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University

simon Uncategorized , Comment

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.

I am trying not to let this get me down and focussing on the course itself, I am looking forwarding to studying psychology at degree level and I am especially looking forward to the lectures.  Not so much the commute though, but it’s the price I am paying to continue my other pursuits.  There is always a trade off.

The confidence equation

simon Uncategorized 1 Comment

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.

After a few minutes a screeching noise came through my headphones. I had no idea what was happening and RunKeeper crashed. With my technology flaking out I rang my wife. She wouldn’t be able to collect me for an hour.

My confidence was shaken so I decided to take a little rest; eat a peanut butter sandwich and try to fix my phone. A quick restart seemed to return audio and I was back running.

I felt incredibly refreshed and the confidence was back. I ran the next 2-miles and my wife rang saying she had left early and was on her way. I quickly returned to collection point 2 and ended the run early.

My ability to run solo is intrinsically linked to technology thus creating the confidence equation. When it works it runs high when technology fails it hits a low. It’s the price I pay for solo training.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I Have a Plan B

simon Uncategorized , , 6 Comments

A few weeks ago I did a little post about needing a plan B.  With my first choice university turning me down I was forced into the uncomfortable prospect of moving house.  Not only would I have to uproot my family and move to a far more expensive city I would lose my running route.

Well I have now found a plan B: turns out it was plan A after all.  Sheffield University sent me an email announcing they had made a terrible mistake, they meant to offer me a place after all!  I was incredibly shocked to receive an e-mail from Sheffield as I thought to myself “pffff kicking me while I’m down, rubbing it in that they don’t want me”.  Only to discover it was a mistake, I quickly rang the admissions department to confirm I was still interested.

So riding on a high from that e-mail I received another e-mail this time from Wired Playbook.  Would I like to be a guest blogger? Yeah I would!  Life is certainly being kind to me these past few days.

I have also spent the day convincing myself biscuits are the ideal carb loader in preparation for tomorrows run.

Distance

simon Uncategorized Comment

A thought just popped in my head which I felt deserved a little post.

In life most things come down to perception; when I started running I perceived 5 miles to be a great distance. Hitting 5 miles on the treadmill would of been a day to remember. The maximum distance I would run used to be 3 miles. That 3 miles I now perceive as a sprint with a 5 mile distance now a short run.

I have no idea when this change in perception occurred. But it had me thinking what do I now consider a long run, 15 miles? And if so, by the end of the year will this be a short run?

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Elm Close,,United Kingdom

Plan B

simon Uncategorized , , Comment

It is always a good idea to have a plan B.  The past few months seem to have taken the opportunity to drive this point home.

My initial plan to run the Cotswolds 100 has been put into jeopardy due to a knee injury.  I injured my knee in November and thanks to my stubbornness I ignored my own body and continued to push hard.  I am now nearly 2 months behind in my training.  I now however have moved onto plan B, rather than not run at all I plan to utilise a larger run walk split.  I will now walk the majority of the night section to reduce the running miles to the 70 mark, this should allow me to rapidly catch up on the training and still achieve the goal of a sub 24 hour 100 miler.

My other plan B is going to have a large impact on my entire family and me.  I had planned to attend a local university to obtain my BSc in psychology.  Unfortunately I received an unsuccessful through the UCAS system so will not be attending.  This is forcing two other possible options, one will involve a total relocation the other a sizable commute.  With mobility an issue the thought of the commute is causing great anxiety but will be something easily conquered after a few practice runs.  Moving will prove the most problematic, with finances strained we cannot live in a comparative area to what we do now.  We will be forced to live in a smaller house and live in (I will put this a nice way) a less affluent area.  This move also imposes another issue for me, no more running.  I will lose my beloved paved paradise and due to size restrictions in the housing will not have room for a treadmill.  This doesn’t leave me with many options at this point, persuade the wife to put a treadmill in the living room (unlikely) or utilise a nearby gym.  The lack of freedom from running will be a hard blow but I need to remember the rewards of the BSc and a new career path far outway the negatives.

In the end I WILL HAVE to find a way to run, just not sure what plan B is quite yet……

 

Santander and Blind customers

simon Uncategorized Comment
Below is my complaint to Santander.  There was of course a few raised voices in the call.
Tonight I made a call to your telephone banking system to arrange for a transfer of funds to another individuals account.  During the security question portion of the call I was asked to read the number from the back of the card as well as my expiry date.  Being blind I told the operator to hold as I cant read the numbers, I then asked my wife what they said.  I was then able to inform the operator of the numbers,
I was told I had now failed the security process as a 3rd party was involved in the call.  This treatment of a blind user who relayed the information HIMSELF not by a third party is disgusting.  I became furious with the operator and demanded to talk to a manager.  I was told a manager did not exist but the complaints department would act as the direct report in this matter.
However to add insult to injury the complaints department also refused to deal with me due to my disability, they felt a more fitting process would be for a blind individual who has issues with mobility to travel to a branch to complain.
So apparently the official stance of Santander is:
1. Refuse to deal with blind customers on the phone
2. Force blind customers to use the branch
I was informed by the operator I could utilise another service but this begs the question why should I? I abided by YOUR rules I provided the information MYSELF.  But apparently having someone read information to ME, NOT the operator breaches the 3rd party rule.
So I leave this complaint with a question.
Explain to me why I should bank with Santander? (and please answer the question within the context of my experience)

A Memorable Week

simon Uncategorized , , , 3 Comments

The past week certainly lived upto expectations with the arrival of our baby son.

On the 9th of September around 8pm we headed to our local hospital for a quick checkup. We assumed we would be heading back home shortly after, turned out we were wrong.

Sian was actually in labour so we were checked in and prepared for a long wait. Wrong again! the labour turned out to be incredibly quick and a short time later in the early hours of the 10th of September Grayson Paul Wheatcroft was born.

Sian did fantastic through labour achieving a natural birth. With the new family tired we stayed the night on another ward and headed home the next day.

Since Grayson arrived home time has flown by, its still hard to believe we have a little baby.

So as well as many posts about running I am sure I will slip a few in about being a father too.

grayson.tiff

Twitter Updates for 2009-07-19

simon Uncategorized Comment
  • 2h 51m 42s travel time and sat in the departure lounge in MAN #
  • 4h 20m 12s boarding begins #
  • 5h 22m 38s somewhere over the uk and I spill my orange juice all over my lap! #
  • 6h 5m 09s arrive LHR T5 must find pringles #
  • 7h I have the pringles, at the gate waiting to board #
  • @Mechasquid trying to keep it real gonna offline tweet in the air! #
  • 7h 49m 47s on board ready to goto SFO. seat is a bit weak though trapped in middle!! #
  • ahhhhhhh wifi access at the hotel. Now i need it working on the iPhone so all my tweets can update! #

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