PhysiotheraYAY!

Hello all.

I trust the approaching first frost of wintry times has got you all excited about treading softly on crisply muddied leaves and thinking about putting on more layers in the evenings.

It has me.

Not only that but we'll soon have even less daylight to watch our footing in as this weekend sees the end of British Summer Time officially.

This week I've been mostly...

                                                                                            

                                                                                                            ...cycling.


Not outside obviously. It's bloomin' windy this time of year. I've set up my turbo trainer two feet away from my TV so I can pedal away and watch anything that takes my mind off how boring it is not doing this cycling thing for real.

Outside.

Did I mention it was windy?

The reason I'm staying indoors, besides being a bit of a girl when it comes to cycling in the windy, rainy, yuckiness of autumn, is that I need to lay off my feet for a while until my new custom orthotics are ready!

I saw the physio this week and he told me what I already knew. I have 'special' feet.
After some walking about and a bit of bending my knees and ankles at funny angles I stuck my feet in floral foam.

Now I know my feet are pretty smelly but hopefully they'll come up smelling of roses after a little time in prime flower arrangers material.

Unfortunately they were in just long enough to make an impression and had to be removed!

Bad jokes aside it was far quicker than my last experience which involved plaster of Paris and an overly long wait while the stuff dried during which time I was to remain totally still.

Which I'm not know for.

Now I have but a few weeks to wait before my new, improved orthotics are ready and I can jump up and down to my hearts content thereafter. I can't wait. Though there'll probably be less jumping and more jogging as I've got a 10k in two weeks time.

See my earlier blog entry here for details.

That's all for now really, I'm looking forward to another delightful run along the Thames this weekend, hopefully the wind won't blow the pleasant stench of sewage into my face as I breath it deeply into my lungs for the duration as happened last week.

Lace up folks :)

Remember, remember...

The 5th of November.

Because it'll be the only day off I get this month.

I'm going to be dressing up as both Father Christmas and a reindeer, on separate occasions I hasten to add, for charity runs in London in which my ever-willing training partner has managed to convince me (and others) of participation.
But since the aforementioned training partner is going on a little pre-holiday holiday I have two other weekends to fill.

So I entered into a couple of local events as well.

The events in London are:

The London Santa Run which has you donning a one-size-fits-all Santa suit to run 6K in Finsbury Park raising money for Disability Snowsport UK.

I loved skiing after only 1 week in the mountains! The crisp mountain air, the fresh morning snowfall, the thrill of rushing headlong down a ridiculous slope.
Disability Snowsports enable winter boardsports for people living with disabilities in the UK.

The RNLI Reindeer Run turns all it's runners into Rudolph for a morning as they try to get to the mince pie at the finish line wearing antlers and a red nose (and suitable running attire as well so I'm told). This event can be run as 5K or 10K to increase funding for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.

These guys and gals brave the high seas to rescue the likes of stranded windsurfers (like my Dad was once) and shipwrecked passengers and crew.

In the UK they're all VOLUNTEERS.

My other two events (I can't really call them races as I'm nowhere near fast enough) are the Tidworth 10K and the Over The Hills 12K  both of which are cross-country. I can't wait actually. Running in winter must be one of my favourite times of year. You know no-one else is mad enough to brave the cold so you can almost guarantee plenty of quiet solitude wherever you venture.

The two charities I'm supporting for these events are the Salisbury District Hospital Stars Appeal and Alzheimers Support respectively.

So that only really leaves me one weekend free so I think I'll be putting my feet in a bucket of ice.

I shouldn't complain really. The same weekend I ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon a colleague of mine ran a full marathon and he's building up to run a 100kM event next year. Visit his charity page here.


Incidentally I got a certificate for my participation in the half marathon I ran.

2' 22" was just over the 2' 15" I'd said I was going to complete in and if I'd maintained my first half pace for the second half I'd've come in under 2 hours. But I think my legs and feet might have severed themselves from my body and gone off for a sleep had I tried that.

Next time.

I'm just really chuffed I finished despite wanting to quit at the 10 mile point and every 5 minutes subsequently.

There are some official race photos but they cost too much money so you'll just have to believe me that I ran it.

So that about wraps things up for now, I hope those Brits amongst my readers will find it in their hearts to sponsor me in one of my upcoming events. I say that because all the charities are UK based. Perhaps you international types can recommend a good global charity that's close to your heart.

To donate just click one of these links:

Disability Snowsport UK.
Royal National Lifeboat Institute
Salisbury District Hospital STARS Appeal
Alzheimers Support

Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me and donated to a worthwhile cause already. Keep up the good work :)

So what now?

Hello and welcome kindly visitors to my humble blog. I've done my half-marathon, raised some money for a great cause and now I have to look to the future.

For those who don't know I'm currently serving Her Majesty as a member of her Armed Forces. However I've handed my notice in and will be a fully fledged civilian in less than a year! I can't wait.

The military life requires a certain level of fitness which, now that I'm leaving, I'm a little concerned may slip somewhat when I re-integrate into polite society.

And so...

After training long and hard on my own as well as with my long-suffering training buddy Kate (see her running blog here) I feel that I shouldn't let up in the slightest (don't tell her I said so though!).

I'm going to try and enter some event or other every couple of months and hopefully have a lot of fun doing so. Maybe even a proper, full on marathon next year some time. The two I have in mind are the RNLI Reindeer Run in November and the London Santa Run in December.

Fun being the operative word here.

Military fitness, whilst pretty extensive, ain't that fun I can tell you. Especially if you show up late for a Physical Training lesson.
I must admit I am a little saddened this week as I'm engaged in the LAST EVER fitness assessments of my Army career. I passed my Personal Fitness Assessment today beating my last time for the mile-and-a-half run by 17 seconds and I'm getting ready for tomorrow's Combat Fitness Test. An 8 mile march carrying a 40Ib backpack which must be completed in 2 hours.

The mile-and-a-half test is a simple test created by Kenneth Cooper at The Cooper Institute many years ago and is still used as a benchmark assessment by the military. We soldiers must be in the top 20th percentile to pass.

As for the loaded march only Satan can explain that one!

Right that's enough chit-chat for one night.

Goodnight everyone :)

2' 22"

It's all over and a little piece of me wants to do another one already!

Thanks to everyone who has donated their hard-earned cash to The Stroke Association. I hit my target and your money is now well on its way to doing wonderful things and improving lives.

All that remains for me is to have a bath and then maybe have a little snooze.

And apply to run another one...




You can still donate for the next couple of months though. Just click on the link above. Or if you'd rather text Mack80, followed by the amount you wish to donate, to 70070

i.e. Mack80 £10


Thanks again everybody you got me round the last few miles :)