donate & win....

just in case the idea of four generally sedentary knitting types suddenly taking the mad notion to run a marathon between them wasn't enough to convince you to donate, we thought we ought to sweeten the pot a bit - so we're collecting some pretty fabulous prizes for you lovely folk!!!

here's what to do to get a chance to win something great:

1. go look here at the list of wonderful prizes to be won (& don't forget to keep checking back, as we'll be adding lots more excellent things to the list over the next few weeks!!)
2. head on over to our JustGiving page, and make a donation. it doesn't matter whether your donation is large or small, just that you donate something. PLEASE NOTE that if you want to be included in the draw, you should NOT check the Gift Aid box!!!
3. send us an email to teamfourply AT gmail DOT com with the subject line "i just donated!" and your name & country in the body of the email.
4. feel really good that you've helped us to fundraise for the MS Society Scotland, and prepare to possibly laugh at our wheezingly slow marathon time.
5. wait until after we've finished our marathon relay at the end of may & see if you win something!!!!

easy, right? so go donate now!!!

 

we're also looking for donations of prizes to add to the raffle, both small & large. maybe you run a crafty business & want to promote it by adding a prize to our raffle; maybe you just don't have any spare cash at the moment but have a special skein of yarn in your stash that you feel you could part with. email us at teamfourply AT gmail DOT com with a photo of what you'd like to add to the draw as well as some details about yourself & about the prize, and we'll add it to the list!! (PLEASE NOTE that you will be responsible for sending the prize you've donated to the person who wins it, which may involve international postage!)

 

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!

as good as a rest

i've had a blah sort of week. apart from sunday's epic long run (5.5 miles, woot!) my other runs this week were either completely rubbish, or non-existent. i planned runs that never happened (it's raining. i'm too tired. my chair is SO COMFY!) and attempted runs that just felt like crap (i can't catch my breath. my legs are cramping. this hill is HUGE!). & along with other life stresses, i felt like i was getting stuck in a pretty big rut. so i took to twitter for some advice, and the one thing that folk kept coming back with was "change". change your route, the time you run, even your socks - just do something different.

& although us folk on the autistic spectrum aren't awesome with change (massive understatement!!), i decided to give it a go, & drove a few miles to the local country park for a change of scenery.

 

 

i didn't plan a route, or try to run quickly, or spend the whole run keeping one eye on my pace time. i didn't worry about having to take the occasional walking break, or slow down for uneven ground. i stopped to say hello to a few friendly dogs, and to take some pictures of interesting things.

 

 

i ran down hills like a little kid, arms & legs flailing wildly (the park was pretty empty - i may have been a bit more reserved if there had been lots of people around!). i didn't try to stay out of mud puddles (i did try to avoid the horse poop, though, although i'm not sure i was entirely successful), but just splashed right through the middle (some of them were pretty deep, too!). i ran through fields & through deep, dark woods.

 

i enjoyed the rare sight of the sun, & the gorgeous sights & sounds of the countryside. i got soaked to the knees, splattered with mud, & drooled on by the aforementioned friendly dogs (they were VERY friendly!). & since i wasn't that familiar with the park trails, i got a little bit lost, & ended up running nearly four miles without even noticing.

 

& i remembered something that i'd forgotten, because i may have been focusing a little too much on Serious Training....

 

running can be fun, especially if you get to do it somewhere like this.

 

 

 

Injuries Pt. 2

So February has been a frustrating month... My injury turned out to be Piriformis Syndrome which has seriously curtailed my training to pretty much non-existent. I've been doing physio stretching and strengthening exercises twice a day that are both painful and very very boring.

I've been banned from running and confined to the cross-trainer only, and only then when I am in no pain. To push it in any way and run/cross-train with pain risks permanent injury.

I was on the cross-trainer last Wednesday for 30 mins, and then was in pain for 6 days after so no exercise. I made it back on last night for 15 minutes on the lowest setting and managed a whopping 1.3 km. Disheartening doesn't even cover it. Especially when the Edinburgh Marathon are sending excitable "13 weeks to go!!" emails which are just stressing me out even more.

However, I am not in more pain today, and it's sitting at a steady niggle pain after last nights exertions (which were followed by a LOT of stretches and strengthening) so maybe I can continue on the cross trainer tomorrow night too, and try and desperately claw back some of the lost cardio fitness.

We always hear these stories of people overcoming all odds to run marathons when they have cancer, MS or any of a huge range of disabiliting illnesses. But what of those who get loads of sponsorship, and then can't do it on the day? At the moment I'm investigating doing a shorter leg, and asking my husband to be my back up in the event that I'm not able to come through this in time. When I asked the physio about it he drew me a recovery graph and explained about recovery; "we're talking months, if not years". I'm unlikely to know until much nearer to May if this is going to be doable for me at all.

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!

What a difference a day makes...

Twenty four little hours after a very dispiriting run it was time for Purlpower to strap on the trainers for the second time in a weekend and head into Glasgow to accompany Lilith on the Glasgow Frontrunners Rainbow Run celebrating LGBT History Month.

This time the omens were a little better. The BBC weather report was encouraging:

And the sky above me as my train pulled into Glasgow Central was as blue as my fingernails:

Each runner in the Rainbow Run is allocated a colour according to their month of birth so being a September baby I was true blue all the way. The 'start' sign was reassuringly non-flecked with mud, it was time to run!

Seventy rainbow runners headed off along the Glasgow Canal towpath. A fantastic place to run, close to the city centre but it felt like a world away - I'm embarrassed to have lived here so long and not realised this great footpath existed. We had a choice of running 5k, 7.5k or 10k. Now that I'm running 5k on a regular basis it seemed a good time to challenge myself and try the 7.5. And with Lilith to encourage me it really wasn't too bad at all. The route was traffic free and mostly flat (apart from a hill up to the canal path right at the beginning) and it felt great to push myself to go that little bit further.

Those all important Map My Run stats at the end told us that I had managed to run my 'fastest ever 5k' and had an average pace of 6mins 22 per kilometer. *SNORE* Sorry, getting a bit stat-obsessed of late...

Of course the best thing about running is the guilt free binging at the end and we were not disappointed with the selection on offer. Lilith was introduced to the kiddie party staple of 'Top Hats' while I tucked into a rainbow cupcake...or two. Celebrating every last crumb of diversity.

And if you want to see what a running rainbow looks like I recommend you take a peek at the Glasgow Frontrunner's Facebook Page because we do look rather snazzy if I do say so myself.

Park(run) Life

Sometimes it can seem like the universe is telling you that running is a really bad idea. When Paula and I were driving to Parkrun in Victoria Park yesterday every atom in the world seemed to be united in one message: Do not run today.

Parkrun is an amazing phenomenon. Many parks across the world - and three right here in Glasgow - offer the chance to run a free, timed 5k every Saturday. It's a not-for-profit organisation and all the runs are staffed by volunteers. Big up to the volunteers.

Since the beginning of 2014 Team 4ply has been sporadically attending the Parkrun in Pollock Park but we'd heard tell of another Parkrun, in Glasgow, with LESS HILLS and so we'd decided to set our sights on the mythical flatlands of Victoria Park this week.

Unfortunately this coincided with one of the wettest weeks in British history and we both felt a bit rubbish. Paula was adjusting to some new meds causing her to be proper glaikit. I'd spent the past week transcribing for about eight hours a day, was knackered and starting to hear things.... At one point I was curled up in the front seat of Paula's car pretending to go to sleep. When I opened my peepers, this was the view:

If a motorway could talk, this one would say 'go back to bed you pair of numpties, this running lark isn't for you'. In fact I could almost swear that's what it DID say...

But if Team4ply is anything, it is stubborn to a fault. So we went to our first Parkrun at Glasgow's usually delightful Victoria Park. I've been to Victoria Park on lovely spring mornings, had fossil fun in the Fossil Grove and taken a gentle stroll round its dignified swan pond.

But it looked rather different yesterday:

Rain had fallen, rain on mud, rain on rain. Most of the track seemed to be submerged under water. I was testing out my new 'seal skins' socks (they're not made of real seal skin, stand down vegans!) which are supposedly waterproof. I can report back that they do indeed keep your feet dry, however a small pond of water was collecting inside my trainers and was then trapped between trainer and my impermeable sock. Giving me the sensation of running round with two carrier bags full of water wrapped round my feet. Like a human stumbling 1970s waterbed. Not pleasant.

Just waiting for the fella to shout 'go' was torture; we just wanted to get this over with and get home to normality. But sensibly every Parkrun begins with a brief safety chat and an explanation of the route ahead. A few shivery minutes later, we were off....

This was our view for most of the run, i.e. from the very back, through the grey. This week Paula and I were trying an interval method of running for two and a half minutes and walking for one minute. And it just seemed like a real slog. Our legs simply did not want to run or walk. They wanted to go home to bed with an electric blanket and be positioned in front of a telly watching Labyrinth or maybe The Muppets.

But we battled on: three laps of the soggy, puddle-ridden park and then finally the finish line:

Paula achieved her Parkrun PB* and I found out that while I like having dry toes the sensation of running/walking on water ain't all it's cracked up to be.

We had survived another run together. We had a newfound understanding of the benefits of hills (namely, that water cannot gather at the top of them). It was time to go home, have a cup of tea and watch some Muppets....

*That's 'personal best' - we're runners now dontchaknow!