A big hoorah for Beko!

I've had some fantastic news today.
As you'll know if you've been reading my blog, I've been busy writing letters to ask local and national companies for help with fundraising.
I'm sure you'll all have heard of Beko - they are the largest refrigeration and cooking brand in the UK, and their products have been awarded 'Which' Best Buy on numerous occasions. Beko are letting me choose one of their products (fridge freezer/cooker/washing machine/dishwasher) to use as a raffle prize, and I'm absolutely overwhelmed! I can't thank them enough!
I need to contact Asthma UK for advice as there are lots of rules and regulations governing large raffles and then I will be launching a raffle...with an amazing top prize! This will make such a difference to my fundraising potential over the coming months, and I look forward to being able to add more prizes as time goes on.
Thank you again, Beko!
The other good news today is that I've just cooked one of my top-secret-recipe banana cakes ready to raffle on the Tuesday night at my fundraising candle party. It always tastes better when it's had a couple of days to 'mature', but we don't usually have enough self control to save it that long. For those of you who'll be coming along on Tuesday, don't be surprised if there is a slice or two missing by the time the raffle is drawn!

You know you're a runner when...

You know you're a runner when...

• your treadmill has more miles on it than your car
• you're not embarrassed to wear lycra
• you're always hungry
• you're always eating
• you know how to take a cup of water from a water stop and drink it without choking or spilling it all over yourself
• you know where your illiotibial band is
• you have the number of a physiotherapist saved on your phone
• you have running clothes and shoes in the boot of your car 'just in case'
• you know how far a mile from home is in any direction
• you no longer make fun of bum bags because your running belt looks very similar (although much cooler)

More hits than misses

Trying to swim in the school holidays is always an interesting experience. I gave up after 26 lengths today because it was more like trying to swim in an obstacle course. I lost count of the number of times I was hit with flailing arms and legs, and goggles that were being hurled through the air. I know it must make me sound 100, but I'm sure we were a lot more considerate when we were young!
Over the past few weeks I have written a large number of letters to local businesses explaining what I'm up to, who I'm raising money for, and asking if they would be able to help - either through sponsorship or prizes for raffles. I finally received a reply from one of the supermarket chains...'thank you for the enquiry, but we're unable to help'.
At least they replied, and I understand that these are difficult financial times, but I was rather hoping that the larger companies would be willing to help. If anyone knows of a company looking for some publicity in exchange for some sponsorship, send them my way...!
On a positive note, I'm very grateful to a friend who has been actively promoting my quiz night, and trying to encourage friends to form a team. You know who you are, and thank you xx

The Birmingham half...so near, and yet so far

Yesterday was a difficult day for me. I should have been running in the Birmingham half marathon, but had to pull out because of the ankle injury that has dogged me for the past six weeks. It didn't help that the weather was perfect for a run - a crisp autumn morning with blue skies and sunshine. A quick look at the online photos shows that it was a great success, so well done to everyone who took part.
Having allowed myself a little time to mope around (apologies to the family) it has to be onwards and upwards now.
If nothing else (ankle injury aside) I am a lot fitter than I was six months ago when I began training, and I need to keep that momentum up while I can't run. I did a couple of short high-intensity exercise bike sessions over the weekend, and a longer low-intensity cycle this morning. Cycling doesn't give me the same buzz that running does, but I have to be patient and do what I can while I wait for the tendons to heal.
I'm also trying to get to grips with the fundraising, as there are lots of loose ends and promoting to do.
I am holding a fundraising candle party in just over a week, so it's time to start chasing friends and family to make sure they can still come along. I also need to sign up some more teams for my quiz night in a months time.
I think my day off will be a busy one.

The rules of the road

I got up early today to get some cycling done before work.
I'm slowly learning the rules of 'how to use the exercise bike successfully', and I'll share them with you for free:
Rule number 1...Create a distraction
I've never been a fan of breakfast tv - I much prefer to listen to the radio in the morning - but it is scientifically proven that time passes much quicker when there's something to watch.
Rule number 2...Keep the remote control handy
This is vital for channel hopping when breakfast tv becomes a little too exciting, or for when an inevitable boyband makes an appearance.
Rule number 3...Banish the dog
I'm not quite sure what he thinks the exercise bike is, but he clearly considers it his duty to make me dismount from such a dangerous contraption. To that end, he either barks loudly or steals things like gloves or tea towels and runs madly around with them until I get off.
Rule number 4...Water
If I have a glass of water to hand, I never need it. If I don't, I can guarantee that I'm gasping for liquid refreshment within 2km. I now make sure I have water nearby before I start.
By obeying all four rules today, I managed to complete 18km in 46 minutes, despite still having a very sore right calf after physio.

The long haul

I went for another physio session today, and was put through a whole range of exercises to see how well my ankle is doing. I spent a fair bit of time balanced on one leg on a wobble board with a 2kg weight in each hand. It takes some concentration to stay upright, but, as you know, I like a challenge. The good news is that my ankle continues to improve, and there is now very little swelling after exercising on it.
My posterior tibial tendon is still the bigger concern...apparently tendons take a long time to heal, and I had a grade two tear. I'm nearly six weeks in, but I'm looking at another six weeks before the healing process gets well under way.
In the mean time, I need to do lots of cardiovascular exercises to keep my fitness levels up, so I'll be swimming, using the exercise bike and visiting the gym.
Unfortunately a migraine-type headache wrote off the rest of the afternoon, so it's not been the most productive of days.
My aim for the next few weeks is to keep gently stretching my calf muscles, build up the strength in the muscles around my ankles and not do anything that aggravates the tendon. I'm in the process of drawing up a comprehensive list of activities to avoid, starting with washing up, ironing, gardening, vacuuming....

Brrr already

The new training schedule is now printed off and stuck up on the fridge, and all the family will be checking up on my progress on a daily basis. No excuses are allowed!
I didn't get chance to go for a walk at lunch time, so as soon as I got home from work I went straight back out...I knew today that pausing to sit down for a minute/open the post/start the tea would have meant not going out at all. I am the queen of excuses if I give myself half a chance.
Winter is definitely on it's way; dusk was already falling, and there was a real chill in the air. I didn't put my Garmin watch on, so can only estimate that I walked for about one and a half miles, and I kept up a good pace. I was certainly nice and warm by the time I got back home, and I felt very pleased with myself for making the effort to go out.
Gold star for me today :o)

Six months to go...

The 2011 London Marathon is six months today.
I am not the sort of person who usually sets long term goals. I believe very much that what will be will be, regardless of the plans we make, and on that basis I have always tried to live a day at a time and not think ahead too much.
Preparing for the marathon is forcing me to make plans, and it doesn't come naturally.
I have now finalised my training schedule for the next 26 weeks, and can't help but wonder what the next six months will bring.
Will my ankle continue to improve, or will it cause problems all the way through?
Will my fundraising be successful, or will I be struggling to reach my target?
Six months today, is it really possible that I will be in London clutching a finishers medal?
If you had told me six months ago that I'd have a place in the 2011 London Marathon I'd have laughed. My asthma was a real challenge, and I couldn't even run to the end of the road.
This week I swam a mile, rode for 16km on the exercise bike and didn't get breathless once.
So, what will the next six months bring...?
What goals do you have...?

Quiztastic

The training is progressing slowly, but the fundraising events are really starting to pick up speed.
I booked my venue for a quiz night today, and spent the afternoon designing the flier and sending out the invites. The date is set for 19th November, so it's not long to go.
I'm allowing up to five people in a team, and the venue holds up to 60 people, so I hope I'll get quite a few teams taking part. Even if I reach capacity it should be manageable, and it is my first attempt at setting and running a quiz, so any more than that would be terrifying.
I'm planning on 5 rounds, then the main course, followed by another 5 rounds and the dessert. I'm not sure yet if I should mark the papers myself, or get teams to swap papers and mark each others.
It's exciting that I've already had some interest, and I have friends working on putting teams together.
So...
question number one - what do they call the 20 mile point in a marathon?
answer - half way

The magic mile

I've taken it fairly easy over the last couple of days, and just done some gentle walking.
I know my ankle isn't quite right, but I've been rubbing arnica cream into it three or four times a day and the tendon feels a bit less sore.
My colleagues and I won an award for 'Innovation' at work, and yesterday was the presentation ceremony. I decided that it would be inappropriate to turn up in my best outfit paired with trainers, so chose the lowest of my high heels. I made sure I sat down as much as possible, and there don't seem to be any adverse effects on my ankle today.
I headed off to the swimming pool this morning with the intention of doing 40-44 lengths (1200-1320m), but seemed to make it to 40 lengths fairly comfortably...so I kept going...and going...until I'd reached the 54 lengths (1620m), which is equal to a mile.
The best bit...? I wasn't breathless at any point.
A few months ago my asthma stopped me from reaching a third of that distance, so I'm really thrilled.
Now I just need a volunteer to go shopping for me this afternoon, as I'm not sure I can make it round the supermarket pushing a trolley!!

Your starter for 10...

I took it easy on Saturday, exercise wise, as I'm very aware that the orthotics are altering the way I walk and my ankle was quite tender.

I went for a gentle walk on Sunday afternoon - just a mile and a half - to see how I got on. It was lovely to be out in the fresh air, but my ankle was a little swollen by the time I got home.

Yesterday I jumped on the exercise bike, and did a 45 minute cycle, covering 16km. At least non-impact exercise doesn't cause any trouble to my ankle, so I was able to have a reasonable workout without any worries that I was storing up trouble for later.

I think I'll try a short walk again this morning, then rest my ankle up for a while before I head into work.

Plans are coming together for a quiz night. I've got two potential venues; one close to home that will charge a small fee for the hire of the room, but I can provide the food, and the second a few miles from home where I can use the room for free, but we will pay them to provide food. I'm getting a few more details from both before I decide which way to jump.

I've started putting together quiz questions, and am working on the basis of ten rounds of ten questions, including a picture round. It's really good fun searching for facts and figures, but difficult to strike a balance between easy enough so that everyone will do fairly well, but not too hard that everyone complains!

I know that I'm not in tip top form at the moment, but it's a good job I'm not easily offended...the company that I ordered my orthotics from sent me a brochure this morning. Do you think they're trying to tell me something???

Gym day

I was up bright and early this morning, and headed off to the gym.
I worked my way around the cardiovascular equipment - a few minutes each on the rowing machine, exercise bike, stepper, cross trainer and arm bike. It took me every ounce of willpower to keep away from the treadmill; I'm not allowed back on until Monday.
Have you noticed that gyms have discovered a very effective way of keeping their turnover of customers high? They all either blast out thumping music, or play horrific programmes on a tv. Today we were inflicted with Jeremy Kyle on a 50 inch screen, and trust me, I pedalled hard. At least the sound was off, and I avoided reading the subtitles for most of the time.
I made some more fundraising enquiries this afternoon, and then had a practice run making some cakes (I'm hoping to do a cake sale at some point in the next six months). I would post a photo of them, but we've eaten them all. I can at least confirm that they tasted good.

To row, or not to row?

Today was 'finger digging into tendon' day again. The bruise from last week hadn't completely faded, so it was a double dose of ouch.
My treat today was a bit of running on the treadmill. I had a seven minute fast walk to warm up, then alternated between two minutes of running and two minutes of walking for three sets. I am as graceful on a treadmill as an elephant on a tightrope, and I spent the entire time terrified that I was going to fall flat on my face. (I'm pleased to report that I didn't.) It felt so good to be running again, even if only for a few minutes.
It was quite unnerving having my running style analysed, but my physio has given me plenty of advice about changing my stride length, landing in a certain way and keeping my posture upright, which should make a big difference to my long-term running ability.
I also did some more balancing exercises, and ten sets of calf exercises.
"How does that feel?" my physio asked.
"Umm...it feels like the back of my leg is on fire."
"Good" said he.
Really? Not from where I was sitting!
After much consideration, we have decided that I won't run in the Birmingham half marathon. If London wasn't so important I'd probably take the risk and hope for the best, but I have to prioritise. I'm gutted because I've worked so hard to train, but I have to look on the bright side and think that I've now got a good fitness base to build on for my London training schedule.
I have permission to cycle, swim, walk and row as much as I want. (Just to clarify, that's 'row' as in use a rowing machine, not 'row' as in queue up, or 'row' as in argue. Shame. I think I'd have more endurance at the arguing, although hubby probably wouldn't be impressed.)
I'm restricted to using a treadmill twice a week, and must drop the stretching exercises to alternate days. I should be able to build up the running gradually over the next few weeks, but only on a treadmill to minimise the impact. Watch this space for news of a broken nose...I think falling off is almost inevitable.
My final bit of news today is that I have the orthotics fitted in my running shoes. How can I describe them? It's like walking with stones in my shoes, and my legs are already aching from the changes to my posture, but it should help to prevent a reoccurence of this kind of biomechanical injury.
I'm not entirely sure what biomechanics are - I gave up physics 'A' level after a year - but it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, doesn't it?

A change, but not a rest

This morning was spent planning and plotting for fundraising, and a few phone calls and emails brought me a step closer to either a skittles evening, or a quiz night...or maybe both. I've not pictured myself as a quiz master before, although I'm an avid University Challenge watcher and always try to get at least three questions correct per show.
Friends and family...this is advance warning. Start brushing up on your general knowledge, kings and queens, celebrity gossip and sport.
I spent some time this afternoon revising my marathon training schedule. I'm doing a lot of research and reading around, and am trying to tailor a plan that fits in around my other comitments. I'm also trying to build a good core of fitness while minimising the risk of injury.
Exercise today was swimming. My best friend and I headed to a local swimming pool, which at 30 metres is slightly longer than the pool we usually go to. Three quarters of an hour later we had swum 40 lengths...three quarters of a mile. I'm looking forward to the day that I can report that I've swum a mile.

Same old, same old

There's not much to tell, I'm afraid, hence the lack of posts.
The dodgy tibial tendon is still sore to the touch following Thursday's trip to see the sports physio, but I'm hoping that the strengthening exercises are starting to build up my stability. I'm still doing them twice a day, and am also balancing on one leg whenever I get the opportunity. If nothing else, it embarrasses the children when we're standing in queues.
Exercise wise, I've only been using the exercise bike over the last three days. I've been averaging about 12km in 30 minutes, and am gradually increasing the resistance so that I'm pedaling harder each time. Sadly it's working on the wrong leg muscles to aid my running, but anything has to be better than nothing.
Yesterday saw a little exercise of a different kind - breaking up a concrete step with a kango jack hammer! Now that's what I call a real work out!