Over half way

I'm not going to say that it was hard, I've been writing that since I first went over 10 minutes and it's really getting boring now.

I have to say though that yesterday was a beautiful day and there were odd - very odd, fleeting moments when I began to get this running lark, could this be the 'running bug' I have been expecting since last October?.  We set off just after 11 am both of us fiddling with our music as we went and describing the various aches and pains we get at different stages of our runs.  Eventually we both plugged in and I began the process of 'getting inside myself' this is not something I have made up, it is talked about in my book and I do find it quite helpful.  I got in the swing and was quite amazed to find that I had lost Jan, I was way in front.  It's quite funny how you can hear a commentary in your head and there I was, Paula Radcliffe, pulling away from the rest of the pack.  Unlike Paula I didn't have a camera man on a motorbike relaying pictures of me to the world, I had Andrew on a push bike relaying news on 'the pack' . . . her ipod wasn't working so she had fiddled about with it and eventually had to plug in her phone, but it was ok, she was fine now and coming up behind me - Oh goody!!!!... as she came along side the commentary in my head changed and as she went passed and started pulling away I got back inside myself and got on with the only job in hand - to get round.

It was going well, the sun was shining - no wind - yeah!!!!.  Andrew had his work cut out cycling between the two of us with drinks and making sure he was with Jan at every junction to show her the way.  We finished the main part of the run, some ways apart it has to be said, we then had 2 and 1/2 circuits close to home.  This was the point that Andrew went in 'to put the kettle on' and we had decided before we set out that he would leave our drinks at the end of the front garden for us to grab as we went past.  The first circuit went well and I got half way through the second when I began to feel incredibly sick, as I neared home for the second time a man on a bike spoke to me, what he said was 'you need a bike, it's a lot easier' but it was 'raining men' in my ears and I didn't hear him . . .  I cannot begin to tell you just how much effort is required to remove a pair of earplugs and pick the correct moment to heave 'pardon' when you're running your 13th mile, having got what he said I managed to turn the pain on my face into a sort of smile?????.  I gave up on the music, my arms wouldn't reach my ears any more and fatally I stopped running - but it didn't matter!  The last half circuit was a mixture of walking and loping, my joints seemed to be seizing up one by one and I felt soooo sick.  Finally I got home and staggered up the track at the back of our house around 20 minutes behind Jan.

So began the next part of our day, recovery, this is probably the bit that I wasn't expecting to take quite so long when I set out on this little adventure in October, I thought I would have a quick shower or an ice bath and get out and clean the car, who was I kidding, I never clean the car!.

First there's the cold that sets in within minutes of getting back, it's a different cold to normal, it starts from the inside.  Then we were hungry so Andrew, God love him, made us lunch, but it was a little too soon and the result was less than ideal.  There was a lot of resting, a shower, possibly too hot, an ill timed cup of tea, a bit of sleeping and a lot of not being able to get comfortable no matter what bit of me I laid on.  Jan went home, which I thought was miraculous.  Eventually Andrew did dinner and finally I began to feel a little bit more normal.  Today, walking hasn't been easy but I'm hoping that may be temporary, I feel I need to be able to walk properly before I have to go out and run again.

So, 16 miles next week, so much to look forward to.  I do feel this week that I need to concentrate on eating and drinking more all the time, there just seemed to be nothing left towards the end yesterday.  I'm also going to take plain water with me on a run in future, I've been taking those energy drinks and they are so flavoured, I'm sure that's what makes me feel so sick.  See, so long as there are things to try, changes to make then there is still hope.  A couple of days in the office this week which is a great excuse for 2 days rest from running, hopefully by Wednesday the bones will have re-set themselves again.

BIG MISTAKE!

Just made a very big mistake and clicked on a link sent to me by the marathon, it was like falling into a washing machine on a fast spin.  The first thing I read was . . . .

1 month, 24 days, 14 hours a few minutes and an odd couple of seconds to the start

 PANIC!!!!!.....

There were so many pages and I have so little time that I started reading quickly just picking out what seemed like the relevant bits, there was:

• Registration
• Exhibition
• Running Music
• Motivation
• Pasta
• Coaches
• Loud Speaker announcements
• kit bag
• running number
• Safety pins
• Race Running Shoes
• accommodation
• More Pasta
• Trains
• Buses
• Even More ***** Pasta
• What happens at the start
• Mile markers
• What happens at the finish
• Meeting friends
• Don't use your phone
• Smile at the camera's
• High mile weeks
• Tapering

AAaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!................ I didn't sign up for all of this - 26 miles and a bit is enough, I don't need all the other stuff.  For now I need to concentrate on the 14 miles I intend to run tomorrow and clear my head of all the other stuff.  I will set aside one evening this week to concentrate on all the other bits.

Jan is coming over to run with me tomorrow, it must be really hard to do these long runs completely alone so she's coming here and Andrew will be support to both of us, hopefully there won't be too much space between us for him to cover and it would be very nice if the lovely wind doesn't join us again tomorrow.  I shall let you know how it goes.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me so far.  Thanks to your generosity I have very nearly raised £600.00 which is brilliant and it really does keep me motivated.

If you would like to sponsor me and support this wonderful charity you can do so at:

www.virginmoneygiving.com/VivienneKanharn

You can read why I have chosen to support Isabel Hospice by going back to my 

very first blog 'To this Point' in October last year.

My Marathon PB

So, I finally have a 'Personal Best' time for the marathon . . . . 5 days! yes, I know, but it's a start, something to work on.  Over the last 5 days I have done just over 27 miles the climax of which was 12 and 1/2 yesterday morning.  It was not in the least bit fun, when we left I had no idea there was even a slight breeze blowing but as we reached the highest point it became apparent that we were cycling and jogging into a small hurricane.  There were times when I was doing jogging motions and Andrew was doing cycling motions but neither of us were going anywhere.  I tried the 'Oh hello wind, come join me on my run' but ended up yelling at it '**** off' surely the wind has to be worth a couple of extra miles?.

As Andrew left me 'to put the kettle on' for my last three miles it began to rain too, the soles of my feet were throbbing, the rain was like ice and as I ran up the main road the wind was in my face.  I didn't think it could get much worse but it could . . .

First let me say that I really have nothing against dogs, in fact, if I had the time and the money I would quite like one but, having not grown up with them I am a little wary of them - I don't really understand the signs you see.  It was one of my biggest worries when I started this - that I would become lunch to Roydon's canine community but I must say I have been very impressed by the dogs of Roydon and their very friendly owner's.  Some of them are way beyond well behaved and I have at times been fascinated by just how much control some owner's have over their pets.

I had a little incident about a week ago with an elderly gentleman, a boxer dog and one of those extending leads but he was trying and I really don't think he meant to let the lead slide as I went by and I will be eternally grateful that he found the right button just as the dogs jaws got to within 2 inches from my face!.  Last Sunday though, whilst in the last mile of 11 I met a couple and their rather excited, leadless dog on an icy road.  I stopped ('but it didn't matter') in the hope that they might come across and control it - I was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other, tripping around their dog was way, way beyond me - but no, they just stood and watched as it spun round me.  Eventually they correctly translated my glare and the man strolled over and attempted to get hold of it.

This Saturday I met an elderly lady with one dog on an extending lead that she had absolutely no control over whatsoever - the dog was leading her! and another dog, not on a lead that again, she had no control over, again these were on a road, that cars drive down, again I stopped ('but it didn't matter') in the hope she would see that I wasn't exactly comfortable with the situation, but she stopped too and just shouted at the loose dog who took no notice of her at all, it came over to me and started running around me doing that sniffing thing they do, then I saw her being dragged towards me behind the other one that started leaping at me.  I am really not troubling anyone when I lope/jog/run down the road, I practically run in the ditch to get out of everyone else's way, I go from side to side to get out of the way of people, cars, bikes, dogs and horses, I give way to everything on the road, so why can't people accept that we are not all as happy around their dogs and keep them on a lead unless they are completely in control of them, it's just so selfish - I thought it was the law anyway??.

Rant over . . . . 

More Hats . . .

I have a new one!, it's my birthday hat . . . Andrew bought it for me along with a very sporty little jacket.  I won't tell you what the kids say it makes me look like but it's a very pale pink and fits very snugly apart from a spare bit at the top.  They do appear to build hats with space at the top - they seem to have been designed for people with cone shaped heads or a huge amount of hair that needs storage space.  I guess it's the fashion but needless to say it just looks ridiculous on me!  anyway, it has the desired effect and keeps the earphones in better than the original hat.

I did just over 4 miles today at lunch time and felt a lot better about it, singing last night has definitely shifted the dark clouds that seemed to be forming above my head.  I have another 4 to do tomorrow then on Saturday I'm after 12.  Still an awfully long way to go!

Singing is the key

Well that's better . . . couldn't work out what was going wrong over the past few days, training is on track, I even got passed the 10 miles - I did 11 on Sunday but it was all getting sooooo serious.  Tonight I went back to discord having missed two weeks and had a good sing and the weight has been lifted and I am almost looking forward to my 4 miles at lunch time tomorrow (well, almost!).

I thought I would maybe share a couple of photo's with you.  These were taken on Sunday

Yes, I know . . . I don't take a good photo and long shots are far better than close up's but just how dedicated am I, it was cold, very cold and very icy.

A Rare Good Day

A good day today, a full five miles and a fair bit of it I could have done with ski's to get over the snow and ice.  Felt good though to actually hit the target of my training programme.  A little bit concerned by a niggle in my heal which having spoken to a specialist (google) appears to be a problem with my achilles, back to the ibuprofen and frozen peas I think!.

No work tomorrow because it's Andrew's birthday, quick four miles in the morning then we are off for lunch.  Wish we had more days like these.

Positive Self Talk

I am a marathoner (it's an american book!)
I love to run
I never quit on a run
I love to run hills
I never get tired
I run no matter what the weather is like . . . Uuurrrrhhhhh . . . well, not quite.

Woke up very late this morning to complete silence which living so close to the main road is always very odd and has only happened a few times in the 11 years we've lived here.  Once, the pub up the road had burnt down and the road was closed but more often than not it means snow!.  This morning there was a lot of snow.  Now I hadn't really given snow a lot of thought but probably should have done.  I did a great deal of soul searching, I wondered if I was being really pathetic to stay indoors, this run was a big one - since achieving my first 10 miles some weeks ago I just don't seem to have been able to repeat it and move on from it.

I considered the cold, then there was the wet, running shoes aren't water-proof and within seconds my feet would be soaked.  There was also the risk of breaking something, which would be absolutely the end of any marathon hopes and finally I thought I would be a risk to anyone who had to go out in their car - I would be a hazard they could probably do without.  I came to the conclusion that it would probably be best to stay indoors and do a bit of Nell, it was hardly a 10 mile run but at least I did something.

Now I could really do with this snow disappearing over the next couple of days so that I can get back on track otherwise I shall start tapering before I've peaked!.

An Act of Kindness in a Bleak World

At the start of this week there was a tiny moment that touched me so much.  This has nothing whatever to do with running but I really want to share it with you.

I was in the office again on Monday and I went down to a small room at the back of the public counter to have lunch.  While I was in there reading a friend of mine came in, she sat down and started to open a sandwich, she smiled at me and said 'I had to pop out to get a sandwich 'cause I gave my lunch to a young homeless lad - well' she said 'you'd hope someone would do the same for one of yours wouldn't you' and yes you would though I had, until that moment, very little hope that anyone would.  'There are so many of them Viv' she said.  It was heartbreaking to think that in this day and age there are so many young people living without even the most basic of human needs, a home and something to eat at lunch time, let alone a kind word or a molecule of hope but I was blown away by my friends small act of kindness that must have meant so much to that young lad.

There are an awful lot of very wealthy people who proclaim that they 'understand' because they have visited a deprived area, a failing school or a dying High Street, they spend five minutes in the company of one young person who has 'turned their life around' and then tell us they know about all young people but I doubt they have ever 'understood' one persons lot enough to give them their lunch.  I don't see how this will ever get turned around.

On a slightly different note, I heard this song on the radio today and again was blown away, it seems to fit quite nicely here so I thought I would share it with you.  It is called Don't Cry Alone and has been written to commemorate 100 years since the sinking on the Titanic and it's just beautiful. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0HF2EFJIL8