Update from Lee on his Running Half Marathon Training

A little update to those who have sponsored me for my Half Marathon run!

My name is Lee - I’m the owner here at Yorkshire AV.

What many won’t know (unless you’ve been to the store or had me visit you in person) is that I’ve been a severe asthma sufferer since a very young age and have had countless asthma attacks in my life, with several having me admitted to hospital. My most recent attack was in 2021 just shortly after I founded Yorkshire AV. 

Asthma has day to day implications - simple things like being out of breath whilst making a phone call, to being limited to what exercises one can do ahead of a flare up - even playing in the garden with your children etc.

Care has got better and in the last 3 years, groundbreaking medication has improved my symptoms no end. Coupled with a more healthy lifestyle and exercise - my asthma is now under control and is giving me better opportunities to live the life I wanted.

But it took 37 years of missed opportunities, watching at the sidelines friends do what they do and everyday activities being a struggle. I’m fighting back and have entered the London Half Marathon next April….

Late September I started running for the first time having woken up miserable in myself at my weight, my lack of fitness and being dependent on drugs.

Using the 'Couch to 5K' system that was launched during COVID and with careful guidance from friends who also run - I took a more measured approach. In October I managed my first 5KM and then 8KM run (without stopping). Since then I've worked up to 14KM and have started doing Park Runs every Saturday as I vary my training methods.

I'm now running 5KM races in 25 minutes and 40 seconds, 10KM in just under an hour and am on track to run my half marathon (health and injury permitting!) in April. 

The winter months have been hard to train in - with dark nights, cold, wind and rain to contend with!

I also suffered an injury - which was slow to come on but made running almost impossible for 2 weeks without excruciating pain. My physio / trainer turned my focus onto strength work (as I'd stopped cycling at this point!) to improve my hamstrings and calf muscles. Grateful to her for getting me back onto the road - I now feel like I need to run every few days!

The hardest part of any run is getting up and out! The first few KM feel slow and heavy as your body remembers what it's doing. You then have to push through a number of physical and mental blocks as you set into your routine - and I make a point of mostly running out on the open road to see parts of where I live and new parts of the UK when out on jobs! I've been limited one once with asthma in this period of running (of which I've now done 102 runs since starting out!) thanks to a balanced control of diet, medication (which has reduced significantly) and discipline in the training.

Since September, I've reduced my weight by circa 25kg - I'm now comfortably stable at 74kg, a size 30 waist (from 36) and now have a 'Small' wardrobe vs my previous 'Large-ish'. 

I'm raising awareness for Asthma and Lung UK as a charity for the event and Yorkshire AV will match the total donations to sponsor the local Asthma Care Clinic in Doncaster to get kids/adults into health and fitness to help control their asthma alongside medication. A little education goes a long way and in this day and age - I feel it so important that everyone has access to ways and means of looking after themselves better.

If you feel you want to sponsor me in my quest for breathing easier and ensuring others can do this too - you can click this link here and make a donation. I will personally match ALL donations received!

Thank you so much in advance :)