Month: July 2017

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I come to grief at Cambridge parkrun

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Photo courtesy of John Wilderspin

Here’s me, three weeks ago, bowling along in the heat, clearly upholding my reputation as an ageing running god (Roman era).

It was a different story today. My left hip had gven me aches, and occasional pain, for about four days but I had decided that running on it wouldn’t be problematic. I was wrong! There was a small amount of discomfort up to half way but I was still going full tilt. Then the discomfort increased and I began to get sharp pains which I couldn’t ignore. I still completed parkrun by walking and occasionally trotting but I think I’m properly injured.

A couple of days earlier when comparing my left and right hips, I expected to see some bruising where I bashed into something or collided with a worktop. There was no bruising in evidence and instead I noticed my left hip appeared a little swollen compared with the right. This suggested osteoarthritis although I wasn’t aware of it previously. Looking up the symptoms for osteoarthritis of the hip it didn’t quite fit with me and I wonder if the quads injury I had a couple of years ago might be implicated. Anyway, I hope to arrange an X-ray and take it from there. I did decide to take Ibuprrofen after speaking to the pharmacist but will further discuss this with my GP. Ibuprofen is not commonly taken by people with heart disease because it can adversely interact with cardiac medication.

So, I’m faced with an enforced rest from running for the time being. Boo hoo!

I read that Trump believes he has “complete power” to pardon people and is considering presidential pardons for family members, aides and even himself in the context of investigations into possibble collusion between rhe Trump team and Russian intelligence agencies. This sounds like a marvellous way to bring the Trump administration into total disrepute. I can understand that there are classes of American society who feel neglected, ignored and hard done by, by succesive administrations but the nature of the support that Trump has generated reflects a high level of credulousness, a punishing disregard for human rights, a moronic taste for jingoistic nationalism, a naked self interest at the expense of others and a penchant for cruelty, piggishness and vicious charm. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and Trump hasn’t wasted much time demonstrating it. The self righteousness and arrogance of his supporters and their willingness to condemn and  do down the most vulnerable people in society is frightening. God help America!

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Our first born courgette!

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I feel the wheel barrow adds a certain dramatic licence to the harvesting of our first courgette. And do they grow quickly! I could hardly believe it. In complete contrast with purple sprouting broccoli which took almost eleven months before picking (in fact I had to issue a series of warnings about their behaviour and was about to grub them up when they condescended to perform. If vegetables could be said to be lazy and moody, look no further than sprouting broccoli).

G reen Minds therapeutic garden is looking good at the moment. I’m extending the area to make new crop beds and I’ve got some money to buy a 3m x 3m shed which will free up the polytunnel of clutter and provide more growing space. I’ve also bought a small green house.

And so to running. A week ago, when it was hot, I went for a run of just under 10 miles. I’m still not running very frequently but I’m still going to the gym and maintaining a reasonable level of fitness. I needed to go for a longer distance than 5k or my standard 5 miler. What did I learn from running nearly 10 miles in the heat?

1. You get hotter, sweat more profusely and become thirstier compared to cooler weather.

2. The heat doesn’t seem to put many people off running.

3. It felt very manageable while I was running but I sweated buckets when I got home.

4.I felt lethargic for a coupe of hours afterwards.

5. I took my blood pressure and pulse as soon as I got home and again 4-5 minutes and 15 minutes later. This ranged from 113 over 69 with pulse 110 to 95 over 66 with pulse 94 at 4-5 minutes. At 10pm the best of three readings were 113 over 62 with pulse 54. I was happy with this. I know my blood pressure is much more under control compared to the past and prior to my heart attack eight years ago but it’s still nice to know running is helpful.

6. You need to drink over several hours to get properly hydrated.

7. I felt sheer delight when a couple of butterflies accompanied me along the riverbank for around 70 metres. They kept pace with me and danced around each other. Wonderful.

I may have learnt other things, currently lost to recall. If they present themselves, I’ll big them up in my next blog.