Day 71 / 119
2014:
Looking forward to today from yesterday I saw that it was the most unexpected of surprises - A REST DAY!!!!
Absolutely what I needed on week 2 of my Costa Creekmoor holiday so participated in a few glasses of wine last night
The worrying sign is that there were no ill effects this morning - my tolerance levels must be dangerously high
Still, no drinking tonight as I'm building up to the "big one" on Saturday and I need to start curbing my fun a little - no too much though ..... :-)
2011:
Had a bit of late night last night so today I've been feeling a little "sluggish". My foot is showing no signs of real improvement so I switched from running to the x-trainer figuring that there wouldn't be much pounding and so would be better for me. Nope - still hurt way too much. I stopped after 5 minutes and went on to the bike. Managed to get my foot on the pedal in a way so as to not press down on the sore bit and managed to go for 30 minutes. As I sit here typing this, my foot is resting on an ice block and the coldness has so far gone as far as my knee, and just like these blinking cold baths, I just hope it's doing me some good because Saturday's run is going to be unbearable at this rate
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Day 72 / 119
2014:
So we braved it together - more shared wine last night and a treadmill session today.
I had a 30 minute jog to endure and despite my bravado last night that I could do it in my sleep, this was far from easy
I could feel every ounce of fat flubbering all over me as I bounced up and down. Not a baywatch moment though - more like perpetual motion of a jelly under earthquake conditions
I looked awful and felt just as bad
Even my knees were hurting for the first time but I have really only myself to blame
I want to run as smooth as a Rolls Royce but have been using cheap hooch and chip fat as fuel
I just hope there is enough time between now and October for me to undo the ill effects of this marvellous holiday
Start Weight - 84.4 kg
Last week Weight - 80.3 kg
Current Weight - 80.3kg
Weekly Gain - 0.0 kg (I think the scales must be broken)
Overall Loss - 4.1 kg
2011:
Getting up and going to the gym first thing in the morning is tough. We all know that. Getting up and going to the gym first thing in the morning when there's no school, so no-one else in the house has to, or does, get up just isn't fair. I sulked over the injustice of it all throughout the first few weight machines but found that that seemed to keep people away even more than usual so at least I've learned something useful. The session itself went well but my foot is still hurting. I can't believe that I was so worried over my bad back and yet it's a part of my body that has never caused me problems before that seems to be the weak point. Maybe me pounding the pavements carrying the extra stone of blubber has something to do with it. More salads for me I fear....
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Day 73 / 119
2014:
It was a late night last night having watched AFCB heroically lose and then "having" to argue with tweeters who could only see the loss rather than the performance - I had to bow out before I said anything I'd really regret and settled for a 1/2 bottle of concentrated vitamin C.......
This morning it was a fast 3 miles which worked out just under 5k at 11.1 km/h at the gym
The knees moaned again at the beginning and my back was just about to start in with the chorus when the run was all of a sudden over
When did a 30 minute run become easy ?
It's bloody working, isn't it? I've decided to do my big run this Friday to give me a last weekend of drinking and eating crap
If I can keep myself together for this weekend, I may still have a shot at this 4 hour attempt - I still can't quite see it but I've got everything crossed
2011:
You know the old song "The knee bone is connected to the - thigh bone" well it turns out that there's more truth to it than I expected. At the physio this afternoon, I was told that my back injury was causing my hamstring tightness, which in turn was causing the knotted calf muscle, which resulted in my foot hurting. Who'd have thought it - unless it was her subliminal way of suggesting that as everything was so connected that I should try acupuncture - veerrrrry cunning - still not convinced. After work I went to the gym and went up a level on the bike but still didn't sweat too much so not sure if it did me all that much good. The stretching regime that I've now been given seemed to hurt quite a bit so I assume it's working. Big run on Saturday and that's what this week is all about!!!
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Day 74 / 119
2014:
Ok so it's the last few days of my holiday so I decided that I didn't want to throw away my Friday night by preparing for the Saturday run so will now be doing the run on Friday morning
Once that was decided, it was an easy hop, skip and a jump to the decision of making this a rest day
A trip to Swanage didn't stretch me too far and it's bed by 8:30 for tomorrow - wish me luck
2011:
Getting a bit nervous about tomorrow's run. Today was a rest day and a dress down day so had the perfect excuse to wear trainers to give my foot the best chance of recovery. Also gunning down the anti-inflammatories just in case they might help as all the pain looms. Was very pleased with myself as every time we go for a run we go past Asda and the smell of hot-cross buns is so lovely it's not fair - so on the way home remembered (finally) to stop off at Tesco and bought 8 - that's probably enough ;-) - I'm not sharing, though......
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Day 75 / 119
2014:
Today's the day
After 2 solid weeks of punishing my body with a steady cocktail of alcohol and fried food I was asking it to carry me round a 21 mile run
This is the longest run I've done since the training run of 3 years ago as the actual race was somewhat of a disaster
Fully kitted up with water and energy gels I set off at just gone 6 am and was feeling surprisingly buoyant
No-one was around at that time of the morning which was nice but as I completed my first lap of 7.5 miles I encountered several people from work either walking or cycling in and then Eloise on the way to work
I later discovered that she thought I was just about to finish when she saw me, rather than still having 14 miles to go so I must have looked a right state
That first lap I was constantly trying to keep my speed down but soon after that I was fighting to keep UP with the pace
To be fair I was never out of breath and my legs were fine but it was my back that was causing the problems
It felt like the whole of back was fused together and I was running like I'd soiled myself so I decided to run a little quicker which did seem to loosen the back up a little
Before I went to bed last night I watched a programme about how planes filled up while in the air by the tanker letting out a hose that the fighter needed to connect to
I had respect for that at the time but as I was unable to pass a water bottle into a bin whilst running at a snail's pace maybe they had made it look a tad easier than it was
The second 7.5 mile lap was completed with me feeling better that I'd thought but I had made a tactical mistake
The final 6 miles were to consist of 3 x 2 mile Creekmoor laps and I hadn't taken into consideration how disheartening it would be doing the same boring lap time after time
Worse still was that there was a set of builders that I had to run past 3 times at 16, 18 and 20 miles so they had the best view of my demise whilst chuckling as I shuffled by
I didn't have the strength to worry though and just stared at the pavement
The 21 mile marker arrived and I stopped instantly but unlike 3 years ago I was able to walk around Salisbury
shopping and then relax with more alcohol in the evening
2011:
Today is a pivotal day – no question about it! I’ve gone from “a bit nervous about the whole event” to “how the blinking hell am I going to do this”. Training this week has been impaired by my foot hurting but I had no idea the effect was going to be this bad. Two weeks ago, I ran 19 miles slowly and had enough “in the locker” to speed up over the last 2 miles to finish with a decent time. So, this time I thought I’d follow the training plan’s mantra by starting quicker and slowing up which is what normally happens. At 5 miles I was ahead of marathon pace, feeling pretty good. At 12 miles I’d slowed considerably and just finishing was the goal – who cares about the time. At 13 miles I broke my personal trainer as she had started the route exhausted from a week’s decorating, so I was on my own. By 16 miles my only thoughts were that of survival. My legs were like lead, my feet killing me and mileometer on my watch had stopped completely – or so it seemed. A wise man (Karrsey – yes I know it’s difficult to believe but true) said earlier this week that the “wall” that runners face was as much mental as physical. I now know what he means. When the pain starts to kick in, it’s the fact that you still have so far to go that is the killer. True, most people hit it at the 18 – 22 mark when they want to give up, but it starts so much earlier. I must MUST wear an ipod next time because all I had to think of was how much it hurt and how far there was to go. At 18 miles Joss and Hattie were stood at the side of the road with water and cheers and I was really pleased to see them – but just had nothing left in me to do more than smile. The last 3 miles were more torture than was needed as my mind completely went and went the wrong way so the last 2 were spent going uphill. I counted the fractions of the last mile down and finished right in front of a packed bus stop. Embarrassing enough, you might think, but my body had a extra little trick to play. Having stopped, my legs decided “oh good, that’s over” and stopped, literally. So, the chortling audience, who had watched me barely moving coming towards them, saw me stop in front of them, then shuffle away like I had my shoe laces tied together – brilliant!! 21 miles took a shade under 3 hours and 13 minutes, the 1 mile walk home took approximately 40 minutes. In fact I was so long Joss came looking for me, pity I’d reached our road before she drove up to me. Another stretching session and cold bath ensued – to Eloise’s raucous laughter and I’m now walking around like I’ve done something nasty in my pants. Overall – a lovely productive day – bring on the chips and wine!!
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Day 76 / 119
2014:
A rest day full of wining and dining - my back is loosening up and legs hardly hurt at all - feeling pretty chuffed allin all
2011:
If I've learnt anything from yesterday, it's that I've not been taking things seriously enough. I'm carrying a stone too much and eating what I like and drinking each weekend is doing me no favours. So, it is with heavy heart that I cast aside alcohol and rubbish food until the race is complete. So, to give it all a darn good goodbye - it was chips, wine and more wine last night. Awoke feeling a little worse for wear but to be fair I was much better than I deserved. Even my legs only scored a 6 out of 10 on the hurt scale and they have got better as the day progressed. A well deserved training free day today - back to the treadmill tomorrow
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Day 77 / 119
2014:
Yet another rest day due to the fact I did the big run on Friday rather than Saturday - should be on fine form tomorrow when the exercise gets quicker and the food portion size gets reduced - there's no way I can drag this flabby body around Bournemouth so the hard work really starts now
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