Runs Writes Code

I was so ridiculously overexcited about getting my paws on this gadget of gadgets. I'm the kind of runner who loves nothing more than analysing her run to within an inch of its life. So far this has involved pace, elevation, distance, time and heart rate. I would look (in disappointed annoyance) at the declining pace as the ground tilted skywards and sigh. If only I could see why I was so bad at going up hills compared to my training buddies… Then came the Forerunner 620 and its running dynamics. Now I could analyse what I was actually doing when the ground stopped being conveniently flat. Unfortunately it looks like my running dynamics actually improve when I go uphill… The running dynamics measured by the Forerunner 620 include: Vertical oscillation: how much you go up and down Cadence: how many steps you take per minute Ground contact time: how long your foot is on the ground The watch also calculates your recovery time and VO2 max (and from that your predicted race ti

The Loch Ness Marathon is a medium-sized event following the roads to the south of the Loch into Inverness. Around 4,000 runners did the marathon this year, with a further 5,000 in the shorter events. The event village has a festival atmosphere complete with a mini 'expo'. It is picturesque and undulating. A great course to run steadily: when I ran it in 2008 in 4hrs 9 I loved it. This year, racing as part of Fife AC's marathon team I was to have a very different experience! Having had a three-week cold I had tapered too deeply. This might not be a problem for most people but it's not great for a runner with mastocytosis! On the morning of the race my skin flared red in the shower and I realised I had let too many mast cells build up. People with mastocytosis are advised to avoid exercise, especially intense exercise. However I have discovered (through sheer bloody mindedness) that regular training - in my case - reduced the excessive number of mast cells by d

The Great North Run has been in existence as long as the London Marathon. With 56,000 runners, the field outnumbers the marathon. Both though are truly iconic races in British distance running. This was to be my first GNR. My excitement was dulled slightly by the yellow weather warning decorating the Met Office page for Newcastle. Strong winds and heavy rain don't make for the most ideal running conditions. My mast cells don't react well to running in the cold either... The Saturday before though was beautiful and the Just Text Giving Fittest Fundraisers headed over to the pasta party where we met Spice Girl, Mel C. She looked super fit and was clearly going to run well. She was also really chatty and friendly. In fact, I've learnt over this weekend that celebrity runners generally are very nice. There really aren't that many unfriendly runners, celebrity or not. On race day morning Dan and I joined the stream of runners heading for the start on the dual carri

Ceres 8 is an eight-mile race with 545 feet of elevation. Most of the elevation comes in the first two miles... I hadn't run this before so asked Ron how to race it. He told me it was a tough one because you couldn't afford to overcook the first part but also couldn't afford to get left behind on the first climb. I think the bit about not getting left behind was me-specific. I'm not good at hills, at least not the going up part.  The weather was pretty much perfect for an evening race: 18℃, a light westerly wind and 64% humidity. Yes, my numbers obsession is getting worse. We had run 2 hrs 45 minutes on the Sunday and my Monday fartlek had been pretty sluggish (7.35 miles in 60 minutes) so I made sure to get in at least 1500 calories during the day. My morning 20 minutes was incredibly slow... The race started on the village green before heading out the back of Ceres and onto the long, long drag up to the two-mile point. Nicola Duncan disappeared ahead ve

The Fife AC midweek series includes five races with four to count. St Andrews 5K: a flat 5K on grass Strathkiness-Blebocraigs: an undulating, 4.5-mile trail race Hill of Tarvit: an undulating 5.5-mile mixed terrain race with a climb to the top of the Hill of Tarvit in the middle Newburgh: an undulating, 4.23-mile race overlooking the Tay. Balmullo Trail Race: a race over tracks to the top of Lucklaw Hill and back I wasn't yet well enough for the St Andrews 5K so needed to run the rest. Through the series I have been able to compare my times with 2011 (prior to 18 months of being too unwell to race). At Strathkiness I was 44 seconds slower, at the Hill of Tarvit I was 11 seconds faster, at Newburgh I was 69 seconds ahead of my 2011 self. So I was really keen to see what I could do at Balmullo. Balmullo was also the chance to secure first place in the series overall. I had to beat my nearest rival and finish in the top four to win. After 18 months off racing I had a heavy e

The last two (numbers two and three) of the Just Text Giving Fittest Fundraiser races could not have been more different. I took the train to Gateshead the day before and met up with Grant (JustTextGiving Fittest Fundraiser), his wife Helen and their friends Dave and Kate. I had to pick up my number on the day, which dawned cold and rainy. My warm up was perhaps a bit lacklustre and I got into the start pen a bit early. When we finally got going I set off too fast, not helped by the early descents. Hindsight is not a wonderful thing. Maybe these factors contributed to the mast cell degranulation, maybe they didn't. Anyway, my mast cells began degranulating and the familiar sense of dread overwhelmed me. I could feel my blood pressure dropping, my hands began to swell as the fluid began leaking from my blood. I was picked up by a man just before halfway - a friend for twenty minutes or so. He tried to encourage me to keep pace but I was beginning to get a bit disorientated. Th

I won't say the last few months have been easy... However I have been lucky to have people around me  who have thrown inspiration my way just by getting on and doing what they do. People who have 'excuses' not to exercise but who have taken responsibility for their own health and done it anyway. This is the first of a series of posts about those people. If you're looking for excuses not to exercise, look away now! If you're looking for inspiration I present you with my secret stash :) Becka in her own words: When you find yourself in a situation that impedes your health, be it a serious disease or a long-term medical condition, it is easy to succumb to the opinions of the general public. “Poor you”, “you should not do this”, "you cannot do that”, “Don’t travel there”, "Don’t eat that”. However, it is important to learn to listen to your own body (in combination with a sound, knowledgeable physician). I went through a double

5th June 2012: Diagnosed with mastocytosis and told that I would never run again. 5th June 2013: Race number four since diagnosis.  Photo by Peter M Bracegirdle Before the Hill of Tarvit I hadn't quite had the courage to push myself into the red zone before the final 800m. Pushing myself means mast cell degranulation. Mast cell degranulation means narrowing of the airways, itching (skin & eyes), leaky cells (swelling and lowered blood pressure) and stomach cramps. If there was a night to test myself it had to be a year to the day since the 'specialist' (not my current consultant) informed me that running would be dangerous and make my condition worse. I was extremely careful in the lead up, restricting all high histamine foods and keeping my fluid intake high. Two hours before the race I stopped eating (small snacks of slow release carbs all day!) and took only sips of water. This was a big change from previous races where I had given myself a sugar boost

Planes, trains and automobiles... 5 trains, 3 planes and a car ride Two weeks ago, on the train to Edinburgh airport (and then Switzerland), I got an email telling me I had won the Vodafone Just Text Giving Fittest Fundraiser competition. I was headed for Nyon to visit my sister Kate and then on to Javea to visit my parents and dog. On arrival in Nyon I changed my return flight to Manchester! I flew into Manchester (from Spain) on Saturday with a background buzz of adrenaline. I had cut short my trip to run the Manchester 10K on the Sunday. I should probably mention at this point that I travel about as well as a banana in a bag of bricks. Vodafone had booked us (Dan Bowsher, Grant Counsell and I) into the Malmaison Hotel, which turned out to be an inspired choice as they - without quibble - let us check out at 14:30 and thus not have to worry about packing in the morning or stinking out our respective trains in the afternoon. I met Dan, the Vodafone representative who is ru

There is in the worst of fortune the best of chances for a happy change - Euripides  Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Ταύροις It is so easy to curse one's lot, to only see the dark in the crueler twists of Fate. But the course of life flows like a river carrying its bobbing human cargo from one landing to the next. A bump along the way can send you spinning at odds with the direction you had plotted for your life. The detritus that struck me was Mastocytosis, a disease of the blood, the skin and, potentially, every other organ. In Mastocytosis exercise risks mast cell degranulation and patients are advised to avoid it. I've ignored this advice and completely changed my life to allow exercise back in. I've built a metaphorical raft and taken control as best I can and Fortune has responded by offering up an opportunity to show that Mastocytosis doesn't mean you cannot exercise, cannot get on with your life and - even more importantly - this opportunity gives me the chance to raise funds

Some 20 months after I'd last pinned a number to my chest I decided to take the plunge once more. I've always liked the Fife AC midweek series and, having missed the first race (4 of 5 to count), it was now or never. I felt fatigued all day and wondered at the wisdom of my decision. I was still wondering if I was doing the right thing as I hoped from foot to foot in the Strathkinness village hall, chewing a stick of liquorice and watching the clock. I had a short jog and went through as much of the dynamic warm up as I could remember. At the start, out of habit, I looked around trying to figure out who the competition was. I'd been gone so long that there were too many new faces to judge. I knew Kirsty was on form and would beat me for sure, another four or five looked faster than me too. I lined up a couple of rows behind Kirsty. Then we were off, I set off too fast, in about third place, then slowed and was passed by half a dozen women. So, I thought, I'm not so

Last weekend I ran a stretch of the gem that is the Fife Coastal Path with Neil and it was so good I went back twice this weekend! Yesterday was meant to be Elie to Crail but a certain mini lop delayed my departure and I had to go straight to Anstruther to catch the hourly bus. That did though mean I had energy left for another adventure today. I drove to Crail and hung out with the snowbirds waiting for the 95 bus. I was the only one on the bus without a blue rinse and a backpack. I ran down to the path and took some pictures before deciding to stuff my jacket into my waist bag. It wasn't long before the buff and arm warmers were off too. I don't really like to stop once I'm running so my iPhone (camera) stayed stuffed in my pack until  the ruins of Newark Castle (near St Monans). The path rises and falls from coast to cliff again and again; opening out onto endless sea vistas and diving down to secluded coves The undulations of the