Longest run

It's seems like years ago that I ran the Bristol half marathon but in reality it was just a few months.  Today I ran my longest run since that day in September, very different for a number of reasons.  1) no stitches 2) no water/gels 3) wetter/muddier/colder 4) no cheering/clapping supporters 5) feeling more confident about running that distance.

On the day I was nervous having never covered the distance before, I ate breakfast and grabbed every opportunity for water or energy gels along the route. Today, the only concerns I had were was it going to stop raining and not being 100% on the planned route.

As it turned out the route was ok in terms of navigation, stuck with the crowd for the first half then picked up the pace a bit for the second half. The bit around the lake was hideously wet and muddy from which my feet never recovered. I hate wet socks at the best of times but after only a few km into a 20km was a nightmare. Squelching, cold and wet. The last 10km was actually run in sunshine, a pleasant surprise and it warmed up enough for me to feel my fingers and my ears.  The countryside was looking good except for the large areas of flooding, high water levels in ditches/fields.

I'm travelling next week so I'm trying to get my trainers cleaned and dried before my early flight, I have no idea whether I'll find somewhere to run/train on Tuesday but Thursday's hotel certainly has a gym.  10 miles next Sunday should be ok based on today's performance depite the uncertainly of training this week.  

3 weeks later...

Well it's time for a long overdue update...

As you can see from the activity feed over there on the right, I have been making good progress with my running including back to back PBs on 9 mile runs.  I'm really pleased with how things are going so far but now the training really ramp up.  It's all about staying fit, not taking any unnecessary risks and listening to my body.  I have a great team behind me; my wife, my PT, a sports therapist and a sport masseuse.

I set up a TeamSense group on Strava to help myself and others stay motivated, encouraged and included - we're all on the same journey so it's great to see how others are getting on.
A good session on the exercise bike tonight doing a hill program, 14+km in 30 mins and a good stretch so I'm all set for tomorrow night's run.

Fundraising currently stands at £1,545.01 which is fantastic and I'm hugely grateful for the support!

Update

So, on Saturday I decided to do parkrun - it was wet and muddy but it was nice to take part in it again after a reasonable absence.  It was quiet by the usual standards but still 275 finishers, I finished in 63rd place with a time of 23:39 - i took the first 2 km really steady and built it up. I was aiming for around 25 mins so I was happy with that.

Sunday morning, the rain was falling once again as I headed to Coate Water, upon arrival it stopped, it was mild and I ended up running for 7 miles.  The 8 mile route I was supposed to do was muddy/boggy and having done 3 miles the day before I wasn't concerned about skipping the last bit.

Tuesday night was the Christmas mingle jog (6.5km) with the club, everyone ran together, many in fancy dress. Stormtroopers, reindeers Santas and lots of flashing lights drew a lot of attention from passing motorists, back at the club house there were cakes and drinks to help refuel :-D

Tonight was PT session with George, the hour was spent in a harness with what is effective a bungee cord attached to it whilst I ran, bear crawled, crabbed, pressuped, burpeed against the resistance. It was brutal, I sweated buckets but I hope the results will be worth it.

Last official Thursday night club run of the year tomorrow...

Woohoo!

On the evening of Wednesday 9th December, Nicki Brotherston donated and broke the £1,500 target - it was an amazing feeling and I couldn't have done it without the help and support of so many - thank you!  The donations are still coming through, the more the merrier!

This week I missed my Tuesday run due to work commitments, Thursday night was interval night (good fun) and this morning I had a PT session with George before work - I could do with a good nap after all that :-D

Tomorrow I need to do something, maybe parkrun, a cycle and spa session - long run on Sunday of around 8miles

Have a good weekend

Procrastination...

It's been a better running week this week.  On Tuesday I run to and from club on top of doing a 10km circuit, on Thursday was a wet and blowy night as we took on the delights of Old Town past the bars/restaurants etc and did around 8km and finally this morning I completed around 13.5km.

On the whole I wasn't too achy, during today's run I initially had a bit of discomfort in my legs but that could have been tiredness but afterwards my glutes were a bit sore.

Just need to stick to the plan ad everything will be fine!

My fundraising total currently stands at £1,474.01!

This is just incredible, so so close to the target now - THANK YOU!

Life gets in the way

Sometimes the best laid plans just don't happen, life gets in the way. That how Sunday went for me.
Monday wasn't much better either and my physio had an accident so I didn't have my appointment.
Today I was feeling stressed, as a result I could actually feel my muscles tensing up but I was looking forward to joinimg the club for a run tonight and clear my head.

I decided to run there and back to help make up for the lack of running lately. It seemed like a good idea at the time. About 4.5km in I could feel my back muscles tense up and pull on my leg muscles, from there on in it was a mental battle. The truth is I should of binned it but I needed the freedom running gives my mind.  As I tried to block out the messages from my legs and back I lost sight of my fellow runners so I took an improvised route for the last couple of kms back to the clubhouse. Signed back in and hit the pavement again. For some reason I decided against the quickest, most direct route home. As I type this from the foam roller I know I was stupid with my physical health but my mental health is better, and that's harder to heal. 

I have signed up for the Bath half marathon in March as part of my training for London

#negativesoundingpost #getitoffmychest #breathe

Train hard, fight easy

The saying 'Train hard, fight easy' is applicable to more than just boxing, you could apply it to practically anything. In this instance I'm going to use it to describe the past 2 days, a PT session yesterday and bootcamp today. The idea is to increase my core strength to help with my running and also getting my glutes reactivated. I left the gym yesterday struggling to lift my arms and then went back for more of the same. The good thing is my cardio is improving for sure as today's session was just as brutal but others had to suffer with me. That said, there's no where to hide, there's only one person who benefits if I train hard or one person who doesn't if I slack off, me. Completing the marathon is a lifetime's ambition with the added bonus of raising money for a very worthy cause, Sense. I will complete the course, of that in certain but I want to finish it well. I will give it everything just like in the gym, when I cross the finish line I will do so knowing that I had given it everything, nothing left in the tank. 

Long run Sunday looms large, I need to do a decent distance, fingers crossed that the weather improves considerably as it been thoroughly miserable here today!

Just £60 will see me exceed my £1500 target, it's so close now!