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.

Related posts:

1. Week 3 Done, 9 to go!
2. Week 1 Done, 11 to go!
3. Week 4 Done, 8 to go!

Stress is the body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response.  It can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, nervous, or anxious.

We all know that stress is a normal part of life that can help us learn and grow. Lot’s of people will tell you that certain types of levels of stress “build character”.  However, stress can cause us significant problems.

Stress releases powerful neurochemicals and hormones in our body that prepare us for action (to fight or flee). If we don’t take the appropriate action, the stress response can lead to health problems. Prolonged, uninterrupted, unexpected, and unmanageable stresses are the most damaging types of stress.

Most of the ways we deal with stress (drugs, pain medicines, alcohol, smoking, and eating) are actually counterproductive in that they can sometimes make the stress worse and can make us even more sensitive to additional stresses in life.

Some proven ways of managing stress are regular exercise, meditation (or other relaxation techniques) and learning new ways of coping which creates some predictability in your life.  The management of your stress depends on you and your willingness to make the right changes for a healthy lifestyle.  Nobody needs to be stressed.

Stress and Running

If you ask most people why they started running, I’m sure you’d get various answers from weight loss, general health benefits, running since a child, enjoying the runner’s high and even for a particular goal (a charity 10k).  However, no one can deny the fact that running (and exercise in general) has a great effect on stress levels and helps to keep it to a minimum.

As I mentioned previously, stress causes a release of biochemicals into your body which causes your heartbeat to increase, preparing your body for fight or flee. If we don’t take the appropriate action, the stress hormone cortisol is released into the body and can cause physical damage to the body. Running (and exercise in general), in a way, simulates the flight response and helps bring the biochemicals into balance.

Running also releases endorphins into the body which are the neurotransmitters causing the “runner’s high”. Endorphins also help to reduce the sensation of pain which is said could explain why some runners can run even while injured. This means running could be seen as a valid treatment for those suffering from depression and might even produce better results than drugs or psychotherapy.

If you’re feeling stressed, think about what is causing the stress.  Remember the “fight or flee” reaction it’s creating?  You need to deal with those feelings in a healthy way that allows you to cope with the stress and reduce any further occurrences.  Running and any exercise is a great way for you to deal with stress and any pent-up emotions. Running has always helped me to take my mind off my problems, however I must (and so must you) always remember that eventually the source/cause of the stress needs to be dealt with or removed.

You or I may never be completely free of stress but through running you’ll certainly notice it a lot less.

Related posts:

1. No Running!
2. Lasers, Moving, Friends, Excess & Stress
3. Mothers Day and the See Food Diet

Everything was going well and we flew to Canada as planned.  However, the second or third day there I started sneezing a lot and I thought it was just allergies (my sisters have pets).  Nope.  Full blown cold kicked in and I was seriously congested in the sinuses.  No problem I thought.  It’s “above the neck” so I’ll continue on like normal.

By Saturday I was feeling pretty rough and wasn’t sleeping well.  I was sticking to the plan though and drinking lots of fluids to stay hydrated for the marathon the following day.  I even went to collect my race pack from the race expo on Sat afternoon/evening.

Sunday morning, coughing and exhausted.  I couldn’t do it.  I was too ill and I was scared to put myself through about 5 hours of running whilst being ill.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.  My friends jokes of calling me a “real virtual runner” didn’t help much either.

So, that was it.  I was a virtual runner with a bad cold, race number, timing chip and new t-shirt but no completed marathon.  To top it all off I’ve been raising money for charity and I feel as though I’ve let people down.

Put it all together and I’m on a bit of a downer at the moment!

So, what am I doing to sort all of this out and get back on form?  I’m thinking about it and I haven’t decided yet.  I’ll do one of the following:-

1. Register for a new marathon in the autumn and use the time to get in even more training and raise more money for charity (although I’ll feel as though I’m putting things off).
2. Do my own “virtual marathon” by completing 26.2 miles myself and documenting it using my Garmin Forerunner and video.  This means I would need to attempt the distance over the next couple of weeks.  Probably on a Sunday around Reading, Berkshire.  The downside to this is that there is no medal and no finish line.  Will I still feel the same completing it?  Or am I just doing it for the sake of doing it?  A guilt marathon.

I’d be grateful if any of you out there could comment on this post and give me your thoughts and opinions on what you would do in this situation.

As for running, I went and ran for an hour this morning and it was the first time I’ve run in about 2 1/2 weeks.  My hip flexors were a bit sore afterwards but it felt okay.  I’ll probably push the 10k running for the whole week and do a bit most mornings in order to get myself ready to plod around the Bupa 10,000 in London this weekend.  I’ve got my race pack through and it’s a great event to do.  I certainly won’t be getting a PB this year but I’ll still get the medal.  I love the medals!

Once I’ve done the 10k I’ll give you a write up about it and let you know what it was like.  I’m supposed to have a VIP pass to the elite/celeb area before the race so who knows who or what I’ll see!  I’m taking my wife with me because I’m rubbish at spotting anyone famous!

Now, you may or may not be wondering about the title of this blog.  I mean, to say “full of crap” kind of indicates that I’ve lied about something.  But I haven’t.  “Full of crap” relates to the ridiculous amount of food I ate while in Canada.  There is nothing to do where we were.  Fredericton, New Brunswick is a beautiful city in Canada but it’s boring!  So, everything seemed to revolve around food and eating out.  To top it all off, I missed a lot of foods that I used to eat when I lived there so I felt I had to try as much as possible.  Bad idea.

The flight home was a bit uncomfortable and my wife and I thought we may have to book extra seats; one for each butt cheek.

To make myself feel a bit better I went on a (kind of) liquid diet for a couple of days.  Man, it felt nice.  All I ate was cereal for breakfast (I know it’s not a liquid but I need some fibre and stuff.  Most important meal of the day!) soups, yoghurt, smoothies etc.  No more bloated feeling!  All ruined today with a massive feast of delicious burnt bbq meaty goodness.  Damn.

Tomorrow the liquid diet starts again.  It’s a nice cleanse for me and I’ll probably try and do it for the whole week.  At the end of the week I’ll assess how I feel and decide whether to continue.

Yours sincerely,

Fatty Chubberson

Related posts:

1. 20 Miles of Fun
2. Points of (Un)Interest
3. The Long Goodbye

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.

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1. OMG
2. Chunky Virtual Runner dot com?
3. DOMS and a Lesson Learned

My third attempt of the Reading Half Marathon certainly wasn’t my best.  I had a good first half and at the 10k mark my time seemed pretty good and I was at about the 58min mark.  However, the whole second half was much harder and I was experiencing some major tiredness in my legs and feet whilst running.  I had to stop and walk many many times during the second half and my overall finish time was more than 2 hours 16 mins!  Even worse than when I ran it for the first time.

My split times were as follows:-

5K – 00:29:20

10K – 00:58:33

15K – 01:32:26

20K – 02:08:24

When the pain was really bad I just kept focusing on getting finished.  Even if I had to walk the rest of the damn thing, I was going to finish! That is the one big positive out of all this, I finished it even though my body and brain were telling me I’d had enough.  For me it was a serious mind over matter moment.

I must admit that when I finished the run I was quite upset/disappointed with myself.  My wife was very helpful though and reminded me that I had finished the run in the first place.  That’s why everyone in the audience cheers so much, not just because they have family/friends running, but because they’re proud of all of us for doing it in the first place.  So, even though it was a “personal worst”, I’m proud of me for doing it as well.

The one big lesson out of all of this is that I need to train more.  I’ve been a bit slack lately and with a full marathon coming up in 7 weeks I just can’t afford to do that anymore.

Of course, this finish time and the pain has made me wonder how many days (kidding) it’s going to take me to finish the marathon.  The good thing about the marathon is that I don’t actually have any previous finish times to compare against in my head.  I just want to finish it… and I will.

So the main focus over the next 7 weeks is training and dropping a few pounds.  I think it was a combination of lack of training and being too heavy this time.  I need to trim down a few kilos in order to be better prepared for the full marathon.

Today I’m hobbling around and having a very hard time going up and down stairs.  My calf muscles and quads are killing me.  My quads!  Why?  Usually it is my hamstrings that are sore after running or training.

My wife was kind enough to give me a leg massage today and although it was an extremely painful experience (which I’m sure she enjoyed) it does feel a bit better.

I wonder if it’s safe to go to the gym tomorrow and do a little bit on the cross trainer…

Related posts:

1. 20 Miles of Fun
2. Woodley 10k and Injury
3. Chunky Virtual Runner dot com?

My legs were very tired at the end of this one and my knees felt very puffy.  I’ve been on the paracetemol and ibuprofen since the run…

One thing I need to look into is the hydration during the run.  How much should I be drinking?  How do I carry the fluids I need with me?  What do people do during a marathon?  Do they carry a water bottle with them?  Do they take water or an isotonic drink whilst running?  Which is better?

So many questions… any ideas from other runners would be greatly appreciated!

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2. Mortimer 10k, Long Run & Puffy Knees
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So far so good with the running; and I mean that sincerely.  Especially since I’ve been sick with a cold off and on since around Christmas time.  In fact, I’m only now just getting over my most recent one which was especially nasty.

Last Sunday I did a long run of over 16km so the build up of distance is going okay.  However!  The pain.  I keep getting pain in my right foot across the top and I end up having to have the laces on that shoe/foot quite loose or it drives me nuts.  Also, I’ve recently bought some off the shelf ortho inserts for my running shoes because the Kayanos do not offer enough arch support and my right foot (again) was hurting on my long runs from the constant pounding. 

I think I see a new pair of running shoes in my future.  I may have to go back to some old favourites like the Adidas Supernova Sequence or even waaaay back and get a pair of Nike structure triax.  They were very cushioned when I last had a pair with loads of arch support. 

So I don’t bore you with all of my runs, here is my long run from Sunday and an overview of my runs since end of Jan:-

Overall summary:-

Now, I suppose you’re wondering why I’m not posting that much?  Well, I’m just busy lately.  But I’ve been running and that’s what really matters.  As for this site, I’ll be making more of an effort to keep it updated over the next few days and updating my spreadsheets with runs and working out the total distance I’ve covered on my run across Canada.

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Here is a summary of the runs I’ve done recently from Garmin Connect:-

Today (31/01/2010)

28 January 2010

27 January 2010

24 January 2010

21 January 2010

I’ll keep running and I’ll let you know how things are going. 

I was wrestling around and playing with my wife earlier today and I think I’ve thrown my back out a bit.  Same side (right) where I always get the sciatica.  I’ve been stretching it all evening and it’s feeling okay-ish.  I’ll just keep up the stretching and ibuprofen and it will be fine.

As far as the Fredericton Marathon (09 May 2010) is concerned… I’ve registered!  $60.00.  I have no idea what that equates to in good ole British pounds but I know it’s pretty cheap compared to some marathons over here!

Related posts:

1. 20 Miles of Fun
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3. One More Before

Again, my shins were bothering me for the first couple of miles but not as badly as before.  I’m the sort that just kind of runs through it with the occasional stop to stretch everything out.

I didn’t do as many miles as last week but 13km (8.07 miles) is pretty good!  My pace was a bit too fast at times and I need to keep an eye on that.

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2. 20 Miles of Fun
3. Mortimer 10k, Long Run & Puffy Knees

The Mortimer 10k is put on by my running club the Reading Roadrunners.  I’m sorry I forgot to mention it (it was in Sept) but I have been waiting all this time for someone to put the finish times on the site.  They only recently went up!

Anyway, it wasn’t chip timed or anything but they had my finish time this year as 00:55:59.  That is a pretty good time considering I felt like I was in more pain then last year.  I also managed to shave time off from last year’s 00:57:09!  Pretty impressive considering all of the hills.

I did my long run today with Garfield and it was slightly painful for quite a few miles.  I had shin splints for about the first 4 miles and I had to stop an stretch a couple of times to get the tightness out of my lower legs.  This always seems to happen to me when I get new trainers which are nice and cushioned.  Why is that?  If they aren’t cushioned I get other types of injury… I can’t win!

For today’s long run I started at my gym (Pulse-8) and ran from there to Dinton Pastures and back again.

I got to Dinton Pastures and tried to mix it up a bit with regards to the direction I ran around the lake and it was a bit difficult.  I think I’m getting bored with the scenery of Dinton Pastures!  All those people walking dogs…

Overall the run was pretty good (even with the pains) and I managed to keep an average pace of around 6 mins per km.  That is the sort of pace (or a little bit slower) that I would be happy with in the Brighton Marathon.

Now after my long run I am drugged up with Ibruprofen to help with the horrible “puffy” knee feeling that I’ve been getting lately.  I think I’ll need to concentrate a bit more on let weights/exercises on my non running days to build up my quads.  I think they’re getting a bit weak from all the running and it’s causing me a bit of knee trouble.  Jeez, if it isn’t one thing with running it’s another isn’t it?

I’m off to put my Santa suit on and lounge around the house…

Related posts:

1. Puffy Knees
2. Mortimer 10k
3. 19k and a cold