Hello readers!
Sorry for the lack of blogging lately! At the end of my last blog I had been wearing the Brooks Pure Grit 2's for a week and loved them. On returning them I was informed that I might receive a voucher from Brooks towards a new pair, as I had loaned and returned the shoes a day before I was supposed to, the staff at Pete Blands weren't sure what the outcome would be. Unfortunately I never received a voucher, and still needed to replace the MT110's, I did a bit more research online, and despite my cravings for the PG2's, I argued with myself that for the running and routes I wanted to do over summer would require something with a bit more grip. Sticking to the trails the PG2's would have been perfect, but a lot of routes I run are on muddy trail or simply a line across the tops!
I decided on the INOV8 Trailroc 245 as my next shoe. Having ran on the fells purely in New Balance since i started fell running i was a bit apprehensive, and the price tag was a little (read: a lot) higher than i was used to paying! Having received a tax rebate and compensation from a car crash and selling my kayak, i was a little flush with money for a change and decided to bite the bullet!
A few people on Twitter have raved about the 245's and after researching them i decided they were probably best for me. With a 3mm drop they are lower than both the MT110's and the PG2's and perfect for me as a now converted minimalist runner, and with enough cushion in the stack to handle the rocks to which i clamber over!
The first run out in them was a bimble up Latrigg. The plan was simple, i would run my normal route to the summit, my friend from work would run home, get changed and then run up the race route and meet me at the summit, all in all we would be mere minutes apart. I had a good run up, setting a new PB from the road. At the summit it started to snow and as usual i was in tiny shorts and a base layer, so i ran back to the bench and looked down the race route to see if G's head torch was visible. It wasn't there, so i ran from the bench to the summit again, just to keep warm! On return to the bench there was still no sign of a headtorch or G. I had been up there for 15 minutes, and it had been nearly 55 minutes since we had left work, more than enough time for G to have got home, changed and reached the summit, something must be wrong. I hammered down the race route, vaulting the now locked gate into the forest in one swift movement, and down the steep, muddy 'path' that makes up the race's ascent. The 245's were awesome on the descent, the route is wet and muddy all the time, and generally fall inducing, but bar a few tiny slips the 245's held their own brilliantly, but where the hell was my friend?? I hit Spooney Green with a leap from the banking and took off toward the road, reaching the car, from the summit (900ft+ descent) in 8 minutes. There was no sign of G anywhere, i opened the car and grabbed my phone to find a text from him saying 'Sorry dude, parents have booked a meal out, won't be running' argh!!!! Glad that he hadn't infact fallen and broken his leg or neck, i went home, quite happy with the 245's performance!
Another full Latrigg round followed a few days later, and again the 245's were brilliant, and again, i set another PB on the ascent. I also ran the Derwentwater loop on the trail with an ex-colleague, who for reasons unknown prefers roads to trail and fell! We met just after lunch and headed out towards Portinscale to get the boring bit done first. It was another good run for 9 miles, conversation pace the whole way with a couple of walking stints for gates etc. In my previous blog i ran this route in the 2nd fastest time i ever had, and i had bested that again this time. Still not a PB, but not far off at conversation pace means i can definitely better my PB with a concentrated effort.
I had started my 8 days off now, as my sister was getting married on the 7th. Unbeknown to most people at the wedding, my sister and her fiance had discovered the week before that she was 5 weeks pregnant, and unable to drink at the wedding it would soon become apparent, and they were to announce it during the speeches. Heartbreakingly she lost the baby on the Monday before the wedding. With both families being quite close knit, we closed ranks and rallied around them, focusing on the wedding and the future.
My sister had asked me to giver her away at the wedding, and i was honoured to do so.
The ceremony was simple, close family and friends, and my sister looked beautiful. I on the other hand looked immensely uncomfortable in a suit with a pink shirt and tie!
After the ceremony we returned to a local venue for the reception, where i gave an impromptu 'father of the bride' speech, which was unwritten, unrehearsed and unplanned! It was harder than i expected, the other speeches had been and the groom had just finished speaking, where he made comments about losing the baby, which got me a little upset, so i struggled to get going!
I poked fun at the groom and welled up again talking about my sister, and gave him a friendly warning that he should look after her well, as on the Stag Do i had beaten him quite conclusively in a clay pigeon shoot :-D
Cue 4 hours of dancing and drinking soft drinks and eating questionable buffet food!
The next day, Myself and AgentA had planned on another Ennerdale round. Family friends that were staying tagged along to walk around the lake whilst we ran.
We had aimed to go for sub 3hours for the route, meaning a pretty feasible 11/2 minute mile, and we knew certain sections would be quicker. At mile 6 we were ahead of schedule, but i was struck with 'buffet revenge' and struggled with bad guts for 2 miles. At 12 miles i calculated we were behind by 3 minutes, and we both agreed that we were feeling pretty strong. The return leg along the lake shore is quite simply 'gnarly' a mess of roots, boulders and a bit of easy scrambling. Fatigued, the rocks and roots took their toll and our pace dropped horrendously, my calves were cramping with constant change in gait and each step being different height and angle than the previous. Up over Anglers crag we settled back into a decent rhythm, but still came in 26 minutes slower than we wanted, but on the bright side, a 3 minute PB for the route :)
At 5am the next morning (saturday) i woke up and launched myself at the bin and began a 5 hour stint of violent vomiting. By noon i was a complete mess, i had literally nothing left in me, i was super dehydrated, and my temperature was through the rough. Unable to keep liquid down at this point, i couldnt take my transplant meds or paracetamol to try and control the fever. I was shivering uncontrollably and went back to the old school cooling method of stripping off to underwear and sitting next to an open window. We decided to call the out of hours dr, who told us to come to the hospital clinic, which simply wasn;t going to happen, i couldnt even stand up without help, i certainly couldnt face a 20 minute drive to see a dr.
During the morning it had come to light that around 8 others from the wedding had gone down with sickness through the night, and we had initially put it down to food poisoning, but the high temperature pointed towards a virus. By the time the dr did turn up (4 hours later) i was keeping liquid down and had managed to take tablets. My temperature was still high, but as the dr never examined me, she wasn't bothered.
The next morning i felt vaguely better, though by lunch time again my temperature had sky rocketed and i was laying on the sofa shivering.
It's Tuesday now, and i'm stable on my feet and food is staying down. I've not returned to work yet though. Having a suppressed immune system means that if i get an illness, i get the worst version. Those who have suffered this illness along side me were fine again yesterday and back to normal, but i don't have the ability to bounce back like that. It will be another 7-10 days before i feel 'normal' again, and probably 14 before an easy run. Which really sucks as the fells are covered in snow right now and the sky is crystal clear!
I'm at the transplant clinic on the 14th for a check up anyway, so will get a full health check, i think they'll be concerned about the 8lb weight loss in 4 days though!!
Happy Trails all!
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Thursday, 21 February 2013
A Week With Pure Grit
At the start of the year I signed up to receive a demo pair of Brooks Pure Grit 2 shoes. The Pure line of shoes are Brooks foray into the the minimalist realm of road and trail running.
Being an avid fell and trail runner, obviously I opted for their Pure Grit 2 shoe, which is their trail version. With a 5mm drop between heel and toe (21mm/16mm) it's a minimalist shoe, not 'barefoot' (zero drop) and 1mm higher than my usual shoe of choice, the NB MT110.
I've been looking for a replace for my 110's, as NB's apparent brain fart in design is hurting my shins. The outside of the shoe sits 3.5mm higher than the instep, creating a ridiculous tilt in the foot, ankle and leg! Great shoe...apart from that seemingly ridiculous feature! I have tried on some new Inov8 TrailRoc 245's, and I'm impressed with the feel from a quick try, but wanted to wait and try the Grits.
Brooks organised with a selection of vendors around the UK to host the demo's from, my local being Pete Bland Sports in Kendal, Cumbria (@peteblandsports) a main stay for any runner in Northern England.
The demo was for 7 days, and I was forced to turn up a day early due to staffing issues at work! Not an issue at the shop though as they kindly allowed me to come down on Friday 15th Feb to pick up the shoes.
I hadn't even seen the shoe previously so I was happy to see a pretty nice looking shoe, with asymmetrical lacing and what Brooks call the 'Nav Band' an elasticated band around the mid foot to provide a perfect fit for all feet.
Being an avid fell and trail runner, obviously I opted for their Pure Grit 2 shoe, which is their trail version. With a 5mm drop between heel and toe (21mm/16mm) it's a minimalist shoe, not 'barefoot' (zero drop) and 1mm higher than my usual shoe of choice, the NB MT110.
I've been looking for a replace for my 110's, as NB's apparent brain fart in design is hurting my shins. The outside of the shoe sits 3.5mm higher than the instep, creating a ridiculous tilt in the foot, ankle and leg! Great shoe...apart from that seemingly ridiculous feature! I have tried on some new Inov8 TrailRoc 245's, and I'm impressed with the feel from a quick try, but wanted to wait and try the Grits.
Brooks organised with a selection of vendors around the UK to host the demo's from, my local being Pete Bland Sports in Kendal, Cumbria (@peteblandsports) a main stay for any runner in Northern England.
The demo was for 7 days, and I was forced to turn up a day early due to staffing issues at work! Not an issue at the shop though as they kindly allowed me to come down on Friday 15th Feb to pick up the shoes.
I hadn't even seen the shoe previously so I was happy to see a pretty nice looking shoe, with asymmetrical lacing and what Brooks call the 'Nav Band' an elasticated band around the mid foot to provide a perfect fit for all feet.
The asymmetrical lacing and red/silver Nav Band
The second thing I noticed was the split toe on the sole, separating the big toe from the remaining toes. Inside the shoe however the split isn't there, it is entirely on the sole of the shoe, the interior is the same as a regular running shoe.
The 'Toe Flex'
So now I had the shoes, time to test them out!
Putting the shoe on first time was awesome! the insole is super comfortable and the uppers are entirely seam free inside the shoe, and boy does it feel good! I generally run without socks, so an instantly comfy inner is a big thumbs up! The tongue is part of the upper down the outside edge, and free on the inside edge, creating a wrap of the foot nicely. The Nav Band is non obstructive and barely perceptible once you are laced up, but the shoe feels great, nice and snug around the mid foot, and spacious in the toe box.
I had arranged to meet #AgentA at his house just outside Ennerdale and then we would make our way down to the lake and make one lap of the valley trail, which comes in at 15.7 miles with a little over 1000ft of ascent. It was a big ask of both of us, the furthest I had ever ran was a home made 13.2miles, and #AgentA had only ever ran 11 miles (BG leg two the week previous, see previous blog for report).
Needless to say we were both a little apprehensive, but off we went! having never ran as far we set out pretty canny, blasting out the first mile would surely haunt us later!
We ran counter clockwise around the lake in order to climb over Anglers Crag in the first 2 miles, rather than the last 2! After the crag the trail literally became a river, the recent snow melt had saturated the fell sides, and was using the trail as a quick way down to the lake! 4 very wet and pretty slow miles later we escaped the wet and got onto drier trails. The Grits had handled the wet rock and mud exceptionally well, and super comfortable on the run, my feet weren't feeling any of the rock strikes from the previous miles, so I was pretty happy!
On the run itself i couldn't get my head into it, I was worried about the distance, and worried about doing myself in! i quickly adopted the 'walk the hills' mentality and plodded on, enjoying the scenery of the Ennerdale Valley.
Pillar Rock
The turnaround at the head of the valley was a welcome sight, and its actually a little further than half way, so now there was about 7 miles to go, and although my legs were feeling it, i knew the bulk of the run back was downhill on decent trail! We finished in just under 3 hours 30 minutes, slow to some, but glad to have finished for us! Amazingly my feet felt awesome! I would never advise anyone to ever take a pair of new trainers and run 16 miles in them, but they were comfy the whole way and my feet felt fresh as a daisy, though they didn't smell it!
The next outing for the Grits was the 5.5 mile up Latrigg, over the back and home through Brundholme woods. Once again the shoes performed amazingly well. Grippy on the steep ascent, and holding their own through the mud fest of the switchbacks.
On the descent to the woods I fully expected to be sliding around, and was surprised to find a full descent without any slips. The trail through the wood was, as usual, ankle deep in the best of British mud, but besides the expected sideways squelch, there was no dodgy footing or slippages.
Tuesday brought a quick and short bimble up and down Rannerdale Knots from the Crummock end, a mere 810 feet in less than a mile...yep its that steep! Gladly the weather was absolutely stunning, the ground was soft and dry and quite possibly, for the first time ever, I ran in February in just shoes and shorts! Ridiculous but necessary as the shirt was removed after about 2 minutes! The grits were great, up and down, truly loving them by this point!
Reflections on Crummock looking toward Buttermere Fells
Red Pike, High Stile, High Crag, Haystacks and Fleetwith Pike
Looking over Crummock toward Lorton Vale
Inca Post Run with Melbreak overlooking Crummock
The final run before the Grits are returned was this evenings 9 miler around Derwentwater after work. It was baltic, no messing around it was utterly freezing! Being a man however I rocked up in the Grits, 3" split shorts, a base layer and a long sleeve running top :-D and yes, my legs were cold, but thats life!
The Derwentwater route is a mixture of hard packed trail, roads and rock strewn forest paths, and with a little over 300 ft of climb, its basically flat! Once again I found the shoes perfect, superb cushioning for a minimalist shoe, great feel around the foot and feedback from the ground is great. Running tonight with a friend from work we pottered along putting the world to rights the whole way round, coming in only 3 minutes behind my PB, and considering how easy it felt both on the legs and my breathing, I dare say that without the conversation I would be able to smash my PB.
All in all I ran 32 miles this week in the Pure Grits and I truly enjoyed every moment. Undoubtedly for heavy mud they won't stand up to the likes of Inov8 X-talon and Mudclaws, but as everyday trail shoes they are great, definitely as a replacement for the 110's I think they are perfect. 32 miles is coincidentally the biggest week i've ever had
Gutted to return them tomorrow, they're looking a bit sad drying off by the fire too ;-)
Sunday, 10 February 2013
A Day Out With Bob Graham
Bob Graham. A name synonymous with fell running. A route of 42 peaks in the Lake District England, almost 70 miles and near enough 30,000ft of ascent, to be considered as completing it, you have 24 hours in which to complete it. The full route is not to be taken lightly, many people train for a long long time before attempting a full round, and I would be lying if I said I didn't have ambitions of completing it one day, though medical reasoning will probably prevent me.
Thankfully, for mere mortals such as myself, the route is dissected by roads which break it down into five individual legs, measuring 10-16 miles each.
Myself, AgentA and our friend Hannah agreed to run the second leg on Friday. The 2nd leg begins in a small village called Threlkeld, just outside of Keswick, and runs up the front of a mountain called Clough Head.
Clough Head from the car park
The climb up is pretty hard going, starting on tarmac, turning into boggy mulch and then a steep clamber up to the summit. We set off at an easy jog, knowing we had 13.5 miles of mountains to contend with, and an unknown snow situation on top! The climb was hampered by heavy winds, and once we reached the snow line it became apparent that under 2-4" of powdery snow it was solid ice!
Hannah & I on Clough Head Summit
From Clough Head we descended briefly and then climbed back up to Great Dodd and on to Watson's Dodd, then a shallow climb up to Stybarrow Dodd. From Stybarrow you get a nice descent to Sticks Pass and then we had a slow, icy climb up to Raise, where we chatted briefly with a guy who had ran the full route in 2005, he advised us our basic approach was well founded - fast hiking the uphills and running the rest! A nice flat run out to White Side took us to our 5th summit of the day. The ridge line up to Helvellyn Lower Man was literally an ice slide working against us! We got a boost by making good ground on some hikers with ice axes and crampons on! We got a cheer from the 5 or 6 people on the plateau between Lower Man & Helvellyn, they probably didn't expect anyone to be running up there!!
The View to Ullswater from Helvellyn, partially frozen Red Tarn
We hit the summit of Helvellyn after about 4 hours, so a little behind schedule, but considering the conditions underfoot, and stopping to talk to a few people, we figured we were doing OK! We descended and climbed up to Nethermost Pike and continued on to Dollywagon Pike.
Descending from Dollywagon Hannah clipped a rock with her foot and took a pretty bad fall, clearing about six feet before she hit the deck. She cracked her knee off another rock on landing and just saved a head injury by getting her arms in front of her face just in time. Panic and the sick feeling hit her straight away, and we sat for 10 minutes making sure she was OK and reassuring her the sick feeling was just the shock and panic at taking a tumble.
We continued with the mindset to complete the route and bag the last 2 peaks, but the steep decent to Grisedale Tarn in knee deep snow took its toll on Hannah's knee, and we decided to follow the Raise Beck down to Dunmail Raise to the other car.
All said and done we bagged 10 peaks, slogged out 11.6 miles and hit 4603ft of climb! Hannah is thankfully fine, a bit bruised but no damage, she was out cycling yesterday!
Agent A on the descent to Grisedale Tarn
I took yesterday (Saturday) as a rest day, apart from work! But tonight myself and Agent A decided on a little shake out run! My legs felt pretty good considering Friday's exertion, so we rocked up to Spooney Green Lane to run Latrigg.
The initial ascent (about 1000ft in 1.75 miles) went pretty well, my legs felt about normal and no where near what i expected them to feel! At the start it was raining and as we ascended the rain turned to sleet and then to snow. When we hit the summit it was coming down pretty heavy and settling fast, also blinding us as it reflected our headlamps! Descending off the back of the fell i took a pretty ridiculous tumble, sliding on the snow covered grass, Agent A soon followed as his laughter at my misfortune ended up with him flat on his back about 10 feet behind me! Once into Brundholme wood the snow turned back to rain and the trails became a lesson in keeping your footwear attached in some serious MUD!
No one does mud like Great Britain, it sucks energy almost as well as it tries to steal shoes from your feet!! all in all we did 5 miles for about 1300ft of ascent and ran all but the 2 staircases in Brundholme Wood, not a bad shakeout!
Friday, 1 February 2013
One To Remember
I've been running regularly since April 2011, and mostly on the fells of the Lake District in England, with the odd few miles on the back roads near my house. I used to think Fell Runners were crazy people, why the hell would you take an already demanding sport, and then stick a great mountain in the way and carry on regardless! Alas in April 2011 I joined these crazy people with my first fell run, though it was more of a fast walk with intermittent running on the flatter and more downhill sections, with the odd coughing fit thrown in for good measure. I was hooked though.
One of my favourite run - come - walks is Latrigg, on the outskirts of Keswick. The route I use to the summit is a little under 2 miles, but climbs a hefty 1000ft, meaning a sustained lung buster of uphill from the outset. I've never managed to reach the summit without being reduced to a walk, it's always been a goal to achieve the summit without walking any sections, and to some extent, to be able to call myself a fell runner.
In a previous blog I've spoken about the effect the heart transplant has on me: that when I begin exercising my heart doesn't realise and plods on at about 68bpm, making any run difficult, let alone running up a mountain! Latrigg starts out on Spooney Green Lane, it dips down from the main road and then climbs gently up onto a bridge over a major road and then onto the trail. The lack of output from my heart usually has me walking by the time I reach the bridge, not really the best start! Though it has occurred to me that I regularly run steeper and longer hills without this need to walk, so what was different?
To be brutally honest, I think Latrigg had me beaten before I even started. I know its steep, really steep in parts, and I don't think I've ever believed that I could actually manage to run non stop to the top.
A friendly 'rivalry' on twitter has brought about a Hillage Challenge - how much vertical gain you run in the month of February. There's no prize, no bestowing of greatness on the winner, just a friendly bit of banter to spice up the running for a month. Obviously living on the doorstep of 300+ mountains gives me a pretty nice advantage to hit some big ascents, and a fair chance at being near the top at the end of the month. At the end of the day it will simply help push my own limits and to get into the higher climbs more often.
So, being the first of February, I figured an ascent of Latrigg would kick off the hillage in pretty good fashion!
I finished work (where I'm on my feet for 8 hours) and headed over to the start of Spooney Green Lane. Shorts, t-shirt, lightweight smock jacket, head torch, watch, New Balance MT110's and a small waist pack with car key, phone, energy gel and spare batteries for head torch, same as any other night run. The only difference was that I was on my own, whereas a few guys from work usually come along.
I waited for my watch to find the satellite and then hit the start button and set off, down the dip onto Spooney Green Lane and into the climb up to the bridge. I hit the bridge and I was still running, my breathing wasn't particularly laboured and my legs felt pretty good, non of the usual screaming for oxygenated blood! I carried on over the bridge and up the incline to the gate at the cottages, still moving.
After the gate the trail bares its teeth with the steepest part of the route, a lung busting and leg killing stretch for maybe only a 1/3 of a mile or so, but steep! I leaned into the climb and took little steps, fully aware that I would be walking fairly shortly. A strange thing happened though, I kept running.
A guy I used to run with in 2011 once told me the key to running uphill was to run until you felt the burn, run a bit more then change your gait or posture ever so slightly until the ache subsides, when the ache returns, change again. I've tried relentlessly over the past 2 years to this, to no avail, the burn comes, and then it worsens then I walk.
Today the burn came, I ran some more, change my gait and lean slightly and the burn subsided! When it returned I simply changed my gait and lean until it subsided and carried on. At this point a little voice said "if you manage this steep part, you can reach the summit without walking"
The trail eases off slightly after the steep climb, though still heads uphill! I'd beaten the 'scary' part, surely the rest was academic? Just before the first mile ticked over on my watch, my calves were burning pretty well, but I was adamant that I was going to run the whole way! I carried on up the switchbacks, firstly with a tailwind helping push me uphill, then into the wind, then the tailwind again, and back onto the main trail to the summit.
I made it to the bench below the summit and I was smiling, just one short steep climb then a pretty flat run to the summit, it was really going to happen, I was going to run non stop to the top! The steep climb between the bench and the summit seemed to roll by without much effort, and then it was there, the summit!
I'd ran, for the first time ever, non stop to the top of Latrigg!!! I was elated! I was Rocky at the top of the steps! It was my slowest ever ascent of Latrigg by 2 minutes, but I had ran the whole thing! It could have taken me 2 hours and I wouldn't of cared!
I stood on the summit for about 60 seconds, the wind was whipping across the summit and soon chilled me, so I set off on the descent. I took it pretty easy on the descent, concentrated on form and enjoyed myself.
When I reached the gate at the cottages near the end, I couldn't ignore the call of nature any longer and took a quick bathroom break. My breathing was relaxed, my legs weren't tired and I was feeling pretty good, and the little voice came back "reckon you can do it again?" and the voice didn't mean again tomorrow, it meant again right there and then!
15 minutes after running up there for the first time ever, I was contemplating doing it again! So I grabbed the energy gel and ate it, turned to face the steepest part again, and set off! What the hell was I doing!!
My quads were screaming on the 2nd ascent, and I did fully expect to be reduced to a walk, turn around and go back to the car.
I kept running, I embraced the pain in my legs, used it to propel me up the mountain for the second time, albeit a touch slower! I made it to the switchbacks and I was still running, surely the muddy foot grabbing nature of the switchbacks would prove too much.
I made it to the main trail, I was still running and I was grinning like a lunatic, my legs were feeling better and my breathing was still controlled and steady. I rounded the bench and started the last climb. Towards the top I was beat, I was ready to walk even though I was only 30 metres or so from the summit. Then I was over the climb and onto the relative flat to the summit.
At 6pm today I had never ran non stop to the top of Latrigg and honestly never thought I could. By 7:30pm today I had ran up it twice.
As far as I'm concerned I can now call myself a Fell Runner.
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Health Worries
Evening All,
I've not done a blog for a couple of weeks as I've been struggling with a few odd health issues. Firstly I was randomly dry-heaving a lot! Never actually being sick, despite eating Etc. - Just random bouts of violent dry heaving! I had suffered it before, but i was very stressed at the time with work and undergoing my annual surgeries to check on the state of my heart.
On the 15th Jan I was about 1/4 mile into a run and it started, and it didn't stop, so I had to give up and go back to the car and home. This was the 4th day in a row that it had happened, twice more at home and once at work. I didn't have to be in work until late so I took myself to the Dr's for the 'Emergency Clinic'
The Dr ran blood tests and gave me a tablet to empty my stomach, but she doubted my stomach was the issue, as I wasn't actually being sick. She signed me off work for 7 days as stress was quickly identified as a possible cause.
The next few days the stomach tablets helped, but i still had the sickly feeling in my stomach & throat and i was utterly worn out. Sleeping 9/10pm right through to 8am and then napping during the day too. Tiredness is usually my biggest indicator that something is wrong, followed closely by cold sores on my lips - which appeared in force 2 days after seeing the Dr.
At this point alarm bells start ringing, super tired and 7 separate cold sores had me fearing the worst. The initial blood work returned with some high levels of Potassium and Creatinine, both of which affect the levels of medication in my bloodstream and aren't advisable! The second issue was the actual blood cells, they were enlarged.
The Dr ran more blood tests to check the Potassium and Creatinine, and more tests for anaemia, vitamin B-12 deficiency and a host of others. I also rang the hospital and spoke to the Cardiac Transplant team and they agreed that i should pop through and have them look at me too, just to be sure.
The hospital was happy with all the levels that they tested for, and the ECG and X-rays showed nothing wrong with the heart - a massive relief!
Whilst this was going on I noticed my sickness was mostly in the mornings, when i usually eat scones or toast...my sister and mam are both intolerant to gluten & wheat - could I be too?
So I cut out wheat completely, and 6 days later i feel massively better! My stomach hasn't felt this good for about 2 years, and with my stomach feeling better my general anxiety and panic has reduced too! Which is also nice! I'm back at the Dr's tomorrow for the anaemia and B-12 et al results as I'm still really tired, but feeling much much better!
The Dr's at the hospital however, were concerned with the fatigue, so have pretty much demanded i reduce my hours at work to 4 days a week, meaning that whilst money will be tight for a while, at least my health won't suffer.
Today i laced up the MT110's and put Inca in the car and went up to my favourite local trail. Up in Setmurthy Forest. The initial climb was, as always, a killer! But I kept slogging away to the rolling hills across the tops. Across the tops and down the far side was heavy underfoot with the snow melt and non stop for the past few days. #BastardHill was tough today, and admittedly I was reduced to walking 60 paces and then running again, however, a new PB was won in the process, granted I only shaved 3 seconds off it, but still a new PB! I've started climbing again too, and feel much more confident on the wall, again not having to worry about my stomach is helping massively!
Onwards and upwards now hopefully, my stomach is sorting itself out still, but the signs are good this far, i even managed a meal out for my sisters birthday without any anxiety or panics, first time in a long time!
Time to stop being afraid of things i can't control, and face them down anyway!
I've not done a blog for a couple of weeks as I've been struggling with a few odd health issues. Firstly I was randomly dry-heaving a lot! Never actually being sick, despite eating Etc. - Just random bouts of violent dry heaving! I had suffered it before, but i was very stressed at the time with work and undergoing my annual surgeries to check on the state of my heart.
On the 15th Jan I was about 1/4 mile into a run and it started, and it didn't stop, so I had to give up and go back to the car and home. This was the 4th day in a row that it had happened, twice more at home and once at work. I didn't have to be in work until late so I took myself to the Dr's for the 'Emergency Clinic'
The Dr ran blood tests and gave me a tablet to empty my stomach, but she doubted my stomach was the issue, as I wasn't actually being sick. She signed me off work for 7 days as stress was quickly identified as a possible cause.
The next few days the stomach tablets helped, but i still had the sickly feeling in my stomach & throat and i was utterly worn out. Sleeping 9/10pm right through to 8am and then napping during the day too. Tiredness is usually my biggest indicator that something is wrong, followed closely by cold sores on my lips - which appeared in force 2 days after seeing the Dr.
At this point alarm bells start ringing, super tired and 7 separate cold sores had me fearing the worst. The initial blood work returned with some high levels of Potassium and Creatinine, both of which affect the levels of medication in my bloodstream and aren't advisable! The second issue was the actual blood cells, they were enlarged.
The Dr ran more blood tests to check the Potassium and Creatinine, and more tests for anaemia, vitamin B-12 deficiency and a host of others. I also rang the hospital and spoke to the Cardiac Transplant team and they agreed that i should pop through and have them look at me too, just to be sure.
The hospital was happy with all the levels that they tested for, and the ECG and X-rays showed nothing wrong with the heart - a massive relief!
Whilst this was going on I noticed my sickness was mostly in the mornings, when i usually eat scones or toast...my sister and mam are both intolerant to gluten & wheat - could I be too?
So I cut out wheat completely, and 6 days later i feel massively better! My stomach hasn't felt this good for about 2 years, and with my stomach feeling better my general anxiety and panic has reduced too! Which is also nice! I'm back at the Dr's tomorrow for the anaemia and B-12 et al results as I'm still really tired, but feeling much much better!
The Dr's at the hospital however, were concerned with the fatigue, so have pretty much demanded i reduce my hours at work to 4 days a week, meaning that whilst money will be tight for a while, at least my health won't suffer.
Today i laced up the MT110's and put Inca in the car and went up to my favourite local trail. Up in Setmurthy Forest. The initial climb was, as always, a killer! But I kept slogging away to the rolling hills across the tops. Across the tops and down the far side was heavy underfoot with the snow melt and non stop for the past few days. #BastardHill was tough today, and admittedly I was reduced to walking 60 paces and then running again, however, a new PB was won in the process, granted I only shaved 3 seconds off it, but still a new PB! I've started climbing again too, and feel much more confident on the wall, again not having to worry about my stomach is helping massively!
Onwards and upwards now hopefully, my stomach is sorting itself out still, but the signs are good this far, i even managed a meal out for my sisters birthday without any anxiety or panics, first time in a long time!
Time to stop being afraid of things i can't control, and face them down anyway!
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
A Return To The Mountains
Evening all!
As regular readers will know, over the past month or so i have struggled to get much running in between workloads and an issue with my shin, but this week saw a return to some decent running!
The mileage wasn't huge on either of this weeks runs so far, but it brought a return to the sacred mountains of the Lake District in Northern England!
Before issues at work arose, we had a 'Sunday night run club (SNRC)' of colleagues who enjoyed getting into the hills for an hour or two after a generally shorter shift, not all runners by preference but each with a love of the mountains!
So on Sunday myself and 2 others had decided to resurrect the SNRC and hit the local mountain, Latrigg. Standing only 1207ft high, it is a deceptively tough little bugger! Starting on a dirt road called SpooneyGreen Lane and turning into a 3/4ft wide trail it climbs 1001ft to the summit in a mere 1.75 miles! From the summit however, there are some phenomenal views:
Keswick and Derwentwater
The SNRC also created two characters #CumbrianKrupicka and #AgentA myself being the former, and a colleague being the latter:
Myself on the left, and #AgentA atop Latrigg last autumn.
Despite the many fellrunning legends in and around where i live, the ultra-world hooked me in, though the Bob Graham Round still has my strongest desire!
Of the athletes within the ultra scene, one in particular stood out. For reasons unknown, or possibly because he ran a full marathon at age 12, Anton Krupicka became my first running idol, and still remains a great source of inspiration. The shirtless look was soon adopted (on warmer days) and ergo #CumbrianKrupicka was born, #AgentA lent my copy of Unbreakable and followed suit soon after! There is now a friendly rivalry to summit bare chested on our runs, whether there is snow on the ground or sun in the sky!
The run on Sunday followed the now tradition, and once again i found myself stood atop Latrigg shirtless for a quick photo! Generally we descend off the summit and into Brundholme woods for some tasty trails in the forest and along the river, but feeling unfit and overfed from xmas we decided to descend via Gale Rd car park, and then down SpooneyGreen Lane back to the cars.
On Monday i had a day off work, and the weather was awful! It was blowing a gale and the rain was steadily falling, so i opted to be a bit lazy for most of the day, catching up on mail and running errands.
At about 3:30pm i decided that i owed it to myself to get out into the weather and log a few miles, though the sofa had me a death grip!
I hate running in a waterproof jacket, i feel overheated almost immediately and can never find a way to be comfortable in one! so i just threw on a Montane Featherlite smock and headed out. I ran my local route on a hill out the back of town, 600ft of ascent in a little over 3.5 miles. I could feel the previous nights effort in my legs, and willed myself to run hard despite the fatigue, the first and steepest ascent actually felt pretty good and going into the rolling trail across the top of the forest i managed to open up the tanks a bit and ran an 8minute mile in the mud! The final hill (bastardhill) was pretty rough though, my quads were burning and i was very grateful to summit and hit the steep descent to the car!
I adopted a collie / labrador cross pup this week too. He is 9months old and was already named Blade, needless to say he will be a regular training partner! Shorter runs for now, working his way up to longer days in the mountains in the future!
As regular readers will know, over the past month or so i have struggled to get much running in between workloads and an issue with my shin, but this week saw a return to some decent running!
The mileage wasn't huge on either of this weeks runs so far, but it brought a return to the sacred mountains of the Lake District in Northern England!
Before issues at work arose, we had a 'Sunday night run club (SNRC)' of colleagues who enjoyed getting into the hills for an hour or two after a generally shorter shift, not all runners by preference but each with a love of the mountains!
So on Sunday myself and 2 others had decided to resurrect the SNRC and hit the local mountain, Latrigg. Standing only 1207ft high, it is a deceptively tough little bugger! Starting on a dirt road called SpooneyGreen Lane and turning into a 3/4ft wide trail it climbs 1001ft to the summit in a mere 1.75 miles! From the summit however, there are some phenomenal views:
The SNRC also created two characters #CumbrianKrupicka and #AgentA myself being the former, and a colleague being the latter:
Myself on the left, and #AgentA atop Latrigg last autumn.
Despite the many fellrunning legends in and around where i live, the ultra-world hooked me in, though the Bob Graham Round still has my strongest desire!
Of the athletes within the ultra scene, one in particular stood out. For reasons unknown, or possibly because he ran a full marathon at age 12, Anton Krupicka became my first running idol, and still remains a great source of inspiration. The shirtless look was soon adopted (on warmer days) and ergo #CumbrianKrupicka was born, #AgentA lent my copy of Unbreakable and followed suit soon after! There is now a friendly rivalry to summit bare chested on our runs, whether there is snow on the ground or sun in the sky!
The run on Sunday followed the now tradition, and once again i found myself stood atop Latrigg shirtless for a quick photo! Generally we descend off the summit and into Brundholme woods for some tasty trails in the forest and along the river, but feeling unfit and overfed from xmas we decided to descend via Gale Rd car park, and then down SpooneyGreen Lane back to the cars.
On Monday i had a day off work, and the weather was awful! It was blowing a gale and the rain was steadily falling, so i opted to be a bit lazy for most of the day, catching up on mail and running errands.
At about 3:30pm i decided that i owed it to myself to get out into the weather and log a few miles, though the sofa had me a death grip!
I hate running in a waterproof jacket, i feel overheated almost immediately and can never find a way to be comfortable in one! so i just threw on a Montane Featherlite smock and headed out. I ran my local route on a hill out the back of town, 600ft of ascent in a little over 3.5 miles. I could feel the previous nights effort in my legs, and willed myself to run hard despite the fatigue, the first and steepest ascent actually felt pretty good and going into the rolling trail across the top of the forest i managed to open up the tanks a bit and ran an 8minute mile in the mud! The final hill (bastardhill) was pretty rough though, my quads were burning and i was very grateful to summit and hit the steep descent to the car!
I adopted a collie / labrador cross pup this week too. He is 9months old and was already named Blade, needless to say he will be a regular training partner! Shorter runs for now, working his way up to longer days in the mountains in the future!
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Happy New Year
This post was intended to be published yesterday (New Years Day) but I knew I was at the hospital today, and wanted to open up about another condition that I suffer from.
Throughout my post-transplant life I have suffered infrequent panic attacks. Often only occurring maybe once in 4-5 years and not really an issue. In 2004 there was a new drug for immunosuppressant therapy introduced which had a less damaging effect on the other organs in the body, primarily the kidneys, which take an absolute beating trying to clean my blood!
A few weeks after swapping out my usual medication for the new one I was driving to a nearby city with a friend for a bit of lunch and some shopping. On the way I had a panic attack, nothing major, I knew what it was, and duly pulled the car off the road, got out for some fresh air and to calm down, and then carried on my way. Continuing the drive I went on to suffer 7 more, progressively worse panic attacks, resulting in leaving the car in the nearest car park and hi-tailing it to the hospital fearing that something worse was at play.
2 weeks in hospital getting poked, prodded and tested for even random ailments proved nothing was wrong, even having panic attacks whilst hooked up to various monitors and machines couldn't figure out why I was suddenly so besieged by them.
It was decided it was the new medication, so I was swapped back to the old faithful medication that had been fine for 12 years! The bad news however, was that I was now afraid of panic attacks, and able to bring them on myself simply by worrying about having one!
They got so bad in the following months that I couldn't return to work, and even struggled to leave the house alone sometimes for fear of having one. The stupid thing is, I knew they did no harm, I'd been on cardiac monitors whilst in the throes of them and seen with my own eyes that they were causing no reaction!
If you have never experienced a panic attack, it can be difficult to understand them, certainly trying to explain to my friends what they were and the effect that they had proved difficult. I will try to describe how awful they were though:
Initially there is a very brief, fleeting negative thought which kicks off the whole episode, for some its claustrophobia, for me it's generally being sick in public. I have a phobia of being sick due to a nasty experience with a ventilator in the hours after my transplant! This tiny, fleeting thought kicks off the 'fight or flight' response in steroid abuse mode, and your nerves start firing off around your body to prepare for war, adding physical distress to the growing mental anguish. Back in 2004, the mental anguish was horrendous, once the panic had set in, I was convinced I was going to die! Quite scary and very irrational, but the mind is a powerful weapon. Your mind is screaming at you to get the hell out of whatever situation you are in (restaurants are a weak point for me) and this reverts to fight or flight.
The physical manifestations can vary person to person, heart seemingly pounding in your chest, a tightness which makes you feel like you can't breathe, hot flushes, shaking uncontrollably, vomiting, the need to evacuate bowels immediately and in some cases passing out.
Not a nice situation to be in, and it happens within seconds/minutes of the initial, single, negative thought.
I struggled massively in 2004/5 like I said, eventually needing anxiety medications to get a handle on it. By the end 2005 however I had them pretty much beat, got a new job and life was peachy again for several years!
The last 18-24 months however I started to suffer again, not to the same degree of panic or fear, but enough to make going for meals and weekends away uncomfortable, and for me to question myself as to why I was different, why couldn't I cope?
I would be at work and watching people who were on holiday, asking myself 'Why aren't they anxious or panicky?' I didn't know it at the time, but I was beating myself up mentally. I wasn't questioning them, I was questioning my own abilities.
In the last 2 years I found running to be therapeutic not only as it was helping me stay healthy and working my heart, but I found that despite being off in the mountains, often with little more than some water and a few energy gels, I was calm.
Sure a lot of the time I'm blowing out my arse, my heart is pounding through my ribcage and my legs are screaming at me to find a hobby that involves a lot of sitting down! but I'm at peace in my own head, just one foot in front of the other, watching the ground and picking my footfalls. I see the majesty in where I live, and hopefully if you've seen any of my photo's you will agree!
Out on a run there is only me, there is no pressure to perform or conform to anyone else's ideals or standards. In an environment where most of my friends will admit to feeling vulnerable, I am free of the fears and anxieties that occur to me in daily life, which they do not have!
My runs aren't record setting, my distances don't beggar belief, but they're mine all the same. No one else can run for you, and I'm pretty certain most of you reading this will agree that the time spent out running is special to each of us. I have had fantastic runs in all types of weather, be it in shoes and shorts and nothing else in summer, to wrapped up like an Inuit freezing the jewels off atop a mountain in the dark with snow knee deep!
I don't run because the sun shines and it'll be nice and easy, I run to centre myself and to be free from daily life. I am currently seeing a transplant specific psychologist to help with my anxiety, and it is working, and she thinks that running is the my way forward.
My panic/anxieties are nothing like they were in 2004, not even close! I know they are irrational and I know for the most part that even if that little negative thought creeps into my psyche I can suppress it and carry on.
Restaurants and weekends away are still on my weak list, but I don't give in, I still go for meals with friends, and still have nights and weekends away with them, so what if I struggle a bit? so what if I don't finish my meal or go back to the hotel early? I'm alive, I've fought tooth and nail to make it this far against far worse adversaries, and at the end of the day, if they do become too much, I have about 20 pairs of running shoes to choose from, lace up and bugger off for a run!!
My run drought is also over! having ran the past 3 days, a 3.5 mile hilly mud fest! a quick flat mile around town and this afternoon I did 3.7 miles on what can only be described as mud with the odd puddle of water! No records broken, no strava segments set, just me, the ground and the world around me, and man it feels good!
Happy New Year Folks!
Throughout my post-transplant life I have suffered infrequent panic attacks. Often only occurring maybe once in 4-5 years and not really an issue. In 2004 there was a new drug for immunosuppressant therapy introduced which had a less damaging effect on the other organs in the body, primarily the kidneys, which take an absolute beating trying to clean my blood!
A few weeks after swapping out my usual medication for the new one I was driving to a nearby city with a friend for a bit of lunch and some shopping. On the way I had a panic attack, nothing major, I knew what it was, and duly pulled the car off the road, got out for some fresh air and to calm down, and then carried on my way. Continuing the drive I went on to suffer 7 more, progressively worse panic attacks, resulting in leaving the car in the nearest car park and hi-tailing it to the hospital fearing that something worse was at play.
2 weeks in hospital getting poked, prodded and tested for even random ailments proved nothing was wrong, even having panic attacks whilst hooked up to various monitors and machines couldn't figure out why I was suddenly so besieged by them.
It was decided it was the new medication, so I was swapped back to the old faithful medication that had been fine for 12 years! The bad news however, was that I was now afraid of panic attacks, and able to bring them on myself simply by worrying about having one!
They got so bad in the following months that I couldn't return to work, and even struggled to leave the house alone sometimes for fear of having one. The stupid thing is, I knew they did no harm, I'd been on cardiac monitors whilst in the throes of them and seen with my own eyes that they were causing no reaction!
If you have never experienced a panic attack, it can be difficult to understand them, certainly trying to explain to my friends what they were and the effect that they had proved difficult. I will try to describe how awful they were though:
Initially there is a very brief, fleeting negative thought which kicks off the whole episode, for some its claustrophobia, for me it's generally being sick in public. I have a phobia of being sick due to a nasty experience with a ventilator in the hours after my transplant! This tiny, fleeting thought kicks off the 'fight or flight' response in steroid abuse mode, and your nerves start firing off around your body to prepare for war, adding physical distress to the growing mental anguish. Back in 2004, the mental anguish was horrendous, once the panic had set in, I was convinced I was going to die! Quite scary and very irrational, but the mind is a powerful weapon. Your mind is screaming at you to get the hell out of whatever situation you are in (restaurants are a weak point for me) and this reverts to fight or flight.
The physical manifestations can vary person to person, heart seemingly pounding in your chest, a tightness which makes you feel like you can't breathe, hot flushes, shaking uncontrollably, vomiting, the need to evacuate bowels immediately and in some cases passing out.
Not a nice situation to be in, and it happens within seconds/minutes of the initial, single, negative thought.
I struggled massively in 2004/5 like I said, eventually needing anxiety medications to get a handle on it. By the end 2005 however I had them pretty much beat, got a new job and life was peachy again for several years!
The last 18-24 months however I started to suffer again, not to the same degree of panic or fear, but enough to make going for meals and weekends away uncomfortable, and for me to question myself as to why I was different, why couldn't I cope?
I would be at work and watching people who were on holiday, asking myself 'Why aren't they anxious or panicky?' I didn't know it at the time, but I was beating myself up mentally. I wasn't questioning them, I was questioning my own abilities.
In the last 2 years I found running to be therapeutic not only as it was helping me stay healthy and working my heart, but I found that despite being off in the mountains, often with little more than some water and a few energy gels, I was calm.
Sure a lot of the time I'm blowing out my arse, my heart is pounding through my ribcage and my legs are screaming at me to find a hobby that involves a lot of sitting down! but I'm at peace in my own head, just one foot in front of the other, watching the ground and picking my footfalls. I see the majesty in where I live, and hopefully if you've seen any of my photo's you will agree!
Out on a run there is only me, there is no pressure to perform or conform to anyone else's ideals or standards. In an environment where most of my friends will admit to feeling vulnerable, I am free of the fears and anxieties that occur to me in daily life, which they do not have!
My runs aren't record setting, my distances don't beggar belief, but they're mine all the same. No one else can run for you, and I'm pretty certain most of you reading this will agree that the time spent out running is special to each of us. I have had fantastic runs in all types of weather, be it in shoes and shorts and nothing else in summer, to wrapped up like an Inuit freezing the jewels off atop a mountain in the dark with snow knee deep!
I don't run because the sun shines and it'll be nice and easy, I run to centre myself and to be free from daily life. I am currently seeing a transplant specific psychologist to help with my anxiety, and it is working, and she thinks that running is the my way forward.
My panic/anxieties are nothing like they were in 2004, not even close! I know they are irrational and I know for the most part that even if that little negative thought creeps into my psyche I can suppress it and carry on.
Restaurants and weekends away are still on my weak list, but I don't give in, I still go for meals with friends, and still have nights and weekends away with them, so what if I struggle a bit? so what if I don't finish my meal or go back to the hotel early? I'm alive, I've fought tooth and nail to make it this far against far worse adversaries, and at the end of the day, if they do become too much, I have about 20 pairs of running shoes to choose from, lace up and bugger off for a run!!
My run drought is also over! having ran the past 3 days, a 3.5 mile hilly mud fest! a quick flat mile around town and this afternoon I did 3.7 miles on what can only be described as mud with the odd puddle of water! No records broken, no strava segments set, just me, the ground and the world around me, and man it feels good!
Happy New Year Folks!
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