Shit, crap, rubbish sodding run.

I really hate running sometimes. I really hate how it puts me in a bad mood for the rest of the day if it doesn't go according to plan. I'm such a grump right now, I could punch someone.

Not even going to detail what I did today as it was so pointless.

Last night I had the medical screening at the gym. Here are the basic results although I'll get a full report in a weeks time which will hopefully include some interpretations.

My blood pressure was 128 over 69. The benchmark is 130 over 85 so it's still fine, but when I had it done a week before the marathon it was 102 over 76. Also, my pulse was 71 and it was 52 last time. Maybe that's because I was at the peak of all the marathon training at that point.

My bone density was -1.4 which was slightly below average. (Anything between -1.0 and -2.5 is considered below average; below -2.5 is pretty much a diagnosis of osteoporosis according to the notes she gave me). I was a bit disappointed with this but she said it was essentially fine, although I should concentrate on doing more high impact exercise (MORE!?) and more strength and resistance work to get it up above -1.0.

My blood/cholesterol tests seem to be ok, but again I'm not really sure what to compare them to. They're all measured in millimoles (eh?) per litre.

Triglycerides (fatty acids) were 0.94 - healthy range is anything below 3.5.
HDL (good cholesterol) was 2.06 - healthy range 1.2 and above
LDL (bad cholesterol was 2.0 - healthy range below 4.0
Glucose was 4.96 - healthy range between 4.0 and 8.0
TC (Total cholesterol) was 4.5 - healthy range less than 5.2
TC/HDL Ratio was 2.2 - healthy range less than 4.5

This all lead to a cardio attack risk in the next ten years score of 0.0% - healthy range less than 5% for someone under 45 yrs. Seems strange that they can give you a score of zero. Surely there's always some risk, no matter how tiny?

The final test was a spirometer reading, which is a test for lung capacity. I had to blow into a tube as forcefully as possible and then continue to blow out for as long as I could. Before I did this, she entered all my info into a computer, height, age, etc, and the computer draws a line on a graph which is its predicted result for someone with the same criteria. Then you blow into the thing and your actual line is supposed to more or less match the predicted line. Graph looks a bit like this:



Anyway, I did the test, which I found quite difficult. I did it three times in all. At the end she said 'wow, that's the best I've seen all week!' and I was feeling quite pleased with myself, but turns out she spoke way too soon. Although my FEV1 score (what you can blow out in 1 second) was much higher than the predicted line, the other part, how long you can keep blowing for, was terrible. Much, much less than predicted. The final score for the test overall is given to you as a 'lung age', ie ideally my lung age should've been the same as my actual age. Before the test, I was initially feeling quite smug, thinking it might come out around 28 or 29 or something, but when all the results from all three tests were computed it came out at 57!! My lungs are equal to those of a 57 year old woman! I was totally shocked, and so was she, and she ran it through again but it came out the same. I'm really confused about this but I'm not going to worry about it unduly until I get the final report and see what it says. However, I did do a bit of research on the internet last night, which I know is usually a bad idea when it comes to all things medical, but I just wanted to understand it a bit better. What I found was loads of information about giving up smoking with info such as this from a quitting smoking advice website: 'most very heavy smokers (30+ per day) find that after taking a spirometer test their lung age is often 10 - 15 years older than their actual age and this information is often enough to make them kick the habit'. GREAT!!! 10 - 15 years older for someone smoking 30 fags a day. Mine is 23 years older! I feel quite gutted about this, but will wait and see what the report says.

Anyway, it was all very interesting, and I'd like to have it done again in six months or a year to see if it changes at all.

So pissed off about my run today. Wish I'd just gone down the beach and done the Sport Relief mile instead.

When I think how much I used to hate cross-country at school...



Wednesday night ran from mum and dad's to Ditchling and back. Rupert came with me so it was nice to have some company. We ran up to Oldlands Mill (last time I couldn't do this without a walk break so that's a bit of progress I suppose) then across the fields. The view was absolutely gorgeous. It was around 8.30pm and the sun was setting. The whole panorama of the South Downs lay to our right as we ran through fields of golden barley.



The first field was ok; the path was not too overgrown - although it was fairly sloping, and running on a camber is quite hardgoing. Then we went over the stile into the lane and ran downhill to the pond. On the way back we went via the lower field. Had to stop at one point while a family of very tame bunnies lingered on the path in front of us. Then over another stile and into the final field. It got really difficult here as the trail was completely overgrown - grasses and reeds up to our thighs and no discernable path to speak of so was very uneven - lots of hidden rocks and tree roots. Also lots of tiny bugs in the air which I kept breathing in - disgusting. Finally made it back to the main road and then took the long way home.



In the last field, I did something to my leg; don't know what. I just felt a very sharp twinge and it immediately started to hurt. I kept going but every step was accompanied by a very sharp, localised pain right in the middle of my right calf. I stopped for a minute and walked but it was worse, so decided to run the last half mile much faster than my normal pace in an attempt to 'run it out' or whatever. It felt ok, but when I got home it KILLED! Later that night it was throbbing and I could only walk with a limp. It also woke me up in the night and I started to think I'd really damaged it, but the next morning (yesterday) it felt a little bit better. Today it feels a bit better again - still really tight, but not really painful as such. Hopefully tomorrow it'll be fine and I'll be able to run again.



I'd love to be able to run in the countryside, on a warm summer's evening every day of my life. It was beautiful.

Not sure how far we ran, but it took about 45 minutes.

Tonight they're offering loads of free medical checks in the gym so I signed up for a laugh. Bone density and things like that. Sounds like fun.

It's always so busy in the gym on a Monday night... then fine for the rest of the week. Had a slightly tight left calf tonight but it went away after about twenty minutes. Also, my poor long suffering toe is still suffering post-marathon blues and it flares up now and then - it was really aggravating me tonight. After the marathon, I had such an enormous blister on the end of this toe - the one next to my big toe on my left foot - that it looked like it was wearing a crash helmet. It's gone now, but it's still a wreck. Ho hum.

10 minutes crosstrainer
10 minutes step machine
4 x miles at easy pace
6 x sprints

Same as yesterday except last one at 6.53 min mile pace.

I really can't get my head round how people run that fast for any longer than a couple of minutes. And that they probably don't even think it's fast. I thought smoke was going to come off my feet at the end. Maybe one day I'll be able to do that for a whole mile.

Total distance 8k. Forgot my heart rate monitor so don't know about that.
Plus:
20 mins power plate.

I have one more longish slow run to do at this easy pace thing... and then god knows what he's got in store for me after that.

Running on a treadmill is SO BORING without music. I would've gone outside today but it was pouring with rain. I don't mind the rain at all, I love running in the rain. But it was torrential and it didn't look like a lot of fun. So stuck in the gym I was, with only an episode of Hart to Hart to keep me company - Christ!

I felt quite tired today, not very energetic at all.

10 mins crosstrainer
10 mins step machine
5 x miles easy pace - AVG HR 160
7 x sprints - AVG HR 185 (meant to do 6 but got confused...)

1 @ 8.46 min mile pace
2 @ 8.23 "
3 @ 8.02 "
4 @ 7.43 "
5 @ 7.25 "
6 @ 7.09 "
7 @ 7.02 "
Then ten more minutes jogging.
Total distance - 10k

20 mins power plate
20 mins weights

God, I was there ages today. Finally left when the woman who stole my iPod arrived. I felt totally paralysed. I was so angry that I didn't do any of the things that I'd planned to do in my head, like a) punching her b) taking her picture on my phone and pinning it up on the wall with the word 'thief' underneath c) grabbing the intercom off the girl upstairs and annoucing to the whole gym that a robbing cow was amongst us or d) asking her if she was enjoying the new Flaming Lips album. I just shot her the most evil stare I could muster and left. How pathetic.