The Virtual Runner Running Blog

Tonight was my first 5km event and it took place in the dark!  Very very good atmosphere and a very good event.  I recommend it to everyone!

For the hour or so before the event there was music which was all halloween themed as well as refreshments.  Your entry fee gets you your race number, chip timing, free skeleton t-shirt, headlamp and a mug at the finish line.

It was really good fun and everyone had a great time.  There was a lot of chatter amongst the runners during the whole event and you don’t normally get that in the daylight races!

You can find more photos by clicking here.

I had my time at about 27 min and 13 secs according to my Garmin.

Well done to my wife for coming out and supporting me again.  She’s a fantastic woman!

And my little boy was there too… way past his bed time!

garmin forerunner 405, halloween 5 nite run, race or event, race report

Nice title eh?  I think one of the hardest things is trying to think of a damn title for each blog post.  It can be a bit of a challenge!

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…

dinton pastures, long run, pains and niggles, race or event, reading roadrunners, running club

Yes, that’s what I said.  My Santa suit for the Thames Hospicecare 5k run on 29 November 2009 has arrived already!

The organisers must be very keen as the pack also included sponsor sheets and 5k training plans.  I’m impressed with their organisation, however I wonder how many people will ruin their suit before the event?  I mean, the temptation to just put it on is pretty strong (or is that just me?).

No race number or anything and that is absolutely fine.  This event is just for a bit of fun and it should be a good laugh; that is, if it is possible to laugh whilst running, out of breath and being smothered by a fake santa beard.

Long run tomorrow!

race or event

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