You know how I said that the dark days are over?? Well, our survey said........NER-NERRRRRR (how do you write the buzzer for Family Fortunes?). The cold got progressively worse up to and over the weekend, and just to scatter those ickle sprinklies on top of the cherry on the cake; I then managed to get an infection in one of my teeth. On a positive note, the mind-altering pain occurring in my jaw region made me forget about my cold completely! I was an even more sorry sight than usual.
I was never happier to see a dentist in my life than Sunday mornings emergency appointment. I was prepared for an extraction or two; in fact, by that time I was quite willing for him to pull my head off and gouge out my brain if it helped dull the pain a little. He (and might I mention for the record that 'he' looked like the dentist equivalent of Doogie Howser) calmly said 'okay Mr. Blaydon, as we need to pinpoint the exact area of the pain, I am going to apply pressure to each of your teeth in turn; if you experience any discomfort, please let me know.' As it turned out - when he hit the offending tooth - rather than tapping him on the shoulder, or perhaps whispering into his ear 'ewcuwe me my wear woy; wut you hawe wocawed va toof wiw ish corshig we va pain', moaning a little bit, or even screaming; I discovered that my method of communication of choice to 'let him know' was actually to shoot vertically out of the dentists chair, and suspend myself from the suspended ceiling (oh the irony) by my fingernails. A little extreme? Maybe, but I think you will agree it put my point across.
A hefty course of antibiotics later, I hopefully blog (verb?) you well on the road to a full recovery.
I do joke about it (after sufficient time has elapsed) but in all honesty my teeth have been a ticking time bomb (visions of a Tom and Jerry cartoon), and I have been heading for trouble for some time. In a weak defence, I do have issues with dentists. It's not fear - and I won't go into particulars in case you have just eaten - but I am not able to let them delve too deeply. It has put me off going, so I don't go unless disaster strikes. However I have discovered only recently that I am not alone, and there are options for me. SO, now I have been honest enough to confront the fact that I am overweight (and am doing something about it), it cannot stop there. If I carry on the way I am going I will end up with dentures before I turn 40. I have a nice smile, one which I use a lot, and I would like to use it in the knowledge that those pearly whites I see in the mirror are MY pearly whites. It may mean a fair bit of treatment under sedation; so be it. First appointment - consultation - on Thursday morning. I have no intention of renaming this blog 'Fat Man To Fit Man.......With Nice Teeth'; but I will keep you posted.
Speaking of which, I have not a baldy clue of what to expect at the weigh-in tonight. Over most of the last week my focus has been on bearing the pain; I am just relieved not to be in so much of it! Whatever the scales of doom show tonight I need to re-focus now; May - and the Manchester 10k) is still some way off, but I need to be working my way (back to you babe.......with a burning' love insiiiiiiiiide......) up to 10km fairly soon. I am certainly getting serious about it as I have bought myself one of those drinking bottles shaped in a ring so you can hold on to it while you run. That and the bright orange running shoes........what more do I need!!......
.....don't answer that......
Tuesday 31 January 2012
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Weigh in (30)
Training distance so far (10.6 miles)
Uncleeeeeeeeean.......uncleeeeeeeeeaaaaannnnnnnnnn (DONGGGGG!). Yes, my snogging days are over for the time being (aaaaah yes.....snogging.....I remember that.......) as I have the flu of man. It's that annoying 'not so bad to be off work, but bad enough for you to feel crappy while at work' type of....let's be honest here.....cold (having said that, not sure if being off work is all it's cracked up to be when you're ill, have you SEEN Jeremy Kyle?!). However, on a more positive note, I can currently do a bloody good impression of the Mysterons at the beginning of 'Captain Scarlet'.
I suppose that after a tough week last week, getting a cold is not a huge surprise; the best descriptive is 'run down'. I won't go into details (been there done that); but a tired Adrian usually results in Adrian being a poorly Adrian. But do not despair dear reader; despite the enforced Barry White impressions I have plenty to smile about. So while feeling bad, I feel pretty good......!
Uncleeeeeeeeean.......uncleeeeeeeeeaaaaannnnnnnnnn (DONGGGGG!). Yes, my snogging days are over for the time being (aaaaah yes.....snogging.....I remember that.......) as I have the flu of man. It's that annoying 'not so bad to be off work, but bad enough for you to feel crappy while at work' type of....let's be honest here.....cold (having said that, not sure if being off work is all it's cracked up to be when you're ill, have you SEEN Jeremy Kyle?!). However, on a more positive note, I can currently do a bloody good impression of the Mysterons at the beginning of 'Captain Scarlet'.
I suppose that after a tough week last week, getting a cold is not a huge surprise; the best descriptive is 'run down'. I won't go into details (been there done that); but a tired Adrian usually results in Adrian being a poorly Adrian. But do not despair dear reader; despite the enforced Barry White impressions I have plenty to smile about. So while feeling bad, I feel pretty good......!
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Weigh in (29)
Make no mistake my friends, this has been a dark week for me. We all have them, those times when a couple of big annoying things happen, then all those little irritants or problems which get on your nerves - and on an ordinary day you can handle without breaking a sweat - suddenly become insurmountable behemoths of issues. It is difficult to determine what caused it this week, but fatigue has to take a considerable amount of the blame. The running, along with stress at work, along with family commitments have, since before Christmas, left me with precious little 'me' time; not the 'me' time of sitting with a glass of wine and reading you understand; simply the opportunity to get the washing and food shopping done; just the basics........
Monday 16 January 2012
Oh yes!......Oh dear!
(Training distance so far......7.6miles)
Well I think it is safe to say that it has been a mixed bag this weekend. Was informed that out of sheer mindbending fear of what we would do to them, our badminton opponents could not get a full team out, and had to postpone. With the second Heaton Park run on Saturday morning I thought it wise to give myself the Friday night off from playing socially.
The Saturday morning run was brilliant! Made sure I started the race towards the back of the pack, and as a result was surrounded with a posse of people running at what I would term as a sensible, Adrian-like pace (no, they were not all fatties and smokers; and yes, they were running!). The aim was to run for longer without stopping; the current record standing at 2.5km. Well my friends, I made it to 4km!! Between you, me and the gatepost (voice hushed to a whisper), I think I would have been able to run the whole thing; but with a busy Saturday ahead - and realising that progress had already been made - it was a quick 100 yard walk, and then a run to the finish (only 1 stop!). Particularly pleasing was the way when the hill of hatred appeared (I'm going to petition for the Wimbledon mound to be re-named!); I'd already knocked off two-thirds of it when deciding to walk..........
Well I think it is safe to say that it has been a mixed bag this weekend. Was informed that out of sheer mindbending fear of what we would do to them, our badminton opponents could not get a full team out, and had to postpone. With the second Heaton Park run on Saturday morning I thought it wise to give myself the Friday night off from playing socially.
The Saturday morning run was brilliant! Made sure I started the race towards the back of the pack, and as a result was surrounded with a posse of people running at what I would term as a sensible, Adrian-like pace (no, they were not all fatties and smokers; and yes, they were running!). The aim was to run for longer without stopping; the current record standing at 2.5km. Well my friends, I made it to 4km!! Between you, me and the gatepost (voice hushed to a whisper), I think I would have been able to run the whole thing; but with a busy Saturday ahead - and realising that progress had already been made - it was a quick 100 yard walk, and then a run to the finish (only 1 stop!). Particularly pleasing was the way when the hill of hatred appeared (I'm going to petition for the Wimbledon mound to be re-named!); I'd already knocked off two-thirds of it when deciding to walk..........
Wednesday 11 January 2012
Weigh in (28)
(Training distance so far - 4.6miles)
The beauty of writing a blog is that you can specify the time at which it gets published; no doubt to throw bosses off the scent of people who write posts during office hours (I would never ever EVER do that Mr. Bossman....honest!). I have timed this one for publishing at exactly 16:12....as this is now my weight!
Slightly perturbed by the 5 pound loss (previous 17 stone 3 pounds) as it does seem to be quite a lot. Don't think I've done anything to cause such a dramatic change. I've settled back into a good diet after the excesses of the festive season (naughty Christmas, BAD Christmas....go to your room!!) without much of a problem. It's the exercise that has been the big contributor this time isn't it? Badminton match on Thursday, 5km run on Saturday, then a cheeky mile and a half last night. I also weighed in straight after I got home from last nights run, which is likely to make my weight extra-low. Do you think I analyse things a little too much? I'll try again......hey guys.....I lost weight!!........yay!! (Any better?) The great thing is that if I keep going in this vein for the coming week I will be back to - or hopefully below - my pre-Christmas weight..........
The beauty of writing a blog is that you can specify the time at which it gets published; no doubt to throw bosses off the scent of people who write posts during office hours (I would never ever EVER do that Mr. Bossman....honest!). I have timed this one for publishing at exactly 16:12....as this is now my weight!
Slightly perturbed by the 5 pound loss (previous 17 stone 3 pounds) as it does seem to be quite a lot. Don't think I've done anything to cause such a dramatic change. I've settled back into a good diet after the excesses of the festive season (naughty Christmas, BAD Christmas....go to your room!!) without much of a problem. It's the exercise that has been the big contributor this time isn't it? Badminton match on Thursday, 5km run on Saturday, then a cheeky mile and a half last night. I also weighed in straight after I got home from last nights run, which is likely to make my weight extra-low. Do you think I analyse things a little too much? I'll try again......hey guys.....I lost weight!!........yay!! (Any better?) The great thing is that if I keep going in this vein for the coming week I will be back to - or hopefully below - my pre-Christmas weight..........
Tuesday 10 January 2012
First Run...the aftermath
Well, it is now three days after the inaugural training run, and the stiffness is only just ebbing away from my legs! Much giggling and guffawing of late at my attempts to negotiate the stairs. I think it is safe to say that I very much misjudged my ability when it came to running, and it is clear that there is lot more work to do than I thought. I went into Saturday thinking that 5k was well within my capability to not only run, but run well; my previous post will satisfy you that I was wrong! Since then I have had occasional 'episodes' where I find myself comparing what I am capable of doing now, with what I am asking myself to be able to do; no panic attacks as a result, but the 'path' before me seems to have stretched to over double its length (kind of like it did on Saturday!). I am starting to realise the enormity of what I am taking on, and that the hardest part of it all may well be yet to come.
So am I still going through with it?.......yup! I'm going to enjoy the path - regardless of how long it stretches - and I'm going to reach its destination. Admittedly, Saturday's performance was a surprise; but, I DID IT! I got up early-morning, and went down to Heaton Park, on my own (anyone who has ever gone somewhere 'social', on their tod, without knowing a soul there, will be able to identify with how difficult that is), and did the first run; and that is the last first run I will have to do (already ticked a box!). I have joked about my thoughts during the run, but taking this challenge into the next phase was filled with powerful emotion; pride, strength, happiness, determination (is that an emotion?), relief, and elation; that doesn't sound too bad does it?!!
As well as the weigh-in tonight (your prayers please), I have run number two. Leverhulme Park has a proper athletics track. It's a bit of a drive to get to, but if I'm going to do any running after work - before the evenings start to get lighter - the only option is road running (meep meep!) or finding a floodlit track......Leverhulme is the latter. Bit nervous about this too if the truth be told; will I be running on my own? would I prefer to be running on my own? how do I get onto the track? how much of a total numtee am I going to look like when I am running? Oh for heavens sake Adrian, get a grip; just stick your ipod on and get on with it (no XTC though).
For those of you that are interested, my time for the run was 34minutes, 48 seconds. I'm not setting too much stall by this, but at the same time it would be fun to beat it!!
So am I still going through with it?.......yup! I'm going to enjoy the path - regardless of how long it stretches - and I'm going to reach its destination. Admittedly, Saturday's performance was a surprise; but, I DID IT! I got up early-morning, and went down to Heaton Park, on my own (anyone who has ever gone somewhere 'social', on their tod, without knowing a soul there, will be able to identify with how difficult that is), and did the first run; and that is the last first run I will have to do (already ticked a box!). I have joked about my thoughts during the run, but taking this challenge into the next phase was filled with powerful emotion; pride, strength, happiness, determination (is that an emotion?), relief, and elation; that doesn't sound too bad does it?!!
As well as the weigh-in tonight (your prayers please), I have run number two. Leverhulme Park has a proper athletics track. It's a bit of a drive to get to, but if I'm going to do any running after work - before the evenings start to get lighter - the only option is road running (meep meep!) or finding a floodlit track......Leverhulme is the latter. Bit nervous about this too if the truth be told; will I be running on my own? would I prefer to be running on my own? how do I get onto the track? how much of a total numtee am I going to look like when I am running? Oh for heavens sake Adrian, get a grip; just stick your ipod on and get on with it (no XTC though).
For those of you that are interested, my time for the run was 34minutes, 48 seconds. I'm not setting too much stall by this, but at the same time it would be fun to beat it!!
Monday 9 January 2012
First Run.......
(Training distance so far - 3 miles)
Dear reader; what follows is a faithful narrative of my train of thoughts during the first (of many) training runs, Heaton Park run, Saturday morning; 9am (5km)......
(Before the start)
"Well, here goes; I'm as prepped as I can be: ipod charged and ready, posh looking ipod holder strapped to my forearm, bright orange running shoes all aglow, energy drink in hand. Bit chilly so I am nicely wrapped up, and feeling good! I soooooo look like a runner; and it's only 5 kilometres, how hard can it be?!! This is going to be such fun. Blimey, there are loads of people here. Now then..........who looks like I can beat them.....they all look a bit too lean......hang on....she'll do......she must be in her late 60's!......well, at worst I will finish second to last when I racingly kick her arse. Christ, this is it, we're all moving towards the start line......."
(Start)
"Okee dokee, settle into a nice, regular pace; don't overdo it at the start Blaydon, this is only your first run of many so best get to the finish in one piece without injury. What a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning: fresh air, beautiful scenery.....helloooo skyyyyy.....helloooo treeeeees........hellooooo little duckies in the lake........... Hang on a second, who's that? It's little miss biddy in her 60's; she's in front of me!!! Aaaaaah bless......she's plodding along......why do I have the theme tune to 'Steptoe and Son' going through my mind when I look at her? Enough of that, time to show her that the 30 years I have on her count for something; eat my dust grandma!"
"Not panicking, but I confess I'm starting to feel a little tired. I must be at least half way by now, and that will certainly give me the motivation to finish the job. Breathing heavier, steps starting to get a little ragged. Thank God I can start to think about the finish line. Hey! There's a distance sign on the path, straining my eyes to see what it says; must be the halfway sign....so kind of the race organisers to give us all a boost by telling us we are homeward bound. Here's the sign now...."
(In The Race)
"ONE KILOMETRE????!!!!! ONE BLOODY KILOMETRE?!!! You mean, like one kilometre, with four more to go??????!! (insert swear words here....pretty much all of them). Oh help. How the hell am I going to get through this race? I want my Mummy"
(Half-way)
"OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODIHATERUNNINGIDESPISERUNNINGEVERY
THINGHURTSWHATWASITHINKINGTODOTHISJESUSCHRISTJESUSCHRISTITHURTSANDI
WANTTODOAMARATHONWHATKINDOFTOTALLUNATICAMITOWANTTORUNTHIS
DISTANCEANDTHENDOITSEVENTIMESMOREWHENICAN'TEVENDOITONCE?"
"Okay Blaydon, focus now.....seek distraction.....look at the trees.....look at the sky......enjoy the scenery....nope.....not working......my legs hurt. Try the ipod, a bit of "Senses Working Overtime' by XTC......'1,2,3,4,5; senses working ohhhh-verrrrr-tiiiiime'....nope.......not working....my legs hurt; and I now hate XTC"
"It's no good, I'll have to walk for a bit; crap"
(4km Into The Race)
"Okay, had a bit of a walk and running again. What sort of sadistic son of a grinch puts a 500m hill, less than 2km from the finish of the run? This is true, bona fide, accept no imitation, agony. One step in front of the other, head down; keep going Blaydon. I swear the top of the hill is getting further away; wish it was, as that would mean I am actually running DOWN BLOODY HILL. Pain, pain, pain, pain, heavy breath, pain. Finally at the summit, and walking again: I can see my legs.....but I can't really feel them."
(The Home-Stretch)
"This seems like a loooong last kilometre, but I know this park; I know I am close to the finish. How long have I been running for? Take a look behind me, I'm not last; in fact there are quite a few people behind me. So tired, and running incredibly slowly; but I will not stop; not now I'm so close.... What's that music I can hear...?......oh god....it can't be...!!.....it's the bloody Steptoe and Son theme tune.....it's grandma.......passing me. I bet she has not altered her pace from start to finish; that is so impressive. I doff my cap to you, and ask forgiveness for my discrimination; here is one younger man who is now firmly put in his place. Crossing the line......reliefreliefreliefreliefreliefrelief."
Dear reader; what follows is a faithful narrative of my train of thoughts during the first (of many) training runs, Heaton Park run, Saturday morning; 9am (5km)......
(Before the start)
"Well, here goes; I'm as prepped as I can be: ipod charged and ready, posh looking ipod holder strapped to my forearm, bright orange running shoes all aglow, energy drink in hand. Bit chilly so I am nicely wrapped up, and feeling good! I soooooo look like a runner; and it's only 5 kilometres, how hard can it be?!! This is going to be such fun. Blimey, there are loads of people here. Now then..........who looks like I can beat them.....they all look a bit too lean......hang on....she'll do......she must be in her late 60's!......well, at worst I will finish second to last when I racingly kick her arse. Christ, this is it, we're all moving towards the start line......."
(Start)
"Okee dokee, settle into a nice, regular pace; don't overdo it at the start Blaydon, this is only your first run of many so best get to the finish in one piece without injury. What a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning: fresh air, beautiful scenery.....helloooo skyyyyy.....helloooo treeeeees........hellooooo little duckies in the lake........... Hang on a second, who's that? It's little miss biddy in her 60's; she's in front of me!!! Aaaaaah bless......she's plodding along......why do I have the theme tune to 'Steptoe and Son' going through my mind when I look at her? Enough of that, time to show her that the 30 years I have on her count for something; eat my dust grandma!"
"Not panicking, but I confess I'm starting to feel a little tired. I must be at least half way by now, and that will certainly give me the motivation to finish the job. Breathing heavier, steps starting to get a little ragged. Thank God I can start to think about the finish line. Hey! There's a distance sign on the path, straining my eyes to see what it says; must be the halfway sign....so kind of the race organisers to give us all a boost by telling us we are homeward bound. Here's the sign now...."
(In The Race)
"ONE KILOMETRE????!!!!! ONE BLOODY KILOMETRE?!!! You mean, like one kilometre, with four more to go??????!! (insert swear words here....pretty much all of them). Oh help. How the hell am I going to get through this race? I want my Mummy"
(Half-way)
"OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODIHATERUNNINGIDESPISERUNNINGEVERY
THINGHURTSWHATWASITHINKINGTODOTHISJESUSCHRISTJESUSCHRISTITHURTSANDI
WANTTODOAMARATHONWHATKINDOFTOTALLUNATICAMITOWANTTORUNTHIS
DISTANCEANDTHENDOITSEVENTIMESMOREWHENICAN'TEVENDOITONCE?"
"Okay Blaydon, focus now.....seek distraction.....look at the trees.....look at the sky......enjoy the scenery....nope.....not working......my legs hurt. Try the ipod, a bit of "Senses Working Overtime' by XTC......'1,2,3,4,5; senses working ohhhh-verrrrr-tiiiiime'....nope.......not working....my legs hurt; and I now hate XTC"
"It's no good, I'll have to walk for a bit; crap"
(4km Into The Race)
"Okay, had a bit of a walk and running again. What sort of sadistic son of a grinch puts a 500m hill, less than 2km from the finish of the run? This is true, bona fide, accept no imitation, agony. One step in front of the other, head down; keep going Blaydon. I swear the top of the hill is getting further away; wish it was, as that would mean I am actually running DOWN BLOODY HILL. Pain, pain, pain, pain, heavy breath, pain. Finally at the summit, and walking again: I can see my legs.....but I can't really feel them."
(The Home-Stretch)
"This seems like a loooong last kilometre, but I know this park; I know I am close to the finish. How long have I been running for? Take a look behind me, I'm not last; in fact there are quite a few people behind me. So tired, and running incredibly slowly; but I will not stop; not now I'm so close.... What's that music I can hear...?......oh god....it can't be...!!.....it's the bloody Steptoe and Son theme tune.....it's grandma.......passing me. I bet she has not altered her pace from start to finish; that is so impressive. I doff my cap to you, and ask forgiveness for my discrimination; here is one younger man who is now firmly put in his place. Crossing the line......reliefreliefreliefreliefreliefrelief."
Friday 6 January 2012
Park Run
In the last post I mentioned 'Parkrun'. When I met the badminton massif for their Christmas walk and lunch (sadly, I only turned up for the lunch.......I know, I know), I bumped into an ex badminton team-mate of mine (before he went off to Liverpool University) and all round good egg; Thomas Lau. A terrific fella, and also a very fit one. He did the Manchester 10k last year, and since then has done a raft of half marathons; definitely a guy to talk to about training.
It was Thomas who put me on to parkrun (amazing isn't it? the unexpected sources from which one hears about these things); since then I have done some more research, and what a brilliant concept it is. Parkrun is a scheme to get everybody running (mainly in parks, surprisingly). In just shy of 100 venues, Britain-wide; a 5km run is staged on a Saturday morning at 9am; a run which anyone can enter. All you have to do is put your name down on the website before 6pm on the evening before, and show up at between half eight and a quarter to nine. You are given a 'token' to put in your pocket, which senses the time you pass through the starting gate, and if (let's be confident here, WHEN) you reach the finish. You hand your tokens back to the officials, and the following week you can log on to the parkrun website to get your time! It does not matter how fast you are (bloody good job in my case), everybody is welcome. On some of the pictures there are even people running while pushing prams (with babies in them I hasten to add!)!.......
It was Thomas who put me on to parkrun (amazing isn't it? the unexpected sources from which one hears about these things); since then I have done some more research, and what a brilliant concept it is. Parkrun is a scheme to get everybody running (mainly in parks, surprisingly). In just shy of 100 venues, Britain-wide; a 5km run is staged on a Saturday morning at 9am; a run which anyone can enter. All you have to do is put your name down on the website before 6pm on the evening before, and show up at between half eight and a quarter to nine. You are given a 'token' to put in your pocket, which senses the time you pass through the starting gate, and if (let's be confident here, WHEN) you reach the finish. You hand your tokens back to the officials, and the following week you can log on to the parkrun website to get your time! It does not matter how fast you are (bloody good job in my case), everybody is welcome. On some of the pictures there are even people running while pushing prams (with babies in them I hasten to add!)!.......
Wednesday 4 January 2012
Weigh in (27)
Oh crap! I have made a STARTLING discovery. You know: you develop certain preconceptions of life and all that it brings. Then, quite out of the blue, something comes along that rocks your entire belief system. One of those pillars on which you base your life crumbles and then collapses, and you find yourself wondering why you didn't realise the obvious truth before. It happened to me yesterday; and do you know what that truth is.................?
.......it is FAR easier to put on weight than to lose it.
If you read my previous post, you will conclude that I have given myself a bit of an unhealthy holiday over the last few weeks, and as a result I am now weighing in at a whopping 17 stone 3 pounds. To save your fingers and toes, that represents a weight gain of half a stone. Bugger..............
.......it is FAR easier to put on weight than to lose it.
If you read my previous post, you will conclude that I have given myself a bit of an unhealthy holiday over the last few weeks, and as a result I am now weighing in at a whopping 17 stone 3 pounds. To save your fingers and toes, that represents a weight gain of half a stone. Bugger..............