In an effort to keep this blog updated whenever I write articles for elsewhere, here is the latest Wired Playbook Post
Up & Running To The Rescue
After a bit of a disaster in the pacer department I had been left with no pacers and no support team. With 9 weeks left till the run (eep!) and no pacers I was starting to get a little worried.
I was trying to stay positive and hoped somehow pacers/guides would appear. I had been proactive and contacted local running clubs, local stores and even put up posters in the local area. This resulted in 0 responses. I was a little deflated and unsure where to turn to next.
In the past few weeks I had added Up and Running on twitter, who are a UK wide running store. I am always impressed when brands and stores engage with the community. I had sent a few messages their way commenting on a few things, I then decided to ask if I could place a poster in some of their stores.
They agreed so I whipped up a little writeup in Word and sent it off. Going totally above and beyond Up and Running decided to turn it into a poster and display it nationwide!
A Pesky Cold
This week I had to pop to the Dr’s about some friction from my old rucksack messing up my back. I arrived at the Dr’s and was met with a horrendous smell, my wife and I couldn’t decide what the smell was, but it did have a faint aroma of urine. The waiting room was packed with people coughing and sniffing so I was happy to be seen quickly.
The next day we both awoke with a cold. We had both managed to catch something while in the Dr’s waiting room. Great. You pop in for a quick check-up and come out ill. Next time I will wear a facemask, I swear.
Having a cold has really impacted my running; I took a quick twitter poll and asked if people ran with a sore throat. The resounding answer was: yes. But if you have respiratory issues then no. Well guess who was wheezing when breathing and became fatigued from walking, that’s right me!
Writing
On the face of it it appears I have been neglecting my blog. This is slightly true but I have been busy writing for so many other blogs and magazines I often forget they don’t appear on here!
In recent weeks I have created content for
TCL Sports
RunAddicts
Wired Playbook
Numerous applications for sponsorship
A couple of magazines
Others I cant even remember!
I plan to make an effort to try and feature some of the content here, or at least write more original content for my own blog!
Running Video: Training Solo Outdoors
I have been thinking how I could do a video describing how I achieve my run for a while. So I decided to hold the iPhone while on a run last week and talk about how I know all the different sections.
I tried to give as much detail as possible but I am sure I left quite a bit out, so feel free to ask any specifics.
Latest Wired Playbook Post
My latest Wired Playbook post is up, this time it focusses on my nutrition. It details my transition from nutrition not even appearing on my radar to my total focus on nutrition in my training.
My current nutrition plan is dictated by me financial situation, I am hoping to be able to afford some hypotonic hydration soon as that is what I am really struggling with. I sweat like mad so have to take on large amount of liquid for my body to keep cool and function. Drinking this much liquid is proving tough!
You can check the post out here: WIred Playbook
University
I finally bit the bullet and confirmed my place at Sheffield University. I followed this up with a quick visit with the disability department to discuss my needs and assistance I may require.
After discussing my needs and being reassured assistance would be put into place we hit the same old problem: Books in a digital format. Of the 5-pre course books on the reading list only 2 are available digitally. This continues to frustrate me, as we all know books are created in digital formats. There isn’t someone sat at a typewriter creating a book that is then photocopied. It is obviously sent to the printers digitally. So why not just convert that and sell?
I know the answer, its stupid DRM. Publishers do not want to lose control of their books. So now I will be forced to purchase the paper books and pay for them to be converted, making a £20 book a £200 book.
Hospital: The good, The Bad
Today I headed to my local hospital, in order to apply for funding for university I need a form of evidence for my disability. So I needed a quick checkup and a written statement.
I arrived at the hospital on time, predictably they were running late. The eye clinic only has a waiting room once you are called in. So my wife and Grayson lined up down the corridor and waited for my name to be called. After a while my name was called and I was ushered into a room to take an eye test.
Me: Probably not much point in me doing this, im blind, I wont be able to read the letters
Nurse: You have to do it.
Me: Ok……
Nurse: Did you drive here today?
Me: No I am blind, how could I drive a car?
Nurse: Ok, what letters can you see?
Me: I can’t I am blind.
This farce went on for a short while with numerous nurses, until they decided I was blind and there was no point in taking the tests. I was escorted out of the room and left in the middle of a corridor. After a short while I heard the jingling of my wife’s keys and we sat back down to wait. So far the experience had been what I have come to expect of the NHS, simply bad. With metrics focussed on patients per hour and not quality of care, and strict adherence to systems there is simply no hope for the nurses.
The confidence equation
My ability to run the miles I do is relates to the technologies I use. When those fail my confidence drops and I generally fail to run. Today was full of ups and downs in relation to my confidence.
After yesterday’s 21 miles I had a relatively easy 13 today. I had been tired all morning and was constantly yawning at college. Arriving home I quickly chugged a Lucozade, fed my son and myself and headed out.
I started the run slightly achey but my legs soon warmed up. After running for a while I was sure I was at a hydration point but I hadn’t received an audio cue. I continued to run for another half mile before manually pressing for an update. No audio, great.
I fiddled with my phone but couldn’t get any audio at all. I decided to restate RunKeeper, hydrate and continue. The run began with audio cues intact, that lasted a whole 6 minutes. I was at an easy part of my route so decided to continue sans cues.
Runkeeper, Wired, The Daily and More
My current ambition to run the Cotswolds 100 has gained support recently from a number of websites and a newspaper. After using RunKeeper for a number of months to aid with my running I finally decided to create a post detailing exactly how it assisted me. This created an explosion of interest in my little adventure.
RunKeeper featured my post on their own blog which put the wheels in motion for a number of other opportunities. I was first contacted by Wired who asked to feature my post and asked if I would create regular updates for their Wired Playbook, I jumped at the opportunity and have had three posts published so far.
One day later I received an e-mail from The Daily and ending up giving an interview, my first ever! I was incredibly excited to be featured in a newspaper and have printed out a copy as a memory sake.
Being featured on these websites has allowed people in the blind and running community to get in touch. This has been fantastic and I have enjoyed talking to everyone, so don’t be afraid to get in touch. I have added a Skype button in the sidebar so people can call me too.