Sunday 6 December 2015

This is my track. 
My garden square. 
Gravel. 
I was running slowly. 
Found my music! 
Love the music and the combination of the rythm and the slow run cleared my head from stress.
I did a full hour.
Please God, may I get addicted to this-:)
Was visiualizing the marathon run and crowds and crossing the finishing line.
I so want this to happen.
Observation: right knee definetly still weaker and was acting out for the first 15 min. 


Bit of pain. Later was better.
But I need to do more weight lifting and using the push scooter - pushing myself away only with the right leg.



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Tuesday 1 December 2015


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How to shut me up

Today, Matt made me do 50kg press up's on each of the legs. Few reps. 
Before that, I was doing 40kg and was still managing to talk to him about a punch up that I havewitnessed in the Club, years ago.

He was just looking and listening and than he said: "Add 10kg more! You can still talk."
And that additional 10kg did shut me up, instantly!
When I told me husband about my session, he said: "I love that guy!"


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1 December 2015, Tursday : 08:30 am

Sitting and waiting for Matt to show up. Bit apprehensive today. My whole body seems to hurt. Not badly, just tired hurting. I am tired. This training and the holiday season is getting to me. I was in bed last night at 08:45pm!
Like a kid.
Every other day there seems to be something going on. I am exhausted from planning, organizing, scheduling, packing, decorating - and.....OK, Matt is standing before me.
Have to go!

The hardest session, so far. I was wobbly, I was so tired in the half time. But I feel
like I am getting stronger and better with every one!
The muscles have memory. They 'remember' that I just trained with Gordana for the power walk marathon and walked the whole 26 miles/42 km and finished it!

I just need to 'refresh' my muscles memory....
I pressed 50kg on each leg today - 10 reps. Difficult.
The session was annoying because someone in the Club was testing the fire alarm and getting it wrong, all the time...
Could give you a headache.
Now out in the street. Wet from sweat.
I cannot believe how well I feel after every session.
This is the first time I feel slightly out of breath.
Next session on Thursday, next week. In the meantime I need to go to the gym,
 
by myself.
The weather today feels like early Spring, not the 1st of December....
On the way to my training session, I passed a young woman running in summer gear, it is so warm.
Climate change and the biggest ever gathering of world leaders debating on this very topic in Patis!
Good luck and come up with some good solutions to save our beautiful Planet!


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Monday 30 November 2015

Met Matt

It was 07:30am in the morning and I was filling out the forms handed over to me at the Sports Clinic, when I heard this voice say: 'Hi Magdalena!'. 
I looked up and the only thing I saw was 'the muscles' and the only thing that I could say was: 'Oh god!'
That was my introduction to Matt, my marathon trainer. 
My first hour with him?
In one hour he packed: cycling, stretching, yoga, pilates, weight lifting and more cycling and more stretching. 
When I got up from the floor, there was a puddle of sweat left behind.
I looked in horror. Matt said: 'Don't worry, I'll take care of it'. 
For the next two days everything hurt, except the eyelashes. I could not walk up and down the stairs!

Friends were taking the mickey out of me, saying that for my next session he will bring an eyelash curler and take care of those as well!
I would not be surprised..... 
Matt was given a nickname - Bruce Lee Karate King. 
He has his body and an angelic smile. 
And is vicious with the training. No nonsense guy. 
 Second session was less painful and better, just as Matt predicted. I seemed to be doing the same exercises at much bigger speed. 
While flat on the floor, I asked him about what time he thinks I can finish running the marathon in.
His answer: 5,5 hours.
I thought that was a joke!
He thinks I am capable.... 
 My right leg is still 10% weaker than the left one. 
I had my ACL reconstruction in 2012 and the power walking marathon, this year in Spring, weakened it as well. 
Matt is working on my strength right now. 
No running. Just muscle tone.
He needs to turn me into Michelin woman before I start running.  
And.... I will supposedly run the marathon on my mental strength and muscle tone and endurance. Actually looking forward such an accomplishment. 
The more I think about it, the more this challenge is pulling me in. 
Third session with Matt, on Tuesday.

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Sunday 29 November 2015

True grit of Harry's heroine: War veteran who completed 1,000-mile trek with injured leg posts defiant pictures after having her limb amputated... and has been contacted daily by 'awestruck' Prince.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3337818/True-grit-Harry-s-heroine-War-veteran-completed-1-000-mile-trek-injured-leg-posts-defiant-pictures-having-limb-amputated-contacted-daily-awestruck-Prince.html

Sunday 15 November 2015

I FOUND MY RUNNING SHOES !

It's good to have Jaki in my life. Her brother is a fanatic marathon runner and Jaki knows a few things about that, because of her brother. She adviced me to go to the Asics store, on Oxford Street (next to Primark), as they have the Foot ID System in that store.
It works with a 3-D foot-scanning device equipped with 4 lasers and 8 cameras,which enables highly accurate foot measurements down to the millimetre, within seconds.
The system derives those foot measurements that are relevant for finding the right fit - and selects the right type of shoe for each runner.
The software is able to instantly visualise any deviations from average values or the 'model foot', and quickly identifies measurements that could be critical.
Because only if a shoe perfectly matches the foot, gait and other physical requirements will it take a runner really forward and make them - really happy!
And THAT is all I desired!

I hate going to Oxford Street.
I might not be your 'typical female' because I cannot stand shopping and being around shopping crowds.
Oxford Street, especially on a Saturday evening, is hellish, to say the least.
I also hate - diamonds. Diamonds are not my 'best friends'. People are.

The good news is that the Asics shop is almost on a corner, of Oxford Street, so you don't really need to fight the crazy shopping crowds to get there.
And it was also almost empty.... Thank goodness!

Even before I walked in, I saw the three booths through their tall , glass windows. They have this equipment on each of their landings.
The first thing I did, after walking in, was to ask an employee FOR THE BEST MARATHON RUNNING ADVISOR. I was instantly pointed to - XAVIER!
He is Spanish, looks Spanish, is tall and very, very professional in what he is doing.
But that, I found about, a bit later.
I instantly had good communication with him and every single question I asked, was answered.
I've never done this process before, so he had to guide me through it step, by step.
I had to take my socks off and stick each of my feet into a box like device, that made digital copies of my feet. Before I put each of my feet into that machine, Xavier had to apply first, tiny dot like stickers to certain spots on my feet. On each of their sides.
Great fun!
After having the digital pictures of my feet pronounced onto a big TV screen, Xavier then put me on a treadmill. This time I had to have my socks on and also special trainers, that were part of the measuring eqiupment.

He asked me what number of trainers I wear.
I vary between 39/40. I power walked the 2015 marathon in Nikes, size 40.
Zero blisters but I did get a black nail on my left foot toe.
Turns out, Xavier enlightened me, that I was power walking the marathon in shoes one size too small. Hence the black toe nail!
"Your feet expand by one size, trust me!".
OK, I have just learned one more important thing.

So on I hopped onto the treadmill and Xavier started it. He asked me 'what is my running speed ' and without even listening to my answer he set me up on 7.
I was a bit surprised, as at the beginning of this year, when I was starting my marathon training, I would warm up on the treadmill at the spped of 5,7.
BUT.... I quickly surprised myself how comfortable it felt running at the speed of 7!
Another discovery!

After a few moments of my running, Xavier stopped the machine and asked me to hop off. He showed me a film of my running. How I position my feet.
It was another eye opener! My left foot was wonky.
So he kind of had this look on his face: "I know which shoes you need!" and went down to the shop floor and returned witha few boxes.
The first trainers he took out, were black Asics with some colouring on the sides. And they 'did not speak to me' at all!
I put them on and they did not feel right.
But the second pair of trainers that he took out - were heavenly in every single detail.
I fell in love with them even before I put them on my feet!

But, they were a size 41....
I asked Xavier: "Why do they have to be one size bigger? Will they not make my feet look too big?".
His answer came with a smirk: "You want a black toe nail again, help yourself to a smaller number!".
You guessed, I grabbed the size 41!
When I put them on, they 'spoke to me!'.....if you know what I mean.
If you don't, I don't care because I know what I mean and that is what counts.

I looked at Xavier smiling, and he said: "These are the ones! They are durable and light. They will last you until the marathon and you will train and run in them, in 5 months!".
THAT sounded so reassuring!

I had another go on the treadmill, at the speed of 7, and it felt puuurfect.
When I got off the machine, Xavier showed me the film of 'before' and 'after' - running in the new shoes. And everything was like as if God had designed it.
I FOUND MY RUNNING SHOES !

Xavier was pleased with himself, and I was also pleased with him, but we still had to go to the shop floor and look at all the different colours of this type of trainers, so that I wouldn't feel deprived of something. I followed him down the stairs.
When we stopped in front of the wall displaying all the other colours of these same type of Asics trainers, I smiled and said: "Xavier, you have chosen the best ones!".
And he smiled back.
As you might have noticed, there was a lot of smiling going on between me and him.
A smooth running process!
When you deal with real professionals, everything seems to be falling into place. Just like that.

When I was paying Xavier, I asked him if he had ever run the marathon?
He is tall, fit, athletic....
He said: "No! I am too lazy. I play football."
OK ----- I am lazy, too. But I need to run ONE London Marathon, before I die!

I paid and walked out....
A proud owner of my new marathon training and running Asics!
The photos will follow.

From the Asics shop, we went for a tea to a nearby spot. I needed to sit down and
get away from the crazy shopping crowds.
I ordered my tea and noticed that our waiter was this really buff, young man.
I like talking to people, so I started asking him questions about sport.
It turned out that he is a competitive body builder, in the process of getting
prepared for a contest. He also noticed my Asics shopping bag.
He told me about the discipline that he needs to endure in everything: eating,
exercising, being very careful about his body.
I was in full agreement, whilst eating my macaroon ..... but only ONE!
Seriously, I am paying attention to what I eat and how I eat.
And it is already rubbing off, on my husband.








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Thursday 12 November 2015

My favorite FEAR story:

An Arab folk tale relates that Pestilence once met a caravan upon the desert-way to Baghdad.
"Why", asked the Arab chief, "must you hasten to Baghdad?"
"To take 5000 lives", Pestilence replied.
On the way back from the City of Caliphs, they met once again.
"You deceived me", the chief said angrily, "instead of 5,000 lives you took 50,000!"

"Nay" said Pestilence, " 5,000 and not one more! It was Fear that killed the rest!".

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Power Women

So , Dr. John Hardy was instrumental in fixing my knee and returning it back to the state 'as God had created it' , announcing on the way : "You will be running marathons!"....

A prophetic doctor, I should say.
But, there is also a 'but'.
I was also instrumental in the speedy and successful recovery, because of my healthy lifestyle (healthy body), strong mind and optimistic attitude (spirit).
Being a vegetarian also helps. No smoking, no drinking, also helps.

The nurse, who was taking care of me, after the operation, a great nurse from the Phillipines, was laughing her head off. I asked her WHY was she laughing each time she entered my hospital room?
She told me that she couldn't believe the difference.
Apparently, there was a woman of my age, who was also operated right after me, and recovering in a room across the hall, who was still completely out of it. Sleeping all the time.......while I was munching my 3 course meal, flicking through TV channels, getting up onto the wheel chair to travel by myself to the bathroom and generally speaking, restless and ready to go home!

Lifestyle is important and the way you take care of yourself. I used to scowl at that when I was young. But when I was young, I was also stupid. So there you go...
Life is not a playground, it is a classroom.

Dr. Hardy did mention to me, this last time when I went for the check up, that he is lucky to have 'good patients' and that it is basically - TEAM WORK!

And then there is also : GORDANA.
Gordana entered my life on a flight to Madeira. She and Zack, her husband, were travelling to Madeira's famous golf course. They are both avid golf players.
FATE seated them next to my husband and after one thing led to another... we became friends.
And I was the one who initially muttered something about 'maybe power walking the London Marathon at night' - to raise some money for the breast cancer research?
Maybe....
I was still toying with that thought.
Gordana took that 'toying' right out of my thoughts, crumpled it, threw it into the bin basket and announced: WE ARE DOING IT!
You don't cross a Serbian strong woman. Oh no!

So.... we registered. And we started training in February 2015!
The first time I power walked some distance, without going out of breath, I was sooo bloody proud of myself. Until I realized, later, that my achievment was not even close to Gordana's "warm up" session.
The first time Gordana saw me "power walking" towards her, on the street, she asked: "You can walk faster, can you?"........and so the kick ass training sessions started.

We were walking in the Spring, my favourite time of the year in London.
We power walked from Manor House to Richmond and beyond....to Kingston-on-Thames! I have never wanted to see a bridge, this much, as I wanted to see that one in Kingston. Just to realize, when we approached it, that it is a short toilet break and we are power walking right back, exactly the same distance. I was weeping internally.

In the rain, in the mud, along the cannals, in the streets - pounding, pounding, pounding and also : talking, talking, talking. That was a big part of our trainings!

Gordana showed me how much I can stretch myself. The first time I covered 37km ON FOOT, arriving at her house in one piece, not even panting , I had to pinch myself.
That was already a marathon, less 5km!
It was 2 weeks before the main event and after that, I knew that I had it in me.
By that time London parks were full of ladies in white and pink T-shirts, wearing pink baseball hats, who were: pounding, pounding, pounding and waving to each other.
I would have never dared to do it without Gordana. She was my power horse, my motivator, my kick ass coach.

She already had 4 running marathons under her belt, before she power walked the night marathon with me and Michelle. And it was Gordana who made me hungry for MORE....

So now it's going to be the Real Deal and nobody will tell me that 'I only walked a marathon'.
Gordana also saved my Moonwalk Marathon. She was experienced and well equiped. She was a marathon veteran.
For me, it was my first time and I was walking , wearing a knee support on the operated knee. Just in case. BAD MOVE on my behalf.

This thing is made out of thick, black foam and has an opening for the knee cap.
During the fast power walk, the edges of that foam opening were digging into my knee and on the 13th mile of the marathon, smack bang in the middle of it, right by the Houses of Parliament, right under the Big Ben, I was ready to die from excruciating pain!
And I stopped. I could not make one more move. I thought it was OVER !
There is a deal with the organizers of that particular Marathon, that if you give up for any reason, you can wave down their van, and ask to be driven back to the HQ, or to the hospital...

But Gordana was there!
She suggested that I rip off that dreaded knee support and she gave me an Ibuprofen and some Vitamin power drink. And I started walking again, after a moment...
One more Ibuprofen later, plus 13 miles later, and I was crossing THE FINISHING LINE of my first ever marathon, with a smile on my face.

Thank you Dr. John Hardy and your Team ; thank you Gordana, for making it possible to get into a rocket and start shooting for the stars...



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Life shifts!

Life shifts!

I decided to do it properly (and avoid killing myself) - by going to a marathon trainer.
This was actually suggested to me by my knee surgeon, Dr. John Hardy. 
I went for a check up with him, on the 16.10.2015 , and my doctor was more than pleased with the knee and my general condition. I needed an 'OK' from him before signing for the marathon, as I did not want to ruin his fantastic job.

My right knee ACL reconstruction, had taken place only in 2012 and after power walking the Marathon this year, I feel a slight weakness in my right knee. It feels weaker than even a year after the operation. I just wanted to make sure that I am not damaging myself.
Dr. Hardy (best knee doctor in this World) told me that the muscle bulk on my right thigh is still smaller, than on my left thigh and that he will 'OK' my London Marathon 2016 under ONE CONDITION: that I train with a coach appointed by him.
And I got hooked up with Matt Curley.

I trust Dr. Hardy's suggestions. The physio that he send to me, the day after the operation (Rebecca Garrod), had me walking up and down 11 stairs in no time at all!
Rebecca broke through the barrier of my psychological fear. 

When she stood by my bed, while I was still flat on my back, all bandaged up and 'wounded', when she told me to get up and go , I thought that she was HAVING A GOOD LAUGH!
But she was serious. Very serious.
And also very, very good in what she was doing.
With her guidance I started walking, pain free, very quickly. Rebecca showed me how much of the stumbling block was in my FEAR , ITSELF.

She was guiding me forward, with her eyes. I was following her on pure trust, staring into her confident gaze. Dr. Hardy pulled the same number on me. They must come from the same family of thought.

When he walked into my hospital room, in the afternoon after the operation and ordered me to swing my operated leg - off the bed and bend it! - I FREAKED OUT.
I was looking at my husband, searching for HELP, but he kind of gave me a nod with his own gaze: "Do as the doctor says!".
So I did it, very slowly, all the time looking into Dr. Hardy's eyes, like a pilot directed by the Control Tower and my leg did not fall off, nothing snapped inside the knee and there was no blood showing on the dressing.
Amazing stuff.

If someone had told me that this is even possible, I would have not believed it!
You need to have confidence in your doctor.
But that is what I got from Dr. Hardy from the moment I met him. Confidence in what he was doing. His whole operating team is amazing.
His anaesthetist is just another Maestro.
I went to sleep, talking to him about 'dolphins in Madeira', because I travel there and he had also been there, deep sea fishing. 
We were chating about that when the 'sleeping milk' hit my veins..... and I dozed off.
I slept during the operation, dreaming of swimming with the dolphins, and when I woke up and was asked: "How do you feel?", my response was: "Like in Heaven!"
Brilliant experience altogether.

So now I am looking forward to meeting my Dr. Hardy appointed marathon coach.
We were supposed to meet with Matt, this Thursday, at 08:00AM but he got a stomach bug and I am not feeling too well myself. So we moved our first meeting to Friday afternoon. My friends were laughing today that I did some voodoo stuff, to push away my training session-:))

I already had a talk on the phone with Matt and also a jaw dropping moment when he ANNOUNCED that I will be running the marathon without any knee support, because all I will need , will be my strenght of mind and - wait !!! - my muscle strenght!!!
HOW is this man going to turn me into a Marathon Runner in six months?
I will be watching this process myself, with great interest.

Jaki told me yesterday, that her brother, a marathon runner, said that in the beginning you HATE IT and that after a month you LOVE IT and cannot live without it.
 .... the running.....
Great!

This means that if I start my training now, I might stop crying somewhere around Christmas?
Since speaking to Matt, I had to start writing a Food Diary, which means recording everything that passes my lips and falls into my stomach. In an honest manner!
Thank goodness that I know how to be thoroughly honest with myself.

And for those who know me, I love my food!
So it is bye-bye to my 'normal' eating.

I had some sense of what is coming, a week or two ago, because I went for my 'good-bye pizza eating outings.' Kind of knew what's looming around the corner...
They opened a new sourdough pizza restaurant in our High Street and I immediately became their friend.


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Monday 9 November 2015

I hope to have this moment in my life!!!



My life's motto:



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My knee SPA!!!

You have to take fresh cabbage leaves and beat them into a light pulp, until they give juice. 
And put that on your knees. You can even bandage that and sleep in that compress for the night.



Cabbage isn’t just for slaw and sauerkraut – although those are wonderful uses! Cabbage leaves also have a proven history as a treatment for wounds and swellings.

An old Irish blessing reads, "May the leaves of your cabbage always be free from worms."
Ancient armies carried cabbage for use not only as a food, but as a wound dressing that fought infection.

Cabbage leaves act as a diuretic, and they contain powerful anti-inflammatory compounds. Cabbage juice is rich in lactic acid, a known anti-bacterial. Applied to the skin, these compounds are remarkably effective at relieving swelling and the pain associated with it.

The leaf of the cabbage is an effective treatment for the pain of swellings due to sports injuries and strains. Apply ice and elevate the injured limb to curb initial swelling. Then apply the cabbage leaf compress two or three times daily until pain and swelling subside. You may want to hold it in place with a cloth bandage. If you’ve been slow to recover from a sprained ankle, this remedy is worth a try.

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If she can do it, 

on an injured knee, 

in pain, for a 1000 miles....

I can do it as well!‏



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