Johnny Hall's Travels and Travails

Emily is 10 days old already - time flies by when you're a dad. Except at 2 in the morning when you desperately need to sleep. We're coping pretty well so far, I like to think. Of course, my job seems to be a lot more limited than Becky's, especially since she is breast-feeding. Having Becky's mum with us for the first couple of weeks is a godsend. We'd certainly cope without her, but having her here has taken the pressure off. She's good company too (don't tell her I said that though). Emily is adorable. Of course, I have to say that, but she is perfect. Baby's don't do much (eat, sleep, poo, wee, cry, gurn pretty much covers it) but what she does do, is lovely. Breast-feeding is hard. You kinda expect it to just work but it's not like that. Of course, there's plenty of advice (some of it coming from me - me!) for the breast-feeding mother but it's not always easy to follow. Luckily, Emily seems to have got the hang of it now, after a few slightly fraught days (and nights). The advantages of breast-feeding are so great that I think both of us would have been a bit upset (Becky particularly) if Emily hadn't taken to it. Perserverance, that's the key. There isn't much time in the day that isn't taken up with baby issues. And at the moment, there are three of us here dealing with it. Once Becky's mum has gone home and I'm at work, Becky is going to be very busy. Still, she's proving to be a fantastic mum (and a wonderful wife but I knew that already). I never doubted it. I hope I'm holding up at my end. Ask Emily in 18 years. My training has definitely been affected. Mostly, last week when Becky was in hospital and I missed 3 days. I'm back on track this week, and I've only missed one (cycling) session. 15 mile run tomorrow. The main problem has been getting up and out before the sun scorches the earth. It's tricky when sleep is hard to come by. It's 10pm now and I'm going to have to go to bed to ensure I'm awake early enough. Still, it's supposed to rain tomorrow, so maybe I won't have to be out the door by 8.

Say hello to our daughter Emily. Emily was born last night at 12:52am in Simpsons maternity ward in Edinburgh. She weighs 8 pounds 7 and a half ounces. She has 10 fingers and 10 toes and 2 parents who love her very much. Becky went into the labour ward at about 10:30pm on Monday night and Emily was born a couple of hours later after a great deal of shouting and screaming (mostly me). Watching someone give birth on a TV programme does not prepare you in any way. Becky coped really well and managed to go quite a long way into labour before she had any pain relief at all and then all she had was nitrous oxide. I was so proud. My job was very easy in comparison but it's definitely one of the hardest things I've had to do because of how little I could help. Big thanks to midwifes Sarah and Laura and Doctor Kate. You did a smashing job. I'm awestruck.

A few training milestones this week.  Firstly, I didn't miss or cut short a session.  Secondly, I had my first day with 2 training sessions.  Thirdly, I trained for 6 days out of 7 (and 7 sessions).  Fourth, I ran a half marathon on Saturday and cycled 50 miles today (both distance records, more or less).  And finally, I beat my speed record in my tempo running session on Wednesday.

If I can keep this up, I'll be flying by the time Loch Ness comes around.  I just have to avoid overtraining.  Living out here makes training so much easier than in Edinburgh, the roads are quieter and there are a lot more hills for cycling on (which makes completing L'Etape possible).

I'm a wee bit tired now but I've made some significant lifestyle changes to ensure that I can train this hard.  I go to bed earlier now (11pm rather than the wee hours); I'm eating well (lots of fruit and veg and good levels of protein) and avoiding junk; I don't smoke and I'm barely drinking; I make sure I stay hydrated all day; I cool down and stretch (and take cold showers) at the end of every session (religiously).  As a result, my legs are nice and loose and I'm coping with the increases in volume pretty well. 

Mind you, I think I'm probably teetering on the edge of being very boring.

Next week, I'm increasing my long run and tempo run distances but apart from that the schedule is the same (unless I become a dad early).  The week after that, I ramp down the volume a bit to let my body recover before upping the volume again for the weeks after that.  And repeat.

I'm interested to see how sleepless nights will effect my programme.  I guess I'll just have to miss sessions if I'm feeling bad.

I'm discovering that one of the few (and admittedly, minor) disadvantages of living out here is that getting access to services that up until now I've taken for granted, is patchy. My cell phone (with Orange) doesn't work in the house (necessitating a switch to Vodafone, I think), Internet access is restricted to 512kbps ADSL (which is fine for browsing but I don't think Xbox Live is going to be particularly snappy) and now, I've just bought a nice new DAB radio and I've got no reception. Boo. At least Sky works.

I've realised it's time to get a bit more serious about my training. During April and May I was usually training 4 days a week. I normally managed to run 3 times each week but if I want to meet my goal of running under 4 hours at Loch Ness, I'm going to have to get out a lot more often. So, I've rewritten my training plan and between now and October, I'm running 4 days a week and cycling 3 times. By cycling instead of running I should ensure that I build my aerobic fitness without increasing the chances of injuring myself. Generally, the plan is to run on Monday (hills), Wednesday (tempo), Thursday (easy) and Saturday (long) and to cycle on Tuesday (easy), Thursday (tempo) and Sunday (long). Friday is my day off, preparing myself for a hard weekend. This amounts to about 10 to 12 hours a week. Since this is quite a lot, every fourth week is a rest and recovery week, where I'll have two days off and the long run and cycle will be not be so, er, long. This makes it quite difficult to build up the distance for my long run with the time I have left before the marathon but I'll just have to grin and bare the increases in distance. I've trained for the last 7 days in a row (check my training log) and I'm feeling the benefit. This time last week, I was a little concerned because running was proving to be a bit uncomfortable but since I've started cycling, I'm feeling good. Tonight I ran 10k on a rolling course at a smidge over 8 minute/mile pace (I ignored my heart rate) and felt reasonably comfortable - a lot better than when I raced the Edinburgh Great Run. Tomorrow is my first double training day (running am and cycling pm) and then I have a nice big weekend - a 12 mile run on Saturday and a 50 mile cycle on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it.

We moved to Cardrona on the 30th of June and everything went pretty much to plan. The movers (Broughton Removals provided by my pal Neil) were excellent and our new furniture arrived right on cue. Becky's parents (the Outlaws) came on Sunday afternoon and spent a couple of days with us, helping to sort the place out, which was very handy. We've still got a few things to sort out but the Sky guy has been, so that's the main thing. Just got to get BT to sort out Internet access (no Internet is a nightmare), empty a few more boxes and buy a couple more bits of furniture and we are sorted. I'll post some pictures of the house when we're a bit more "done". Meantime, there are some pictures of Cardrona up on flickr. I ran on Saturday (along the back road to Peebles and back) about 7 miles and last night (along the back road to Traquair and back) about 5 miles. It's a bit hillier, so it's going to take me a while before my legs are acclimatised. So, that's one thing out of the way. By the end of the month, all going well, we'll be up to our eyes in nappies. Wish us luck.