I haven’t really done any running this last week at all since the Bupa 10000 in London and I would’ve thought the great feeling from that run would’ve kept me going.  Nope.  I think it comes down to mind-over-matter and I just need to get on with it!  So, starting from today I’ll be putting in a big “push” and trying to get my running sorted out.

1)  I’ll need to update my running log with total mileage to date.  I’ll also need to keep a pad or something in the kitchen (easily accessible) where I can write down my mileage and duration each time I train.

2)  I’ll need to do more quality workouts.  They can’t all be easy or long runs!  I need some intervals and even hill-work thrown in there or nothing is going to happen and I won’t develop any further.

3)  I need to watch what I’m eating.  I don’t necessarily eat loads of “bad” foods but I tend to eat too much.  I love food!  mmmmm…. food.  So, calorie intake to decrease somewhat.  I’m not going to set myself any particular weight loss goals but I’d be overcome with joy if I was 20lbs lighter than I am now.  Ooops… just inadvertently set myself some sort of mental goal.  Great, pressure.  I’d like to get down to 199 lbs (90.26kg) and maintain that weight or less.  I’d be very happy if I could do that!

4)  Need to start doing some weight training a couple times a week.  I’m not sure when I’ll squeeze this in but I’ll do my best.  I think I’ll have to re-start the whole “100 push ups” challenge as part of this to make up for the days when I can’t get to the gym and use any weights. 

Sound like a plan?  I’m not sure how it is for others out there but for us average 103kg guys this whole running thing takes a lot of motivation at times.  Wish me luck!

As for non-running related matters, we’re getting chickens!  We’ve thought about it in the past and discussed it a bit and now we’ve decided to go for it.  We’re going to get 3 hens and a nice little coop for them to live in.  Hopefully, before you know it we’ll have our own eggs!  Chicken names have already been confirmed as Claudia (Schiffer), Elle (MacPherson) & Rachel (Hunter); all good chicken names.  We just haven’t decided what breed of chicken to get yet as there are so many.  My wife is inclined to get some ISA Browns as they would normally go to a battery, however this may all change when we go to the farm to choose some.  We’ll also take the advice of the lady who runs the place we are getting the hens because we want them to be docile.

It won’t be straight away, it’ll probably happen over the next month or so because we still need to discuss a few things and make sure the funds are available to do what we need to do.  Initial outlay is the biggest thing but I think it’ll be worth it.  It’s also good for our son (he’s 3 1/2 now) as we don’t currently have any pets at all and he will learn to take care of them too.

This means that the “non running” posts of my blog will now include information on keeping hens and what’s happening with them.  I apologise in advance if you find this boring or if there are too many “non running” posts.  I mean, I don’t just run do I?

Related posts:

1. Chunky Virtual Runner dot com?
2. Still doing push ups
3. 19k and a cold

If you check out my current running log here:-

http://thevirtualrunner.org/blog/about-me/run-across-canada/

You’ll see that I have definitely still be running and maintaining a steady and non-exciting training regime.  That’s the thing, it’s non-exciting at the moment.  I mean, I know I’ve got a half marathon and full marathon next year but in my mind the real training won’t start until after xmas.  Is that wrong?

Santa Dash

There is only another two weeks and I will be off to the Look Out in Bracknell, Berkshire with some work colleagues.  We’ll all be dressed as a very pathetic looking Santa and walking/running to raise money for the Thames Hospicecare.

My Fundraising

I haven’t really focused on it yet, but my total fundraising at the moment is a whopping zero.  That’s right, nought.  So, feel free to donate.  I mean, even £2 is nice!  £2 is nothing?  I’m done begging now…

Traumatising Movie

I watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas the other day with my wife.  Very, very, very good movie.  I give it 10 out of 10.  Would I watch it again?  Never.  I simply found it way too traumatising.  If you haven’t seen it then I won’t ruin it for you….

Visiting Family

We had family visit from Belgium for a week.  It was really nice seeing them and we had a great time.  We even took them to Legoland with us for my son’s birthday! 

Growing Up

Not me, my son.  He’s three!  I can’t believe it.  We took him to Legoland for the whole day and stayed for the fireworks display in the evening.  He loved all of it.  He’s such a good boy and he was so tired by the end of it he was falling asleep on my lap during the fireworks.  Happy Birthday little boy!

Swine Flu

I’ve seen a lot of people in Canada posting things about the swine flu and everyone seems to be doing a bit of mild panicking and scare-mongering when it comes to the flu and the jabs.  Frankly I think everyone should just calm down.

As for me, I’ve been invited to have the swine flu jab because I’m considered “high risk”.  I have asthma.  So, I’m off this coming weekend to get jabbed… I’m not looking forward to it at all.

I’m very annoyed that my wife or son won’t be having it but there isn’t much I or anyone else can do about that.

This week

Some usual running going on, however I’ll probably be making an appearence back at running club with my mate Tony on wednesday.  It should be interesting, as long as it doesn’t pour down with rain!  Drizzle I can handle…

Top Gear

I’m off to watch the rest of it…

Related posts:

1. Chunky Virtual Runner dot com?
2. A lot has happened…
3. I’m covering ground!

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.

Related posts:

1. The Long Goodbye
2. Who you calling chicken?
3. Running Logs

Running log spreadsheet has been updated to 05 August 2009.

I’m well impressed with my increase in daily mileage!

Related posts:

1. Juneathon – Day 8 (Rest Day)
2. Running Logs
3. Feeling it again

Monday is my day of rest from running and today was no different.  Instead I opted for my usual evening of push-ups and crunches which I did whilst playing with my son and ensuring his potty training was going okay.

One thing I’ve noticed is that the number of push-ups I can do per set is much higher than it used to be a few months ago.  At the moment I can consistently do sets of 20 without too many issues.  Tonight I did the following:-

Push-ups:  5 Sets (20, 20, 20, 20 & 20)

Crunches:  4 Sets (50, 50, 50 & 60)

On another note, I’ve been neglecting to update my running log/spreadsheet which I use to keep track of my total miles since I started running.  Naughty Virtual Runner!  I have now remedied this and I am happy to provide the following update:-

Total distance I’ve run since I started on 10/06/2007:  3358.88km (2087.11 miles)

Total distance I’ve run across Canada from 06/06/2008 to date:  1977.51km (1228.83 miles)

Average daily mileage during run across Canada:  5.38km (3.34 miles) per day

Average daily mileage since I started running:  4.60km (2.85 miles) per day

Average running pace in 2007 (not a full year): 05:57 min/km (09:34 min/mile)

Average running pace in 2008:  05:44 min/km (09:13 min/mile)

Average running pace in 2009 (not a full year):  05:40 min/km (09:07 min/mile)

Tomorrow night I’ll map it out using Google Earth and see where I am on my virtual journey across Canada.  My current map location is way out of date!

Related posts:

1. Juneathon – Day 11 & 12 (Back to normal)
2. Cross Canada Run & Stats Update
3. Day of Rest

Thankfully I have kept a separate written log of my runs this month, however that means I have no runs to upload to the Nikeplus site. I reiterate… Piece of crap!

Anyway, this is the current situation:-

Distance covered so far in run across Canada: 1665.93km (1035.21 miles)
Distance covered so far this year: 542.21km (336.91 miles)
Distance covered since I started running: 3047.30km (1893.50 miles)

This year I am currently averaging 5.9km (3.7 miles) a day.

Last year at this date I was averaging 4.32km (2.68 miles) a day.

I’ve been neglecting my running log lately but I’m happy to say that I’ve finally updated it. I’ve used Google Earth to map out my virtual run across Canada and I’ve updated my current location map so you can see where I am.

As for the virtual run across Canada, I’m starting to wish I had taken a more direct route. Oh well, it’s all about the journey isn’t it?

I’m getting a cold (typical) but I’m still going for an easy run tomorrow in my new Adidas running shoes.

Related posts:

1. Cross Canada Run & Stats Update
2. Juneathon – Day 8 (Rest Day)
3. I’m covering ground!