Charity Page Up and Running and an interesting newspaper article

So, this is it, its time to start getting serious! Just thought I'd let you all know that the charity page is now fully set up after a few technical glitches! So, if you would like to sponsor my challenge this year, have a look at this website : http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NRAS100miles

I always planned with this years blog not only to talk about training, but to try and give a lot more information about the NRAS and what Rheumatoid Arthritis is really all about as I know from personal experience just how little people know about RA and how there is such misunderstanding about the illness. I'm hoping along with Simone, a few others that suffer or help those with RA may well at some point write a little bit for the blog to give their personal experiences (hint hint - you know who you are ;-)  )

In todays Daily Mirror, they have a very informative article about RA and the affects it can have on the lives of those that are affected. So, hopefully, without breaching any copyright laws(!) I thought I'd copy it into the blog so that everyone can have a read. Well, I will leave you to have a read, and I will head off for a 30 minute run! The thought alone - I have a feeling it could be a tough one tonight.

Rheumatoid Arthritis leaves one in three feeling depressed and lonely
Exclusive by Lachlan Mackinnon 24/01/2012

SEVEN out of 10 people with rheumatoid arthritis avoid parties because they are in too much pain, research has shown.And two-thirds decline friends’ dinner invitations due to their condition, the poll on behalf of drugs firm Roche found.

One in three said the illness made them feel depressed and lonely.

Around 690,000 Brits suffer RA and half of affected adults stop working within a decade of diagnosis.

It is an incurable condition in which the body attacks itself - particularly the joints, meaning symptoms are much worse in winter.

Jo Lloyd Baker, 42, who lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, knows first-hand how challenging RA can be at this time of year.

She was first diagnosed in May 2008 when her children Henry and Elouise were only one and three years old respectively.

The reality of the physical limitation of RA was brought home to her during a cold snap shortly after her diagnosis.

She said: “I was in the car with the kids and my daughter was excited by the prospect of snow and asked me to help her make a snowman.

“With silent tears rolling down my cheeks, I suddenly realised that she may have well have asked me to climb Everest.

“I couldn’t imagine a time when I would have the energy or agility to build a snowman.”

Research has not established a clear link between joint pain and weather but many people with RA find their symptoms get worse when it is damp.

Jo said: “My survival strategy for the winter involves lots of early planning, online shopping and building downtime into your schedule.

“The kids still need to be outside at this time of year and rather than mention that I am having a bad day I will just suggest we do some
arts and crafts or my husband, Ewan, will take the kids out to burn off some energy.”

Aside from the physical restrictions, RA can also take a significant emotional toll and Jo can identify with the survey’s findings of a link between RA and depression.

Jo said: “I gave up my high powered city job to have the children and my experience with RA has prompted me to start training as a counselor.

“An RA diagnosis is devastating and while I welcomed the relief from the physical symptoms, I was shocked with how little emotional support was available.”

Jo turned to the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society - using their “online forum almost every day for reassurance and support”.

NRSA boss Ailsa Bosworth added: “The survey brings into focus the many challenges that people with RA can face during the winter period and beyond.

“The joint damage in RA often begins early in the disease, so it is critical to treat as early as possible and maintain treatment to reduce symptoms and stop irreversible damage before it occurs.

“With the right management there is no reason for 2012 not to be a happy new year for people with RA.”

NRAS can be contacted via their helpline on 0800 298 7650 and via email to helpline@nras.co.uk

Week 2 - and the first illness strikes

Well the second week started really well, and managed to acomplish something I've only ever done once before. Unfortunately due to illness the week ended early and I only ended up getting three runs in for the week - Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

It may have only been a cold but being asthmatic I wasnt going to take any risks so took it easy and missed my runs on Saturday and Sunday. Not ideal as it meant I was missing what should have been my longest run at 35 minutes and as a result my first 5k for the year.

Thursdays run was what really pleased me however. It was my second threshold run - if you look at the graphs you will see this is a blue then yellow run. Yellow is running, for me, very quickly and keeping that up for any period of time is really tough. So with ten minutes of yellow I knew I would be struggling and would waver in and out of the zone, however, on the day, felt really good and 10 minutes later not only did I succeed, I also managed for only the second time in 5 years of training for these charity events to do a minute under 10 minutes. For some, doing that is a doddle (Adrian, Dave, Dele, Jason, Laura, Tom and Jen who all took part in last years challenge for example) - for me - its a real achievement - and hopefully, over the coming weeks it will happen more and more often!!

So, here's the graphs from week 2:
Run 6 : Monday 9th Jan, 20 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=ccc52c59-aa40-4684-a51a-6d1ccb572884
Run 7 : Tuesday 10th Jan, 25 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=62272a24-882a-444e-92f4-29f88a71d5df
Run 8 : Thursday 12th Jan, 20 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=5593b0cb-ca28-4152-a3aa-2721a8e531eb

Week 1 and its all done for the week

Well, its the end of Week 1 of 2012, and I have to say - its not been a bad first week. Whether I'm able to keep it up, I've no idea, but lets hope so, as if I'm going to be successful in this challenge then I really do need to keep running, keep training, and hopefully some how manage to cope with 5 runs a week.

So, in this first week, I've had to get back to the day job, and got the training runs in in the evenings. As it was only the first week of training, the adidas micoach app (my training method) has been relatively kind to me. 5 runs, 4 of which were 20 minutes and one, todays Sunday long run being 30 minutes. I've managed to cover just over 9 miles, which isn't any sort of mileage really, but for me, it's a pleasing start and the most I've run in a week since the last half marathon back in early October.

So, I thought it might be worth me putting links to my training runs each week so that as and when people want to they can see how the training has gone and what the micoach is doing. So, here are the links for this weeks runs:

Run 1 : Monday 2nd Jan, 20 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=87a8d24a-d901-4847-ac6b-5ea8ce4bd474
Run 2 : Tuesday 3rd Jan, 20 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=92383cd7-23a5-4e05-9b34-b15714ed8818
Run 3 : Thursday 5th Jan, 20 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=483deb52-2eb7-441e-a8f0-aee226a2536d
Run 4 : Saturday 7th Jan, 20 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=72a87d09-6029-4dea-83b2-fc095ebbdf88
Run 5 : Sunday 8th Jan, 30 minutes http://www.adidas.com/com/micoach/WorkoutDetails.aspx?WID=c6d62def-428c-4a8f-ad87-9c5b2d0318cf

Happy New Year

Happy New Year guys.
Well - this is just a bit of an introductory post to say welcome, you've found the blog, so hopefully you now know what this site is all about. If not........


Over the past 4 years I've taken part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon to raise money for the NRAS (National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society). In 2010, with the assistance of a fantastic team, we turned the one half marathon into a Marathon in a Month challenge adding in the Great North Run 3 weeks before the Royal Parks Run in London.


To celebrate a 5th year of fundraising, and to celebrate that 2012 is the Olympic year, this years challenge is massive!! 100 miles of races for the NRAS. I've already got a few events arranged and overtime I will add all the details of the different races. Hopefully I will be able to get a few people to join me in a few of the races, also raising money for the NRAS on the way.


To be able to take part, stay fit, and successfully take part in 100 miles of races, I've set myself another couple of goals. They may sound completely stupid, but I think its the only way to be able to survive that number of races. So, in addition I also plan to run 500 miles in total (including the 100 of races) and, given I currently weigh over 16 and a half stone, I also am targeting to see if I can lose three stone in the year. This should help to keep me fit and also put me in the right place for what could be a very special challenge next year if I can stay fit and get a place - my first attempt at a marathon!


Thanks for reading, and hopefully over time you will keep in touch, maybe even join in a race or two, and learn a bit more about what the NRAS do along the way.