Just give me some candy before I go

The sun is out, Wimbledon is on the telly and graduation is this week at work - it must be the summer then!

Had my first appointment with my new physio today and i knew as soon as i set my eyes on him he'd be my saviour. Regular readers (all 5 of you!) will know about my dodgy knees. It's taken a while to get here and this was my appointment just coming through from the hospital since January! NHS... but, it's here and i left feeling really really positive that the pain might be better and *whispers, might even disappear in the future. Things are looking up indeed.

I'd been through the routine, 3 times in fact. "Put your shorts on....stand there... hhmmm..." after much looking and me walking up and down the corridor a few times he decides my feet do over-pronate but not that much. Only a little bit more than the average neutral foot.

"You have orthotics?"
"aye"
"any good?"
"nah no really, they don't fit in my trainers or walking boots and i only get the pain when i run or walk!"
"no they don't work for everyone"

After another look at my knees, a few stretches and holds on the table he pronounces... "I'm going to cure this problem for you..." cue the bright lights and a halo appearing above his head!!! :o) I could have actually hugged him!! I hope it works. He gave my legs a stretch, moved them in all directions and then said i have really really tight quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and IT bands. He done this almighty stretch that brought tears to my eyes but afterwards he said it made a big difference. So now i have even more stretches that I'm to do before my next appointment. To be honest i really haven't done the ones the other physio gave me to do for ages... oops! But, this time, it will be done. Every night. Religiously. Cos i am going to beat this pain, right where it hurts, and kick it into last year!!

This is good new as I have plans for this summer, big plans for more adventures and perhaps even some long distance running (that being quite a while off yet though). The fear of the pain has kinda stopped me from going all guns blazing into doing stuff but not for much longer. Holidays will soon be upon me and I cannot wait. First is a long weekend this weekend which was meant to be a trip to the Lakes but that fell through. Still have the days booked off though - result! Then it's my July holidays. Only one week booked at the minute but that will change. It culminates with a trip to London to see Roofus and Fernie. Cannot wait for that and yes I will be doing the tourist thing.

After that comes the dilemma... I still have 12 days holiday to use before the end of September. See I carried some over for the trek this year but didn't really need them as it fell on the Easter weekend and didn't have to use some days for that - another result! So... what am I to do with the 12 days of holiday?? I could book a cheap package deal holiday to some godforsaken place with pale British folk, football tops aplenty and white socks and sandals... eh no, I don't think so. I'll wait and see, I'll wing it, I'll try to be spontaneous and go with the flow, see what happens.

so... my 12 days - all suggestions will be greatly appreciated??

Ange xx

PS a long overdue musical udpate:
PAOLO NUTINI - 'nuff said.
In fact not 'nuff said, as I cannot stop playing that new album of his. Brrrrrilliant!!

"just give me some candy, after my hug" - gorgeous song.

"and the sun sets the scene, while the rain misses me, and all the time I'll be growing, growing up beside you" - just lovely...

Mission: Training

I've kinda slacked off from posts about training and stuff recently. Partly cos I couldn't be bothered and partly cos things have got in the way recently. To be totally honest I slacked off the gym too for a few weeks after returning from Nepal. Mainly due to the pain in my ribs and then that turned into me getting out of the habit of it too. I had a wee jaunt up to the hills at Tyndrum a few weeks ago and could tell that my fitness had dropped. Slacker! So i set about getting back into the habit of the gym at least 4 times in the week with my regular Wednesday night long walk. And that's what I've been doing.

I've even been running again, albeit interval running and my dodgy knees haven't been too bad. I just really need to stretch them out - A LOT - at the gym and when I return home. Today's session was the first time that I actually enjoyed the running and could have gone on but the twinges started. I know my limits. My body knows my limits and that's who I listen to when I'm exercising. Thankfully my physio appointment has finally come through from NHS so i hope to be able to get control of this niggling problem that is a right pain in the....

Maybe you're thinking what's she training for now? and the answer to that would be... Nothing in particular - yet!! Plans are afoot and I must make a decision. Or time will be lost. Deadlines will be missed. I will have gone astray...

Ange xx

It's the final countdown!...

... and now only just over 5 days till departure. Yikes!!

Had a wee leaving night last night in Stirling with a few friends which was great. A few couldn't make it but I'll see them at work during the week (get well soon Ian!). To those that did come along Thank You!, it means a lot. I'm really starting to dread saying goodbye to people (you'd think i'd never been away in my life) but somehow this just feels different. Can't really explain it. I was getting ready to go out last night and Ryan came upstairs chapping on the bedroom door. 'Ryan just come in for a wee 5 minutes' he said with his big doe eyes. 'No Angie's getting ready' i replied. I felt so bad saying it but he was going to stay at my auntie's house as his mummy was coming out for the night too. He waved goodbye and it set me off. I don't know what i will be like saying bye bye to him for real on Thursday. He still thinks I'm going up the Ochils for 2 weeks!! Wee scone.

Some more sponsorship money has been coming in during the week which is great so the total is now £3636.35 - fantastic amount. I can't say a huuuuuuge thank you enough to everyone!

Training is going well. Hills, work, gym, work, gym, work, looong walks again... you get the drift. This coming week i have to attend the hospital on Tuesday for my orthopeadic insoles. I can confirm it thas been a year since I first went to the Docs about my sore knees and he gave me ibuprofen!! I then proceeded to spend quite a bit of money on physio appointments until November and visited the Doc again (a different one this time) who referred me to the hospital. I am due to be getting physio on the NHS but that appointment hasn't come through yet since January!!! Amazing eh... So hopefully these insoles will take the strain off my knees and keep my feet, legs and hips aligned properly. Failing that i've packed lots of ibuprofen ha ha. No but seriously i think i will be fine. I'm not getting the pain as sore when walking in the hills which is great, stil can't run for a while but interval running seems tot be doing the trick too. I know my limits and when to stop.

My new camera was tested again this week whilst i was out walking. Took some sunest mode pictures whic hturned out pretty good so i think i'll have some amazing photos to show (or bore) you all with when i get back! Be prepared!!!

I like the greens in the first photo. Second photo is a distant shot of Wallace Monument and Stirling Castle and third picture is the sunset mode. Think they are ok.

I will update more during this final week and have a special posting to be revealed...

so for now take care, be safe
Ange xx

Training... or should that be raining?

It's been a while since I've provided any updates on my 'training' plan for the trek. So here goes. I've been trying to get out walking in the hills as much as I can (to find my hill legs I was told!) but it's not always possible. To be honest for the first month after Christmas I wasn't as focused as I could have been but over the past month I seem to have gotten a second wind and am blasting the training. Hitting the gym after work at least 4 times a week and even started tentatively running again last week. No big deal you might think but before I couldn't run longer than about 4 minutes without knee pain. Pacing myself was what was required so I've been doing intervals on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a time. Next is usually the cross-trainer, stepper machine and then some weights for the upper body. I'm trying to be good and follow the advice of the fitness officer and do my stretching afterwards. A must for my very tight IT bands and hamstrings!!! It seems to be going fine just now but I felt a little twinge in my left knee last night so tonight I went for a long walk.

It took me out through Bridge of Allan and up to Dunblane. The nights are getting lighter so I don't feel scared walking along the road. Anyway it goes like a fair with the traffic - non stop. I walked and walked for 2 hours and as I was going the sound of the cars, the noise of my waterproof trousers rubbing, my breathing... I fell into a rhythm. I kept at it for 2 hours non-stop only briefly stopping to cross the roads at strategic points. As I was walking the rain wasn't too bad - that small smirry rain that doesn't really bother you but gets you real wet. There wasn't much wind either on the outward leg of my journey but coming back in it was lashing my face. I thought to myself there's no-where I'd rather be! Getting out in the fresh air, rain hitting off my glasses wind blowing in my hair - good times. Simple.

As ever on these walks my mind races ten to the dozen and as I approached Dunblane I was suddenly hit with sadness. It was Wednesday 13th March 1996 when we received the terrible, shocking, numbing news that my wee cousin John had been killed at the primary school. Terrible terrible time it was for all concerned. He was only 5. Sadly I can remember it like it was last week but I also remember with much joy and fun his last words to me. We were having a laugh and he was running out our front door, I ran after him (it was the joke) and he shouted 'Angie, yer jist a big silly!' - cute. He ran away hee-hawing and laughing up the street as I pretended to run and catch him. I hope he's watching over me on this trek - gonna need some extra strength from somewhere.

So I made it back to the car at work in 2 hours. Not sure how many miles that was but it was a good wee walk. Must do more of these. *5 minutes later* Just checked a nice little tool on the web, mapmywalk.com and it confirmed I've walked 6.72 miles in 2 hours. Not too bad eh.

So that is the training for now. More hill days are required so if anyone out there reading this is looking for someone to take up the hills please let me know. I can provide a compass and sweeties, you must provide the map and expertise?? Offers?

I almost forgot about my little black book I've bought to take on the trek. No, not a 'little black book' in that way!! It's currently an empty notebook but my plan is to get some friends and family to write in it so I can look at it as some sort of encouragement at the end of a hard days trekking. I'm also gonna write record some of my own thoughts and feelings along the way, kind of like a diary and then I'll transfer it all to this blog afterwards. It's also got a secret pocket at the back so some photos are going in there. I'm quite a sentimental person really - in case you haven't noticed ha ha.

I'm off now, going to book my Edinburgh - Heathrow flight (eek!!!!!!) and then early to bed tonight. Busy day tomorrow. Might venture up to Fort William for the Mountain Festival. Still undecided at this point..... hhmmmm....

be safe out there
Ange xx

Music: Still loving Kings of Leon album 'Only by the night'. Great for the gym...

Training, Life, Andy Murray and ... Lance Armstrong

Hey everyone

Not written for a little while, although I'm not quite sure who I'm writing to as I don't even know if anyone actually reads this blog. (If you do, leave me a comment please!).

So the gym is going well. I'm getting back into the 'habit' of it but it's been quite hard and my legs were soooo tired this week but onwards and upwards. The gym for me is a place of strange occurrences. Let me explain. Where else would you see the sight of a young girl who has her designer velour tracksuit, full face make-up and 3 inch long, dangling diamante earrings!! Yeah i know, and there's me with my t-shirt and trackie bottoms on trying to look composed on the cross trainer, sweat running down my brow, iPod full-blast in ears suddenly catching myself and realising the guy on machine next to me may be hearing me breathing away heavily like i don't know what! I look around, take a swig of Highland Spring and try to maintain my breathing at a reasonable rate. Bad move since i have had blocked sinuses for a week. On the other hand you get the body builder types (as i like to call them) too. They waddle in with their pyjama style jogging bottoms on, the obligatory tattoo, tan and, more often than not, shaved (bald) head. Anyway, yeah the gym is a strange place.

But as my week started i was excited about the fact that Andy Murray was in the US Open final against Roger Federer and he even had a chance of winning!! Hey we seem to think we're unbeatable when we get to a final eh. Anyway i settled in with Radio 5 live on Monday night listening to the first set - oh dear! I'd forgotten how good Roger was since his form had ever so slightly dipped in the past few months. There was a bit of a fight back but alas after a good effort Murray never won.

But.... half way through there came BREAKING NEWS: Lance Armstrong has reinstated himself in a dope testing programme and will come out of retirement to race in the 2009 Tour de France. WOO and indeed HOO - big style!! One of my all time heroes will race again - fantastic news! This brightened up my week no end. Can't wait and since one of my regrets was not actually getting to see Le Tour 'live' when he raced before, here is my second opportunity. Those don't come along very often and i think i mentioned in an earlier blog posting I'm taking all opportunities that come my way. So anyone who's interested I'll be making my way by plane, train or automobile to Paris, France in July 2009 - wanna join me??

As ever, be safe

Word of the Day - LIVESTRONG

Ange xxoo