Alcohol abstinence

In April 2010 I made a big decision to go T total. There were a couple of reasons for this...one being that I was drinking far to frequently, not necessarily drinking my self into a stupor but non the less a regular drinker having a drink of some sort most evenings. The other is that for years I have suffered from migraine with aura(visual disturbance). The morning I decided to stop drinking was a morning I awoke with a migraine which looked set to spoil an enjoyable camping weekend. That was it for me decision made.I knew I didn't have the personality to "do" moderate and knew the only way for me to succeed was to give up all together...so that's what I did.
I have always said my migraines were hormone related reinforced by the fact that during both my pregnancies I didn't get migraine ...but thinking about this now...whats the other thing you don't have whilst pregnant ?? made me think ! But still believing my migraines were hormone related and after reading as much information I could find I realised the complexity of the functions of the liver. One of the livers functions is controlling hormone levels, so with this in mind I felt that resting and improving the health of my liver would be a good thing for me to do. I have also read that dehydration is also a major cause...again something that can be improved by becoming a T totaller.
I am under no illusions that my migraines have totally disappeared, however since stopping drinking I havent had a single one...I was getting one a month ! So its been well worth doing for that reason alone. However being a T totaller has created issues of its own so my next post will cover that !
Its been nearly a year now and I haven't touched a drop and am no longer tempted to. I have adapted and it is now the norm for me. I feel mentally stronger and my running has improved as I get very little muscle fatigue. I also have much more energy, wake up feeling fab and its saves a load of money too. If I weighed up the pros and cons now, the pros would win hands down !

Alcohol free alternatives

I still like the actual taste of lager or ale and have tried many alcohol free alternatives. Ones you can drink in company, in a bar or at home with friends round. The following are in my opinion the best of the bunch so far

Bavaria
By far my favourite lager. They also do a wheat beer which is equally nice. Very inexpensive at £2.99 for 6 bottles/cans.

Becks Blue Price average £3 for 6
Becks blue is a lager and is very refreshing especially when freezing cold..hits the spot on a hot summers day !!

Bernard ale 99p per bottle available in Tesco...havent found it elsewhere yet.

Lee loves a cider and these are his two favourites
Sainsburys £1.09 a bottle
This says low alcohol at 0.5% still less that a shandy bass.

Westons cider...£1.20 a bottle from Morrisons.
A very tasty cider..tastes just like the real thing !

Entering into the world of clip on shoes !

Well I decided I needed to invest in a pair of clip on shoes, my feet keep bouncing out of my toe clips and my feet are so cold in my trainers.Also I have just entered my first sportive...the Cheshire cat 45 miler. I'm sure this set up will be beneficial and enhance my training.
Went to JE James today and got the best customer service I have ever had. The guy knew everything there was to know and spent ages with me going through all my various options, which shoes fit which cleats and which pedals... and on and on it went...so much choice. I tried on a few shoes and finally plumped for a pair of Shimano RO85. There were more cleat options with this shoe, with the other types I was limited to a much more expensive pedal/cleat. The pedals I went for are shimano M520 SPD. They are actually listed as mountain bike pedals but are aparently used just as much by road cyclists. They are fairly light too at 380g a pair, you can pay up to 4 times as much to gain just 50g (not of too much importance to me at this stage) One thing I really liked is that you can clip onto either side of the pedal which I thought would be useful, theres also lots of tension ajustment !
I was telling the guy in the shop how much I suffered from cold feet...he said wait there...and scurried off to fetch me something. He brought me a pair of socks that he swore by ..they are called seal skinz,(www.sealskinz.com)windproof and waterproof socks that he said he wouldn't go out without. I must admit they were very expensive but to me worth every penny if they do the trick...I will let you know !!

Follow up......

Pleased to say I have just had a trial run and they were fab(not tried the socks yet) pedalling felt much better and clipping on and off wasn't nearly as scary as expected.

About me 2010

I have always hated to run declaring that I couldnt do it, which to be fair, I couldnt. However spurred on by my Brother who seems to get stronger all the time, not only with running but also cycling and swimming, I think I am at last improving. I have been running on and off for a few years and after entering a 10k in Dronfield 2009 and getting a time or 1.06 I finally decided I was indeed rubbish and needed to train harder.
I have been running more regularly including plenty of hill work. I intend to start a little speed training incorporated into my normal runs. It all seems to be paying off after just finishing reasonably well in a 10k race in Chatsworth. To keep be motivated I have now entered the York 10k in Aug and the Robin Hood in October. Watch this space !
My goal is to complete a 10k...any 10k... with a sub 50 time...I wont stop pushing until I acheive this.

Bolsover 10k 23rd Jan 2011

Well.... race done ! Really enjoyable event starting and finishing in Bolsover castle. The course description was "a flat route" not strictly true there were a few long inclines but nothing too tough ! I missed my PB with a time of 52.16 by only 36 seconds but considering the York route which I obtained it on was a flat route then I'm really pleased with my time. Lee did exceptionally well too as with no running prep he finished unscathed in 59.26.
All in all a good race ! Great T shirts at the end too as shown on image :-)


Next event is Clumber Park duathlon on March 5th...need to get out on my bike !

New Year...New goals

Had a good 2010 training wise. Enjoyed the 10k's I entered many of which I aim to do again this year.
Race calender for 2011 is as follows

Jan 23rd Bolsover 10k (completed 52.16)
March 5th Clumber park duathlon sprint.
March 20th Dronfield 10k(would LOVE a PB but no chance lol)
March 27th Cheshire cat sportive 45 miles
April 3rd Derby 10k
May 1st Southwell tri sprint (scared !!)
May 22nd Chatsworth 10k
July 31st York 10k
Oct 16th Robin hood 10k

Need to get some serious swimming in and more on the bike . If poss would love to do an easyish sportife...if not a couple more trips to Jens in Macclesfield or out and about in the peaks...fun fun fun !

Next big focus is my first duathlon in March followed by the tradition of Dronfield 10k.

Looking forward to my first triathlon in May and hoping Lee and Sis Em enter too.