The Virtual Runner Running Blog

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while.  I may have lost both my readers now!

I’ve still been running; however, there was a couple of weeks after the laser eye surgery where I didn’t really do anything except get fatter and allow my eyes to heal.  I started running as soon as I possibly could so I could keep the weight maintained.

What’s been happening:

Mortimer 10k – I thought that I’d do the Mortimer 10k today because it is pretty local and also because I haven’t done many 10k runs this summer (even though I intended to).  My wife was kind enough to push me along and make sure I did it as well.

It is a great race and put on by my running club (Reading Roadrunners).  They put on a bit of a Fair and there are things for the kids and stalls selling things as well.  It’s a great day really.

The race only costs £7.00 (on the day) and is a pretty gruelling 10k.  There are some short steep hills and from about 6km to 9km it is all uphill!  What a crazy and painful race.  There was some walking going on today by me!  I pushed myself on the hills as best as I could but there was no way I could run them all.

I think my race time was okay considering the hills, however I didn’t really time myself and there was no chip timing at the event.  They’ll post the approximate finish times (someone at the end notes your number and the time on the clock) and I’ll know exactly what I did then.  All I know at this stage is that it was under 1 hour and I’m happy with that.

Weights – I’ve decided to start doing some weights again and increase the amount of exercise I do in a week.  Previously, I was running on Tue, Wed OR Thu, Fri & Sun (long run) which was about 4 times a week (sometimes 5 because I’d do Wed AND Thu).

Now I do something everyday except for Saturdays.  I don’t run everyday of course but I’ve started incorporating other exercise on my non-running days. 

Eyes – I’m getting more and more used to having my new glasses-free eyes.  I know I’m getting used to it because I forget that I’m not wearing glasses!  In fact, it was nice to go running today at the Mortimer 10k and not be wearing any glasses.

I’m looking forward to going back to running club over the coming autumn and winter months and not having to run blindly because of steamed up or wet glasses! In fact, me and my mate Tony tried to go to running club this last Wed but the track was not opened.  The running club was running around the park instead.  Tony and I opted to do our own thing instead and did about 5 miles easy around the park.  The sign that was up at the venue said that the track would be open on 05 October 2009 so we’ll be able to go back to track sessions after that.

NFL UK – I found out that the Patriots are playing the Buccaneers at Wembley stadium on 25 October 2009 so me and my mate Tony are going!  It’s going to be great and I’m really looking forward to it.  I’ve never been to an NFL game before and it’s cool to be able to go to a regular season game without having to travel all the way to america!

Running & marathons – I’m still running but with a bit more focus on what I’m doing.  I’m conscious of the fact that my long runs need to be at a bit slower pace in order to cover 26.2 miles next April!  I’ll work out proper paces etc in a few more weeks when I really concentrate properly on training for the marathon.  Plus, I’m also hoping to purchase a Garmin Forerunner 405 in order to aid me in my training!

My Son – He is growing up way too fast and will be three next month!  He’s so cute and funny and a lovely little boy (when he’s not naughty).

I’ll try not to neglect my blog so much going forward.  I’m happy to report that I’ve been reading a lot of other running blogs though!  All of the running blogs listed in my “Best Running Blogs”.

Take care everyone!

marathon training, my son, my wife, race or event, running club

It’s the day after my laser eye surgery and I’m very happy with the results so far and it hasn’t even been 24 hours (not for 30 mins) since I had the treatment.

I know quite a few people that have had the treatment and I’ve read a lot about it online to make sure I was prepared for the day.  I was comforted by the fact that most people said the treatment was easy and straightforward and how you were in-and-out in no time at all.  Maybe I’m a bit wimpier than most people.

The actual treatment was simple and pain free, however the “intralase” (creating the flap) was quite traumatic and painful in parts.  The doctor had to keep telling me to breathe normally because I was holding my breath (scared and the pain). 

They put eye-drops in to numb the eye and then they insert a clamp to hold the eye open and prevent blinking.  Then they insert a ring around they eye and the doctor says “you’ll feel a bit of pressure against the eye”.  Translation:  It will feel like I’m pushing your eye through the back of your head.  Then they lower the intralase equipment on to your eye and again you feel like it’s crushing your eyeball.  It only lasts about a minute per eye but I found it quite traumatic.

Once that is done the doctor opens the flaps and the treatment begins.  The doctors tells you how long it will take for the treatment to take place (in seconds) and that you’ll hear a ticking noise and smell some burning (your eye burning).  My treatment only took about 41 secs for one eye and 38 for the other and about 15 secs extra for each eye for the Wavefront.

After the treatment (less than 10 mins) I had some protective shields taped over my eyes and I was taken to a dark room to sit for 20 mins.  The nurse comes in and goes through the after treatment care and I had my wife with me at that point to make sure she was taking it all in because my memory is useless and I had other things on my mind at that point! 

You see the doctor quickly again at that point and they make you read the eye chart and you should be able to read the top line at that point (which I did).

Today at 10:30 I had my follow-up appointment with another eye doctor to check the flaps that were created on my cornea and to see how my sight was progressing.  He said that my flaps were great and that there was no inflammation.  He asked me to read the eye chart with each eye and I had 20/16 with my left eye and 20/30 with my right eye.  20/30 is driving standard.

He said not to worry about the right eye at the moment because it is still early days.  He said to be patient because it takes about three months for the vision to settle completely.

As for how I can see now.  I can see quite a long ways and it really is amazing.  Yeah, it’s not perfect at the moment but it is only the first day and it was a surgical procedure.  I’m still amazed that I can look outside and see for a long ways with clarity.

I’ve got some eye drops to take every four hours for 7 days (anti-biotics) and some for 10 days (steroids) and some others for three months (tears).  I’ve got to wear some eye protection at night when I’m sleeping for 7 days to make sure I don’t rub my eyes in my sleep.  I’m not supposed to run for two weeks either!  Two weeks!  They said that is the minimum so I’ll leave it at that.  I’m going back for another appointment on 17th September so I’ll ask then if it is okay to run again.

My initial verdict (as I haven’t fully healed yet) is that it is definitely worth the money and I would recommend it to anyone with glasses.

about me, my wife, non running

Quarr Cottage

Some time ago we decided we were going to go away for the August Bank Holiday weekend and get away from Reading.  I went to the Reading Festival last year, but frankly I don’t like the bands that play Reading much anymore and also I could do without a day of binge drinking.  I’m aware that I could go and not drink, however the festival would be even more boring; so why go at all?

Besides, I don’t really drink anymore.  The last time I drank was the Reading Festival 2008!

Because we wanted to get away we booked a cottage through Cottages 4 You.  The cottage is called Quarr Cottage and is in North Chideock near Bridport, Dorset.

We had a great weekend (photos can be seen here) and my son loved the beach.  The last time we took him to a beach was before he was walking and he didn’t like it.  He wouldn’t sit on the sand becuase he didn’t like how it felt and he was scared to death of the waves.  Poor little fella.

Quarr Cottage

Before this trip, my son kept talking about our holiday and the sea.  He was very excited about going and it was cute.  When he did finally get to the beach on the Friday he was really curious and interested in it.  It wasn’t long before he was going right in the water and would’ve gone in up to his neck had we not told him to stop.

We went straight to Weymouth in Dorset first before heading to Quarr Cottage because we couldn’t check-in until 3pm.  So we wandered around Weymouth for a bit before setting off to Chideock.

The cottage was okay as far as old cottages go.  It was tidy but not necessarily “clean” because there were spider webs and mold in the bathroom on the wall.  You could also tell that they allowed people with dogs to stay there because of the “odour” lingering.  It seemed to us that the owners (who lived next door) did the bare minimum to just keep the place going for people renting it.  We certainly wouldn’t pay the money to rent it again, however it was a lovely little village and a great location/base for our holiday.  Don’t get me wrong, although the cottage had it’s failings, we still loved our weekend holiday and had a fantastic time.

Fossil Hunting - Charmouth

During the course of the weekend we went to Weymouth beach and sat around while my son played in the water and the sand.  We had fish & chips (you gotta do that when near the coast) and had a great time.  We went to Charmouth which is supposed to be the gateway to the Jurassic Coast.  We paid £3 and hired a hammer and goggles to go along the beach and find fossils.  The signs, leaflets and general advertising for the area made it seem like the beach between Charmouth and Lyme Regis was teeming with fossils; we never found one.  After a couple of hours on the beach it was clear that it was very over-hyped and a little bit of a lie.  The biggest giveaway was the fossil shop that sold (you guessed it) fossils.  They never had any fossils for sale from that area at all in the whole shop.  All of the fossils were from places like Madagascar (miles and miles from the UK) and from other parts of the UK.  What a load of crap.  I had to have something in the end so I bought a Ammonite fossile from Madagascar that is 165 million years old.  The reason I bought the one from Madagascar is because (to me) it is more memorable and funny.  I mean, we went to Charmouth to find our own fossils and bought one from Madagascar.  Ridiculous.  Our Ammonite is now on display in the sitting room and when people ask I’ll tell them about the disappointment called Charmouth and the Gateway to the Jurrasic Coast.

Dinosaur Museum - Dorchester

We also visited Portland and spend quite a bit of time in Lyme Regis.  I really liked Lyme Regis.  We wandered around the village and hung around on the beach.  We also partook in a bit of gambling in one of the amusement arcades.  Great fun and I highly recommend a visit to Lyme Regis for anyone heading down to the coast or coming this way (to the UK) for a visit.

The weather during the weekend was pretty good except for Sunday when it was very cloudy, foggy and a bit drizzly.  Even so, we still had a great day and went to the Dinosaur museum in Dorchester as well as the Tutankhamun exhibit (disappointing).  My son really liked the dinosaurs and I’m sure he thought they were going to come alive at any time. 

Whilst we were in the dinosaur museum I was reading things and trying to learn (hard for me to do).  I came upon a write-up about how the first dinosaur remains found were initially believed (because of an error – a big one) to be the scrotum of a giant man!  The scrotum!  Jeez, he must have wondered how it was so well preserved. 

That’s it (or all I’m going to say) for our weekend.  All in all it was a great time and very tiring for me and my wife.  My son was great and did a lot of walking and daddy (me) did a lot of carrying of said son on his shoulders.

holidays, my son, my wife, non running

I was going to do one long post but I thought I would break them up with their own individual titles.  Why?  Because I can.  I’ll probably write another about our weekend away down to Lyme Regis.

Today is the day I head into Reading for my eye laser surgery at Optimax.  My 1st appointment is at 3pm and they’ll take the measurements etc I’m assuming.  They said they’ll give me my actual treatment time then and it could be anytime from 3pm until around 6pm which means me and my wife may need to wander around town for a bit while we wait.  I don’t mind.

I’m getting quite nervous and excited now.  I mean, I’ve had glasses since I was about 13 years old and I don’t actually remember life without them.  Having glasses was horrible when I was younger and I was very self conscious about them.  Glasses were not the best thing to have when I was younger either because other kids made fun of people with glasses.  There was definitely a lot of negativity towards glasses and I think that this sticks with someone.  I mean, how can glassess be just as good as not wearing any? 

I remember my mum getting me a pair of clip-on sunglasses when I was younger so I would feel like a fit in better.  I also remember getting prescription sunglasses once.  They are just not the same.

I’m even more conscious of the fact that I’m wearing glasses now because of the impending surgery (usually you just forget they are on your face).  I notice the scratches on the lenses or how they hurt the sides of my head sometimes.  I notice how I have to clean them all the time or take them off for a bath or shower.

As far as running is concerned, I’m looking forward to them not being there and sliding down my sweaty face.  I’m also looking forward to being able to run in the rain or drizzle without having my sight restricted.  I also keep thinking about going to running club during the winter and how my glasses always fogged up whilst I ran (I give off loads of heat!).

I’m very thankful that my wife has been so supportive during all of this because it feels like a very big thing I’m doing.  I thought it would be easy-peasy (simple) but I am finding it a bit more stressful than I thought.

Overall I’m very excited and can hardly wait for it to be done!  My wife and I will head into Reading early this afternoon and “Zap, Zap, Zap” it will be done.

I’ll have to ask how it affects my running and when I can run again.  I’ll be sure to update you all (whether you’re interested or not) on the results and what it is like.  I’m sure it will be amazing.

my wife, non running, running club