Day 6 - Half Marathon distance

So it seems that a half marathon is well within my capabilities, after all this is the second in 2 weeks.

I did a steady (slow) pace and enjoyed the remarkably mild conditions.

It looks like a came upon a New Years Eve running event at one point and I think the 100 (ish) people waiting to set off were a bit puzzled as I simply ran through them and off into the distance.

thboxster at Garmin Connect - Details

www.crazyspeak.co.uk

Day 1

So it seems like months since I started training (unofficially) but according to my proper training plan today is day 1 of 125 (18 weeks). For the first few weeks I will be training at a higher level but should merge in with the plan in a few weeks time.

Todays 10 mile run can be seem in detail at GARMIN

Tony Holland at Garmin Connect - Details

Christmas Eve run

6 Mile Willen Loop by thboxster at Garmin Connect - Details

I had the support team on bicycles with me today (Denise and Max) to keep me company. I seemed to gradually loose them at the 4 mile mark and they arrived at the finish over 5 minutes after me. They must have been looking at the birds on the lake.

Take a week off?

Although the intention was to keep training this week while away on vacation, it turned out that this was not to be. The best I achieved was 2 swimming sessions with my son. I hold Mickey Mouse fully responsible as he put on too many shows and too much entertainment for us.

As of next Monday though, there will be no excuse, week 1 of the official training starts.

Half Marathon at Garmin Connect - Details

Half Marathon by thboxster at Garmin Connect - Details

A very cold day to be out at 7:00am running. Frost on the ground and the watch saying 31F.

My hands never warmed up, so am looking forward to Christmas day next week when I hope my wife will be giving me a pair of running gloves.

It also started snowing at the 9 mile point and gradually got heavier as I headed for the finish.

A half marathon before breakfast! certainly gives you a good sense of achievement.

A wrong turn makes all the difference

Whoops!

Heading for a long Sunday run today, expecting to go 12 miles. I added in a new section which I though would take my 10.5 to 12 miles. It should have done but as i've never been in that area I took a wrong turn and cut .75 off so was left with just over 11 miles.

Oh well, I'll have another look next weekend.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/133846843#.TuSLbG9YFqk.facebook

Running in Wind

It was all I could do today to keep going forward. of head wind of at least 20 mph was pushing me the wrong way for 3 miles solid.

It ends up being quite funny as you realise how stupid you must look giving it all you have just to get past a walking pace.

Winter Training

Well it isn't officially winter yet but today was a good insight into how training over the next few months will be. Frost on the ground and an average temperature of about 38F it took me 4 miles of my 6 mile run just to get warmed up.

Message from Race Control

Just been informed that there's only 5 months left before the race. Better up the training pace!

The Goals are Clear

I was emailed by the Virgin London Marathon Team today to confirm that I have not got a place in the London Marathon next year.

That makes life a lot easier, as that run is scheduled for the week before the MK Marathon.

Therefore our focus is completely clear.

LT Training

A little warmer today, as I was in the gym. It seems to help by using the gym to do Lactose Tolerance training as it's easier to control speed and distance more accurately.

Put in 5 miles, and even got a PI of 40.

Cold in the morning

Definitely a notable coolness in the air this morning, single digits when I went out, roughly 43, but warmed up a little as the fog started to clear.

Very appreciative of the winter running gear that I had given to me on my birthday.

Definitely need to invest in some gloves too though.

General Anouncment

So most people will no now that today was effectively Day 1. I've started a little early but that can only be a good thing.

The web site is running with counters and links and all manner of things.

Tell everyone you know about this event and the charity that I am working to raise funds for. Every penny will help but the pounds are even more helpful.

Give generously!

Training Plan

I've not decided on a training plan/schedule yet but the indications are that I should be training at above 55 miles per week. Really!

55 miles per week? Some weeks I don't even drive that far, that is a long way.

The plan also recommends recovery/rest days during the week. So if you train for 4 days and not for 3 then I would have to have all training runs in excess of 10 miles. Somehow I'm not convinced that this is achievable and this is described as the 'Beginner plan' ?

Maybe i'll retract my previous statement regarding messer's Pfitzinger and Douglas.

Back on Track

Put in a 7 mile run on Monday with no adverse affects. Looks like we can focus our attentions properly now on the job at hand.

Interestingly, just received an email from the Marathon Team which included some example training plans. If I use one of those then I can sit around and do nothing till Dec 26th.

I think I will stick to my original plan though courtesy of Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas

6 mile road run

So I managed to find an hour early on Monday morning and I set out with a 5 mile goal in mind. After 4 -5 under my belt I felt pretty good so pushed on to complete 6 miles.

I know i've done some distance but I think we're in pretty good shape to start putting in more effort now. I've had a rest day so i'll head back to the gym tonight for an LT session.

On the mend

Third run completed, still under clinical and non-strenuous conditions to explorer the healing condition of my foot.

2 miles resulted in minimal discomfort
3 miles was fine
Last night 4 miles went by without any problem.

Day off today and then i'll see if I can squeeze a road run of 5-6 miles in over the weekend. That will really tell me if i'm back up to speed or not.

26 miles is a long way

While out and about, mostly in the car, I drive through areas that this Marathon will go through and I don't mind saying that after10 minutes of driving, then realising that I am still in a small section of the whole run that the scale of this hits home.

There are no words to explain the feeling other than it is one big challenge to do this.

First official injury

The reference material has indicated that I will experience at least one injury that will hinder training on the run up to the big day. OK, so i've now hit it.

I'm assuming it's a training injury, but may not be as it only manifested itself 36 hours after a training run.

It's basically stopped me from performing any activity where there is a foot impact i.e running. Swimming, cycling, cross training are all fine but running has been a complete no no.

It's been 2 weeks now and to test the healing state I went  for a 2 mile run yesterday on a treadmill. This is luxury as it has a cushioned belt and after that time the state of affairs was good. Not 100% but pretty good to allow me to gradually start picking up the pace again.

The one saving factor is that i'm not actually in the 5 month training window yet so I have time get over these issues and be ready for the later onslaught.

First official training run

Good news and bad news.

I took timings for my first road based run at 10 miles. I managed a time of 1hr 47 minutes, which I though was completely respectable and this extrapolates out to a marathon time of about 4hrs 30 mins. That's not making any allowance for cardiac drift, etc, etc. The other good point was my temperature gauge averaged at 81 degrees C, so not what you'd call a cool run. I managed to sweat 1L of fluid in this run as well.

The bad news, I could have gone on to complete another 3 for a half marathon distance but I would have struggled to get much further.

I now have a stake in the ground and i've got measurements that I can now work with to improve my performance and reach for the 26 mile distance.

Charity arrangements a piece of cake

Decided to raise funds to donate to charity. Charity now decided, Willen Hospice.

Went to visit the site today and it was a fantastic, tranquil haven. Squirrels hid behind trees as I drove down the drive and the people were beyond polite.

Seems i'm not the only one with Willen in mind as the events team were talking about a number of people that were running at various events to raise some money. 

Planning seems harder than running

Not that I need to, but I thought I would use this run to raise money for a local charity. So apart from getting people to give you cash how do you get the sponsorship?

There are various organisations on the interweb that provide banking options for this. The first I tried, although not taking any % commission, didn't recognise my charity and I would have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get things set up.

So I tried another organisation. They take a fee against business transactions but take a very cut down % against charities. So I applied to them. They need blood and paperwork signed by my dead grandmother to accept that it's a charity and not a general business. So the hunting and hoop jumping goes on.

On the positive side, I still have 8 months before the race so time to get things sorted out.

What have I done?

I'm always one for a challenge and this is no exception. It struck me that running a Marathon would be an achievement that would certainly be something to share with children, grand children and be something which I could look back on and be proud of.

Well step one is done, it was easy, i've entered. April 29th 2012 I will starting the longest run of my life, 26 miles  385 yards or 42.195 kilometers to be precise. And this is no mean feat as I've not been renound for my running skills in the past. In fact running has always been something that i've struggled with since I was at school.

So the hard work starts now, I've got books to help me through the training and i've got lots of time to prepare but I bet the time will vanish.

My 4 year old son is really excited and keeps asking me about how I will win the race, when he's a bit older I'll explain that my goal is to complete the race, completing it will be a big enough result for me.