I did debate with myself this morning about whether to go running along the Thames or not and in the end I didn’t.  I wimped out.  Mainly due to clothing and what to wear.  I sweat A LOT when I run and I never know what to wear.  If I wear to little I freeze to death and if I wear too much I just look like I went swimming in my clothes (I sweat that much).  I don’t suppose anyone else out there has this same sort of perspiration issue?  How the heck does a sweaty guy dress for running in the cold?  This is why I’m a fair weather runner!

Anyway, I’m very happy with the way the running is going and I’m very happy with the way I feel again.  I’m not 100% happy with how I look but that will come with time and more work.

Today’s run started off easy at about 9km/h and the last 30 mins was at 10km/h.  My overall average pace was 06:24 min/km and I’m happy with that for a long run.  I remember when 10km/h was my ‘easy’ speed!  Amazing what happens over time.  As I get lighter and fitter I’ll gain some speed back.

Very happy with today’s efforts.

• Distance Covered Today:  14.08km
• Total for the Month:  156.42km

I’ve also stuck to the Slendertone regime and today was the third day using the device.  I started the workout on a setting of 80 (it goes to 99) and finished the 20 mins on 99.  I think that the majority of the planned 4 weeks using the device will be on a setting of around 90 or more.  I guess that’s the way it is when it’s got to send an electrical impulse through the equivalent to a spare tire before reaching the abdominals beneath!

Tomorrow I’m off to London and back to work.  I’m looking forward to getting back to work and to 2011 in general as I know it is going to be filled with new challenges and experiences.

That’s it for today I’m afraid.  Short and sweet.  Although, I’d also like to mention that I’m very happy with my mileage so far this month.

• Distance Covered Today:  12.00km
• Total for the Month:  110.90km

I ran just over 10km this morning in aid of Janathon and my health (not in that order), and it wasn’t easy.  I had pain in my shins for about half the time and it wasn’t until then that they finally went numb and allowed me to complete the run in relative comfort.  It sucks because I find myself wanting to stop not because I’m out of breath, but because I’m a wimp with the pain.

Just gotta keep stretching and they’ll go away in time.  They always do.

Also, you may or may not have noticed that all of my runs are on a treadmill at the moment.  That’s because I haven’t been running in a few months and I’m now a bit of a fatty.  My confidence is shaken and I don’t want to run on the roads until I feel a bit better in myself and my running.  I’m hoping I’ll be doing my long runs on the roads in the next couple of weeks but we’ll see how things work out.

Pain and lack of confidence aren’t going to stop me from succeeding though and I will continue to plod along to bring myself back to where I used to be!  Yo-yo dieting?  pfffft.  I’m a yo-yo runner!

Besides the run it’s been a nice relaxing day chilling out with my family and having a lovely roast dinner.  I’m looking forward to another day off tomorrow before returning to a four-day work week.

I’m off to read some Janathon blogs now!  Good luck to all my fellow Janathoners and keep up the good work.

Distance Covered Today: 10.23km

Total for the Month: 15.96km

Wednesday

6.5km (4.04 miles) in 41 mins 12 secs for an average pace of 10:12 min/mile (06:20 min/km).

Friday

1.6km in 10 mins 48 secs for an average pace of 10:52 min/mile

4.8km in 25 mins 50 secs for an average pace of 08:40 min/mile (05:23 min/km)

1.6km in 10 mins 38 secs for an average pace of 10:42 min/mile (06:39 min/km)

Sunday

Long run of 16.23km (10.08 miles) at an average pace of 10:48 min/mile (06:41 min/km).

Details of today’s long run are below:-

My long run was made just a little bit more interesting because of the lovely purple toe I’m sporting at the moment. I took my son to a local indoor playgym which comes complete with a ball pool/pit. I was in the ball pool testing it out to make sure it was safe for my son (okay, I was playing in it) when I stubbed my big toe really hard on the floor mats under the balls. I fell into the balls in agony. Unfortunately my son and the other children there thought it was an invite to a pile-on and I was soon covered in children as well as brightly coloured balls.

So my toe started off as purple before the long run and it now a dark purple covering a larger area. Good thing was that it didn’t hurt at all during the whole run which means I’m just gonna keep at it.

Photos from today’s long run:-

This afternoon we went for a meal at a pub my wife always sees when she’s out and about. It claims to have the “best pub garden in Berkshire”. I beg to differ. Food was pretty good though, even with the 1 hour wait to eat. I won’t be in any hurry to head back to that place again.

I keep saying it, but I really must do it: I need to take part in more (some) cross-training on my non-running days! I mean, it’s just ridiculous. I keep telling myself I need to and I always fully intend to but it never ends up happening. So, tomorrow morning I must somehow make myself get off to the gym for some non-running exercise!

Also, I’m not sure if I’ve told you or not, but I’ve been raising money for a local (Berkshire) charity called DebRA. I’ve raised over £500 for them so far I think and I’ll try and push for a bit more.

As for future running plans, I have none in the short term. Most of the running events I would normally take part in are on a Sunday and the distances are like 10k which is too short for me to do because I really need to be doing my long runs on Sundays. I’ve entered the ballot for the 2011 London Marathon and I’ve also applied for a charity place. I’m telling you, if I get in to the London Marathon I’ll be SUPER excited and I’ll be hitting EVERYONE up for sponsor money! Hell yeah!

Well, I’m off to tweet on twitter and see what peeps are up to.

However, I’ve done a screenshot as follows:-

The first few miles were extremely painful and my legs locked up tight.  I had to stop and walk a couple of times (only for about 10 secs) to try and relieve the pain.  At least it didn’t make much of a difference on my average pace.  Even at my slowest, my average pace for any split/lap was under the average pace of 12:29 min/mile that the training plan called for.

Overall average pace of 11:00 min/mile was okay I guess.  I mean, I’m happy with it and the run overall (except for first few miles) felt good.

This coming week I’ll need to put more of an emphasis on the cross training on the off/rest days to work on my overall fitness.

Non-running stuff?  This blog is doing very well and the “best running blogs” page is still seeing quite a lot of traffic according to my statistics.  Also, my adding a proper directory has made things so much easier as people can add their own blogs/sites without me having to go and edit some html code.

PS – In case you’re wondering about the laps/splits above, there are 15 because my garmin still shows me km.

Tuesday

Called for 3 mile easy run at a 12:29 min/mile pace.  I did 3.10 miles at a 10:14 min/mile pace.

Thursday

Called for a 3 mile tempo run with a 1 mile warm-up and 1 mile cool-down.  I managed 1 mile warm-up at 11:00 min/mile with 3 mile tempo run at 09:01 min/mile and the 1 mile cool-down at 10:33 min/mile.

Sunday

Called for long run of 8 miles at 12:29 min/mile pace.  I managed 8.01 miles at a 10:12 min/mile pace.

Overall, that’s a pretty good week, even though I didn’t get in the cross training I wanted/needed to on the days in between.  Well, I guess that means more of an effort is needed on that front this week!

As for non-running related matters… I’ve made the decision to get rid of my windows based laptop.  Since I’ve had my macbook pro I haven’t needed to use the other laptop for anything at all.  I can see any reason to keep it so I’ve sold it to a work colleague.

I’ve had a nice weekend and spent a few hours yesterday at the Crowthorne Carnival (http://www.crowthornecarnival.co.uk/) with my son and mother-in-law (mummy was at work).  It was a pretty good afternoon and the parade was… interesting.  The floats were what you would expect for a small village parade, however one of them was a bit odd.

Pole dancing?  In a parade?  On a moving flatbed?  With everyone dressed like they’re out of Grease!

I must admit, she was pretty agile though… lol.

So, there you have it.  Pole dancing!

Tomorrow I’ll be attempting to get up early, go to the gym and do some cross-training and weights.  Will it happen?  Who knows!  Place your bets…

I’ve printed all my entry info to take with me on our trip to Canada (we have a house-sitter any would-be burglars) because the website doesn’t actually tell you to bring anything to prove you’ve entered.

I’m trying to remember everthing I need to take with me to Canada like running shoes!  I definitely want to take my Garmin even though I have no idea if it will work in North America if it was bought in UK.  I’m sure it will…

Won’t be long and we’ll be in the land of moose, maple syrup, pick-up trucks, “eh” and politeness (to name but a very few).   After 9th May my main focus will be enjoying myself and trying not to eat myself to death!

I will probably post a blog or two whilst I’m over there but it depends on which family member will allow me to borrow their internet access!

Wish me luck everyone!

I think that I should’ve been running more each week but it’s too late now.  Some things that I’ve read said that running should be done on consecutive days and that’s what I’ve been avoiding.

The weekday runs have been okay and they’ve been about 10.5km each time and at a pretty good pace too.  I always feel good after having done one.

Today’s long run, different story.  I was walking within the first 2 kms due to shinsplints and it just set the mood for the whole run.  It really pissed me off and it’s a pretty big blow mentally when all other runs have felt pretty good.  I was also using my new pack to carry gels etc and it just didn’t feel right at first.  It took miles to get used to it.

I ended up walking loads and avg pace went through the roof compared to the last long run.  This long run clocked in at 06:45 min/km!  I know that’s an okay pace though and if I finished a whole marathon at that pace I’d be happy, however when you’re actually out there and end up walking all the time it’s really frustrating.  I wish I could get over that mental downer.

Here is the summary of the fun run/walk (that’s another thing, I’m tired of calling my “runs” a “run/walk”.  Before I started doing all of this marathon training I actually did “run” the whole time, just like my mid-week runs):-

So, if I was to finish the marathon at a pace of 06:45 min/km that would be a finish time of 4 hours and 44 minutes. Who would be dissapointed with that as their first marathon time? Not me! So, why the upset with these long runs and all the walking? I think because in my head: I’m supposed to be running.

Tapering begins now. That means the mid-week runs will remain the same but long runs will get gradually smaller up until the marathon. This next long run will be 15 miles (24km), so still pretty long but manageable. The following Sunday will be 10 miles (16km) and then the Sunday after that is the Fredericton Marathon in Canada.

And, most important for last, I’d like to thank my lovely wifey for being so suportive even when I’m a miserable bastard after having what I felt was a crap run. She’s good.

What do you think? Frankly it’s a bit of a relief and a time saver!

As for the run this morning, it was okay on the “out” part and the coming “back” was a bit more difficult. Still ended up doing quite a bit of walking but average pace still came out at about 06:23 min/km. If I can finish a marathon at that pace I’d be very happy. That would put me at about 4 and 1/2 hours I think but I’ll problably end up doing the marathon at an average pace of about 07:00 min/km.

I know feel more tired and sore than I have ever felt in my whole life. It makes me wonder how a full marathon is even possible and it certainly makes me have more respect for the people that run them on a regular basis.

If you have never run a full marathon, you gotta be prepared for the mental and physical pain! I never would have imagined it was as bad as this!

However… the sense of achievement when I get back from these super-long runs is amazing. I mean, each one is just a little bit further and it makes me feel amazing knowing that I’ve managed to go that far! Me!

Summary:-

Here are some photos I took on my looooong run:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thevirtualrunner/sets/

I almost didn’t even go on the run in the first place but my wife practically pushed me out the door.  It was cold and miserable for the first few miles too but once I got to the Thames River it was much better.  The scenic run made up for the cold and the sun came out too.

It was a simple out-and-back run but the wind was in my face the whole way out.  Thankfully the run back was nicer.  The reason I did an out-and-back run was so I wouldn’t wimp out part way through and shorten the run.  I just kepting running away from home until I hit 12km and turned around.  Pretty much assured to do the 24km that way… unless I caught a bus or a taxi or something!

Quite exhausted yesterday and my knees were very sore by the end of the evening.  Today they feel fine and I’m stiff all over again like when I did the Reading Half Marathon.

I’m also pretty amazed with myself and how far I ran.  I almost felt the same sense of achievement as when I do the Reading Half Marathon each year.  The only thing missing was a medal!  Perhaps I should make some up and get my wife to present them to me when I return from my long runs… I’ll mention it over dinner!

This coming Sunday I’m going to have to do 26.5km (16.46 miles)!