So I did it, I achieved what I set out to do and finished my marathon in 3 hours 59 minutes and 19 seconds. Up until just after the 24 mile point I was doing well, running 9 minute miles and on course for to finish in about 3 hours 49, then the pain in my thighs outweighed my desire to continue running so I walked for a bit and then ran for a bit and then walked for a bit for about a mile and a half before running in the last half mile. I was worried that I was going to be over four hours and then I saw the finish and looked at my watch, I had a minute and a half to cover about 400 metres. I managed to find some energy from somewhere and put on a turn of speed and came in with 41 seconds to spare. I was dead afterwards, I felt emotional and punch-drunk.
In the week leading up to the marathon I had run three gentle 5km so that my legs would be warmed up for the big day and I think that was the right thing to do. I was convinced that I wouldn’t hit ‘the wall’ and in the end I’m not sure that I did, rather there came a point where the pain in my legs was unbearable and I had to walk. I am slightly disappointed about that but I can now say that I completed a marathon in under four hours. A damned fine achievement!
Last night I went for a gentle 5km recovery run and I’m going to try and get a sports massage in the next couple of days.
Well that’s it now, not that many people have read it but it’s a nice record of how I got from my first 10km of the year on the 2nd of Feb to running a marathon on the 8th of May. I think I’ll wait at least until next year before doing my next one…Paris perhaps?
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Tuesday 3 May 2011
03.0532011
On Saturday I ran 10.3km in 49:35 which is ok considering the route I took involves crossing a number of roads and therefore slowed me down a bit. I decided not to have another long run before the Marathon so I may do 11km tonight and then 5km on alternate days until Sunday when it's M day. A lot of the advice seems to suggest that virtually no running should be done the week of the marathon, however I think that a few gentle 5km to keep the leg muscles warm is definitely the way forward, so I won't time anything but I'll feel better about Sunday if I do them.
April's running stats were as follows:
Training sessions: 18
Total Km run: 214.2
Abington Park Km: 17.5
Racecourse Km: 136.3
Willen Lake Km: 37.5
London Km: 9
Gym Km: 14
Calories burnt: 15907
Longest run 34.1 km
I'm quite pleased with April's performance, it was important that I reigned myself in a bit after pushing it a bit far in March.
Interestingly it turns out that my long run of 33km was actually 34km following the remeasurement of the course this means I actually ran 21 miles which is obviously even better as I would only have had another 4 and a bit to run a complete marathon!
I seriously can't wait for Sunday now!
April's running stats were as follows:
Training sessions: 18
Total Km run: 214.2
Abington Park Km: 17.5
Racecourse Km: 136.3
Willen Lake Km: 37.5
London Km: 9
Gym Km: 14
Calories burnt: 15907
Longest run 34.1 km
I'm quite pleased with April's performance, it was important that I reigned myself in a bit after pushing it a bit far in March.
Interestingly it turns out that my long run of 33km was actually 34km following the remeasurement of the course this means I actually ran 21 miles which is obviously even better as I would only have had another 4 and a bit to run a complete marathon!
I seriously can't wait for Sunday now!
Thursday 28 April 2011
28.04.2011
In the end I had another day off on Monday rather than run 8.2km, in an effort to taper the training down over the next two weeks. On Tuesday I ran around Willen Lake with a colleague again, 12.5km in 1:01:25 which felt nice and steady and I didn’t have any niggles afterwards which is a good sign. The pain in my hips has gone which I’m pleased about as that was worrying me slightly.
This evening I ran a nice and easy 8.2km in 38:15 and I feel fine now, I think maybe 11km tomorrow then 5km on Saturday before 20ish on Sunday as my last run of any distance. The following week, Monday to Saturday, no more than 20km and definitely a 5km the day before the race as that has always formed part of my pre-race preparations in the past and has always served me well in the past.
This evening I ran a nice and easy 8.2km in 38:15 and I feel fine now, I think maybe 11km tomorrow then 5km on Saturday before 20ish on Sunday as my last run of any distance. The following week, Monday to Saturday, no more than 20km and definitely a 5km the day before the race as that has always formed part of my pre-race preparations in the past and has always served me well in the past.
Monday 25 April 2011
25.04.2011
It was with some trepidation that I went out on Tuesday evening for a 12.5km jog with a colleague, I was worried about my calf and had already said that I probably wouldn’t run any faster than I had done the week before. In the end there was no pain at all and no tight feeling either, although I certainly didn’t open the taps as I would have liked to we still finished in 1:00:25. So thirty seconds faster than last time.
On Wednesday I thought a shorter run was in order so I did two laps of the Racecourse Park, 8.2km, in 38:47 which is ok. I wasn’t in any specific pain the next day but there was the faintest hint of a twinge in the calf again. I then had two days off before an un-timed 5km on Saturday morning and then a gentle 17.2km yesterday in 1:26:07 which is bang on 5 minutes per km. For some reason I have developed pain in my hips which I haven’t had for ages. I’m planning a gentle 8.2km today and then tomorrow it’s 12.5km with a colleague from work again. It’s really close to M day now and I’m beginning to get a little nervous about it.
On Wednesday I thought a shorter run was in order so I did two laps of the Racecourse Park, 8.2km, in 38:47 which is ok. I wasn’t in any specific pain the next day but there was the faintest hint of a twinge in the calf again. I then had two days off before an un-timed 5km on Saturday morning and then a gentle 17.2km yesterday in 1:26:07 which is bang on 5 minutes per km. For some reason I have developed pain in my hips which I haven’t had for ages. I’m planning a gentle 8.2km today and then tomorrow it’s 12.5km with a colleague from work again. It’s really close to M day now and I’m beginning to get a little nervous about it.
Tuesday 19 April 2011
19/04/2011
I haven’t written for a little while for no reason other than I’ve been quite busy with work.
I am slightly worried about a tightness that I’ve been experiencing in my left calf, during my most recent run it felt like it was about to go into cramp. There is no real pain just the tightness and once during the run it twinged. I had the next day off and it feels fine today so we’ll see how tonight’s 12.5km with a colleague goes. I wonder if I’ve been overtraining? In February I ran 147km whereas in March I ran 236km, was this too much of a jump? I’m not sure, I certainly can’t afford to get injured now, it will be curtains for a decent marathon time if I do. So I think I’ll take it easy for the rest of this week and cut out the speedwork. I have read articles indicating that if overpronators like me wear the wrong shoes it can have this effect however, I’ve been wearing the ‘wrong’ shoes for the past 746km with no calf problems so I’m not too sure about this diagnosis.
In terms of running since the last post I have done the following:
Thursday 14/04/2011 – 14km 1:06:56
Sunday 17/04/2011 – 17km 1:23:46
I am slightly worried about a tightness that I’ve been experiencing in my left calf, during my most recent run it felt like it was about to go into cramp. There is no real pain just the tightness and once during the run it twinged. I had the next day off and it feels fine today so we’ll see how tonight’s 12.5km with a colleague goes. I wonder if I’ve been overtraining? In February I ran 147km whereas in March I ran 236km, was this too much of a jump? I’m not sure, I certainly can’t afford to get injured now, it will be curtains for a decent marathon time if I do. So I think I’ll take it easy for the rest of this week and cut out the speedwork. I have read articles indicating that if overpronators like me wear the wrong shoes it can have this effect however, I’ve been wearing the ‘wrong’ shoes for the past 746km with no calf problems so I’m not too sure about this diagnosis.
In terms of running since the last post I have done the following:
Thursday 14/04/2011 – 14km 1:06:56
Sunday 17/04/2011 – 17km 1:23:46
Thursday 14 April 2011
14/04/2011
I went to the gym last night and did the usual 6km of intervals and then 1km of running increasingly fast followed by weights and Powerplate. I’ve had a tightness is my right calf for a few days and I’ve been trying some new stretches to try and loosen it up. This morning I’ve also had shooting pains in my left shin, not all the time and not brought about by a specific action but painful nonetheless. I hope it’s nothing serious, I imagine that it is the increase in mileage beginning to take its toll. I hardly ran at all in December or January and then in February I went straight up to 147km. March was another sizeable jump up to 237km and this month I’ve run 108km so far. I will have to take it easy after the marathon for a bit, although there is the Woburn 10km in June and then the MK half in July but I won’t need to do anywhere near the mileage that I’m doing at the moment for them. I’m also wondering if I might have recovered enough after the marathon to do the Canterbury half which is two weeks later. That might be asking a bit much of myself but then again…
Running is certainly addictive!
Running is certainly addictive!
Wednesday 13 April 2011
13/04/2011
I rechecked the length of my running routes on Monday using a more sophisticated online tool than I had used previously www.gmap-pedometer.com . Interestingly it suggested that the distance from my house to the Racecourse which I thought was 1km was actually 1.2km. Also the circumference of the park is, according to a sign in the park 2.9km however the actual distance of the my route is 3km so in theory I should add 500m to each run of that park. However to allow for measurement inaccuracies I have just added 200m to each one, it has obviously meant that I have a truer reflection of my pace which is encouraging as I’m quicker than I thought!
On Monday evening I ran 11.2km pretty quickly in 51:20 which went well and I could probably have gone a bit faster but I had arranged to run 12.5km the next day with a colleague and I didn’t want to be too tired. The next day I did indeed run around Willen Lake in Milton Keynes with a colleague and although the pace was a little slower than I would have run on my own, we finished in 1:00:55, it was nice to have someone to chat to whilst running and nice to run in some different surroundings.
I’m looking forward to intervals at the gym tonight!
On Monday evening I ran 11.2km pretty quickly in 51:20 which went well and I could probably have gone a bit faster but I had arranged to run 12.5km the next day with a colleague and I didn’t want to be too tired. The next day I did indeed run around Willen Lake in Milton Keynes with a colleague and although the pace was a little slower than I would have run on my own, we finished in 1:00:55, it was nice to have someone to chat to whilst running and nice to run in some different surroundings.
I’m looking forward to intervals at the gym tonight!
Monday 11 April 2011
11/04/2011
We had a splendid weekend in London and managed to get a little running in too, I awoke early on Saturday morning and as we were near Green Park and I just happened to have my running kit with me I thought an early morning jaunt was in order. In the end I ran through Green Park to Buck House and then twice around St James’s Park before running through Green Park again and then on to Hyde Park where I ran along the Serpentine over the bridge and then back along the other side of Green Park before turning for home. It turned out to be about 9km which was a lovely way to spend a hour on a sunny Saturday morning in London. I didn’t run particularly fast and I had to stop a few times to consult the map but it felt great and set me up for a splendid breakfast and an excellent weekend all round!
Friday 8 April 2011
08/04/2011
Last night I went out with the intention of doing three laps of the Racecourse Park followed by two laps of Abington Park, a total of 16km, however by the time I had run the first lap of Abington Park I was tired and my legs hurt. I haven’t had a day off since the 20 miles on Sunday and I thought that discretion would be the better part of valour and I called it a day after 13.5km. I came in at 1:07:46 which is fine as I wasn’t going for a particularly quick time and having to cross the roads always slows me up a bit. I’m having a day off today, although I did do 40 press-ups this morning, off to London tonight and there’s a possibility of a little jaunt around Green Park and Hyde Park tomorrow morning which would be fun! Other than that a weekend of relaxation beckons which is definitely a good idea, then I can hit it hard next week.
Thursday 7 April 2011
07/04/2011
Yesterday I looked at the marathon training plan which has sat in my bag for the last three months, I had planned to follow it religiously but I never actually started using it. My plan was to run about 50km per week and to do progressively longer runs once a week. This I have done but I thought it might be an idea to see how many 20 mile runs the plan suggested, there was only one in the plan and it was to be done in the 11th week of training (out of 14). I’m now only in the 9th week, so I’ve done it two weeks early. I’m not sure whether that’s a good or bad thing. I’ll have to make sure that I get a couple more longish runs in including at least one half-marathon aiming for 1h50. That shouldn’t be a problem and I know that I do enough speed work over the week with every 10km now being under 50 minutes and the intervals at the gym. All in all the training has gone well, I hope I’ve done enough. As I’ve said before the fact that I can run 20.5 miles must mean that my training has been effective as the furthest I had run before that was 15 miles and I had only ever done that twice.
Last night I thought a little 10km was in order so off I went with slightly protesting legs and I must admit that the first 2.5km lap was hard and I was worried it was slow. It wasn’t and I felt better after each lap, after a sprint finish I came home in 46:56 which was very pleasing and today no real aches. I think that tonight, if I get home in time, perhaps a 14km might be in order or possibly an 11km. The problem is that I’m rubbish at slowing down on the shorter distances, the training programme had plenty of ‘easy 6 mile’ run’s in it but if it’s 10km then I’m not going to be happy if it takes more than 50 minutes and actually now I’m annoyed if it’s over 47!
Last night I thought a little 10km was in order so off I went with slightly protesting legs and I must admit that the first 2.5km lap was hard and I was worried it was slow. It wasn’t and I felt better after each lap, after a sprint finish I came home in 46:56 which was very pleasing and today no real aches. I think that tonight, if I get home in time, perhaps a 14km might be in order or possibly an 11km. The problem is that I’m rubbish at slowing down on the shorter distances, the training programme had plenty of ‘easy 6 mile’ run’s in it but if it’s 10km then I’m not going to be happy if it takes more than 50 minutes and actually now I’m annoyed if it’s over 47!
Wednesday 6 April 2011
06/04/2011
I went for my planned 5km recovery run on Monday night which was fine but the next day I wondered whether I should not have had a day off instead. My thighs were aching more on Tuesday morning than they had been on Monday and my left calf also felt tight and sore. So with slight trepidation I went to the gym last night with a view to just having a little jog on the treadmill and then powerplate, however once I was on the treadmill and I had started my warm up I felt good so I did my normal 6km of intervals and then 1km of running progressively quicker. I followed this up with weights and then powerplate and today other than a little soreness in the knees and the left calf being a little tight I’m fine.
The 33km run on Sunday showed that I’m capable of running a marathon and that’s really important to me, to know that I can run the distance before I start. How much of that is in my head I’m not sure but there’s definitely something to be said for winning the mental battle with the race before it’s begun. Up until now I’ve done it by going out and running the distance in training, that was fine for 10k and half-marathon but clearly running a training marathon is not a good idea. However I know that I’m going to be ok, I think I’ll take some jelly beans or something to eat along the way to try and ward off the onset of ‘The Wall’. Having said that I’m convinced that a great part of ‘The Wall’ is mental. I was worried that I might hit it at 20 miles but I didn’t I was fine so now I’m confident that as long as I eat peanut butter toast for breakfast I’ll be fine!
The 33km run on Sunday showed that I’m capable of running a marathon and that’s really important to me, to know that I can run the distance before I start. How much of that is in my head I’m not sure but there’s definitely something to be said for winning the mental battle with the race before it’s begun. Up until now I’ve done it by going out and running the distance in training, that was fine for 10k and half-marathon but clearly running a training marathon is not a good idea. However I know that I’m going to be ok, I think I’ll take some jelly beans or something to eat along the way to try and ward off the onset of ‘The Wall’. Having said that I’m convinced that a great part of ‘The Wall’ is mental. I was worried that I might hit it at 20 miles but I didn’t I was fine so now I’m confident that as long as I eat peanut butter toast for breakfast I’ll be fine!
Monday 4 April 2011
04/04/11
I’m aching a wee bit today as I did manage 33km or 20.5 miles yesterday afternoon! It took me 3:03:20 which is bang on for a sub four hour marathon, so naturally I’m really pleased. I was pretty tired at the end but I’m sure I could have pushed on for the final five and a half miles in an actual race. Needless to say that is the longest run I’ve ever done and coincidentally is almost exactly the distance from my house to work. Today my thighs hurt and so does my left knee but I’m really not in too bad a shape considering the strain I put my body through yesterday.
In a bid to prepare spent most of Saturday eating and had two rounds of toast with peanut butter for breakfast on Sunday morning. That all seemed to work so I think Sarah’s amazing mushroom risotto will be providing the necessary calories the day before the marathon.
I was planning to send the emails to everyone asking them for money yesterday but by the time I had got back from running, showered etc and then made a huge pot of curry it was too late and I was too tired. I’ll try and do it at some point this week, after all it is now only 34 days until ‘M’ day!
I think a recovery run is in order tonight and then definitely the gym tomorrow with a double powerplate session.
In a bid to prepare spent most of Saturday eating and had two rounds of toast with peanut butter for breakfast on Sunday morning. That all seemed to work so I think Sarah’s amazing mushroom risotto will be providing the necessary calories the day before the marathon.
I was planning to send the emails to everyone asking them for money yesterday but by the time I had got back from running, showered etc and then made a huge pot of curry it was too late and I was too tired. I’ll try and do it at some point this week, after all it is now only 34 days until ‘M’ day!
I think a recovery run is in order tonight and then definitely the gym tomorrow with a double powerplate session.
Friday 1 April 2011
01/04/2011
It’s a mark of how far I’ve come that last night I was slightly disappointed that I ran 10km in 47:08! I think I’d have gone a bit faster if there hadn’t been any wind. I’ve found out that the Woburn Abbey 10k, scene of my PB, has been moved to June from October so I think I’ll target that as an opportunity to beat 44:41. I felt good after the run and although I do ache a bit today I’m getting used to it now.
I have now been training for two months and last months stats look like this:
Training sessions: 22
Total Km run: 236
Abington Park Km: 104.5
Racecourse Km: 77.8
Gym Km: 38.7
Races: Knowle Park 10km (47:05)
Calories burnt: 18772
Longest run: 25.2 km
Overall I upped the mileage quite a lot last month in comparison to the one before, (147km in Feb) and I feel good.
I’m having a complete day off today, not even the weights and press ups in the morning, tomorrow I think a gentle 11km and then wait and see how far I can run on Sunday. I’m hoping to increase from last week’s 25.2km to 33 which is only another three laps of the park, easy! I’m going to give carb loading a try on Saturday night, a few baked potatoes and some roast chicken is the way forward I think.
I have now been training for two months and last months stats look like this:
Training sessions: 22
Total Km run: 236
Abington Park Km: 104.5
Racecourse Km: 77.8
Gym Km: 38.7
Races: Knowle Park 10km (47:05)
Calories burnt: 18772
Longest run: 25.2 km
Overall I upped the mileage quite a lot last month in comparison to the one before, (147km in Feb) and I feel good.
I’m having a complete day off today, not even the weights and press ups in the morning, tomorrow I think a gentle 11km and then wait and see how far I can run on Sunday. I’m hoping to increase from last week’s 25.2km to 33 which is only another three laps of the park, easy! I’m going to give carb loading a try on Saturday night, a few baked potatoes and some roast chicken is the way forward I think.
Thursday 31 March 2011
31/03/2011
I went to the gym last night and ended up doing 6km of intervals and then 1.7km of running increasingly fast. This was followed by a few weights and the usual Powerplate, but I must say that I ache more than usual today particularly in the thighs. I wonder if it was the speed that did it? I’m planning a 10km tonight so I’ll see how that goes. I experimented with eating a much bigger lunch than usual yesterday and I definitely had more energy particularly during the parts of the interval training when I increase the incline. I still really haven’t got this nutrition thing down yet, I’m sure I should be eating more carbs and making sure that there is enough protein in my diet but it’s just an extra thing to worry about. I’ll see how this weekend’s long run goes on Sunday after carbing up the night before.
I think this is also the weekend where I’ll send out the emails on facebook to ask everyone for money. The marathon is only just over a month away so it’s probably time to start getting people to dig into their pockets. However I didn’t want to ask too early because I thought that people were more likely to give money for an event in the near future rather than one in a few months time. I am really hoping that I can persuade some of them at least to give the price of their usual drink at the pub. Then probably the week before I’ll ask the people at work, that will be odd as I don’t know that many of them that well but definitely worth a try.
I think this is also the weekend where I’ll send out the emails on facebook to ask everyone for money. The marathon is only just over a month away so it’s probably time to start getting people to dig into their pockets. However I didn’t want to ask too early because I thought that people were more likely to give money for an event in the near future rather than one in a few months time. I am really hoping that I can persuade some of them at least to give the price of their usual drink at the pub. Then probably the week before I’ll ask the people at work, that will be odd as I don’t know that many of them that well but definitely worth a try.
Wednesday 30 March 2011
30/03/11
As last night was the first evening that I could make use of the extra hour of daylight I thought that I would have a run around the Racecourse Park. I went off quite quickly and did four laps which with the km to and from the park is 14km in 1:07:55 which I was really pleased with. I ache a little today and my left knee is a bit sore but I’m sure a gym session tonight will sort that out. Only 39 days to go!
In other news it appears that there are a couple of people at work who run a bit and will be entering the Milton Keynes half marathon in July. Last year I was in the company team and we came second overall, this year with a better team we could win the team event. The winning team get £50 each in vouchers to spend in a running shop so that’s worth training hard for!
In other news it appears that there are a couple of people at work who run a bit and will be entering the Milton Keynes half marathon in July. Last year I was in the company team and we came second overall, this year with a better team we could win the team event. The winning team get £50 each in vouchers to spend in a running shop so that’s worth training hard for!
Monday 28 March 2011
28/03/11
Saturday’s run turned out to be 25.2 km and it took me 2h19:45 which is the right pace for a sub four hour marathon and I didn’t feel absolutely exhausted at the end. However next time I don’t think I’ll be having a Chinese the night before! I could definitely have done with more carbs and less grease. That was the furthest I’ve ever run and I’ve only run that distance once before. The next day I was in a lot less pain than the last time which must mean that I’m fitter. I’m hoping to push it even further next weekend and go for 30-32 km but everyone seems to say that there is no need to run further than about 20 miles in training. I’m really looking forward to the marathon now!
The clocks went forward at the weekend which is great because it means I can start running around the Racecourse Park in the evenings again, that gives me more scope for varying the training runs a bit more.
The clocks went forward at the weekend which is great because it means I can start running around the Racecourse Park in the evenings again, that gives me more scope for varying the training runs a bit more.
Saturday 26 March 2011
26/03/11
I had a really excellent run on Wednesday night, I had planned a normal 10km hoping maybe expecting now to go under 50 minutes. The first lap felt ok but not hugely fast and it turned out that I ran it in 11 minutes 45, which spurred me on and I lengthened my stride and sped up on the flatter sections. I sprinted quite hard for the last 200m and was really pleased that I had kept the speed up over the four laps and had managed to get round in 46:36 which is a PB on that course. Allowing for the fact that the course is about 10.4km not 10km my 10km time would have been very near to my PB of 44:41. However I mustn’t get carried away as I’m not supposed to be improving my speed but my stamina, so we’ll see how Saturday’s long run goes. How long it will be I’m not too sure yet.
On Thursday night I was planning just to go for a gentle un-timed 5km round the other park that I normally only run around in the summer or in daylight. I had forgotten how annoying it is running there in the dark, there is a section under some trees where the roots have pushed up the path and I nearly tripped and fell a couple of times. I was also accosted by a chavette and her two male friends, for some reason she bent over in the middle of the path and was filming me between her legs. Odd, I thought, then she shouted, “Alright sexy!”, I decided that it would probably be sensible to ignore them in case some kind of ‘happy slap’ incident was in the offing so put on a turn of speed and left them standing there looking stupid. As I neared home I felt that I wanted to run for a bit longer so I did one lap of the usual park but in the other direction. It was very odd running that way round, especially seeing the landmarks in from the other direction and I was momentarily confused as to where I was at a couple of points.
I have discovered that there film of me running in the Knowle Park 10km from a couple of weeks ago. It’s at the following address: http://www.7oaks.info/sevenoaks-rotary-10k/race-summary-2011.shtml towards the bottom of the page, I appear at about 2 minutes 13 and then again at about 4 minutes 7.
On Thursday night I was planning just to go for a gentle un-timed 5km round the other park that I normally only run around in the summer or in daylight. I had forgotten how annoying it is running there in the dark, there is a section under some trees where the roots have pushed up the path and I nearly tripped and fell a couple of times. I was also accosted by a chavette and her two male friends, for some reason she bent over in the middle of the path and was filming me between her legs. Odd, I thought, then she shouted, “Alright sexy!”, I decided that it would probably be sensible to ignore them in case some kind of ‘happy slap’ incident was in the offing so put on a turn of speed and left them standing there looking stupid. As I neared home I felt that I wanted to run for a bit longer so I did one lap of the usual park but in the other direction. It was very odd running that way round, especially seeing the landmarks in from the other direction and I was momentarily confused as to where I was at a couple of points.
I have discovered that there film of me running in the Knowle Park 10km from a couple of weeks ago. It’s at the following address: http://www.7oaks.info/sevenoaks-rotary-10k/race-summary-2011.shtml towards the bottom of the page, I appear at about 2 minutes 13 and then again at about 4 minutes 7.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
23/03/11
I went to the gym last night and did 6km of intervals followed by a progressively quicker 1km then Powerplate and some weights. My right knee felt a bit weird afterwards, a little bit of pain and a little bit crunchy. It’s better today but I do get worried when I have new pain that isn’t just muscle ache. I’m worried that I might get injured before the marathon which scarily is in only 46 days time!
Tuesday 22 March 2011
22/03/11
I had an odd run last night, I went out with the intention of doing 13km at just under 50 minute 10km pace. 13km is five laps of the park so that’s roughly 12 minutes 30 per lap, after the first lap I was about 25 seconds off pace which annoyed me as I felt that I was going quite quickly. The second lap was 35 seconds off pace even though I was sure that I had pushed on and run faster, after the third lap I had gained 10 seconds but was still down. So I opened the taps a bit and strode out a bit more and by the end of the fourth lap I was about 10 seconds up, during the fifth lap I really went for it and pushed even harder and when I checked my watch at the end I was a 47 seconds up and had finished in 01:01:42 which is a PB! I was buzzing when I got home and felt like I could have gone out and run the same again.
I feel ok this morning if a little stiff and I’m going to the gym tonight for intervals and Powerplate which should help.
I feel ok this morning if a little stiff and I’m going to the gym tonight for intervals and Powerplate which should help.
Monday 21 March 2011
21/03/11
I went to the gym on Wednesday and did 6km of intervals and then an extra 1km of running progressively quickly, followed by a few weights. It seems to have taken longer than it did last year for the new year’s resolution people to stop coming but things seem to be more back to normal now. I didn’t have to wait too long to get on a treadmill and there were definitely fewer confused people wandering about.
On Thursday night I had a decent 10km run which took 49:21 which I wasn’t too unhappy with. I felt good most of the way round and at the end. I also noticed that I am burning off less calories to run the same distance, obviously this has in part to do with the fact that it is taking less time but also I think because I am getting fitter.
Friday was a interesting run, I had arrived at work at 06:30 so that I could leave early and I managed 19.6km in 1h:48:40 which equates to a marathon time of 3h:54. If I managed that I would be over the moon as apart from actually finishing, the sub four hour target is the biggest one. The other important part of that run was that I managed to keep my heart rate below 150 for the entire thing, that’s important because it means that I can continue running for longer before getting tired. I’m going to have a go at doing 25km this Saturday and see how that goes, again trying to keep the speed down and the heart rate below 150.
Tonight the plan is to go for a normal 13km aiming to come in under 1h:03.
On Thursday night I had a decent 10km run which took 49:21 which I wasn’t too unhappy with. I felt good most of the way round and at the end. I also noticed that I am burning off less calories to run the same distance, obviously this has in part to do with the fact that it is taking less time but also I think because I am getting fitter.
Friday was a interesting run, I had arrived at work at 06:30 so that I could leave early and I managed 19.6km in 1h:48:40 which equates to a marathon time of 3h:54. If I managed that I would be over the moon as apart from actually finishing, the sub four hour target is the biggest one. The other important part of that run was that I managed to keep my heart rate below 150 for the entire thing, that’s important because it means that I can continue running for longer before getting tired. I’m going to have a go at doing 25km this Saturday and see how that goes, again trying to keep the speed down and the heart rate below 150.
Tonight the plan is to go for a normal 13km aiming to come in under 1h:03.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
16/03/11
I went out with the intention of doing a fairly quick 13km last night and I ended up running a PB for the distance 01:02:01 which was really good. I felt quite tired afterwards and I’ve got a few aches but nothing out of the ordinary. Tonight it’s intervals at the gym which is always good fun and always makes me feel that I’ve worked hard.
I’m having issues with eating enough and am going to have to eat a lot more at lunch time and include another snack at about four. So today I’ve made two wraps for lunch instead of one and there’s some extra fruit. I’m also going to have to eat extra carbs every day after my run too, the trouble is by the time I’m back from a run and had a shower I never eat before 20:30 and sometimes later and it’s not nice going to bed with a load of carb sitting in one’s stomach. Oh well it’s all a learning process!
I’m having issues with eating enough and am going to have to eat a lot more at lunch time and include another snack at about four. So today I’ve made two wraps for lunch instead of one and there’s some extra fruit. I’m also going to have to eat extra carbs every day after my run too, the trouble is by the time I’m back from a run and had a shower I never eat before 20:30 and sometimes later and it’s not nice going to bed with a load of carb sitting in one’s stomach. Oh well it’s all a learning process!
Monday 14 March 2011
14/03/11
The Knowle Park 10km went really well, I came in the top 100 and got round in 47:05 which was very good, it would definitely have been quicker if it hadn’t been for the slippery, muddy sections in which I had to be careful not to come a cropper. However once on the harder ground I was able to really open the taps. I’m sure that if the whole race had been on the road I would have beaten my PB, but as it is I will have to wait until the Northampton 10km in September to see how quick I can go. I would really love to go under 40 minutes and also to get my half-marathon time under 1:40, I think those will be my goals to focus on once this marathon is out of the way. I have found that having a goal to achieve and a date by which I would like to achieve it is an important motivating factor.
I had run the quickest 5km of the year on Saturday morning, 23:15, and then to follow it up with the fastest 10km of the year the next day was great. I hardly ache at all today and I’m looking forward to this week’s running.
I had run the quickest 5km of the year on Saturday morning, 23:15, and then to follow it up with the fastest 10km of the year the next day was great. I hardly ache at all today and I’m looking forward to this week’s running.
Friday 11 March 2011
11/03/11
I went to the gym last night and did 5km of interval training and then rowed for 1 km before a few weights and then finishing with a minute on the Powerplate.
I’m having a complete day off today, I didn’t even do my weights and press ups this morning and tonight we’re going out for dinner. Tomorrow the plan is to do a quick 5km in the morning to warm the legs up a bit and then drive down to Kent to be well fed by mother before an early start on Sunday morning.
It’s too much too hope that I might beat my PB so my target for the race is 47 minutes and if I can get close to that I’ll be quite happy. I must say I’m looking forward to racing again, I don’t start too near the front so that I can spend the majority of the race overtaking people which feels great!
I’m having a complete day off today, I didn’t even do my weights and press ups this morning and tonight we’re going out for dinner. Tomorrow the plan is to do a quick 5km in the morning to warm the legs up a bit and then drive down to Kent to be well fed by mother before an early start on Sunday morning.
It’s too much too hope that I might beat my PB so my target for the race is 47 minutes and if I can get close to that I’ll be quite happy. I must say I’m looking forward to racing again, I don’t start too near the front so that I can spend the majority of the race overtaking people which feels great!
Thursday 10 March 2011
10/03/11
I ran the fastest 10km of the year so far last night, 49:20 which hopefully I’ll be able to improve upon on Sunday. I felt good throughout the run and I managed a consistent speed for each of the four laps which is always pleasing. I don’t really ache at all today but to give me the best possible chance of a good time on Sunday I’m going to the gym tonight for intervals and power plate possibly followed by a swim if there’s time.
I’ll be very happy when the clocks change and my evening running can encompass both parks as I’m getting a little bored of running round the same one so many times in a week!
I’ll be very happy when the clocks change and my evening running can encompass both parks as I’m getting a little bored of running round the same one so many times in a week!
Wednesday 9 March 2011
09/03/11
I went to the gym last night for 6km of interval training which was a little tougher than usual after the 18km the night before but still good. The power plate afterwards is still a revelation, my legs don’t hurt at all today and I’m looking forward to tonight’s run.
It appears that the Knowle Park run is going to be more on the park roads and less in the park itself than last year. This is good news as it means that I will be able to run faster and have a greater chance of knocking off those five minutes to get back to PB.
It appears that the Knowle Park run is going to be more on the park roads and less in the park itself than last year. This is good news as it means that I will be able to run faster and have a greater chance of knocking off those five minutes to get back to PB.
Tuesday 8 March 2011
08/03/11
08/03/11
18km last night! Longest run of the year and in a respectable 01:33:08 which equates to a half marathon time of about 01:50, not bad at all.
18km is seven laps around the Abington Park and two more than I had ever run around that course, so I didn’t set out with the intention of running that far. I just kept focussing on the next lap, after I had run three laps that meant that there was only 10km to go and I’ve run so many of those that psychologically I’m already halfway there. I think that for the marathon I’ll need to compartmentalise the race into a number of stages of a certain distance. For example the marathon is 42 km so that’s four 10kms and just under one lap of the park. Easy!
My legs hurt a little bit today but not nearly as badly as I feared last night, so I think as it’s going to be -7°C tonight I’ll do some interval training and powerplate at the gym.
18km last night! Longest run of the year and in a respectable 01:33:08 which equates to a half marathon time of about 01:50, not bad at all.
18km is seven laps around the Abington Park and two more than I had ever run around that course, so I didn’t set out with the intention of running that far. I just kept focussing on the next lap, after I had run three laps that meant that there was only 10km to go and I’ve run so many of those that psychologically I’m already halfway there. I think that for the marathon I’ll need to compartmentalise the race into a number of stages of a certain distance. For example the marathon is 42 km so that’s four 10kms and just under one lap of the park. Easy!
My legs hurt a little bit today but not nearly as badly as I feared last night, so I think as it’s going to be -7°C tonight I’ll do some interval training and powerplate at the gym.
Monday 7 March 2011
07/03/11
I’ve had a mixed running weekend, I ran 11km on Saturday and got round in 54:51 which is pretty good so I was quite pleased with that. However the long run I had planned for Sunday was sadly curtailed after 8km (40:51) as I had some unfortunate stomach problems. I’ll see if I can do my long run tonight instead as this Sunday I’ve got the Knowle Park 10km in Sevenoaks.
It’s a beautiful, crisp, sunny morning today and I would so much rather be out running than stuck in the office, but as Blackadder says, “Needs must when the Devil vomits in your kettle!”
It’s a beautiful, crisp, sunny morning today and I would so much rather be out running than stuck in the office, but as Blackadder says, “Needs must when the Devil vomits in your kettle!”
Thursday 3 March 2011
04/03/11
I had a really good run on Tuesday night, 5 laps of the park or 13km in 1:02:26 which is a PB over that distance for that course. That pace is fast in comparison to other runs around the same course recently because although I count one lap as 2.5km in reality it’s 2.6km which means five laps is exactly 13km. It does become a little boring running around the same track all the time, I’m going to have to work out some other routes for the longer runs.
I didn’t ache very much the next day, except for a little in the thighs but nothing too bad so I went to the gym for 5km of interval training. I was doing 500m blocks at various speeds and elevations after which I did a few weights. The following day I was planning to go out for an 11km but I was far too tired having been up before 5. I’m planning to go out for a little run tonight in the freezing cold, it’s dropped back down to 2-3 degrees which may mean that I have to break out the running leggings again. I’ll have to wait until it’s dark though because I do look a total arse wearing them!
I didn’t ache very much the next day, except for a little in the thighs but nothing too bad so I went to the gym for 5km of interval training. I was doing 500m blocks at various speeds and elevations after which I did a few weights. The following day I was planning to go out for an 11km but I was far too tired having been up before 5. I’m planning to go out for a little run tonight in the freezing cold, it’s dropped back down to 2-3 degrees which may mean that I have to break out the running leggings again. I’ll have to wait until it’s dark though because I do look a total arse wearing them!
Tuesday 1 March 2011
01/03/2011
I decided to give Fartlek a go last night so I ran 5km and sprinted or sped up at random intervals between lampposts or trees. It was pretty good and at the end I felt that I had pushed myself quite hard, my time was 24:06 pretty close to the year’s best of 23:51. I ache a little this morning but nothing more than usual and I’m looking forward to tonight’s run.
I have now been training for a month and February’s training stats look like this:
Training sessions: 20
Total Km run: 147
Abington Park Km: 108
Racecourse Km: 36
Gym Km: 8
Calories burnt: 15369
Longest run: 14 km
Only 68 days to go until M day!
I have now been training for a month and February’s training stats look like this:
Training sessions: 20
Total Km run: 147
Abington Park Km: 108
Racecourse Km: 36
Gym Km: 8
Calories burnt: 15369
Longest run: 14 km
Only 68 days to go until M day!
Monday 28 February 2011
27/02/2011
Well BMF waited another day before biting me in the posterior, on Thursday I was in all kinds of pain in muscles I obviously don’t use that often. Clearly I don’t use the crawling through the mud muscles often enough!
I only ran 5km on Thursday night, I was in pain and didn’t want to injure myself. Mind you I did get round in 24:26 so that was quite pleasing.
I had planned a gym session on Friday but my thighs were aching from all those Davinas on Wednesday so although I did go I only ran a gentle 2km on the treadmill and then had a swim. Before swimming I spent a minute on the Powerplate which took away all the pain in my legs, it looks like Monday’s will become gym days to help my legs recover from Sunday’s long run.
On Saturday I went to Birmingham to watch Villa destroy Blackburn 4-1 but managed to get a cheeky little 5km in before going. It was rainy and miserable and as a result I thought that I was not running particularly fast however by the end I had run a year’s best of 23:51 so I was pretty pleased.
I nearly didn’t go out at all on Sunday as a combination of weather and having lots of things to do seemed to be conspiring against me, however I did get out in the end and I was very pleased that I did. I ran 14km in a pretty slow 01:12:30 but that’s quite a bit faster than I need to run to go under four hours for the marathon. Now all I need to do is up the mileage every Sunday from now until May.
Today I’m not aching too much at all and I think 10km tonight is probably on the cards.
I only ran 5km on Thursday night, I was in pain and didn’t want to injure myself. Mind you I did get round in 24:26 so that was quite pleasing.
I had planned a gym session on Friday but my thighs were aching from all those Davinas on Wednesday so although I did go I only ran a gentle 2km on the treadmill and then had a swim. Before swimming I spent a minute on the Powerplate which took away all the pain in my legs, it looks like Monday’s will become gym days to help my legs recover from Sunday’s long run.
On Saturday I went to Birmingham to watch Villa destroy Blackburn 4-1 but managed to get a cheeky little 5km in before going. It was rainy and miserable and as a result I thought that I was not running particularly fast however by the end I had run a year’s best of 23:51 so I was pretty pleased.
I nearly didn’t go out at all on Sunday as a combination of weather and having lots of things to do seemed to be conspiring against me, however I did get out in the end and I was very pleased that I did. I ran 14km in a pretty slow 01:12:30 but that’s quite a bit faster than I need to run to go under four hours for the marathon. Now all I need to do is up the mileage every Sunday from now until May.
Today I’m not aching too much at all and I think 10km tonight is probably on the cards.
Thursday 24 February 2011
24/02/2011
British Military Fitness was really good fun! I did it in the nearest park to my house and I must have looked a sight as I jogged home caked in mud and generally looking like I had spent the evening rolling about in a field!
It was definitely hard work, there was a lot of running and press ups and sit ups and at the start quite a lot of crawling through the mud. This was interspersed with a great deal of ‘Davinas’ or squats, the instructor had named these after Davina Mccall because he likes her arse and something to do with her fitness DVDs which I haven’t seen. Anyway whilst it was certainly good fun and provided an interesting alternative to interval training for an evening, it’s not worth me signing up at the moment when I still have the gym and I need to run at least 40-50 km per week. I’m quite achy today, especially the left calf so it will be interesting to see how tonight’s 10km goes.
It was definitely hard work, there was a lot of running and press ups and sit ups and at the start quite a lot of crawling through the mud. This was interspersed with a great deal of ‘Davinas’ or squats, the instructor had named these after Davina Mccall because he likes her arse and something to do with her fitness DVDs which I haven’t seen. Anyway whilst it was certainly good fun and provided an interesting alternative to interval training for an evening, it’s not worth me signing up at the moment when I still have the gym and I need to run at least 40-50 km per week. I’m quite achy today, especially the left calf so it will be interesting to see how tonight’s 10km goes.
Wednesday 23 February 2011
23/02/2011
Finally! Last night I managed to do 10km in under 50 minutes, 49:51 and although I was definitely feeling a bit tired at the end I was elated. That’s given me a real boost, although it’s only ten seconds faster than I have run this year, psychologically it’s an important barrier to break. I’m still wondering how close I can get to my PB on the 13 of March…
I do ache a bit today and the there was some tightness in the right calf during yesterday’s run but I gave it a good stretching when I got home and it seems ok today. I’ve also started doing squats with my 20kg bar bell after running as well as in the morning as I’ve got to strengthen the muscles around my knees to protect them as I increase the length of my runs.
I’m quite looking forward to my free British Military Fitness class tonight, it should be an interesting experience if nothing else and I think that the cold and wet weather is kind of apt. I wonder what the other people will be like, it’s a bit late in the season to still have the post Christmas / New Year’s resolution people.
I do ache a bit today and the there was some tightness in the right calf during yesterday’s run but I gave it a good stretching when I got home and it seems ok today. I’ve also started doing squats with my 20kg bar bell after running as well as in the morning as I’ve got to strengthen the muscles around my knees to protect them as I increase the length of my runs.
I’m quite looking forward to my free British Military Fitness class tonight, it should be an interesting experience if nothing else and I think that the cold and wet weather is kind of apt. I wonder what the other people will be like, it’s a bit late in the season to still have the post Christmas / New Year’s resolution people.
22/02/2011
22/02/2011
Finally! Last night I managed to do 10km in under 50 minutes, 49:51 and although I was definitely feeling a bit tired at the end I was elated. That’s given me a real boost, although it’s only ten seconds faster than I have run this year psychologically it’s an important barrier to break. I’m still wondering how close I can get to my PB on the 13 of March…
I do ache a bit today and the there was some tightness in the right calf during yesterday’s run but I gave it a good stretching when I got home and it seems ok today. I’ve also started doing squats with my 20kg bar bell after running as well as in the morning as I’ve got to strengthen the muscles around my knees to protect them as I increase the length of my runs.
I’m quite looking forward to my free British Military Fitness class tonight, it should be an interesting experience if nothing else and I think that the cold and wet weather is kind of apt. I wonder what the other people will be like, it’s a bit late in the season to still have the post Christmas / New Year’s resolution people.
Finally! Last night I managed to do 10km in under 50 minutes, 49:51 and although I was definitely feeling a bit tired at the end I was elated. That’s given me a real boost, although it’s only ten seconds faster than I have run this year psychologically it’s an important barrier to break. I’m still wondering how close I can get to my PB on the 13 of March…
I do ache a bit today and the there was some tightness in the right calf during yesterday’s run but I gave it a good stretching when I got home and it seems ok today. I’ve also started doing squats with my 20kg bar bell after running as well as in the morning as I’ve got to strengthen the muscles around my knees to protect them as I increase the length of my runs.
I’m quite looking forward to my free British Military Fitness class tonight, it should be an interesting experience if nothing else and I think that the cold and wet weather is kind of apt. I wonder what the other people will be like, it’s a bit late in the season to still have the post Christmas / New Year’s resolution people.
Sunday 20 February 2011
21/02/2011
I'm aching today, I ran 11km again this morning and came in at 57:21 sadly 30 seconds slower than yesterday but never mind.
I now can't decide if I should do my free introductory British Military Fitness class tomorrow or go for a recovery run. Decisions, decisions...
I now can't decide if I should do my free introductory British Military Fitness class tomorrow or go for a recovery run. Decisions, decisions...
Saturday 19 February 2011
20/02/2011
I finally managed to go for a run in the daylight for the first time this year! From home to the Racecourse and then three times around it before running home 11 km in all. It took me 56:51 which isn't brilliant but isn't too bad either and I feel pretty good.
During my run I was abused by two seperate groups of charming teenagers, the first a group of strutting idiots one of whom shouted c*nt in my ear as I ran past them. I shouted back that I dearly wished that I could be as cool as them and carried on running. Then barely 500 meters later I was shouted at by a group of girls, being in rather a witty mood I retaliated by asking if they shouldn't be off catching Chlamydia somewhere. I know, what a Wildean wit I am!
I'm going to give it another go tomorrow morning and see if I can do an extra lap or two depending on how I feel. A spot of carb loading tonight with pasta and four cheese sauce might help! I think however that I'll need to improve the quality of my ripostes though!
During my run I was abused by two seperate groups of charming teenagers, the first a group of strutting idiots one of whom shouted c*nt in my ear as I ran past them. I shouted back that I dearly wished that I could be as cool as them and carried on running. Then barely 500 meters later I was shouted at by a group of girls, being in rather a witty mood I retaliated by asking if they shouldn't be off catching Chlamydia somewhere. I know, what a Wildean wit I am!
I'm going to give it another go tomorrow morning and see if I can do an extra lap or two depending on how I feel. A spot of carb loading tonight with pasta and four cheese sauce might help! I think however that I'll need to improve the quality of my ripostes though!
Friday 18 February 2011
18/02/2011
I was planning to try 13km last night but I was aching more than I had expected after the second lap and decided not to push it as I want to go for a long run on Sunday. So I stopped after 5km and got round in 24:51 which is the fastest time this year so that’s ok. I will probably try and get out tonight and then perhaps a small gym session on Saturday.
It’s funny how little things can affect how well a run goes, last night I was pissed off because the British Military Fitness people were all standing on the pavement. They seemed annoyed that I was running toward them and that they might have to get out of the way. I’m sure if that hadn’t happened I would have pushed on for at least another lap. I’m sure I train better when there are no people around at all but I need the faster people ahead of me when I’m racing.
On the subject of British Military Fitness, I’ve just signed up for a free hour’s session which should be interesting. However it’s far too expensive to consider and not what I need in terms of training but it will help to mix up next week’s training and a night of fitness rather than a run will be useful.
It’s funny how little things can affect how well a run goes, last night I was pissed off because the British Military Fitness people were all standing on the pavement. They seemed annoyed that I was running toward them and that they might have to get out of the way. I’m sure if that hadn’t happened I would have pushed on for at least another lap. I’m sure I train better when there are no people around at all but I need the faster people ahead of me when I’m racing.
On the subject of British Military Fitness, I’ve just signed up for a free hour’s session which should be interesting. However it’s far too expensive to consider and not what I need in terms of training but it will help to mix up next week’s training and a night of fitness rather than a run will be useful.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Why I'm doing this
My girlfriend Sarah, whom I love so very much, has ME which is why I’m trying to raise as much money as possible for the ME Association and I wanted to write a few words about her illness as I see it through my eyes.
There are many common misconceptions about ME, the first being that it is not real and although the term ‘Yuppie Flu’ is not heard very often these days that probably owes more to the falling out of use of the term ‘Yuppie’ rather than a sea change in the perception of ME. Even though there is a diagnostic test for ME some people, including members of the medical profession, believe that it is somehow not a real illness and is all in the head of the sufferer. The second common misconception that I have heard on a number of occasions is that ME is the same as MS (Multiple Sclerosis) which of course it is not. The misconception that I find the most painful to hear from those with no experience of the condition is that the sufferer is just a bit tired and is making a great drama out of it.
The ME Association website (http://www.meassociation.org.uk/) contains a great deal more information than I am going to give you as this is a personal account and I must say that I can only really comment on how ME affects Sarah and even then I can only recount what she says to me and how I see it affecting her.
Sarah’s daily symptoms can include, and this is not an exhaustive list, some or all of the following: exhaustion, almost constant muscle pain, regular nausea, very powerful headaches, dizziness, diarrhoea, aching joints, itchy skin, earache, an inability to regulate body temperature resulting in running a fever whilst having freezing cold extremities and there are no doubt others that I have forgotten. Add to this the fact that they can all be exacerbated by periods of high stress or worry and it’s amazing that she manages to function at all. Yet function she does and more than that she works harder than anyone else I know, she gives of herself constantly and fights daily against the pain refusing to let it beat her. She doesn’t always win. She describes the need to sleep as akin to a deep ache rather than a feeling of tiredness, like it is actually painful to be awake.
I would like you to remember your worst ever hangover, remember how sick you felt, how much your body hurt and how you lay in bed wanting to die. Now imagine feeling like that a lot of the time and having no choice but to go into work and do a stressful and demanding job for ten hours, a job where she must remember large amounts of information and juggle many people and tasks at once. Of course some days are better than others but more often than not a number of the symptoms are attacking at the same time. I don’t know how she does it, she is the strongest person I know and not only that but she is always thinking of others and putting them before herself. She does things with me even though she knows that it will cause her more pain and she will feel worse later on than if she doesn’t. She does this because she loves me and because of her refusal to let it beat her.
It upsets me that I am powerless to do anything to make it better, I can’t take the pain away, I can’t make her well.
So that it why I am running this marathon, that is what motivates me to get out and run on those days when I really don’t want to, when it’s raining and windy and horrible. I hope that I will be able to hit my target of £500, all I need to do is find 20 people to give me £5. That’s not much is it?
There are many common misconceptions about ME, the first being that it is not real and although the term ‘Yuppie Flu’ is not heard very often these days that probably owes more to the falling out of use of the term ‘Yuppie’ rather than a sea change in the perception of ME. Even though there is a diagnostic test for ME some people, including members of the medical profession, believe that it is somehow not a real illness and is all in the head of the sufferer. The second common misconception that I have heard on a number of occasions is that ME is the same as MS (Multiple Sclerosis) which of course it is not. The misconception that I find the most painful to hear from those with no experience of the condition is that the sufferer is just a bit tired and is making a great drama out of it.
The ME Association website (http://www.meassociation.org.uk/) contains a great deal more information than I am going to give you as this is a personal account and I must say that I can only really comment on how ME affects Sarah and even then I can only recount what she says to me and how I see it affecting her.
Sarah’s daily symptoms can include, and this is not an exhaustive list, some or all of the following: exhaustion, almost constant muscle pain, regular nausea, very powerful headaches, dizziness, diarrhoea, aching joints, itchy skin, earache, an inability to regulate body temperature resulting in running a fever whilst having freezing cold extremities and there are no doubt others that I have forgotten. Add to this the fact that they can all be exacerbated by periods of high stress or worry and it’s amazing that she manages to function at all. Yet function she does and more than that she works harder than anyone else I know, she gives of herself constantly and fights daily against the pain refusing to let it beat her. She doesn’t always win. She describes the need to sleep as akin to a deep ache rather than a feeling of tiredness, like it is actually painful to be awake.
I would like you to remember your worst ever hangover, remember how sick you felt, how much your body hurt and how you lay in bed wanting to die. Now imagine feeling like that a lot of the time and having no choice but to go into work and do a stressful and demanding job for ten hours, a job where she must remember large amounts of information and juggle many people and tasks at once. Of course some days are better than others but more often than not a number of the symptoms are attacking at the same time. I don’t know how she does it, she is the strongest person I know and not only that but she is always thinking of others and putting them before herself. She does things with me even though she knows that it will cause her more pain and she will feel worse later on than if she doesn’t. She does this because she loves me and because of her refusal to let it beat her.
It upsets me that I am powerless to do anything to make it better, I can’t take the pain away, I can’t make her well.
So that it why I am running this marathon, that is what motivates me to get out and run on those days when I really don’t want to, when it’s raining and windy and horrible. I hope that I will be able to hit my target of £500, all I need to do is find 20 people to give me £5. That’s not much is it?
17/02/2011
I had an excellent 10km last night, I got round in 50:01 and obviously I was pissed off that I was so close to sub 50 but as the actual distance is 10.2 km so that’s ok. I felt good after the first lap and the second, there was a little pain after the third and I had to push myself through the fourth and I was pretty tired at the end. However I feel ok this morning, there’s a bit of pain in the thighs and a little stiffness but other than that I’m fine. It’s a good sign that I have been able to bring the time down in just three weeks from 54:30 to 50:01, I can’t help but wonder if I’ve got any chance of beating my PB on the 13th of March. That would mean improving by a further six minutes…
I love that feeling when you know you’re covering the ground faster than you have before or for a while. At the first 2.5km split last night I was ten seconds up and over the course of the next three laps I only lost 11 seconds which is really good. The music is definitely important, I have been playing the middle hour of the playlist recently and nearly every song has a faster beat than the first hour. I’m going to have to construct an epic playlist for the marathon as it’s got to keep me motivated for the four hours!
I may try 13km tonight depending on how I feel after lap four.
I love that feeling when you know you’re covering the ground faster than you have before or for a while. At the first 2.5km split last night I was ten seconds up and over the course of the next three laps I only lost 11 seconds which is really good. The music is definitely important, I have been playing the middle hour of the playlist recently and nearly every song has a faster beat than the first hour. I’m going to have to construct an epic playlist for the marathon as it’s got to keep me motivated for the four hours!
I may try 13km tonight depending on how I feel after lap four.
Wednesday 16 February 2011
16/02/2011
I ran a quick 5km last night, the quickest of the year so far, 25:20 which I was quite pleased with and I wasn’t knackered at the end. When I went out it was windy and raining and horrible so I wasn’t expecting a good time but was very pleased to get one. I’ll do 10km tonight and see how that goes.
There was hardly any knee pain last night either and I’m sure the resumption of morning weights is helping, particularly the squats with the bar bell.
There were quite a few groups of runners out last night, obviously from a club. I don’t think I would like running with other people, although running with faster people always improves ones times as proven by racing, however for me running is a solitary occupation. It is my time to clear all the work crap from my mind and think things through, blowing out the cobwebs after a day sat behind a desk is usually just what I need.
There was hardly any knee pain last night either and I’m sure the resumption of morning weights is helping, particularly the squats with the bar bell.
There were quite a few groups of runners out last night, obviously from a club. I don’t think I would like running with other people, although running with faster people always improves ones times as proven by racing, however for me running is a solitary occupation. It is my time to clear all the work crap from my mind and think things through, blowing out the cobwebs after a day sat behind a desk is usually just what I need.
Monday 14 February 2011
14/02/2011
I don’t usually run on a Friday, however I felt that giving the knee another go to see how it felt was in order so out I went and ended up running 10km in 52:30, which is ok and more importantly the knees were ok. There was the odd little twinge but nothing too bad and also there was no pain the next day either. I think I’ll start running every Friday from now on as it made me feel that I had earned the curry and Guinness that I had afterwards!
On Saturday I went to the gym for the first time in a good while, I had tried to go in January but had utterly forgotten that in January it is full of newbies who have made new year’s resolutions to get fit. They wander around the gym aimlessly trying each piece of equipment for a few minutes not really sure what to do with themselves. Saturday afternoons however are usually quite empty, I did 5km of intervals with a mixture of elevations and speeds followed by some weights and then a 1km warm down.
As of today I have been with the girl that I love for four years, she is the reason that I'm running this marathon and tomorrow I'll post about my perception and understanding of her ME.
On Saturday I went to the gym for the first time in a good while, I had tried to go in January but had utterly forgotten that in January it is full of newbies who have made new year’s resolutions to get fit. They wander around the gym aimlessly trying each piece of equipment for a few minutes not really sure what to do with themselves. Saturday afternoons however are usually quite empty, I did 5km of intervals with a mixture of elevations and speeds followed by some weights and then a 1km warm down.
As of today I have been with the girl that I love for four years, she is the reason that I'm running this marathon and tomorrow I'll post about my perception and understanding of her ME.
Friday 11 February 2011
11/02/2011
Only ran 5km last night in 25:30, there was quite a lot of pain in the left knee and I think that the runner’s knee from last year is back again. The pain had subsided by the end of the second lap and I felt afterwards that I should have carried on for another two laps but never mind.
I have a feeling that the knee pain is related to the extra weight that I’m carrying around at the moment. Hopefully as the running increases the weight will fall off and the pain will cease anyway I’ll try again tonight and see how it goes.
I’m planning to do 11km around the racecourse on Saturday and then possibly 14km on Sunday, I’ll be taking it slowly and not worrying if the time is awful as there is still plenty of time to go. It will be nice to run in daylight for a change!
I have a feeling that the knee pain is related to the extra weight that I’m carrying around at the moment. Hopefully as the running increases the weight will fall off and the pain will cease anyway I’ll try again tonight and see how it goes.
I’m planning to do 11km around the racecourse on Saturday and then possibly 14km on Sunday, I’ll be taking it slowly and not worrying if the time is awful as there is still plenty of time to go. It will be nice to run in daylight for a change!
Thursday 10 February 2011
10/02/2010
I ran a good 10k yesterday in 52:30 which is the best this year and only leaves me with 7 minutes 39 seconds to knock off to get back to PB! Whether that it possible between now and the Knowle Park 10k remains to be seen but there’s plenty of time to go so we’ll see how close I can get.
However more important is that there are just 87 days until the marathon so I think the first long run for several months beckons this weekend. Which means that a new playlist may well be in order or just a new collection of songs to shuffle through. It appears that a combination of Congolese, Hip-hop, Metal, Rock and Dance provides the best motivation. These include, in no particular order:
• Themes from Rocky and Rocky IV
• Trop C’est Trop - Extra Musica
• Don’t Tread on Me – Metallica
• Sweet Home Alabama - Lynryd Skynyrd
• Red Alert – Basement Jaxx
• It’s My Life – Bon Jovi
• Art De Rue – Fonky Family
• Empire du Côté Obscur – IAM
• Etat Majeur – Extra Musica
• Highway to Hell – AC/DC
• Sandstorm - Darude
My left knee was hurting at various points during yesterday’s run but I’m sure it will get better as the weather gets warmer and I continue to do my morning squats with the 20kg bar bell.
I’m hoping it’s not going to rain tonight otherwise I’ll have to don my waterproof hi-vis jacket which makes me look like an arse…
However more important is that there are just 87 days until the marathon so I think the first long run for several months beckons this weekend. Which means that a new playlist may well be in order or just a new collection of songs to shuffle through. It appears that a combination of Congolese, Hip-hop, Metal, Rock and Dance provides the best motivation. These include, in no particular order:
• Themes from Rocky and Rocky IV
• Trop C’est Trop - Extra Musica
• Don’t Tread on Me – Metallica
• Sweet Home Alabama - Lynryd Skynyrd
• Red Alert – Basement Jaxx
• It’s My Life – Bon Jovi
• Art De Rue – Fonky Family
• Empire du Côté Obscur – IAM
• Etat Majeur – Extra Musica
• Highway to Hell – AC/DC
• Sandstorm - Darude
My left knee was hurting at various points during yesterday’s run but I’m sure it will get better as the weather gets warmer and I continue to do my morning squats with the 20kg bar bell.
I’m hoping it’s not going to rain tonight otherwise I’ll have to don my waterproof hi-vis jacket which makes me look like an arse…
Wednesday 9 February 2011
09/02/2011
I ran 5k yesterday in 25:57, fastest time this year and just about the right pace for a 3h50 marathon. I just need to keep building up the miles between now and May.
However I can't help being annoyed that I'm so out of condition since the peak of October last year, plenty of time to get it back but it will be hard work. My knees were aching last night so I think it's time to start morning squats with the 20kg bar bell again. As I build up the morning weights and press up routine I'm going to have to get out of bed even earlier...
I've got a 10k in Kent in the middle of March which will be a useful gauge of how far I have got and how much further I have got to go!
However I can't help being annoyed that I'm so out of condition since the peak of October last year, plenty of time to get it back but it will be hard work. My knees were aching last night so I think it's time to start morning squats with the 20kg bar bell again. As I build up the morning weights and press up routine I'm going to have to get out of bed even earlier...
I've got a 10k in Kent in the middle of March which will be a useful gauge of how far I have got and how much further I have got to go!
Thursday 3 February 2011
04/02/2011
Another 10km (four times around Abington Park) last night in about the same time as the night before 54:27. There was a nasty headwind for the longest leg of the laps round the park which didn't help at all.
Today I'm feeling a little bit achy today but nothing that a recovery 5km tonight won't sort out.I've always found it a little odd that in order to recover from a run that I need to go for another run.
Have just downloaded a training schedule which looks ok, going to have to learn exactly what 'Fartlek' is though. Something like a continous training session permeated by periods of high intensity activity. Just one of the many things that I'm going to have to learn, I don't even know my mile time yet.
So far this week I've run 25km and I've definitely got a lot more energy than last week when I didn't run at all. It might have something to do with starting to drink coffee at work as well?
I promise this will get more interesting as times goes by and I do more of them!
Today I'm feeling a little bit achy today but nothing that a recovery 5km tonight won't sort out.I've always found it a little odd that in order to recover from a run that I need to go for another run.
Have just downloaded a training schedule which looks ok, going to have to learn exactly what 'Fartlek' is though. Something like a continous training session permeated by periods of high intensity activity. Just one of the many things that I'm going to have to learn, I don't even know my mile time yet.
So far this week I've run 25km and I've definitely got a lot more energy than last week when I didn't run at all. It might have something to do with starting to drink coffee at work as well?
I promise this will get more interesting as times goes by and I do more of them!
Back in training
I've started this blog to document my training for the Stratford Shakespeare Rotary Marathon on the 8th of May 2011. I'm running to try and raise as much money as I can for the ME Association (http://www.meassociation.org.uk/) and you can contribute on my justgiving page:
http://www.justgiving.com/Laurent-Mather.
I'll write more about ME and why I want to help later on.
I tend to run around the parks near my house, Abington Park and the Racecourse or a combination of the two.
I started training again two day's ago, ran 5km on Tuesday and my lungs felt like they were on fire, ran 10km yesterday and felt much better but still well off pace.
That'll teach me to not train for three months, now I've got to work really hard to get back to where I was. Lucky I love doing it really!
I wonder how hard it's actually going to be to run the 26 miles and 385 yards? I've still got a lot to learn, what food works best whilst running? Do the gels agree with me? How bad will it be when I hit 'The Wall'? Will I get addicted to marathons or never want to do one ever again?
Anyway in just 94 days I should know the answer to all these questions and more!
I'm going to update every day that I train with what I did and how I feel.
Tuesday 01/02/2011 5km 27:17 - lungs hurt, not fun
Wednesday 02/02/2011 10km 54:21 - much better, slight knee pain on fourth lap but otherwise fine. Today a bit of pain in the thighs but nothing too bad.
http://www.justgiving.com/Laurent-Mather.
I'll write more about ME and why I want to help later on.
I tend to run around the parks near my house, Abington Park and the Racecourse or a combination of the two.
I started training again two day's ago, ran 5km on Tuesday and my lungs felt like they were on fire, ran 10km yesterday and felt much better but still well off pace.
That'll teach me to not train for three months, now I've got to work really hard to get back to where I was. Lucky I love doing it really!
I wonder how hard it's actually going to be to run the 26 miles and 385 yards? I've still got a lot to learn, what food works best whilst running? Do the gels agree with me? How bad will it be when I hit 'The Wall'? Will I get addicted to marathons or never want to do one ever again?
Anyway in just 94 days I should know the answer to all these questions and more!
I'm going to update every day that I train with what I did and how I feel.
Tuesday 01/02/2011 5km 27:17 - lungs hurt, not fun
Wednesday 02/02/2011 10km 54:21 - much better, slight knee pain on fourth lap but otherwise fine. Today a bit of pain in the thighs but nothing too bad.
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