Forced break and change of blog topic for a few weeks

So I have been away, couldn’t face blogging for the last week.  Still been using the bike and still been getting up to and beyond 20k, even managed a 30k the other day… yay me!

So last Wednesday I go for a routine colonoscopy. They discover two polyps, both thankfully have been removed so their threat is gone, I do have to go back for a full examination as this one was incomplete, and they have said there is a high chance others will be lurking higher up.  One of these polyps is a baby, well actually it is classed as large but it paled in comparison to its older and very much larger bigger brother snuggled nearby!  unfortunately, neither were removed from the colon so I had to hunt for them post procedure (details of which I wont gross you out with but I honest to god thought I had missed this pleasure, my kids were more stickers up noses of things rather than swallowers!!)

The larger one was big and has caused some concern (awaiting histology reports on them both) because of the size of it, around 5cm and because of a family history (3 grandparents had colon cancer, and mother had polyps removed) of pre cancer and cancer, and because of symptoms. pfffft IBS she was told for all those years!  I did see the beast and it was very large and scary looking, but i am NOT a pathologist so I know nothing…..

Anyway, been told by hospital that there is a high chance the big bugger has changes in it, so I have been given the following information –

If no cancer in the stalk or mucosa then the problem has been dealt with and even if cancer is contained in the main body of the tumour then still classed as benign as threat has been removed fully – whoop I have a strong feeling this is the case!

If spread down the stalk then lymph nodes will be looked at and removed along with effected area of bowel – again not so bad! All will be dealt with and gone – Bye Bye cancer!

if metastatic spread is evident then the big guns, surgery, chemo etc etc – not something I am going to worry about at this point.

So anyway feeling a bit flat but not broken.

Wake up to this on facebook.

Now I know I am tetchy about this subject this morning, but having a past of working in the medical field, and having only been given the information this week, I found this offensive and scaremongering for no apparent reason.  Granted this person is not aware of my recent hospital trip, but this kind of misinformation makes me upset! So I informed them, this is posted by a group called cancer truth, but on the information I was given this isn’t truth!! Yes patients with colon cancer may receive chemo and radio BUT ONLY if they have metastatic disease along with it, the chemo and radio are not given to colon cancer patients to treat colon cancer! They are given to try to treat the mets found in liver, lungs or brain, the secondaries formed by lymphatic invasion SOMETIMES associated with colon cancer.  Funnily enough no reply from them, why do conspiracy theorist feel it is ok to offend or scare people with their opinion yet when their opinion is tackled by someone with recent evidence they remain quiet?!

Not conspiracy theory bashing in any way shape or form, but surely they would argue their case using something along the lines of “I am entitled to my opinion”…. YEP well I too am entitled to mine!

All in all I have learnt that it is very easy to offend people on a social media site, so I stand up and say “Iam so so proud my facebook is vanilla and beige!” I would so much prefer to see people supporting people with this kind of thing

Anyway another week or two until results are in, so I have decided to remain calm, look after my family and cycle as often as I can!

 

Another 20k personal victory!

Wahooooooooooooo! So I shall ignore the fact that today was actually a run day, which I totally bugged out of!  So I got on the bike again and I just pedaled.

The sweat was absolutely pouring off me, and wow it does sting as it gets in your eyes!

But I kept on trucking.  I managed to keep going before I knew it I had managed another 20K!!  There is no denying that most of the way through I was screaming internally

but I just kept on!  So I managed

 

• cycled 13.05 miles in 47m 55s on 12th Sep
• sweaty!
• 2 hours ago

3m 40s per mile

A personal best!!!

Can’t wait now to pick up the real bike and get out on the open roads, watch out world, but then again for comedic value make sure you are one behind me at traffic lights as I try stopping and balancing!

 

Go ME!!

 

Update on two days here as I forgot yesterday **slaps own wrist!*

So Wednesday was supposed to be a run day, but the fear and dread got the better of me. No amount of self psyching was going to work as I sat in the running gear for two hours stating “I will leave in a minute”.  So after two hours of procrastination I decided to hop on the bike, just a short one I thought, at least I would have done something right?

So I pop on the bike and switch on the TV, hmmm great British bake off, european cake week.  Now I am by no means cake weak or any such nonsense but gripped is not the word!! By the time Mary Berry & Paul Hollywood had eaten their own weight in calories and saturated fats and 50 odd minutes later this is what the bike told me….

I

• cycled 13.05 miles in 51m 56s on 10th Sep
• feels great !
• 1 day ago 
• 3m 58s per mile

 

Wahooo, now I am seriously hoping this isn’t a fluke and that I don’t actually need mary, paul and cake to accompany me on every ride!

So I decided that that would be my long ride for the week and yesterday I took to the bike for my short ride.  Wow my legs were killing me, It felt like I was wading through treacle at a really low resistance, but I managed to plod through, this time inspired by watching the valiant efforts of the Invictus games athletes!

 

• cycled 6.21 miles in 24m 4s on 11th Sep
• good!
• 15 hours ago

3m 52s per mile

So, today is a run day, and already I am out psyching myself *sigh*.  So here is hoping my trusty jedi mind tricks work this evening and I can update tomorrow with a minor running victory!

 

 

London Surrey 100

I mentioned yesterday that I had entered the ballot for the London Surrey 100.

I did this in a moment of madness! My best friend Kay posted a link on facebook and for some reason i blindly followed! It’s official I am a lemming!  I really have no idea why I did this, as I said before I don’t even own a bike, and can say in all honesty that the last time I even attempted to ride was at the age of 10 on my much loved raleigh shopper (opps I just dropped an age bomb!).  I have to say,  I quickly fell out with the much coveted shopper approximately 48 hours after saint nick delivered it following a mishap with a patch of black ice!

So why would I put myself through this?  It was good intention really when I read the post I quickly knew that I would love to do something which meant I could raise money for charity.  I have always wanted to do something which meant I could raise for the charity Breast Cancer Care.  This charity is very close to me for a number of reasons.

1. I lost both grandmothers to this disease
2. I spent time as a student nurse and learnt that this illness does not discriminate and effects the lives of many.
3. And finally my mother in law just had her first year all clear after a tough treatment and emotional year previously.

So that’s my intent, to be successful in the ballot, to train hard and to raise as much as I can for my chosen charity.

So onto training!

I kind of decided I can’t wing a 100 mile bike ride, and I don’t want to wait for the ballot result either.  This is announced in february and I feel that wouldn’t give me enough time.  Plus if I don’t make the ballot for this one I will have the training needed to enter another and still raise the money for the charity!

So I purchased an exercise bike (good old ebay!)

And I ordered my first bike!

It’s a Victoria Pendleton Initial road bike.. I know only entry level, but I am only entry level!

I decided to follow a training plan, probably very loosely, so I googled and came up with this

As I said I will follow this loosely! so week one I did half an hour for the short rides, actually I did 10k which came in at 26 mins! and I will use the plan as a guide to up myself over the coming weeks! Until hopefully I will be riding in this!

So Yesterday Was a Cycling Day!

So another goal was to cycle….

I feel it is important to point out I don’t physically own a bike at this point!  So why did I ballot for the London/Surrey 100 mile bike ride again?!  After the ballot was submitted it dawned on me this isn’t a leisurely trot to the shops, so off to ebay and grab myself an exercise bike!

Been training for a few weeks now and have decided i can’t wait to see if I am sucessful in the ballot (find out in february for the cycle next August I think).  I know if i waited i would procrastinate each and everyday after the “yes”.  So off i trot now!

Managed a few 5k rides in the first week of owning the exercise bike which I have to admit make me quite proud!

So this week i upped my game, 10k on sunday and 10K WHOOP go me!! I will admit to a couple of slow breaks in the sunday ride and one slow break in yesterdays! But still VERY proud of myself!

So Yesterdays result!

•  cycled 6.21 miles in 26m 13s on 9th Sep
• tough today
• 23 hours ago
  • 4m 13s per mile

So My Newest Goal!

So i decided that although i really don’t like it, running & cycling are going to be my exercise of choice.

Each run is dreaded, i feel fine on the treadmill and seem to be able to run like a child on one of those thing! I just step on do a 3 minute walk, the off i go! on the treadmill i can comfortably run 7 kilometres at quite a speedy pace, i also change things up by adding in days when i will do sprint intervals throughout the run. However, put me on an open road and everything falls apart! after a few minutes i feel like i have the legs of a new born giraffe and the lungs of darth vadars asthmatic daughter.  My lastest tactic is to out psych myself into believing I will be spending the evening on the sofa, so i don my PJ’s, grab a brew and head for the sofa. Around 5 minutes later i pop to the loo (not TMI it’s part of the mind game lol!) I then divert past the bathroom, into the bedroom and don running gear, allow myself no time to think about it and head for the door! As i grab the door handle i am still thinking brew & cake, but as i step outside i realise the mahooooosive mistake i am about to make!

 

So it may come as a surprise that i have set myself three goals regarding running,

1.  To run a 5K park run within the next few weeks

2. To apply for and take part in the Great Manchester Run next May (2015), This is a 10k run

3. To apply for the ballot for the Great North Run next year (2015). This is a half marathon.

(Actually in my case my mind still thinks this is TRUE!)

 

So here goes, this post starts the blogging my way to these goals

Yesterdays run was ok for me. I managed to do this

”

• ran 3.20 miles in 25m 57s on 8th Sep
• not a bad pace, included a .5m walk up a VERY steep hill
• 13 hours ago
  • 8m 6s per mile

Not a bad little run for me, Had to take inhaler a couple of times on the run and had to take a couple of walk sections, on this particular run course there will always be a walk section of appro half a mile, thanks to living in deepest, darkest West Yorks some of the hills are killers an i doubt this one will ever be defeated!

So hopefully i will be able to run this route in the next few weeks without the other walk breaks, once i can do this i will enter the park run (which has no killer hills, just beatable ones!)