Cough Up A Lung

It seems to be a yearly episode of coughing up blood. The last time it happened was last August when i was in Portugal. I had the Air Con on. Over the weekend, I was in Paris which it was 38 degrees. I had no choice but to put the AC on. I am convinced thats why I am coughing up blood a few days later. The weather has changed dramatically. It was raining yesterday and the day before. So going from really high temperatures to cold and damp conditions, i think, plays a part in it. 

There can’t be any other reason as I am still able to run. 

• Monday - 40 minutes cycle, + 25 minutes run, 
• Tuesday - 55 minutes run + yoga 
• Wednesday - 30 min run
• Thursday - held a plank/bridge for 1 hour and 21mins.

I think the thing to do in this situation is relax, put the kettle on and time to calm down. Stress is another reason why it can happen. I have learnt this from past experiences. I know I don’t have an infection as I wouldn’t be able to do the amount I am doing. 

At the moment, i am in a place called Font Romeu. Its situated in the French Pyrenees. I am living at 2000m above sea level, and its by far the easiest altitude I have been at. Ethiopia is the highest I've been to at 3200m. Flagstaff in America was the hardest and it was about 1800m i think. Not sure why it was so hard to adapt up there. 

So I travel to Beijing in about 10 days for the World Athletics Championships. I will hook up with Yas as well which will be cool as Asia is one of the places on our to do list. 

Speaking of which. Earlier in the year we both wrote down 3 name places that we wanted to go in October. October is our anniversary, hence the little trip. We both had Berlin as one of the destinations. Berlin it was! Im looking forward to that. Munich is still the best place I've been to. Berlin is supposed to be better. But, I feel that it isn't necessarily the place that makes it great, i think its the company that you are with. 

The athlete I'm working with has improved by nearly 2 seconds over 1500m. His now the 4th fastest person ever in the 1000m. So he is coming into perfect shape to win World Championships. Here is a few pics below of the last bit. 

Edu seeing me taking my neb for the first time. He wouldnt let go of me. So cute!

Article in the Meath Chronicle 

Doing a session on the track. 

This was taken from a French newspaper that Taoufik was in. 

This is a picture from Font Romeu. Not a bad view. 

I Think Im Turning Into A Hippy

I have been absent from this blog for quite some time now. Not that I haven’t had time, I just don’t really know what to write about. I have 3 blog posts in the drafts that I haven’t posted. Actually 4. But maybe I will be able to delve into that sometime in the future.

Currently, I am in Angers. A nice little town in the North-West corner of France. Stuck between Nantes and Le Mans. I’m sure you have heard of those two places. Its level with Paris but best for about 2 hours on a train. Failing that description, just Google it. 

I have been here for the last month. The temptation of Macaroons and Eclairs are on every street. If that isn’t enough, you can get a macaroon scented candle, and soap. Although that it hard, being a weekday vegetarian is easier. I don’t like the milk here, so i am now becoming a weekday Vegan. The only reason I say I am a ‘weekday’ is because I eat animal protein on the weekends. I love the cheese here so its is like a treat for me. In the past, I tend to do things at 500 miles an hour and give it either 100% or 0%. I can’t do things at 50%. So weekday vegan/vegetarian is something that has been challenging in terms of not going out and changing my whole wardrobe to 100% Fair-trade Cotton and Vegan footwear. I haven’t started petitions or went on animal cruelty marches outside government buildings. I don’t push it on anyone else as well. It was my choice to do this. Both for a health and environmental reason. 

Health reasons being that we do not need to eat animal protein. Eggs, fish, chicken, meat, game. I believe that it is fair healthier to eat everything from a plant basis. 

Environmental reasons being that if we eat more meat, then more animals have to be raised which causes more methane (a biproduct of animals farts and burps). This gas causes more of a problem to global warming then cars do. If everyone decided to choose to cut down on animal protein, it would have a greater result then if everyone started driving hybrid cars. Furthermore, the cattle then have to be fed. More cattle = more food. Food that could be used for humans. The transportation costs of both feed, then the animal to the slaughterhouse, and then to the shops is astronomical. Animals that aren’t organic, are pumped with anti biotic, which results in humans becoming more resistant to antibiotics, which leads to the creation of super bugs. Its all a vicious cycle. 

I think i just went 100% there. Anyway, you get the gist. Do I feel better for being on this diet? Yes. I don’t feel like I’m bloated or slumpy (i just made that word up). I feel more regular. I can make better decisions, rather then just throwing everything into my mouth and not caring what or where it came from. 

Another big addition that I have started was meditation. I do it everyday, and for a minimum of 20mins. Usually, if I only do 20mins, then I will do another 20 later on in the day. I just finished meditating for 40mins there. My longest was 90mins. It felt really good. Yes, at the start of meditating, i could only last 3 minutes, and even that was a push. But its like exercise. The more you do it, the easier it gets. My sleep patterns are more regular, I am not as angry as I was, I am more sympathetic to myself, and to others. I realise when enough is enough. I even have more energy throughout the day. Whats not to like about the benefits. There are so many things on youtube and the internet on how to begin meditating. If i was to explain to someone how to do it, it would be like this. 

1. Go to a quiet room, and turn off all the lights and electricity that you have on in that room. Phones, laptops, tablets. TVs. 
2. Look somewhere between your nose and the ground. That space in between. If you can’t, then just close your eyes, but remember to relax the muscles around your eyes.
3. Count on every out breath until you get to 16. Repeat 3 times. This should take around 3 minutes. For me, it takes 3 minutes to do 16 breaths. But at the start it was 16 breaths to 1 minute. 
4. Breath from your stomach, not from your chest. 
5. Focus on relaxing every muscle in your body. Scan through each body part. You’ll be amazed at how much tension you are holding. 

So enough about that. I am going to go on a run now, and then start massaging. 

Do your best. 

Adios