Let's start again

Well that was a rubbish month. Honestly, I can't remember having such a bad January before! Thanks for all the kind comments on my last posts. I posted about being ill not only for sympathy, but in case anyone wondered why I wasn't blogging. Anyway, I know a lot of people think January's a miserable month anyway as it's cold and grey here, and Christmas is over, but I've always liked the whole 'starting afresh for the New Year' thing.

This year there has been nothing afresh about me. My body has refused to co-operate with my plans. Running is definitely STILL out, as neither of my feet seem to want me to put any pressure on them, and that flu has kept me away from exercise for the last 2 weeks.

But I'm finally feeling better! Woo-hoo! So I'm going to write January off and forget about it, and start my New Year tomorrow. I'm going to get up in the morning, weigh myself, take Robbie to school, cycle Emma to playgroup, and go for a bike ride. I can't bloody wait. I'm actually looking forward to feeling tired and achey afterwards, and moaning about 'DOMS' the next day.

Then for the next few weeks, I'm going to do more cycling when I have free time, and on Wednesday, I've got an appointment with a local gym. I'm getting an induction! - sounds painful. But hopefully that will give me another option when the weather is bad, and as a complement to the cycling.

I was going to set myself a target for a certain number of miles to cycle during February, but I looked at my diary and realised that we have half term right in the middle, which involves 10 consecutive school-free days and a visit from the in-laws. Exactly the kind of thing that could interfere with planned workouts. So I'm just going to aim to either cycle or go to the gym 3-4 times a week, depending on availibilty.

If that sounds a bit wishy-washy, it's the best I can do for the moment. I need to lose the last few Christmas pounds, and remember what it's like to feel fit and toned again, as I did way back at the start of December. Once I've managed to establish some sort of routine, I might have some clearer goals for March!















Memories of December

A week in flu

Friday 14th: felt a bit sniffly, but managed a 9 mile bike ride. My first and so far only workout of 2011.

Saturday 15th: went to swimming pool with the kids, but felt too full of cold to get in, so watched from cafe. Spent the afternoon cuddling on the sofa watching Star Wars. Was heard to remark 'At least it's just a cold, and not flu like I had a couple of years ago. That was terrible!'

Sunday 16th: Got up, lay on sofa for about an hour, went back to bed. Stayed there all day. Decided it was, after all, flu.

Monday 17th: Dragged myself to school to drop off Robbie, got Emma to playgroup, then home for a doze on the sofa. Later I dozed on the sofa while kids watched endless Cbeebies (kids' channel).

Tuesday 18th: Called in sick to work. Took Robbie to school, and at 11.30am, took Emma to childminder. Went home. Lay down on bed for quick snooze at about 2pm, woke from deep sleep at 4.20pm.

Wednesday 19th: Much like Monday.

Thursday 20th: Felt a lot better. Went to work, which luckily involved me watching students' presentations rather than having to teach them anything.

Friday 21st: Morning much like Monday and Wednesday. Dragged myself and kids to shop in the afternoon to buy a present for 6 year old. Did not enjoy it.

Saturday 22nd: Woke up with searing headache all over left side of face and head. Went to work though - exam day. Invigilated in the morning, which was ok. After lunch did speaking exams. Only had 5, and found each one tougher than the last. Felt worse and worse, and eventually came home early, leaving someone else to mark writing exams. Terrible headache all evening.

Today: Slept in until about 11am. Spent most of day on sofa, dozing off again.

I am not usually one for daytime sleeping, in fact I struggle to sleep at night, so this has been an odd week. I just hope I feel better by next weekend...

A short post

I've. Got. Flu.

That is all.

Whatever it takes...

I had my 1,000,000,000th or so appointment with Ms Physio yesterday. Before going, I had decided that it was time to admit the truth - her treatment doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere, and it's perhaps time to investigate other options.

She reminded me that because of my curved spine, I am biomechanically freaky, and decided that as localised treatment on the foot has not worked, we should try some work on my back. Ms Physio thinks that my wonky posture and position of my pelvis is affecting my heel strike, and causing the heel pain. So she did some work on my lower back, and then put some tape on to keep it in position for a couple of days.














Tape to stop love-handles from wobbling

She's given me an exercise to do to engage my core, and apart from that, I'm not to do any exercise that involves twisting my torso. Hmph. This means no Jillian DVD, and obviously running is out, so if I want to get back in shape, I need to get my bike out again. I haven't cycled for a while, as we had piles of snow from the end of November onwards. Most of the remaining ice on the roads melted away today, so tomorrow, I must get out and start burning some calories. I've got half a stone of Christmas living to lose!

The other thing I'm not allowed to do is sit cross-legged, or with my legs bent up on the sofa, or with my feet tucked under me etc. Straight backed and upright, both feet on the floor! This is rather challenging. Just after Ms Physio told me this, I realised I was sitting looking at her with my legs crossed. Since then it's been a constant battle to sit comfortably.

But I keep reminding myself that I will do what it takes to be able to run again. If this doesn't work (and I'm sceptical of all potential solutions by now), it'll be the Podiatrist and maybe a steroid injection. Whatever it takes...

Nothing to lose

When I wrote my last post I was feeling rather fed up about not running. So on Thursday I decided there was nothing to lose. After plenty of rest, I've still had foot pain, so I might as well let myself go for an occasional run, right? I wasn't going to risk doing anything rash though, and I just stuck to a 12 minute jog (about 1.2 miles).

Then yesterday, I tried another run, going up to 1.7 miles this time, in 16 minutes. By then it had snowed again, so I was being careful not to slip and add to my list of injuries.

Since then I've had the same foot pain as before - not enough to stop me running, but I know it could get like that pretty quickly. Anyway, at least I remembered what it's like to get out and run! There is something especially rewarding about running when it's cold - despite being someone who is always cold and loves central heating, for some reason I feel hardy and brave running in snow and ice.

I'll have to see what Ms Physio has to say on Wednesday, but meanwhile, I'm considering how exactly I'm going to lose the half stone I've put on over the holiday without regular running...

















Hardy winter runner

New year, no change...

It's been a while since my last post, and I haven't been reading other blogs as avidly as I usually do. This is because despite the fact that the year has changed and many people are planning new fitness beginnings and setting new sporting challenges, my foot has not got the memo. The pain in my heel does not seem to be getting any better.

In fact, I haven't done any exercise at all for over 2 weeks, but I am still getting just as much discomfort in my heel as before. I had hoped that a complete layoff of all activity would help, but no. It seems to me that this Plantar Fasciitis is not going to go away with rest alone. I've got a physio appointment for next week, but I think I'll ask to be referred to a podiatrist. So far, Ms Physio eased all the pain I got around the foot after hobbling through the Great North Run, but she hasn't really successfully got rid of the heel pain.

The last time I saw her, she gave me permission to try a run, but given that a few days later I could still feel the pain in my heel (and now I think I am getting it in the other foot as well), I decided that was probably not the best idea.

So I've had a very nice Christmas break, with my usual overindulgence but this time without any mitigating exercise. I weighed myself this morning, and I've put on about 6-7 pounds - not bad considering how greedy I am. Pete and I are still bravely wading through chocolate biscuits and Christmas cake, but next week, it'll be back to school and back to routine.

I need to get back on the bike (which I haven't done since before the snow), and set myself some new goals which don't involve running. I really miss it though, and sometimes I find it difficult to read other runners' blogs because it reminds me what I'm missing! So if I have been a bit quiet over the last few weeks, that's why.

I really hope to get back to blogging about running soon. Meanwhile I'll try to lose half a stone, and get some of my fitness back. Wish me luck with the physio next week...

















Christmas Joy!

Christmas tags

All of a sudden I have been tagged with a set of questions by not one, but two fellow bloggers! The questions are slightly different, so I've decided to put them all together in one Christmassy post. So thanks to Alma and akjenniekt for tagging me, and here goes...

1. What is your favourite time of day to run?
Like many runners, I prefer first thing in the morning. If it's a short run, around 3 miles or so, I'll get out of bed and go before breakfast, but for anything further than about 4-5 miles, I need to eat first and go about an hour later. I am a person who can do very little on an empty stomach. I love being outside when the world is just starting to wake up, and I also find it a great way to start the day. If I don't run in the morning, I might struggle to fit it in, and end up not finding time.

2. If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
Well, I really enjoy teaching English as a foreign language, so I wouldn't particularly want to change that. I like the idea of becoming a personal trainer though - I'm just not keen on the cost and time commitment of retraining...

3. Do you have a guilty food pleasure?
Oh yes, many. I absolutely love chocolate, and rarely go a day without it. I'm also very fond of biscuits and cake in general. The main meals I cook and eat are fairly healthy, but it's the puddings that let me down. (I don't feel very guilty about it though).

4. How and why did you start running?
I was always useless at running at school, and had no stamina at all. But one day a few years ago, I read in a book about a running programme where you started by interspersing 1 or 2 minutes of running with walking, and built up gradually to 20 mins of running. I'd always liked the idea of running, so I decided to try it, and after about 10 weeks or so, to my astonishment and delight, I was able to run for 20 mins! I enjoyed it so much, I started doing it regularly and kept increasing the distance.

5. Do you have any special Christmas time traditions?
Pete and I are just starting to create our own family traditions with the children. We usually stay at home for Christmas Day. The kids will open their stockings from Santa in the morning, and then we'll play a couple of games and go for a short walk while lunch is cooking. We have roast chicken, as none of us are very keen on turkey. Then, (if I have my way), the main presents under the tree are finally opened and savoured after lunch has been cleared away and washed up. After Christmas we tend to drive down south to visit as many relatives and friends as we can fit in over New Year.

6. What race/event are you most looking forward to in 2011?
Well after the last few months, I'll just be thrilled if I can run at all! I'd love to do some local half marathons, and 10ks, but I haven't planned anything specific yet.

7. What are you most proud of accomplishing in 2010?
This is easy - my first marathon! I really enjoyed the training and most of the race itself, and I'm still amazed that I managed to complete all 26.2 miles. I never thought I'd be able to run as much as 3 miles when I first started running, and I must admit, those last 6 miles were pretty tough. Unfortunately, I didn't do much else after that, and I've spent more time on the physiotherapist's table than pounding the streets in my trainers...

8. What are your goals for 2011?
I just want to get back to running regularly. If that goes well, I'd love to beat 2 hours in a half marathon race.

So I need to tag a couple of other runner bloggers - step forward Amy, Char and Fudgey.

I've wrapped all my presents now, and bought all the food we need (I hope), so I'm feeling pretty Christmassy. I'm really looking forward to the kids opening all their presents in a couple of days' time. I wish anyone who reads this blog a very merry and peaceful Christmas and a wonderful New Year!














At a Christmas market last week