Chuffed to bits

Sport Mile this morning with Kim. First problem was that I had to use my old trainers - as the usual ones were in my gym kit, which I'd left in the car last night, and the car had gone off with my husband when he left to do the Sunday services!!

A glorious spring day, perfect conditions. Lots of folk there, so very slow at times, but a lovely atmosphere. I used my Runkeeper software on the iPhone (as the sensor for the Nike+ was on on the trainers in the car...) and was at first disappointed that the "mile" seemed to be only 0.77 of a mile. However, on arrival home I checked, and by comparing it with the official map, it was clear that the satnav signal had been lost from time to time, resulting in corner-cutting of the route - that is, the iPhone cutting corners, not me! So it turned out to be 0.98 miles in 10:35, which given how little training I've done recently was not half bad. And although some bits were very slow, this was mostly because of the large crowds - good to know I could have gone a little faster! (said the whiting to the snail...)

The really annoying part was that the only thing stopping me continuing to do at least one further mile-lap was the heel. While the leg muscles ached a bit, I could happily have run further, if it weren't that the plantar fasciitis in the heel was quite sharp by the end of that mile, and painful for the rest of the day. So I'm definitely going to contact the doctor for information about a cortisone injection to see if that helps. I so want to have a really good run, and to be able to do a proper job in the Race for Life; and today's run reminded me just how much I had enjoyed it.

The girls are back in town.

A mile tomorrow

Foot better today (but still sore; will go see doctor, running shop etc. next week). However, will run the Sport Relief mile tomorrow morning.

If anybody fancies sponsoring me in this, my first run for 18 months, please click here. Sport Relief deserves it.

Triumph & tribulation

Last night, Kim & I went for a warmup at the gym, then along our favoured route between the Longwater and Bowthorpe roundabouts (exactly 1.5 miles each way). We successfully managed to run the first leg, and were very pleased. However, my heel was really sore by the end of it, so we walked back again.

Not a bad result: a pace of just under 12 minutes in the running (17'57" for the 1.5 miles), and obviously much slower (28'31") for the walk back. But I'm now concerned at just how sore the heel is feeling. I thought the plantar fasciitis had begun to leave me alone - and after 18 months, it would be about time - but this morning I can barely walk on it, despite painkillers & ice last night. I am still not at all sure whether the orthotics are causing more problems than they are solving; do I need new trainers; should I give in and have a steroid jab...

Will do my best with the Sport Relief Mile - it's only a mile, for heaven's sake! - on Sunday; but am trying very hard not to be depressed right now. No fair.

The first running mile for months

... or nearly a mile, anyway. 0.92 of a mile, from my front door to our first pausing point.

Kim & I went out for a run-walk this morning. Lovely spring day, snowdrops all over the place, sun came out towards the end. Down the usual route to Morton, a brief pause to admire the snowdrops, then on down to the exit from the far end of the estate. Back again, through the woods and home again.

That first leg was all running - and for the most part, according to the Nike+, at a pace that wasn't too far over a ten minute mile and occasionally a bit faster. We then ran and walked alternate bits all the way back to the Rectory, giving us a total mileage (slightly under the Nike+ calculation of 2.86) of 2.72 miles in 34'16". Given that we'd done several stretches of walking, the average pace of just over 12:30 wasn't too bad.

Kim always did bully me out of the frame of mind that said I can't do this. Thankfully. Love her for it.

Now I know that I'll be able to run a mile on Sunday week!

I got out

Telling myself that I'd just walk my usual 1.75 miles, but as fast as possible, I put on the sports bra under the warm clothes (just in case) and off I went. Very late in the day (nearly 6pm) - I should've gone out two hours earlier - but just made it in the light.

My first reward for going out was a fantastic mackerel sky that I otherwise wouldn't have seen. Of course, the real camera would have done a much better job than the iPhone, but hey.

My second reward was to manage to break into a run, twice, which was (according to the iPhone Nike+ utility - sorry, I'm a geek) a sub-10 minute pace, even if it was only for a couple of minutes. The rest of the walk averaged out at around a 15 minute mile, which was fair enough.

I've committed to running just one mile for Sport Relief in a fortnight's time. I've been too embarrassed to ask for sponsorship so far, and ditto the Race for Life 5K in May, which I've also entered. However, if I can make it down to Morton Hall in one hit in the next thirteen days, never mind back again, then the first one is covered without too much loss of dignity. And then - well, who knows? Back in 2007, I went from zero to a 5K in exactly the same period of time (in fact, less - my first ever run was made on 24th March for a RfL at the same weekend as this one will be). So I can do it again.

Good week

Having managed three gym sessions during this last week - one very brief (only 30 mins, but hey, it's better than nothing) before a rehearsal, and two decent-length workouts with Kim (about 50 mins + stretches in each case), the two of us got out for a run-walk today, together, for the first time in forever.

Genuine reason for only running (and that very slowly) part of the route was that all the recent snow / sleet / hail have left the roads, in places, treacherous, and turning ankle during get-back-to-running time didn't seem wise; but coming up through the woods at Morton Hall, rather than up the drive, the sheltered and leaf-covered paths were actually much easier to run on - no ice! Yes, tough going and wobbly legs; yes, we probably only ran about three-quarters of a mile out of the total of just under 2 miles; but good. Very good. No idea how long it took; was more interested in getting it done than timing it. Having bought a new sensor for the Nike+ kit I'll start monitoring it again soon.

I made our entries for the 2010 Race for Life this week, and was rather deflated when looking for a running photo of myself for the sponsorship page: depressing to see how different I look now. However, I've done it before so I can do it again.

NB: left heel (plantar fasciitis) hurts like the devil right now, but it didn't while we were running. That job went to the under-used thighs and calves.

Hang on in there with me.

peeking over the parapet

I had a real hissy fit the other day.

As you can see, if you're really interested, from earlier entries, my fitness journey went in waves. Having spent around 44 years messing around with dieting but little exercise, in January 2007 I finally cracked it, and got a PT; six weeks later, I started running; and for eighteen months, life was good. A couple of minor injuries were overcome, I always got back in the swing of things, and the lost 20lb or so stayed off.

Plantar fasciitis kicked in during the autumn of 2008, and wrecked everything. And yes, I guess I let it. But it hurt. Lots. And that feeling of freedom, of running without ouch-ouch-ouch, which I found just occasionally, was lost. And I panicked. And the weight went back on. And so on, and so on.

Let's be fair to self: the weight didn't quite all go back on - it was all bar about 4lb. Given that in any previous existence I'd have leapfrogged over my previous heaviest weight, I guess I can put this down to the fact that I've at least managed one gym session per week, on average, during that fifteen months or so since I was running regularly. I've managed to stay within a size 14, rather than giving in to the sixteens again - but oh, the twelves were so much better.

So the hissy fit? Well, I'm in a play right now - rehearsing for a production of Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean at the Sewell Barn Theatre in Norwich, last two weeks in February. My character is Sissy - who, if you've ever seen the 1970s film, was the part played by Cher. I don't have her waistline, hair, eyes or money, but I sure as hell have the tits - and always will do, no matter what my weight.

Well, we had publicity photos taken the other night. I need a wig (my own hair is much too short for the period) and the only one they could source for the occasion looked awful - more width on my face I really do not need. And when I saw myself next to the actresses playing Mona (dainty, petite) and the younger versions of Mona & Sissy (gorgeous teenagers) on the screen on the back of the digital camera, my heart sank. Elephantine was not the word. Well, it was, actually.

I got home, and found an comment awaiting moderation: from the lovely gymbunny21, asking ever so nicely where my updates were, and saying how much she'd enjoyed this blog in the past. She's lost two stone - good on you, girl. She's just started her blog, and is newly motivated. Had I kept my weight off, was I still running?

Well, I just sat down and howled. I'd been ignoring the blog, ignoring the scales, and trying not to remember how good it used to make me feel, because I felt so ashamed. And here was a complete stranger caring what had happened to me.

So here we are again. I tried to run back in April last year - and gave up after a couple of tries; and again in August - ditto. Now the Race for Life 5K beckons once more. The heel might hurt still, but when I said to my darling friend and erstwhile PT, Kim, "I can walk for about half an hour before it starts to hurt" she wisely pointed out that if I could walk, then I could run for that time, too. The resting hasn't helped it, as far as I can tell, so I may as well put up with the discomfort.

And if I can get back to one or two runs plus one or two gym sessions per week, I know that those twenty pounds will be behind me. (No, I don't mean on my arse.)

I have just turned 47. I don't want to get any nearer fifty with the same image problems as I've had virtually all my life. So... here we go again.

I have just got back from a walk-run. My old, favourite route, down to Morton Hall: 1.75 miles round trip, flat-ish (this is Norfolk, after all) but a few undulating bits that make it slightly harder work on the way back. 200 steps walking and 200 running on the way there; the same on the way back but alternating every 100 steps. CV: not too bad. Leg muscles: despite gym sessions, clearly wondering what the heck I'm up to. Heel: not actually painful, but clearly something is still out of kilter. Not sure how much of that is psychological. Don't know how long it took me, I forgot to time it, but I think it was around about 22 minutes - so at least a bit faster than a straight walk would have been.

Weight: 11 stone 10 lb. Weeks till RfL: just over 15.

Thank you, Kim. Thank you, husband. And thank you, gymbunny, for the kick up the substantial arse that I needed.

Try again

My last attempt at a run was back in April. I have, to be fair, done a few reasonable gym sessions in the interim, some alone and some with Kim, but by no means enough to make up for the lack of running.

It was (and still is) the plantar fasciitis, which has not gone away and still plagues me daily; it makes me feel old and unfit and frightened.

My weight has gone back up to 11-7 (14lb up on my best maintained weight of 10-7), about 80% of my wardrobe doesn't fit any longer, and I'm deeply depressed about myself. A lovely holiday in France had some very dodgy moments when I gave way to fits of the poor-mes, and I can't let this go on any longer.

During four days' catching up on paperwork and laundry post-holiday, I went to the gym on Friday and managed 45 minutes' CV on various machines, plus about 15 minutes' weights. Today, I took the bull by the horns and went for a walk-run. Remembering my desperation the last time I tried to run it, I took my self right back to the level I worked at when I first began running in March 2007, and deliberately ran for two minutes, walked for 2-3 minutes, for the whole route (1.75 miles). A pathetic 13 minute pace, but as more than half of it was walking, I suppose that's fair enough. Oddly, the heel doesn't hurt at all, but the unfit leg muscles knew all about it! And, of course, terrible CV.

But it was a good thing to do, and it's the best I've felt about myself for ages. If I never run further than 5K, or faster than a ten minute mile, ever again, I honestly won't mind - as long as I can get back to doing around 5-7 miles a week, which is what helped me to become the person I want to be again.

Oh, dear

That was much worse than last time.

OK, I've been getting rather hay-fever-y, and so my breathing was all over the show; and I shouldn't have left it two weeks since the last try; but oh, dear.

At my best, I was doing the whole 1.75 miles in one hit. Sometimes, it was with a pause at the halfway mark. Last time, I stopped at halfway and then at the top of the drive before the last half-mile. This time, I stopped three times - before finally giving up and walking the last half-mile. Everything now aches.

I find it hard to believe I ever did this for real.

The first run in six months

What struck me this evening was that when I'd made the decision to go out, and put on the gear, I was aware of feeling excited about the prospect - in a way that a visit to the gym, or getting out the Wii, has never managed to do.

So... I did it. The old favourite route to Morton Hall and back, past quiet fields and confused cows, a pinprick of red sunset through the trees. Cool after a beautifully warm day.

The way there always was easier - it's mostly downhill. Did that in one hit, but stopped at the top of the long drive on the way back. The final stretch was very hard work. Kept going; managed 1.75 miles in a total of exactly 19 minutes' running time (10:51 pace); breathing extremely heavy by the end.

The breathing was ragged. The muscles in the front of the thighs ache. I was pretty wobbly on my return.

But I did it. And I had missed it so, so badly.



Oh, and if you're wondering where the blonde has gone... the hair has been coloured for The Play. The blonde will be back in a few weeks' time!

Six months on... an honest retrospective

... so what happened?

During August 2008, I was triumphant. I'd kept a moderate amount of training during our three-week holiday in France; managed to break into a sub-10 minute mile in training; achieved a 31:45 PB in a 5K race - a pace of not too far over the 10 minutes; I was loving what I was doing.

September wasn't so good. I was very preoccupied with helping my parents with their house-move from London to Norfolk - as they'd never moved house before, I took care of all the details - solicitors, builders and the like - and they stayed with us for the 7 weeks until their place was ready. Not surprisingly, the training regime went to pot - not their fault, mine - but it meant that when I reached the Sandringham 10K at the end of September, I simply wasn't ready.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have run it; I should have admitted to being ill-prepared. It wasn't fun; it hurt; I felt unfit and out of sorts. I raised my money for Cancer Research again, and didn't let my sponsors down, and was very glad for that; but physically it was a disaster.

I went out for a run with Kim a few days after the race. Tired and fed up for various other reasons, and feeling out of sorts, I had what was effectively a panic attack in the gym during our warmup, and our attempted run had to be curtailed after less than two miles (out of an intended three).

Two days later, I was in London on my usual business trip. I took a long walk to the tube station via some shops on my way home, when I became aware that my left heel was suddenly, intensely, painful. I had no idea why. The pain came and went - but mostly came - across the next few days. I read up, I visited the doctor. It eventually turned out to be plantar fasciitis.

The rot set in. I managed some gym sessions, going in fits and starts; if I did 3 sessions in a week, I felt fine; the weeks when I did nothing, I felt lousy. No surprise that my weight went up. I rested the foot, had massages, stretched it, sat rolling a tennis ball under it while working at the PC, all to no avail. Our January holiday was a few days' sightseeing in Brussels, and I found that more than a couple of hours' bimbling around was enough to crock me - I found myself hobbling like an old woman.

For the last few weeks, I've at least got myself back on some sort of track using the gym. I've been rehearsing for a play (more about that later) and, on most weekday rehearsal evenings, manage to get to the gym before driving into Norwich, doing usually about 40 minutes' CV and the occasional weights. My weight had soared dangerously close to its previous high (having started in January 2007 at 167 lb, got down to around 147-149, then finding myself back at 163 was too horrible to admit). Going back to buying size 14s wasn't great, either. I've managed so far to get back down to 159, so feel that I am back on track.

However, the plantar fasciitis still seems to be with me. Fine most of the time; a bit tired after standing for any length of time (an hour's ironing, two hours' rehearsal); very painful after much walking. Nothing much seems to shift it.

Today, I lost my temper with it, and with myself. It was exactly four years to the day since we'd moved to Norfolk, and today as then, it was a stunningly beautiful, warm, sunny spring day. I was in Norwich, first for a business meeting and then to do some shopping, and as I drove home, I thought I am not putting up with this any more. I'd been due to go to the gym with Kim tonight, but she wasn't able to join me; and that did it. I was going to run again.

So I did.

First 10K

Run10K 2008

(click on the image to see the whole album on Picasa)

This had been planned for months. However, the training in the last six weeks had been pathetically low - two gym sessions and three runs. That's all. To be fair, this can be blamed on a combination of parents' move to Norfolk (going well), large amounts of work (great for finance, lousy for training), and insanely bad weather earlier in the month. But by the time the Cancer Research Run10K event arrived, I was deeply depressed about my lack of preparation.

In the event, it could have been much worse. To begin with, this was not an easy course. Sandringham - yes, the Royal homestead - is very beautiful, but the route was (a) surprisingly hilly in places and (b) much of it was coming close to cross-country in the amount of grassy, uneven ground and stony, tree-root riddled paths. The continuous concentration to avoid a turned ankle meant that I was even tenser than I would have been, and not surprisingly, this messed me up big time.

My dear friend Kim kept with me throughout - she'd have got a much better time if she'd done it at her own pace - and we went across the line holding hands. She would nag me, get me to breathe deeper, and at times when I felt I would never finish it she ensured that I did.

As it was, I completed the route in 1:16:0, which at 12:13 was still faster than my pace at my first 5K in May 2007 (12:32). Given that I had to take a few brief walking breaks - ranging from a few steps to a minute or so - this means that my overall pace when running was probably at least sub-11 minute, which given the out-of-training, the course and (as I discovered at the end of the race) the spectacular blisters - one on each big toe - wasn't as bad as it might have been.

It's brought me up short, though. I dreamed a night or two back that I was running easy, without pain anywhere. That's what I want. It's also what I did achieve last year, and even occasionally during this year when I've managed more than two sessions per week.

Most of this race was, in fact, without any specific pains - the discomfort from the blisters only really kicked in during the last 2K. No particular pains in hips, back, hams or anywhere else: just those leaden legs that made me feel I couldn't take another step walking, never mind running. Now, of course, I also have sore ankles because the blisters are causing me to stand awkwardly, but that will sort itself out before too long.

I'm also fairly fed up to look at the photos above, and to know clearly that I simply don't look as toned here as I did even during my first R4L. My weight is almost identical - I was 150 then, 151 today (3 lighter than on my return from holiday) - but the last few weeks of less workouts mean that I just don't look fit. And having once achieved it, I hate to backslide. (Although in my defence, boobs like mine crowned with a race number will always give a Michelin man impression!!)

OK. Let's get these blisters healed, and then it's back on course.

PS: Anybody still want to sponsor me? Visit this link!

Getting better again

Managing to improve. Getting back to where I want to be.

1. Weight bounced unaccountably back up to 154 last week, but now is steadily going down. 151 this morning. Phew.

2. Ran the 1.75 miles to Morton and back on Saturday, and managed a sub-18 minute time: pace of 10:13.

3. Worked out for 45 minutes at the gym before going shopping on Tuesday.

4. Best of all, have just come back from Morton again; but this time I managed it in 17:23 - a pace of 9:56. Yes, a genuine sub-10 minute mile. For a real runner, sad; for me, it's huge.

5. And had my first sponsorship on the Sandringham 10K today. Thank you so much, Nicola. Now I'm going to start emailing everybody else...

I'm back. Sweating in a most unladylike fashion, but I'm back.

PB - with style!

My third time in the Wroxham 5K. I am completely triumphant to have achieved a time of 31:45 - a pace of under 10:15 over the whole race, and a full 2:17 less than my previous best. Given that my first ever 5K was run in 39:00, I feel justified in being unbearably smug...

Kim came in at 30:33, and that brings her pace well under the 10 minutes. We are still pretty close to the end of the queue (300 runners, of which we were numbers 279 and 285) - but who cares??

Now we just need to manage to run twice that distance without keeling over!!


Happy photo, but I really hate my legs in those shorts...


Great run, partner.


The girls are back in town...


and a well-earned drink afterwards!

(See last year's equivalent here...)

Target achieved!

I've said on many occasions I want to run a 10 minute mile. To a real runner, this is laughable. Real runners do that speed for recovery. They train at 8 minute miles, and race at 6-7 minute miles. But to me, it's a big thing.

Kim and I went out for a run this evening, warming up at the gym and then taking the exactly-one-mile route round the Longwater car park. Admittedly, we did stop to stretch and breathe at the mid-point; but our total run came in at precisely 20 minutes for the two miles.

I never thought I'd do it. RESULT.

Holiday running

We had a wonderful time in France, as ever. Wandering down the country to Burgundy for a week in one gite and the Limousin for another, with a couple of B&B stops on either side. If you're really interested, have a look here for more about the holiday.

The usual problem presents itself: keeping some level of fitness and weight control while chilling out! I took trainers and Nike+, and at least managed four runs - two at each of the gites. It was desperately warm most of the time, but I was determined to do it... Pace wasn't too bad considering the heat - around 10:30 to 10:45 in each case (according to Nike+).

The Burgundy week was in a gite in a tiny village, and I calculated that the circuit of the whole village was just under 1.2 miles. So my first run was one circuit, my second one was two. A couple of tough little hills, especially on the home stretch.

The Limousin week yielded a fabulous place; not the best running track in the world (very stony and potholed, meaning I didn't dare get up much speed - the last thing I want is a repeat of the ankle injury) but beautiful. The circuit was 0.8 miles, and I did a double circuit (with pause for water) on each of two occasions. Here are a few photos of the glorious scenery, taken by my husband, with the little pink-or-blue dot in the distance being me...

France 2008: Lakeside running

Been away too long

- not from exercise, I hasten to add - just from the blog! (although there was less exercise than I'd have liked...)

So where were we? Oh, yes - just triumphantly achieved a PB in the Wroxham 5K. That was halfway through a week of family visits, followed immediately by a week in London to work. The result of that was that my next run didn't happen until Sunday 8th - a full ten days since my previous run. Hopeless.

However, it was made up for by being another first: I managed the 1.75 miles of my normal route in sub-18 minutes. 17:55, a pace of 10:14. I really will break that 10 minute mile barrier some day. My next run, on the Tuesday, was sluggish by comparison - 18:24 - on a very warm evening.

Finally got together twice with Kim the following week - a gym visit and a run, which we both enjoyed. We both get so much out of this lark - it's a pity that earning a living gets in the way so much at times!

So today I took myself up the road again, and made another respectable 18 minutes. Warm and windy, but very beautiful again; hard work.

I was relieved that the ankle didn't play up during the run. The last few days, the old injury location - outside of right ankle - has felt odd, sort of numb, almost as though something was trapped - usually when I'm just sitting at the desk. I wonder if it's been because, having got used to the orthotics in my shoes, I've had several days of wearing shoes that don't take the inserts - either sandals, or (as in the case of a "do" I attended yesterday) high heels for the first time in ages? I don't fancy the idea of wearing trainers for the rest of my life - but I'd sooner that than find myself unable to run again!

Another week in London coming up; after that, I need to knuckle down to increasing that distance. My regular 1.75 miles is pathetic compared with the 6.2 miles I want to do in September, preferably without passing out in the attempt.

PB PB PB !!!

When we ran last year's Wroxham 5K (August 2007), I managed it in 34:32. I was hoping to beat that this year - although recent training has been patchy, and I'm still not really back up to speed after that long, enforced break.

This year's weather was cloudy and fairly cold - better than humidity, anyway - but also very windy, which made especially the bit around the 3K to 4K mark very hard work. Malcolm and Susie were there, too, which was great. Here we are at the start of the race.



Out of 266 runners (all the results are here on the Norwich Road Runners' website), Malcolm came in at #153 in 24:05, which he said was disappointing (!); Susie was #242 at 29:57 (will I ever break the 30 minute barrier?); Kim apologised for running ahead of me, but in fact she put on a faster pace at the start and then remained in my sight for most of the rest of the racce, coming in a minute and a half faster than me at #253 in 32:33.

Malcolm, bless him, came out and ran me in the last bit (he's on the left of the photo below): I was absolutely triumphant to find I'd run it in 34:02!! At position #257, at least I'm moving up the field from last year (sixth from last - this year, 10th from last...)



And finally, Kim & I collapsed at the end...

Small companions

I was intending to run with Kim on the day before the Wroxham 5K, but her work schedule prevented; so, when I announced that I was going out for a run, my niece and nephew (7 and 9 years old respectively) decided they wanted to come, too.

I told them that I would be stopping just once for them - at the halfway mark; and we managed it. Young Jack did it in a mixture of sprinting and walking - he hasn't yet managed the idea of "steady-does-it"! - but Samantha kept happily pattering along beside me at about an 11 minute pace. Mummy was very proud of them...

(Here they are with Mummy - my sister, Jenny - not on this occasion, but earlier in the week during a visit to the Dinosaur Park. Yes, honestly.)

Bits 'n' pieces

During this recent mad period (parents hopefully about to move house to join us in Norfolk, sister and her two kids visiting from Spain, loads of work) the blog has been a bit neglected. Brief summary: Sunday 18th, Kim & I managed a decent gym session; ran the usual sub-2 miles on Thursday 22nd; got my new Nike SportBand, and now I've figured it out am much enjoying using it.