Tuesday, 28 August 2012
Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: 50 Shades of a waste of time
Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: 50 Shades of a waste of time: Saturday 25 th August Distance:9:74miles Time:2:23:02 Avg Speed:3:99mph Avg Pace:15:43min/mile Calories burned:1218 Run T...
50 Shades of a waste of time
Saturday
25th August
Distance:9:74miles
Time:2:23:02Avg Speed:3:99mph
Avg Pace:15:43min/mile
Calories burned:1218
Run
Today
I again begin my missive with the appeal that I usually place at the end. I do
this to bring to the forefront, dear reader my reasons for writing as the date
of the Great North Run, which I am training for gets closer with every passing
day. I am running to raise funds for The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and I
write 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 with a donation then please log onto my ‘Just
Giving’ account and give as much as you can. www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC.
A huge thank you to all of you who have donated already and to those of you
who have not sponsored me yet …. WHY NOT???? Come on guys I –we-they need your
support.
Ok
so when I left you last I had had a couple of bad runs with legs that really
did not want to work. What to do? I pondered. The action was simple I would
apply the great Kenyan runners strategy and sleep!! Now those of you regular
readers who read via my Facebook status links will know that I am not prone to
early bed times and can often be found trawling the murky depths of the
internet at ungodly hours of the night. I am one of those people who can get by
on minimum hours sleep, however I do enjoy a siesta and often curl up mid-day
for a nap, I have even nodded off in class before today only to wake from my
all too brief reverie to find a startled pupil standing before me with a page
of sums to be marked, and a quizzical expression on their face! None the less
being the dedicated person that I am, having decided upon a course of action,
to wit that I would have a rest week, I threw myself into it with gusto. Not
sure if gusto is the best word to describe a week of catnapping and dozing that
would have given any narcoleptic a good run for their money! Conversely, doze I
did. I took every opportunity to rest my legs and decided that I would not run
at all from Saturday to Saturday. I embarked upon a week of very little and
decided that I would catch up on a bit of reading.
Having
chosen a week of literature unfortunately the book I chose to read first was
one that I had been avoiding for ages and one that I find it hard to equate
with the term ‘literature’. I
suspected I would not like it and I didn’t. Yes you’ve guessed it I caved and
read 50 Shades of Grey. I felt that I had to read it in order to comment as
being quite an opinionated person … “no not
you, opinionated surely not!” I hear you cry. Yet as it is such a hot topic
with the very definite love it versus loath it campaign I wanted to know what
all the fuss was about and would I fall for this mythical Christian Grey? Well
dear reader in the battle of the love it v loath it I fell most assuredly into
the latter. I found myself reading just so I could finish it and file it with
the other ‘well I shan’t be reading that again’ books. I pride myself on
finishing any book I start no matter how bad, having only given up on one book
in recent years, I ploughed on to the end spurred on by my inner goddess to get
this crap filed away asap and oh my I
got to the end quickly and with the feeling of relief that I would not be
wasting any more of my sleeping time on such a poorly written, badly
constructed, limited yet verbose, effusive pile of horse doo-doo!
Christian
Grey is a horrible controlling freak who the writer attempts to sugar coat in
descriptions of his outward beauty and his ability to wear a pair of trousers
well! I have to say that whilst reading it my inner goddess filed her nails and
did a Sudoku puzzle as my sub conscious yelled at me in her ‘mercurial’ way ‘I warned you, I told
you so, I know you, you will not like this.’ I need my literature to put me there, to feel
the character, to be the character, to love the character, to cry with the
character, to laugh with the character and of course to share the characters
apogee. Yet this book left me sad that so many can find this man anything other
than a creep. If his name was Kyle and he was an unemployed Chav then he would
have been demonised and put on an ASBO. By making him mega rich and dwelling
(over dwelling) on his physical appearance, his clothes and his smell.. of body
wash - yeah I got that he smelt of body wash you don’t need to rewrite it every
time you mention him- the writer ( I don’t use the term author for a reason as
that would imply someone who writes books!) tries and tries and tries to make
him appealing. Well not to me I hated him with every fibre of my being. I
particularly hated the scene where he turns up, stalkeresque, while she is
visiting her mother and the mother comments that he must love her because he
dropped everything to travel to where she was. NOOOOOO obviously the mother is
as vacuous and inane as the daughter. ANNND as for that whimpering, simpering
female Anastasia, oh don’t get me started. She is an anti-heroine who just from
start to end annoyed and irked me so much that I wanted to slap her face and
yell at her.
Yes
dear reader I hated that book and I will not be reading the other two
thankfully I did not pay good money for it a BGF loaned it to me with the
endorsement ‘It is the biggest pile of poo that I have read.’ I am amused to
note that a lot of my Facebook friends who I went to school with feel the same
and as a consequence I find myself thinking of my dear old literature teacher,
the fabulous Miss Brent, of my old Alma Mater, Abbey Grange. I realise how
influential she was on my reading choices and the way I view characters. She
taught me how to look deep into the words and see beyond the pages, she also
had an extremely driven sexual literature desire which causes me to wonder
about how she would view the 50 Shades books. You can bet your sweet ass that
had it come out in 1977 she would have made us read it; she was the Jean Brodie
of old ‘Scabby Abbey’.
Another
literature teacher I had at my middle school was the quiet, bookish Mrs Cripps
who engendered in me a need to see written words as powerful and rich in
meaning, she made a class of 12 year olds read Shakespeare and George Orwell’s Animal Farm and write deep
political analysis. Still to this day I remember my opening sentence of that
essay ‘Animal Farm is a biting satire
upon dictatorship….’ Of course I cannot mention teachers who had an
impact on me without paying respect to the first teacher who stirred in me a love
of books the sweet and gentle Mrs Backhouse who read Beatrix Potter and Enid
Blyton to the 6 year old me. A teacher so warm and loving that I still 44 years
later send her a Christmas card every year and she to me. Mrs Backhouse, Mrs Cripps, Miss Brent I thank you for your passion
and for teaching me how to truly read a book beyond the surface.
So
after all that literature annoyance and a week of rest how did my legs last out
on my next run? The answer to that is brilliant. I set off on my usual route
and contemplated how things would feel. A mile in I realised that my GPS was
not working and had only record one mile as 0.04 of a mile so I was not best
chuffed to say the least. The GPS continued to be irksome for at least another
mile and a half until eventually it sparked into full action. By this time I
was running on legs that felt stronger than they have in a long time and
although the weather conditions were poor, low smog that at points precluded
vision of more than 20m, I plodded on.
I
had an interesting encounter with a black Labrador who whilst on his morning
walk in Adel took a dislike to my running and launched himself at me with teeth
bared I had to check that he had not broken the skin as I had felt this teeth make
contact. Fortunately I was only bruised, his owner made a feeble apology and I was too into my run to stand and have a
go at him for having a dangerous dog, thankfully on the lead, can’t imagine
what would have happened had it not been!
Since
starting this running endeavour I have had it in the back of my mind that
before the day of the Great North run I would run to Otley (a nearby market
town) as a foretaste to the main event. Otley is about 10 miles away. I have
done ‘there and back runs’ that have equalled 9-10 miles but never done a
straight 9-10 mile run. As I ran on past 3,4,5 miles I felt my confidence
growing and decide that today was the day I would go for it. At about the 5
mile stage I rang my Raison D’etre, waking him from his slumbers, and announced
that I was on my way to Otley and would meet him at the auction mart in about 1
hour. I said 1 hour as I calculated that I had 4 miles to do and I generally
move at about 12 minutes to the mile, I also built in a ‘tiredness’ factor so 1
hour seemed reasonable. 40 minutes later I arrived at the specified meeting
place on legs that were fit to go much further and a feeling of glowing pride
and self-congratulation. Now my Raison D’etre is a man. A man of literal
interpretations and as I stood there by the meat market (romantic I know) I
began to realise that if I said an hour then an hour is what he would take and
that I was in danger of catching a chill at the very least as the rigours of
running do tend to make one perspire! So here I was with muscles that were
aching to do more but standing wreathed in their own ‘glow’ so I did the only
thing I could to preserve myself I started on the journey home as I figured
that I would pass him on the way. Now unbeknownst to me he had decided that he
would come the back way into Otley so as not to pass me on the way and put me
off (Yeah Christian Grey that’s what a real man does and how a good man
thinks!) he had also prepared a recovery pack of hot tea and blankets. Have I
ever mentioned just how much I love this amazing man? So after about half a
mile I called him again to see how far away he was only to find he was now
waiting at the meeting point having arrived there on the dot of one hour as
arranged. Minutes later he pulled alongside me wrapped me in a blanket an
apologised for not having had enough time to line it with tin foil, handed me a
cup of tea and drove me home.
I
was so proud of myself for having met one of my pre-race targets, for having
run well and for setting my mind to ‘go’ for the big day. Yet more than that I
felt so loved by this wonderful man who on the way home spoke of his pride in
me, his desire to prepare my recovery pack but mostly his wish that he could
run! My eyes well with tears as I write this now, he is a wonderful, intelligent, kind,
gentle, thoughtful, funny and handsome man who I love more than life itself. He
does not deserve this condition (no one does) but have it he has and for him I
will run. For him I will run. For him I will run. For him I beg of you please
sponsor me and help raise money for the charity that works so tirelessly to
raise awareness, to raise funds, to sponsor research, to support sufferers, to
be there for people like my Raison D’etre. Just log on to www.muscular-dystrophy.org and see why I am doing this. If you feel
you want to support me with a donation then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’
account and give as much as you can.
www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC.
A huge thank you to all of you who have donated already and to those of you
who have not sponsored me yet …. WHY NOT???? Come on guys I –we-they need your
support.
Thank you for
your support
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: Head,Heart and Legs in Unison
Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: Head,Heart and Legs in Unison: Saturday 11 th August Monday 13 th August Wednesday 15 th August Distance: 6:02miles Distan...
Head,Heart and Legs in Unison
Saturday
11th August Monday
13th August Wednesday
15th August
Distance:
6:02miles Distance: 2:00miles Distance: 1:15miles
Time:
1:25:07 min Time: 27:29min Time: 14:07minAvg Speed: 4:25mph Avg Speed 4:37mph Avg Speed: 4:87 kmph
Avg pace: 14:07min/mile Avg Pace 13:44min/mile Avg Pace: 12:19 min/mile
Calories Burned: 1065 Calories burned 359 Calories Burned: 215
Run Run Run
Saturday
18th August
Distance:7:13miles
Time:1:47:29Avg Speed:3:98mph
Avg Pace:15:04min/mile
Calories burned:1218
Run
Today
I again begin my missive with the appeal that I usually place at the end. I do
this to bring to the forefront, dear reader my reasons for writing as the date
of the Great North Run, which I am training for gets closer with every passing
day. I am running to raise funds for The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and I
write 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 with a donation then please log onto my ‘Just
Giving’ account and give as much as you can.
www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC.
A huge thank you to all of you who have donated already and to those of you who
have not sponsored me yet …. WHY NOT???? Come on guys I –we-they need your
support.
This week I am suffering from POSD – Post Olympic Stress Disorder- having invested so much emotion into my viewing both live and via TV. I now find myself bereft. I am returned to my normal round of TV even my favourite ‘The Big Bang Theory’ seems dulled by the lack of glory and human endeavour in my vista. I spent 2 days ironing and was drained by the dull monotony of daytime TV with its relentless round of DIY, house shopping, 3rd rate soap operas and repeats all peppered with adverts for mis-paid insurance claims, comparison web sites, accident and injury claims, payday loans and insurance for over 50’s. I am waiting with baited anticipation for the start of ‘The Superhumans’ the paralympians.
As for me and my own Olympian endeavours I continue towards the date of 16th September when the Great North Run takes place. I have been on my little training venture since 1st January and since then I have tried to run every Saturday and for the most part I have managed to stick to that pledge. I have had good days and I have had great days and I would have thought that by now my legs would be used to it. However this week I have endured 3 HARD runs. Saturday was difficult and my legs felt leaden I was annoyed because my head was in a good place and I wanted to do a long run but my legs just would not comply. I managed 6 miles, which on reluctant legs was an effort.
So
I ventured out again on Monday morning after I had waved my Raison D’etre off
to work. I actually went along the route that was one of my first runs and was
pleased that I could now run up one of the small hills that I previously
walked. That said, the rest of the run was ok but again my legs were not happy
so I headed home and ventured up another of my hill nemesis’s, again I managed
it but it was hard.
Along
comes Wednesday so today after I had waved my Raison D’etre off I too set off.
My plan was to repeat Monday’s route but extend it. Yet once again my old legs
let me down. I started but I felt leaden and sluggish. My breathing was hard
and my head felt a little woozy too. So I took a cut and headed home after just
one mile. I had thought about going for a swim on Thursday but I decided
against it and instead I had a rest day and put my legs up! I want to run well
on Saturday so I will rest for two days.
As
I write now it is Sunday. I did run yesterday but again my old legs were
unwilling and I am carrying a niggling twitch in my left ankle which I have
taken to strapping up, this helped and my left ankle was compliant to the
strapping however someone forgot to tell my right calf and thigh, which came
out in sympathy with my left ankle and decided to ache throughout the run.
Notwithstanding the niggles I carried on. I walked quite a lot and clocked up
one of my slowest miles to date – 19.19min I also managed a good one of 10.49minutes,
this was on the return route so I suppose I had warmed up a little and gotten
into the run. When I first started this adventure I got excited when I broke
the 12 then 11 minute mile. I have as yet been unable to break the 10 minute
mile that would be a confidence boost as the date for the GNR draws ever close.
My head has always been committed to this race. My heart has been steadfast in
its assurance of solidarity to my head, however my legs have been blasé to say
the least. Their initial attitude was
‘What the hell are you playing at? Closely followed by
‘OK Yeah we know what you want to do we can do that’ however they are now at the ……
‘You do realise just what you are asking us to do, don’t you?’ stage and I think a little panic may be setting in. I just need to get my head, heart and leggies talking to each other.
I have this week received my race pack. So it is official and my legs had better get their act in gear. I have a sheet to pin to my tee shirt both front and back with my name and race number on; I have a map, a book of instructions and a timer tag to fasten to my shoe. I have also booked our accommodation for the night before, I had previously booked a hotel which was going to cost £100 per person for our party but the lovely girls at the MD Campaign have organised cheap board at a college hall at a fraction of the cost so I unbooked the hotel and booked the college, the college also arranges transfers to transport to the start and finish so I am now fully sorted. My sponsor money is coming in I have had most generous support from my on line friends, my family and my church friends and work colleagues. If you have not sponsored me yet I would be grateful for your support.
So
I end where I began I am running to raise funds for The Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign and I write 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 with a donation then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’
account and give as much as you can. www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC.
A huge thank you to all of you who have donated already and to those of you who
have not sponsored me yet …. WHY NOT???? Come on guys I –we-they need your
support.
Thank
you for your support
Tuesday, 7 August 2012
Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: 2012 Awesome Olympics
Following a fat, unfit 50 year old to fitness!: 2012 Awesome Olympics: Saturday 28 th July Thursday 2 nd August Saturday 4 th August Distance: 4.02miles Dist...
2012 Awesome Olympics
Saturday
28th July Thursday 2nd August
Saturday 4th August
Distance:
4.02miles Distance: 2:52milesc Distance: 7:13miles
Time:
58:10 min Time: 47:89min Time: 1:41:33min
Avg Speed: 4:15mph Avg
Speed 3.22mph Avg Speed: 4:22 kmphAvg pace: 14:27min/mile Avg Pace 20.9min/mile Avg Pace: 14:14 min/mile
Calories Burned: 704 Calories burned 428 Calories Burned: 1257
Running Walking Run
Monday
6th August
Distance
: 2:01miles
Time
: 26:39Avg Speed: 4:53mph
Avg pace: 13:15min/mile
Calories Burned: 366
Running
Today
I begin my missive with the appeal that I usually place at the end. I do this
to bring to the forefront, dear reader my reasons for writing as the date of
the Great North Run, which I am training for is one month away. I am running to
raise funds for The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and I write 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 with a donation then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’
account and give as much as you can. www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC.
A huge thank you to all of you who have donated already and to those of you who
have not sponsored me yet …. WHY NOT???? Come on guys I –we-they need your
support.
As you can see from my stats I have been a little more active since my last entry. I have had a couple of runs and I recorded a couple of walks on my way to the Chinese athletics camp. Had a good day last Thursday when the British and Chinese media paid a visit I did an interview for Chinese TV all about why I volunteered and what I had been doing. So somewhere in China a lot of people will be baffled by the ravings of this mad Yorkshire woman!
My run of Saturday 28th July was done in London up to and around Alexandra Palace where the Dutch Olympic team have been based. My reason for being in London was simple. I was there to go to the Olympics. We had been fortunate to win tickets in the ballot. Having bid for hundreds of pounds worth of tickets (would have cost us a fortune if we had won them all) we got tickets for Beach Volleyball (BVB). I cannot begin to tell you how pleased my Raison D’etre was when he realised those were the tickets we had won. The thought of all those buff bodies in bikinis was enough to set his poor old ticker racing. Beach Volleyball was not in the Olympic Park though it was to be on Horse Guards Parade. So with that in mind I kept scouring the internet and re-applying for Park tickets for any event just to ensure access to The Park. My persistence paid off and eventually I was successful on a bid for hockey.
Sunday
29th found our little group excitedly venturing forth. Our BVB game
began at 9:30am so we started our travels at just after 6.30am. We wanted to be
sure we got there and as my Raison D’etre, for obvious reasons, cannot move
very quickly we built contingencies into our transport plans including avoiding
stations with steps and taking a taxi to a further station in order to avoid
too many changes. Our careful planning paid off and we arrived at the venue
unflustered, calm and ready. We were one of the first to take our seats and
watch the rest arrive. The atmosphere was electric with loud music playing and
audience participation encouraged all along the games. The athletes were
stunning the women had fantastic bodies absolutely beautiful, curvy and
muscular, athletic and honed. The men were a sight to behold the Czech boys
were a sight to behold one was 6’8” the other 6’4” giants of men again with
beautiful bodies but sadly, unlike the ladies in their sports bikinis the men
had long loose shorts and vest tops. Now you all know me, I love equality of
the sexes so come on Bach Volleyball organisers if bikinis are kit for the
girls, then bare chest and speedos should be de rigueur for the boys, the sport
is great but eye candy helps. We saw 4 games Italy v Russia (women) Czech
Republic v Spain (men), Holland v Spain (ladies) and Austria v Brazil (mens)
with Italy, Spain, Holland and Brazil victorious. We had a fabulous time we
clapped, chanted, cheered and gasped. The sun shone for most of the time but
there were a couple of heavy showers later on that sent the less prepared folk
running for cover, not us we travelled with rain ponchos that not only keep you
dry but can also cover your seat and bags too!
Later
on in the day after a walk to Green Park we got ourselves into a good position
to see the ladies cycle road race fly past. Those girls certainly move at
speed. This race saw GB’s first medal, a silver for Lizzie Armistead. Weary but
exultant we made our way home.
The
following day was our day in The Olympic Park. Once again our journey there was
planned meticulously and was embarked upon early, thus enabling a smooth and
event free journey. The first exciting part was on the train as it approached
the park I spotted the stadium on the horizon and was virtually overcome with
giddiness. I was jumping up and down on my seat and pointing things out to
children on the train who were, to say the least, indifferent to my excitement
and the occasion. We were greeted at the station by an army of ‘Games makers’
the cheery, smiling army of 70 000 volunteers who ensured that no one got lost
or did not know what to do. We then passed, without issue, through security
which was slick, cheerful and efficient. All that scaremongering by the doom
merchants of the British press pre games just dissipated into a haze of
excitement and efficiency.
I cannot put into words the pure excitement and exhilaration of being there. I was just so happy. I have watched and followed the Olympics since 1972 and to now be here and at a home- British one too, was a dream come true. As we walked into the park I asked my Raison D’etre if he wanted a wheelchair, as they were available to hire, or to ride in, on one of the accessibility buggies because I knew we had a hard day of walking ahead of us. His response echoed my own thoughts “No I just want to walk in and soak it all in” and that we did.
The
Park is beautiful the waterways and wild flower beds looked stunning, the
buildings are awe inspiring. The Aquatics centre another feat of engineering
and design. Close by the water polo centre stands at 90degrees to the aquatics
centre and together they greet you as you enter the park. The stadium of course
is huge and impressive although my Raison D’etre who is an engineer, was not
totally won over by it and suggested a few design improvements. The Orbit
stands by the stadium and offers an elevated view of the park, sadly we could
not get tickets as these were booked up until mid-August! The Velodrome is
beautiful beyond words the curve and sweep of the roof is awe inspiring this
was our favourite structure. We actually forgot to check out the Copper Box! My
only very small complaint is that the torch cannot be seen above the stadium it
is inside rather than a top the building. This to me kind of says that only the
events in the stadium are worthy. It should be high above everything but I realise
that the nature of the structure ie the stems and petals, would not withstand strong
winds.
After
a Cornish Pasty (£5!!) we made our way down to the Riverbank Arena, a temporary
structure which was built from so many scaffolding poles that I cannot imagine
there are any left anywhere else in London! Scaffolding poles can create beauty
too!
We
stopped on in the park till dark as I wanted to see it all lit up and was not
disappointed. We had a fabulous day one I know I will remember for a long, long
time. We go back in September for the Paralympic events and have tickets for
the swimming so I am already planning that event as being in that terrific
aquatics centre is already getting me excited.
So
I end where I began I am running to raise funds for The Muscular Dystrophy
Campaign and I write 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 with a donation then please log onto my ‘Just Giving’
account and give as much as you can. www.justgiving.com/Team-LewisMDC.
A huge thank you to all of you who have donated already and to those of you who
have not sponsored me yet …. WHY NOT???? Come on guys I –we-they need your
support.
Thank
you for your support.
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