Olympic Torches and Summer Colds

Saturday 14^th June                                    Monday 16^th June                     

Distance: 2:50 mile                                   Distance: 2.14                          
Time: 35:29 min                                      Time: 28:47                    
Avg Speed: 4:23 mph                                Avg Speed: 4:45mph
Avg Pace: 14:11min/mile                           Avg Pace: 13:28
Calories Burned: 442                                 Calories Burned: 386

Friday….Oh goodness gracious me! How hard was that? I have not run for 20 days due to having a rancid summer head cold that had rendered me snotty to say the least. I have suffered all my life with colds that, I think, may also be hay fever linked as well. That said I have just not had the breathing ability to run let alone the leg power. So today was so hard. As I was not working today and have a busy Saturday planned I decided to go this morning. I got up with my raison D’etre and left him working at home for an hour before he left for the office. I did not go far as I knew I was struggling. I managed to run the first mile then walk/ran the rest. I set off up the Otley Road and then realised that I was in danger of bumping into a lot of ex-pupils on their way to Lawnswood School. Now much as I love my ex-pupils….. I don’t want to see them early morning whilst wearing leggings, running kit and bounding along with a red face on wobbly legs!! So I diverted along Glenn Road and headed home managing only 2.5 miles. I have almost finished term now and only have one definite work day booked in, so my intent is to increase the number of times a week that I run and slowly build up the mileage again. It was a hard run, I struggled. I also bumped into a few friendly faces. There was one friendly runner, a neighbour on her way to work and my ‘little’ chum Ashley who I normally see doing his paper round on a Saturday morning. When I say ‘paper round’ clear your head of the image of a chirpy, whistling chap on his bike. Not our boy Ash he is chauffeured by his devoted mum who gets up at 6.30am with him to do his round, although in fairness to the boy I have seen how many papers he actually delivers and he would need a huge trailer attached to his bike in order to transport them. Saw him (not doing papers) today and felt I had to run, once past him, just to justify putting on my kit! So thanks for the inspiration Ash.

My second run recorded on this blog is Monday. Morning world, no work today so a run it is. I waved my beloved Raison D’etre off to work and got on my running shoes. Was not sure where to go, my usual up the street and left route was beckoning but as on Friday I did not want to pass past pupils. I did contemplate going right and heading down to Hyde Park. I almost instinctively turned left and headed up the Otley Road. The car fumes were horrendous so at an opportune moment I turned left off the Otley Road and up towards Beckets Park. I went up round the park and then headed down towards the Headingley Stadium and home just a short little 2.13miles today which was about all I was up to. My breathing was not good due to the lingering remnants of my cold, stodgy car fumes and just to irritate me further the men from the council were out cutting the grass verges and the grass smell triggered my tear ducts and cough reflex so there was tightness in my breathing that hindered my progress. My legs were a tad heavy today and I never really got going so I just headed home. Felt good because I had been, but I need to get out more this week and build up for my Saturday run. Think I may add a swimming trip into the mix this week too.

  

When I last wrote, it was the weekend of the Olympic Torch relay through Headingley. I had volunteered to be a ‘Torch Ambassador’ which basically meant that I was to act as an information point for the crowd and help in marshalling the onlookers. In a ‘summer’ (I use the term summer in its loosest sense) that has seen more rain than a South East Asian monsoon season it was a delight to turn out on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The sun shine meant that many people turned out and Headingley saw thousands of people lining the route. The whole thing was fabulous and there was a wonderful carnival atmosphere. All those doom merchants who are dissing the Olympics and saying that the Brits don’t care are, quite frankly wrong. People are excited and just like the crowds I met at the Jubilee; people have a sense of occasion and feel that they want to see it because we won’t see it again in our lifetime. The organisers of London 2012 have done a FAB job, sending the torch around the country was a brilliant idea it has enabled people to feel part of the whole event. I am lucky as I have tickets for the Olympics. I applied for many but only got one event …. Beach Volleyball! My Raison D’etre is extremely excited about the possibility of sun baked Brazilian/Australian/Californian beauties in their bikini sports kit bouncing around on Horse Guards Parade! Me I am hoping it is teams of buff Australian/ Brazilian/Californian boys in their speedo sports kit strutting around on Horse Guards Parade! Then last week I got an email saying more tickets for other events have been released so having had these emails before and tried and failed to get more I was not optimistic but none the less I went through all the steps and joy of joys I scored some tickets in the Olympic Park for hockey. I am so excited for many reasons 1) I love hockey and have turned a mean stick myself in the past. 2) The venue is in the Olympic Park so I will be able to have a good wander around all the park sites and just soak up the atmosphere. 3) It is for men’s hockey. 4) It’s the bloody Olympics!! How fab is that?

The one venue I really wanted to get into was the pool and I have applied on more than one occasion for tickets for the aquatic centre but to no avail. Then this week my son and heir (who I might add has tickets for all the major athletics events.. jammy little bugger) rang to say that his long suffering girlfriend and her sister can no longer go to the aquatics centre for the Paralympic swimming when Ellie Simmonds is competing, did I want to go? Did I want to go? DID I WANT TO GO? What a question of course I want to go. I intend to have an awesome Olympics and will watch as much as I can on TV as I love the whole spectacle and admire the commitment, dedication and discipline that these super humans endure. I bow my head in humble respect to their awesomeness. I have volunteered to help at the Chinese base camp here in Leeds as the whole Chinese squad have chosen Leeds as their training base and I will be there helping out and hopefully getting a glimpse of the remarkable athletes that China produces.

So in closing this very humble and far from awesome but still committed athlete reminds you all of why I am doing all of this. I write these missives to bring awareness to the cause of Muscular Dystrophy and if any of you good blog readers out there want to sponsor me in my endeavours you can follow my link to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign its work, outreach, campaigns and research just log on to www.muscular-dystrophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel you want to support me then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’ account and make a donation www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC. A huge thanks you to all of you who have donated already.



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