Week Five

Tuesday - 8 miles

Wednesday - 10 miles

Saturday - 4 hours (23 miles)

I knew I had to run on Tuesday night as this was a busy week so it was with some disappointment that I noted the weather forecast:

I got home from work and straightaway put my contact lenses in, because it's easier running in rain when you don't have to worry about glasses and once they're in, you may as well go.  So off I went to one of my Top Ten Wettest Runs Ever.  Although the actually running time was only 1 hour 15 mins, I spent more than 3 hours outside, much of which was spent doing bodyweight exercises in puddles.  Any thought of sprinting goes out the window in these conditions and I just focussed on getting round, getting home, and getting in a hot shower.  It was tough but these are the runs that build resilence.  A really amazing crew and positive attitudes aplenty despite the weather.

Photo Credit: Máté Fülöp

On Wednesday I had my DMSA scan at the hospital.  There was a three hour gap between injection and photographs and this seemed like the perfect slot to squeeze my other weekly run, with the massive luxury of it being in daylight hours!  I checked with the staff and they were fine with it, so I set off straight from my appointment for a few loops of Southwark Park.  Unfortunately it rained throughout....

On Thursday I woke up with a horrible cold.  I'm not sure if this was due to the running in the rain, the recently started hospital placement, or just sitting next to someone on the tube sneezing.  In any case, I was feeling pretty rubbish and hadn't had much sleep.  I had planned a nice long run for Saturday and invited various people along, all of whom eventually had to pull out due to injury or illness.  So Friday night, I'm knackered, ill, and facing down 4 hours of tarmac running on my own.  I googled, "running with a cold" and found this article which says symptoms above the neck "don't pose a risk to runners continuing workouts".  I laid out all my kit and went to bed.

 Note new purple OMM bag with hydration, my inner running kit geek is leaping with joy at this! 

I got up at 7am, feeling rough, but determined.  On went all the kit and I headed out without even opening the curtains.  To my eternal disappointment and contrary to the weather forecast, when I went outside it was raining.  AGAIN.  What a week!  But it was too late now, I'd already taken a triple dose of immodium and my body would not be happy if I didn't run it off.

I set off and I could immediately tell that this was going to be a good run.  I found myself having to hold back because my legs were just so full of energy and power that they wanted to just GO.  I did the first few km at marathon pace: 5:36, 5:39, 5:37.  I had to force myself to slow down.  The rain wasn't bothering me, I felt strong, I was actively enjoying running for the first time in a fortnight.  Toby phoned me about 8km in and I was happy and chatty, and he kept me company until about the halfway mark.  I stopped at Hyde Park Corner to take a photo to try to show how crap the weather was, but it wasn't denting my mood at all.

By 30km in, I was thinking, "never has a long run been this easy!"  Perhaps last week's stepback week had acted like a kind of tapering?  I sailed onwards through the parks: Battersea, Hyde, Green, St James's, Southwark.  Even at the end I felt like I could've kept on going and easily finished the marathon, but I knew I didn't need to and there was no point risking injury.  It was already the longest run I'd ever done outside of a marathon, nearly 2000 calories burned, job done!

That evening, Iz was visiting me in London so we went ice-skating, possibly not the greatest idea after a 23 mile run but it was good fun and maybe even a little bit crosstraining.  By the end of the day I'd done more than 50,000 steps - definitely equivalent to a marathon race day.

On Sunday, my new-and-improved training programme had me down to do walking/cycling/swimming instead of the prescribed 3 hours run (thanks George)!  We decided on cycling, even though neither of us particularly enjoy it (!!) and it was a cold day with a bitter wind.  I thought it'd be a good idea to cycle round the Olympic Park as there were no cars and both of us are a liability on bikes.  Off we went, kicking off with an hour's walking searching for a Boris bike station (Iz berated me for not having looked up whether there even was one before we set off).  Eventually we found one.  We started cycling.  It was very, very cold.  Iz didn't have any gloves so she stole mine and my hands turned into blocks of ice.  We managed 30 minutes cycle to the Velodrome, then 30 minutes drinking hot chocolate and thawing, then 30 minutes back to the Aquatics Centre.  Not going to win any awards but hey at least I wasn't sitting on the sofa!

Hoping that next week, the weather gods will be a little kinder.  Until then, here's my fundraising link if you feel that way inclined.  Much appreciated xx

DMSA

Today I had my DMSA kidney scan, which was such a simple test there's actually hardly anything to say.  DMSA stands for dimercaptosuccinic acid, which is the name of the dye they use to make the kidneys show up on camera.  The dye was injected into my arm, not even via a cannula, which only took five minutes.  After that I was allowed to leave the hospital for 3 hours, then return to the nuclear medicine department for the pictures to be taken.

This involved lying on my back while a gamma camera took pictures to determine the structure and location of my kidneys.   The gamma camera is a very fancy machine which looks like this:

It rotates around to take pictures from both the front and back, which takes around 20 minutes.  Then I had to wait a few more minutes for the radiographer to confirm that the pictures were clear enough, and that was it!  Pretty straightforward.  Fingers crossed everything looks good - not sure when I will hear back but imagine in the next couple of weeks.

Week Four

Tuesday - 5.5 miles

Wednesday - 5 miles

Saturday - 2 hours (11.5 miles)
Sunday - 90 minutes (9 miles)

This week has been a bit easier in terms of mileage, but it has definitely not been easy mentally.  My chronic GI issues have flared up in a major way, not helped by stress due to starting clinical placement.  World politics are making me alternately depressed/angry and physically everything has just seemed harder than usual.   People always think running is easy for me - but despite being (relatively) fit, sometimes it can still seem like an uphill struggle.  My best tip when training for an event is have a plan, but focus on just getting through the current week and everything else will take care of itself...

On Tuesday, due to a bout of insomnia, I changed the plan from going running in the evening with Midnight Runners to getting up and heading out for my run at 6am.  I was pootling along when suddenly I heard someone call my name and unbelievably, there was the lovely Melina at Tower Bridge!  What are the chances?!

She was waiting for Laura and Pietro and when they arrived we all went for a lovely dawn run together, which was just a lovely surprise and a great start to the day.  It also freed up my evening to go and do yoga.  I don't really enjoy yoga, but it's worth it for when we get to pigeon pose (if you're wondering, it's this) as it must stretch all the muscles that running tightens as it always feels completely amazing!  Unfortunately it doesn't seem to work unless I've done the class first....

On Wednesday it was sadly time to return the Hat of Awesomeness, so I duly went off to Project Awesome.  I wasn't in the best of moods when I arrived but as ever, it cheered me up massively.  It's pretty much impossible to be sad when you're doing burpees to Justin Bieber.

On Friday night I went back to Horsham and slept the sleep of the eternal dead after an exhausting week...

.. but even that wasn't enough and I was really NOT feeling a 2 hour run.  I'd got my road running shoes out but decided at the last possible second to switch to my trail shoes and spend it in the forest instead.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful route, though I never really reached a point where I felt like I was happily into my stride.  I decided I would take a series of random turnings, exploring bits I'd never been to before and as a result stumbled across some lovely views:

Sussex really is stunning, I am so lucky to get to run here most weekends.  However it was pretty muddy and hilly, the random route meant I accidentally ended up climbing way more hills than planned. I also had an encounter with a rather friendly labradoodle who jumped up at me whilst running (see paw prints on my thigh!) which was funny but also a bit of a shock!

Today I just did 90 minutes on roads, it was so uninspiring I didn't take any pictures!  I was meant to be doing an obstacle course mud run today (Tough Guy) but pulled out at Christmas for various reasons, not least of which was fear of getting injured, and my thoughts were with the amazing PA crew who went out and smashed it today.  You're all absolute legends and earned massive respect from me, I honestly don't think I could have managed it.

This week I noticed my average resting heart rate has dropped to a new low of 47.  According to the internet, "While the normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute, conditioned athletes and other highly fit individuals might have normal resting heart rates of 40 to 60 beats per minute. This indicates a high level of cardiovascular fitness." So that's quite exciting, eh?

Another thing that's quite exciting is I've officially reached halfway to my fundraising target of £1500.  I know that money is going to help people like the person who's going to get my kidney and also fund research into chronic kidney disease.  Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated so generously and to anyone who is thinking about it but hasn't yet, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE and here's the link: http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/marathonmadness
(Please note the site is down for maintenance until 8am tomorrow (Monday 30th) morning).

Consultant nephrologist

Today I saw the consultant nephrologist (a specialist kidney doctor).  She'd looked at the results of all my tests from two weeks ago and asked me a few questions about my lifestyle and did a physical exam (mostly just listening to my heart and prodding my kidneys a bit).

Then we had a conversation about my results.  Apparently my kidney function is excellent (GFR of 106) but there is a cyst on my left kidney which warrants further investigation.  I knew about this already as the specialist nurse had called ahead to let me know so that when the investigation appointments came through I wouldn't be alarmed (Honestly, they take such good care of you!)

Anyway, the cyst is very likely nothing to worry about.  The nephrologist struggled to even find it on the CT scan* because it's so small, and it's normal for healthy people to have up to 5 'simple' cysts on each kidney.  However, as they might end up giving this kidney to a patient, they need to have a closer look and so I'm going back for a DMSA scan next week.  If they can't tell from that, I'll need to have a MRI.  The nephrologist didn't seem overly concerned, either for my wellbeing or that it would be an impediment to transplant, so I'm trying not to worry about it for now.  I won't need to see her again if all is well and the next step will be meeting the surgeon.

*Side note: getting to see a CT scan of my own kidneys was fricking awesome!

Week Three

Tuesday - 8 miles

Thursday - 9.5 miles

Saturday - 3.5 hours (19 miles)
Sunday - 2 hours (11 miles) 

 

After last week's plea for help, I was contacted by the legendary George from Midnight Runners, who very kindly offered to overhaul my training plan.  We met on Tuesday and he gave me loads of advice and tips, changed around some of the runs and cut out a chunk of excess mileage that I'd been dreading.  Straight after our meeting we headed off to Midnight Runners, I was feeling full of confidence and inspiration and had an absolutely cracking run.  I think 4:39 might be the fastest 1km I've ever run!  My heart rate is usually pretty stable during my runs but the sprints followed by bodyweight exercises results in a pretty cool looking graph:

 

Midnight Runners was great as fun as usual, I unexpectedly bumped into Elisabeth from uni there, she's also training for London so it was great to catch up.  This photo is at City Hall, where we jumped every time they said "jump" in the song Jump by Kris Kross. I suspect I was in the minority being old enough to remember this song coming out!

Thursday's run was always going to be tricky as I didn't get to bed until 1am (I had to finish some work for placement) and was working late Thursday evening too.  I learned last year that you have to give yourself every opportunity to run so, extremely reluctantly, I set my alarm for 6am.  However when the moment arrived, I found myself feeling totally fine and was out of the house by 6.30 for a quick 9.5 mile burst around the Thames.  George had advised me to try to do a few miles in the middle a bit faster than the rest.  I'm not always that good at pacing but I just tried to push myself a bit harder every time I noticed I was feeling comfortable, and that worked (I found out afterwards when I checked my Garmin).  On the way back there was even an epic sunrise and I was home, showered and ready for work by 9am - not bad!

On Friday night I went to my best friend's birthday dinner in Milton Keynes and ate an enormous quantity of Indian food and two-and-a-half pints of lager.  Imagine my joy at 6am the next morning when it was time to get up and run for 3.5 hours in the dark and cold, with the temperature being -2 degrees!

Friends, I did it anyway.  This was taken near the start, but fails to convey how utterly freezing it was.  I had to keep curling my fingers up inside my gloves to try and restore feeling, I was wearing all the gear but it was still SO COLD. 

Once I'd got to about 6 miles I started to warm up and it was plain sailing from there.  This picture was taken at the halfway point (that's a lake in the background!)

Today my boyfriend needed to run 18k for his half marathon training and I needed to run for 2 hours, we calculated that those were approximately the same distance as long as we didn't go too fast.  So off we went, me moaning incessantly about my legs hurting, how horrible it is getting up early to run, not having any milk and having to have toast for breakfast, how much I hate my new headband, etc. etc. (he has the patience of a saint!) until about 7k in when suddenly the endorphins kicked in and I was full of the joys of spring again. 

Next week has less running - my programme takes a step back every 4th week or so to consolidate - which I'm grateful for as this week has been tough.

If you'd like to sponsor me the link is here (please do!) : http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/marathonmadness

Week Two

Tuesday - 10 miles

Wednesday - 5 miles

Saturday - 3 hours (15.5 miles)
Sunday - 80 minutes (7.5 miles)

Monday this week was the tube strike, which resulted in me having to cycle 5 miles on a Boris bike to get to placement... I am so NOT a cyclist and nearly died several times plus had to drag the bike down steps/get off because I was lost/cry because I was scared of buses going past me/eat a Peanut Butter Kitkat Chunky to recover.  Still, crosstraining!! Right?!

I had my kidney assessment day on Tuesday which involved lots of injections, but on the plus side, I was all finished by 4pm.  I decided to go for a run afterwards as it was still light (just)!  Unfortunately I decided to 'save' Southwark Park for the end because that was the 'best bit', then by the time I got there it was locked and I had to run alongside a busy road in the dark.  Hmm.

Wednesday I got up at 5.15am for a trip to the wonderful Project Awesome.  They are the most tremendously supportive, positive and fun group of people who make exercise accessible to everyone, regardless of age or fitness, for free.  I often say PA was the key to everything good that  happened to me since I've been in London, and I really believe that.  You do have to be there at 6.30am though:

So, the Hat of Awesomeness.  I've seen it awarded to some absolute heroes, amazing and inspiring people who do far greater and more impressive things that I ever will.  It's like the FA Cup of Awesome.  It's hard to describe to people who haven't been there so suffice to say it was a ridiculously huge honour to be chosen to receive it this week:

 Photo credit:  Dave Finch

I look shocked in these pictures because I could hardly believe it and it was all I could do not to cry.  It's days later and I still don't feel I deserve to be in such hallowed company.  I've been wearing it everywhere - like the FA Cup you have to give it back! - so I'm making the most of it.

This weekend I went to Liverpool with Toby.  We'd found this lovely guy, John, who does running tours of Liverpool and we asked him to take us out together for 2 hours, then me on my own for another hour to see the sights of Liverpool.  As we ran, he gave us a running commentary on the history of Liverpool and all the things we were running past.  It was the BEST way to see the city - Toby is Liverpudlian but even he had never been to some of the places! and John was utterly lovely.  We had to stop for a photo opportunity:

Sunday was predicted to be extremely rainy, windy and cold, which was unfortunate, but I know from last year that you can't let the weather put you off your training plan or you're doomed.  I dutifully set the alarm for 7am and reluctantly dragged myself away from this:

to run along the harbour in the cold and wind (luckily the rain didn't materialise).  It seemed quite easy for the first few miles -  stopping for a photo opportunity at the Liver Building - but when I turned around and ran the second section directly into a 20mph headwind... let's just say that part wasn't quite such fun.

And everyone loves a run with a massive hill right at the end, don't they?

All in all, a good week.  Though I think my training plan might be overly brutal... I'm a bit worried I'm doing too many miles and risking injury.  I'm considering paying a coach to help me.  Desperate measures considering I'm a student but I've spent a fortune on kit, I think maybe it's time to spend some on expertise.  If anyone has any recommendations, please do get in touch.

Kidney assessment day

Before I donate a kidney, it's mandatory to have a host of tests to make sure that my kidneys are healthy enough that I can live a long life without developing chronic kidney disease myself.  Of course it's not a guarantee, but if I have none of the risk factors/warning signs then I'm unlikely to become one of the 5% of the population who have some reduction in kidney function.  So, firstly, the risk factors:

being of African-American decent, older age, low birth weight and family history of kidney disease (I am/have none of these)

Being obese (I'm not) because it increases the risk of having high blood pressure and diabetes

Having high blood pressure (I don't) because it damages arteries in the kidney and reduces blood flow, this means kidney tissues don't get enough oxygen/can't get rid of waste

Having diabetes (I don't) because high blood glucose damages the kidney filters, making them more 'leaky' and eventually causes scarring which reduces the kidneys' ability to filter the blood

 
Today was my kidney assessment day so I spent most of it running around Guy's Hospital.  Here's a list of all the tests I had and what they were for:

8.30am, kidney clinic:
Bloods taken - to check fasting blood glucose to make sure I'm not diabetic
Blood pressure - to check it isn't high

9am, nuclear medicine
A protein containing radioactive dye is injected to see how quickly my kidneys can filter it.  This is my glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and gives an indication of how well my kidneys are functioning.

10am, cardiothoracic clinic
An ECG is taken to check I have normal heart beat and rhythm.  (I do* - this is the only test which produces an immediate result!)

11.40am, 12.40pm and 1.40pm, nuclear medicine
Return to clinic to have blood taken via a cannula for analysis

2.30pm, imaging
Renal angiogram; abdominal and chest x-ray
This test also involves dye, so can't be done until after the GFR is completely finished as it could affect the results.  Dye is injected via the cannula which highlights the blood vessels.  A CT scan shows how the dye is progressing through the renal arteries.  Together, these tests show the physical state of my kidneys - where they are and what they're doing. The results will be examined by the consultant nephrologist.

And that's it!  I actually had a really lovely day - I had coffee, caught up on emails, read my book and saw two friends who happened to be nearby during the breaks.  None of it hurt, though I did feel a bit pincushion-esque from all the injections. 

I get the results in two weeks time when I meet the consultant. So far, so easy...

UPDATE TWO DAYS LATER.... nice cannula bruise coming up!

* actually my heart rate is a bit slow (50 beats per minute), but it's normal for people who exercise a lot to have low heart rates so it's not a cause for concern. 

Week One

Monday - 10 miles

Tuesday - 8 miles

Saturday - 90 minutes (9 miles)

Sunday - 3.5 hours (19 miles)

After a few weeks of pretty light training, this week has involved a LOT of running!  Monday I went out with my boyfriend for a gentle loop along the river and around Battersea Park, we ran together for most of it then I had to rush home to go to the loo, resulting in this graph of my daily steps: 

Tuesday I went out with Midnight Runners for the first time in ages, I'd forgotten how great it is to be with a group of 100+ people.  They definitely contributed to my training when I was doing my first marathon so it's good to be back.  No better way to spend a Tuesday night!

Saturday was supposed to be a gentle warmup for Sunday, I decided to do some trails as I was at home in Horsham and there's so much pretty countryside around there.  It was indeed beautiful:

Here's a panorama from yesterday compared with the same view a few weeks ago, this is one of my very favourite spots, it's gorgeous:

 

Unfortunately it turned out to involve a lot of mud and a LOT of hills:

  

But I felt okay so hoped I'd got away with it.

Unfortunately not.  I was late leaving the house this morning  and misjudged the distance so ended up having to run to Horsham Joggers (my local club) at quite a pace so as not to miss the start.  I arrived, slightly flustered, just as they were leaving, so had to turn around and get cracking immediately.   My Garmin couldn't manage to get a GPS signal so I didn't record the run, which annoys me as it 'spoils my record' (such a gadget nerd)!

Then I started having a few gastro issues, resulting in two unscheduled toilet stops in a bush, which meant I was at the very back of the group.  Spot the runner in front of me just disappearing into the distance in the photo...  As I got more and more tired, my brain helpfully started popping up thoughts such as, "Maybe you should just give up and phone for a lift?  You obviously aren't fit enough for this," and then I got lost.  I didn't have a map because I'd arrived late, so what was meant to be a 3 hour run turned into a 3.5 hour one.  My legs had had enough and so had I.  Not the best start but I had a lovely hot shower, a lovely hot lunch and am feeling fine now :)

In kidney news, the local paper published an interview I did with them over Christmas, and even put me in a little box on the bottom right of the front page!

You can read the article here.  They focus more on the kidney than the ultra, which in my mind is the wrong way round as that's the easy bit!  Still, I'm sure my mum will be proud and will probably keep the newspaper for the rest of eternity....

I've had a brilliant week for donations and I think I'm probably safe from losing my marathon place now.  There's still lots of fundraising to do but at least I can get on with running without that threat hanging over me!  All sponsorship is greatly appreciated and my page is here.

Week Zero

Christmas is over, 2017 beckons, and my training commences next week.  For the next 16 weeks I will be running in excess of ten hours each week - yikes.

I have found a suitable training plan which is printed out on my wall.  Take a look if you like... it's a little bit insane.  I'm cutting it down slightly - I will do two midweek runs, each 6-10 miles, then whatever it says for the weekend.  I will be running every Saturday and Sunday for the first third of the year.

As I write this, I'm in bed with flu.  Not the most auspicious start!  But I'm very excited to get cracking.  I'm spending the day sending emails in the hope of getting fundraising off to a great start!

If you would like to sponsor me, here's the link: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/marathonmadness 
Thank you so much xx

Fundraising

Lately I have been mega busy with my degree, but in the back of my mind I know I need to crack on with my fundraising.  That £1500 isn't going to raise itself and there's a danger I will lose the place in January if I don't make progress towards raising the required funds.

I have set up a fundraising page here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/marathonmadness 
If you know me, and even if you don't, please give as much as you can to this excellent cause.  I've seen first-hand how debilitating dialysis can be for patients and the support of organisations like GSTT Kidney Patients' Association makes a big difference.

I've started thinking of fundraising activities but am slightly scared by the fact I'm on clinical placement from 3 January to 7 April and am not allowed to take a single day off.  I'm not really quite sure how I'm going to do it.  I hate asking people for money.

Never before have I done a sponsored running event.  I run because I love it, and I feel asking people to sponsor me to do something I love is a bit of a cop-out really.  This is different though:

1. This is NOT going to be a fun running event, this is going to be torture
2. It's my last marathon before I donate one of my kidneys... will there ever be a better reason?
3. It is for a genuinely important and life-changing cause
4. I have not asked anyone to donate to anything on my behalf since my parachute jump in 2012 
5. 2017 is my final year in London and running the marathon this year seems fitting, it feels like saying goodbye and thank you to everyone who has supported me through my degree
6. I promise I will not ask for anyone to sponsor me for anything for at least another decade