Leeds parkrun

Leeds results for event #188. Your time was 39:46


Congratulations on completing your 3rd parkrun and your 3rd at Leeds today. You finished in 215th place and were the 85th lady out of a field of 218 parkrunners and you came 22nd in your age category SW30-34.


I enjoyed at least 3/4 of this one, ran most of it but experimented with intentional walk breaks. Dogs had a great time and it seems we're becoming a local feature with the deaf girlies converting non-doggy people all over the place!

So I'm still a newbie really...

Lunch with a friend of mine who has been running competitively since he was 14 years old, and swimming last night with an amazing lady who has completed the IMUK and multiple other very tough events, has helped to put my training and history into perspective. I grew up walking/hiking and rock scrambling, but did very little sports as a kid due to various musculo-skeletal problems. Apart from a brief attempt at duathlons when I was 17 (fail!) and some concentrated hill walking I've only really been working at my fitness levels in the last three years. And of that I've had chunks of time off as well.


So in terms of building up a regular habit I have a fair way to go, and that's okay because I really have just started!




Just keep swimming...or in my version just keep moving!
My newest inspiring quote from Dory, star of Finding Nemo


Interesting quote from Jeff Galloway (promoter of walk/run training)
"Many beginners stop and start again 10 or 15 times before they get the habit established. Beginners who don't put pressure on themselves seem to have an easier time staying with it."

Migraines and SSRIs

So I mentioned in a previous blog that I sometimes struggle with migraines. In fact I suspect I've been having them for over 10 years but with my history of musculoskeletal problems the pain etc was largely assumed to be part of that.

Anyway - since coming off the SSRIs I've had 4 attacks in 3 weeks which is making it rather difficult to assess how I am really feeling. I have also noticed a remarkable amount of emotional upset/lability prior to and during migraine attacks, though not finding much in terms of research...

The journey continues!

Second parkrun Leeds 23rd April 2011

Leeds results for event #183. Your time was 44:09

You finished in 233rd place and were the 77th lady out of a field of 234 parkrunners and you came 5th in your age category SW30-34.

Again with the two girlie dogs though in our defence it was very hot and we stopped several times to try and get them to drink. Bronte seemed unhappy with the run at one point so we had a quick snuggle stop which helped :)

Calves/Right Knee/Achilles are really painful - fine unless running and then just as you feel like you're warming up nicely its as though someone is stretching your muscles in a rack! Not pleasant.

Pleased we finished the run though!

First parkrun 9th April 2011

Leeds results for event #181. Your time was 38:59

You finished in 259th place and were the 85th lady out of a field of 262 parkrunners and you came 21st in your age category SW30-34.

First attempt to run 5k in more months than I care to remember, fairly hot day, running with the two girlie dogs. Walked a fair bit of it and not sure if I can cope with laps!

Driffield Sprint (ha!) Triathlon May 2011

I'll add more details in to this later, but for now I just wanted to log that I managed to complete it (and there was some serious doubt in my mind about that), ran more than I walked, helped another competitor out and managed it all on not much sleep and a rather shaky mental state.

I did come last, which actually bothers me less than I thought, so it really can only get better from now on - right? And celebrated with a veggie Korma!

Results:

Position: 224 Race No:10 Morag Heirs F

Swim 00:11:47

T1 00:03:36

Bike 01:07:20

T2 00:03:03

Run 00:45:33

Total Time 02:11:19

Preparing for the Driffield Sprint

Well its less than a week away from my first event in over a year. I've had a week or so of feeling pretty good mentally, and a massage from a great therapist friend has made the world of difference to my knee/gastroc problems. I have checked that my all new (bargain priced) tri-suit is comfortable for swimming and running in with an added sports bra - actually its so nice I can't believe it took me this long to buy one!

This is my tri-suit (in the sale from Wiggle) Sugoi Ladies Blast Tri Suit SS10 in red though its now been discontinued. After a fair bit of reading I opted for one without an integral bra - as a well endowed woman the shelf bras are never enough support and I've read too many reviews complaining of multiple friction points when you add your own bra.

I'm fairly confident I'll be able to complete the event though I expect to be slower than any of my previous times. Its more likely that my main challenge will be mental, as it seems that any beneficial effects of the anti-depressants have come to a sickening halt. Its very likely that I'm experiencing a rebound style impact so any depressive symptoms are temporarily worse - but its been quite a shock to my system to feel this bad for a couple of days. Irrationally over-emotional, misinterpreting everything and a lot of negative self-talk...not so much fun for me or those around me, but there's not much to do except keep going with all the techniques I have and hope for a break sometime soon!

Training and Medication (and some background too)

As always with blogs that start part way through someone’s story, it can be tricky to make sure all the important details are covered! As I think you’ll have realised from the title and first few posts, this blog is about my physical and mental training in endurance activities for both fitness and mental health reasons.

About three years ago I went through something of a rough patch following moving to a new city, buying a house, splitting up with my husband and eventually divorcing, living with a neurotic collie dog and studying for a PhD. In retrospect I’m amazed I kept it together as long as I did…but when things went wrong they really crashed! By that stage I was over focused on work and productivity, only taking time out to walk my dogs but not really relaxing or enjoying the activity. I’ve had ongoing musculo-skeletal and knee problems since I was about 9 years old, and the resulting headaches and sciatic pain were particularly bad. It was months since I had been for a swim or enjoyed getting out on my bike, I was tired, over weight and very unfit!

During my time away from work I spent some weeks with my folks back in Scotland. There were very little demands on me apart from walking the dogs in beautiful surroundings, and as I started to put myself back together I decided I wanted to take up running. The idea really was to find some kind of activity that I could do with my two border collies, since they can’t come to the gym with me, and I prefer to be outdoors. Walking is great but never does much to improve my overall fitness levels. Thanks to a book voucher from my lovely auntie Ei I invested in Running for Beginners by the people who produce Zest magazine. It has a basic walk/run plan designed to get you to the 5k stage with the minimum of pain. I’d also seen adverts for CaniX and Canicross running with your dogs which sounded like a brilliant goal.

Some time later that year (2009) I was at the stage of running regularly if slowly with my collies, swimming for fun and biking in and out of work regularly. I had completed my first Race for Life 5K and my first CaniX 5k with my two collies. A dear friend of mine (who completed the Ironman UK in 2009) suggested that since I was already doing most of the distances, I should try a sprint distance triathlon…just to boost my confidence. That was the Beverley triathlon (August 2009) and I am so grateful to her for the idea!

During the very rough patch I was on a fairly high dose of antidepressants, which had the unwanted side effect of heartburn and reflux to the stage where I couldn’t have anything in the morning before I exercised including water, couldn’t eat or drink during exercise and was keeping the manufacturers of Bisodol in business! We dropped the dosage, and I ended up taking Omeprazole as well to control the acid levels. This left me with a fair bit of discomfort and the need to schedule eating and exercise carefully, but it was doable. I had also been experiencing a lot of cramping while I ran which seemed to be linked to a badly fitted Mirena coil – removal was painful but made a big difference.

Flash forward to the end of 2010. As I mentioned a mixture of old patterns, injuries and lack of time contributed to being less active regularly and the reflux seemed to be getting worse, so higher levels of omeprazole. By December 2010 I was experiencing another episode of depression so went back up to a higher level of the citalopram. I had also been given beta-blockers as a prophylaxis for ongoing migraines…my body had a lot to deal with! By February it was clear that it was very difficult to exercise, I had no real interest in it and the post-nasal drip and violent reflux combined with the beta-blockers didn’t help much. Stopping the beta-blockers was useful, and after another month we decided to try an alternative anti-depressant (Prozac or fluoxetine). This made an enormous difference to my ability to exercise, so much so I signed up for a sprint distance triathlon in May! Unfortunately it also resulted in rather unpleasant GI symptoms and frequent bathroom trips, so this medication was not going to be a long-term option. At this stage I was still intending to follow the recommended guidance on taking anti-depressants; continue maintenance doses at the previously effective level for up to one year before careful withdrawal.

The third attempt to find a suitable medication led to trying Sertraline (Zoloft or Lustral). Its fair to say that the changeover was more challenging, and within a couple of days the familiar side effect profile started to show. This time there was the added fun of Akathisia meaning incredibly restless/twitchy limbs beyond anything I had previously experienced. After a further meeting with my very patient GP we have now decided to come off all the anti-depressants for a few weeks to try and let my body settle down properly. To be honest I’m pretty excited about being medication free and happy that my GP is the one to suggest it. That one month where I could go for a run in the evening was a real eye-opener and I look forward to that kind of flexibility in my schedule.

I am absolutely not against the sensible use of appropriate medication, but its increasingly important for me to be able to balance my mental and physical health. Hopefully returning to exercise along with support from my GP and my amazing counsellor will be a positive experience, and I know I couldn’t have made it this far without the incredible understanding of my partner.

Hebden Challenge 2010 (January madness!)

Well - despite dire weather predictions I headed over to Hebden Bridge on Saturday leaving the house at the ungodly hour of 5.30am. We were heading for an 8am start for the Hebden Challenge - the short course was 14.1miles with plenty of long, nasty climbs. I'm really pleased that despite walking for about 4 miles of it (plus major antibiotics) I finished in 3hrs and 54mins. Not quite the last, but not by much!

Farah came with me (was running with another friend) and seemed to have a good time. Definitely going to try again next year and hope to be able to run more of the hills this time!

Road event: November 2009

Sunday Road event (I don't like calling them races!) 5.25miles all on road with some nice hills. Despite a sore back, not enough fluids and only 5 hrs sleep (plus 2 hr drive over) finished in 51mins 15 secs and no walking at all *yay*

First 10K October 18th 2009

Race report: woo hoo!! 10k in 1hour 2mins despite several long hills, only walked a couple times to drink. split time was 31.15/ 30.45 for each half!

Course was around Harewood House outside Leeds and described as hilly and challenging...on the plus side it was much more interesting that way and I'm more used to running on rough ground than tarmac, but the 1.5k of steady incline was a bit painful *ouch* First time I've run that far and I still loved it. Bizarrely I'm still running at the same pace I run a 5k, and indeed during a triathlon. I think I might only have one speed!

Second triathlon (Humber Sprint) 4th October 2009

The race went really really well, even though when I drove the course I was getting pretty nervous - quite a lot of long hills with steep final moment, strong headwinds and at the time very very rainy.

On the day itself it was gorgeous, cool but sunny. The hills were still really hard and my bike was creaking so clearly feeling it too but given it was much much harder than the last event I did - am pretty chuffed! Will try and get some pics up later, and I have learned to avoid the free sports massage - the bruises are still fading

Results:

Pos 136/164
Female Senior
Total time: 01:32:35
Category Pos: 11/19
Swim (plus a long run to transition!) 00:09:53
T1 00:02:11
Bike 00:47:52
T2 00:01:32

Run 00:31:07

Almost as exciting was feeling really good afterwards and not wiped out

The day afterward was my birthday, and thanks to my lovely folks I now own my first wetsuit - a BlueSeventy Reaction - had the chance to try it out in the endless pool in the shop, very weird but lots of fun!

First ever triathlon 23rd August 2009

Sunday: my first ever Sprint Triathlon

Absolutely loved it!!!

Total time was 1:29:39 making me 151 placed out of 185 Most importantly I wasn't last!

Unfortunately they didn't have timing mats for all the transition points and I decided not to worry about timing myself so as to concentrate on enjoying it

Times according to the chip

151 Morag Female Swim place: 84 00:08:37 Bike place: 129 00:46:45 Run place: 172 00:34:17 Total 01:29:39

I know the swim time was right, but bike time included transition of shoes, belt, climbing into leggings etc so I think actual bike was more likely around 43min (giving me average 17mph). Then the run again included racking bike, changing shoes so I *think* I ran the 5k in about 30min which would be my best time ever

Will upload the embarrassing pics soon but the really astonishing thing for me was that I loved every single second. None of it felt terrible, I managed to run the whole way which was one of my goals, and it felt doable all the time. I'm pretty sure I could have pushed it harder, but since I still finished 15mins less than my target time, what the heck!!!

Roll on the next challenge and wetsuit shopping....

Starting somewhere...

A new blog for a new focus in my life - exercise generally make me happier, healthier and all round nicer to be near. I don't look much like someone who does a lot of exercise, and that's not likely to change much either!

I intend to use this space to log workouts, how I'm feeling about my training and how it seems to be affecting my mood.

I am definitely an Athena class - based on weight - and despite having completed two sprint distance triathlons in 2009 have ended up rather close to where I was in 2008 in terms of fitness. Partly due to emotional stuff, medication side effects, busy life and a couple of injuries - however I want and need to build healthy exercise into my life on a regular basis.

Currently I'm taking inspiration from the Slow Fat Triathlete book and blog, and working hard to embrace my body just as it is!