Month: January 2010

I am knackered.

Went and did the “half” today, 13.15 miles – in 2hr 17 minutes. I can tell you 13 miles is a long way, a really bloody long way, a really, really long bloody way. Although with all best intentions, I still had a few pints, two enormous  glasses of wine and no dinner last night. I really must start behaving better on a Friday night -its can’t be helping my Saturday runs.

Well, started ok today (http://routebuilder.org/3oa) – set off at 8:00 and I don’t seem to get the old pains in my shins as I used to. First few miles were good, then after around 5 miles I came to a gypsy encampment. Fearing the worse I gained speed to jog past but luckily for me they must have been out rabbit coursing with their dawgs or laying tarmac as I didn’t see anyone. Turned left then down the never ending road, where things started to get tiring.

Got some new tracks on my GoGear, which was nice, when I put them on yesterday I didn’t have enough for the whole jog – so added enough for 2.5 hrs… Plodded on nicely until about 10 miles in when I ran out of water, and all I could taste was red wine. By the time I was on the last leg I was on my last legs, completely wacked it was a real effort to do the last mile or so – but here I am – I made it. Only got to do that twice and I’m done!!

Knees really sore now, and I feel sick and dizzy – just like a serious hang over – but a couple of hours slobbing and I will be right as rain. Off to the Indian tonight, so really looking forward to stuffing my fat face with all sorts of spicy delights!!!.. Relax on Sunday, perhaps watch the lads rugby in the morning then ManU vs. Arsenal in the after noon.. Back to the streets Monday.

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Days left: 88

Confidence: 53.45%

Ability: 50%

Yeah – running day, my favourite!

Day off Tues, squash last night and no aches and pains in my legs and back for the first time in 58 days.. Thurs = early run before work, so tired as I was I dragged myself out of bed got my tights on and was out and on the pavement at 7:00. It was so early that even my GPS hadn’t woken up and refused to work, so an approx 50 mins and 5 miles (see the route here – http://routebuilder.org/3o6 ). I had intended to run a slightly different route, but signs were it was flooded, so changed tack.

Decided to put some hills in this time, and although they didn’t seem too bad at the time, I blame them for making me tired my the end.. All in all the run was OK, wasn’t in pain much which is a good sign and 5 miles isn’t too bad for a midweek run – the schedule I am basing myself on seems to recommend 4  – 6 mile runs in the week.

Going to run a half marathon on Saturday, not an official one – just 13.1 miles. Was thinking of doing an official 8 miler, but really don’t want to be in a race environment at the moment, so might leave the racing until the Llanelli half in March.

So, the iPad – Apple announced a big iTouch, with no multitasking or camera. Can’t use it to replace your remote controls –  so its pretty but that’s about it – it could be great for just browsing, which is  fine, but you can get a great netbook for that price. And you have to sell your soul to iTunes if you want to use it at all . Maybe see what the next generation looks like, but for now – I’m oot….

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Days left: 90

Confidence: 53%

Ability: 47.4%

Title provided by my daughter Kate today.. ;o)

So a quick spin out today, almost 5 miles and although I did feel a little tired after Saturday, and my legs are still a little achy all in all not too bad. Going to have a day off tomorrow, then squash, then around a six miler for Thurs morning. Still not sure about running the “proper” 8 miler on Sunday but am keeping my options open.

No time to chew the fat today, wife has the laptop so I am attempting to get this out quick with the daughter rabbiting in my ear before I take her to bed to read her a new Spirit Walker book – Oath Breaker…

Watched Inglorious yesterday – very disappointed – as seems to be the norm, I like Quentin, but this was just too talky. Not bad, but not very good. His films do seem to be sliding ever downwards since Pulp Fiction..

OK, off to the Oath Breaker then….

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Days left: 93

Confidence: 51%

Ability: 47.2%

Weekend here again, did some excellent prep work last night with 8 pints and some fish and chips. Woke up this morning feeling pretty ropey – so as penance I made myself get on up and out.

Ran and ran and ran and ran and ran today – managed just over 11 miles today in around 1hr 50 minutes, another average of just over 6mph so pretty pleased I can say. Went round a similar route to the last run to start, but where I nipped off home on Thurs this was not even half way today. On I pounded, and with “Highway to Hell” blaring in my ears I started the second 6 miles..

Pretty shattered by the end of the run, and found that my feet where actually hurting for the first time today, although surprisingly perhaps I have not had any blisters even though I just wear “normal” socks. Also found my right knee was very painful by the end – but nothing some ice couldn’t fix – although I am walking round like a 90 year old.

Coming down the final mile today I realised that I would have to do the whole run again and some more to be finishing the full one – that’s a kind of scary thought!! So 2 miles off a half marathon today which gives some type of milestone reached – still can’t stand running though!!!

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Days left: 95

Confidence: 50%

Ability: 47%

Here we are then, three days after the last pathetic attempt at running and I haven’t given up yet!!..

Great to have a couple of days off, although I played squash last night which was a good break from the continual pounding of pavements but at least it gave me a little exercise which was nice.. ;o)

Had a call this afternoon from 4 to 5 with the bossman, so had to go running this morning instead. Set off just after 7:00 and it was great, so much better than last time. Did five mile again and although it is not easy it wasn’t too bad. Although at one point I passed a woman coming the other way going at least twice as fast as me – walking the dog..

Time was just over 50 mins, which I hope is going to improve, although it hasn’t yet. The Marathon T&C’s say you have to complete the first 12 mile in 2hrs 25 mins, which should be OK, but means at current speed I am only within the max time by 25mins.. There seems to be a consensus that “jogging” averages around 6mph, and you “run” about 8 or more mph. So I guess I should be saying I am attempting to jog a marathon! ;o)

Day off tomorrow, then 10 miles on the weekend. Can’t wait.

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Days left: 97

Confidence: 35%

Ability: 40%

Here we are at 100 days to go, should be a good milestone and one that I should have been super confident. But no, went out today for a “gentle” 5 miles. It was terrible, from about a mile in I was completely and totally knackered. Just couldn’t get my legs to work at all – it was such an effort I felt like I had gone back in time to before Christmas.

Pains and aches and no energy. My blumming headphones didn’t want to stay in, my feet, legs, hip, back, chest, arms, neck, head, ears and eyes all hurt. I hate running…..

Still – did manage 5 miles, which isn’t too bad really, and once I had done about 4 miles things did seem to get a little easier! Have decided to have a couple of days off, so will relax tomorrow and play squash on Weds then back running on Thurs and see how it goes.

Had an offer to take part in an “official” 8 mile race at the end of Jan (thanks Dave), but two things are putting me off – one after today I am not too sure how easy I would find it, the other that I would be right at the back of the pack as most of the people doing it “do 8 mile runs” for fun. I don’t for one second do any running for fun, just as a means to an end!! ;o)

So, we’ll see how the next couple of weeks go, and I just might register on the day – I think its probably a good idea to do, but am slightly worried that seeing many people so much faster might just be a little soul destroying at this stage of the “training”. Hopefully by end of Feb 8 mile runs will be a piece of piddle, so may or may not put myself through it so soon (and I have a birthday night out with beers and curry on the 30th)…

Here’s hoping after the 2 day break the next run is easier ;o)

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Days left: 100

Confidence: 12%

Ability: 12%

Wet and miserable this morning, but had decided I was going to do  big run – so no excuses was out pounding the pavement at 8:30 this morning. Got about a mile or so in and ran down a road which had a stream running over it, so 10 mins in had freezing cold wet feet – could have started better….

Ran round a 9 mile route today – so another record weekend run – strangely this route was one I used to do on my bike as a “training” run a couple of years back, and now I am running it – seems weird. Had numerous pains today, left knee, right knee, back but worryingly the balls on my feet were starting to ache. This is something which I was dreading, and I have quite a problem with my balls so to speak – just hope it was more imagination that real pain. Run was quite alright although when I got to the last few hundred metres my body just wants to collapse.

One problem with a “big” run, this one was around 1.5hr – was that around an hour in I needed a wee. Well when you are on your feet and 3 miles from civilisation there is not alot you can do. So luckily, I was on a quiet road, so just nipped in the hedge – its handy being male.. But over the course of a marathon I guess I’ll have to queue up somewhere??

Spent 2.5 hrs in the cinema just after (although spoilt myself with a SPAM sandwich in between) and legs are not _too_ bad just now, but really were quite aching while I was sat there, although cinemas have a fair bit of leg room nowadays,  but I should think so at 7.50 for adults and 6 for children (and I had to pay 80p for some “raybans”)…

Went to see Avatar today, well as usual was very disappointed.  What they have done with the cgi people its very impressive – you almost forget they are not actors – but the 3D – 3D is supposed to be like real life? This was just showing a depth of picture which made everything look really fake. Rubbish. Can’t see why “people” have been raving about it – its nothing like real 3D life, very disappointing. The story couldn’t carry it either… Thumbs down…

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Days left: 102

Confidence: 37%

Ability: 29%

Had an enforced day off yesterday due to the snow and the ice around – this weather is really mucking with the training plans, but although the snow is still about I figured the main roads should be OK so managed to get out for a bit of a trot.

Ran a new route to day which although was the same road up and back it was something different which was a nice change. The run was just over 5 miles so not too bad for a school night, but will probably look to build on these in the coming weeks. Got to admit that the running is getting a whole lot easier, but still only doing around the 5, 6, 7, 8 miles – so still a real big step up needed. It was cold and misty today, got all sorted and gave the Mp3 another go today  – well its going to take some getting used to as I dont like the “ear bud” fit at the moment, and when an album finished it just stopped. When I got back I just had a blue screen – something must be up with it, another thing to look at. Legs pretty good today, although while I was running had a new pain in my back, soon went once I was finished it was lamost as if I was leaning whilst running – perhaps due to the fact I only had one ear bud in?….

Managed to get our credit card removed from Xbox live today – not a trivial task! In the end once I got through on the phone it was easily sorted, bought our gold 12 months from cheapxboxlivecodes.com – very good service and value….

Hoping for a good 8 plus miles on Sat, have a route in mind – so another day off tomorrow, then back on the beat Sat or Sunday morning….

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Days left: 104

Confidence: 32.2122%

Ability: 27.1%

Took the day off on Sunday, which is normally my “big run” day as I had completed the 7.5 on Sat, so out today for a little scamper. Decided to do a decent run, so planned a 5.5 miler today which I started after work, and unfortunately didn’t time it, nor did my GPS work properly – although the bit it did record averaged 6.5 miles and hour – not sure why.

Anyway, now that I am back in my “office” I downloaded some funky music ready to help with the run. I had asked Santa for a simple Phillips Go Gear for Christmas, as I didn’t need anything wild or expensive. Well, plugged it in, and in automagically upgraded itself – then hung. I tried again and it whinged then hung, then again and then it seemed OK. Downloaded a couple of Albums (cant believe how quickly you fill 2GB these days!!) and set the player up pressed pause and I was ready.

Well I set off and attempted to “un-pause” the stupid device, it was blank – so as any normal technical guru I pressed the buttons really hard and swore under my breath until it came on.. So with Paradise City in my ears off I went. Not very long after I realised that I could only hear the music and no voice through the headphones, waiting for another song, and although just getting into my stride had to stop to try and sort. The bleeping blumming thing didn’t seem to be responding – so I did the only obvious thing when confronted with this sort of technical issue I ripped it off from its clip pressed it 14 times a second getting progressively harder and told it in no uncertain terms that I was going to stamp on its blummin head if it doesn’t start working – it was obviously scared at this point as it literally fell apart. So I stuffed it in my pocket and continued on my way – in silence. Although it wasn’t content to stay there quietly, no it had to shuffle and rustle and dig into my back……

Found my legs, or more specifically my shins are quite sore today. Not sure why that happens as they have been fine for a couple of weeks, but not good tonight. Anyway, a day off now, back on the road Wednesday unless we get snowed in?!?!?

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Days left: 107

Confidence: 32.2122%

Ability: 27.1%

Well, didn’t we do well with the snow then… Only snowed on the one day, Tues night I think, but we had a good 4 inches, and the temp does not seem to have got much over zero since then, so there is still alot of snow around, even on the roads. This means that although I managed a couple of walks, of only a couple of miles each, I had not been out until today.

There was a lot of ice and snow outside, and almost didnt go – but figure that a week behind schedule was not a good idea so out I went. Had my hat and tights on, and the weather was freezing. The road was mostly snow free, but there were many patches of ice, and when the cars passed I had to take  a quick detour onto the snow to avoid them, most are very considerate slowing down, but one guy in a pickup with a load of logs in the back was moving way to fast and even tho I moved onto the snow he still shot passed way too close..

Completed the first section, as I was only going to do a short course, but after I ran the “Redwick Ring” I thought it would be a good idea to go round again. I didnt really want too, but figured that this running lark means that you have to push when you dont really want to, so in all around 7.5 miles in, yep you guessed it 75 minutes.

Feet up and watching telly in snuggled up in the house is the order of the day today, and I am determined to get a ruby murry for nosh tonight.. There is some forcast of snow for tonight – so will see tomorrow if I can go out again.

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Days left: 109

Confidence: 39.3%

Ability: 27%

Ok, so Christmas eating has pretty much subsided now, so it was time to take that scary stand on the scales to see just how bad the noshing and drinking has been. And its been pretty bad, its been – drum roll….

Stats before – BP – 125/80, 12st 3, pulse 66

Stats today  – BP – 130/82, 12st 9, pulse 66

Half a stone then, half a little stone would be fine, but half a big heavy “real life” stone well no wonder the run was harder than normal this morning!!! That is proper chunky, and heaviest ever. Am hoping it will come off as quick as it went on, but I doubt that… Although I am now down to a tub of Pringles and only 5 bottles of beer a night! ;o0

I am starting the full training from this week, so went out and did a five miler this morning. Still off work until Thursday, so had nothing pressing to get back to – left at around 9:00 and it was pretty chilly, but I had my tights and my hat on.

Not a bad run, legs had felt very tight yesterday as if they could do with  really good massage, but after the usual 15 mins or so all felt pretty good. Should be able to get my computer up and running by the end of this week, so will be able to sort out some tunes for the MP3 player which might make the runing less boring. I am thinking of getting a language course, but from previous experience they are pretty poor but we’ll see.

Got back after the 5 miles, with an average of 5.8 miles/hour again – so nothing if not consistant, with a max of 7. Was very slow at one point as I attempted to negotiate a hill of ice, but again not a bad run.

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Days left: 113

Confidence: 35.1%

Ability: 25.5%

Thought I would try a “10K” today. In the old days that would be the memory size of a home computer with expansion pack, now it means a hateful run ;o) As the first run of the New Year I figured I would try a real distance and see just what kind of pace I have at the moment, I even used my phone GPS as a tracker, and I managed an average of 5.8 miles an hour (max of 7.7!) for 64 minutes completing 6.35 miles – which although not brilliant I was pretty happy with.

I find that the beginning of the run is the worst, but not just the first 10 mins or so, but the first 3 miles – its very uncomfortable the worst part is again the front “ankle” bit of my foot between the leg and my foot – it just feels very very tense which goes away after around 3 miles.

I did manage to get a new pain today though – this time in my big toe. I am so proud. !?&*

Got some of the new kit on today, got some tights and apart from looking like a right berk they were actually pretty good. Although half way round my legs were too hot, luckily the second half got colder. I did have to take of my bennie cap though, as my head was melting…

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Days left: 115

Confidence: 35%

Ability: 25.3%