and horns!!!!. I discovered that cross penguins do look a little ridiculous and people just laugh at you!. Goodness only knows what the neighbours must have thought when he went to collect mum and dad and his mum still in his devil suit. I think it will take some time to forget the picture of him walking up the garden path, car keys in hand with his tail swinging from side to side - I just can't stay cross with him for very long!.
Anyway, following the arrival of Jan (marathon partner) and nephew Jack the day became ever more chaotic. Dinner in fairness, was ok but as always, quite late, somehow we all got round the table but once again, as we all struggled to sit down, the wonderful Peter Kay and his 'emergency chairs' sketch popped into my head. After dinner there was the 'tree present' pantomime followed by an attempt at a few games though we had a slight problem getting the Tesco 'blue stripe' jam to stick the marshmallows to our noses - don't even go there!!!!. Then there was the highlight of the entire day - those lucky enough to have a bed to go to disappeared like first class 'titanic' passengers and left us, in second class to grab an airbed, a bedding pack and fight each other for a space to lay it out. As usual Andrew and I got the one with the leak and were slowly eaten during the course of the night so that when we woke in the morning we were rather more in the airbed than on it. Getting up from said airbed is possibly the most excitement we have experienced in a bed for several years leading to much laughter and screaming which in turn led to a lot of 'Sssshhhhhhh' 'shut up' & 'do you minds' from those in first class. Eventually I managed to extract myself from the clutches of the airbed and crawl out into the landing which was the only place I had to go. I went back to attempt to rescue Andrew who without my weight next to him was at risk of being completely devoured, he had already hit the floor and was disappearing beneath layers of rubber . After a lot more pulling, pushing, laughing, screaming and hushing from first class we managed to surf down the stairs where we were able to re-construct our spines ready for day 2!
After breakfast I changed into my new 'running tights' complete with high vis stripes, my new running 'vest' and a fairly reasonable hat in preparation for my first run with my marathon mate. Now to be honest, after several weeks of training on my part I was fairly confident that I was some ways ahead . . . after a quick warm up we set off - it's now well past midnight so the next bit will have to be continued later, but I promise, it will be worth the wait.
To be continued . . . . .
Saturday, 24 December 2011
My very own Mr Motivator
Well, I have finally acquired my very own, cut price, Mr Motivator. I've had to adapt my route as his bike has no lights, two flat tyres and it's stuck in first gear so we have to stay well away from traffic and people. I also have to keep a close eye on him as, rather unconventionally, he is usually behind me and his lack of steering, oh and brakes - forgot to mention the brakes - could lead to a very nasty accident!. He offers lots of motivational words of encouragement, at least downhill - uphill he's far too out of breathe!.
Jokes apart, and just 'cause it's Christmas Eve, it's great to have him with me and I appreciate it so much. It's so much easier when I'm not on my own and I have achieved 2 x 30 minutes over the last 2 days. Rest day tomorrow and then it begins in earnest, for the next 4 months this will be my life!!.
Anyway, it is Christmas Eve, just me and Mr Motivator sat watching TV, all the kids are out, very tired but it will be the early hours before I get to sleep, I used to think when the children were little and woke us up in the early hours that there would be a time when I wouldn't see 4 am on Christmas morning but as your kids get older you just see it from the other end, counting the keys in the door and then just to make doubly sure, sneaking downstairs to count the shoes, 3 pairs - IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! and I say a little prayer to whoever it is that deemed that little old me should get to another Christmas with everything that is truly important in this world 'intact'. I hope that everyone who reads this blog has got to this point intact, happy and healthy.
Jokes apart, and just 'cause it's Christmas Eve, it's great to have him with me and I appreciate it so much. It's so much easier when I'm not on my own and I have achieved 2 x 30 minutes over the last 2 days. Rest day tomorrow and then it begins in earnest, for the next 4 months this will be my life!!.
Anyway, it is Christmas Eve, just me and Mr Motivator sat watching TV, all the kids are out, very tired but it will be the early hours before I get to sleep, I used to think when the children were little and woke us up in the early hours that there would be a time when I wouldn't see 4 am on Christmas morning but as your kids get older you just see it from the other end, counting the keys in the door and then just to make doubly sure, sneaking downstairs to count the shoes, 3 pairs - IT'S CHRISTMAS!!! and I say a little prayer to whoever it is that deemed that little old me should get to another Christmas with everything that is truly important in this world 'intact'. I hope that everyone who reads this blog has got to this point intact, happy and healthy.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Monday, 19 December 2011
Positive Thoughts
Ok, I started the day on a positive, my resting heart rate was 'excellent' - obviously good at resting, not too much practice needed there then. Felt a little more energetic this morning and although we only did 25 minutes I felt we upped the pace ever so slightly. My heart rate at the end of this 25 minutes was in the 'good' zone . . . just!
I'm trying to train myself to think positive thoughts while I run, this morning I was just 'loving' the refreshingly icy water that was peppering my face, and when I got the hop, skip and jumps around the large puddles wrong and landed square in the middle of one causing a tidal wave of freezing mud to soak my jogging bottoms I thought 'where in the world would you rather be?' I think I have to accept that the brain training is just as important as all the other training, believing it's possible, having the confidence to believe that I, me . . . who can't really do very much very well, can and will do this, the rest is just effort, commitment and time. What was it Henry Ford said
I'm trying to train myself to think positive thoughts while I run, this morning I was just 'loving' the refreshingly icy water that was peppering my face, and when I got the hop, skip and jumps around the large puddles wrong and landed square in the middle of one causing a tidal wave of freezing mud to soak my jogging bottoms I thought 'where in the world would you rather be?' I think I have to accept that the brain training is just as important as all the other training, believing it's possible, having the confidence to believe that I, me . . . who can't really do very much very well, can and will do this, the rest is just effort, commitment and time. What was it Henry Ford said
'Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right'
Sunday, 18 December 2011
This is more complicated than I thought?
This marathon running is really weird - you can never consider that just because you have achieved a particular time or so many miles, you have it in the bag!. On Monday and then again on Wednesday I managed 50 minutes, since then though I have struggled with 20 minutes. The weather has definitely 'turned' and suddenly I'm dealing with 'wind chill' - I think I have discovered where that daft thing your mum used to say when you pulled a silly face, came from - you know the one, 'the wind will change and you'll get stuck like that', because when you run and it's icy cold, your body does warm up but your face freezes! I only notice it when I pass a dog walker and I attempt to smile and it comes out as an odd kind of grimace!.
Anyway, along with wind chill the roads have been a bit slippy, on Friday there was snow, I have a mountain of washing that I can't do until I can get the wet stuff dry, a dryer that just won't work fast enough, another mountain of ironing, a house to clean, presents to wrap, cards still to write, a christmas dinner to give at least 5 minutes thought to - oh and work - until Thursday. The knee is beginning to niggle ever so slightly again and I don't feel great, nothing I can really put my finger on, just a tiny bit shattered - but these are all excuses and I really don't have time for excuses.
I have, over the weeks given this training a great deal of thought and come to the conclusion that whilst on one level it is quite simple, as I have mentioned previously, it's just a case of putting one foot in front of the other constantly over a distance of just over 26 miles at a pace just above a fast walk. But when you begin to look deeper it is so much more than this. You have to be able to control your breathing over this time, I think they call this 'cardio vascular' training. You have to build your muscles up so they are capable of carrying you round, not sure what they call this?. You need to put the right type and quantity of fuel inside your body to assist you getting round, diet. Hopefully too you will arrive at the start feeling healthy, well and without injury - then of course there's Will!. The skill is making all of these things come together at the same time, if one element is missing then it all goes very wrong, very quickly as I seem to find out frequently.
I have done a bit more investigating online regarding diet, the amount of veg and fruit you are supposed to eat is really quite scary, in order to get it all in I think I shall have to start putting veg on my cereal. Anyway, the diet, the cardio vascular thingy, the muscles are all things I know how to do something about, it's the 'will' that I seem to have no control over. I guess if you can afford a personal coach then you are effectively buying a certain amount of 'will' to run along beside you but I can't afford to buy any 'will' so I somehow have to summon it all for myself and that's hard when your ears are frozen, your knee hurts and you're ever so slightly scared of the large dog coming towards you off it's lead!.
I have decided that over the next week or so I am just going to keep myself ticking over, if I can do 20 - 25 minutes a day that will be fine. I have discovered yet another training programme that actually explains why you're doing what you're doing. It's by breakthrough, it also tells you how to test your fitness levels by measuring your resting heart rate and then again when you've exercised. It's over 16 weeks so starts on 2.1.12. Over the next week and a bit I'm going to find Will, somehow, I have to start 2012 with Will by my side!.
Anyway, along with wind chill the roads have been a bit slippy, on Friday there was snow, I have a mountain of washing that I can't do until I can get the wet stuff dry, a dryer that just won't work fast enough, another mountain of ironing, a house to clean, presents to wrap, cards still to write, a christmas dinner to give at least 5 minutes thought to - oh and work - until Thursday. The knee is beginning to niggle ever so slightly again and I don't feel great, nothing I can really put my finger on, just a tiny bit shattered - but these are all excuses and I really don't have time for excuses.
I have, over the weeks given this training a great deal of thought and come to the conclusion that whilst on one level it is quite simple, as I have mentioned previously, it's just a case of putting one foot in front of the other constantly over a distance of just over 26 miles at a pace just above a fast walk. But when you begin to look deeper it is so much more than this. You have to be able to control your breathing over this time, I think they call this 'cardio vascular' training. You have to build your muscles up so they are capable of carrying you round, not sure what they call this?. You need to put the right type and quantity of fuel inside your body to assist you getting round, diet. Hopefully too you will arrive at the start feeling healthy, well and without injury - then of course there's Will!. The skill is making all of these things come together at the same time, if one element is missing then it all goes very wrong, very quickly as I seem to find out frequently.
I have done a bit more investigating online regarding diet, the amount of veg and fruit you are supposed to eat is really quite scary, in order to get it all in I think I shall have to start putting veg on my cereal. Anyway, the diet, the cardio vascular thingy, the muscles are all things I know how to do something about, it's the 'will' that I seem to have no control over. I guess if you can afford a personal coach then you are effectively buying a certain amount of 'will' to run along beside you but I can't afford to buy any 'will' so I somehow have to summon it all for myself and that's hard when your ears are frozen, your knee hurts and you're ever so slightly scared of the large dog coming towards you off it's lead!.
I have decided that over the next week or so I am just going to keep myself ticking over, if I can do 20 - 25 minutes a day that will be fine. I have discovered yet another training programme that actually explains why you're doing what you're doing. It's by breakthrough, it also tells you how to test your fitness levels by measuring your resting heart rate and then again when you've exercised. It's over 16 weeks so starts on 2.1.12. Over the next week and a bit I'm going to find Will, somehow, I have to start 2012 with Will by my side!.
Monday, 12 December 2011
A Good, Good Day
Yes, finally, I actually believe that I can achieve this. I am aiming high for the end of the week so I need to push hard and today I did 49 minutes and 15 seconds - why not 50 minutes I hear you ask, that's because I got to the front door and had no where left to run, but that's ok, I'm going forward and although I was totally shattered I felt there was more there.
Tomorrow is an enforced rest day, there just aren't enough hours in the day to fit everything in so Wednesday will be another push, who knows I might just crack the hour which will be huge. When I think that just 8 weeks ago I was struggling to lope for 30 seconds!.
Just what is involved in that iron man thing????????.......
Tomorrow is an enforced rest day, there just aren't enough hours in the day to fit everything in so Wednesday will be another push, who knows I might just crack the hour which will be huge. When I think that just 8 weeks ago I was struggling to lope for 30 seconds!.
Just what is involved in that iron man thing????????.......
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Thank you
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. If you can I would be so grateful if you could support Isabel Hospice. You can sponsor me at:
www.virginmoneygiving.com/VivienneKanharn
Thank you
Word of advice for any mothers of teenage daughter's . . .
. . . Never, Never, Never - under any circumstances . . . borrow their shoes!.
To be fair, I had borrowed these particular shoes before but there wasn't a great deal of walking involved when I wore them previously. I chose them last night because they were the highest I could lay my hands on and I felt that each inch might make my 'big legs' appear smaller. I have to say (and I may as well, no-one else did) I looked ok when I teetered out of the Hotel room and down to reception where I learned - to my horror - that the venue was 'only a five minute walk away' and with that the couple in the know (and in the sensible shoes) took off with Andrew trying to stay in visual contact and me trying to stay in . . . well in grabbing contact!.
The walk was ever so slightly, uphill and pavements are not. as I learned - flat. They slope towards the road and then, just as you've got you're balance sorted they change and slope the other way. When you think you've mastered the paving stones Birmingham has placed these areas covered in raised rocks, then there are the pedestrian crossings with little green men who have clearly never worn heels and wait 'till you hit the middle of the road before turning red!
Now Birmingham holds a German market at this time of year which, in wellies is quite festive!. This market is obviously open later than the shops because crowds of people were still leaving the city centre armed with bags of shopping, as we hit the 'cobbled streets' where the market is held, my ankles, simultaneously gave way and my legs came to a very abrupt stop unfortunately/fortunately, I don't know, I guess it could have been worse but I was still holding onto Andrew's arm and he, in an effort to keep the sensible shoe brigade in sight was still moving forward - I'm sure you can visualize where this left me! the worst of this was the looks I was getting from the Christmas shoppers, I could feel them thinking 'fancy being in that state so early' as hard as I tried, at the speed we were going I just couldn't get the shoes back under the soles of my feet - I must have looked like bambi on ice and the fact that Andrew arrived with 2 sleeves attached to his jacket was a miracle!.
When we finally reached the hotel we were directed to the wrong bar, which was just as well because I fell through the door. The 'right' bar was still fairly empty and Andrew was able to position me in the corner while he went to get a drink, I don't often drink but I decided that as I had the appearance of a drunk I may as well have a couple!. Thankfully it wasn't long before we went in to eat and I was able to sit down and restore a little dignity. Of course the inevitable eventually happened and I had to pay a visit to the ladies, for this I was on my own and staggered across the wide open space like a circus tightrope walker. When I got back Andrew said one of the daftest things I have ever heard him say 'shall we dance' - dance! - I couldn't stand. He wasn't taking no and I was pulled up, dragged to the middle of the dance floor and balanced there like a stack of jenga bricks fairly close the end of the game. I figured that if I kept both feet on the floor, bounced and moved my arms I was probably giving the illusion that I was dancing. So long as I took no knocks from anyone else on the floor and Andrew stayed within falling distance I would be ok.
Of course, we had to get home - did I mention we arrived unhill! . . . quite! it was also ever so slightly icy underfoot, I felt as though I was going downhill, on ice with a pair of syrup tins loosely tied to my feet, I could see my marathon hopes fading fast as I hobbled along. Now there was a lot of work going on over night in the city centre with workmen and cranes all over the place and at one stage we were stopped while a crane lifted a large concrete block over the pavement. This was just long enough for a small crowd to gather behind us giving the added feeling of 'holding people up' not only that, but I could again feel the disapproving looks 'a woman of her age' 'how could she' . . . it was at this stage and within sight of the hotel, that I rather lost it. I threw my handbag at Andrew, hopped about a lot while I tried to extract my swollen feet from these shoes and ranted: 'next time you intend starting a bleep night out with a bleep cross country trek maybe you could let me bleeping well know and I'll wear my bleep hiking boots - once a year, once a bleeping year we go out and I wear something other than jeans and we are so bleep poor we can't even run to a bleep taxi' 'Thank you' I smiled to the doorman who opened the door for me!
When I got back to the room I actually sat and analysed the shoes just to check I wasn't wearing the inside out or upside down! I think in future I will be going for comfort - my days of 4 inch heels are well and truly over.
Anyway, that was my annual 'big night out' which, forgetting the shoes was actually a good night, stayed in a nice hotel, 'do' was in a nice hotel, meal was lovely, people were friendly and it did make a change to get a bit dressed up, but now it's serious, according to fb Jan did an 'easy' 40 minutes (don't you just hate that - good in a headband and 40 minutes is 'easy') took a rest day today but next Sunday I'm aiming high, so lots of work to do this week.
To be fair, I had borrowed these particular shoes before but there wasn't a great deal of walking involved when I wore them previously. I chose them last night because they were the highest I could lay my hands on and I felt that each inch might make my 'big legs' appear smaller. I have to say (and I may as well, no-one else did) I looked ok when I teetered out of the Hotel room and down to reception where I learned - to my horror - that the venue was 'only a five minute walk away' and with that the couple in the know (and in the sensible shoes) took off with Andrew trying to stay in visual contact and me trying to stay in . . . well in grabbing contact!.
The walk was ever so slightly, uphill and pavements are not. as I learned - flat. They slope towards the road and then, just as you've got you're balance sorted they change and slope the other way. When you think you've mastered the paving stones Birmingham has placed these areas covered in raised rocks, then there are the pedestrian crossings with little green men who have clearly never worn heels and wait 'till you hit the middle of the road before turning red!
Now Birmingham holds a German market at this time of year which, in wellies is quite festive!. This market is obviously open later than the shops because crowds of people were still leaving the city centre armed with bags of shopping, as we hit the 'cobbled streets' where the market is held, my ankles, simultaneously gave way and my legs came to a very abrupt stop unfortunately/fortunately, I don't know, I guess it could have been worse but I was still holding onto Andrew's arm and he, in an effort to keep the sensible shoe brigade in sight was still moving forward - I'm sure you can visualize where this left me! the worst of this was the looks I was getting from the Christmas shoppers, I could feel them thinking 'fancy being in that state so early' as hard as I tried, at the speed we were going I just couldn't get the shoes back under the soles of my feet - I must have looked like bambi on ice and the fact that Andrew arrived with 2 sleeves attached to his jacket was a miracle!.
When we finally reached the hotel we were directed to the wrong bar, which was just as well because I fell through the door. The 'right' bar was still fairly empty and Andrew was able to position me in the corner while he went to get a drink, I don't often drink but I decided that as I had the appearance of a drunk I may as well have a couple!. Thankfully it wasn't long before we went in to eat and I was able to sit down and restore a little dignity. Of course the inevitable eventually happened and I had to pay a visit to the ladies, for this I was on my own and staggered across the wide open space like a circus tightrope walker. When I got back Andrew said one of the daftest things I have ever heard him say 'shall we dance' - dance! - I couldn't stand. He wasn't taking no and I was pulled up, dragged to the middle of the dance floor and balanced there like a stack of jenga bricks fairly close the end of the game. I figured that if I kept both feet on the floor, bounced and moved my arms I was probably giving the illusion that I was dancing. So long as I took no knocks from anyone else on the floor and Andrew stayed within falling distance I would be ok.
Of course, we had to get home - did I mention we arrived unhill! . . . quite! it was also ever so slightly icy underfoot, I felt as though I was going downhill, on ice with a pair of syrup tins loosely tied to my feet, I could see my marathon hopes fading fast as I hobbled along. Now there was a lot of work going on over night in the city centre with workmen and cranes all over the place and at one stage we were stopped while a crane lifted a large concrete block over the pavement. This was just long enough for a small crowd to gather behind us giving the added feeling of 'holding people up' not only that, but I could again feel the disapproving looks 'a woman of her age' 'how could she' . . . it was at this stage and within sight of the hotel, that I rather lost it. I threw my handbag at Andrew, hopped about a lot while I tried to extract my swollen feet from these shoes and ranted: 'next time you intend starting a bleep night out with a bleep cross country trek maybe you could let me bleeping well know and I'll wear my bleep hiking boots - once a year, once a bleeping year we go out and I wear something other than jeans and we are so bleep poor we can't even run to a bleep taxi' 'Thank you' I smiled to the doorman who opened the door for me!
When I got back to the room I actually sat and analysed the shoes just to check I wasn't wearing the inside out or upside down! I think in future I will be going for comfort - my days of 4 inch heels are well and truly over.
Anyway, that was my annual 'big night out' which, forgetting the shoes was actually a good night, stayed in a nice hotel, 'do' was in a nice hotel, meal was lovely, people were friendly and it did make a change to get a bit dressed up, but now it's serious, according to fb Jan did an 'easy' 40 minutes (don't you just hate that - good in a headband and 40 minutes is 'easy') took a rest day today but next Sunday I'm aiming high, so lots of work to do this week.
Ran out of time . . .
Had to dash off yesterday but before I went I did manage another 40 minutes so that was 80 minutes in under 24 hours. There will be no more backwards steps!
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Going forwards again . . . about time!
Well, despite the cold, the wind, the puddles and the fact that I was on my own I finally achieved 40 minutes, which puts me back to where I was before the blood incident. I think I'm officially 3 weeks behind schedule, but at least I'm going in the right direction again.
I did hear from two people this week who really pushed me forward, the first was a person I work with who is also doing the marathon next year, but she was a bit of a runner anyway. She gave me some really useful advice that I put into practice yesterday and it helped. We are also going to meet up and run together but she's already up to 10 miles so I need to catch up a bit.
The second was my sister Jan (wears a headband well) she now has a place in the marathon running for one of the cancer charities. She also does a bit of running and gym visiting so once again - a bit of catching up to do. I won't now look like 'Billy no mates' on the day and hopefully we can get each other round.
So, this morning . . . intake of fuel! - another 40 minute run (I can do it), 20 sit-ups (last minute cramming for the little black dress), weekends housework crammed into 2 hours, shower, packing and in the car by 1 pm for trip to Birmingham - where's my fairy godmother when I need her???
I did hear from two people this week who really pushed me forward, the first was a person I work with who is also doing the marathon next year, but she was a bit of a runner anyway. She gave me some really useful advice that I put into practice yesterday and it helped. We are also going to meet up and run together but she's already up to 10 miles so I need to catch up a bit.
The second was my sister Jan (wears a headband well) she now has a place in the marathon running for one of the cancer charities. She also does a bit of running and gym visiting so once again - a bit of catching up to do. I won't now look like 'Billy no mates' on the day and hopefully we can get each other round.
So, this morning . . . intake of fuel! - another 40 minute run (I can do it), 20 sit-ups (last minute cramming for the little black dress), weekends housework crammed into 2 hours, shower, packing and in the car by 1 pm for trip to Birmingham - where's my fairy godmother when I need her???
Thursday, 8 December 2011
And to think I could be singing . . .
I think I have mentioned before that I belong to a choir, well when I say choir that possibly gives slightly the wrong idea, 'singing group' might be a better description. I have watched and fallen in love with the wonderful Gareth Malone since he first appeared on our TV screens and longed for the opportunity to join a group of people who get together to sing under the supervision of a talented and inspirational 'choir master' so in January of this year when a friend told me about Discord - I was there.
Following the previous year which had been personally sad and financially disastrous I went along on the first night a rather morose, bitter old bag and for the first time in months I laughed until I ached which was a relatively new experience. We are incredibly lucky in our own 'Gareth' - Michael Dann who is, not only talented but week after week arrives with a laugh and a joke and turns each 'sing-a-long' into a party. Over the weeks, in my head, I have starred in musicals, I've won x-factor, sung at Wembley and entertained Royalty. Singularly, I still can't sing but I sound absolutely amazing when I'm being dragged along by another 40 odd people, the majority of whom can at the very least 'hold a tune' I come away with my heart lifted and each week Gareth's message that singing is good for the soul rings ever truer. I believe singing should be available on prescription, it should form the basis of every political parties manifesto and every office, factory, school etc. should start the day with a song!!
I can however categorically confirm that if it was not your destiny to sing then no amount of practice will improve the noise you make. I have put this to the test every week since I started. I sing along with everyone else thinking 'God, I'm good' - we leave, I drop off the two friends I go with and as I turn onto the main road I go for it, whatever we were singing last I belt out my very own 'a cappella' version because each week I believe I've turned into Leona Lewis and every week I'm gutted to discover I still sound like the worst of the x-factor rejects.
This Saturday will be the first meeting of the 4 different Discord groups, they will come together, nearly 100 of them, in a little concert along with 5 ladies who really can sing, the Merely Divas. they will be singing loads of Christmas songs and it will sound incredible - and me, well I will be squeezed into a very snug little black dress wishing that I didn't have quite such 'big legs' and wishing that I was there borrowing their combined voices to kid myself I can sing.
To anyone from Discord who reads this, I wish you lots of luck, but you won't need it because it will sound amazing, so have lots of fun, enjoy!
Viv xx
Following the previous year which had been personally sad and financially disastrous I went along on the first night a rather morose, bitter old bag and for the first time in months I laughed until I ached which was a relatively new experience. We are incredibly lucky in our own 'Gareth' - Michael Dann who is, not only talented but week after week arrives with a laugh and a joke and turns each 'sing-a-long' into a party. Over the weeks, in my head, I have starred in musicals, I've won x-factor, sung at Wembley and entertained Royalty. Singularly, I still can't sing but I sound absolutely amazing when I'm being dragged along by another 40 odd people, the majority of whom can at the very least 'hold a tune' I come away with my heart lifted and each week Gareth's message that singing is good for the soul rings ever truer. I believe singing should be available on prescription, it should form the basis of every political parties manifesto and every office, factory, school etc. should start the day with a song!!
I can however categorically confirm that if it was not your destiny to sing then no amount of practice will improve the noise you make. I have put this to the test every week since I started. I sing along with everyone else thinking 'God, I'm good' - we leave, I drop off the two friends I go with and as I turn onto the main road I go for it, whatever we were singing last I belt out my very own 'a cappella' version because each week I believe I've turned into Leona Lewis and every week I'm gutted to discover I still sound like the worst of the x-factor rejects.
This Saturday will be the first meeting of the 4 different Discord groups, they will come together, nearly 100 of them, in a little concert along with 5 ladies who really can sing, the Merely Divas. they will be singing loads of Christmas songs and it will sound incredible - and me, well I will be squeezed into a very snug little black dress wishing that I didn't have quite such 'big legs' and wishing that I was there borrowing their combined voices to kid myself I can sing.
To anyone from Discord who reads this, I wish you lots of luck, but you won't need it because it will sound amazing, so have lots of fun, enjoy!
Viv xx
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
A Little Black Dress
It has to be said, the passion has rather gone out of my marriage, don't get me wrong, I love him to bits but we have become like side by side pairs of cosy old slippers!!!. This Saturday we are off for our 'once a year' night out - I mean we 'visit' throughout the year, we go for the occasional pub lunch and this year, during our summer holiday we went by tube to the theatre and took the park and ride into Cambridge for the day and we went upstairs (on the bus!), which, after years of rationing loo roll was comparable to being whisked off to Paris for the weekend. This Saturday however, is a 'posh frock' affair and that is a very rare event in our calendar. There is a ritual to the buying of the frock, it starts with . . .
'I'm not going to buy a new dress, I won't wear it again' Then we move to:
'I'll wear the same one I wore last year, we can't afford a new one' Then I look online and browse whilst making it clear that I am 'only looking'
eventually I place an order, but only because I've found one that is such a bargain I have to see if it's for real and I can always send it back!. The dress in question arrived but because I was obviously made up from the spare parts of 2 people and my top half bares no relation to my lower half the bottom bit fitted perfectly whilst the top hung off me like a bag of wet washing. I ordered the smaller size but only out of curiosity, it arrived during my lounge lope today (goodness knows what the poor delivery man thought I was up to behind the closed curtains but my bright red face, sweat marks and breathlessness must have led him to some interesting conclusions) anyway, late tonight I felt the time was right to try on the dress. The top was as expected, fine whilst the bottom bit was . . . well, snug! and being snug meant that it ended some ways further up than the larger size. I analysed it from every angle, did that yes it's great - no, it looks completely ridiculous thing, pulled it, pushed it, twisted it down a bit at the bottom and hoisted it up a bit at the top, I held my stomach in as tight as I could and pinned my arms to my sides so that the flabby bits under my arms didn't show and then walked, well, 'moved' downstairs to see what Andrew thought, well when I say to see what he thought, I wanted to see what he thought provided it was positive. I guess my mistake was to enter the room saying 'now I want the truth - really, what do you think' but come on, every man knows that doesn't mean 'tell me what you think' well, not Andrew. I paraded up and down the room thinking 'this is taking a while' his face was worrying now, 'this is taking far too long' eventually he said:
'Maybe it's because I haven't seen your legs for so long' . . . steady
'But I didn't realise, I didn't think . . . I mean, well' . . . 'No, go on, be honest, what do you think' (provided it's you look absolutely gorgeous)
'Well, I didn't realise . . . that - they were so big'
SO BIG????. . . so now I am not only boobless and shapeless but I have big legs!
'You have to remember' I said calmly through gritted teeth 'that I will be wearing heels' cue walking on toes up and down the lounge
'Of course' he said 'Oh that's different again, yes, that looks really good, it's nice . . . suits you'
Oh well that's ok then, 'cause it 'suits me' - soooo looking forward to Saturday night!!!!
'I'm not going to buy a new dress, I won't wear it again' Then we move to:
'I'll wear the same one I wore last year, we can't afford a new one' Then I look online and browse whilst making it clear that I am 'only looking'
eventually I place an order, but only because I've found one that is such a bargain I have to see if it's for real and I can always send it back!. The dress in question arrived but because I was obviously made up from the spare parts of 2 people and my top half bares no relation to my lower half the bottom bit fitted perfectly whilst the top hung off me like a bag of wet washing. I ordered the smaller size but only out of curiosity, it arrived during my lounge lope today (goodness knows what the poor delivery man thought I was up to behind the closed curtains but my bright red face, sweat marks and breathlessness must have led him to some interesting conclusions) anyway, late tonight I felt the time was right to try on the dress. The top was as expected, fine whilst the bottom bit was . . . well, snug! and being snug meant that it ended some ways further up than the larger size. I analysed it from every angle, did that yes it's great - no, it looks completely ridiculous thing, pulled it, pushed it, twisted it down a bit at the bottom and hoisted it up a bit at the top, I held my stomach in as tight as I could and pinned my arms to my sides so that the flabby bits under my arms didn't show and then walked, well, 'moved' downstairs to see what Andrew thought, well when I say to see what he thought, I wanted to see what he thought provided it was positive. I guess my mistake was to enter the room saying 'now I want the truth - really, what do you think' but come on, every man knows that doesn't mean 'tell me what you think' well, not Andrew. I paraded up and down the room thinking 'this is taking a while' his face was worrying now, 'this is taking far too long' eventually he said:
'Maybe it's because I haven't seen your legs for so long' . . . steady
'But I didn't realise, I didn't think . . . I mean, well' . . . 'No, go on, be honest, what do you think' (provided it's you look absolutely gorgeous)
'Well, I didn't realise . . . that - they were so big'
SO BIG????. . . so now I am not only boobless and shapeless but I have big legs!
'You have to remember' I said calmly through gritted teeth 'that I will be wearing heels' cue walking on toes up and down the lounge
'Of course' he said 'Oh that's different again, yes, that looks really good, it's nice . . . suits you'
Oh well that's ok then, 'cause it 'suits me' - soooo looking forward to Saturday night!!!!
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Would you believe it . . . I'm big in Russia!
Well, when I say 'big' what I mean is that over the last few days my Russian audience has been larger than my UK audience!. So I would like to say a very big thank you to everyone who reads this but in particular to the people in Russia, I hope you enjoy what I write and I would love to hear from you, especially if you can offer me any advice - so long as it's not 'don't do it'.
Ok, over the last week and a half there has been a great deal of soul searching, a lot of muttering and shouting at myself, a lot of reading and a lot of . . . walking!!! yes, not gone too well but after the blood incident I wasn't really expecting that it would. I've been on the iron tablets, I've discovered proteins and carbs and now I'm filling myself with wholegrain rice, pasta, bread, bagals - and bananas, loads and loads of bananas. My last online shop resulted in the purchase of 48 bananas and a miniature birthday cake between 8 of us for my mother in laws 90th birthday. Most weeks there is some sort of problem with my online shop, one week it was bags of castor sugar, another week we were overwhelmed by pork chops. You have to wonder what my 'picker' must of thought while she was piling the trolley with bananas - maybe she thought I was holding a tennis tournament, or I kept monkeys! unfortunately Andrew didn't quite see the funny side when I suggested that we spray them gold and hang them on the Christmas tree, he just couldn't see past the £9.00 I had spent on bananas that totally smashed the shopping budget this week.
Alongside the bananas, the carbs, the protein and the iron every cupboard door in the kitchen is now covered with inspirational words, there are poems, thoughts and sayings. My favourite, and I'm serious now, is one by Mohammad Ali, it goes:
Champions aren't made in gyms.
Champions are made from something they have deep inside them:
A desire, a dream, a vision.
They have to have last minute stamina, they have to be a little faster,
they have to have the skill and the will.
But the will must be stronger than the skill.
With this in mind I have been attempting to take this bloke Will out with me for the last week or so but at the crucial moments he seems to desert me and all I come up with is an ever growing list of excuses. The blood incident has become a huge excuse ... 'I can't do it because I gave blood and the internet says you won't be able to run' dogs, on or off leads are another excuse . . . 'you can't run past a dog, it'll chase you' being on my own - that is a truly pathetic excuse . . . 'I never run as well when I'm on my own' and then this week, the best yet . . . a puddle, yes, you heard right, I stopped because of a puddle. It was a rather large puddle and I could hear a car coming, I thought, for goodness sake Viv's you're a runner go through it, would Paula Radcliffe stop? - unfortunately though, and I just couldn't stop it, this picture of Dawn French in the Vicar of Dibley came into my head, when she playfully jumped in a puddle infront of this chap she was madly in love with and ended up neck deep in mud! I had to stop and wait until the car past before I could navigate my way around it and then I shouted at my legs 'RUN' - 'you've stopped now' they replied. 'MOVE' - 'not a chance' they said 'you can't stop and start at the drop of a hat'. Where for goodness sake was Will??
I have though changed my training programme, greatest respect to the marathon's programme, I'm sure they know what they are doing but it works in minutes and I wanted to have some idea of how far I was running, after all, the marathon is a distance race. I go so slowly that when I eventually try to run a distance it could be a dreadful disappointment. So now we are regularly going out to run 3 miles and on Sunday we did 4 - although we didn't run a great deal of it = failure, we are doing longer distances week by week = success, so it does feel as though we are moving forwards, we do also try to walk quite fast, infact my coach is convinced I walk faster than I lope?? Yesterday however, we did walk more than we ran which was really annoying my coach so I decided to do a bit of lounge loping on my rest day today in an effort to catch up. I loped for 40 minutes which is roughly the time it took us to walk/lope the 3 miles, I'm going to do this again tomorrow and then go out again on Thursday, I'm hoping something inside my brain will say 'you can lope for 40 minutes inside and outside is no different so you can do this' I just can't see why it is so different inside.
Hopefully some day soon I shall come across Will while I'm out running and I will begin to toughen up a bit and stop wasting time inventing excuses.
If you can, I would be really grateful if you would sponsor me, my very first blog 'To this Point' explains who I am doing this for and why. You can sponsor me at:
www.virginmoneygiving.com/VivienneKanharn
Thank you
Ok, over the last week and a half there has been a great deal of soul searching, a lot of muttering and shouting at myself, a lot of reading and a lot of . . . walking!!! yes, not gone too well but after the blood incident I wasn't really expecting that it would. I've been on the iron tablets, I've discovered proteins and carbs and now I'm filling myself with wholegrain rice, pasta, bread, bagals - and bananas, loads and loads of bananas. My last online shop resulted in the purchase of 48 bananas and a miniature birthday cake between 8 of us for my mother in laws 90th birthday. Most weeks there is some sort of problem with my online shop, one week it was bags of castor sugar, another week we were overwhelmed by pork chops. You have to wonder what my 'picker' must of thought while she was piling the trolley with bananas - maybe she thought I was holding a tennis tournament, or I kept monkeys! unfortunately Andrew didn't quite see the funny side when I suggested that we spray them gold and hang them on the Christmas tree, he just couldn't see past the £9.00 I had spent on bananas that totally smashed the shopping budget this week.
Alongside the bananas, the carbs, the protein and the iron every cupboard door in the kitchen is now covered with inspirational words, there are poems, thoughts and sayings. My favourite, and I'm serious now, is one by Mohammad Ali, it goes:
Champions aren't made in gyms.
Champions are made from something they have deep inside them:
A desire, a dream, a vision.
They have to have last minute stamina, they have to be a little faster,
they have to have the skill and the will.
But the will must be stronger than the skill.
With this in mind I have been attempting to take this bloke Will out with me for the last week or so but at the crucial moments he seems to desert me and all I come up with is an ever growing list of excuses. The blood incident has become a huge excuse ... 'I can't do it because I gave blood and the internet says you won't be able to run' dogs, on or off leads are another excuse . . . 'you can't run past a dog, it'll chase you' being on my own - that is a truly pathetic excuse . . . 'I never run as well when I'm on my own' and then this week, the best yet . . . a puddle, yes, you heard right, I stopped because of a puddle. It was a rather large puddle and I could hear a car coming, I thought, for goodness sake Viv's you're a runner go through it, would Paula Radcliffe stop? - unfortunately though, and I just couldn't stop it, this picture of Dawn French in the Vicar of Dibley came into my head, when she playfully jumped in a puddle infront of this chap she was madly in love with and ended up neck deep in mud! I had to stop and wait until the car past before I could navigate my way around it and then I shouted at my legs 'RUN' - 'you've stopped now' they replied. 'MOVE' - 'not a chance' they said 'you can't stop and start at the drop of a hat'. Where for goodness sake was Will??
I have though changed my training programme, greatest respect to the marathon's programme, I'm sure they know what they are doing but it works in minutes and I wanted to have some idea of how far I was running, after all, the marathon is a distance race. I go so slowly that when I eventually try to run a distance it could be a dreadful disappointment. So now we are regularly going out to run 3 miles and on Sunday we did 4 - although we didn't run a great deal of it = failure, we are doing longer distances week by week = success, so it does feel as though we are moving forwards, we do also try to walk quite fast, infact my coach is convinced I walk faster than I lope?? Yesterday however, we did walk more than we ran which was really annoying my coach so I decided to do a bit of lounge loping on my rest day today in an effort to catch up. I loped for 40 minutes which is roughly the time it took us to walk/lope the 3 miles, I'm going to do this again tomorrow and then go out again on Thursday, I'm hoping something inside my brain will say 'you can lope for 40 minutes inside and outside is no different so you can do this' I just can't see why it is so different inside.
Hopefully some day soon I shall come across Will while I'm out running and I will begin to toughen up a bit and stop wasting time inventing excuses.
If you can, I would be really grateful if you would sponsor me, my very first blog 'To this Point' explains who I am doing this for and why. You can sponsor me at:
www.virginmoneygiving.com/VivienneKanharn
Thank you
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