Life on Mars

Quilting Bee Round 1

2012-02-12T13:32:49Z

Knitting is turning into something of a gateway drug, with people from the Wednesday knitters trying all sorts of different crafts. Quilting has been popular with a few of us for a while, so someone (Kate) thought what we all really needed was to start a quilting bee. Six of us have signed up, and we've decided to make two 8" squares per fortnight, each taking it in turns to come up with a theme.

Here are my first two completed squares:

Peri’s theme was:
"I'd be happy with most things as long as they are not twee! I do like the traditional patterns like See-Saw, Tumbling Blocks, Crown of Jewels, Mariners Star but I also like appliqué and crazy patchwork (the crazier the better).

Colour: Colourwise I like depth of contrast not wishy washy or pastel so as long as it falls into that then I am not fussed really (not keen on pink though)."

So. 64 triangles into 32 squares into 16 rectangles into 8 strips into 4 rectangles into 2 squares later... Preparation is definitely key with patchwork. I took my time making the triangles, and ironed the seams regularly throughout the process. The further I got from the initial triangles the more my mistakes mount up.

Also, I need to add seam allowance for all of the seams. Sounds obvious, but I made 2.5" triangles to give me a 1/4" seam allowance on the squares, but forgot to allow for the diagonal seam. D'oh! Hence the seams are much tighter than they ought to be, and there was much less chance to compensate for errors. The squares are barely over the 8" mark, meaning Peri gets almost no seam allowance to work with.

Crazy?

2012-02-07T18:07:54Z

I just ran home, along the path up the side of the fields, through the ankle-deep, semi-frozen snow.

I'm not sure I recognise this person. I seem to be determined at the moment to get out there whatever the weather, to prove to myself that it's just not that big a deal. It's certainly challenging my body, but I am finding that it's not as bad as it looks most of the time. Strange.

This was a slow run though. Much walking, particularly up the field sections. That meant I was better able to admire the view, if nothing else.

Out towards Lewes. The sun was actually setting behind me when I took this.

Further up the hill, looking down towards Brighton. It looks so black. According to friends who live in the middle it didn't snow there at all, which is probably adding to the contrast.

It was actually quite fun though. The wind was cold, but I was wearing a windproof. My shoes are wet (I was wearing my inov8 bare grips - I love those shoes for off road) but I didn't really notice. When I got to the flatter bits I discovered that if I walked right I could walk/run on top of the snow without breaking through.

The footprint on the left is mine, the one on the right was already there but shows how deep it was. When I made it back to the paved section the pavement was still very icy, but if I employed the same technique (bent knees, very small steps, no pushing off) I didn't slip. I think a lot of this would teach very good barefoot form. I'm not sure I'll try the experiment again though. Thursday I plan to run again, but into town. Should be much easier.

Ah well

2012-01-20T10:14:03Z

The marathon came, the marathon went. I ran a grand total of 11 miles in December, due to the chest infection that required antibiotics, then recovering from the antibiotics (amoxicillin rash is not cool), then picking up another sniffle that promptly closed my lungs right up again. I did 6 of those 11 miles in Florida, and I was quite seriously worried about starting the marathon. My lungs just weren't working with me. Fortunately the marathon was another week and a half away at that point, so I dedicated myself to attempting to eat more food than I would normally see in a month (a slight exaggeration, but not much), soaking up the Disney vibe and generally healing as best I could. My support crew was in a much worse state than me and distracted everyone from noticing that I wasn't entirely well either!

Starting a race at 6am is no picnic. We stayed in a Disney hotel to make transport as painless as possible, but still got up at 3am, to catch a bus by 3.30, to be standing in my corral by around 5. It got colder between 5 and 6, down around 10 degrees Celsius. That hour before dawn is not just the darkest. Then we stood and waited while the sponsor talked at us (normal), the race organiser talked at us (normal), and the national anthem was sung (not normal for the UK, apparently normal for the US). And then they started letting the waves go. That bit was awesome. Each wave went at around 3 minute intervals, and each wave got fireworks.

The first 4 miles were along to Epcot and through future world then back to the start. The lake was steaming gently, all the lights were on. It was beautiful. I remember thinking "next time I'm here I'm nearly done", but it was just a lovely thing. I spotted Clarkie at the 4 mile mark, so I (slightly prematurely as it turned out) gave her my thermal. I felt pretty good after 4 miles.

From there it was along more service roads to the Magic Kingdom. I got a bit cold on that section. I was sweaty, but my legs felt cold and I started to feel a little less happy. Clarkie took the monorail across to Magic Kingdom and saw me at 9 miles. Then she had to go and checkout of the hotel and stuff, so that was the last time I saw her before the finish.

After Magic Kingdom comes a loooooong stretch of service roads before you reach Animal Kingdom. We went past the halfway mark on that stretch, and I was feeling ok. Starting to struggle, but I'd warmed up. I was slower than on a good day at the halfway mark, but I was still on track for my PB. I was quite jealous of the relay runners though. (Disney were doing a new thing this year, the Chip and Dale relay where two runners each do 13.1 miles. The first leg get their own finish and everything. I think it sounds brilliant, personally. Just have to persuade a certain someone to run it with me!)

Disney had done their best to liven up the dull bits. There were characters, boards with random facts on, cast members cheering... And really, it was a run through green trees and on flat terrain, so it wasn't too bad. It was warming up but not hot yet, almost perfect. Trouble was I got through 15 miles in slightly over 3 hours (well down on normal) and my legs and feet and brain stopped coordinating really well. After that it was pretty much a battle the whole way. My PB dreams went out of the window, and it became totally about finishing by any means I could. Which meant a lot of walking.

I can tell you that the pavement in Animal Kingdom is quite textured. The park was open by the time I got there, and I saw people stop running to go on the Everest ride. More people meant more cheering, and that was definitely welcome. Having our names on the race number meant loads of people shouted for you directly, and that was such a boost. I'm not sure spectators really appreciate the difference they make to the average runners. They really do. Should you ever find yourself spectating, take something to make some noise with! Clapping hurts after a while...

The section between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios was my personal hell. We were out on some of the main roads in Disney at this point, in direct sun, on overpasses with no shade, with one lane still open to cars. The car drivers were miserable and seemed intent on ignoring the running. No horn beeping, no windows down and cheering, nothing. Just the exhausts making it worse. (Coincidentally, this was between around 19-23 miles. Never good. So my report may be coloured by that.) A high point was 'Sweet Caroline' coming on over the speakers, and a load of the runners started singing along!

Hollywood Studios to the end was much more pleasant. We went along the edge of water back through the Beach Club resort and into Epcot World Showcase around the back of the United Kingdom (I know that means nothing unless you've been there, but this is for my memory as much as anything else), and it was so nice to get away from the cars and back amongst people. I saw my parents at the Christmas tree where World Showcase meets Futureworld (around 25.5 miles), and nearly started crying and gave them my sweaty camelbak. Another runner there cajouled me into running for a bit more - I wasn't sure my legs were on the right way round by this point - and the finish was a lovely, lovely sight.

In the end my chip timing didn't work (no record of my start), and I forgot to turn off my watch at the finish (other things on my mind). But it was around 6 hours 9 minutes, or 10 minutes slower than my already incredibly slow PB. I am happy that I did the best preparation my body could do, and the best on the day that I could, but I'd have given an awful lot to not get that chest infection.

The thing that really made this marathon for me was all the people. The cast members who were out in the dark at 6am to cheer us on, all the other runners, the volunteers who ran all the food and water stops, the people who were sweeping up the cups after us and the spectators were all awesome. The atmosphere was fantastic. Every waterstop, runners were thanking the volunteers for being there, and they were telling us back to keep going because we were doing fine (even when we patently weren't!).

(Very little makes me as emotional as long distance running, so forgive me if I'm gushing.)

The other thing that makes this marathon unique is the day after. I was ok - very stiff, some chafe marks, a couple of tiny blisters - so we went into Epcot mid-afternoon. I'd been told I had to wear my medal and tshirt, which felt a lot like showing off for this Brit, but I did it. I am so glad I did. There were lots of medals at the park. We congratulated each other, with nods and smiles, and other people congratulated us too. Half marathon, full marathon, Chip and Dale or Goofy (half on the Saturday, full on the Sunday) didn't matter. It was really special. Clarkie said it was like I'd joined some cult club.

I am really glad I did it. It helped me put my London result in perspective, and was an amazing experience in it's own right. I feel like a runner now, like I've worked that into my life rather than just training for the one thing. A very slow runner, but that's ok. Would I do it again? One day. I'll finish the PhD first, and work on my half-marathon time. But one day I'll do another.

Links:

Walt Disney 2012 marathon map

The rest of Clarkie's photos of the day

Look! Mittens!

2011-12-12T11:26:51Z

I seriously need to stop underestimating my body's ability to knock my best-laid plans sidewards. The cold didn't shift - or rather it did. To my chest. I got a chest infection. Antibiotics, which upset my digestive system. Lovely combo. Not. So yeah, 2 weeks off running so far. Not good. Still can't do anything much about it though, other than shrug and accept that the marathon is going to be slower than I'd hoped.

On the bright side, practicing knitting for 29 years (eep) means that even when I'm really quite sick I can still churn through a pattern. Not as fast as normal maybe, but still.

I've been wanting to make these mittens (the RAGBRAI mittens) for a couple of years now. Took me a while to get there, but I put the wool for them in my Knit Picks order that I was supposed to pick up at Christmas. My mum surprised me by bringing it home in November, but I have a jumper with stranded colourwork on the go at the moment and I was trying not to start these as well. Apparently my defences were down in more ways than one, because I cast on for these almost before I realised.

The original pattern calls for worsted (aran) weight yarn, but makes a 12", man-sized mitten. I have really quite small hands, so I went for sport (5-ply) weight yarn - Telemark, which is good hard-wearing stuff but apparently discontinued. (Was I alone in my love for that wool? Anyway.)

At least something positive has come out of the last two weeks!

Disaster!

2011-12-06T10:17:03Z

Well, ok, that might be a little strong. In terms of my running it's been a bit disasterous, but actually it's just a cold.

Yep, after feeling so positive in my last blog post, I managed a 2 mile treadmill run on Monday, then half an hour on the recumbant bike on Tuesday (no treadmills free!), then Tuesday night I started feeling horrible. Spent most of Wednesday asleep, other than when I woke up hungry, and have been more or less out of it since. I'm just getting to the stage where I feel mostly human again - I managed a day in the office yesterday, but didn't really achieve much. This morning I've woken up with no voice and a nice cough, so we'll see what tomorrow brings.

I mean, I say disaster, but really last week was supposed to be a light week. Not THAT light maybe, but still. And I had another two long runs planned, so one of them will just have to bite the dust for me to recover this week. Hopefully I'll get a couple of shortish runs in by the end of this week - 3-6 miles maybe - then next week will be back on track for a 20 miler. After that my taper is supposed to start (eek! Getting really close!).

I knew I couldn't stay healthy for September all the way to January. I'm just glad I got as much of my training plan done as I have. There's no point giving myself a hard time over this either, there's nothing I can do about it that I'm not already doing (lemsip, sleeping lots, staying warm, good food...) and stressing will just make it worse. So fingers crossed this is just giving my legs time to recover, and I'll be back up and running soon as.

6 weeks to go

2011-11-28T10:10:07Z

I can't quite believe it's only 6 weeks to go! How on earth did that happen?

The last four weeks of running have been quite interesting. I did another 15 miles the week after I last blogged, which was difficult. I was fine for about the first 2.5 hours again, but then I got tired. The difference seemed to be that this time it wasn't my legs. My head went for the first time, and I couldn't make myself do it any more. I ran more slowly than the previous week, which really wasn't what I'd been expecting. I came off that week so flat, I didn't even want to think about running for most of the next week, and as you can see I didn't do any. I managed to force myself to go for a run on the Sunday, but it was a bit of an effort.

It helped though. By the Tuesday I went for my first run home along the seafront in the dark. I was at my desk dreading it, but as soon as I got out of the door I felt great. Turns out it's not quite as far along the top of the cliffs as it is along the undercliff walk, but it's not as flat either (and windier) so I think it cancels out. I've got a new plan for Thursdays too. I now come into work with Clarkie, then turn round and run home and work there all day. That makes the trail running easier than trying to do it in the dark - it's not a good surface, I come close to turning an ankle on it when I can see, so a head torch probably won't cut it.

The weekend of the 19th-20th we were up in Cambridge. I was supposed to be doing an 18 mile run, but after 13 miles my feet decided to let me know they'd had enough. There didn't seem much point in pushing them further for risk of injury, so we stopped and Dad came to pick me up.

The really strange thing is that bailing out on that run seems to have really made me feel much better about the whole thing. I can't work out why. It's almost like my legs responded to that 13 miles like a weekend off. I felt so much stronger and better this week. It could be that the weekend spent being looked after by my parents and doing almost nothing more than sitting in the sun in their conservatory is what really recharged my batteries, but the run this Saturday felt awesome. I did 16 miles in 3 hours, not the 15.2 or so I did a couple of weeks ago. Ok, the extra 25 minutes felt quite long, and my legs were glad to stop, but I've been in much worse shape after fewer miles.

It feels like my calves and feet have finally given in. It feels like I can do this now. This week is a rest week, and then there are two more long runs to practice before I taper for the race.

Bring. It. On.

10 weeks to go...

2011-10-30T17:35:27Z

I meant to post last week, really I did. But last week was not a good running week.

Two weeks' trainingThe first week was supposed to be a nice, restful week. Low mileage, just a 1 hour run on the Saturday. Well, I missed the Thursday run. I had really, really sore calves, and was just starting to worry about shin splints (yeah, probably hypochondria.) so I skipped and started stretching and so on. Clarkie dug her thumbs in a few times too, with interesting results where I nearly went through the ceiling! I thought I might need to do some miles in slightly more supportive shoes, to give my calves a break on the longer runs, so I tried to do the Saturday run in my Asics. I also mostly felt like staying on the sofa drinking tea.

It did not go well.

I hated the shoes, which felt like they were really squishing my feet. I lost the feeling in my toes after about 10 minutes. The wind was in my face, and the undercliff walk was full. It was extremely demoralising.

This week started much better. Tuesday's run was awesome in fact. I felt good after my 8 miles. Then Wednesday evening I suddenly went very tired, and Thursday and Friday were spent at home fighting off a sore throat that was threatening to turn into a cold. My long run was supposed to be Saturday, but we went to Hailsham (I've been running on the Cuckoo Trail for these long ones) and Clarkie's mum needed some help shifting stuff and I was feeling a bit under the weather still, so we postponed.

Today's run was great! Well, for the first 2.5 hours or so. This is a good sign. I've been extending my long runs by 30 minutes at a time, and I seem to die 30 minutes later on each one. My tactic is to try and push the bad miles as far back as possible, and it seems to be working. Only down side is my phone (which is what I've been tracking my runs on with GPS and an android app) died after 2 hours 55. So I think I actually did closer to 15.5 miles, because I kept going for the full 3 hours. Not sure what I'll do on the longer runs I've got planned.

I should also point out that Clarkie is an absolute trooper, who comes with me on all these long runs on her bike. She carries the refreshments, chats at me, keeps me going when it's got tough and generally makes the long runs possible. Then when we make it back she feeds and waters me, runs a bath or puts me in the shower, and looks after me. There is no way I could do this without her.

Next week is supposed to look a lot like this week. No Monday run because of the shunt of today's run onto Sunday. I might shift the 8 mile run to Thursday too. We'll see how it goes. Other than the long run, everything else is negotiable!

12 weeks to go...

2011-10-16T21:00:05Z

12 weeks today, all being well, I'll have completed the Walt Disney World marathon. I figure I'll do a bit of a weekly training update from here on.

Last week's training:

I'm pretty pleased with that, I did all four runs and did the distance I was hoping to on each one. More or less, anyway. The Saturday run is done on time more than distance. The last 30 minutes was a bit painful, but that's better than the two hour run I did a couple of weeks ago. Slightly more than a half-marathon. Actually, before I uploaded it said 13.6 miles on my phone. Not quite sure what happens when I upload the GPX file!

Next week's training:

Next week is a light week. Should be easy enough, if my legs have recovered enough for a couple of miles tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Short trials

2011-10-09T20:20:58Z

After my run at Windsor, I put in an order with Wiggle. Primarily I wanted a Camelbak, as I've been struggling with starting runs feeling thirsty after spending the hour before queuing for the loos. While I was ordering though I picked up a new cap (my old one has gone a bit rusty), and a pair of Ron Hill Aspiration Racer shorts. I love my Harlot Houlihan shorts, but they are meant for cycling really, and I had a ring around my middle where they'd rubbed me raw.

(I may still wear them for the marathon if it's cold enough for long johns though.)

So the order arrived. The shorts looked a lot shorter when they arrived than I expected if I'm honest, but I figured I could work with that if they were comfy. So I took them on an hour-long run. What I discovered fairly quickly was that they ride up, which took them from fairly short to really very short. This meant that on quite a warm day when I was sweating pretty heavily, my thighs were rubbing together. After an hour this was massively uncomfortable. I didn't want to walk any further by the time I stopped.

Me being me, I tweeted my displeasure.

Ron Hill Aspiration shorts are apparently aimed at women whose thighs do not rub when they run. Not me then! #kitfail

I was thoroughly surprised to be tweeted back at by someone at Ron Hill, asking me to email further details of what hadn't worked out with the shorts. I was even more surprised when having done so, they offered to send me a pair of the Aspiration Flex shorts. Now, I want to like Ron Hill stuff, so I figured I'd give it a go. Plus, free shorts. No bad thing. The shorts duly arrived, and I took them out on a one hour run today.

First up, the material these shorts are made from is nice and stretchy. Perhaps a little clingy for a pair of nominally baggy shorts, but soft. I also like the construction of the crotch. They run a single piece of fabric up the inside of the left leg, up and over and down the inside of the right leg - no seams to rub and a construction that mimics my Houlihan shorts. What I do not understand - and maybe someone from Ron Hill's design team can explain - is why they've put pockets in. The fabric stretches, you couldn't put anything in them and you wouldn't want to. More on those in a mo though.

So I wore them on my run today, and Clarkie came too on the bike. She took this photo, about 40-45 minutes in.

This shot shows the two problems I had with this pair of shorts while I was running. Just like the Aspiration Racer shorts, these ride up. The number of times I had to hoik them back down was irritating. The other thing - that thing sticking out to the right - is the pocket. I had to try and put them back in several times on the run. They just kept turning themselves inside out!

Fortunately this run was only an hour, and fortunately the Flex shorts were long enough that I won't be having to wear cycling shorts under my trousers tomorrow like I did with the Racers. Now, it may be that I have a strange gait. I'm fully prepared to admit I've got broader hips than the rest of my build would suggest. It may be that my thighs are bigger than they ought to be. But I do have other pairs of shorts that do not ride up on the run, and those pockets are totally beyond my comprehension.

Will I wear this pair again? Maybe. I'll need to sew up and probably cut out the pockets first. Will I wear the Racers again? Maybe, over the top of a pair of skin tight ones after I've cut out the inbuilt pants. So neither pair will be worn as the person who designed them expected. I should definitely say that I cannot fault their customer service, who really surpassed my expectations over all this.

In happier news, the Camelbak is working out really nicely and the hat is fine. I have some long, long runs coming up, and fingers crossed I do have the kit to handle that. It's just a shame it won't be Ron Hill kit.

Kick up the backside

2011-10-03T09:18:15Z

2 Sundays ago I ran the Windsor Half Marathon.

I've been bimbling along with my training, slowly upping the mileage. I got to 8 miles, comfortable, slow, happy. Then we had a daft September full of socialising and weekends away (most unlike us!). Of course, I got a cold. Just as I should have been doing happy little 10 mile training runs, before tapering nicely for the half.

Still, I recovered. Actually in under a week from snot-monster to running, so I was pretty pleased. Spent a week taking it easy and recovering, so with a week to go I was planning that 10 miles again.

This time I got a stitch at 3 miles. Normally I just breathe through them and they go. This one migrated down my side and forced me to stop and swear for a bit. I limped on for another 3 very slow miles, and wimped out at 6 in total. The following day (Tuesday) I got a sore throat. Cue another 4 days of precautionary lemsip and no running, and I lined up for the start of the half.

Which went predictably slowly. It was hotter than I thought, I didn't drink enough before the start, I haven't got the hang of drinking out of open cups on the run, and there were more hills than I'd bargained for. All of which are really excuses for being undertrained.

(Clarkie's photo, from near the end of the first mile.)

It took me 2 hours 48 minutes and 44 seconds. A bloody long time. My training times predicted 2.5 hours, I was optimistically hoping for a smidge faster.

There were, however, positives. I finished. I pushed myself, I didn't drop out after the first lap, and I made it. I could walk the next day. My kit wasn't perfect, but my shoes and sock pretty much were. And I remembered just how bad a run can be when I'm underprepared.

So, from here on in every run is important. No skipping. Don't feel well? I'll go a bit easy. Full on cold I'll have to skip some. Clearly I can't not catch colds. I am clearing them faster than ever though - poor Clarkie caught that sore throat from me, and its turned into a 2 week monster.

I have mapped out the 14 weeks from here to the marathon (14 weeks yesterday). I've worked out the long runs and the rest weeks. It's a lot of miles for me, but with a combination of running and walking I'll manage them and I'll be substantially better prepared than I was for my last marathon. I ran just over 10 miles on Saturday in 1 hour 55, and it was hot but I found a shady path and I'm using a Camelbak now.

Of course, I also have a small shed-load of coding to do and DPhil work to chug through. I have big dreams for what I can achieve before Christmas. I'm going to need some very simple knitting...