Lazyitus relapse..

Well I haven't actually been out running at all since my last post. It's not that running over the Itchen Bridge was so horrific that it put me off (it was bad, but not that bad!). It's more because I've been busy busy!!

So I went to the Isle of Wight festival this weekend. It was brilliant fun!! But I didn't sleep (thanks to a lumpy, corrugated iron type bed and freezing cold night temperatures) for 4 days straight, and I came home all tired and full of horrible cold sores. So I'm still really quite tired now, and I don't want to get even more tired by running, because then my cold sores will never heal. And at the moment I look like a real dirty minger. I would put a photo up on here of them, but it is really soooo gross that I wouldn't want to inflict it on you people.

And on Saturday, me and Tom are going to France for our summer holiday. We've rented a converted windmill in the South of France. It's set in 4.4 acres of countryside and has no neighbours or anything. It's going to be lovely and relaxing, I can't wait!

But I will be bringing my trainers and I do plan on doing some running whilst I'm out there... so come back and visit my blog from the 30th onward to see if I've updated it with any foreign running!!

p.s. thanks to all the people who voted that I'd get carted off in an ambulance at the Race for Life. Your support means a lot...

The Itchen Bridge Debacle

Well, yesterday, the lovely Tom decided that he was going to join me on one of my runs, to try and keep me motivated, and to make sure I didn't give up to easily (as if I do that!!). So we both put on our running gear and off we went.

We ran over the Itchen Bridge and back. But the Itchen Bridge is probably like a lot of bridges in the world - you have to run up to the middle then downhill to the end, then turn around and do it all again to get back (this picture above doesn't do the steepness of it any justice!!). Running up hill is not something I'd recommend. It was pretty tough. Halfway through I passed a sign saying something like "Desperate? Suicidal? Feel like you can't go on anymore?", I was like 'yep - all the above'. I think it was an advert for the Samaritans, rather than an indicator of a good place to jump. I would have stopped to call them as I was in a desperate state and could have done with a little pep talk, but I don't think Tom would have let me stop and make the call. Meanie.

So that was that. Last week when I said I'd 'found my stride', I must have just been in a temporary jogging zone. I've so not found my stride. I've found more blisters, heartburn and general pain. I'm starting this think I've bitten off more than I can chew! This is the girl who gets out of breath getting out of bed!

Oh well, at least I have a weekend of relaxation, drinking and partying to look forward too (not that it's going to help at all with my training, but I signed up to the IOW Festival way before I lost my mind and decided to sign up to a half marathon).

New addition to my training!

I got my birthday present from my lovely boyfriend Tom this weekend!! A bike! And one that I really wanted - I don't like moutain bikes; I prefer sitting upright. So I got this lovely one pictured here. It's so brill - I was cycling around all weekend.

On Sat I went jogging out near where I live, and it was a really hot, sunny day, and I was supposed to run for two miles, but I only managed about 1. It was really difficult running in the sunshine. Plus I hadn' t really eaten anything and I wasn't really motivated as I just wanted to get back and ride on my new bike! So I got home and cycled to Halfords to buy some elastic bike strap things, to make sure any bags I have on the back stay put.

Then on Sunday I cycled to the common and sat out there relaxing with Tom and my friend Rach and her man Matt. It was lovely! Cycling home was much easier as it was mostly downhill!

So I'm adding cycling to my training to try and build my stamina. As I'm still finding it really difficult to run for any long distance.

I'm going to the gym tonight, but I really can't be bothered. My gym doesn't have air conditioning (I know! It's a rubbish gym), so it's going to be hot as hell there tonight. I might just go, do my running and get out. Plus I'm off to the IOW Festival on Thurs, so won't be doing anything remotely like exercise (apart from lugging all the beer from the car to the campsite - does that count??!!).

Then after the gym tonight I'll go home, have my dinner and watch Prison Break Series 3! Me and Tom managed to get it from Blockbuster (at last!), and it's fantastic!! Soooo exciting!

Wine + Chinese Buffet = TTS (Traumatic Training Session)

The scientists tracking this blog as an experiment into curing Lazyitus may be interested in the startling* discovery I made last night..

..drinking copious amounts of wine and champagne and stuffing yourself silly with all you can eat Chinese will not make your training any easier.

Yes, it was my birthday on Wednesday and I went out with Tom and my family to Pilgrim House; a wonderful all you can eat Chinese restaurant. I had a really good night - needless to say we all drank and ate rather a lot! (apart from poor little sister Anna who was the designated driver for the night!).

I woke up yesterday morning with a bit of a fuggy head, but nothing too major so I thought I'd escaped a hangover. So when I went to the gym straight from work (this time I remembered my socks and hair bobble) I got straight on the treadmill, ready to do my 5 minutes running, 3 minutes walking x 3. I assumed that since I had a good time doing it on Tuesday, that it would be just as easy again, if not easier.

But oh no. I was straight back to wanting to curl up and die after 3 minutes. It was such hard work that when it came to the last set of 5 min running, I only managed 3.5 mins and had to stop and walk the rest. It was horrendous!! In the whole 4 weeks I've now been training, I've never been able to not complete it properly.

It's not like I've never drank and gone to the gym before, but I think that because I now have such a strict training plan, where it's progressively getting harder and harder, that's why I really felt the result of the drink and stodgy food. Normally I would have just subconsciously taken it easy, so I wouldn't have ever felt the effects. I now know why athletes are on such strict diets.

You'll see to the right there's now a list of lessons I've learnt so far. No doubt this will increase as I make more silly mistakes!

Oh, and the blister looks even worse now. It's a nasty shade of red and yellow now. Which I'm assuming means one of two things. Either its healing nicely, or it's infected and I'm about to drop dead. I'm sure we'll find out which one it is soon enough.

So that's it for now. I have my timed two mile run on the weekend (FYI: I'll be doing it on Saturday morning - before I go out to celebrate my birthday celebrations in the evening, giving me all Sunday and Monday to recover!!!).

* Startling to me anyway, although I have a feeling this may already be quite a well known bit of trivia!

I've found my stride, but it came at a price.

I've now started Week 4 of my training. This week I am: running 5 mins, walking 3 min x 3 = total 24 mins.

Last week I was running for 3 mins, walking for 3 mins x 5, and I found it very, very hard. So I was dreading this weeks sessions as the length of running has increased by quite a bit.

So I got to the gym straight from work, and had forgotten to bring a hair band (running with long hair, is like running with a carrier bag on your head. It's really not nice!), AND I'd forgotten my socks. But I battled on. And actually, I was able to do all the running quite easily(ish). I didn't even walk for the last 3 mins, but carried on running so actually finished off with a 8 min run.

I covered 2.1 miles in 24 minutes, which I'm quite happy with. I was averaging 5 mph. I'd like to do the whole half marathon at 6mph, which would give me a time of 1 hour 40 minutes (FYI - Paula Radcliffe averages about 11mph! I don't think I can run that fast full stop, let alone for over 2 hours straight!).

Now going back to my forgotten socks. At first, running without them was fine, but after I hit 20 minutes, my right foot started to rub, just on the arch. And it got worse and worse. I should have probably stopped, but I was so chuffed with being able to run without wanting to curl up and die, that I didn't want to stop. And this is how I got my first blister. It's really very sore now. I came home all wimpy and limpy, but didn't get ANY sympathy! Huh! How rude.

So my new blister is the picture attached here. I'm sorry if I've made any of you feel sick. Finger's crossed it'll be better by my next training session on Thursday.

Lazyitus and how to cure it...

As many of you know, I am inflicted with a terrible disease; lazyitus. It's difficult to live with, and affects all areas of my life.


As there's no known cure, I have taken on the task to try and fix myself. Any scientists out there may be interested in tracking my progress, as I have high hopes that my home grown remedy will work.

So what is this remedy? It's easy (ish). Just sign up to run a half marathon. I figure this will help cure my lazyitus in three ways:

1. I really don't want to pull a 'Jade Goody' and get carted off in an ambulance halfway round the course. I can imagine that's pretty embarrassing, so in order to avoid such shame I am training like a trouper.


2. One of the side effects of running lots is getting fit and have a nice trimmed body; I figure I'll soon be getting confused for Kylie very soon. Although technically she's old enough to be my mother, I'd still be up for having a bottom like hers!


3. I think it'll be a great personal achievement. For someone like me, who has a serious bout of lazyitus, running a half marathon's pretty good I think.

So this blog is to keep you all updated on my training. As well as signing up to do the Great South Run (Oct 26), I'm also doing the Race for Life in Southampton in July.


And, depending on how this half marathon goes, I may sign myself up to run a full fat marathon next year (or maybe the year after). It's on my list of things to do before I'm 30, and as I'm now 26 (well still 25 until about 7:30pm tonight..) I'm running out of time!