Sunday, October 20, 2013

Gone and done it...

Sponsor us here: http://www.justgiving.com/ImoPaulMyelomaHalf

Distance covered on Friday: 21.097km (13.109miles) (effing far) in me: 2hrs38mins02sec (not VG) and him: 2hrs14mins53 secs (VG).

Current temperature:  31C

Today's orange pic:


Us with our excellent band of supporters, some of whom got up early enough to see us start the race and wave a cute baby at us, some of whom found the 9km spot and waved an orange banner at us encouragingly and jumped up and down, and others who provided excellent photography services, and more still who went to fetch cans of coke and cake after the race. Thanks, you all rule.

Having done the race, I would like to dispel a myth about running long distance races, particularly in heat. And it was hot, some of our supporters said they found it a bit hot standing there clapping us through the finish, let alone running 20-odd km.



Myth. "Wow, it will be hard work, but it will feel so amazing when you have completed it."

Myth bust: We did not feel amazing.

Him indoors puked and I had to lie down on the grass for half an hour to prevent myself from puking. I still did not feel amazing after that, I felt sore and nauseous. I certainly did not feel, as some claim to on completing their first half marathon, that they decide on the spot that they want to to do a full marathon. In truth, I might think about doing it one day, but not for a while. When we got home from the run, we looked at each and said: "Thank goodness we're not doing a full marathon, because we'd still be effin' well running now, probably with at least a half an hour still to go."


Two and a half days on, I am pleased that we did it, and quite determined to do a better time when we do the Dubai Creek Half in December, but my, it was a tough ole race. It was the first half marathon I've ever done, yes, but I had hoped to get round in a slightly quicker time, preferably in under two and a half hours, and I had dared to hope as the day approached that it might be closer to 2hrs 15. Sadly, it was not to be, I suspect I was slightly ill-prepared for the actual day as I felt nervous and a bit under the weather the day before and did not sleep well . And, I think I hit what is known as "the wall" at about km 18, which is shown by my split timings. I was at the half way mark by 1hr 6mins but it all went down hill from there. My fastest mile was my first - at an average speed of 6mph, whereas towards the end it got down to 3.7 when my legs were pretty much destroyed and I had to walk quite a bit. I think the key is that a comfortable distance for me now is about 15km, after that, it all starts to get a bit unnecessary. And despite everyone telling me not to start too fast, I obviously did just that. I honestly didn't feel like I was but I guess I was carried along by the enthusiasm of all the other runners.



I was placed 108 out of 122 women and him indoors was 267 out of 359 men. As you can see from those numbers, it is quite a small event, probably because there are not many nutcases willing to put in the necessary training through the summer.

Highlights for me were:

1. Our excellent supporters, whom I barely acknowledged coming towards the finish because I was so destroyed, and I pretty much grunted at for about half an hour after the race before getting up, insisting they be in a photograph then limping pathetically towards the car. Sorry about that, guys. I really did appreciate you being there, even if I nibbled just one bite out of the pastry you brought to me before lying down with my eyes closed again.


2. The point in the race where the podcast I was listening to finished, and I experienced a high as it coincided with the point at which I swallowed a Gu gel, and, Empire State of Mind came up on my half marathon playlist. At that point, I was screeching "New Yooooooooooooork, Concrete jungle where dreams are made, oh, there's nothing you can't do," and a Scottish bloke, who went on to beat me, the bugger, passed me at this point and said: "Like the singing, good going."


3. Being home, showered, eating toast and watching 30 Rock in bed.


I have just about regained my sense of humour about it now but there was a period of time yesterday when I was still feeling pretty grotty despite getting nowhere near the time I had hoped for, that it all felt a bit "what the hell was I thinking?". One of my chief running advisers will tell me off because I haven't been for my "recovery run", I've only been stretching my poor little legs in the pool, but I think it will be a few more days before I feel like putting on the trainers again. Still, with a total raised so far of 1451.73GBP raised, it has all been worth it.

Here is that link again just in case you've forgotten to sponsor us: http://www.justgiving.com/ImoPaulMyelomaHalf 



Thursday, October 17, 2013

It's all in front of us now...

Sponsor us here! http://www.justgiving.com/ImoPaulMyelomaHalf

Distance covered this week: 9.66km

Distance to cover tomorrow 21.09km or 13 miles (oh pants).

Current temperature: 30C. Humph, not as cool as I would like...


Just a quick blog today to say thanks for everyone who has sponsored us. It means a huge amount to me, him indoors, and me Ma, who has demonstrated some serious guts in the way she's dealt with her Myeloma.

Your support really has kept us going through the training. I can't quite believe that race day is tomorrow. If you fancy waving us through the finish, I reckon him indoors will finish between 7.45am and 8am, cos he's quite good at this running lark, while I hope to be done by 8.30am, but would like to get in at 8.15am, at Emirates Golf Club. If that's all a bit early, come to the pub with us for burgers and beer! We haven't had a drink for a whole week. Never let it be said that we're not taking this running business seriously....



Sunday, October 13, 2013

Non, Je ne regrette rien (not even le fondue)

Distance covered this week: 12.87km.

Distance covered on Friday 8.04km in a really quite feebly slow time.

Current Dubai temperature: A rather reasonable 30C.

This week's running training has been somewhat interesting as part of if was done in the Valee de Joux in Switzerland during a watch-related press trip. For those not in the know, the Valee is the rural home of many of Switzerland's best known watch companies including Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin.



I ran past some of the HQs before the sun was up as various high-powered corporate watch types commuted past me having got up way earlier than I did to make the journey from the cities of Geneva and Lausanne to their countryside offices. You may be wondering why the companies choose to have their head offices way out in what some of the Swiss call "the Siberia of Switzerland". The answer is: Tradition, as that is where they have always been. The origins of many Swiss watchmakers are that their ancestors were forced to remain indoors for the bitter winters having brought their herds of cows safely down from the mountains. Many started making watches as a hobby or as a second income. It turned out that they were pretty good at it and from the late 18th century onwards, many of the world's finest watches were made in the valley.

I got home from the trip at about 1am on Friday, and dragged myself out of bed six and a half hours later to go for the final long run before the half marathon which is on Friday, 18th October. It was not actually that long  a run - a mere five miles which sounds like a little walk in the park compared with the 10 and 11 mile efforts of previous weeks. The distances required tail right off at this stage so you don't wear yourself out. But, starting out on the run at 8am was a mistake. It is really quite staggering how a two-night trip away can get you completely out of the heat resistance habit. It even snowed while I was in Switzerland, that means a minimum 30C temperature difference, look:


Another factor was stuffing myself with cheese fondue, Swiss chocolate, Swiss wine, and that delicious meat thing where you cook the steak on your own miniature grill at the restaurant table.

I sat there telling myself that meat protein was vital for muscle repair and calcium from the chocolate and cheese for strong bones, and, it would be rude to refuse the wine as I was a guest. But alas, dragging my bloated liquid cheese-filled self around two and a half laps of our usual Downtown circuit on Friday morning was not pleasant. There was walking, there was chocolate, cheese and wine-related regret, there was trying out the Gu running food for rehydration purposes. This was mint chocolate, but tasted like sweetened baby poo compared with the high quality grass-fed Swiss moo-cow produced milk choccie I had been happily hurling into my gaping maw in Switzerland. The upshot is I'm now asking, how the hell was am I going to get round 13 miles if I can't even manage five properly? Alack, alack. What have I done?

Still, as a certain francophone songstress once said, in actual fact: "Non, je ne regrette rien", because OK, maybe not so much the wine, but definitely the chocolate and the fondue were BLOODY DELICIOUS. I am not an athlete, I never have been; I was literally the last to be picked for every sports team in every single sporting activity that took place in my entire school history. I am not the kind of person to sit in front of someone who has carefully organised a press trip on which one gets the opportunity to sample local delicacies and say: "No thanks, salad please, and can you mix this protein shake up for me?" No. That person is not moi, because, as the french-speaking Swiss would would say, that person is "un peu d'une wankerre".

So, come Friday, I would like to get around in two hours 30mins, but, I am resolved to be OK about it if I don't, as long as I get round before the three hour cutoff point when they start closing down the course! Even if 34-year-old creaky-kneed over-sized illuminous orange vest sporting me only hobbles across the finish line at 2hrs59 mins 59 secs, she'll still be fairly unrecognisable in comparison with the Victoria plum t-shirt wearing five-year-old me who thought the best policy for catching a rounders ball was closing her eyes, sticking her hands out and muttering the Lord's prayer under her breath.

This has always been about raising dosh for charity and was never about killing myself or setting half marathon records, which is probably a good thing as anyone who has ever done one will tell you, 2hrs 30 is not exactly elite. Luckily for me, one of the many great things about my Mum, who this run is for, is that she used to tell me when I was in my particularly gawky uncoordinated school teenage years that she thought that making pre and post-pubescent girls run around in a state of half-undress on freezing cold playing fields in the name of physical education was tantamount to child abuse, so I seriously doubt she will be expecting sporting greatness from  me.... I'm pretty sure she meant that and wasn't just trying to make me feel better when news reached her that my attempt at the school inter-house cross country competition had resulted in me running past spectators telling them they "better get out of the way.... RIGHT NOW" because projectile vomiting was imminent. My sister reminded me just now, with tears of laughter pouring down her cheeks, that a further humiliating factor of this particular cross country run attempt was that I was running in a "reserve vest", so all the pain, the lungs burning from the freezing rain and icy air and being covered in mud and of course, coming last, were all for nothing as my time would only have been recorded if one of the better runners had had to drop out. And, having seen my feeble athletic attempts, there is no way any of the better runners could possibly have thought they were worse off than me, so none of them dropped out. So it was literally completely pointless. It's a small wonder I did almost no physical exercise from the ages of 16 through to 28.

Anyhoo.

We'll see you on the other side. In the mean-time, take it away, Edith: (Another good one for the play list, particularly this week). And for nearly the last time, if you have not yet sponsored us yet and wish to do so, please click here.








Saturday, October 5, 2013

Sweat, sweat and sweat


Distance covered yesterday: 17.33km

Distance covered this week: 28.77km

Current temperature: 37.5C

Today's orange pic: Training plan with the days until the race marked off in orange.


There is no point moving to Dubai if you're not prepared to live with the fact that it's sweaty old place for up to six months of the year, but, used to that as we may be, yesterday's run was probably a bit beyond the joke. We had been slightly lulled by last week's run into a false sense of security that cool times are here again, as, the weather at the start was relatively pleasant at the start, if admittedly horribly hot by the end of it.  This week, as soon as we stepped outside we found the air thick with misty, sweaty humidity and sure enough, about two or three km in to yesterday's effort, it became clear that it was going to be a tough one. We were meant to do 12 miles but we managed about a mile and quarter short of that, as, we're both starting to get the odd achey joint problem and the humidity was so awful that we practically had trench foot by the end because of the quantity of sweat in our shoes. You have not experienced real running in the heat until you have listened to sweat sloshing around in your trainers, felt your socks go squelchy and seen small puddles of the stuff seep right through to the outside of your shoes when you stop.

The fun part about yesterday's run was that it was around the Dubai Creek area, which we crossed once, through the pedestrian tunnel that I did not even know existed, and then on the way back, we all jumped on to an abra for a nice ride back across it:


Obviously I didn't have my camera with me, but if you can imagine the same but with 20 sweaty runners on it, then you get the idea. If the abra man had done the usual: "One hour boat tour, boss, 100dhs, I would have said 'yes please, one thousand times yes' as being out on the creek with a bit of a breeze was absolute heaven compared to plodding along in soppingly horrible steam room that was Dubai yesterday morning. It was over too soon unfortunately and it was shuffling dejectedly through the souk and then home.

I think we're experiencing a form of hysteria now that all of the long training runs are out of the way as we are considering taking part in the Dubai Creek Half Marathon, which takes place just under nine weeks from now. Once we are over the trauma of yesterday's sweat fest, and providing it does not sell out before then, we may do it, just for the experience of doing it without the appallingly horrible weather conditions.

Thanks once more for all your generous sponsorship. Those of you who haven't sponsored us yet and would like to, click here.















Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Camel milk goes mainstream

Living in a largely ex-pat culture, your eating habits don't change much, even though you're living in a so-called foreign culture, so, I don't eat dates or sup camel milk, even though the aforementioned milk was one of the first things I wanted to try when I moved here.

Camel milk is fairly widely available in the UAE, although I get the feeling it's still viewed as a novelty, a cute local thing to try, even though it is something that is produced here with relative ease. There is a camel dairy, Camelicious, which revealed it had become licensed to export to Europe earlier this year and a camel milk chocolate company Al Nassma which has become the go-to gift of choice to take to the folks back home for ex-pats and tourists. I've tried it and have to say I couldn't taste any difference in flavour in it from cow's milk chocolate. And as any chocolate that tastes like chocolate is absolutely fine by me, I declare it a success.

You can try camel cheese, meat and milk drinks at various cafes and restaurants in Dubai. I won't list them because such theme restaurants tend to come and go and my information may well be out of date, but there is also a suggestion that produce from the UAE's camels could soon end up in the USA. So far, so promising, particularly when you consider the fact that it is widely trumpeted by its producers that it is lower in fat than its bovine counterpart and may be tolerated by those who are lactose intolerant when it comes to cow's milk. Although, it's worth bearing in mind that camels produce a fraction of the quantity of milk that cows produce each day so it's likely to be far less economical.

Another sign that it could be about to start truly taking off, though, is this:


It's a Costa strawberry-flavoured camel milk cooler. I've been meaning to try it since I spotted it on the menu boards at the Dubai Mall Costa over the summer, but, I'm a coffee person and when I want coffee, I want coffee, not a sugary milk sop like ice cream effort. But, you know, I made the sacrifice for you, my dear readers and last week I ordered one instead of my usual extra large, extra sour skimmed milk cappuccino. It's ok, no need to thank me.

I read in The National that this is part of an experiment to see if there is sufficient demand to introduce the concept in Costas nationwide, and in certain outlets, you can now order your coffee with camel instead of cow. I tried camel milk in both tea and instant coffee when I first came here. There is something about it that does something very strange to tea, but coffee is just about a strong enough flavour to mean that it's not over-powered by the slightly gamey taste. Strangely, I remember the coffee tasting creamier even though camel milk is lower in fat.

With the Camel Milk Cooler, it is fairly hard to tell what you are drinking because it is a drink that someone a good 25 years younger than me would find a little bit too sweet and cloying. I'm not sure whether it is meant to be ice cream or milk shake, something in between, but, as you can see, it is filled with great dollops of strawberry syrup, and I suspect the milk may have been sweetened too. I did not try the cow's milk version as I had a stomach full to the brim with camel-based sugary goodness by the time I had finished it, but I can report that it was not unpleasant. Was there a tiny little after-taste of something a little bit gamey or camelly? Perhaps, but frankly, I was buzzing so much from all the sugar, it was pretty hard to tell.

Anyway, as I said, no need to thank me: "Dubai Sand Witch, trying things so you don't have to," since 2011.