My first solo run!

So it has finally come time to go for a run on my own. I'd like to say this was planned, but I'd be lying. I meant to check with Ant during the week what his plans were, but I forgot. And by the time I thought about it, he'd already been out. So I sat and looked at the local OS map for a little while, picking out a few possible routes.

And there are quite a few as it turns out, more than I had expected really. Or more options for terrain and distance at least. But I finally settled on a route that wasn't too long or too strenuous for my first time solo. As I had no idea how well I'd be able to pace myself I just wanted to have a successful first go out rather than try for a record breaking one. So I decided to run down to the local reservoir, do a loop round it and then head back up the hill to home. The reservoir is somewhere we go to walk our son as it's a good place to go and watch the sailing boats, fishermen and local bird life. There is also our local wind turbine to watch go round and round and round and round..........

As I don't have a Smart phone, in fact it barely even counts as a phone now a days, I don't have anything as handy as a running app to log my route or time. I just looked at the time when I left and then again when I got back. The route I can map afterwards to get a pretty good idea of the distance, as well as a rough idea of an expected time.

So my time was, roughly, 42 mins for a 3.75 mile course with the usual sprint finish. Given the average pace of 11 mins 12 secs a mile, I'm quite happy with that for my first go on my own. I had feared I would either go out too hard and ruin myself, or not push hard enough and take all day over it. Whilst I do feel I could have gone a bit faster as the ground was fairly good, or a bit further, I think I got it right for today. I know what pace I can manage and I can start to build up to putting in another 1.7 mile lap of the reservoir.

I just hope it's a little warmer next time, as it was a tad chilly in the shade under the trees!

Sunday 21st's run, albeit a little late!

Sorry for the delay in getting this update done. It's been a rather busy week, in case Christmas has totally passed you by! But I now have the log times and the spare time to sit down and right the update.

Last Sunday's run was the last one before Christmas and we wanted to make it a good one before all the chocolate and booze took it's toll. However, I was also on call for work so we weren't sure if I would be able to join Ant or not ahead of time. Thankfully (in a way, as it means less money) I didn't get called out on the Sunday morning, so off we went on the 4 mile cross country run.

As Ant and myself are both asthmatics, running into a freezing cold head wind doesn't do us any favours. So guess what we were running into for most of the 4 miles? That's right, a freezing cold head wind! I didn't think to take a muff/neck warmer or anything like that with me so the left hand side of my neck was getting quite crampy and uncomfortable at times. Just breathing was tough going at some points.

Being so cold also mean the conditions underfoot weren't great either. It hadn't been cold enough to freeze the mud, but just enough to give it a coating of ice. So every soft bit was really cold AND muddy. Which wears thin very, very quickly.

There was one point on the big hill that I was half way thinking that I wasn't going to make it at all and that I'd need to turn back. My laces had come undone, my chest had gone all cold and felt weird but watching Ant run on round the next bend was enough to make me stand, suck it up and get on with it. It's just as well that I'm competitive!

We managed to keep plodding on. Due to it being such hard work, no photos were taken as we were both concentrating on just keeping going. We didn't even speak much for the first time. By the time we made it back to Ant's I was knackered and sure we'd been slow. I was certain we'd gone back above the 50 minute mark, and was bracing myself for a disappointing time.

Some how, that wasn't to be! I was genuinely surprised when Ant said we'd been quicker than the last run and come in at 46 mins 9 secs! This is now my quickest cross country run, and given that it felt so slow and had been such hard work I am really pleased with the time. I am also amazed at the time, but if I can do that time and in such crappy conditions then it can only bode well.

Running, but not the kind I want.......

So another week has passed, but this week there's been no running or any exercising at all really. I've no idea why, but Thursday I wasn't well and had to take the day off work so I could practice running to the loo a lot. Not quite what I wanted, but I was hoping it would be over quickly. Especially since I had my Kayak club Xmas dinner Friday evening.

Sadly, that wasn't the case and I was still feeling bad by Saturday so Ant went out for a run on his own. I suspect he was showing off a bit as he managed a 37 min 10 sec run of the 4 mile cross country route! I was still hoping that I would wake up on Sunday and feel better.

For God only knows what reason, I had agreed to work Sunday morning in Thame. This isn't much of a bother, except I was working in a 3' high basement of a butchers. And it stank. I felt ok on the way down there, but less well on the drive back. So no running Sunday either. On the plus side though, it was double time!

So nothing at all done in the way of exercise this weekend. I feel a bit bad about it, but there's no way I would have been doing myself any favours by going out and getting cold and probably feeling worse. I expect next weekend to be better, as long as I don't get called out for work.

The Sulgrave Route, take 2

I had initially thought Ant and I weren't going to be manage a run this weekend, and that I would have to go out on my own. I was at work during the morning, and Ant was meant to be at work all day. But he had an appointment move so we found the time to fit a run in.

The week it was my choice of run, either the 4 mile cross country route or the 5.25 mile Sulgrave run. As the weather had been less than ideal, I imagined that the cross country route would be quite hard going in the cold and the mud, so we went on the longer, mainly road, run. It was 5C after all! The previous run we did had a time of 1 hr, 1 min, 13 secs. I asked Ant to push us for a good sub 1 hour time.

So off we went, and things were a bit difficult initially. I was struggling to get my breathing coordinated and keeping a rhythm was hard. My legs felt heavy, and I was beginning to worry a bit about the run. But after about a mile or so, everything seemed to smooth out.

I've been reading up on running with asthma, and quite a lot of folk seem to suggest that something similar happens to them. After something like a warm up period, where breathing is hard, their asthma seems to calm down and let them run normally. Others suggest pushing hard for a short period before backing off to achieve the same thing. I guess it's something I will have to experiment with to see what works best for me.

So once my breathing calmed down, my running seem to be a lot more fluid. I was tempted to say easier, but that's not quite the right word. Running isn't easy, but I felt more in tune with it. I guess that's why I made it to the 2.75 mile mark without stopping, and even when I did stop it was only for 5-10 secs. I was really pleased to have made it further than before, and then when I did stop it was for so little time. The next time I needed to pause was for a quick toilet stop at the end of the first road section at 3.5 miles.

As we had run past Sulgrave Manor, where I am planning on hosting a charity auction next year, Ant decided to take a photo or two. They show both the splendour of the Manor, and that I really need to have shave! Should anyone reading this have something that might be suitable for a charity auction, please get in touch. The wider the selection we have, the more money we can raise for MacMillan!!

Once again, the damp fields were a welcome change from the hard road surface. The first field is more of a paddock, and as such the softer surface is so much nicer to run on and I seemed to speed up quite a bit. I certainly caught Ant up quickly if nothing else!

With the mile or so of cross country, and a new solar farm, done we were back on the roads. This also meant the last short but steep hill into the village. As it's so steep, it's a killer so close to the end. I made it to the top, but only just, before having to drop to a walk for a few seconds. From here it was the fast run that was meant to finish the run the first time, but I knew we'd be going past the turn this time so I was able to keep going a little further. As we made the turn back to Ant's he would normally sprint off up the slope, leaving me to follow on behind. But this time I was able to keep with him for the first 100 yards or so, slightly to his surprise! The last 80-90 yards he did get ahead as my legs were getting wobbly by this point!

Once I had my usual pint of squash in hand, Ant shared the good news with me. We did indeed beat the 1 hour target. In fact, we even beat the 55 minute mark. Not by a massive margin, but the time was much better than I aimed for at 54 min, 53 secs. So that sprint finish really does help! I was really pleased at the time, as it's more than 6 minutes better than last time. This level of progress is really helping with my motivation now it's starting to get cold and dark.

The below charts show two things of note. The first is that the time per mile is down from 11 min 40 sec last time to a much better 10 min 33 sec. That's quite a change in only 3 weeks! It's also pretty much the pace I need to maintain if I want to finish the marathon in 4hr 30mins. The other thing is that the lower chart shows how quickly we set out. And it was a bit too fast really. Whilst some drop off is expected toward the end of the run, setting out at 9 mins a mile is a bit much for my current level of running. That might help explain why I struggled a bit at the start too.

Shorter, and therefore sweeter!

This week's run started a little earlier in the day, with the frivolities kicking off at 9.30 so all I'd had to prepare was a mug of coffee. We were back to doing the regular 4 mile cross country route with the two dogs. But this time we had the intention of getting a sub 50 minute time, as this was a target we'd set a while back.

Things started well, with me leading off at a brisk pace. I was trying to match Ant's previous pace in my head, but I had overcompensated a bit and we did the first 1.5 miles in 15 minutes! This also included the big killer hill that comes far too early into the run, which I was pleased to make it all the way to the top of for the first time.

Whilst we had set off at a fair pace, the sticky ground soon took it's toll. We managed to keep up a reasonable speed, but in places we were running across very soft fields and sinking. This doesn't make life easy, or quick. It does seem to bring out Ant's artistic side though, as today's photos are in black and white. It also helps when trying to take Iphone photos into the sun. This one was taken just after the stupidly soft ploughed field. This is also where my feet and legs were starting to feel heavy and my pace felt like it was dropping off a bit.

Thankfully, there's only two ploughed fields on this run, and the second is near the end and downhill. Prior to that though, there is another tricky hill. This I managed in one hit for the first time, and did so with the dogs whilst Ant stopped to get his camera out.

At this point Ant was telling me how close we were getting to the 50 minute target. Except he'd stopped mentioning the 50 minute part and was just saying target, which made me a little suspicious. I wasn't really sure what I should be suspicious of, but I was sort of hoping he'd decided that 50 minutes was too slow and had chosen a lower target. But as I had no way of knowing, I did my best to just keep plodding on.

Plodding on finally got me back to Ant's, via the horrible steep hill into the village and a little sprint finish to kill me. One big target is to be able to make it all the way up this hill in one go. I know one day I will be able to do it, but for now it is well beyond me!

So 46 minutes 58 seconds after leaving, I finished! So a much shorter time than anything so far. I was chuffed to bits when Ant told me the time as I had feared I had just missed the 50 minute mark. He was trying to push for sub 45 minutes the loon!! This is 7 minutes quicker than the last time I did this route, and my quickest by more than 3 minutes. One other thing to note from this week is that my lungs seem to be doing a much better job of keeping up, but my legs struggled today. I'll be upping my training to include a mid-week run in the near future so hopefully that will even things out a bit between the lungs and the legs.

Otherwise, yay for the time today. It feels like I did really well.

But now my legs hurt.

This will be hard, he said. He wasn't lying.

This week's run was supposed to happen yesterday, Saturday. But I ended up having to work in the morning, and Ant was working all day too. As he wasn't at home on Sunday, I went to where he was for something he helpful described as a bit of a hard run.

The plan for the run was a 5.5 mile mixed run, with a 60/40 split between cross country and road or paved tracks. Ant had said there were a few hills, a quite tough wooded section, with a hill, and then more ploughed fields, some of which were on hills. So all the fun things I like the most about running! But on the plus side, there are some roads and tracks. Oh, and it was raining.

So off we set, Ant's two dogs running alongside but not getting in the way too much. All started well until we had to run across two fields full of cabbage. That in itself isn't a problem, but the water on them was freezing and making my feet cold! Not much to complain about at the start of a run I know, but at the time it was a bit annoying!

The next hurdle was the wooded section that we hit at roughly 2 miles in. Ant had warned me that even he might have to slow in this section as it's tough going. In the dry I imagine it's not too bad, but with the recent weather it was ankle deep in mud for 0.4 of a mile. OK, that's not that far in itself, but having to concentrate on your footing so much whilst dodging brambles is not easy. And then it goes uphill whilst still that deep in mud. That was hard work and I had to walk for a bit up the hill. The mud was just too hard work!

So once we had recovered from the muddy hill, it was a nice relaxing mile and a quarter of road. There's a sentence I never thought I'd type! A mile and a bit of "relaxing" road running. 8 weeks ago that seemed impossible, but I suppose that alone shows how far I have come so far.

Unfortunately, the end of the mile had a long hill which I got cocky about and attacked a bit harder than was wise. I then ran out of puff half way up. Ant was on hand at the top to make me look amazing once again, but at least the scenery is nice.

From here it was 2 miles to the end, with a few more of my favourite ploughed fields. Somehow I was still going, but with the occasional slow to a walk. I haven't got the hang of running on sticky ploughed fields, but I am getting better at it. On most other surfaces I am getting the hang of recovering at a jog, but muddy fields are beyond me for now. Ant insisted I smile for the camera. I am less happy than I appear.

We were now over 4.5 miles in, and I was beginning to tire. The mud was making it slow going and my feet were starting to feel heavy. But the muddy fields were replaced with grassy tracks and I was able to claw a little energy back. Just enough to be able to manage a sprint finish for the last 100 yards or so, but at that point my legs were starting to get a little shakey so it was just as well we were done!

Due to Ant's running app, the below graph shows the elevation changes across the run, with basically the entire thing being up or down hill! Even doing the run, it felt like there were a few flat bits, but it appears not. It also shows how much I was slowing at the end, with the stride rate dropping off. The lowest point on the stride rate shows the top of the wooded hill section.

So1 hour, 11 minutes and 13 seconds after we set off we arrived back at the start, having run 5.59 miles. We were done, and I had completed my toughest, as well as my longest run so far. Once I had recovered, I was starting to feel all right. Maybe even seeing a hint of the post-run glow that I had last week, but a touch stronger. And then Ant suggested we should walk the other two dogs, so having squeezed my feet into a pair of undersized wellies, off we went. Only to get a blister on my heel. I have managed to run without a single injury so far, but I pick one up walking the damn dogs!

What a difference 6 days makes!!

Given last week's ever so slightly late update, I thought it best to do this update the same day as the run. And thankfully, this week is a much happier week!

Last week was a bit of a step backwards, and a little disappointing with the slow time and number of walks I needed. This week though has been quite a different affair and a good result. I was a touch concerned when I got in my car to go to Ant's though, as it looked rather foggy out. Since we live out in the sticks, this wasn't a big problem as far as visibility goes but cold, damp air is one of my big asthma trigger factors. I also decided to take my hi-vis running top with me just in case.

This week I was expecting to do the usual 4 mile cross country run, but Ant suggested we try something a little different. The suggested run was mostly a road route, with a good section of cross country, but also longer at 5-ish miles. I decided to wear the bright top, as the fog was worse out in the countryside than it was in the villages. I almost look the part too. Well, almost!

Ant also decided on a selfie, for some reason. This is my pre-run face, whilst Ant is his usual smiley self before a run, the git.

I was unsure how to feel about both the road running and the extra distance, as I've never run for more than our usual 4 miles, nor have I run on a road for any distance since I was 17. I also only have my trail shoes to run in. I do know however, that road running is easier than the equivalent distance cross country as the surface is clearly better and you can also get into a smoother rhythm, something that is important for running long distances.

So off we set along the road to Sulgrave, home of the lovely Sulgrave Manor. To start with the running was going well. My feet and legs felt OK, and I was doing a good job of keeping my breathing in time for once. I was therefore quite pleased when we rounded the last bend before Sulgrave and I hadn't had to slow to a walk! There were a few places were I slowed to a jog to recover, but that alone is a vast improvement on my last run. I was even more pleased when I saw the run map after and realised that the last turn into Sulgrave is 2.5 miles in! I don't think I've ever run that far in one go!!

I did have to slow to a walk in Sulgrave itself though, as my endurance isn't close to what it needs to be yet. On the way in, we thought it good to take a photo of me running down the lane and the fog in the background. Although the fog was worse than this in patches, this photo mainly shows how fat I am at the moment!!

Once through the village, and across one of the worst junctions in the area, we were back onto fields. The change back to soft ground was welcome indeed. As was the damp grass, given that my feet were getting quite warm by this point as we were at the 3.5 miles mark. The next mile was all cross country and mostly hills at that. This part was tiring, but also a relief after the roads.

We then came back to the roads, and yet another hill. Ant suggested three options as a challenge on the final 0.75 mile leg. Don't stop, don't drop to a walk or a sprint to finish. Being competitive, I opted for not stopping AND a sprint finish. So off we went, up the hill and back into the village before getting to a back road that was to be the sprint finish. At the start of the back road, off we go with Ant taking an obvious lead. I sprint, then run, then wheeze my way to the end of road, feeling all good about getting there when Ant runs past the turn to his house, saying to follow him and he'll tell me why in a minute. At this point, I hate him a little bit but follow anyway.

I'm just about done but I know the route he's thinking of, and it's pretty flat thankfully. This last few minutes had the sole purpose of ensuring our route was over 5 miles. I'm quite sure it was anyway, but Ant wanted to be certain! So huffing, panting and generally looking less than amazing we arrive back at Ant's. He also manages to make me look especially glamorous in photos.

But once I had walked it off and had a pint of squash in me, I got a little glimpse of that post-run glow that I'm told happens. That's not to say I was feeling amazing at this point, but at least pleased with myself I suppose! I was even more pleased when Ant showed me the run map, with a distance of 5.25 miles and a time of 1hr 1 min 13secs. This is both the furthest and the longest I have ever run. So whilst I hated Ant a bit for making me run even further, it's those pushes at the end that allow me to manage the marathon distance. Keeping this pace up for the full 26.2 miles would see me finish in a smidge under 5 hours!

Last weekend's update, albeit a little late.....

Apologies for this being a few days late, but I kind of forgot about updating the blog. Opps, not a great omen for the future!

Not really very much to say about Sunday's run to be honest. I had expected it to be a slow(er) run than last time as I have had two weeks with no running, even though I have been doing other forms of exercise. Ant had spent Saturday at the Rugby, so he wasn't feeling overly chirpy and I had a dicky tummy, so neither of us could really be bothered!

But we did go out and we did do the four mile run, so there is that much to be said for things. The time though wasn't great at a touch over 54 minutes. Which was a bit annoying in a way. As much as I struggled with getting my breath, as well as getting a stitch at one point, the run felt quicker than the time suggests.

Having looked at the split times the running was going well, but I was having to slow to a walk for far longer than I had realised. It was also poor underfoot, with the hills being slippery and me not going fast or hard enough to dig my shoes in and retain a decent grip. But that's something to work on next week.

Ho hum. So not a great result, but not too shabby given the circumstances. I'm hoping this weekend's run will be faster.

It's an anniversary

I've only just realised that Sunday 2nd November was the third anniversary of my initial surgery. It's both good that it was three years ago, and also mad to think it was so long ago that my son, Noah, wasn't even conceived yet!

Not really got much more to say for this week, other than that I was busy at work all Saturday and spent four hours chopping wood and making a bench seat for Noah on an old tree stump. So another week of no running, but I have been busy doing at least some form of exercise. I promise there will be a run this weekend. Probably Sunday as Ant if off to watch the rugby on Saturday.

Actually, make that late Sunday as I doubt Ant will want to be up too early after a long day of tea and cucumber sandwiches.

Not so much waving, as drowning......

So another week has passed, but this time without a run.

I had every intention of running the 4 mile route on Saturday with Ant. I was out at work in the morning, but home by 10.00. I was then due out at the Nene Whitewater Centre in Northampton in the afternoon for a white water safety session, followed by a play on the course. This session started at 3.00PM, so plenty of time to have a run, and recover.

Or that was plan, right up to the point where I found out I was getting picked up at 1.30. So by the time I'd had breakfast and what have you after work, there wasn't time to spend an hour running and recover in time for kayaking. Quite a large part of me feels bad about missing the run, but I've been wanting to have a go at the Nene Centre for ages. I drive past it almost daily at work, but I've never had the chance before, so I jumped at it this time.

As I was in the first time group, I haven't yet found any photos of me actually in a kayak, although I hope I find some. The only photos I can find are of me jumping in as part of the swimmer rescue session we did, and me waiting to rescue someone. Although it looks like I'm about to practice my batting swing! And since that's river water, it wasn't especially warm either!!

I did manage a bit more exercise on the Sunday too. A group of us gathered at another friend's house to play Welly Football. This goes much as you've guessed: it's football in wellies. It's officially for the kids, but since there was only 2 of them, and me carrying my little Son, to 7 adults the groups were mixed. It's not quite a 4 mile run, but it got the heart rate up and a bit of a sweat on so not a waste of the weekend either.

I'm also not sure if I'll get a run in next weekend either, as I'm on call at work. If things are quiet, I will do my best to get out but I won't promise anything!

The drugs don't work, but they're not making me worse.....

Following last week's run, I decided it was best to see the Docs about my coughing and general asthma being a pain. Despite doubling my regular dose of inhaler, it was having no effect. So the Doc prescribed a course of oral steroids to help whilst my cold/manflu/case of what ever it is.

Unfortunately, they don't seem to have had much of an effect. My coughing is just as bad, but I'm not coughing up much gunk any more which is something I suppose. However, come this afternoon I was at Ant's again, and facing doing the 4 mile run that we did the first week. Things started less than perfectly given that I only made it a few hundred yards before stopping to cough so hard it felt like I was going to be sick. I had feared this would happen, but having expected it made it easier to push past it. At least until I needed to stop again maybe half a mile down the track.

But thankfully, as with my second run, my lungs did seem to get the idea that this was happening and they stopped putting up such a fight and got on with their job. It did help that I had walked up the big first hill as that taxed me quite heavily before, and as I have a kayaking trip in the morning I wasn't willing to jeopardise it by going at it full on. I was still struggling with keeping my rhythm, but it felt like I was doing a better job of maintaining it. Ant thinks my stride pattern is becoming nice and even, although I do have a habit of feeling like I'm going too slowly and wanting to stride out and speed up. One day I'll be able to do that, but I'm not ready for it yet!!

As is going to become obligatory, there are the usual photos that Ant insists on taking of me looking awesome. And I still hate running across ploughed fields.

 One thing that is a plus is that I've not used my inhaler once today, but I did need to stop for coughing fits three or four times as well as slow to a walk in a few places. So whilst my lungs may not feel much better, they do appear to be slightly less second rate than two weeks ago. And that has had an effect on the run time. This weeks run took 50 minutes and 39 seconds despite the walking. It wasn't lightening fast, but a touch more than 2 minutes faster than last time, which is a fair improvement given my asthma and that this is only my third run. If I hadn't had to stop and cough so much I suspect it would have been under 50 minutes, which is the next goal.

Whilst the run was quicker, I still look slightly less than awesome than usual when I finished. Although Ant does have a habit of capturing me at only my very finest.

As with before, I felt better than I had expected. But when you expect to be a quivering wreck, I don't suppose that's too much of a feat. But it was clear that given the final section of run is all uphill, that I couldn't have made it much further. Equally, I guess a training run should push me to my limits of endurance, and it's doing just that!

Saturday's Run

Bit late updating this, but I only got the post run photo and run map yesterday over dinner.

Since I'd spent the last week feeling like my lungs where trying to exit via which bit of me was closest, along with the ever delightful Autumnal snotty nose, I wasn't expecting this Saturday to go well, and maybe not happen at all given the poor weather.

Ant's sage advice was that he doesn't usually run with a cold. And I was thoroughly in agreement with him. But I still found myself at his door for 10am ready, if not 100% willing, to go for a run. And I was slightly more prepared than last week too.

Since Aldi had a running and cycling event on Thursday, I decided to stop in and see what they had. And for £20 I managed to come away with a compression base layer and a very bright top for when I start doing a mid-week run after work. Never having worn a compression base layer, I found wearing one to be a tad disconcerting. Wearing lycra shorts for playing rugby is one thing, wearing a second skin on the top half is quite another. If I were of a slightly different mind, I could almost go so far as to say it's a touch erotic being hugged all over so closely when you move!!

But enough of that! This week's run was a shorter and slightly flatter route in deference to me being on death's door. And we were accompanied by four dogs; Ant's pair and his friend's less well behaved pair. They proved to be both a pain and a welcome excuse to stop for a break when they buggered off after the pheasants! They also meant that the time for the run was somewhat off last week's pace as they needed putting on and off the lead as we passed horse yards and roads. However, I am still really struggling with running on ploughed fields and maintaining a rhythm for my breathing. Keeping my breathing at a roughly constant rate is going to be key to conquering my asthma. When I stumble, it knocks my rhythm and that usually means I have to slow my pace or drop back to a walk whilst I recover. But I am getting better at it, and Ant thinks my running is smoother and improved from last week, so there are some early signs of progress. Look, I even managed something resembling a smile for the post-run photo with his dogs!!

The run was only 3.1 miles but took 50 minutes this time. Not too bad given the dogs, which were returned whilst we were out but equally not all that fast either. I was also pleasantly surprised at how much the run cleared my lungs. I had expected quite the opposite but I managed to go without using my inhaler once. And further to my surprise I managed to find enough in the tank to sprint the last 35 yards or so. Perhaps I'm not pushing myself hard enough when out?!

A minor retraction....

For my fourth post, I have been asked to print a correction, of all things! Ordinarily, should I mention my other half online she dislikes it. But having read the blog so far, she's instead complained about not being mentioned and it's just photos she dislikes!!

So, to correct part of the original story to better reflect her involvement, it was she who first noticed the lump on my head. It was also her who reminded a few weeks later to have another look at it at which point it was plain I needed to go see the Docs soonest.

So there you go dear, you've been included and your part explained!

Not so chirpy now......

Having woken up this morning, I now feel far worse than I did yesterday. Which is to be expected I suppose for the first few weeks or months. My legs feel fine, but I'm coughing quite a lot and my ribs ache loads too. My inhalers help, but not as much as I would like! Damn having a second rate pair of lungs.

First run done!!

Whilst I should have sorted this blog out yesterday so that I could post after my first run, I forgot. So this is the update from this morning's run.

During the week I finally managed to get myself into Sports Direct in Northampton to see about some cross country running shoes. They have a wide ranging sale on at the moment, and the shoes that I was looking at were 50% off, as were a matching pack of socks. So I'm now the proud owner of a rather bright pair of running shoes, the first I have ever owned! But having dug my lycra shorts out, it seems they're well past their best and I'll need to get some new ones as well as a base layer or two for the top half.

So kitted up I went off to see Anthony for my first run at 10 this morning. I was a bit nervous, but just as keen to get started and see how it went. And this is the obligatory pre-run photo showing my 16 St of pure awesome, and just outside a pub too!

The route was Ant's usual dog running route and measures 3.95 miles according to his Iphone. It's just about all cross country, with grass and stone tracks, recently ploughed fields and some hills. I hadn't really understood what this meant before starting out. I now know that I often struggle to walk, let along run on ploughed fields and I hate hills. But being a stubborn git does have it's plus points. Unfortunately they're currently out-balanced by my asthma! Ant, being the good mate he is, managed to take a photo of me when I wasn't watching that makes me look like a complete muppet too. But it does show I was actually out there!

I would love to say that I made the run without stopping, but that would be a lie. I think I had to stop 3 times to use my inhaler and slowed to a walk to get my breathing back under control quite a few more times than that. I was nearly sick twice, but managed to not be. So 52 mins 47 secs after starting we completed the loop. And I was not looking my best:

Much to my surprise I didn't feel like death warmed up, despite it being the farthest I've run since being made to do the yearly cross country run at school. My joints feel fine, even the knee I trashed the ligaments in years back. My lungs however are just about recovering and I stopped running 12 hours ago. I'm really hoping next week is a little easier, but this has given me a glimmer of hope that I can do this.

A bit about me and why I'm putting myself through all the pain that will follow

Let's get this bit out of the way shall we?

My name is Simon and in November 2011 I was first suspected of suffering from skin cancer. This was not the news I was expecting when I told my Doctor one day that I thought I had bashed the top of my head whilst working under my car and now had a lump. I was sent to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to one of their investigatory clinics so they could have a quick look, chop it off and send me on my way. Or that was the plan anyway. This is said lump:

In the end I was there for four hours. And you know it's bad when the Doc asks if he can call in the students and registrar as "They don't often get to see these." Oh jolly good. So they cut a big hole in the top of my head and sent it off to be looked at under a microscope. As you've probably gather by now the news was not all roses.

It turned out that I had developed, if that's the right word, a case of malignant melanoma, one of the more aggressive types of skin cancer. So I was rushed back down to the JR sharpish for a wide area excision. In plain English, cutting a great big hole in the top of my head in an effort to remove all the cancerous cells. This leaves you with an amazing sponge stapled (yes, stapled) to your head and a patch on the thigh where you used to have skin before they stuck it to your head. And yes, it really is that big. This was also when I first met my MacMillan Skin Cancer nurse, Heidi. She's a tiny little thing, but brilliant all the same. How she does her job I will never know, as I start to well up just typing this!! There's no way in hell that I could ever tell someone the bad news.

Under the sponge is a full depth skin excision which I shall spare you the photo of because I hate looking at the ones I took at the time. Suffice to say it looked like someone had put a hot mug of tea on top of a waxwork head and then painted the hole red.

So all is well now, yes? Well for a few months it was. As part of the surgery the Doctors try to search for escaped cells. Unfortunately, my scans showed nothing as the radioactive dye had disappeared. However, the big lump that appeared behind my ear did indicate something nasty had gotten away. Further scans, using a different technique, showed a series of cancerous sites in the lymph nodes down my neck. Now that was not a happy day and is not one I think of if I can help it. It's easily the darkest time in my life so far, as I knew just what having the cancer spread could mean for me. And I don't look good all in black as it is.

Thankfully, there is a hospital in Oxford called the Churchill. And it's a shiny new cancer and haematology unit. Between them and the JR, I spent a few hours being prodded and poked before spending 9 1/2 hours under the knife of Mr Potter and his senior registrar. Worryingly, Mr Potter looks younger than I do, but it appears he knows his stuff! The op has a rather fancy title of radical neck dissection and a superficial parotidectomy. In plan English, this is cutting a bloody great hole in your face and neck. And you get to wake up looking a little bit like Frankenstein. You'll have to excuse the silly look, as taking a photo of the side of you neck with an Ipad is difficult.

So 17 days later the drains were removed from my neck, and I was finally allowed out of hospital to go home. Thankfully, I seem to heal quickly as I was down to this stage already:

And time has gone on from this point, with me getting a three monthly prod and a poke from what I always hope is going to be one of the cute young female Doctors and not the hairy old men. So far it's about a 50:50 hit rate!

Not long after my big op, I also became a Dad to my beautiful little Noah, who is now my reason for being, as I'm sure most Dads will understand. Knowing he was on the way gave me every reason to fight what ever cancer could throw at me. I just hope he never has to see me in hospital.


And that leads me to where I am now. I have been thinking for some time that I wanted to at least try to give something back to MacMillan and also Cancer Research UK, as without their tireless work I may not be able to sit here typing this whilst trying and failing to keep the dust from my eyes. I'm sure it's dust. It must be, can't possibly be tears.........

So what to do? Skydive? Turns out that I'm too heavy to do a tandem jump, and I wanted something more personally involving. Give something up? Not really me. Running the London Marathon? Certainly not me, as I hate running and haven't done so since I left school 12 years ago.

So the Marathon it was. This will be hard, possibly the hardest thing I've ever done; I will hate it and there will be days I never want to see a pair of running shoes again. But I can think of few things that will mean more than when I cross the finish line, probably being kicked the entire way by my running partner Hannah. Thankfully, she's not the only person I know able to help. I have another good friend in Anthony who will help me with getting started and he's also said he'd go with me to half marathon distance. Without them both, I have no hope at all of being successful.

I will update this before and after every run, assuming I remember, and when ever something happens so my progress, thoughts and feelings can be tracked and hopefully someone out there will get just a hint of inspiration from all this. And I will be honest, there will be fund raising, cajoling and just plain threatening people for money at several stages!

And if anyone knows how to run a Marathon for as little effort as possible, your advice would be appreciated!!