Thursday 9 February

Well this month has been pretty much a wash out! It started off well, did a great 8 miler 3 weeks ago and then the next day something ‘went’ in my ankle.  I took a few days off thinking it will be ok in a day or so. Sadly this was not to be the case. After a trip to the hospital I have got an Achilles problem which is then causing tendonitis. They told me it could take 6 weeks to recover. Gutted was an understatement.

I tried cycling thinking that it might have less impact on my ankle but sadly that made it worse. People have suggested swimming but I am not keen on water related activities, bit of a wuss actually!  Done some gentle walking, and kept on with taking the stairs instead of the lift wherever I have been.

The ankle is feeling a lot better now but still not 100%, I really want to go out but am concerned if I get back to it too early then I will stuff things completely.  I have got the Silverstone Half Marathon in a few weeks and I am hopeful to be recovered by then, if not then I may struggle with being ready for London.  I have pretty much decided that I can’t do Hull marathon which is early in April.

On the plus side, I have sent out all my letters to the local schools to request a dress down day. These are great fundraising opportunities; I would only need a couple of schools to agree to really smash my fundraising target.  I need to think of an evening event too but am thinking that there is so much going on this next month or so that I should do a party night in May. We have a ‘Works Christmas Do’ event planned for December which is another great event organised by my friend Faye, she is the master of party planners.

I have also just heard that I have a Great North Run place. As I have done next to no running in my barefoot trainers my plan is to train in those for the Great North.  Hopefully they will help with a natural running style which will help with the ankle.

Heading to London next week to meet the rest of the FSID London Marathon team; looking forward to that but I guess I will not be going out on the training run with them.  Keep your fingers crossed and I will update you next month.

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oops, forgot to post this last month!

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Hope you had a great Christmas and New Year break. We had a very exciting time, we have one of Santa’s Elves, Frosty, to come stay for December each year! He has a very good way of keeping Alex in check for the run up to Christmas! Each year he buys the family a joint present which I tend to ‘help’ him with. This year on Christmas morning, the excitement rose because the present was in such a small box, Alex and Jim opened it, out dropped our passports and a letter! We were going to Italy on Boxing Day, yippee a little holiday for us.  My next present was the barefoot running trainers, woop woop.  Perfect Christmas in the Barrett household.  I thought I would take the trainers with me to Italy and I could run around Rome, well in reality when you go on a city break the last thing you are going to do is go for a run with all the walking that you do.  We got in plenty of step climbing and ruin wandering so I did not feel too bad about the Pizza and red wine consumption! It was probably a healthier Christmas than most we have had.

So after a fab 5 days in Rome I was gagging to try-out the barefoot trainers.  The weather was awful when we returned and I was full of cold so the first few days it was not wise to go out but I managed to get out for my first New Year run on 2nd January.  The weather was bright, sunny and clear although it was very cold. The barefoots ended up not being the toe fingered ones as they didn’t have my size in stock anywhere so I got the Merrell ones which although look like ‘normal’ trainers they have the Vibram base and are really lightweight. I had some new socks too so all new stuff on the feet and ready for a brisk bimble.  Initially it started off good, I found myself occasionally running on the toes which is the idea but it took me thinking about it to actually do it. When I did run on the toes though it was much easier. I also found running on verges and grass was more comfortable, you could feel where your feet were landing which was the downfall for running on the road, there you could feel every stone!  With the mixture of new socks and shoes I got blisters on the heels, there is a seam on the socks which didn’t agree with the shoes.

The next day I gave the barefoots another go but with plasters on the heels and my regular socks on. This time I ran on my toes without thinking, it was a much more pleasurable bimble, I was really chuffed with how it went. I am definitely going to stick with the barefoots for the short runs, building up the miles slowly. I think the marathon is too soon to be tackling in the barefoots but perhaps if I get a place in the Great North Run in September I can use them then.

I would like to get some more weight off before the Marathon so it is Rabbit food and Salad for me for the next few months, ooh yummy or NomNom for the non-yums!! Hopefully I can sneak the odd Muffin or bun when no one is looking. I also need to thinking about doing some further fundraising for FSID, because at the end of the day that is what this all about. The girls are coming over for a meal later in the month so we shall come up with some ideas and I will report back to you next month.

You can also follow me and my training on twitter – @LJB41
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Text MRSB99 £1 to 70070 to sponsor me today