Author: oscardiamond

by

Aliveandrunning2013 September 14

Tail runner volunteer at Cambridge parkrun today ! I’ve not run for nearly four days following a sudden painful right calf out running with the club two days after a half marathon. I completed the 5K course with Vicky who had not done a parkrun before. She has been running since the beginning of the year following recovery from a car accident and did a time of around 46 minutes. She didn’t stop jogging despite me making it quite clear that run/walking is a good and accepted strategy and that she would still be a runner even if she walked occasionally. Everybody who either walked or ran in a Saturday morning 9am parkrun won hands down on non exercisers who were still in bed or slumped on a sofa, no matter what time they did it in. But it was important for her not to stop and she was able to maintain an even pace. The fast runners who lapped us were well behaved today and I made super sure that Vicky stayed hard left as they whizzed past us, very foccussed and oblivious to anything else except their own times. There was a lot of general support and encouragement from many of the less fast, less self regarding runners and particularly the marshals. Overall it was a very positive experience for Vicky despite the chilly, drizzly weather. I enjoyed being a tail runner, jogging and chatting  but unfortunately my painful right calf returned which suggested my injury will need a much longer period of recovery. In fact, as soon as I broke into the gentlest of jogs to the toilet before the race started, my calf began twinging immediately. The prospect of an extended non running period looms large.

A deserved well done to my 24 year old daughter Isobelle who achieved a personal best at Cambridge parkrun today, leaving Mary, in the 75-79 age category’ eating her dust and causing her to cough slightly when she finally passed the finish line a massive 13 seconds behind her. To be fair, Mary was a national athlete in her younger days and still does a lot of running. Age needn’t be a bar to running and running well. I’m regularly outrun by people approaching 70 and over 70. Peter, also at Cambridge parkrun, is in the 80-84 age category and competes every week.

Just registered for the Ely New Years Eve 10K. This is a popular race so early registration is needed. For most big, over subscribed runs you can arrange to be notified when registration is going to be opened so you can get in early and avoid missing out. The London marathon is full in a few hours and my local  Cambridge half marathon in a few days. It’s easy to lose a place.

And now a very serious issue ! I was coerced, nay forced, into culling my book collection by my wife Lorna a few days ago. The tremour of anxiety in my hand has only just subsided and now the full story can be told to the world via this blog. Well, in a few sentences. I like books and they like me. When I go into a bookshop they call out “Steve, over here…….choose me” and it’s the same online and in the book review mags I read. They are very persuasive and offer compelling arguments why they should be permitted to join my library. Since I am weak, kind hearted and a soft touch, I frequently capitulate. As a result, I admit, we have a great many books. On shelves, in bookcases, in piles on the floor, down the side of the bed, at the end of the bed, in the loft, in drawers, on top of wardrobes, on tables. Additionally, there are newspapers and magazines in bulk (in the same locations). I do test Lorna’s patience and goodwill but it’s like an addiction. The content is just so excessively interesting, exciting and enjoyable that the loss of such nuggets of gold is like a bereavement, a significant emotional loss. So, how do I manage to let anything go? Well, throw out Lorna’s books for a start. If I was really a bad person, I would secretly buy cheap discarded dross at car boot sales and then take them to a charity shop in a sacrificial fanfair of hurt feelings and defeat to protect my cherished tomes. I do identify some books that I no longer want (or didn’t need in the first place) but I find it uphill work. I fully recognise that Lorna is extremely tolerant and I will continue to work on strategies to enhance my dust removal skills and manage my book collection. Like building a temperature and light controlled library extention/annexe complete with robots armed with vacuums and feather dusters (more like the replicants in Bladerunner rather than I,Robot, out of preference). Of course this is just a crazy dream. Or is it……..?

by

Aliveandrunning2013 September 12

It’s difficult not running. My right calf is no longer hurting and I didn’t think about it today so I seem to be back to normal. I mustn’t be tempted to run on it, however, because it was less than two days ago when I was forced to stop running because of acute pains. I’ll wait another two three days and go for a relaxed two mile jog.  I had a more severe problem with both calves last May  at the  twelfth mile of the Edinburgh half marathon. Stupidly  I continued to run and had a lot of pain when I finished. Using a foam roller alleviated the discomfort and I was lucky not to have a longer lasting injury.  I managed to run the Grunty Fen half with no injury. I suspect the Scottish roads are harder and more unforgiving than their Cambridgeshire counterparts.

Such an exciting, if not exhilarating, time to be in  London this week. The day before yesterday was the opening day of the London Docklands’ biennial arms exhibition DSEi with 40 countries participating. The defence secretary, Philip Hammond, said that selling weapons is a top priority for the government, describing the huge sales fair as “a fabulous show” displaying “fantastic kit.” I am persuaded that all of the countries and their governments (including Russia and Israel) continually strive to ensure the right people are obliterated by the appropriate weapons. Plenty of different and innovative drones to chose from! What a great wheeze to go from war game videos to sitting in front of a screen and aiming real missiles at people thousands of miles away. You can blow up loads of people and have loads of fun and hopefully a few of the bad guys will be reduced to smithereens as well. And God (our God) is on our side too.

by

Aliveandrunning2013 September 11

I went running with my club Cambridge and Coleridge yesterday evening and came unstuck! Summer came to an come to an abrupt end for a start. It was cold and raining and I still felt chilled despite dressing  appropriately.We jogged over to the American  Cemetery to do some hill repetitions and it became dark pretty quickly. Some of us decided to go back early, others opted to do one less repetition and return and I, with mainly young fast runners, chose to do the full set. By this time it was almost fully dark and you couldn’t see the ground you were running over. This didn’t worry me and no-one came to grief despite the bricks sunk into the dirt path and the rabbit holes. Unfortunately when we began jogging back to the home track, my right calf began to twinge and a little further started to hurt in earnest. I was obliged to stop running and walk back about 4K in the dark, wind and rain. I think the problem occurred because I didn’t recover sufficiently from my half marathon two days before. So now I have to rest it for at least 4-5 days and will have to forgo parkrun on September 14. I have volunteered to help, however, and will be the tail runner which does not require much running. I will get to chat with a determined person who has pushed him or her self  to complete the 5k course which means they are a clear winner over all those who are still in bed or eating Krispy Kremes or who don’t exercise. I’m looking forward to that.

by

Aliveandrunning2013 September 9

A great Grunty Fen half marathon yesterday. I ran it in 1 hour 47 minutes which is 8 minutes faster than last year and 3 minutes faster than I ran a similar flat half 14 years ago. As usual I was exhausted  when I passed the finish line but recovered quickly. I was so focussed at the end I failed to see or hear family friends screaming support. Lorna asked Isobelle to meet up and take me back to where they were cheering the other runners coming in. Lorna said that it worries her too much when she sees me bent over and totally drained and my rival Mike said he had concerns as well when he ran with me. Oh dear! Next time I’ll run straight into bushes, recover and then present myself to polite society smiling, relaxed and exuding surplus energy like a newly coiled spring.

The course was flat, windy and open with fields on either side. The recent hot weather has subsided and was just right for me on the cool to warm scale. I drank at water stations on two occasions (at 7 and 10 miles), walking while drinking for around 30-40 seconds. When I started running again I felt refreshed and less tired. In the past I’ve not taken on water during a race (unless it’s been really hot or I felt thirsty) and I’ve not stopped. I now  think taking short drinking breaks works best for me. I’m running another half in a month, not on a road surface like Grunty Fen but on trail, grass and undulating woodland. This will be more demanding and depending on the steepness of the hill, I will revert to walking for short periods.

Good news regarding Lorna’s ankle injury which has stopped her running for around 5-6 weeks. She had a telephone assessment by Physio Direct, a PCT funded free service which was thorough, used internet images to identify the injury and lasted 50 minutes. This was followed up by an emailed treatment plan including videos of remedial exercises and correct running form. Lorna has previously seen a physiotherapist and her GP and is currently waiting for a rheumatology out-patient appointment. It’s thought she has insertional achilles tendonitis. Thankfully it is treatable (and preventable with changes to running form and particular exercises). I miss running with Lorna and she misses running. We have a shared interest now and lots of running events to chose from. Hopefully, Lorna will be back to health in 2-3 months and will quickly regain her fitness. She is highly motivated so this won’t be a problem.

I watched two TV programmes this evening. The first one, Panarama, looked at the problem of mentally ill persons in a state of aggressive disorder being taken to police stations and placed in a cell prior to assessment by a mental health team that might take several hours to arrive. The police stated that they didn’t have sufficient mental health training despite estimating that 20% of the persons within their remit fell into this category. Various CCTV footage showed individuals self harming in cells or needing to be restrained by police officers. The problem with the 30 minute format of this type of “revealing a scandal” programme is that they emphasise the drama and aggressive behaviour as shocking entertainment  and neglect reasonable and objective discussion concerning the reasons and solutions to the problem. Clearly the police need much more basic mental health training and to  work more closely with psychiatric liaison staff. There needs to be recognition of the consequences of the loss of so many psychiatric beds and the frequent inadequacies and under funding of community based interventions and treatments.

The second programme was Motorway Cops, unbelievably broadcast, not on Dave or ITV 4, but BBC 1. It contained the usual video record of a car taking off and being pursued at high speed by police through traffic and suburban roads thus demonstrating that both the chased and the chasers are as stupid, criminally reckless and dangerous as each other. The programme started with a serious crash with injuries to another motorist following a police pursuit. There was no discussion about the high risk of police chases which are almost always not commensurate with any known risk that the offender might pose should he not be apprehended. The police tend to revel in this kind of behaviour and take the moral high ground to suggest that they act heroically to prevent harm to the public. It’s a load of bullshit, of course. The programme did have a genuinely moving element within another storyline. Unfortunately, overall, these reality police shows are entirely self serving and obsequiously take the view of the officers they are showcasing. It’s enough to make you puke!

by

Aliveandrunning2013 September 1

Exactly a week to go before the Grunty Fen Half Marathon. I ran 13.2 miles along the River Cam today and it felt better than when I did the same distance on August 28. I’ll do several shorter runs during the week and volunteer at Wimpole Estate park next Saturday. There were lots of runners along the river. Only about 25%  spontaneously greeted me or made eye contact, about 25% responded to my firm greeting and the rest resolutely looked straight ahead as I passed them, ignoring my acknowledgement. A few of these did smile as I met them on return. Part of the problem is due to MP3/iPods usage which is a pity. Riverside running is so interesting and listening to music can only detract from the experience. Although I’m taking the moral high ground on this, I did occasionally use my iPod when running in the winter. I listen to Radio 4 podcasts which require some degree of attention and I didn’t find it compatible with enjoyable  running. Today I passed a young heron standing stock still on my side of the bank and saw a large swan in full flight less than 2 metres above the water and following its course. The sound produced by the powerful wings was loud and mournful.

I think that Obama’s condemnation of the Syrian chemical attack would only be welcomed by the credulous. How can you take his rhetoric seriously when he presides over the drone programme which kills hundreds of civilians indiscriminately and without controversy or revulsion by the American public.

by

Aliveandrunning2013 August 31

Wonderful weather and a glorious setting for parkrun at Wimpole Estate. It must be one of the loveliest courses in the country. Sweeping, undulating parkland and lakeside running, twice passing Wimpole Hall, the largest house in Cambridgeshire and built around 1640. Two hundred and eight runners took part in the 5K race and I think most of the participants enjoyed it with the exception of a sensible minority who were appropriately alarmed, if not terror-struck by the cows. Of which there were many! Lorna was marshalling at the first gate and adjacent cattle grid and I accompanied her to unlock the gate and set up the guiding bollards. Unfortunately there was a large herd of cows on the other side, including some large specimens with extremely twisty and pointy horns, staring at us with dumb, imploring eyes. Or it could have been smouldering anger and hatred. There were roughly forty of them and they were all massed behind the gate two hundred plus runners expected to pass through without being gored or crushed to death. Lorna blanched and gave me a beseeching, pleading glance. No words were spoken but I knew that a selfless, altruistic action was required. I quietly conversed with the chief cow and simply explained the reasons why he/she/it and they should move away and inhabit another part of the 3000 acre estate they were so lucky to graze. Despite employing some Tony Blair  platitudes and stumbling sincerity, they continued to stare insolently at me. I was due to run, not marshall, so I did the next best thing. I ran back to race control HQ and arranged for two large men, well versed in cow control, to take over at the gate and it was agreed that Lorna would scan the bar codes of the finished runners. When I ran through the gate, well protected by runners on each side, the cows were lined up on the side of the path looking rather defeated. I nodded to the chief cow, conveying my respect but he/she/it merely turned its head in disgust. No-one came to grief but it does pay to be cautious.The rest of the run was devoid of fear, risk danger or anxiety. Lorna enjoyed a non threatening experience scanning bar codes and still managed to complain she had to stand in the shade so the scanner could read the codes. Better than getting splatted by a longhorn though! I didn’t get a personal best. I think I’m still recovering from the 13 miles I ran 3 days ago but  I wasn’t far off. I’ll probably go for another long run tomorrow.

A brief update on the Krispy Kreme outrage at my local Tesco. The KK cabinet is adjacent to the magazine shelves which I am genetically programmed to visit immediately on entry to the store. I couldn’t help but notice a queue had formed in front of the cabinet. Shocked, I nevertheless wanted to observe the interaction of people and Krispy Kremes. But how to blend in unobtrusively? I quickly stepped over to the magazine shelves and made a selection. I returned to my prime observation spot and pretended to browse through WHICH CEMETERY? For People Who Want To Get It Dead Right. When I say a queue had formed, I mean there was one man behind another person who was choosing doughnuts. I was flummoxed because neither man was overweight. They both bought several lurid and shiny sugar fat rings and furtively headed towards the checkout. No further suckers took there place. I quickly identified an excellent graveyard in Swindon, made a mental note and returned the mag to the shelf. There were no further incidents of note whilst I remained in store.

by

Aliveandrunning2013 August 28

I decided to do a long run relatively early this morning and left the house at 8.40am. I ran to the outskirts of  Cambridge and back, 13.02 miles in all. I found the early start a little difficult because my muscles felt stiff and I chose to run gently rather than do warm up exercises. Additionally, the cardiac medication initially makes my heart less immediately responsive to exertion and I feel slightly out of breath for several minutes. But I quickly adjust to the demands of running thereafter. I experience the same delay in meeting a suddenly increased physical demand when I go up a flight of stairs or walk  up a steep hill.  It doesn’t last long but it is disconcerting. Perhaps I’ll stop all my medication to see if my heart responds immediately to exertion. It may be only providing a placebo benefit anyway, alongside various unwanted side-effects.  (Note to family : I have no intention of doing this).  I did the run in just over 2 hours and it felt OK. It included a 2 minute and a 1 minute walk break to have my electrolyte drink.

I think it is very dangerous to intervene forcefully in Syria. There is a huge risk of unintended consequences and escalation of aggressive acts by neighbouring countries. I don’t feel this country or America can speak of taking humanitarian action with their track record of political hubris, self serving interests, selective outrage at atrocities and propensity to commit crimes against humanity. Blair was frothing at the mouth to go to war in Iraq with Bush, the Americans indemnified their private security companies against any charges brought in relation to their murderous behaviour in Baghdad, drones are killing hundreds if not thousands of civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan currently, we were complicit with, and supported, extraordinary rendition, the coup in Egypt and hundreds of protester’s deaths remains uncondemned to any meaningful degree and these are only a few examples.

See Guardian article link…..

http://tinyurl.com/pf5blo3

by

Aliveandrunning2013 August 25

The Grunty Fen Half Marathon is in two weeks and I’m running out of time to prepare for it. I ran around 10 miles today despite the warm weather and it felt OK. With a couple more longer training runs, another 3 miles won’t present a problem. The last time I ran an hour and a half a week ago, it was hotter and I took an electrolyte drink which I drank at the halfway point. This time, I didn’t take a drink and delayed taking on fluids when I returned. Result ? After showering and eating a meal, I developed an excruciating cramp that I had great difficulty managing. The pain ran along my entire left leg, interfered with my breathing and caused sweating, It was only just bearable. Lorna felt helpless and fruitlessly asked what she could do! I was tempted to reply that if the LIstener magazine, , the “official organ of the BBC”, closed in 1991, could be resurrected, that would certainly help. If she could bring that about my pain would have been worth it. But I didn’t say that, of course, because it would be silly and I’m not a silly billy ! Lorna did try to massage my leg (too painful) and then gave me tonic water (the quinine contained in it alleviates cramp). She also made up an electrolyte drink. It soon resolved but could have been avoided.

Yesterday, Lorna uttered a terrible word which described a frightening concept. The word was “decluttering” and it was designed to give me the heebie geebies. I agree I have past form when it comes to “clutter” and I do need to get a grip. And I will. But I don’t mind admitting I was shaken by the brazen use of the verb form.

 

by

Aliveandrunning2013 August 24

Parkrun went well today unlike my Garmin which failed to locate the satellite. Lorna has picked up an injury which will require weeks, if not several months, of rest. She volunteered and gave out finishing tokens as runners completed their 5K. This was less anxiety provoking than last week when she recorded times as they ran past the finish line into the funnel. Those naughty runners do insist on coming in as a tightly grouped bunch. Afterwards we had coffee with our friends where I fought a losing battle to get a word in edgeways. Very enjoyable way to spend Saturday morning.

It’s four years exactly since I had my heart attack. I’m feeling fitter and running better than I have ever done! I don’t seem to have any physical deficits except those I attribute to the medication. For example the beta blocker regulates my heartbeat and acts like a limiter preventing me from running faster. Anyway that’s how it feels. Do I need to take four lots of medication daily? NICE says yes, my GP says yes, the cardiologist says yes, everyone says yes! So I take it and will continue to do so religiously despite not feeling a need to continue with it.

We had a lovely break in Rye on the South coast. Rye is one of the original Cinque ports but the sea has receded and is now over two miles away. We stayed opposite a police station and overlooked their car park. The station is open only 4 hours daily to the public. They seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time washing their police vehicles (hoping to make a clean sweep?). Anyway, the vehicles appeared to remain in the pound for long periods. I suppose this is a better outcome than hurtling around, blue light flashing and siren wailing, on some flimsy pretext which they don’t have to justify, endangering the public needlessly.

The Parish Church of St. Mary in Rye was built around 900 years ago and has the oldest working clock tower in the country. You can ascend the clock tower and view the bells on the way up. There are marvellous views of the surrounding areas and a complete and healthy disregard for modern safety standards as you navigate around the limited space at the top of the tower. Forget paying the worthwhile entrance fee if you are claustrophobic, have a high BMI (very narrow corridor) or don’t like steep wooden stairs or heights.

by

Aliveandrunning 2013 August 19

Yesterday I ran around 9.7 miles including a long stretch by the River Cam. I didn’t set out until 4 pm after working about 5 hours on building my pond. It was around 23 C  and I took an electrolyte drink which I drank at the half way point, walking for around 2 minutes until I finished it. I drank a lot of fluid when I returned and into the evening. I did some warming down exercises and used a foam roller. I think these all combined to prevent me getting night cramps which have been a problem in the recent past.  In the future I will make a greater effort to run in the morning if I’m doing more than 10 K. I felt disproportionately tired in the evening and this lasted into today.