Runs Writes Code

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...