4 weeks until the Liverpool Half Marathon... Last year it was a stepping stone to the Edinburgh Marathon, this year its a stepping stone to the Coast 2 Coast...
4 weeks to get the timings and speed right, 4 weeks to perfect any race strategies I want to try... Part of me would dearly love to be one of my mates who can just blat out 13 miles without thinking about how to do it... But if it was easy I probably wouldn't do it.
As regular readers know I'm also type II diabetic, so as well as keeping an eye on my heart rate I need to balance my bodies cravings for carbs with my bodies inability to process them properly... Not always an easy balance, as my diabetic nurse will testify, and this half of the year I'm trying a different approach, so we will see at my 6 month diabetic check up if the balance is better!
As regular readers also know this blog was always going to be honest... Another GUCH friend, and member of the GUCH Walking Club, died a little while ago. I don't particularly like recycling blogs, but everything I said here http://walkingforheartkids.blogspot.com/2010/05/this-game-of-ghosts.html holds true...
So, my next 4 weeks are planned out, miles to run and carbs to chew... The 190-4-190 is beginning to pick up momentum, my walks are now all with a pack with the gear in I'll be using, the sponsorship letter to outdoors companies is ready to roll and this week I try and get a draft press release to CHF for their ok - so if you're interested let me know.
TTFN
Paul
Sunday, 27 February 2011
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Safe & Sustainable - Use your power!
Ok,
I'm fully expecting to be pilloried for this blog, and the easiest thing to do would be to duck the issue...
However, that's not who I am.
The Safe & Sustainable review of children's heart surgery has produced its options, and all of the documentation that underpins them. They're published on the NHS website here:
http://www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/document/meeting-joint-committee-primary-care-trusts-jcpct-16th-february-2011-agenda
What will be happening over the next couple of months is that you will have the opportunity to comment on these options, challenge their validity and put forward your points of view.
I'd suggest that you read the documents, in case your concerns have already been addressed, and so your arguments are based on evidence. Just putting up that you disagree won't cut much mustard, to get the best option for all heart kids needing surgery you need to give the reasons why a configuration works or doesn't work.
Now for the bit some of you won't like...
Some of this is maths -
there aren't enough kids with CHD being born and requiring surgery to keep 11 fully staffed and operational centres going.
the numbers work out at 6 or 7 around the country to make the practices as safe (and sustainable) as possible
that means surgery is going to have to move from 4 or 5 centres, if we want the best practices.
Why am I saying this? Partly because I don't duck issues, and partly because I believe that this has to happen (for all the reasons set out in the reams of documents - especially this one http://www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/library/30/Childrens_Heart_Surgery_in_England___The_Need_For_Change.pdf) for the next generation of kids who will become the next generation of GUCHs.
Its not going to be easy, and the key to this is making sure that the views of parents and patients are taken into account. So as I said, read the documents, make the arguments you want and lets make this work for the unborn generations to come
TTFN
Paul
I'm fully expecting to be pilloried for this blog, and the easiest thing to do would be to duck the issue...
However, that's not who I am.
The Safe & Sustainable review of children's heart surgery has produced its options, and all of the documentation that underpins them. They're published on the NHS website here:
http://www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/document/meeting-joint-committee-primary-care-trusts-jcpct-16th-february-2011-agenda
What will be happening over the next couple of months is that you will have the opportunity to comment on these options, challenge their validity and put forward your points of view.
I'd suggest that you read the documents, in case your concerns have already been addressed, and so your arguments are based on evidence. Just putting up that you disagree won't cut much mustard, to get the best option for all heart kids needing surgery you need to give the reasons why a configuration works or doesn't work.
Now for the bit some of you won't like...
Some of this is maths -
there aren't enough kids with CHD being born and requiring surgery to keep 11 fully staffed and operational centres going.
the numbers work out at 6 or 7 around the country to make the practices as safe (and sustainable) as possible
that means surgery is going to have to move from 4 or 5 centres, if we want the best practices.
Why am I saying this? Partly because I don't duck issues, and partly because I believe that this has to happen (for all the reasons set out in the reams of documents - especially this one http://www.specialisedservices.nhs.uk/library/30/Childrens_Heart_Surgery_in_England___The_Need_For_Change.pdf) for the next generation of kids who will become the next generation of GUCHs.
Its not going to be easy, and the key to this is making sure that the views of parents and patients are taken into account. So as I said, read the documents, make the arguments you want and lets make this work for the unborn generations to come
TTFN
Paul
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Awareness Walks & chatting
So its over for another year... 8 months in planning, 8 hours in the delivery... routes walked 3 times, twice to make sure they were interesting and accessible, once with a gaggle of GUCHs, friends and families...
The annual social and stroll is a gentle amble around a city, seeing some of the more unusual sights (Friar Tuck in a mini skirt... http://gouk.about.com/od/ukshops/ig/Leeds-Arcades-and-Market/Ivanhoe-Clock-Leeds.htm) and more importantly a chance to chat with each other. Sometimes about GUCH issues (from the light and fluffy - which doctors are fanciable, which have no personality... to the more serious, when we've got check-ups, which of our friends are in hospital) and sometimes about nothing in particular.
Did we raise any awareness? Not sure - the woman in the balloon shop (sorry, card shop - Bayliffe & Lupton, in County Arcade) knows we exist - thank you for the discount!!! The BHF event going on seemed to know about us... The nuns at the Wheeler Hall were friendly, accommodating and seemed unphased by our slightly mad approach to things (well what can you say to a group of adults with helium balloons attached to them going to walk around a city centre!)
However we tried, and we had fun while we did it! And as someone said, we counted them all out and we counted them all back...
TTFN
Paul
The annual social and stroll is a gentle amble around a city, seeing some of the more unusual sights (Friar Tuck in a mini skirt... http://gouk.about.com/od/ukshops/ig/Leeds-Arcades-and-Market/Ivanhoe-Clock-Leeds.htm) and more importantly a chance to chat with each other. Sometimes about GUCH issues (from the light and fluffy - which doctors are fanciable, which have no personality... to the more serious, when we've got check-ups, which of our friends are in hospital) and sometimes about nothing in particular.
Did we raise any awareness? Not sure - the woman in the balloon shop (sorry, card shop - Bayliffe & Lupton, in County Arcade) knows we exist - thank you for the discount!!! The BHF event going on seemed to know about us... The nuns at the Wheeler Hall were friendly, accommodating and seemed unphased by our slightly mad approach to things (well what can you say to a group of adults with helium balloons attached to them going to walk around a city centre!)
However we tried, and we had fun while we did it! And as someone said, we counted them all out and we counted them all back...
TTFN
Paul
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Mad? Yes!
3km... 3,000 slow metres... Every other K was at 7min pace or below, but those 3, into a wind that was threatening to lift my 100kg bulk up, slowed me up!
However, my target was to get round in 1:15... so I can't really beat myself up over 14s... Ok, I shouldn't beat myself up over 14s...
The job now is to build on this for the next 8 weeks for the next race is the Liverpool Half Marathon.
But this week's focus is the GUCH PA Social & Stroll in Leeds - its not too late to sign up, http://www.guch.org.uk/events/forthcoming/chd2011
TTFN
Paul
However, my target was to get round in 1:15... so I can't really beat myself up over 14s... Ok, I shouldn't beat myself up over 14s...
The job now is to build on this for the next 8 weeks for the next race is the Liverpool Half Marathon.
But this week's focus is the GUCH PA Social & Stroll in Leeds - its not too late to sign up, http://www.guch.org.uk/events/forthcoming/chd2011
TTFN
Paul
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