Saying Hello ...

We are brother-in-law and sister-in-law, running the Great North West Half Marathon on 20th February 2011, to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. We're running for our loved ones - Seren and Dylan. This is our training story...

Wednesday 20 October 2010

A Couple of Setbacks

Hi, it's Rebecca here again.  Adrian and Rhiannon are really bad bloggers!!!  Although, saying that, I've been a bad blogger lately too, having to fit Adrian's training in three nights a week, as well as all our other commitments has meant far less time for blogging lately!  And Rhiannon is a very busy bee as well, working at least six days a week!

But Adrian and Rhiannon have both been working hard, training and preparing themselves for the marathon.  But, unfortunately, over the past few days, we have had not one, but two setbacks to contend with.

Let me explain:

Setback Number One: Adrian's Bad Knee

A couple of weeks ago, Adrian came home from a 14 kms run complaining of pain in his right knee.  I asked around for some advice on what to do, and the general advice was RICE, Rest, Ice, C(an't remember!) and Elevation.  So he did that from about Tuesday to Sunday, and by Sunday, felt that his knee had improved enough for him to try running again.

So he ran something like 5 or 7 kms, without any pain, and then once he had finished his short run, the pain came back.  He rested it again until the following Sunday (17th October), when he felt ready to try it again, but this time, he only ran 1 km before his knee gave out and he had to stop.  He limped back to the car, and has been limping ever since.

As his knee clearly wasn't going to get better on it's own with just rest, I made Adrian an appointment at the GP surgery for Monday morning.  He was examined by the doctor, who twisted his leg this way and that, and said that he feels that Adrian has a muscle imbalance.  He said that this can be corrected using muscle strengthening exercises, which he has given to Adrian, and hopefully this will solve the problem.

However, today is Wednesday, and Adrian is still barely able to walk on his leg, let alone do exercises on it or run on it, so he's pretty stuck at the moment.  He wants to get a knee support, and a friend has suggested that we go to a specialist running store and get them to 'check his gait' by videoing him running, but I think if he's still in this much pain on Friday, then I'm going to make him another doctors appointment.

Surely, if it's muscular, then he should have seen some improvement by now??  He's pulled muscles before during his training, and he's just had to rest for a couple of days and then he's been fine again, this has been going on for weeks, and since Sunday, the pain has been very high level and has yet to ease off at all.  He's having to take pain killers (which he almost never does) and using Deep Freeze cream on it, but is still complaining of pain.  And believe me, Adrian doesn't complain.  So it must be bad.

So that's setback number one.

Setback Number Two: A Cancelled Marathon!

Adrian and Rhiannon booked their places on the Fylde Coast Marathon in June this year, I believe, and were confirmed as Runners 1 and 2 in the race, to run from Lytham St Annes, through Blackpool, and on to Fleetwood on 27th February 2011.  Since then, they have been working hard, training their little hearts out.  Adrian has been faithfully running three times a week, every week (he even went running while we were away on holiday for the week!), and Rhiannon has been training hard too, and has just shelled out £160 on special running shoes.

But then, on Monday, Rhiannon contacted me to say that she'd seen a post on Runners World saying that the Fylde Coast Marathon had been cancelled on 11th August!

I telephoned the organiser, who confirmed that the marathon had been cancelled in August, because they had found out that 6 miles of Blackpool's promenade is going to be closed for 6 months (including February) for refurbishments!  And because the organiser didn't have the thousands of pounds it would cost to acquire a license to run the marathon through Blackpool town, they had to cancel the marathon.  However, they said that all runners had been notified and had had their entry fees refunded back in August!

Er, no!

Somehow, even though Rhiannon and Adrian were Runners 1 and 2, they had neither been notified or refunded.

However ...

The marathon has now been replaced with two half marathons, one of which is to be run on 20th February 2011, which is called the Great North West Half Marathon, and another to be run in August 2011.  And so, to make up for the organiser failing to notify us of the cancellation of the Fylde Coast Marathon, they have now transferred our entry fees over to the Great North West Half Marathon, and have given Adrian and Rhiannon free entry to the August half marathon as well.

So ... What Happens Now?

Well, Adrian and Rhiannon will now be running the Great North West Half Marathon on 20th of February in Blackpool, and you can find more details about this run here at Runners World.  They are frustrated that they won't get to run a full marathon, but this will ease them in gently, particuarly Adrian, who has never taken part in a formal race of any kind before; and they plan to find a full marathon to run at some point in the future. 

Also, because this is a half marathon, Adrian can allow his knee time to get better, and time to work on his knee strengthening exercises, then re-start his training and build up to running long distances again.  Because he was due to start his 16 week Marathon countdown training programme on Monday, he would have run into difficulty had the marathon not been cancelled, because his knee has had him pretty much out of action for a couple of weeks now, and so he would have been way behind on his training.

So maybe it's all worked out for the best.

And either way, they've still got lots of hard work and training ahead of them, to prepare for the half marathon in February.

I'll keep you updated on how things go with Adrian's knee issues.  Hopefully they will be resolved soon.

Feel free to sponsor Adrian and Rhiannon by clicking the link in the sidebar, they could do with some encouragement after these setbacks!

Wednesday 21 July 2010

Saturday 17 July 2010

First Major Milestone Hit {Adrian}

Woo hoo!!!!  Adrian is one happy bunny!!!

You know he ran 5 km on Monday night?  Well, on Wednesday night, he ran 6 km, and last night, he ran a whopping ...

10.5 kilometres!!!!! 

That's about 6.5 miles!!!

That's what he needs to be running regularly, three times a week, before he can start his training plan in about October!

He ran all the way to the next village and back, along the beach, and he really enjoyed it!  He said that it was rather daunting, getting all the way to the next village, and then realising that he had to run all the way back, but he did it, and actually felt as if he could have carried on longer!

He was really pleased with himself, considering he's only been running for just under two weeks, he's really pleased with the progress he's made.  But as I said, he just needs to get used to running this distance now, not be pushing himself too soon to run even further, because we have the training plan for that for later on.  He just needs to get used to running the 10k regularly now, three times a week.  That's 30k a week!

I'm so pleased for him, and so glad that he's enjoying it so much!

Tuesday 13 July 2010

Adrian's Training - Week 1

Adrian's been busy this week with DIY and training, and so I thought I'd post a quick update on how his training has been going so far:

RUN #1 on 4TH JULY 2010

ROUTE TAKEN:  From the local church car park to the pier, and back

TIME TAKEN:  About 30 minutes

Adrian hadn't managed to set up his pedometer properly, so it didn't tell him how far he ran, but it did tell him that he ran 3389 steps.  He found his first run for a while quite difficult, his airways were burning, his legs were weary, and he started too fast and quickly ran out of steam and then struggled.  But on the plus side, he found that his new running shoes were very comfy!  He learned that next time, he needs to stretch to warm up and to cool down before and after his runs, to start off more steadily so that he doesn't burn out too soon, and that he needs to make sure he doesn't run on too soft sand.  He was also concerned about being able to fit the runs into his busy schedule, and seemed a little daunted by the task before him, after finding his first run so difficult.

RUN #2 on 7TH JULY 2010

ROUTE TAKEN:  From the same church car park, along the beach to the next village beach, then back and on further to the pier, then up the sea front to the car park, around nearby roads, back onto the sea front, up some steep steps, and along the cliff top to the car park

LENGTH OF RUN:  Approximately 4 miles

Adrian very much enjoyed his second run, and was really boosted by the difference in his energy levels and in how much easier he found his second run.  Every time he thought he would have had enough, he found more energy and kept running!  He struggled with the pedometer, and so the above run length is his best guess.  He tried taking an energy drink with him, which really boosted his energy for his run, plus he was starting to eat more healthily and it made a big difference.  He also discovered that he needs something to carry his phone and keys in!

RUN #3 on 12TH JULY 2010

ROUTE TAKEN:  Another local beach, running along the sea wall and the beach and back again

LENGTH OF RUN: 5 km/3.1 miles

The pedometer is finally sorted, so he knows exactly how far he ran this time!  He has been really busy with DIY this week, and has had a few pulled muscles, so he delayed his run for a while to allow himself to recover, but was feeling ready by last night.  He did experience some muscle pain in his inner thigh, but he ran it off.  He really enjoyed his run again, and has definitely got the hang of pacing himself better now.  He could have run for longer, but it was getting late, and so he came back.  He was very encouraged by not getting too out of breath when he was running.  He still hasn't got into the habit of stretching to warm up and cool down, but he did after his muscle complained when he hopped over a groyne on the beach.

And he's looking forward to his next run, which he's planning for Wednesday!

In other news, Adrian and Rhiannon have their first donation on their JustGiving page!  Wooo hooo!  It all helps when spurring them on while training!

Saturday 3 July 2010

Let Training Commence!

Okay, so since both Rhiannon and Adrian are acting shy, I'll put another quick post on here, just to keep you updated ...

Look who got their running shoes last night ...


Adrian!

He's hoping to go for his first run tonight!

I've found some 16 week training plans, which were recommended on Runners World, and so we're thinking of him using one of those, starting in about October, but he just needs to get used to running regularly first.  To start the best of the two 'beginners' training plans, he needs to be running about 6 miles 3 times a week, so we have until October for him to build up to that.

So last night, he went out and invested in a good pair of running shoes, and some running clothes, and now he just needs to get a pedometer to see how far he's running each time.

He also needs to think more about what he eats, because at the moment, his eating isn't great.  He doesn't usually have more than coffee for breakfast, usually skips lunch, then has a ginormous bowl of cereals when he comes home, and something light for his evening meal like tuna, beans and pitta bread.  Then once a week he'll treat himself to a takeaway.

As you can see, his diet isn't nutritious enough for a marathon runner, he needs to be eating fruit, vegetables, and plenty of carbs like pasta, so he's been stocking up on much more nutritious meals and has promised that once he starts training (ie tonight) he will eat much more healthily, because he knows that otherwise, he's just not going to have the energy for training.

Hopefully I'll get a few photos of him training tonight, so that I can put them up here for you, so you can see the work he'll be putting in, and hopefully someone will want to start the ball rolling with some sponsorship! :o)

Saturday 26 June 2010

An Introduction

Hi, I'm Rebecca, Adrian's wife, and I write a blog about our family at Life as a Mum to 2 Children with Cystic Fibrosis.  I've set this training blog up for Adrian and Rhiannon to use, so you shouldn't see any more guest posts from me, but just to kick them off, as they're both newbie bloggers, I'm writing them an introductory post.

Okay, so ... what's this blog all about?

It's about ... my husband Adrian: Seren and Dylan's Daddy ...



















 
It's about ... my sister Rhiannon: Seren and Dylan's Aunty ...















It's about the Cystic Fibrosis Trust

And it's about the Fylde Coast Marathon, which is being held on 27th February 2011.

Neither Adrian nor Rhiannon have ever run a full 26.2 mile marathon before, and apart from recreational jogging along the local beach, Adrian has never done any running before.  Rhiannon is a little more experienced, having done the Santa Fun Run at Old Trafford in Manchester for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in December 2009, and the Blackpool Half Marathon of 13 miles in April 2010.

But for both of them, it will be their first full marathon.

But they have a fantastic cause to do it for, and fantastic motivation to keep running, because they are doing it for two very special people.

Seren and Dylan.














Seren and Dylan have Cystic Fibrosis.

Their life expectancy is not the same as the average person's.  50% of people with CF can hope to live to just 38 years.  The other 50% won't make it anywhere near that far.

In the past few days, Conner passed away from CF at just 7 years old.

That just shouldn't be able to happen.  In these days of medical advances, with incredibly intelligent scientists, and sophisticated medications, children shouldn't be dying of Cystic Fibrosis.

But they are

Three young lives are lost to CF in the UK every week.

And why are they dying?

Because to date, there is no cure.

No magical medicine which will take away the lethal effects that CF has on the lungs of every CF sufferer.

And so, every day, Seren, Dylan and the many CF sufferers around the world have to endure inhalers, nebulisers, chest physiotherapies, coughing up foul sticky mucus from their lungs, and they have to take what feels like a million and one tablets and liquid medications. 

It isn't actually a million and one, it's more like between 28 and 30 tablets a day for Seren, or a total of 37 to 53 doses of medication (liquid and tablet) per day.  And for Dylan, it's more like 25 tablets, or a total of 32 to 43 doses of medication (liquid and tablet) per day.

You try and imagine what that's like.  To be five years old, or seven years old, and to have to ingest between 32 and 53 separate doses of medicine a day.  Most children don't have to take any regular medications in the day at all.  I certainly didn't as a child.

But for Seren and Dylan, that has been their life since diagnosis, which came at eight and seven days old, respectively.  For as long as they can remember, they have coped with having spacer masks squashed on their faces; with having their chests pounded repeatedly to shift the horrible mucus which clogs their lungs; with having steaming nebuliser masks pressed against their faces for up to 45 minutes at a time; with having to learn to swallow capsules at just three years old; and with having to swallow foul-tasting liquid medicines multiple times per day.

Just to try to stay alive.

But it doesn't always work so well.  Despite our best efforts, they often get sick.  Chest infections are a frequent issue with CF sufferers, and a constant fear.  Dylan has had to endure 19 courses of intravenous antibiotics to fight the chest infections which were knocking him flat so often as a baby and toddler.  He had surgery to fit his first portacath under the skin of his chest at just 9 1/2 months old, because he'd had so many IV lines put in that his veins were worn out already.  It's sad that he doesn't remember ever not having a port.

Seren was lucky, her chest didn't bother her much until September 2008.  But it's making up for it now.  She's had some nasty infections since then, two of which have required hospital stays and intravenous antibiotics. 

Trust me - seeing your six or seven year old child struggling to breathe because their airways are clogged with infected mucus is not fun.  Seeing the terror in her eyes as she realised she couldn't take in any oxygen is something I will never forget. 

The first time it happened, in a hospital corridor, when she had her first big chest infection and she coughed up a chunk of mucus so big that it lodged in her airway, she ran to a window and stuck her head out to try and get some air.  She didn't understand that the problem was inside her, not in the corridor.

Seeing your child lying on a bed in the treatment room, coughing desperately to try and clear their airway so they can drag in a breath, but unable to move because the doctor is in the middle of pushing a tube up inside her arm towards her heart, is also not fun.

So how can we stop this happening?  How can we help Seren and Dylan, and all the other CF sufferers around the UK?

By donating.

By helping the CF Trust to find that life-saving cure.

By holding Cake Bakes, and selling calendars, and doing sponsored walks to raise money for the CF Trust.

And by running this marathon.

Rhiannon and Adrian are committed to training for 8 months and running 26.2 miles to raise money for the CF Trust.

What do YOU have to do?

Donate to their justgiving page, using the widget at the top of the page.

Thank you.

(Posted by Rebecca)