A month already since my last post. things are not so great right now, the illness I had over Christmas/New Year has really knocked the CFS about and I am struggling to maintain any kind of running routine. A couple of weeks ago I managed to do 8 miles just run/walking and was pretty pleased but then I was back in/on the bed or settee again for a few days. 

I've had to rethink what events I am going to do in the short term, no half marathons until Mull in June, just 10k's. Saturday is the Belvoir Challenge and i am still hanging on to make a decision in the hope that I am miraculously much better......in two days time! I have entered an ultra, the Osmotherley Phoenix at the beginning of July. 33 miles of the gorgeous North York Moors. It can be walked too, so there's always hope for me! 

Right now I am waiting to see what has been printed about me in the latest Women's Running Magazine, I entered a competition on Facebook and I am told it has made it into the mag. I am rather apprehensive, after a recent slating about an article in the Coventry Telegraph, not by people who don't know what it is like to have CFS but by those who do have it, saying that I couldn't possibly run whilst having the illness and generally being quite nasty. If I was very ill and bed bound with it, no I wouldn't be able to run. Somedays are actually like that and it is a struggle to climb the stairs but I am lucky in that I am gradually (over the course of 8 years) recovering. So to anyone who thinks I am a fraud, please come and spend a week at our house and see what it is REALLY lik.

Happy running parkrunners! :)

Onwards and upwards...

After a bad week of feeling dizzy and having bad fatigue, I finally felt better yesterday, which was (coincidentally) after having hopi ear candling therapy for my sinus infection. It either was very effective or was just a part of turning the corner back to some sort of normality! I slept well too for the first time in over a month so woke feeling able to do parkrun today.

I was slow again but ran/walked it, I was pleased with the amount I could run after only having the energy to walk all week. Doing the Brighton marathon this year is now not achievable for me so I'm deferring it to next year. As a consolation I will be doing the Leamington 10k instead that day which I am pretty pleased about as I did it last year and loved it. 

My next race is the Belvoir 16 Challenge in five weeks which luckily is one that people walk too so I shouldn't be last if I run/walk it! That will be the furthest I have gone since my twenties so here's hoping that I stay reasonably well before then. I'd be gutted to miss it......

30th parkrun happy!

Have had the week from hell as I've had a sinus infection that I'm on antibiotics for. Horribly dizzy and constant pain so no training again this week. Chiropractor's on Wednesday was my only trip out and much needed for ongoing neck pain. It has all knocked my energy levels with the CFS so I was well miserable! Yesterday my dearly beloved brought me a big bunch of flowers to cheer me up and it worked :)

Even last night I thought there would be no parkrun for me and that REALLY made me grumpy! However this morning I felt a bit better and convinced myself that a 'bit of fresh air' would do me good......and it did. I was very slow but didn't suffer too much and enjoyed the tea and cake with Maggie and Carl afterwards. I am much more cheery now, thanks 100th parkrun!

New Year, new challenges...

2012 has not got off to a great start 'athletically' as I have had a cold/chest infection since coming back from Lanzarote mid December. Ran and swam 5 days whilst there and felt great, it's all been downhill since! Did two slow parkrun's before Christmas then have only ran/walked twice since NY. Just starting to feel a bit better, parkrunning tomorrow as I need my fix! Hoping to be OK by next weekend for the 'not the Roman 9' at Stratford. On Monday I am going to meet Chrissie Wellington at an event in London - well me and 99 others! She is one amazing lady and I have as much admiration for her charity work and support of others as her sporting achievements. I have entered the Bristol Triathlon in July as I've missed cycling (not so much swimming!)and the challenge of doing three sports in one event over the last year. Better get back to trying to master the front crawl then.....

Marathon/Ultra Training Begins......

Some might wonder why my blog is called 'Ultra Running Ali' when in fact a half marathon is my furthest distance to date. It's because, in 2012, I am aiming to complete an ultra race, not just because it will be something that not everyone (of sound mind!) attempts and a mega challenge for me, but I like the idea of being able to run/walk in some of the most beautiful parts of the country and not be looked upon as a slowbie as it's about completing the distance....in your own time! An ultra is more than just the distance, it's also about mangaging your pace so that you make it to then end, managing your nutrition and hydration, and your feet! Yes, if you don't look after them properly you won't make the end so I have bought a really good book (yes, really!) called 'Fixing Your Feet'. Now it's not something to settle down with for a good long read but it's full of good information on the various foot problems that may occur. Anyway, back to training, my (nicely printed out) plan for the Brighton Marathon and beyond atarted on the 1st November, but it didn't go too well as fatigue hit me like a brick for 5 days, the result of a combination of things - stress, doing too much and being very upset at being portrayed as someone who couldn't possibly have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome AND run. This week has been a better one, having done a very fast (for me!) two mile run as a test to see if I was recovered then training with my running club. Tomorrow I will do Coventry parkrun then next week back to the plan and longer distances again. All of my long runs will be on a run/walk basis as this helps me manage my fatigue and will help with training for the ultra. First focus is of course Brighton which I would hope to do at a much faster average pace than the proposed ultra - I haven't decided which one to do yet as i will wait until nearer brighton and see how things are going and whether I will be up for one sooner.......or later in 2012!

Yorkshire Coast 10k......and other stuff

Just back from a lovely weekend in Scarborough staying with my wonderful family and taking part in the Yorkshire Coast 10k, a great race along the seafront and back on a beautifully sunny day. I was still quite fatigued from the Brum half so had to walk quite a bit but I was still pleased with my time of 1:08:18. Got home yesterday to discover that the article that went in the newspaper has upset a few people who don't believe I can have CFS and run. I invite them to come and spend a week with me and see me on the bad days. I may be super active compared to those people who have unrelenting symptoms and are confined to bed or the settee day after day but it doesn't mean I don't HAVE the condition, I just have it to a lesser extent. My heart goes out to them. I was very upset by the comments, particularly by a Doctor who is well known in this area. He was rather vindictive which ironically upset me so much that I had a flare up that today has caused a relapse! I would have thought that he should know better as to how stress and conflict can affect a sufferer. I could go on and on and I did think about putting a reply on the newspapers' site but I don't NEED or WANT further conflict. I really wanted to invite him to re-diagnose me if he thinks I can't possibly have it but I just want to put it behind me and .........calm down......and recover. Onwards and upwards, lesson learned to not 'put myself out there' in future.

Great Run Birmingham

What a brilliant day! I'd had a bit of a rough week so had no expectations of what I would be able to do but I was hoping to stick to 12 minutes per mile which I knew would give me a time of 2:37:30, meaning I would be 5 minutes quicker than at Bristol. I started well, reached 2 miles in 21 minutes which meant I was going a little fast for me but I felt good. As is usual, by mile 8 my energy levels had gone way down and I slowed up a bit, losing the advantage I had gained. Who would have thought there would be hills in Birmingham, but mile 10 to 11.5 were tough! From there I pushed like I never had before and finished in a time of 2:36:59, which I was ecstatic with! So that's my three halves completed in six weeks for the Alzheimer's Society in memory of my lovely Dad, who came from Brum which made it all rather emotional. Hope you enjoyed it Dad, I know I did :) x