blind

Up & Running To The Rescue

simon running , Comment

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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!

I am incredibly happy that such a big store was willing to take my request on board and really run with it. The response already has been fantastic, some people local to the run have got in touch and offered their services.

I am in awe of Up and Running, taking a customers request to this level is amazing. If you live in the UK and they are not your local supplier maybe its time for a change! they have stores nationwide so should be one local to you!

I have included the poster they created below and I cant wait to visit in store! Will be popping over to the Sheffield branch this weekend.

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A Pesky Cold

simon Life, running , Comment

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!

I am very annoyed, as I always am when ill. I just HATE being ill. I would much rather be out training, racking up some serious miles especially as the weather is fine.

It did make me think though. Two weeks before my run no one leaves or enters the house, I cannot catch a cold before the 100!!

Writing

simon running , 2 Comments

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!

Latest Wired Playbook Post

simon Uncategorized , Comment

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

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.

Hospital: The good, The Bad

simon Life Comment

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.

After another wait now over 90 minutes late I was called in to see the Dr.  This is where the service transitions to good.  The Dr seems to be able to break from these metrics and systems and treat the patient as an actual person.  He asked a few questions about family history and began his examination, he appeared to be asking some odd questions, but I thought nothing of it and continued to answer.

It turned out there was no record of me having Retinitis Pigmentosa in my notes and he was working up to breaking the news to me.  We had a short laugh and I explained I knew my diagnosis and simply needed proof to hand to the university and a few other paperwork based queries.  He seemed like a fantastic Dr and noted I had a cataract in one eye which may need surgery in the future, but nothing to really worry about.

Overall my experience was balanced out by the excellent personal skills of the Dr but let down by the nurses.  I don’t blame the individuals themselves just the systems lack of focus on the correct metrics.  Hopefully the next time I visit it will be an improved experience.

Runkeeper, Wired, The Daily and More

simon running , , 1 Comment

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.

Inov8 H8

simon running , 7 Comments

For Christmas my wife bought me an Inov8 rucksack with their H2Oriztonal hydration system.   The design is unique and a great idea to move the water lower to reduce movement and sloshing.  I have only just begun to use it and today was my third use.

After 2.5 miles it was time to take some water on board so I bit down on the valve and began to suck. Nothing.  I sucked harder. Nothing.  Equipment failures for me are pretty catastrophic; I have no idea what the point of failure is, just that it doesn’t work.  I can’t see if water is running up the tube or if the valve itself is broken.  Just as the rucksack was about to go sailing into the bushes I decided to call the cavalry,  I quickly told Sian what was wrong and we agreed to meet at collection point 3 to dump the bladder and go old school with bottles of water.

This meant changing my planned route, missing out on my hydration and nutrition timings and making a one-mile run to meet Sian.  Frustrated and angry I headed to collection point 3.  It turned out the valve was broken.  That setup cost me £60+ and it lasted 3 uses.  I will be sending a complaint email next week to Inov8.

With bottles of water on board I got back to the set route: running a few inclines.  By now my hydration and nutrition was shot and I was becoming frustrated, mistakes started creeping in and I fell down a ditch.  I still had 15 miles to go so I needed to get into a positive mind-set.  Just then Kanye West POWER! began playing which instantly perked me up followed by a runkeeper distance update.  Ahhhh 10 more minutes and I can crack out the Mr Kipling!

The next 10 miles went along swiftly, passing the half marathon mark the heavens opened.  This is the point I realise I forgot to pack my rain jacket.  I quickly gobbled a few Mr Kipling lemon slices and powered through.  The last mile was accompanied by the delights of Ray Charles and a Lucozade.

The bottles of water did prove somewhat of a distraction, as I constantly mistook the sloshing of the water bottles as footsteps.  So I desperately need a new hydration system.  So if anyone has any recommendations to one that can last and not flake after a few uses let me know!

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.