Feeling tired from over doing it.

I was planning to walk 3-4 hours this morning before meeting some friends in town. However, after working hard everyday for almost 2 weeks, it's starting to catch up on me and my legs feel very tired and heavy.

I noticed it considerably yesterday. After work, I caught a bus to Peel from Douglas and I ran to Kirk Michael. I think it was 7 Miles. I couldn't tell you how long it took because my stop watch stopped half way through. All I do know, is I felt slow and it was because my legs were so tired from pushing myself in previous workouts. It didn't help that I was really hungry and had little energy. Also, when my I-Pod ran out of battery, I wasn't best pleased. But I actually found it quite nice listening to almost silence (apart from the odd vehicle). I also look at the scenery more when I haven't got music. I remember watching 20-30 rabbits running in a field.

I've only ever got the bus to Peel and ran to Kirk Michael straight after work once before. Although it's nice to do and convenient it is also inconvenient at the same time because I have to pack all my running stuff and bring it to work and then I need to leave my work stuff at work and carry all necessary items with me - like purse, mobile, i-pod, house keys. So all this stuff is jiggling in my pockets which is annoying. The bus also leaves at 17:10, so I have to finish work bang on 5, get changed and leg it to the bus stop within 10 minutes. It used to bother me being in proper running gear for everyone at work to see and the have to catch a bus like that. But I'm much more confidant now and I don't care. I'm just doing what I want to do.

Yesterday night, (like most nights actually) as soon as my head hits the pillow I am asleep. That's one of many things I like about being active. There was a time at school - when doing my A-Levels, that I stopped doing exercise because my friend who I used to always run with and swim with and do everything sports related with went to Uni. I started not being able to sleep, eventually it got so bad I was only sleeping 1 hour a night and I tried to catch up on my sleep during the day but I couldn't sleep then either. I tried everything, herbal remadies, hot milk, lavender, having a bath before bed. Nothing worked. It really effected my school work, it was such bad timing, because I really cannot cope without sleep. The day I started sleeping well again was when my mum encouraged me to get out of bed and go for a run. At the time, I didn't feel like she understood how tired I was. It's a vicious circle, if you are tired and drained from lack of sleep, the last thing you feel like doing is exercise. However, mum encouraged me to run, explaining that nothing else was working and I might as well give it a go to tire my body out not just my eyes. That night, I slept like a baby, the first time in Months and that is a major reason I do exercise, I am just very fortunate that I also enjoy it.

I cannot cope with little sleep, everyone else seems to be able to handle it a lot better than me. If I go out with my friends in the evening, I'm always the first one to go home because I feel very tired - probably from some form of exercise I did earlier that day, and I don't want to be tired the next day either. Quite often, I like to be home before 12 and that's even a late night for me. It's just as well I didn't go to uni, I wouldn't have fitted in at all. It's just nice that my friends are great and they know what I'm like so they don't mind me going home.

When I do the Parish walk, I'm going to have to be up all day and night - walking. I pray that I can handle it. I'm hoping that if your active, it's different - my determination and passion for the Parish will kick in and overcome my tiredness? When I was 13 years old, I did the moon walk in London which is a 26 mile road walk. The event is held once a year and it to raise funds for breast cancer. Everyone, including men wear just a bra or a bra over the top of their clothes (which I did). This walk starts at 12pm and I remember being so tired at the beginning of the walk. In total, it took us 10 hours to complete this walk. I am aware that this is incredibly slow.....when I took part in this event, 8 years ago, it was very unorganised. Their were crowds of people trying to funnel through narrow streets. It took us 1 hour to walk the first mile. I remember leaning on bricked walls closing my eyes at every opportunity I had (which was quite a lot) because I was so tired. I don't think we started walking at our usual pace until we got to mile 4. Once we got going, I was fine and I started waking up, so I'm hoping this will apply for the Parish as well. (If anyone is taking part or is considering to take part in the moonwalk, I've been told that the organisation is alot better and the streets are much wider and the slow start doesn't exist anymore.)

I'll explain why my legs are so tired now - I've already mentioned that I've done training everyday since coming back from holiday. Since my last update, I met up with a group of people to go running with and it was supposed to be an easy session. We were only supposed to jog 3 miles. However, I ended up running at the front of the pack and then kept up with the 3 fastest people. It was reasonably comfortable running to the prom from the NSC and along the prom to the villa marina, but the pace increased from bottom of Broadway all the way to the the top of the hill at St Ninians. I really worked up the hill trying to keep up with the people I was with, knowing if I fell behind, I'd be running on my own because the rest were a while behind us. From here, we were supposed to jog directly back to the NSC. However, we had to make it harder for ourselves again and we ran a longer way by heading to the test centre, to the hospital and back to the NSC. I was running flat out, harder than I have ever before. I was really chuffed that I managed to keep up. I have no idea what speed we were running, it would have been interesting to know.

On Tuesday, I walked with a friend - Jenny. We walked straight after work at 5 for about 2 hours. We walked along Marine Drive all the way to Port Sodrick and then headed back where it leads to the back of Tesco's. From here I walked home. I much prefer having company on walks, although I go slightly slower, the time goes so fast.

On Wednesday, I ran 6 miles, taking it easy-ish for the first 3 miles (except stopping for the toilets on the prom and having to sprint to catch up with everyone) The last three miles were harder because the people ahead of me were speeding up and I felt obliged to catch them up which I did just in the nick of time. I actually overtook another runner along the grandstand -who was going at a reasonable pace - I felt good about that.

The following day, I went for a walk, straight after work, but on my own this time. Jenny had a hairdressers appointment, so she couldn't make it. I got back at 8pm so I did 3 hours. I walked along Portsodrick, I then followed the road which takes you by B&Q area, I then ended up by Kirby Garden Centre and back at the NSC. I was tempted to walk directly home from here, but I felt good and was enjoying the walk so I decided to carry on. From here I walked to the prom along the prom, up Summer hill and back home. During this walk - near the end of the prom, I missed an important phone call which I was eager to get back home and return the call (as I had no money on my mobile).

I'm really enjoying the lighter evenings and I sence that my full length trousers can soon hibernate again and I can bring out my shorts and t-shirt instead. I am also much prefering to go for a walk straight after work. It means having an hour extra to relax at home, so your walking is done quicker and as such your evening feels longer. I have been eating my homemade energy bars which I think work very well. I've finished the last energy bar yesterday (I'm not sure if my brothers and sisters have been taking them for themselves, because they have seemed to disappeared very quickly?) I'll try and make some more over the weekend, this time, adding more dried fruit and an extra table spoon of honey, maybe, slightly less flour and a touch more Orange juice. I feel the energy bar really worked for me, so I will continue making it and eating it.

I'm going to take it easy today and I'll see how I feel tomorrow. I really should take it easy this week because I have the Liverpool half marathon next Sunday. The last time I ran a half marathon distance was last September which was The Great North Run in Newcastle. I haven't really been running the distances I should but I have done a lot of running recently so I should be fine. I should easily be able to complete it in under 2 hours, so if I don't I'll be disappointed but I'm going to try not and look at my watch and just enjoy my self. In a way, I see it as training for the full marathon which I'll do next year and I'll concentrate on after the Parish.