Week 6 - Commencing 6 February
The week started much the same as every other week. An hour of intervals on Monday, a steady run on Wednesday and spinning Thursday morning. Given the dark mornings and evenings some of my training has been on the treadmill in the gym. As I have already mentioned I do find running on a treadmill incredibly boring. Running outside is far nicer and brings with it different scenery, changing weather, different terrain and so on. When you step on the treadmill and know that you will be running on the same spot for the next hour or so, it is pretty disheartening. This isn't helped by the turnover of people getting on the treadmills around you, who generally get on for 10-20 minutes and then get off whilst I am still slogging away... This also brings with it another issue I have on treadmills. I admit I am pretty competitive (I cannot even bring myself to let my children win a game of snakes and ladders or hungry hippos). If my scheduled run on the treadmill happens to be a steady run and someone gets on the treadmill next to me and runs at a faster pace than me, my steady run soon turns into a tempo run as I feel the need to prove that I too can run at a faster pace if I choose! This lasts for the 10-20 minutes that they have allotted to spend on the treadmill and then they get off while I realise I still have another 30 minutes to go!
By Friday when I was scheduled to do my long run I found myself stuck at home with a poorly child off school and thick snow on the ground. To top it off my cold which I thought had gone was back with a vengeance and brought with it a nasty cough. The result was no long run for me or over the weekend as I began to feel more and more unwell. Not a good end to the week...
If you would like to sponsor me you can do so by visiting my justgiving page at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Miles1
You can also donate using JustTextGiving. To do so send the following text code 'STES51' followed by the amount you wish to donate to 70070. For example, 'STES02 £10' to 70070.
Alternatively please feel free to contact me to sponsor me by any other means at smiles@nockolds.co.uk or on 01279 712584.
Sarah Miles (profile) 
Friday 17th February 2012
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The figures in relation to Whiplash claims do seem incredible but although the press are happy to sensationalise our “Compensation Culture” there are two sides to every story. David Cameron is meeting today (14th February 2012) with insurance, consumer and business groups to discuss what can be done.
BBC News - David Cameron pledges action to cut car whiplash claims
The vast majority of people who claim for whiplash have genuine injuries. They have, in many cases, been innocent passengers or drivers whose vehicle has been hit from behind by a careless driver. Should that driver (who is often clearly at fault) be allowed to get away with his negligent action? The Insurance industry states that if a vehicle is travelling at less than 6.25mph then the claim will fail. The problem with this argument is we are all built differently and some of us can withstand greater impacts than others.
If the 6.25mph limit is implemented who will be who is responsible for proving the speed at impact? Will it be open for a Defendant to simply say that they were travelling at less than 6.25mph and leave the claimant to obtain expensive expert evidence to prove otherwise?
There are clearly a number of fraudulent whiplash claims and they need to be weeded out but the vast majority of Claimants have legitimate injuries and the government is in danger of unfairly punishing them.
What is the answer?
The suggestion of a panel of approved court experts is a good one providing Defendants and Claimants can agree who should be on the list. A number of years ago APIL (The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) and FOIL (The Federation of Insurance Lawyers) managed to produce a list of agreed Orthopaedic Experts and surely they could meet again and produce a similar list for Whiplash Injuries.
For more detail on Whiplash Claims see Jennie Jones’ article of 12th January 2012 Whiplash claims...scandal or a right to claim
Ivan Moody is a solicitor at Nockolds LLP with over 20 years’ experience of Road Traffic and other Personal Injury Claims
For help and advice contact the team on accidents@nockolds.co.uk
Ivan Moody (profile) 
Jennie Jones (profile) 
Rachel Davis (profile) 
Tuesday 14th February 2012
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Week 5 - Commencing 30 January
This week made me question the whole concept of spring marathons and their popularity. Spring marathons mean winter training... The start of the week was cold but no change there, however the snow at the end of the week makes training pretty tough. Fortunately I have gym membership and can choose to train on a treadmill, although this is particularly tedious.
Once again this week my long run was scheduled for the Friday. I came down with a stinking cold in the middle of the week and felt very sorry for myself. There is a general rule of thumb for when a cold should stop you running which basically provides if your symptoms are above your neck (i.e. no aches and pains in the body) you should be safe to run. Having prayed to wake up with aches and pains Thursday night, I awoke Friday morning feeling pretty rough but no aches and pains! No excuse I had to do my long run. I had a lemsip, pulled on my new trainers and plenty of layers and set out for my scheduled 10 mile tempo run. Until now my long runs have been 'steady' runs. However this week my schedule dictated that it should be done at a tempo pace. Well I wasn't exactly feeling in a tempo mood but I thought I would see how I got on. After a steady mile 1 I actually felt OK and so picked up the pace a little. I did not have a set route in mind but instead was relying on my fancy running watch, which tells me the distance covered, my pace and the calories burned. I actually ended up covering 11 miles and took off nearly a minute per mile from my recent long run pace. It felt good, especially when I saw that mile 10 was in fact my quickest mile and how many calories I had burned... These were quickly replaced with a couple of toasted tea cakes when I got home! Maybe it was the thought of the tosted tea cakes that made me speed up at the end...
If you would like to sponsor me you can do so by visiting my justgiving page at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Miles1
You can also donate using JustTextGiving. To do so send the following text code 'STES51' followed by the amount you wish to donate to 70070. For example, 'STES02 £10' to 70070.
Alternatively please feel free to contact me to sponsor me by any other means at smiles@nockolds.co.uk or on 01279 712584.
Sarah Miles (profile) Tuesday 7th February 2012
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Week 4 - Commencing 23 January
I have had a busy training week this week with only one rest day. Out of the six days I ran on 4 and did spinning on one day and swam on the other. Given the dark mornings and dark nights and the fact that there are only about 2 lamp posts in the village I live in, I am running some of my sessions on a treadmill in the gym. Whilst this brings with it shelter and warmth, it is also very boring. I therefore tend to do my interval sessions on the treadmill where I vary the speeds that I am running at. It is still pretty boring though...
For some reason whatever day of the week I choose do to my long run, you can guarantee this is the day that we have a very hard frost. Friday morning saw me heading out to clock up 10 miles whilst what felt like the rest of the school mums returned home to light the fire and have a cup of tea and a biscuit whilst watching Phillip and Holly. I am sure this wasn't really the case but it was the image I had in my head as I set out for my run in freezing temperatures! The first 2 miles of my run were effectively an ice skating rink. I spent the entire time trying to find the least slippery part of the road to run on. I could see the look of amusement on passing driver's faces as they drove past me whilst I did my best not to look like a clumsy over sized ballerina...
If you would like to sponsor me you can do so by visiting my justgiving page at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Miles1
You can also donate using JustTextGiving. To do so send the following text code 'STES51' followed by the amount you wish to donate to 70070. For example, 'STES02 £10' to 70070.
Alternatively please feel free to contact me to sponsor me by any other means at smiles@nockolds.co.uk or on 01279 712584.
Sarah Miles (profile) Tuesday 31st January 2012
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Week 3 - Commencing 16 January
I am in full swing now and have somehow worked out how to squeeze in 5 training sessions into my week plus working, running a home and looking after 2 children! My training pattern is fairly standard and sees me doing an interval session, a tempo (fastish) run, a long run and the other 2 sessions usually involve another run and a spinning class or getting out on my bike or going for a swim. I am also doing some weights in the gym.
I had a big boost this week with two visits to St Elizabeth's. The first of which was truly humbling. The facilities are amazing and the care and support the residents and students are given is outstanding. The highlight was seeing a relation of mine, a 15 year old boy that is distantly related to my mum. This gave me a real boost. I had a second visit on Saturday with all the other marathon runners who are raising money for St Elizabeth's too. It was great to meet them and get some training and fundraising tips.
Back to the training... with renewed enthusiasm after my visit I set out for my long run on a very windy and damp morning. As I set out I hadn't really planned where I was going to run. Unfortunately my feet took me on a very hilly route with one hill in particular which is what I shall call challenging! The route is actually very pleasant and takes me round some beautiful countryside. With the rush of endorphins experienced when running it never fails to make me feel grateful for living in such a beautiful place... that is until I pass a field where someone has done the unthinkable. Fly tipping really gets my goat as it is completely unnecessary. Usually upon discovery rubbish that has been dumped on a farmer's land, my feelings of joy are quickly replaced with feelings of outrage. However on this particular occasion, my overwhelming feelings were not of outrage at the abhorrent behaviour but instead... I actually found myself wondering whether I could take a lay down on the dumped mattress in the field... it was halfway up the truly awful hill you see. I resisted and carried on plodding up the hill!
If you would like to sponsor me you can do so by visiting my justgiving page at:
http://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Miles1
You can also donate using JustTextGiving. To do so send the following text code 'STES51' followed by the amount you wish to donate to 70070. For example, 'STES02 £10' to 70070.
Alternatively please feel free to contact me to sponsor me by any other means at smiles@nockolds.co.uk or on 01279 712584.
Sarah Miles (profile) Tuesday 24th January 2012
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