The Virtual Runner Running Blog

Sorry I haven’t blogged in a while.  I may have lost both my readers now!

I’ve still been running; however, there was a couple of weeks after the laser eye surgery where I didn’t really do anything except get fatter and allow my eyes to heal.  I started running as soon as I possibly could so I could keep the weight maintained.

What’s been happening:

Mortimer 10k – I thought that I’d do the Mortimer 10k today because it is pretty local and also because I haven’t done many 10k runs this summer (even though I intended to).  My wife was kind enough to push me along and make sure I did it as well.

It is a great race and put on by my running club (Reading Roadrunners).  They put on a bit of a Fair and there are things for the kids and stalls selling things as well.  It’s a great day really.

The race only costs £7.00 (on the day) and is a pretty gruelling 10k.  There are some short steep hills and from about 6km to 9km it is all uphill!  What a crazy and painful race.  There was some walking going on today by me!  I pushed myself on the hills as best as I could but there was no way I could run them all.

I think my race time was okay considering the hills, however I didn’t really time myself and there was no chip timing at the event.  They’ll post the approximate finish times (someone at the end notes your number and the time on the clock) and I’ll know exactly what I did then.  All I know at this stage is that it was under 1 hour and I’m happy with that.

Weights – I’ve decided to start doing some weights again and increase the amount of exercise I do in a week.  Previously, I was running on Tue, Wed OR Thu, Fri & Sun (long run) which was about 4 times a week (sometimes 5 because I’d do Wed AND Thu).

Now I do something everyday except for Saturdays.  I don’t run everyday of course but I’ve started incorporating other exercise on my non-running days. 

Eyes – I’m getting more and more used to having my new glasses-free eyes.  I know I’m getting used to it because I forget that I’m not wearing glasses!  In fact, it was nice to go running today at the Mortimer 10k and not be wearing any glasses.

I’m looking forward to going back to running club over the coming autumn and winter months and not having to run blindly because of steamed up or wet glasses! In fact, me and my mate Tony tried to go to running club this last Wed but the track was not opened.  The running club was running around the park instead.  Tony and I opted to do our own thing instead and did about 5 miles easy around the park.  The sign that was up at the venue said that the track would be open on 05 October 2009 so we’ll be able to go back to track sessions after that.

NFL UK – I found out that the Patriots are playing the Buccaneers at Wembley stadium on 25 October 2009 so me and my mate Tony are going!  It’s going to be great and I’m really looking forward to it.  I’ve never been to an NFL game before and it’s cool to be able to go to a regular season game without having to travel all the way to america!

Running & marathons – I’m still running but with a bit more focus on what I’m doing.  I’m conscious of the fact that my long runs need to be at a bit slower pace in order to cover 26.2 miles next April!  I’ll work out proper paces etc in a few more weeks when I really concentrate properly on training for the marathon.  Plus, I’m also hoping to purchase a Garmin Forerunner 405 in order to aid me in my training!

My Son – He is growing up way too fast and will be three next month!  He’s so cute and funny and a lovely little boy (when he’s not naughty).

I’ll try not to neglect my blog so much going forward.  I’m happy to report that I’ve been reading a lot of other running blogs though!  All of the running blogs listed in my “Best Running Blogs”.

Take care everyone!

marathon training, my son, my wife, race or event, running club

Quarr Cottage

Some time ago we decided we were going to go away for the August Bank Holiday weekend and get away from Reading.  I went to the Reading Festival last year, but frankly I don’t like the bands that play Reading much anymore and also I could do without a day of binge drinking.  I’m aware that I could go and not drink, however the festival would be even more boring; so why go at all?

Besides, I don’t really drink anymore.  The last time I drank was the Reading Festival 2008!

Because we wanted to get away we booked a cottage through Cottages 4 You.  The cottage is called Quarr Cottage and is in North Chideock near Bridport, Dorset.

We had a great weekend (photos can be seen here) and my son loved the beach.  The last time we took him to a beach was before he was walking and he didn’t like it.  He wouldn’t sit on the sand becuase he didn’t like how it felt and he was scared to death of the waves.  Poor little fella.

Quarr Cottage

Before this trip, my son kept talking about our holiday and the sea.  He was very excited about going and it was cute.  When he did finally get to the beach on the Friday he was really curious and interested in it.  It wasn’t long before he was going right in the water and would’ve gone in up to his neck had we not told him to stop.

We went straight to Weymouth in Dorset first before heading to Quarr Cottage because we couldn’t check-in until 3pm.  So we wandered around Weymouth for a bit before setting off to Chideock.

The cottage was okay as far as old cottages go.  It was tidy but not necessarily “clean” because there were spider webs and mold in the bathroom on the wall.  You could also tell that they allowed people with dogs to stay there because of the “odour” lingering.  It seemed to us that the owners (who lived next door) did the bare minimum to just keep the place going for people renting it.  We certainly wouldn’t pay the money to rent it again, however it was a lovely little village and a great location/base for our holiday.  Don’t get me wrong, although the cottage had it’s failings, we still loved our weekend holiday and had a fantastic time.

Fossil Hunting - Charmouth

During the course of the weekend we went to Weymouth beach and sat around while my son played in the water and the sand.  We had fish & chips (you gotta do that when near the coast) and had a great time.  We went to Charmouth which is supposed to be the gateway to the Jurassic Coast.  We paid £3 and hired a hammer and goggles to go along the beach and find fossils.  The signs, leaflets and general advertising for the area made it seem like the beach between Charmouth and Lyme Regis was teeming with fossils; we never found one.  After a couple of hours on the beach it was clear that it was very over-hyped and a little bit of a lie.  The biggest giveaway was the fossil shop that sold (you guessed it) fossils.  They never had any fossils for sale from that area at all in the whole shop.  All of the fossils were from places like Madagascar (miles and miles from the UK) and from other parts of the UK.  What a load of crap.  I had to have something in the end so I bought a Ammonite fossile from Madagascar that is 165 million years old.  The reason I bought the one from Madagascar is because (to me) it is more memorable and funny.  I mean, we went to Charmouth to find our own fossils and bought one from Madagascar.  Ridiculous.  Our Ammonite is now on display in the sitting room and when people ask I’ll tell them about the disappointment called Charmouth and the Gateway to the Jurrasic Coast.

Dinosaur Museum - Dorchester

We also visited Portland and spend quite a bit of time in Lyme Regis.  I really liked Lyme Regis.  We wandered around the village and hung around on the beach.  We also partook in a bit of gambling in one of the amusement arcades.  Great fun and I highly recommend a visit to Lyme Regis for anyone heading down to the coast or coming this way (to the UK) for a visit.

The weather during the weekend was pretty good except for Sunday when it was very cloudy, foggy and a bit drizzly.  Even so, we still had a great day and went to the Dinosaur museum in Dorchester as well as the Tutankhamun exhibit (disappointing).  My son really liked the dinosaurs and I’m sure he thought they were going to come alive at any time. 

Whilst we were in the dinosaur museum I was reading things and trying to learn (hard for me to do).  I came upon a write-up about how the first dinosaur remains found were initially believed (because of an error – a big one) to be the scrotum of a giant man!  The scrotum!  Jeez, he must have wondered how it was so well preserved. 

That’s it (or all I’m going to say) for our weekend.  All in all it was a great time and very tiring for me and my wife.  My son was great and did a lot of walking and daddy (me) did a lot of carrying of said son on his shoulders.

holidays, my son, my wife, non running

I’ve tracked my virtual run to date (23 Aug 2009) using Google earth and since 29 Mar 2009 my route has taken me past Ottawa, Ontario and past North Bay and Sudbury.  I’m still on Route 17 and I’m now running along the shores of Lake Superior and the virtual views are lovely.

My distance covered so far on my meandering virtual run across Canada is 2352 kilometres (1462 miles) and I’m happy to say that my motivation and drive is returning.

I’m now running in parts of my home country that I’ve never been to in real life.  The first 27 years of my life were spent in Canada and the farthest west I have ever been is Oshawa and that’s because that is where I was born.  The farthest west I have been and can remember is Ottawa.

I will see the rest of my own country in time and I’ll see it as a tourist and I’ll bring my son and wife from the UK.  I don’t know when or how but those are things to plan for the future.

I do get asked by a lot of people over here in the UK if I plan on moving back to Canada and the truth is, no I don’t.  I’m happy here in the UK and I’ve got a lovely wife, son and daughter.  I’ve built a life for myself in the UK and I enjoy it here.

As for my motivation returning, it might be linked to changing my trainers to my next new pair and because I registered for a marathon.  I was losing my motivation and it was partly linked to sore feet and achilles after runs.  The other day I decided to move on to my next pair of trainers that have been sitting in the bottom of the closet waiting for me.  I had bought two pairs of Adidas Supernova Sequence trainers (for the price of one) and I think I’ve only got about 400 miles out of them.  That’s not too bad considering I’m a heavy runner at around 15.5 stone (217 lbs).  I still can’t believe I was more than 18 stone (252 lbs) at my heaviest.  And I’m sure I was even heavier than that because at my fattest I never weighed myself… the shock would’ve been too much!

I feel much better now with my new trainers and my marathon goal.  I’ve even slowed down on my easy and long runs in order to facilitate the longer distances I’ll be doing.  All of the training plans I’ve seen for marathon distance have the average pace (for me anyway) much slower than what I have been running.  I suppose it makes sense as I will need to slow down in order to cover the whole 26.2 miles without breaking down.

As for non-running related matters, my wife is still as lovely as always and supportive of everything I do.  My son is still the cutest and the most clever little boy in the world.  My daughter and her husband are doing great.  My best friend Rob is back in contact again (kind of) and travelling around Canada on his own little adventure.  My laser eye surgery is next week (02 Sept 2009) and I’m getting excited.  We’ve got a nice little weekend holiday coming up and when we return I’m getting lasered!

That’s it for now.  I’m still running and I’m feeling it again.  I think that many people go through ups and downs in their training and not just for running either.  I’m just glad I’m feeling it again.

adidas, canada run progress, marathon training, my son, my wife, new trainers, robby kilborn, running log updated

Hasselt Flag

I’ve taken a break from running for four days.  It coincides with my wife’s trip to Hasselt, Belgium (flag on the left).  She went with her mum to visit family for her mum’s birthday and to attend Rimplerock.

That means it been me and my little boy from last Friday until Monday and it’s been good.  Yesterday my daughter came over to visit for the day and hung out with us. 

My and my son have been to a lot of different parks in a couple of days.  I’m trying to keep him happy and entertained and it seems to be working.  I’ve told him that mummy and nanny have gone on an airplane to Belgium and he seems to get it.

Today we went to a park that had an i-Play game and it was great for daddy!  I was running all over the place.  It’s basically like a giant version of a Bop It game.  I made it through all the six levels with my son laughing and laughing at me.  He thought it was hilarious watching daddy sprint around to “press it”… “stamp it”… “pull it”… etc etc.  I was really sweating.  Great game.

At the moment my son it lying on our bed watching TV and chilling out.  I’m sitting here writing this short update and this afternoon we’ll probably go out in the garden and find things to get in to…

I’ll be back to running again first thing on Tuesday morning.  I thought I would give my legs (especially my achilles) a rest for a bit.  It’s good to have a break sometimes and give your body a chance to heal.  Unfortunately my break also comes with me stuffing my face for four days… oh well.

On other non-running related news, I’ve found a political party that I’m actually remotely interested in.  The Pirate Party has just been formed in the UK and is already growing in membership very very quickly.  No wonder!  Most of the people that are joining the party are pretty IT literate and the party’s core policies are appealing:-

• Reform copyright and patent law. We want to legalise non-commercial file sharing and reduce the excessive length of copyright protection, while ensuring that when creative works are sold, it’s the artists who benefit, not monopoly rights holders. We want a patent system that doesn’t stifle innovation or make life saving drugs so expensive that patients die.
• End the excessive surveillance, profiling, tracking and monitoring of innocent people by Government and big businesses.
• Ensure that everyone has real freedom of speech and real freedom to enjoy and participate in our shared culture.

foot pain, my son, my wife, pains and niggles, Pirate Party UK