The Race

It all started on Friday after work really, Liz had been in cahoots with my Dad during the day and had managed to get my Mum and Dad into the same hotel as us. It was a lovely surprise.

So we had a nice evening with my Mum and Dad on Saturday night, pasta for me and water of course.

On Sunday we got to the start probably an hour too early so we were stood around for a bit. It was chilly. Having said that the time went quite quickly and I was soon in the starting pen. 50000 people and I bump into Eamonn from work!

We did the mass warm up which was fun. Although half way through the speaker in our pen broke so we were far more interested in watching the guys try to fix it. Then it was just a few minute's wait until the crowd started to move.

The start's all down hill for the first 500m or so, so you really get moving. I was surprised a bit by the 'I'm doing this for the next 2 hours feeling', I've never had that in training but then you can always escape training if needed. After about a mile we were coming up to the Tyne bridge and the Red Arrows did a fly past overhead. At this point it was early, I felt great and that made me very happy. Without doubt that's my outstanding memory of the race.

The first half went well, I felt good at 10k. The route then narrows a bit so it got a bit more congested but it wasn't a problem.

I had a bit of a drink around 13k, it wasn't too bad (I normally suffer with stitches) so I drank a bit more over the next few k. I skipped the lucozade at around 16k.

Things then got tough.

I really struggled. With hindsight I went off too quickly but looking at my pace it didn't alter significantly, I felt rotten though. There's a bit of an up hill, it felt like Everest. At about 18k there were showers and I ran through them to try to feel better but it didn't help. When I got to the sea front with about 1600m to go I felt really bad, I expected to be able to kick the pace up a bit at this point. I can hardly remember the last k, I tried to sprint the last 100m or so but struggled.

However, having said all that I'm very pleased with my time and know on the day I could not have tried harder. I genuinely feel like I worked for it.

Here's to 1:45 next year.

I planned to run tonight but I'm having the week off as a reward. I'm still a bit tired. I'll do a 10 miler on Sat I think but this week is a chill out.

A Nice Surprise

Just a quick one as I'm knackered, I'll post a full one tomorrow.

My Mum & Dad came up to Newcastle to support me as a last minute surprise which was really, very nice.

The race went well, last couple of miles really hurt but I did 1:53:22.

More tomorrow....

Nothing more to do now

Well that's it. A 5k last night, a 10k on Tuesday. Job done.

The runs went fine, just standard training runs, just focusing on Sunday now. I'm definitely aiming for sub 1:55, I hope that's possible in the congestion of a race, I don't see why not.

The weather's looking more promising too.

Fingers crossed.

Man Flu

It's official, I'm still suffering with man flu. It could be a cold but it's not, it's definitely man flu.

Anyway, I knew I had to run today but accepted that a 20k was probably a bad idea. I went out with the intention of doing at least 5k and rattled of 10k in reasonable time so it's not too bad. At least I've got the cold, sorry man flu this week and not next.

I heard Ron Hill on the radio the other day (he was 70) and he's ran every day since December 1964. His advice was if you don't feel like running go out with the intention of runing as slowly as you can, after about 5 mins you'll be fine. I like that idea, today sort of proved the concept.

So, it's game on for next week now. I'm a bit gutted that I didn't do a long run but accept that it's for the best for next week. I'll do a 10 and a 5 this week rather than two 5s as I taper. It's all getting a bit exciting now. It's going on the news page on Granby's website tomorrow, they're putting a link on the Just Giving so it's worth it.

Oh dear

Woke up this morning with a sore throat. I'm a bloke so obviously it's the flu if not pneumonia.

Was planning a 10k tonight but we'll see, I don't want to jeopardise the long run for Sat so I may just feel sorry for myself tonight.

As a complete aside, poor Liz was stuck on the train for ages last night here.

Hot cakes

Well the phrase 'Going like hot cakes' has now been superseded by 'Going like Liz's cakes'. Liz's cakes were a huge hit in work, when I left there were one of each left! Must be charity cakes are calorie free. I was half expecting a lynch mob if I didn't bring any more with me today. Well done Liz.

Did a 10k last night, my legs were still tight after Sunday so I thought I'd take it easy. I did. Until 3K from home when there was another runner about 50m in front of me, he was running quicker than me on the flat but he really slowed up on gradients. I treated him like a pacemaker and did 5min ks for the last 3. It proves what you can do when you try. I shouldn't have done though but easy runs can be boring.

The raffle's underway. Just mail me if you want some tickets. Mary in work's kindly handling it for me but I'll buy tickets off her on behalf of anyone who wants them who doesn't work at Granby. You can either put the money through JustGiving or I'll hunt you down with an IOU. IT's up to you.

Confidence boost

Sorry, I haven't written for a few days.  Been a bit busy:

Anyway, I ran on Friday night after the terrible Tuesday and it went swimmingly, fantastic pace, all was well.  Thank Lordy for that!  I was seriously worried that a holiday had ruined me.  The weather was better too so that's got to help, still not sure what was going on, let's hope it doesn't happen again.

So, I was all happy then ready for a long run on Sunday.  Rattled off 18k averaging 5:19 a K which is great.  My target for the GNR is 1:55 that translates to 5:30 a k.  Feeling the effects today though, tight calves that I haven't suffered with for a while, just shows that Blackburn's a lot hillier than Lake Garda.

Liz has managed to get us a hotel in Gateshead rather than Morpeth too so that's much better.  She looks after me.  

The finishing time raffle starts tomorrow.  20p a ticket.  1st prize (closest) is a £15 Vue cinema voucher, 2nd and 3rd are boxes of chocs.  I'll post tomorrow on how to get a ticket, I'm doing it through work mainly.

Also, Liz is currently toiling away making cakes and cookies for the cake sale, unfortunately you have to work at Granby to be able to get one (or drive up if you're desperate for a cake) www.granbymarketing.com Stephen will like the free link.

Back to the training.  Final full week really, doing two 10ks then a 20 on Sunday then I taper the week after for the race so just a couple of 5s really.  It's all hotting up.

As a complete aside but they are my favourite band by far, The Killers new single's available for listening.  

TheKillers

Enjoy and check back tomorrow for raffle news.

Welcome home

Blackburn gave me a nice warm welcome tonight, the first run after returning home - it was cold, grey and raining.

Miserable.

From the off it just didn't feel good, then after about 7k I got a killer stitch. I had to stop for a couple of mins, no big deal you may think but as far as I'm concerned if you stop you're a quitter so it hurt a lot.

Carried on after that and it was fine but it was a poor time, it just felt odd. I guess there're are a few possible factors, the most likely being back at work after a week off but we'll see how it goes on Thursday.

Not very positive but there you go.

I'm readying the finishing time raffle tickets though. I'll let you know how to get them shortly.

Lessons learned

I've learned a few lessons when doing my last run this morning:

1 - If planning to run in the morning, don't stuff your face the night before, it doesn't help your motivation

2 - Overtaking people feels good even when they're older, fatter and German

3 - Melted ice cream takes on the consitstency of Evostick overnight

Having said that the run was OK, a quick 10 k'er. It wasn't much fun though, I felt like I was giving someone a piggy back all the way around due to the large amount of undigested food in my belly.

It is a great place to run though, beats Blackburn's suburban streets hands down. I'll miss it.

First run on foreign soil

Got up to be faced with a glorious morning, having spent the las two days driving through various amounts of rain I couldn't believe my luck.

So, full of the joys of mid September I strolled out of the hotel to do a long run. There's a path that runs right along the edge of the lake, it's a great place to run. Foreign runners do seem to be slower though, I lost count of the number of people I overtook, normally it's me being chased down. Gettng close to Torbole there were wind surfers, I never realised how quickly they move. They sort of race towards shore then do a hand brake turn, it looks great fun.

Anyway, I started off slowly for some reason, after a couple of k I realised and upped the pace. It was all pleasant enough until the sun came over the mountains then it became a bit harder. Did 16 k in 1:25 over a flat course though so that's a good indicator for the race.

It's roasting now though so I think early morning's definitely the order of the day.

Chrome

Did the last post on Chrome, I'm a shameless early adopter.

Worth a look though.  Here

Well atleast I don't need a shower

Got in late again but didn't feel too tired so I thought I'd go for a run to save getting up a stupid O'clock tomorrow.  We'd had a storm earlier in the day but it was nice and dry if a little overcast but it all seemed fine.

So, about ten mins in.....

....the heavens opened.  I quite like running in the rain but this was a tad heavy.  Like I say, I don't think I need a shower now.  Well, maybe I do.

I'm sure I read somewhere that tears are slightly salty.  All I can say is sweat must be far saltier 'cause it doesn't half sting when mixed with rain and running into your eyes.

Having said that, the run was quite good (think I wanted to get home and out of the rain).

Just watching a thing about super strong people.  One guy's just punched through about eight concrete blocks, he doesn't even look that strong.  Good man.

Upping the distance

Well, did a 12.5K yesterday, the first time I've done over 10K in two months. It was really easy, I'm so pleased. I've been questioning myself, my fitness, my endurance whilst my mileage has been kept down and now I know that it's all still good. I'm a happy man.

Ran good times too, 5:18 a k and it was more than comfortable, I could easily have kept going, if I keep that up for the GNR I'll break my target of 1:55 so all in all I feel pretty good about it.

Looking forward to some continental runs next week, just got to roll out of bed early in case it's hot. The scenery should be stunning. I'll try to take some snaps and post them to make everyone jealous :-)

Oh yeah......

....Midges seem to swarm together in much bigger clumps in the morning and in bad light you can't see them so when you run through an unseen swarm they stick to your sweaty skin. Nice.

It felt like a Nike ad

Didn't quite make it for 5:00 but rolled out of bed at 5:20 so not too bad. 15 mins prep and stretching and then out of the house, it was still dark, a mist hung in the air but it was surprisingly warm.

In the first 20 mins I saw three people all in cars, I had the town to myself. I was trotting along, Bones by The Killers playing in my ears, that lovely early morning fresh smell that disappears as soon as the commute starts. Day was breaking and I genuinely thought to myself 'This is like a Nike ad.' In all fairness I was still half asleep.

Speaking of which

I wish I could get out of bed easier. I can do it but I wish I liked it. A run like this morning every day would be pretty cool.

No more knee news, it's boring me now so I'm shutting up about it.

Big wimp

I'm a big wimp and wimped out. Getting up at 5:00 in the morning to go instead though.

In all seriousness my knee still doesn't feel good, I think it may be a bit more mental though and I'm just worrying about doing more harm so close to the race.

I'm going to show a bit more commitment from tomorrow onwards and back to 20 miles a week till the physio gives me the nod to increase it.

Lazy, lazy, lazy

Well I feel like been really lazy over the last week or two. Work just gets in the way. Working till half six or seven then trying to do an hour's run before dinner is a bit much.

I'm definitely going for a 10k tonight, I thought if I put it on here that would force me into it.

Could be better

Well it's still playing up, I'm not entirely sure the inner soles are helping, I'll keep up with them though. It's fine whilst running, it just complains a bit afterwards. I feel like a stuck record.

Did a good 10k yesterday though, it's runs like that that make it all seem so easy.

My GNR number arrived today, in the white zone so that's a lot better than being at the back for the Manchester 10k! Still aiming for that 1:55.

Still a bit early to say

Went for a run last night, the usual 10k route, my pace was about normal, maybe a couple of secs a k down but nothing unusual. I did find it particularly tiring but I've been working stupid hours again and my diet's been a bit poor over the last week or so that's almost certainly an influence.

Well, the pain's definitely improved when running down hill but I do feel it more when running up hill. Having said that this morning (the morning after) there's very little discomfort and normally there's a bit when pressing the clutch in the car and walking downstairs. One strange side effect is I can definitely feel the VMO in my left leg working when I run now, it may just be psychological though.

I'm still hopeful, may try to make the most of the long weekend and do a 10 on Sat and a 10 on sun, that should give me a real feel for how it's going.

Fingers crossed again......

I don't want to tempt fate but......

Well, I went to see the podiatrist on Monday, she reeled off several minor problems with my feet, toes and stance but nothing major. She gave me some basic orthotic inner soles for my shoes to help correct the over pronation, I'm certainly will to try anything.

Anyway, I got in late last night after work so I didn't really have time for my usual 10k, I thought it may be a bad idea anyway in case the inner soles gave me a bit of gib so I did a quick 5k. Immediately things felt better, normally my knee complains for the first couple of k but not last night. I was a bit naughty and ran at 5k pace too so putting more strain on my knee and it only complained a couple of times.

Like I say I don't want to tempt fate and it's a bit early to say but things are looking promising. I'll do a 10k tomorrow and see how it feels then.

Fingers crossed.

I got my fundraising pack through from Myeloma UK too, talk about bright orange! I'll certainly be visible in the GNR.

7 weeks to go and the knee's still not right

I'm getting worried now. Still doing 3 x 10km a week but really need to at least start upping my long run. Saw the physio again this morning, I'm making progress but she still advised to keep my mileage down, she said really I shouldn't run so that will prolong the healing process.

However, I'm seeing a podiatrist on Monday to see if it'll help sorting my mild over pronation. I hope so, I'm still thinking of upping my long run slightly as I'm worried now about doing a reasonable time in the GNR. I've long accepted that 1:55 would be a reasonable target for this year but now I'm worrying that may be out of reach.

Ah well, on with the exercises, here's some more info from my ever increasing web link library for knee injuries. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec05/ch075/ch075f.html

An a completely separate note. Phelps. Seriously, even I'm excited at the prospect of 8 medals now.

God bless Asics Cumulous

Just done a usual 10k training run, I've been running in Mizuno Waves for a couple of months and suffering with blisters. Finally I've given in and bought a different pair of shoes - Asics Cumulus. My God, it's like running in slippers. God bless Asics.

By the way if you're considering taking up running and need a nudge, have a read. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7554293.stm

It's a couple of months now 'til the GNR so I'm starting to build my training up again after the dreaded runner's knee (still on-going but improving) so at least I've some comfy shoes to do it in. I just wish I lived in a flatter place.

Prologue

I started running in Jan 2008, completed in Manchester 10k in May 2008 and I'm currently in training for the Great North Run in October 2008.

I'm currently doing around 20 miles a week but I'm building that up again after suffering a bit of runner's knee.

Bring it on.