Moaning Minnie But Credit Where It's Due

So the pinged back didn’t get any better. Resigned myself to no training. The only thing that gave me real relief was walking and my second best option was a hot water bottle.

On Saturday the cold that Mark and Morgan had been suffering from, and I thought I’d cunningly avoided with massive doses of vitamin C finally attacked.

By Sunday night, with no walk, no fresh air, a streaming nose and a back that I would willingly have attacked with a meat cleaver to relieve the pain,left me feeling pretty sorry for myself.

I got the kids to school yesterday and miraculously got an emergency appointment with the GP.

My GP is absolutely fabulous. She’s supported all my training from day one and her advice has always been “If it’s not too painful keep training.”

My appointment yesterday was with the “senior” of the practice.

“How are you?” Why do they ask that? If I was ok would I really be in your surgery on a Monday morning?

I explained what had happened. Showed him where the pain was. Explained I’d had a prolapsed disk 10 years ago. Told him that I’d got no pains shooting down my leg. He asked me what my job was? Erm..unemployed book-keeper. He wrote out a prescription for Naproxen and to add insult to injury gave me a sick note for 2 week!! He never examined me, didn’t ask me to bend, told me he thought it was a disk problem that would settle in 10 days or so and then the final blow “No running - hill walking instead”

Well that obviously wasn’t what I wanted to here so popped next door to the gym to arrange an appointment with Tracey the magic fingered therapist. She was fully booked so had to wait until this morning.

Thorough examination. Full and frank discussion and then assisted on to the magic carpet of a couch. Tracey’s been looking after my legs for about 9 months and when I first went to see her I nearly had to be surgically removed from the ceiling as she unknotted my calves where they’d been overcompensating for a broken ankle. I expected agony and I wasn’t disappointed. But in my hip? She’d checked my spine and all the disks and couldn’t find much wrong however my pelvis was seriously twisted. Yup it hurt but the relief was enormous.

And Iain says I can use the cross trainer and static bike whhoopeeeee!

Despite the doom and gloom it’s been lovely to spend quality time with Mark and Morgan. OK I only worked 3 days but my days off were usually spent doing housework, shopping, taxi service for the big kids. I guess I’m still in the honeymoon stage of being unemployed but I am making the most of every second.

On the self employment front it’s a bit on the back burner as I really can’t sell myself effectively to potential new clients with what Morgan calls “a face full of snoggle.”
I know we’re heading for a recession. I know the World is in turmoil but I feel more in control than I have in a long time.

I also have a cunning plan for my weight loss which I will reveal next week when I have results.

What I’ve also failed to mention is when I went to pick up the fish and pinged my back I had a discussion about planned races. Rob is not renowned for his tact but he is a realist and I honestly respect both his honesty and opinions.

“Lynne you will never take 15 minutes off in 6 weeks. If you don’t mind coming in 10-15 minutes after the last runner that’s fine but this is not a fun run it’s a club event with good club runners.”

Has he put me off?

Has he hell. The only person I’m competing against is me.

Posted On Tri Talk 30 October

Just When The Plan Comes Together...
Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:30 pm LynneE


Intended to go on the bike on Saturday and did actually get it out but it was much too windy so decided to run instead. The running plan for the week was an hour and an attempt to run/walk the Border’s course. Despite the wind felt really good and without walking managed the two big hills. Did it as an out and back and got back in 59:33 so was really chuffed. The wind had died down considerably on Sunday so managed the scheduled ride. Everything going swimmingly until.. One of the guys from Wrecsam Tri is emigrating to Australia in January and in preparation wanted to get rid of his fish. Cait absolutely loves fish. She wants to do her work experience in the local aquatic shop. The school is horrified as they sent her to Oxford last week to suss out potential Universities. Off we popped on Tuesday to get the fish and all I did was open the boot of the car and lean over when ping went something in the bottom of my back. I am so annoyed. I could cope with a training injury. I could understand if I’d lifted something too heavy but just to lean over. To make matters worse we woke up this morning to snow. I mean what’s all that about? It’s still October. Morgan found it absolutely magical. He couldn’t understand that it was in the front and the back. I did manage a walk today. We bought Morgan a sledge. Guaranteed now there’ll be no more snow all winter. And on the work front things are looking good. The deadline for paper self assessments is tomorrow so I’ve managed to get a few done this week. Not major earners but repeat custom hopefully. I’ve also managed to write a couple of papers and pull together some marketing material. It’s also been really nice to be off with the kids for half term and hopefully we’re off to See Thomas The Tank Engine in Llangollen tomorrow so who can ask for more?

Posted On Tri Talk 24 October

I've Lost My Job
Fri Oct 24, 2008 6:22 pm LynneE


I've lost my job and the relief is enormous. It's been on the cards for a while. The "R" word and all that jazz. The business was incredibly busy all Summer. Companies were reluctant to take on permanent staff so used agency workers and then on the 1st October it was as if someone switched a light off and the hours reduced dramatically. Incredibly my first thought was "Great I'll be able to get out and do more training." Then the reality of 3 kids and Christmas on the way sunk in. There are very few jobs out there so I've decided to set up my own bookkeeping, payroll and business consultancy company. I have no idea how thew market lies but I've got 4 weeks to dip my toe in until the money runs out. And if push comes to shove... anyone want a cleaner?

Realistic Targets?
Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:07 am LynneE


For reasons best known to my husband I didn’t go running with Sue last Wednesday. And for reasons best known to my husband didn’t go running on Thursday either. So there I was sat at my desk in work feeling totally miserable when I started to do some calculations. 8 weeks to the Borders which is 5 miles and totally achievable then 19 weeks to Chirk which is quite a long time. How was I going to stay focussed and motivated? I know I’ll do a half! Yup why not? I mean the furthest I’ve ever run is 5 miles and that was 25 years ago. Another 8 and a bit shouldn’t be too difficult? I mean I’ve read the most fantastic inspirational stories on here where anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Now to find an event. The Helsby/Four Villages is in January. A bit close. As if by magic what pops up? A link to the Wrexham, Village Bakery Half on 12 February. Perfect. 8 weeks to the Borders. Another 8 weeks to the half no problem!? The men in white coats are coming to get me. Well it’s no good just writing about it is it? Friday morning full of vim and vigour I ran my normal 5k then I ran for 10 minutes more. No great shakes I hear you cry but it is. At the end I felt absolutely fine and could have carried on but needed to get back to get the kids to school. It was easy. I’ve been kidding myself all this time I couldn’t go longer and why? Because once you’ve done it you have to keep doing it. Friday afternoon I erm.. ached somewhat. Perfect recovery me thinks a 90 minute bike on Sunday. Valuable lesson learned. When you start to push and go hard, don’t do it on consecutive days. What I’ve also realised that I desperately needed bib tights. Cold back. Trawled ebay and bought bib tights and running tights. Why ebay you might ask? When you’ve tried on the biggest size you can find in shops and they’re still too small and you ask do they have them any bigger? At best you’re greeted with a discreet whisper ”Madame, we have no larger sizes in stack.” At worst with a snigger ”They’re the biggest we do!” Weight loss has been rubbish. My husband forced me to have an Indian on Sunday. What you may or may not have noticed is I’m very quick to blame everyone or everything. At the end of the day I have realised the responsibility lies firmly on my shoulders. When I complete the half on 12 February it will be down to my dedicated training and hard work and heaven forbid if I fail that will be down to me too. So tonight, third week lucky I did manage a run with Sue. We did 50 minutes. I struggled for the first 10 minutes or so as per usual but once I got my second wind was fine and we managed to chat most of the way around which makes the time pass so much quicker. What I found quite amazing was how many other runners we met. I usually run early morning in daylight and hardly ever see anyone else running. It was dark tonight when we finished and the majority we saw were women. So the plans for the week? Train specifically a wise man (Transition Ted) once told me so taking the advice of my other two heroes Sue and AndyS I will run/walk the borders to give myself a benchmark. All that’s left to say is thanks a million Sue and I hope you have a very Happy Birthday.

Posted O Tri Talk 14 October

Hip Hip Hooorahhhh -I've Found My Mojo
Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:45 pm LynneE


Read a thread “Lost…. Please help.” Rang very true my mojo had totally deserted me. I felt totally yuck. I was consuming far too much red wine and takeaways and then there was this strange string of events…. I get a text off Sue inviting me to run with her before she runs with the girls. I’d woken up that morning with a really upset stomach which left me feeling totally wiped out so I declined but suggested that next week would be a good idea. I had a whole 7 days to find my mojo. It’s not difficult. I catch up on Blogs and realise the TT Blog is nothing like the AOL Blog and I should have come here a long time ago. I read Cleo’s Norseman, I read MrsSlacko’s Ballbuster preparation and Wiganer’s jolly with Mrs Wiganer in the Great North Run. All totally inspiring stuff. I get up Friday morning with the come hell or high water you will run 5K attitude and, no cold, no dark, no rain manage it comfortably. Because of the no dark though and having to get the kids to school I couldn’t go longer. Didn’t want to do too much too soon (for heaven’s sake Lynne you’ve been doing this for nearly a year!) Saturday - a steady 3k Sunday – 15miles bike Monday – a steady 3k Wednesday – run with Sue I saw my wonderful sister-in-law at my parents-in-law at the beginning of the month. She was complaining about the amount of weight she’s put on and how little exercise she was doing. My wonderful friend Lesley decided that 5th October was D Day (Diet Day) for her. She will be a bridesmaid in exactly 18 months. So us 3 “witches” decided to start our very own online slimming club with weigh ins on a Monday. My very own motivation is this; I have 28 weeks until Chirk next year. In the grand scheme of things it’s forever. Broken down it means I have to lose 2 ½ stone in the next 10 weeks then 2lb a week until Chirk to shift this 5 stone once and for all. I feel like I’ve got a 50cc moped engine trying to power a 50 tonne truck. I either increase the engine size or decrease the size of the truck. In an ideal world I would build up to a 1000cc engine and have a mini body but imagine my performance if I could achieve a 1200cc engine with a mini body. That’s where I want to be. I wanted to do a triathlon. Ok I’ve done 3 and I’m so glad I have but it’s not enough. I need to get under 1:30 for Sprints next year. I need to do at least one Oly next year and I really need to do Bala Middle in 2010. I’ve spent hours with spreadsheets and training plans and perhaps if I’d spent more time exercising than writing about it I might be further forward but that’s gone it’s forward I’ve got to think. Last year, my first baptism of fire with Wrecsam Tri Club, I marshalled at the Borders’ League. I was totally intimidated and almost gave up the idea of Triathlon completely. The rest they say is history and I vowed I would compete this year. Well it’s 9 weeks away which is far enough away to get myself fit enough to compete but near enough that if I don’t follow the plan and lose the weight as planned I will be unable to and will have FAILED. It’s very inspiring reading inspiring blogs but I can’t piggyback off everyone else’s successes. I really must succeed in my own right.

Posted On Tri Talk 2 October

Procrastination Is The Thief of Time
Thu Oct 02, 2008 1:47 pm LynneE


I've kept pretty detailed training plans. Which I split into preparation for each event. I've even kept the plans and the actuals as a comparrison. Last week I decided to put all the actuals together and study. There was one word that haunted me. REST. It appeared for too many times. I was absolutely horrified to see the last time I'd run 5K was 14 July. A week before the Diva's. I'd had some pretty confident 3k's improving times not intentionally but still no distance. I have the best 5k route ever. It's slightly uphill to start, then there's a bigger hill and then it's slowly downhill all the way home. The best bit about it though is it's got 4 "Get Out Of Jail Free" cards, or to anyone else if I struggle I've got 4 shortcuts home. So there is no reason whatsoever for me not to attempt it? Psychological. I couldn't fail. I've put on half a stone. Makes running so much harder. Not done it for so long. Makes running so much harder. Just get out there girl and bloody well do it. You've done it before. You should be well over 10k by now never mind struggling at 5. So I did. I took it easy and I took 2mins off my PB. Well that's it then if you can run you can bloody well bike too. So I did. Undulating 15miles. The longest training ride I've ever done. Legs were fine, bum was a bit tender but what the hell? Another couple of 5k's this week the fatigue's gone . Can't wait for the weekend to go long again. Hope the forecast's wrong. Don't mind the rain. Don't like the wind.

Annoyed

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