Furthest ever run

Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday, I was just too snowed under to actually get anything non work related done.

So, since my last blog on Friday the injury front has changed a bit. I did manage to get down the gym after work and get though 7km with a bit of a sore knee, but it was generally ok, albeit at a slow pace.

Come Saturday afternoon and following a morning shopping at Borough market (managed to get some Monteith’s larger from NZ, lovely stuff) I hit the road determined to run for longer than I had at the half marathon the week before, although maybe not at quite the same pace.

I also had a new route picked out, running down the Regent’s Canal from Haggerston to Limehouse, then back through the city to Fleet St, up to Kings Cross, then to Angel, Highbury and Islington, Clissold Park, Stoke Newington, Dalston and back to Haggerston, 23km in all, 1.7km more than the half marathon the week before.

I thought running along the canal would be good as there are no traffic lights but the sheer amount of other runners, plus people drinking outside pubs, walking along with prams and on bikes (pedestrians have right of way) made it much more difficult than just running on the pavement. Likewise the tourists at St Paul’s cathedral were an annoyance. Everyone should get out of my way, I am training to run a marathon you know!

I also lost a bit of time quing to buy a drink on my way round as I didn’t really want to carry water. In the end it took me around 10 minutes longer to cover the half marathon distance and then a further 10 minutes to get through the additional 1.7km, so I was defiantly slowing towards the end, although I had not prepared for the run nearly as well as I had for the race the week prior.  In the end I got round in 2 hours, 16 minutes, which is not bad but I need to pick up the pace a little as well as learn how to run longer.

Unsurprisingly I decided to have Sunday off, especially after walking to the football when I noticed that the outside edge of my left foot seemed to hurt a lot.  Indeed, I continued to be in some pain all through yesterday, and thought it might be wise to give myself two days off to recover, although I will be back down the gym again tonight for a slowish run but I have no idea how far I will be able to go.

If you are impressed that I have even managed to get this far then you can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke, where I am raising money for the Willow Foundation, which provides special days to seriously ill young adults.

Injury scare

Hello peeps,

Sorry I have not blogged since Monday, but I have had a bit of an injury scare and not done much training this week.

So, on Monday I hit the gym just to do 5km in no particular rush, just as a warm down from Saturday’s half marathon. I felt a big heavy legged but other than that ok, which bodes well for the race etc. So far, so good.

However, on Tuesday night I was playing football. We drew the first match 1-1, mainly thanks to an outstanding effort from goalie Geri rather than any good defending from me. However, in the second match I seem to have buggered my left knee.  This is the knee I tore the medial ligament in a few years ago, which caused me a lot of issues at the time as well as a shedload of physio. 

In my training so far I have been waiting for it to flair up again, but until this week all has been well.  However, after a bit of argy-bargy, it was a drop ball, with me defending and the attacker walloped it right into the underside of my foot, jarring my knee.  This meant that Wednesday’s planned 10km was off, as at times it was painful to walk on it and I didn’t want to aggravate what could be a serious issue.

I was still in pain on Thursday but I don’t want to lose the fitness I have worked so hard to build up so far, so despite an ache I decided to go for a slow, gentle 7km on the treadmill and if anything could go wrong I could stop immediately and then just go home. Thankfully, although it did feel a bit sore the run seemed to do more harm than good and today my knee feels much closer to normal, so I am going to have a crack at 8km tonight. If that goes well, then I might have a go at 20km plus tomorrow afternoon, although the weather and not just my knee has to hold out for that.

If you are impressed that I have even managed to get this far then you can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke, where I am raising money for the Willow Foundation, which provides special days to seriously ill young adults.

Woah, I'm half way there!

First half marathon down!

Yes dear reader, I managed to get through the first half marathon of the training plan, getting through 21.30km (13.1 miles if you are old school) in 1 hour, 58 minutes and 38 seconds, smashing my previous personal best of 2 hours, 14 minutes, 59 seconds in the process. 

But bugger me was it cold.  The course was four and a bit laps of Dorney lake, just outside Windsor.  It is actually going to be used for the Olympic rowing and was just a big, open area. Which means there was absolutely no shelter from the wind at all  (see photo).   

Indeed, everyone else was there in their long sleeves and running tights, but I was just in my standard running shirt and shorts. At one point the wind was so strong I was actually running at an angle to make sure I stayed upright.

The race got underway at 10.15 as loads of people were stuck in the car park, by which time I was even colder.  I decided to stick with the 9 minute mile pacer, which should bring me home in 1 hour 58 minutes, but after the first lap she was defiantly going faster than that, with my GPS watch telling me that at ¼ distance we had only been going for 28 minutes, giving a finish time of 1 hours 52. To be honest I was just aiming to beat my previous best and decided to let the pacer go, slowing to catch a drink (not a proper one though. Not yet).

The second lap was no great problem either and aside from slowing a few times to have something to drink I was carried on motoring round. Now though I was starting to get really bored – it is a big open lake, there is not much to look at and by now the crowd had thinned out a lot so I was more or less running on my own. Apart from when I was lapped by the eventual leader. Yes, that’s right, lapped already, although no one else overtook me for a while.

By lap three I was starting to flag a bit, so had a couple of Jellybabies to cheer myself up a bit and I carried on plodding round. Looking back at my split times it was around here that I dropped from doing 1km in 5 minutes 25 seconds ish to 5.35 but I was still keeping up a decent pace.  Indeed, as I crossed the line to start the final lap I realised I had 33 minutes to do it in and still come in at less than two hours, which was a good jobs as the final 3km were pretty difficult – I was just running out of energy.  Still, it didn’t stop me absolutely hooning over the line, overtaking around 20 people in the process to set my time.

The tops of my knees/bottom of my thighs hurt a bit after the race but once I got my breath back I was feeling surprisingly ok, though the thought of doing 8 laps, which is what the marathon would be, plus hills is something I am still not that comfortable with.

Still, a decent time achieved and I went to a fancy dress party on Saturday night as the young Indiana Jones before getting to bed around 3am.  My legs and right shoulder were still sore and tight on Sunday morning but today I am feeling back to normal, and should be heading to the gym after work for a slow 5km as a warm down before football tomorrow and something a bit longer on Wednesday.

If you are impressed that I have even managed to get this far then you can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke, where I am raising money for the Willow Foundation, which provides special days to seriously ill young adults.

Aggggggggggggggg half marathon TOMORROW!

Right, the first real challenge of the training I have done so far arrives tomorrow, with the first half marathon of this year. I am doing the Race Your Pace half, round the Olympic rowing centre, just outside Windsor.  It is a totally flat course of four laps round the lake.  In addition there are pacers, so I am going to find the guy who is running a nine minute mile and stick to him like glue.

“Ah”, I hear some of you say, ”is that not a slower pace than your training, which has been around 5.30 mins per km?”  Well, yes, you would be right.  5.30 is roughly 8.30 in miles, meaning I can either go with the 8m minute pacer or the 9 minute one. Since I reckon I would struggle to keep up with the 8 minute one for the whole distance, and I have not run this far since last Sept, I have decide to go with the 9 minute one. If I can stay put then I should still beat my previous personal best of 2 hours, 14 minutes, 59 seconds and also slide in just under two hours.

So, I am staying at my Mum’s tonight before going to the race tomorrow, which starts at ten and could well feature lots of lovely rain. Joy. After that I am going home for a shower and sleep before driving to Oxford for a 30^th birthday party, which could be interesting.

It has not been a great week training wise though.  I was feeling really tired on Monday and so though it might be best if I stayed away from the gym and instead had some rest. I balanced this off somewhat with a fairly quick 10km on Tuesday after work and then 6.5km on Wednesday, although this was much slower. 

I had also planned to go to the gym last night (Thursday) but am still feeling a little coldy and didn’t want to scupper this weekend’s run, so stayed at home and ate a huge amount of pasta instead. I have also had pasta for lunch today and guess what is for dinner tonight?!!

Please remember that I am putting myself through all this to raise money for the Willow Foundation, as well as getting less fat. You can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke and to all the people who have already done, so, thank you, it is very much appreciated and is spurring me on to train.

69 (heheh) days to go, but a half marathon in just 5!

Tally ho chappies!

Only 5 days (well, 4.5 really) until the first half marathon in my training program as I start to really build up the distances ahead of the Big One, which is just 69 (hehehehe) days away! On that note, ta to everyone who has sponsored me so far, with a big shout out (90’s DJ style) to the anonymous Mr. Miyagi for his generous donation as well as my brother for his deal – I have to give back half the money if I don’t do it in less than 4 hours 30. Incentive indeed. If you keep thinking “I should sponsor him”, then why not do it now at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke.

Right, that’s the money bit out of the way. Onto the running part:

So, last time out I had just done my second longest run of the program so far, an 18km run on the treadmill on Wednesday night. Unsurprisingly I had to have Thursday evening off as I was still pretty knackered and the tops of my knees were sore.

However there is no rest for the wicked and come Friday I was back in the gym, although it was not going to be a massive workout as it was a warm down from Wednesday as well as a bit of a stretch before the weekend’s work. In the end I smashed out 7.5km in just over 42 minutes, giving me a pace of 5mins 40 seconds per km. Not fast by any means and my shoulders felt really stiff after but I was pleased to have done it.

Shockingly, that was only my second workout of the week, due to illness on Monday and Tuesday, so it was back down the gym on Saturday. I actually wanted to go for a run outside, but there was still plenty of snow and ice about and if I injured myself due to slipping over then I would be super annoyed. So, more treadmill time and this time I quickly smashed my way though 9km. I wanted to do more, but was going to visit my grandparents and just ran out of time.  Still, I did it in 48minutes at a pace of 5.19 and felt pretty good afterwards, the stiffness having worked its way out.

This left my weekly mileage at only 34km, some way short of the 46.5km seen the week before. Now, before a half marathon you are meant to wind down a bit so you have plenty of energy come the day, but this was winding down a bit too far. So, Sunday afternoon, when I judged the snow had melted enough (and two different weather reports said the temperature was over 1 degree) I put on my cold weather running gear and went outside.

I was not sure how far I was going to run, with my only target to do at least 6km to round my weekly distance up to 40km. Essentially I was just going to do a big loop and if I got too cold then just cut across and get home. In the end I set off on the 14km route I had done a few weeks before, then cut towards home about halfway in, so I ended up doing 10km.

Actually, that is not quite true. I got to my flat having done 9.8km, so actually ran past it, round the roundabout at the top of the road and then back down the street to hit 10km dead on. That left the weekly distance at 44km, not too bad considering I was ill at the start of the week.

The plan for this week is to go the gym today (Monday) and then again before going out for dinner tomorrow night with Wifey, making it 5 consecutive days of running, although Tuesday’s run might be a bit shorter. I have then got Wednesday night off before the final pre-race run on Thursday evening. Then the race on Saturday morning, followed by a fancy dress 30^th birthday party Saturday night. Should be interesting…..

Please remember that I am putting myself through all this to raise money for the Willow Foundation, as well as getting less fat. You can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke and to all the people who have already done, so, thank you, it is very much appreciated and is spurring me on to train.

Second longest run, but it was hard work plus ideas needed!

I had to have Monday and Tuesday off training this week as I could feel a cold coming on, but come Wednesday I was feeling better and decided to attempt this week’s “long run” on the treadmill, despite having only run 6.5km on Sunday and 7km  on Saturday.

This is because it is too cold to spend any great length of time outside.  It is also my final long run before the Windsor half marathon a week on Saturday, leaving me with just a few 5km and 10kms between now and then to make sure I am not knackered come race day.

I started off pretty well, going through the first 11km in 59 minutes without even having to slow down. However after an hour the treadmill automatically resets and this disrupted my momentum and after another 1km I had to slow down for a little walk.

From that point on I never really seemed to get back in the groove, having to slow to a walk every 10 minutes or so, and going past the 17km marker around 2 minutes slower than last week.

The plan was to run for 19km but it was all I could do to struggle through to 18km and then stop.  It is not a bad result given I have had a cold, but I am a little disappointed that I couldn’t force myself that little bit further. Hopefully the half marathon will provide a bit more incentive than being stuck on a treadmill for over 100 minutes! Still it is the same as running from Bank in central london all the way out past Kew Gardens!

So now it is down to just maintaining fitness for the next 10 days and then the first true test of all this training! Afterwards I am off to a 30th fancy dress party, although I will need a little sleep I think between the two events. So far I have had no ideas about what to go as. The theme is kids TV. Any ideas???????

Please remember that I am putting myself through all this to raise money for the Willow Foundation, as well as getting less fat. You can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke and to all the people who have already done, so, thank you, it is very much appreciated and is spurring me on to train.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Wow, that was cold.

I had Friday off after my 17km run on Thursday, as I was feeling a bit sore and also a little tired, and instead went to the pub for a few beers to catch up with some friends I have not seen for a while due to the training.

However I didn’t drink enough to stop me going for a run, outside, in the cold on Saturday morning.  The plan was to try and do a 10km, even though it was only around 38 hours after I had finished the 17km.  This idea was soon binned though when I went outside. Even though I had all my cold weather running gear on (see picture!) it was still blooming freezing!

As I now have my all singing, all dancing GPS watch I can alter my route but still maintain the correct time, distance and pace information so after around 10 minutes in the cold I thought that a quick 5km and back inside into the warm would be the best solution.

It didn’t quite work out that way though, as the new route I planned in my head was a bit longer than I guessed it would be, and I ended up doing 7.16km in just over 41 minutes, giving me a pace of 5.44.  Not too bad considering I was a bit knackered and it was cold, although I was back to my old habit of running fast and then walking, probably due to the weather.

This brought my weekly mileage up to around 40km, leaving me a little short of adding 10% to the previous week’s distance of 42km, so I headed out on Sunday to do another 6km to level things off. It was too cold and slippery to actually run outdoors though, so I trudged to the gym to just get through it on the treadmill and tick it off. In the end I did 6.26km in 34 minutes and that was that.

I have woken up this morning with a bit of a cold though, so instead of doing the planned 12km this evening it looks like I am going to have to stay at home and try and make sure it does not get worse so I can do the Windsor half in……………12 days!

2nd longest run ever!

“Why Mr Fatbloke, with this second consecutive day of blogging you are really spoiling us”

Yes, that is right, a second day of blogging.  This is because in yesterday’s blog I hadn’t actually done a long run this week, and now I have completed it I thought it was worth a quick update.

So the plan was to go to the gym after work, hit the treadmill and add to the 14.2km run I did last week, hopefully at the same pace of 5 mins 42 seconds per km. I was looking to try and stick to my +2km per week target, which would mean doing a 16.2 km run, taking around 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Things did not start off well when after 39 minutes I accidentally smacked the emergency stop button on the treadmill, bringing me to a grinding halt, again. I quickly reset the machine and got back up to speed, but was put off my pace a little, although the little “off the clock” stop was a tiny bit welcome. 

However a few minutes later I was back in my stride, and kept going. After an additional 30 odd minutes I slowed down for around a minute to take on some Poweraid, and then pumped it back up to my standard 11.2km. And kept going. And going. And going. I sailed pass 16.2km and still felt good, so decided to carry on to do 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Once there I was so close to 17km that I thought I might as well just power on and so I ended up running 17km in 1 hours, 32 minutes and ten seconds. That is the second longest run I have ever done, after the half marathon I did back in September, and the longest distance I ran in training for that was 14km, so I am feeling pretty pleased with myself today! This was at a decent pace of 5.25 as well, making me extra pleased.

I could have even gone on longer, I still had energy and was not that tired.  However, I had forgotten to put any Vaseline on my nipps and was in quite a lot of pain, as well as being bloody hungry!

Today I am feeling a bit sore in the legs and across my shoulders but other than that not too bad. The plan for the weekend is a 5km tomorrow morning and then hopefully a longer run on Sunday, although that maybe be a non started if it snows.

Please remember that I am putting myself through all this to raise money for the Willow Foundation, as well as getting less fat. You can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke and to all the people who have already done, so, thank you, it is very much appreciated and is spurring me on to train, even in the cold!

Tired and grumpy but still going

It has been a bit of a mixed week so far, hence why I haven’t blogged for a few days.  Monday started off well and I hit the gym after work with the aim of matching the 8.5km I did the week previous.

However, after the 14km I did on Saturday I felt a bit heavy legged and lethargic.  In addition, as I was running on the treadmill (wayyyy too cold to go outside for any reason at all apart for buying food) I managed to knock the emergency stop button after about 20 minutes, which knocked me off my stride.

Nevertheless, I still managed to get though a fairly meaty 11km in 1 hour, 20 seconds, around one minute slower than when I covered the same distance on my way to 14km last Wednesday, so I was pretty pleased with that.

Tuesday was a different matter though. Both my calves were feeling sore and my back was also quite tight. On top of this I was totally knackered after a poor night’s sleep, so knocked football on the head and went home instead. Or at least I though. I got to my front door and released I had left my keys at work. I phoned Wifey who was on her way home, so I went round the pub to wait for her. Unfortunately she got stuck on the tube, so I didn’t get inside the house until around 2 hours after I thought I would, making me even grumpier and tired.

I can’t afford to mooch around though, not with a half marathon just 2 weeks, 2 days away!  So I hit the gym last night with the intention of just doing a quick 5km to shake the heaviness out of my legs and I blasted through in 27 mins, 25 seconds, setting a pace of 5 mins 13 per km, a bit faster than my marathon target. 

It also serves as a warm up to the week’s main event, the Long Run. I am aiming to beat the distance I set last week (14.2km) and hold roughly the same sort of pace, earning myself a Friday night off!

Weight update:

I weighted myself on Monday and was pleased to see I am now down to 97.8kg and this only ticked up to 98.2kg on Wednesday, meaning I am going in the right direction but still have some way to go before the name of this blog is redundant!

In addition, I am doing this to raise money for the Willow Foundation, as well as getting less fat. You can sponsor me at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/runningfatbloke and to all the people who have already done, so, thank you, it is very much appreciated and is spurring me on to train, even in the cold!