Every breath you take

Today has been a mixed day for me with highs and lows. Starting with the highs I had my first 1-2-1 yoga lesson with Pamela Young and what a fantastic experience that was. It was like nothing I'd imagined before with so much concentration on "the breath" - loved it. I left the session relaxed although my body had gone through a good workout. I continued the theme of Breathing with my run today where I had to work hard at only using my nose to breath. While it does feel like a strain I had no aches or pains in my limbs afterwards. This of course could be due to the more oxygen getting round the system. Then for the temporary low in the day. I attended the funeral of a friend who within 4 weeks of being diagnosed with cancer had died. I watch his children and grandchildren during the celebration of his life and my heart went out to them. How can you sum up 82 years in 30 minutes? They managed it and brought a smile to everyones face - after all it was a celebration of life. It was only a temporary low as I let the church uplifted by the stories I had heard. But my thoughts returned to my breath as I thought we don't give it any consideration until we're short of it. We should appreciate it more as it won't always be there.

50 shades of grey

Tomorrow I will be starting yoga as previous mentioned but my teacher had asked me to try a few things before turning up at 6.30am tomorrow. The first was to try breathing through my nose while running. She even suggested taping my mouth up but I didn't think I'd manage with that and after the first run, I'm pleased I didn't. Trying to change the habit of 50 years wasn't easy and by the top of the first hill I was doubled over and must have looked 50 shades of grey. However I persevered and drew some strange looks from passers by while I tried to suck as much air through my nose as possible while keeping my mouth shut. I will spare you the other details re my nose except to say it's not easy getting air in when there is stuff coming in the other direction. I had another go this morning in a shorter run and the result was similar but I'll persevere as getting more oxeygen into those muscles is fundamental. I was also asked to keep a food diary as she wants to see what I am filling myself with. Not that I have a weight problem, far from it, but she wants to see what is fuelling my system. That went really well until after dinner when for some strange reason 5 glasses of wine were consumed! This is rare but doesn't look good on my first day of keeping a food diary!

Confessions of a driving instructor

Ok, so the title gives away my age as there were a series of books back in the 70's, confessions of...they were serious rubbish, so I'm told as I was too young to read them. However at 6.15am this morning I gave my son his first driving lesson (he's had £600 worth of professional ones but 2 failed tests!)which was a bit of a shock to the system for both of us. You forget what it's like to be learning again and how reckless "white van drivers" can be, but he did great. That was the start to my morning followed by a fast 3.5 mile run and a 2km swim. I felt brilliant afterwards having felt lethargic for the last week; I think I have my mojo back! Busy day today as I am meeting a yoga teacher later to find out how we can get my stiff legs into shape for my running training. The stiffness is nothing new but if I don't get this sorted I'll suffer with the training and the Sahara in April. I spent 11 years struggling at karate trying to be more flexible but I think the problem is structural and pushing through the pain barrier did me more harm than good back then. Tonight I am speaking to Strathaven Rottary Club about Mission Ironman so that should be fun. Finally the sun is shining and that always helps. Have a fantastic day!

Paralympics

When talking to people about the goals, what they would like to do with their life or just life in general, we tend to have a "but". I'd like to ...."but". We can't help ourselves. However, how inspirational is the paralympics? I'm watching the 1,500m final while writing my blog the Irishman has just completed it in 4:08.11! Even the back marker is 4:29 - these are very special people. Most able bodied people couldn't match these times unless they were serious athletes. But they have a "can do" mindset. I am going to have to call on that side come April for my MDS challenge as I am no where near fit enough at this stage. In fairness I shouldn't be but when I read what some of my fellow competitors are doing currently I shudder. But I've been there before with Ironman and it's that experience that reassures me that I have 7 months to get into the best shape of my life to allow me to "push the envelop" i.e. take my physical and mental strength beyond any limit I know. I just need to take my time, not become impatient and know that as long as I believe in myself and commit to my training plan then I'll succeed. No if's, certainly no buts and definately no maybes. That I am sure is how the paralympians think and they overcome greater obsticles than me.

Gate crashing a race

Multitasking helps with my time management so after I dropped my son off at his football match I went for a run. Is would allow me to get a workout and be at the sideline for the start of his match. I ran into Strathclyde Park and immediately realised I had gate crashed a triathlon. However as a public park you can still run, walk your dog etc even in the middle of a race. So I had people cheering me on, thanks for that, offering me drinks and eventually argueing with me as to the right direction! The fact I was in the race made me run harder so when I checked my stats at the end it was the fastest I have run in over a month. So the balance of my training has shifted to running but I will continue swimming to relax my legs and cycling / turbo training for my stamina. Now to put my feet up to watch the Grand Prix!

Barriers to success

Today is the first day in a 30 run challenge that I have taken up. Run a minimum of 20 minutes a day for 30 days. The theory is that at the end of the month your running will have improved significantly. However in this part of my fitness cycle, coming back from having peaked 4 months ago, it will be hard work. This morning I was out in the wind and fine rain covering 6.2 miles around a hilly course. My heart rate is too high but I don't want to slow down as it's only a short run so you just feel awful as you climb the hills. At this point you could easily walk or just give up as nobody knows you are out there - but I do. Despite feeling sick I push on because I know every step is a step closer to my goal and every run is "miles in the bank". I know that on the Marathon des Sables I will probably overdraw that bank account but the more I have in it at the start, the less the debt if you get my drift. So my current lack of fitness is a potential barrier to success but only if I allow my mind to believe that and that is not going to happen. As I said to my daughter this morning "it's the things you work hard for that you appreciate the most".

Autumn blows in

There has been a distinct change in the weather in the last week. On Wednesday we had hailstones and I had to put an extra layer on when I went out for my run tonight. Call me a pessimist but I can't see the promised "Indian summer" that we're promised every year and it's now dark by 8.30 pm which limits when you can train. So I face training 6 days a week in inclement weather conditions for the next 7 months as I prepare for the toughest foot race on the planet - Marathon des Sables. One particularly difficult challenge will be trying to acclimatise myself for 40 degrees when training in freezing conditions. So I'll be layering up to run hot. Sounds much more fun than I'm sure it will be but I'll do whatever it takes to be prepared for this "mother of all challenges"! After all, the money raised will be for a fantastic cause - Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres.