Running: the good, the bad, the ugly....

So Paula has decided that running is really not her thing. Which is fair enough. The whole point of this venture was to give it a try and that's what we've done so far.

The good:
For myself, sometimes I just love running. My physiotherapists warned me to be careful and mostly I have been. I love the atmosphere of a race day and how good it feels when I hit the right rhythm. Plus the sense of achievement at the end and not to mention the medals:

I don't believe in hiding my medals away in a drawer somewhere. I worked for them and I want them on display!

As part of my training for the Marathon I did the Bupa women's 10k in Glasgow earlier this month. The atmosphere was amazing. People sat out in the street outside their homes all day cheering us on. It was a bit too hot but still really good fun.

And after the race I went celebrating with my fast friend Jude:

Look out for Jude doing the half marathon on Sunday, super speedy

The bad:
Sometimes running doesn't like me very much. I did a little bit too much dog walking and training after the 10k and have hurt my knee and achilles tendons, possibly through my hypermobility caused over-extension.

(I won't blame my doggy charge for encouraging me to walk too much though, she's too cute). 

The ugly:
But I'm going to take it easy between now and Sunday and fingers crossed there will be another medal in my collection by Monday...And maybe some more photos of me running with a crazed expression like this beauty, captured at the end of the Bupa 10k without my knowledge:

If you can make it to Edinburgh on Sunday please come and cheer us on in person. There's some more information about the course here.

Don't forget that you can still donate to our Just Giving Page and win grand prizes by following the instructions!

Exercising with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Hypermobililty and PoTS

So, this being Ehlers Danlos Awareness Month it seems like a good opportunity to blog about exercising with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome - I have the Hypermobility type - and also the associated problem of PoTS (that's postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome don't you know, now breathe!)

(A hypermobile big toe, yesterday)

Here's the lay person's 'in a nutshell' guide to what these two conditions mean for me: widespread pain in almost every joint or muscle at some point during every week; chronic fatigue and flare-ups of acute fatigue; and fainting fits. All caused (it is theorised) by weak or over-stretchy collagen throughout my body and being genetic, that's never going to change. The stretchy collagen means that the ligaments which keep 'normal 'joints within 'normal' range are overstretched. My joints pop out of their proper position all the time - or as the witty cartoonist Hannah Ensor puts it 'my joints go out more than I do'!

In terms of running the main challenges are my knee and ankle joints, which are really unstable. Thankfully, since being diagnosed I've had excellent support (PUN!) from my local NHS podiatry and physiotherapy teams. I usually walk with the custom made orthotics pictured below in a neutral trainer - the above purple Saucony's being my current running trainer of choice. 

As an experiment though I was recently fitted for new trainers at Run4It in Glasgow and have opted for a more supportive trainer which I'm going to try without the orthotics and see how that feels. Also they are blue and well-snazz.

There are much more detailed explanations of both types of EDS here and PoTS here so I'm not going to repeat any of that but it should be clear from the above description just why exercising might be a challenge for someone with EDS.

It took over ten years for me to be correctly diagnosed and at that point I was housebound for much of the time. Once I had my diagnosis I began reading as much as I could about my conditions (there's lots more about my life with EDS and PoTS on my old blog for anyone who is particularly interested in that story).

I decided that for me (I would never tell anyone else what they should do with their body) getting stronger and fitter was something I could do to improve my overall life. It made sense to me that if joints are unstable and ligaments are stretched then the one thing I can have some control over is my muscle. Ten years of semi-regular bed rest had left me with very little muscle indeed and having never been at all sporty or strong, building it up is taking time. But the improvements are amazing. I can carry small shopping bags home again from the supermarket, for example, something that had become impossible for me in my early thirties.

I am absolutely convinced that I will be able to lift that bottom 10kg weight by the end of this year. I started with 0.5k weights last year and I'm now up to 8kg. Grrrrr!

Since entering the Tri-Together triathlon last year I've been really inspired by some of the stories I've read online from other people with multiple conditions and EDS. Two of my favourites are Donna's Beating Limitations Blog and Lara Bloom's story of doing the London Marathon which has been made into a documentary that will be screened at several cinemas this month. 

(three quarters of Team4Ply at Pollock Park Run last weekend)

And last but not least, exercising has also helped me make some tremendous new friends.

Every member of Team4Ply has had their own challenges in getting this far but we are absolutely determined to do the best we can on May 25th and we thank you all for your support so far. If you haven't donated already (or even if you have!) please do so today by visiting our Just Giving Page .

Don't forget that you can win PRIZES! by donating to our Just Giving Page. You can also donate by text: Just text TPLY49 £5 (or whatever amount you want to give) to 70070 


**The fancy new term for this is self management and if you go here you can see me looking uncharacteristically glamorous as I received the award for 'Self Management Champion of the Year' in the Scottish Parliament last year. Ooh la la!

Doing a race recce...(Six weeks to go)

There are a few things that aren't so great about being freelance: no one offers to make you a coffee at work; there's no one to pull a cracker with at your office Christmas party; and you might have to camp out on people's doorsteps to remind them to PAY you.

However, sometimes it is brilliant. Sometimes you can decide 'it's a lovely day, let's go to check out the Edinburgh Marathon route'. And if you are really lucky then one of your racemates is also freelance and you can go together.

So it was that Paula and I were able to skive off work yesterday and head over to Musselburgh to check out where the Edinburgh Marathon will be held in less than six weeks time (eek). And it's quite a good job that we did because it turns out that our parts of the race are quite far away from Edinburgh itself.

Whilst Lilith will be starting in the City Centre for the Royal Leg, heading down the Royal Mile and out to the coast along Portobello Promenade - by the time she hands over to Paula the race will be in Musselburgh proper. Armed with this map from the Edinburgh Marathon Website we thought we'd have a trial 'run' and see what we'd let ourselves in for.

The first thing to say is that this is a gorgeous part of the country to be running in. As we parked up I was thrilled to see that the traditional communal drying lines are still in use here (whereas in parts of Glasgow using these is now not allowed):

The second marvellous news is that once Lilith's initial downhill stretch is over the rest of the course is remarkably flat. The website had told us that the course was flat but you know, different runners have different ideas of what constitutes a 'hill'. Even by our shabby standards it's fair to say, this is a very flat course!

So flat in fact, I kept taking pictures of it, just to prove how flat it is. It's flat:

There's also lots of lovely public art to view along the way. From sculpture:

To painted murals celebrating the area's industrial history as a fishing port, coal mining area and producer of cooking salt:

That's alongside the beautiful landscape that surrounds the John Muir Way* which was looking particularly spectacular in the surprise April sunshine:

And if all that isn't enough to tempt you to come along and support us on the big day well, there's a pub called The Goth. 

FUNDRAISING NEWS!

It's been an exciting week on the fundraising front too as we have smashed through our initial target. With just under six weeks to go we'd love to see that total reach the £1k mark because MS Society Scotland could do some fantastic work with a cool grand so if you haven't already donated please do so and please share this blog far and wide!

Don't forget that those who donate can be entered into our prize draw -  read all about that here There are fabulous new prizes being added all the time so it's worth keep checking back for the latest news. 

*'Who is John Muir and why does he have a 'way' named after him?' we kept wondering as we wandered about the area enjoying ourselves. Well, it turns out he was a Scottish-American naturalist, ecological thinker, political activist and religious prophet. Blimey. Did he ever go for a pint in The Goth though? Wikipedia unfortunately does not tell us this but he sounds like an interesting chap and he certainly has a lovely way. 

Running in Berlin...

I'm not quite sure what kind of crazy transformation has taken place for me to have even contemplated keeping up my running training while on holiday but something has definitely shifted mentally because when packing for a five day trip to Berlin the other week I found myself thinking 'I should pack my trainers, I might go for a run'...

And indeed I went for two runs while in Berlin. We were staying near a park called 'Vollspark Friedrichshain' and for my first run I managed about 7.5k:

Of course, being me, in a new place, I got lost on my way to the park and ended up in a cemetery by mistake. I was worried that I might be flouting some bylaw or cultural norm by jogging round that in brightly coloured clothing so I big a hasty retreat but not before taking a pic of some very impressive headstones:

Everyone else jogging round the park (and there were LOTS of them compared to Glasgow/Paisley parks at 7am) was jogging anticlockwise. Once again I was worried that I might be transgressing but nobody arrested me so I think it was OK:

On my second run I did just over 5k but managed to go a bit faster than usual. Berlin is wonderfully flat. There are cyclists everywhere and it is really lovely to run (and walk) around. If you get the chance to go there I heartily recommend it. 

You don't have to run though. You could just go for a beer!

Nutrition tip: Energy Baws

I'm a big fan of these nutritious treats from Dr Kim post or pre-run. Packed with energy but sugar, wheat and dairy free and with plenty of good stuff like different vitamins and minerals depending on which ingredients you use.

I've made them using a mix of prunes, raisins and dates instead of just dates and also tried using almonds, pumpkin seeds and raw cashews instead of pecans. I've done a batch rolled in toasted dried coconut and some others rolled in cocoa nibs. So long as you stick to Dr Kim's instructions to add the 'wetter' ingredients slowly then you can have a lot of fun experimenting with the ingredients in this recipe.

And I have 'Glasgow-ised' them by rechristening them 'Energy Baws'. Because I'm like that!