My training plan called for 24 miles today but my calf is still in no fit shape to take that kind of distance. So, how to replace that with elliptical training? Well, I calculated 12 minutes per mile which works out at 4 hrs 48 mins. In my planning I had figured on rounding it up to 5 hours but as it turned out I did 4 hrs 50 mins because of a toilet related timing issue. (basically the machine kept re-setting every time I went to the toilet and I ran out of time to stay for the last ten).
I don't know if any of you have ever spent that long on an elliptical trainer (or any other fixed exercise machine I guess) but it's a uniquely boring way of inflicting pain on yourself. The elliptical trainer specialises in causing thigh and buttock pain and thus that is what I am suffering now. By the time I got off the thing I could barely move my legs. I was hungry, thirsty, and moving with the grace of a badly constructed robot. The busy gym into which I had walked five hours earlier was empty and they had turned off the relentlessly optimistic dance music that I'd listened to throughout my ordeal. I used to like dance music but now whenever I hear it I get a pavlovian response and start limping.
To be fair though, it's a great gym and the staff had no issue with me hogging one machine for so long. There was always at least one free machine and if they'd have all been taken I'd probably have done the decent thing and got off it to let someone else have a go. As it turned out I was OK to stay on it.
During the workout I drank 3 litres of fluid; 1.5 of lucozade energy drink and 1.5 of water. I also ate a flapjack and an energy bar. I didn't count them exactly but I think it was about 800 calories with something over 2,000 burned. So hopefully tonight I have 1,200 calories worth of love handle less than I had this morning.
Tomorrow is leaflet dropping day. If you see me out come and say "hi" :)
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 4:50hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Elliptical 11:06 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 500
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £493.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Pity My Feet is a training and fitness blog that chronicles the misadventures of an aging demotivated wanna-be athlete with a penchant for making bad exercise related life choices. Currently in training for Iron Man Wales 2014. Don't ask why.
Saturday, 7 January 2012
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Thursday 5th January 2012 - 90 minutes elliptical
Eight miles on the schedule for tonight so I rounded it up to 90 minutes on the elliptical and read more of the Lord of the Rings with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers playing in my ears. Definitely a very different experience from slogging along frozen lanes being freaked out by scary cow eyes in the dark. It was short and sweet though, straight in, sweat it up for an hour and a half and straight out! (After a shower of course!).
Sadly I didn't have time for any of the niceties like saunas or pool splashing. That'll have to wait. Oh, I also did some press-ups during the day. Not really part of my training to do them but I use them as a deterrent to laziness. Working from home is not good for me because I need some peer pressure to stop me being idle. So I have a tactic that whenever I catch myself idling I drop and give myself 20 (I'd have made a great drill seargant). It's a sign of what an idle day I've had that I did 100 of the wretched things through the day!!
I picked up my new leaflets today, ready for a long day of leaflet dropping on Sunday. They look quite good. Cheap obviously but that's probably no bad thing considering I'm basically begging for money with them. If they were too swish people would figure I didn't need the cash! I also got a box full of collection boxes from Mencap; and some stickers for the next time I'm collecting. If you know a business that would be able to host one for a few months please let me know! Ideally
places that trade a lot of cash and have a lot of generous customers!
I also got some text donations through (thank you Vicky and Dan!!). I hope to get a few more over the weekend when I start dropping the leaflets off. Oh, and I also finally replied to Wrexham Football Club and to the Wrexham Evening Leader. Both had offered to help me promote the event before Christmas but I lost so much motivation during my injury that I had followed neither of them up until today. Hopefully I'll get a positive response from them both.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 1:30 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 100
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Elliptical 6:16 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 500
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £483.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Sadly I didn't have time for any of the niceties like saunas or pool splashing. That'll have to wait. Oh, I also did some press-ups during the day. Not really part of my training to do them but I use them as a deterrent to laziness. Working from home is not good for me because I need some peer pressure to stop me being idle. So I have a tactic that whenever I catch myself idling I drop and give myself 20 (I'd have made a great drill seargant). It's a sign of what an idle day I've had that I did 100 of the wretched things through the day!!
I picked up my new leaflets today, ready for a long day of leaflet dropping on Sunday. They look quite good. Cheap obviously but that's probably no bad thing considering I'm basically begging for money with them. If they were too swish people would figure I didn't need the cash! I also got a box full of collection boxes from Mencap; and some stickers for the next time I'm collecting. If you know a business that would be able to host one for a few months please let me know! Ideally
places that trade a lot of cash and have a lot of generous customers!
I also got some text donations through (thank you Vicky and Dan!!). I hope to get a few more over the weekend when I start dropping the leaflets off. Oh, and I also finally replied to Wrexham Football Club and to the Wrexham Evening Leader. Both had offered to help me promote the event before Christmas but I lost so much motivation during my injury that I had followed neither of them up until today. Hopefully I'll get a positive response from them both.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 1:30 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 100
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 0 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Elliptical 6:16 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 500
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £483.53.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Text "MIFF70 £5" to 70070
or just click on the "Donate Now" link on the sidebar.
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Mencap New Year - New Me video
Hi All,
I know this is a running blog and all that but I was inspired today watching a new video produced by Mencap highlighting the aspirations and hopes that 2012 holds for some of the 1.5 million people in the UK coping with a learning disability.
It's a wonderfully uplifting video showing the human face of this illness.
Follow the link below to watch it. I hope it inspires you in the way it inspired me.
If you wish to donate please text MIFF70 £1 to 70070 to send a pound to Mencap. You can change the £1 to any amount you wish to send. Or you can click on the "Donate now" button on the toolbar to the right.
Many thanks,
Al
Mencap - New Year - New Me video
I know this is a running blog and all that but I was inspired today watching a new video produced by Mencap highlighting the aspirations and hopes that 2012 holds for some of the 1.5 million people in the UK coping with a learning disability.
It's a wonderfully uplifting video showing the human face of this illness.
Follow the link below to watch it. I hope it inspires you in the way it inspired me.
If you wish to donate please text MIFF70 £1 to 70070 to send a pound to Mencap. You can change the £1 to any amount you wish to send. Or you can click on the "Donate now" button on the toolbar to the right.
Many thanks,
Al
Mencap - New Year - New Me video
Wednesday 4th January 2012 - 66 mins elliptical
I was working in Milton Keynes today (about 130 miles / 200 km from home) so by the time I arrived at the gym I was feeling pretty jaded after the long drive. However I blew away the cobwebs with some core strength exercises and then it was on to see my new best friend. The elliptical trainer. My plan said just 6 miles today so I figured at 11 minutes per mile and did 66 minutes. I upped the level a bit from what I'd done the day before and also upped the cadence by between 10 and 20 reps per minute. Especially when "Common People" came on my ipod shuffle!
After the elliptical I went down the pool and rested on a lounger (tough life eh?) for a bit before jumping in and doing 60 lengths to finish. I then chilled out with my calves in the spa for a bit and into the sauna.
One problem I had was that I forgot to take a water bottle so had to rely on the little plastic cups at the gym. The cup holders on the ellipticals are too big to hold them so I couldn't take any water during my time on there. I built up a huge thirst and so gulped a lot as soon as I finished. In fact I found myself gulping cups of water rather than sipping like I would do from the bottle and eventually I had a belly full of water that wouldn't budge. This meant that I couldn't stomach enough water in the sauna and had to abandon and hit the steam room for the last bit.
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 1:06 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 1500 m
Sauna 20 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Elliptical 4:46 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
After the elliptical I went down the pool and rested on a lounger (tough life eh?) for a bit before jumping in and doing 60 lengths to finish. I then chilled out with my calves in the spa for a bit and into the sauna.
One problem I had was that I forgot to take a water bottle so had to rely on the little plastic cups at the gym. The cup holders on the ellipticals are too big to hold them so I couldn't take any water during my time on there. I built up a huge thirst and so gulped a lot as soon as I finished. In fact I found myself gulping cups of water rather than sipping like I would do from the bottle and eventually I had a belly full of water that wouldn't budge. This meant that I couldn't stomach enough water in the sauna and had to abandon and hit the steam room for the last bit.
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 1:06 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 1500 m
Sauna 20 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Elliptical 4:46 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 10,750 m
Sauna 5:50 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Tuesday 3rd December 2012 - 2:25 hrs Elliptical
So here's the theory. I follow my training plan to the letter, except for one thing. I replace running with elliptical trainer, erm, training. I take an average minute per mile time to work out how long a given run will last and then programme the trainer for the same amount of time. Ergo, I do the same work, get the same benefit as I would running except that I don't put any strain on my calf.
Perfect right? Well yes, except for the fact that when I think about why I love running I think about the fresh air, the scenery, the chance meetings of friends and friendly strangers on the lanes. A look at clear starry skies. A battle through wind and rain to bring a triumphant feel to the run's end. None of this can be re-created on an elliptical trainer.
But I'm a positive person so I'll focus on the things that are better on a trainer than on a road. Firstly music. I never listen to my ipod on the lanes because sadly some people are nutters behind a wheel and I need to know when cars are approaching in case I have to leap out the way. Since starting my training I've had three or four scary near misses and it's simply not safe to run without being able to hear the approach of potential four wheeled doom. So tonight on the elliptical I blasted a pretty awesome Heavy Rock playlist directly into the part of the brain that makes the legs move. Secondly, and most unlikely, reading. Clearly it's not practical to read a book while out running. However tonight on the elliptical I managed to read about 100 pages of the Lord of the Rings. In fact I got so absorbed in it that almost an hour of my workout passed by without me even thinking about it!
So that leads me nicely onto tonight's training. It was supposed to be a 14 mile run so I calculated 14 x 12 minute miles gives 168 minutes, or 2 hours and 48 minutes. Sadly I arrived at the gym just a little too late to do the entire amount so I only ended up doing 2 hours and 25 minutes. Even so I'm pretty pleased with it. No pain in my calf and enough work to leave me feeling tired. An odd thing, at one point I lost the feeling in both legs below the knees. It sounds a lot more dramatic than it was but it certainly made for an interesting walk (well, shuffle) to the loo half way through!
Activity on the fundraising front. I got 2,000 copies of the leaflets I designed printed up today (I know... I couldn't believe how quickly they could do it either!!). So at the weekend I'll be out delivering them through some letterboxes. I intend to use it as a training day, albeit with no running. I'll give the backpack a go and take my cooker and some dried food out so I can try to get used to the self-sufficiency thing; cooking my food and hot drinks all day. If you get a leaflet through your door please be kind to it and please be kind to me and send me a little donation!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 2:25 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 15 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Elliptical 3:40 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 9250 m
Sauna 5:30 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Perfect right? Well yes, except for the fact that when I think about why I love running I think about the fresh air, the scenery, the chance meetings of friends and friendly strangers on the lanes. A look at clear starry skies. A battle through wind and rain to bring a triumphant feel to the run's end. None of this can be re-created on an elliptical trainer.
But I'm a positive person so I'll focus on the things that are better on a trainer than on a road. Firstly music. I never listen to my ipod on the lanes because sadly some people are nutters behind a wheel and I need to know when cars are approaching in case I have to leap out the way. Since starting my training I've had three or four scary near misses and it's simply not safe to run without being able to hear the approach of potential four wheeled doom. So tonight on the elliptical I blasted a pretty awesome Heavy Rock playlist directly into the part of the brain that makes the legs move. Secondly, and most unlikely, reading. Clearly it's not practical to read a book while out running. However tonight on the elliptical I managed to read about 100 pages of the Lord of the Rings. In fact I got so absorbed in it that almost an hour of my workout passed by without me even thinking about it!
So that leads me nicely onto tonight's training. It was supposed to be a 14 mile run so I calculated 14 x 12 minute miles gives 168 minutes, or 2 hours and 48 minutes. Sadly I arrived at the gym just a little too late to do the entire amount so I only ended up doing 2 hours and 25 minutes. Even so I'm pretty pleased with it. No pain in my calf and enough work to leave me feeling tired. An odd thing, at one point I lost the feeling in both legs below the knees. It sounds a lot more dramatic than it was but it certainly made for an interesting walk (well, shuffle) to the loo half way through!
Activity on the fundraising front. I got 2,000 copies of the leaflets I designed printed up today (I know... I couldn't believe how quickly they could do it either!!). So at the weekend I'll be out delivering them through some letterboxes. I intend to use it as a training day, albeit with no running. I'll give the backpack a go and take my cooker and some dried food out so I can try to get used to the self-sufficiency thing; cooking my food and hot drinks all day. If you get a leaflet through your door please be kind to it and please be kind to me and send me a little donation!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Elliptical 2:25 hrs
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 15 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Elliptical 3:40 hrs
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 9250 m
Sauna 5:30 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Monday, 2 January 2012
Monday 2nd January 2012 - 75 mins Eliptical training
It's been a great Christmas for fun and time spent with the kids; but as far as my Marathon des Sables training and fundraising is concerned it's been terrible! The torn calf muscle brought my training to a complete stand-still for over two weeks. In fact I still cannot run even a single pace on it. During one false dawn I tried hopping to show my Mum how much better it was and ended up limping for another two days. With this experience in mind today I decided to eat a full bowl of realism and vowed not to run again until I am confident that it is fully healed. Even if this takes another two weeks (which would mean a total of a whole month out!!).
However, in spite of this setback I am somehow filled with optimism and energy again. I think a part of me has decided not to let it beat me and so I'm going to plough on with my training as best I can. I went to the gym today and learned something very useful. If I go on an eliptic trainer and keep my heel down on the pad I can use it without putting any strain on my calves whatsoever. I went today did a 15 minute tester as a warm up and felt no problems at all. So then I did some core exercises (avoiding the ones that put strain on my calves) and then went back to the eliptical and did a full hour. I then went downstairs to the pool and swam 50 lengths and spent an age in the sauna and steam room.
And at the end of it all I feel ace!! It's such a good feeling to be doing 'something' towards my training, even if it won't help with the old 'specificity' thing that I keep reading about. If I can continue to build aerobic fitness and strengthen my knees and thighs then I will feel like I am making good progress even as I rest my calves. I suppose it's a risk and maybe I ought to pull out of the event all together but I can't stomach making that decision. So I'm going to plough on and work as hard as I dare on my training. I'll also work as hard as I dare on my fundraising and to that end I am going to spend the rest of this evening designing some flyers that I can hand out as I am fundraising. I intend to spend some days pushing leaflets through doors in the hope of encouraging some people to sponsor me - you never know, one might come through YOUR door!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 1250 m
Sauna 1:05 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 9250 m
Sauna 5:15 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
However, in spite of this setback I am somehow filled with optimism and energy again. I think a part of me has decided not to let it beat me and so I'm going to plough on with my training as best I can. I went to the gym today and learned something very useful. If I go on an eliptic trainer and keep my heel down on the pad I can use it without putting any strain on my calves whatsoever. I went today did a 15 minute tester as a warm up and felt no problems at all. So then I did some core exercises (avoiding the ones that put strain on my calves) and then went back to the eliptical and did a full hour. I then went downstairs to the pool and swam 50 lengths and spent an age in the sauna and steam room.
And at the end of it all I feel ace!! It's such a good feeling to be doing 'something' towards my training, even if it won't help with the old 'specificity' thing that I keep reading about. If I can continue to build aerobic fitness and strengthen my knees and thighs then I will feel like I am making good progress even as I rest my calves. I suppose it's a risk and maybe I ought to pull out of the event all together but I can't stomach making that decision. So I'm going to plough on and work as hard as I dare on my training. I'll also work as hard as I dare on my fundraising and to that end I am going to spend the rest of this evening designing some flyers that I can hand out as I am fundraising. I intend to spend some days pushing leaflets through doors in the hope of encouraging some people to sponsor me - you never know, one might come through YOUR door!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 0 miles
Time 0
Kcal 0
Press-ups 0
Swimming 1250 m
Sauna 1:05 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 9250 m
Sauna 5:15 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
Friday, 30 December 2011
Saturday 17th December 2011 - 15 miles of pain!
Well, it's taken me almost two weeks to write up this run. Mostly because it's been a pretty miserable time on the training front. The pain that I have mentioned over the previous few weeks really burned to the fore and I found that I was limping constantly and in constant pain with my right shin and calf. I could barely walk afterwards, let alone run. And what started as a few days rest became two weeks of complete inactivity. On the bright side I guess Christmas is as good a time as any to take a break from the training.
The pain has only started to subside in the last day or two (I'm writing this on the 30th December). I finally went to the doctor yesterday and after a (very) painful examination he told me that the bone is fine (I had feared a stress fracture) and that the injury was a torn muscle in my calf. If I'm honest he was a little dismissive and made me feel silly for having gone to the doctor with it at all. So I left without really questioning him about the recovery time.
So I now have to decide how much longer to rest it for. I'm quite indecisive about it. There is a marathon in Liverpool tomorrow and I really really want to go and run it. But I am haunted by the fear that if I do a marathon with an injury like this I may jeopardise my participation in the Marathon des Sables. On the other hand, if I get through it without any major problems it will be a great way to kick-start my training into 2012; and I love marathon running so it will be fun too!!
Anyway, for completeness I should describe the run on the 17th as per the heading to this post.
The run itself was a reasonable one. A lot of pain on the six mile road run to Ellesmere but a more comfortable 9 to follow down the canal to the gym and then in for some sauna and spa time to ease the legs.
I got hit by the rain at about 8 miles but not as bad as the previous time I'd done this route. The split times tell a story of injury and fatigue though. I only got below 10 minute miles once on the whole run and that was mile ten when I was on good canal path ground and was fully warmed up. However the pain in my leg never really went away and with hindsight I probably shouldn't have done this one.
Oh, but I did reach the 300 mile mark in my training. A bittersweet record considering the price I paid but it was nice to breach another round number!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 15.62 miles
Time 2:50:11
Kcal 2129
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 15 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 8000 m
Sauna 4:10 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
The pain has only started to subside in the last day or two (I'm writing this on the 30th December). I finally went to the doctor yesterday and after a (very) painful examination he told me that the bone is fine (I had feared a stress fracture) and that the injury was a torn muscle in my calf. If I'm honest he was a little dismissive and made me feel silly for having gone to the doctor with it at all. So I left without really questioning him about the recovery time.
So I now have to decide how much longer to rest it for. I'm quite indecisive about it. There is a marathon in Liverpool tomorrow and I really really want to go and run it. But I am haunted by the fear that if I do a marathon with an injury like this I may jeopardise my participation in the Marathon des Sables. On the other hand, if I get through it without any major problems it will be a great way to kick-start my training into 2012; and I love marathon running so it will be fun too!!
Anyway, for completeness I should describe the run on the 17th as per the heading to this post.
The run itself was a reasonable one. A lot of pain on the six mile road run to Ellesmere but a more comfortable 9 to follow down the canal to the gym and then in for some sauna and spa time to ease the legs.
I got hit by the rain at about 8 miles but not as bad as the previous time I'd done this route. The split times tell a story of injury and fatigue though. I only got below 10 minute miles once on the whole run and that was mile ten when I was on good canal path ground and was fully warmed up. However the pain in my leg never really went away and with hindsight I probably shouldn't have done this one.
Oh, but I did reach the 300 mile mark in my training. A bittersweet record considering the price I paid but it was nice to breach another round number!
Peace, out.
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 79.6 Kg
TODAY
Distance 15.62 miles
Time 2:50:11
Kcal 2129
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna 15 mins
TOTAL
Distance 315.28 miles
Time 54:50:38
Kcal 34,388
Press-ups 400
Swimming 8000 m
Sauna 4:10 mins
FUNDRAISING
The fund is at £481.53.
If you haven't already donated then take a look at http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet and help the wonderful work of MENCAP. Thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored already. I respect and love you all!!!
Remember that you can now donate by sending a text to 70070 saying (without quotes) "MIFF70 £5" but replacing the £5 with any amount you wish to donate. I've tested it to make sure it works and it's EASY EASY EASY!!! Try it!
Feel free to contact me with any fundraising ideas you have. You can email me at: miffjacobs@hotmail.com
DONATE
Please remember that I'm inflicting all this pain and misery on myself for a cause greater than just having a good story to tell over a beer. I hope to raise over £9,500 for MENCAP; an amazing charity who help those born with learning difficulties to live a normal life and to enjoy the same opportunities and choices that the rest of us take for granted.
Be an awesome human being today and click on the link below and help make someone's life better.
Thank you. You really ARE awesome.
http://www.justgiving.com/pitymyfeet
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