Half-Marathon: Hilly in Hampshire

'Tis done! 'Tis done! Challenge 6 - The Proclaimers Challenge - has been completed!!

With an up-hill half-marathon... In Basingstoke...

Now, people might ask why I finished this insanity in Basingstoke. Well, that's my cousin's fault. "I've got a half-marathon for you," he said. So I signed up, one of the first events that I signed up to undertake in this year's challenge. All his fault, plainly. I'm just not sure what to hold against him most - the fact that he forgot to mention that the blooming thing was ludicrously hilly, or that he was "injured" in the lead-up to the half-marathon and did not, in fact, himself take part in it!!

Odd how my taking part in a running event blights everyone that I know with sports injuries. Quite, quite strange, that...

Anyway, it was the last event (thank you, thank you!) and so I toiled through the whole thing in a (for me) respectable time, finishing a mighty 1,184 out of 1,279 finishers (not even close to being last! Well, close, but not THAT close...). And it was sunny and warm throughout - which was odd, it being October. The best thing that can be said about this half-marathon is that it starts at a very reasonable 11am and so I was spared the usual dawn chorus of alarm clocks for once.

And proof that I finished:

More to follow - once I've finished with my "week off" (which is fast becoming a fortnight...) - much has been learnt this year during the challenge.

But, most importantly... I'm done!! Challenge 6 completed! Onwards to Challenge 7! Erm... Maybe...

:o)

Stats, Sunday 4th Oct
Running time/distance: 2 hrs 37 mins 26 secs, 13.1 miles (up-hill the best part of 9 miles - why??!)

10k: Bring on the heat!

Well, goodness, it's been a while since I bothered to blog, isn't it... Ahem...

Normally such an absence means that I have done no running and am hiding in shame. But, no! Not this time. No, indeed, it's been non-stop action on that front. Sadly.

First of all, there was another 5k (not exactly faster than the first).

Then there was a 10k - rather flat, quite sunny (too hot!) and a season's best time! For reasons that escape me, frankly, as everyone else runs more slowly in the heat. Hey, ho, guess I'm just weird (shock!).

Then I took myself to New York (as you do) for another 10k, round the charming (yawn) Prospect Park in Brooklyn (twice). In the heat (a rather lovely 75 or so deg F). And in no way flat. Which, obviously, resulted in a personal best time for 10k "running"!! I don't even... This running tosh makes less than no sense.

Finally, today I wandered off for another 5k, which was at least faster than the previous efforts, but was still a reassuringly bumbling around at the back sort of time. Admittedly, the time is gun time rather than chip time (I was faster than that, according to Garmin), but I can't get too excited about that - it always has been and so comparatively, all of a sudden, I'm "running" faster. And there's limited jowalking going on too!

Frankly, after all this excitement, I am quite ready for a lie down... An extended lie down, in fact... But The Proclaimers Challenge requires one more run from me... Just one...

Onwards!

:o)

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 33 mins 19 secs, 5k (out along the seafront and back, no wind today)


Stats, Sunday 20th Sept
Running time/distance: 1 hr 6 mins 29 secs, 10k (a new personal best!)


Stats, Sunday 13th Sept
Running time/distance: 1 hr 9 mins 2 secs, 10k (flat and sunny round Stirling)


Stats, Saturday 12th Sept
Running time/distance: 34 mins 10 secs, 5k (out along the seafront and back)

5K: Promenade to the rear

Today I joined the Parkrun experience. A strange thing to do of a Saturday morning (get up early, drive out to a random location, join a group of (again) serious runners (looking for PBs, no less) and... Jog!!), but necessary. One does not hit 500 miles distance through visualisation alone, sadly...

This 5K was along a promenade (which everyone said as often as possible because, well, promenade. It's a cool word... Fact!) which is lovely and scenic (look! Running water!) and at the same time has a slight drawback. Ah, yes, my old friend - wind. Coastal locations are all very nice (and I do like them) but they're always featuring some feature involving the movement of large amounts of air. If it's not a light breeze, it's a strong headwind or a blooming strong crosswind or a howling gale. Never a calm moment, by the sea...

The fastest times set on Wednesday (a similarly flat terrain, but wooded and thus sheltered) was in the region of 15 minutes (15 minutes!! I know! There are large numbers of people out there who could finish 10K in the time it takes me to lumber around 5K! Madness...); the fastest time set today was in the region of 17 minutes. I am putting that down to wind resistance, and assume that it is also why my time was about 2 minutes slower than on Wednesday. This thinking works for me, and so it must therefore be accurate and true. No arguments from the back, please.

Also, I have now discovered that my 5K finish time is about 44.96% of my age- and gender-graded world record time... Not that I'm sure what that means - although I'm fairly clear that a higher percentage would be better. Still, gives me a completely meaningless number to aim for now, doesn't it...??

:o)

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 34 mins 13 secs, 5k (out along the seafront and back into a headwind)

5K: Transcending around

I hate running laps. I hate running laps more than I hate just running. It's the knowledge that the end is in sight but you have to run past it again (and again) in order to get there. It's the fact that when you're half-way round lap one you know that you'll have to force yourself to do everything you've just done again. It's the fact that you're never really any closer to where you're going until the final lap - if you can force yourself to get there.

Plus, tonight, I discovered another reason to hate running laps. It's called being lapped. I was, in fact, lapped so many times tonight (it was a 3-loop run) that as I passed over the finish line for the end of my second lap half the field were finishing their third... And it was a small field... Inspiring stuff! *sigh* Mind you, there were a whole 2 people who finished after me, and so it wasn't necessarily all bad...!

Tonight's run was all about self-transcendence (apparently) with the aim being to and transcend yourself and find out why runners are smilers.

A couple of hours on from completing my first official 5k, I am still awaiting the transcendence, never mind discovering why runners are smilers. I remain hopeful that the promised status/information will soon, um, appear, but if anyone has any pointers, please do let me know...

:o)

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 32 mins 28 secs, 5k (round and round and round again)

10k: Well that just makes no sense...

Well, there's been no actual running training since the last blog (and run) - although plenty of other stuff has been going on (see the other blog).

There's been no actual rehab activity (well, apart from a continued commitment to rest days - very important, rest days).

And yet... And yet I went out yesterday for another 10k "run" and posted my fastest 10k time for this year (so far). A season's best, I believe I am supposed to call that (although I'm not going to get too carried away - it's still jurassically slow...). No issues with either my bad leg or my good leg (which had the calf issue previously)... And, yes, I am aware that that means that I've been trying to run on no decent legs at all - but the training rather reflects that...

So what can you take from that? I mean really, what?! OK, the course was really flat, but still...

This running lark makes absolutely no sense to me. None.

Still, I can live in a world where one does little to no training but can run (injury-free) faster at each successive event. My kind of world!!

;o)

Stats, Yesterday
Running time/distance: 1 hr 11 mins 22 secs, 6.214 miles (Sunny jog around a lake - not unpleasant)

Rehab: I'm sure there was something...

So, well, yes, the whole planned half-marathon thing didn't happen (leg still in rehab) and there's some desperate re-planning of Challenge 6 going on... I think that Parkrun may be the answer - it's free, it's timed, and have I mentioned it's free...? Anyway.

There is a certain degree of tension when lining up to undertake organised "runs". Mostly because I am very slow, and everyone else there is actually going to run (as opposed to jowalk), and then there's the fact that they're having fun.

And I'm not being terribly humble when I say that I'm slow - stats as follows:
Dublin Half-marathon, finished 4549 out of 5022;
Musselburgh 10k, finished 352 out of 358;
Tadley 10k, finished 280 out of 292.

Now, I'm not competitive, but not being actually last is relatively important to me, second after finishing within the time limit. This leads to some rather uncharitable activity on the start line. One scopes out one's fellow runners, looking for anyone who might conceivably be slower than myself. Old/elderly runners, those carrying some weight, those strapped up like Mr Bump - all these runners bring joy to my heart, settle my nerves, and give me hope.

However, looks can be deceiving. One rather elderly-looking speed-walker (speed-walker!) actually out-paced me to the finish at the Dublin Half-marathon (the shame!). Bumblebee-shaped people seem to often be made up entirely of muscle with consistent bursts of speed sending them off into the distance before me. Effectively, as was pointed out to me today, if I want to ensure that I actually finish ahead of some others, then I need an actual strategy for taking said people out of the race (temporarily and obviously without causing them lasting harm Oh, and without them knowing that it was me that took them out...). I'm currently toying with the idea of lightweight bear-traps, but I am not convinced that this idea is a go-er...

Or I could actually do more training and start "running" faster... Dull!

:o)

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 0 mins 0 secs, 0 miles (oooh, my leg, it hurts...)

Half-Marathon: It's a long way to Tipperary

At least, that's what I've been told. Wouldn't know - never been there.

But, Dublin? Dublin I've been to. And as long as you don't want to get anywhere in a hurry or in a remotely organised fashion, it's rather nice. In the sunshine...

Sadly, I spoiled my visit by jowalking my way through a half-marathon while there (and, I'd like to point out, I turned up at the start line even though the forecast was for heavy rain all day. I should get extra points for that at least!). Slowly, of course (finished 4549 out of 5022 - legendary stuff!).

It all went rather well until the 7 mile point, when my left calf decided that it had had quite enough of this nonsense. Which rather made the rest of the route less than fun - not that I'd have been much faster without the annoyance of a pained calf (hey, I finished ~23 miles of a marathon with the Traitor Toes in full swing). And my neck tired out quite quickly due to the medal weighing a ton - (although the tiredness thing could be loosely associated with the whole 13.1 trek, you never know): why do race organisers seem to be convinced that bigger medals are better?

So the left calf is back in Siberia (if one visit to the gulag doesn't work, try, try again...) and I am re-entering rehab. But briefly, this time. For another half-marathon looms before me... Also, I'm not entirely convinced that this is a calf strain - it feels rather more like a persistent cramp. Is that even possible? Anyway, the calf seems to be recovering faster this time than last (surely it should be the other way around?) and so you never know - the next "run" may not be the disaster that I am quite sure is looming with intent to happen...

:o}

Stats, Today

Running time/distance: 2 hrs 45 mins 50 secs, 13.1 miles (jog, walk, jog, hop, repeat...)

Rehab: Splish

The perceived wisdom of all - when confronted with the news of my "sports injury" - is that swimming would be a good idea. Keep my cardio up, no impact, win-win. There's actually little else that one can do that is active but does not use and abuse calf muscles in some way. Competitive chocolate eating is apparently not active per se (who knew?!).

Since I follow all advice given to me on the training front (unless it involves, um, lots of exercise), today I went off to embrace the water.

I would like to say that my efforts left me looking like a sleek and supple otter, cutting through the (non-existent) waves like a knife. However, I rather fear that I more closely resembled a rather tired jelly fish that had to cling to some driftwood every so often before setting forth into the deeps once more. Except I was in a swimming pool and the sea life was in frankly short supply, that's pretty much how it went. I slogged my way dutifully through 10 lengths, calf muscle seems fine, halo is aglo.

Except... My feeble T-rex arms are apparently part of a strong anti-swimming lobby. Which is odd. But, anyway, they are the latest muscles (no idea whether it's the biceps or triceps and don't care) to come out in support of the wounded (not dead) calf muscles. We are fast approaching general strike territory... My current injury status is thus that my calf seems to be find, but I can't really use my arms at the moment. Awesome!

Tomorrow I expect that I shall find myself bereft of expression when my facial muscles join the party better-late-than-never.

*sigh*

:o)

Stats, Today

Running time/distance: 0 mins, 0 miles (Resting...)
Swimming time/distance: 20 mins, 250 metres (! Even less gifted at this than running!!)

Rehab: Rest and stress

So KT's expert advice on dealing with the sports injury was ice, Ibuprofen and rest. Obviously, the unspoken piece of advice there was "and chocolate" as it was so obvious.

The rest I've got down pat (as recent experience has shown). The chocolate was also easy to square away. The Ibuprofen I've mostly been remembering to take. The ice...

My left calf now thinks that it has been sent to Siberia on its own.

- Why? Why am I being forced to endure such cold?
- You just sit there on that bag of frozen peas and think about it: I'm sure that it'll come to you in time...

Apart from comedy moments at work (it is really not possible to work normally whilst elevating one's leg on top of an ice pack), the ice thing has also been happening.

Leg appears better (although the "pain" is now flitting around various muscles in both legs and my right shoulder has also come out in sympathy). It is somewhat hard to tell as all the tests for one's leg being recovered/ready to re-start training I can do now. I could do them the day after the "injury". I begin to suspect malingering...

All this is fine and good, but I have half marathons and lengthy cycles to complete in short order and there really should be some training going on...

Desperate Google searches on how to train for a half-marathon without running continue...

Hopping onwards!

:o)

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 0 mins, 0 miles (Resting...)

10k: Injury! Injury! They've all got it, uh, injury!

I have a sports injury! An actual sports injury! Of some description...

Disaster looms...

So, today I'm off out, doing another 10k jowalk for the Proclaimers Challenge and 3km into the run something went wrong with my calf. It felt like it had scrunched itself up, and wouldn't un-scrunch. And that was a fun way to jowalk through 10km, let me tell you...!!

As I'm still hobbling around with a very whiny calf (muscle?), I believe that this may be an official sports injury and that, therefore, the whole Proclaimers Challenge may now be in danger!!

As the treatment is likely to involve rest and relaxation... This may be an on-going drama, as I have another 10k next weekend and then 2 half-marathons the 2 weekends after...!! I, well, just can't be injured right now...

And the calf! I mean - used for both cycling and running!! How am I going to train now??!! Aaargh!!

In other news, the 10k today was quite nice (sunny, scenic, flat) apart from the gale-force winds. Which were quite hard work, it has to be said. Particularly whilst dragging one leg behind me dramatically...

Exercise. It's bad for you. Fact!!

;o}

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 1 hr 16 mins, 10k (Done!)

10k: Summer fun

The joys of jowalking in July: too hot!

It may well be that there are only a handful of days per year that I am actually willing to describe as good running days... There can't be any rain. It can't be too hot. Some sun is nice. Light winds permissable.

Today started looking like it would be overcast and warm but not hot... Then the sun came out. Blooming hard work!

On the other hand, I had people cheering me on, the course was relatively flat, and I wasn't last! AND I properly knocked 7 mins off my previous 10k times for this year. All in all, practicaly a red letter day!!

On the other hand... All in all the Sunday lunch that followed (pork shoulder and Yorkshire pudding) was much more my thing, and my favourite part of the day. Yum!

:oD

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 1 hr 14 mins, 10k (Done!)

Training: Holidays!

Well, it's the holiday time of year - sun, fun, frolicking and such like.

Admittedly, I got a little carried away last week - having one weekend off was not really supposed to turn into an entire week off from training... But there you go.

Of course, it wasn't helped by the traditional summer weather. Last week, it was relatively sunny and warm as long as I was at work. Several evenings I intended to go for a run after work, which I was really looking forward to (this may be a lie): however, as soon as I got home rain threatened and/or appeared and that was that.

This week, we've gone all warm but kept (for the most part) the heavy clouds (which have been suspiciously black for most of today). All of which means that the humidity is quite impressively high, it's too muggy to walk anywhere let alone "run", and at any moment the skies will open for some torrential rain (we actually have flood warnings!).

It does occur to me that I may be living in the wrong country given I'm pretty much prepared only to go jowalking if there's absolutely no hint of rain...

Anyway, vaguely attempting to wind up to a July without a weekend off but liberally strewn with lots of random sporting events that I don't really want to do.

Hooray for summer, indeed...

:o)

Stats, Wednesday
Cross-trainer time/distance: 41 mins, 5 miles [Level 5]

Training: Water! Need water!

It appears that I have various tics. One of which is an over-developed fear of "running" (must resolve this soon). Another of which appears to be a fear of running out of bottled water.

Now, water is very important when training. Before, during, after - dehydration is not your friend. Even so, I'm not sure that anyone actually needs to have 13 bottles of water in their fridge (and that doesn't include the 2 water bottles for cycling).

Admittedly, they're all different shapes and sizes (well, most of them are). But they're also now mostly filled with tap water, having been collected at the end of various events and brought home with me. And this appears to be my compulsion: at Race for Life they give you pink bottles of water, which I very much disapprove of, and yet there are 2 such bottles now in my fridge. Worse than that, I don't even like water that much - I only use it when training, and then I really only use one of the bottles (always the same one).

And so the bottles of water in my fridge appear to be some sort of safety blanket for a training event where I'll have to supply all my own water over several days of training... Hard to imagine that ever happening, really... Perhaps I should let some of the bottles go to the great recycling station in the sky?

Or, perhaps, 13 is not enough, and the 2 bottles that I picked up at today's 20km walk will be the bottles that take me up to an elegant sufficiency...?

:o)

Stats, Wednesday
Cross-trainer time/distance: 30 mins, 3.8 miles [Level 5]

10K: You had one job...

The Proclaimers Challenge is quite simple. Do all qualifying miles in official events so that the distances are accurate and so forth.

Today's Race for Life 10K went by in a flash. No traitor toes, jogging pretty much confined to downhill sections (but there were thankfully a fair few of them)... And I finish a whole 10 minutes faster than the last 2 10Ks! With no intervening (running) training. Result!

Except... Garmin says that wasn't 10K. Garmin says today's 10K jowalk was in fact more like 9.2km. Uh-huh. *head-desk* Really?! All that way and you end up 0.8km short??!! Referee!!

I'm taking it nonetheless - not least as I walked 1.6 miles to and from the event and so I did at least 10K. Just not, you know, when I expected to....

*sigh*

It's apparently not just he Council that hates me...

Oh, and I really do need to get over my jogging phobia and start doing more training between events. Half-marathons don't run themselves...

Onward!

:o)

Stats, Today
Running time/distance: 1 hr 11 mins, ~10k (Garmin might not agree, but the signs said 10K. Done!)

Challenge 6: The cynicism, it burns...

OK, so regular readers of this blog (are there any still? God bless you!) will have quite understandably suspected that the echoing silence since March (March!) means that as usual I have fallen off the "running" wagon...

But no!

Runs there have been! Well, jogs. Well, jowalks, with much emphasis on the "walks" element... Still, not nothing!

In fact, there's even bling:

And there should be more to come... Assuming that I actually attend the events I've signed up for (been a bit of a problem of late...).

The most interesting thing about these 2 runs is that they were a month apart. The first one I finished in 1 hour 20 mins. The second - after a month of training and general fitness improvement - in 1 hour 21 mins.

So there you go - the vagaries of running remain beyond me in that being fitter does not make you faster (the reverse in fact)...

Oh, and I still hate running. With a deep, deep passion. *sigh*

:o)

Stats, 24th May
Running time/distance: 1 hr 21 mins, 10k (Slower and slower, round and round we go...)

Stats, 14th April
Running time/distance: 42 mins, 3.24 miles (Jog, walk, jog, walk, walk, jog...)

Stats, 11th April
Running time/distance: 1 hr 20 mins, 10k (Skipping the light fantastic...)

Stats, 6th April
Running time/distance: 55 mins, 3.6 miles (Tum-te-tum-te-tum...)

Stats, 4th April
Running time/distance: 1 hr 29 mins, 6.09 miles (Gah...)

Stats, 3rd April
Running time/distance: 1 hr 8 mins, 4.45 miles (Oof...)

5x50: Lessons learned

Well, now, it has been a while since I blogged anything. At least other than in my head. Oh, the blog posts you've missed; the wit, the wisdom, the detailed lack of running... Still, that was then, and this is now; a new now, all bright and shiny and requiring the return to "running". Joy.

Last year was supposed to be a year of consolidation. Which largely turned into a year of loafing around on the sofa, consuming doughnuts and reading at great length. Bliss! However, fun as it was, it did largely undo all of the good work of the preceding 2 years and ultimately brought us back to this point. Which is largely that another ridiculous Challenge is required such that I get off my backside and do some exercise before I end up physically resembling a doughnut.

Many doughnuts died to bring us this information...

So, first off, 5x50 Challenge joined and started as of today (with a nice walk. None of that nasty jogging stuff as yet).

Next up - Challenge 6. Of which, more later...

:o)

Running time/distance: 0 mins, 0 miles (Working up to it... Slowly... Ish...)