Anyway, I’ve decided to give it a go again this year, however after my dedication and hard work last January I’ve decided that this year it will be less of a challenge for me as I won’t be blogging every day.  Last year it was ‘won’ by only those who are basically elite-ish type runners that can put in serious mileage.  I’ve been assured that there is no winner this year but it has still tainted it for me as there was not a ‘level playing field’ previously.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like Janathon and Juneathon and how they help to motivate people and create a sense of community between fellow runners from around the world.  Everyone supports each other and helps keep you going; and that’s great.  So, I will be spending January doing as much running/exercise as I can for my own personal goals and supporting those who are also taking part so they can achieve their own personal goals.

Another reason I won’t be killing myself to complete 31 days of running this month is simply  because it isn’t possible this year due to my work and family commitments.  Instead, I have other goals in mind which will bring me up to the Reading Half Marathon on 1st April 2012.

Goal 1:  Lose 1 stone (14 lbs) by 12th Feb

Goal 2:  Lose a further 1 stone (14 lbs) by 25th March

Goal 3:  Complete Reading Half Marathon in under 2 hours

Now, I’m not promising to complete all of those goals but I am certainly going to do my best to achieve them.  I mean, I lost over a stone in the run up to Xmas (sure I put about 9 lbs back on eating turkey etc) and I’m confident that I’ll be able to do it.

Finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of you taking part in Janathon the best of luck and I hope you achieve whatever goals you’ve set for yourself.  I’m sure with the support of your fellow Janathoners and a smidgen of pure willpower you’ll do it.  Keep up the good work!

Heard of it?  If not, check it out here (http://www.janathon.com/) and then come back.  I’ll wait.

Did you look?  What do you think?  Well, it’s what me and many others are doing for the month of January.  I suppose everyone has their own reasons but mine are simple.

1. Regain some of the fitness I’ve lost by sitting around on my fat ass for the past few months.
2. Train for my fourth outing at the Reading Half Marathon (http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com/)

I’m pushing myself as hard as I can but not to the point where I hurt myself (I hope).  I want to do the Reading Half Marathon with a time near to 2 hours again as it was seriously high for the 2010 event and the run didn’t feel good.  That will change for 2011!

I didn’t want to start January/Janathon cold so I’ve already been laying down some miles in order to get this wobbly body ready for a run/walk EVERY day in January.  I’ve already worked out that on my “rest” days I will simply do 1 mile (1.6 km) and that’s it.  I will also have to blog every day… which could be a problem.  I mean, I can’t think of anything interesting to say most days so to come up with something to write for 31 days?  Yeah, ok.

This Site

Even though I haven’t exactly been spewing forth loads of witty blog posts for some time, I’m happy to say my blog still comes top or near the top under the following Google searches (when I’ve tried it anyway):-

• best running blog
• best running blogs
• virtual runner
• running blog

So, it’s up to me to at least keep this thing updated and Janathon could just be what this blog/site needs!

I’ve also recently installed an update on the site which makes it viewable on the iPhone and supposedly on other mobiles as well (although I don’t have any other type of mobile so I can’t check).  If any of you out there DON’T have an iPhone and you get a minute or two how about you check if this site works on your phone and let me know?  Thanks.

Just so you all know, I refuse to let this blog become like many others you see stranded out there on the internet.  You know the ones I mean; last post was from two years ago and nothing since.  Or they started it because of a charity run they were doing and never updated after the event. etc. etc. etc.

Not me.  Not here.  Not The Virtual Runner.

100 Push-Ups

I have tried this before and never made it to the end for one reason or another.  Personally, I think it’s almost impossible to do it in about 6 weeks but it will be a nice compliment to the running so I’m giving it a shot again.  iPhone app in hand.

For more info:  http://hundredpushups.com/

There is also:  http://www.twohundredsitups.com/

What Else?

You gotta have goals.  That means I need to start planning ahead and see which 10k events I want to take part in for 2011.  I’m looking forward to enjoying running again and I’m already enjoying it now.  I was really on a downer with all the marathon training and I hated it.  I’m looking forward to going out on a Sunday with the family, doing a 10k, getting a medal and coming home.  I’ll let you know what runs I’m planning on doing.

I think I’m going to go back to the running club as well.  Probably in early Feb when it starts to warm up a bit and I feel a bit more confident.

The heading of this blog refers to my growing appendages caused by overeating.  I think I saw smoke trailing behind me this morning caused by the friction of my thighs rubbing together while I was running.

I know I haven’t blogged in some time but I have many excuses/reasons:-

1. I have been completely lacking any motivation when it comes to running and any exercise that didn’t involve shoving food in my mouth.
2. I have been away on holiday in Corfu, Greece.
3. My father (Walter) passed away on the 11th of September.
4. I really am a “virtual” runner.
5. I was lazy.

Where should I start?

I hate Marathon Training

Yup, I said it.  It turns out that I love the idea of running 26.2 miles but I hate the training involved, especially the long runs.  I mean, I really shouldn’t be dreading Sundays because I know I’m going to be out running for hours!  I like running a lot, but 3+ hours is painful and makes me miserable for the rest of the day (ask my wife) it seems.

I’ve really been giving it a lot of thought and talking to my wife about things and I’ve discovered that I miss getting up and doing 1 hour (10k) runs in the mornings and going out on the odd weekend to participate in a local 10k event (which are usually on Sundays).  Training for a marathon does not actually allow me to do this as most 10k events are on a Sunday and that is the only day I can do my long runs.

So, what I’ve decided is that I am no longer going to attempt to train for any full marathon unless I get a ballot place in the London Marathon; which I will continue to enter each year.  I’m going to go back to the running schedule I enjoyed and start to look forward to the running again!

Regardless what anyone tells you; you do not have to run a marathon to be considered a runner.  You just need to run!

Corfu, Greece to New Brunswick, Canada

My father sadly passed away on 9th September (09/11) at 09:11pm… how weird is that?  My father never was one to do things in halves!  We were on holiday in Greece at the time.

He was a fantastic man, great father and he will be missed by many.  In his lifetime he was in the army, a police officer a prison officer and besides family and friends there were representatives there in full uniform from all three.

My father died on a Saturday and we weren’t due to fly back to the UK until the Monday morning.  There was no way we could get any earlier flights out of Corfu as we simply couldn’t afford to do it.  My family let me know that my dad’s funeral was going to be on the Wednesday morning at 11am so I had to get back to the UK and get another flight out on the Tuesday morning.  On top of all that we had to sort out some financial issues to make sure we actually had the money to send me to Canada!  Very, very stressful times.

Needless to say, I got home to the UK, had less than 5 hours sleep and then was off to Heathrow the next morning to start my 10+ hour journey to the town where my family lives.

I went to my dad’s funeral and as far as funerals go, it was really great.  My dad would have been very happy with it and my sisters certainly deserve a huge thank you for sorting it all out.

After the funeral I stayed in Canada until the Sunday (the day I was supposed to run a marathon in the UK) to help my mum get sorted out and to help sort out the house.  Queue lots of tidying, moving and little sleep on a different timezone (again).

I’ve been back in the UK for almost a week now and I’m just now feeling better and clear-headed.  Last week I was still a bit of a mess.  Not like depressed or anything, just kind of tired and dopey and not thinking straight.

“frickin’ laser beams”

This Wednesday I have to go back to Ultralase to have my right eye re-treated to get rid of the small prescription that still remains after my laser eye surgery a year ago.  It’s free so I thought; why not?

That makes this week a bit odd work-wise but hopefully it will be okay!  I’ve got tomorrow in the office, Tuesday at a conference for the majority of the day, surgery on Wednesday morning and then working from home the rest of the week whilst trying to recover.  Should be interesting!

Moving Forward

Well, it is running!  Ya gotta move forward don’t you?

I plan on just getting back into the groove with running with no other goal than to build it back up and go back to running for an hour 4 or 5 days a week doing about 30 miles a week.  As soon as I think I’m ready, I’m going to start taking part in whatever 10k events I can find; just like I used to.

As I said, I’m not planning any marathons in the future but I would attempt the London Marathon if I got in by ballot.  I’m sorry to anyone who is waiting for me to run a marathon, but it’s just not happening.  I’m certainly not running a marathon for anyone else!  Any money that was donated to sponsor my marathon attempt has all gone to a good cause and I and the charity appreciate your donations.

Perhaps I’m not destined to do a marathon anyway?  1st one:  got ill.  2nd one:  dad died.  Some would say 3rd time lucky, but I don’t care what they say.

For now, back on track.

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

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…

Front of the cottage

I’m really sorry that I haven’t written in a while.  Juneathon was going so well for me as well!  Oh well, there is always next year.

I’ve had a lot of things going on lately an my focus just hasn’t been on writing.  I’ve managed to keep running though and if you look at my running log for my virtual run across Canada you’ll see all of my runs there.  Because it’s been so long and so many runs I won’t sit here and type them all out for you because it’s boring reading and boring to type all of it.

Moving

We have moved to our new place and it is one of four cottages owned by nearby farm.  Ours is semi-detached (to the another cottage of course) and that means we only have one neighbor.  The new house is near the motorway but we don’t really mind at all.  We’ve been there since 1st July and we’re loving it!  The outside of the cottage (grass, borders, trees, outbuildings etc) were/are pretty run down but we have done a lot to them already in the couple of weeks we’ve been living there. 

It took a couple of days to mow the whole lawn because the mower was cutting the grass so short the bag kept filling quickly (the mower wouldn’t go any higher – it was a gift from friends).  Unfortunately the mower broke before we could even finish the lawn so we decided to go and buy a new one which finished the lawn nicely.  Now it seems like the grass has all grown back already!  If it is nice this weekend I’ll be out mowing again…

Gate & back garden

It took two days to move into our new house and all of our stuff fit perfectly.  We had a clear-out over the few weeks before moving anyway because we went from a four bedroom detached house to a two bedroom semi-detached cottage.  Thankfully the new house has the outbuildings so we had a place to store all of our crap!  Usually that is what people use their garages for in this country.

We rented a nice big VW van for our move and I was looking forward to putting my little boy’s booster seat in the middle and letting him come with Daddy.  He loved driving in the van so high up. 

I’ve put some photos of our new home on Flickr and you can find them by clicking here or by clicking on one of the photos on this post.

Lasers

“You know, I have one simple request…and that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads. Now evidently, my cycloptic colleague informs me that that can’t be done. Ah, can you please remind me what I pay you people for? Honestly, throw me a bone here…what do we have?” – Dr Evil

Garden facing cottage

We recently got a bit of money and my wife has said that I should consider getting laser eye surgery.  So, I went and booked my “free” consultation for Wednesday, 12 August 2009 in Reading.  To tell you the truth, I’m both excited and scared.  I’m excited about begin able to do things without having to wear glasses all the time!  To wear sunglasses!  To be able to see when I come into a warm building from the cold outside!  To be able to run in the rain without feeling like a blind man!  Oh the joy of it all.  However, I’m scared that I won’t be suitable and I’ll have been excited for nothing.  I’m scared something might go wrong (even though statistically this is slim).

I am interested in hearing from people who have had laser eye surgery or know of those who have had it so please feel free to comment or send me an email [jamie (a) thevirtualrunner dot org].  I’m using Optimax so if you have any information or experiences with them in particular I’ll be even more interested to know.

Stress

With a death in the family, my dad going in and out of the hospital and moving house; I’ve been a bit stressed.  I think this (along with my generaly laziness) has contributed to…

Excess

I’ve been over-eating quite a bit lately.  I think it is mostly comfort eating but it’s certainly making me fat(ter).  I haven’t weighed myself in quite a while because I’m afraid it will just confirm what I already feel.

I mowed the lawn too short.

I’ve decided that I need to have a bit more focus when it comes to running/training because I’m just kind of plodding along on some sort of virtual plateau at the moment and I need to boost things.  I’m thinking that maybe I should register for a half marathon in October somewhere so it will give me something to aim for and will give me a bit more focus.  Training for general fitness just isn’t doing it.

I wish I had the common sense and willpower to stop eating so damn much but I just love food… yummy!

Friends

It has been a good few weeks now since my friend Robby (he’s like my brother) finished his trek across the arctic with a team of dogs and I haven’t really heard from him at all.  Thankfully I got to speak to him a couple of weeks ago when he was at my parents place in Canada and I managed to track him down and speak to him again last night.  I’ve really missed the guy and I’ve been stressing about how he is and why I haven’t heard from him.  Turns out it is a perfectly legitimate reason, however it would have been nice if he had kept me in the picture instead of letting me worry.

He’s talking about setting up a blog himself over the next couple of months and it that actually happens I’ll let you know.  For now, I’m just glad he’s safe and sound and taking care of himself.

The run felt okay, even though I was really congested before I started.  The running helped clear my head and I went to work as well.  Generally I was feeling okay and also in much better spirits because I knew that I had maintained a head cold and it wasn’t going to progress to my chest (relief).

Today I’m feeling good again and still blowing my nose every few minutes.  No running today.  Today it is just me and my son (mummy is at work all day).

My son is currently covered in chocolate and playing with his wooden train set.  Bath tonight I think…

Tomorrow I’ve got my long run and I’m glad that I feel I can do it.  I want to keep up the weekly mileage.

The only thing I’m debating is where to do the run.  The weather currently shows that there will be heavy rain tomorrow (remember, I’m a fair-weather runner) but it looks like it doesn’t arrive until about midday.   What I might do is get up nice and early (I get up at 5:20am weekdays anyway) and see what the weather is like then.  If it looks like it is going to remain clear then I might head up to Dinton Pastures again and run around the two lakes.  Besides, the miles in the great outdoors will certainly be better for my training then miles on a treadmill.

On another note, I was talking to a guy at work (I don’t know his name because he works at the other end of the building and we met in the kitchen) and he was asking about my running (everyone at work knows I run because of previous charity drives).  It turns out he is a runner too and we have even been in a couple of the same events.  Small world.

I’ve also been on Runners World (.co.uk) a lot more lately to see what people are chatting about in the forums and there was one post that caught my eye:-

Is there anyone out there who has the same problem as me and can offer advice/help.

I am overweight and am too embarrassed to wear a vest or t shirt as my man boobs are all over the place when I run. I always wear a lightweight jacket or if the weather is too hot it stops me going running.

I have done a bit of researching and have come across compression vests and am thinking of buying one to wear under my t shirt. Anyone else tried these or know something about them, do the t shirt cling to them etc.

Any advice gratefully receive.

This is how I still feel a lot of the time now.  Even though I have lost quite a lot of weight since I also still suffer with the self-conscious crap from time to time.

Needless to say, he had many responses in the forum and the general consensus was the same from everyone: At least you’re running!  Keep it up!

The muscles in my inner thighs were sore and my calves felt a bit tight as well. I plowed on and did 10.36km at a 05:47 (per km) pace. For you imperial minded people that is a 09:18 (per mile) pace.

My long run is tomorrow and I’m going to go for 18km (11.18 miles) again. Hopefully my pace will be about the same as my last long run which was 05:39 (per km) or 09:05 (per mile). I want to do the Reading Half Marathon in under 2 hours and I don’t care if I do it in 1 hour 59 mins and 59 secs! I’ve worked out that if I run at about a 05:38 (per km) pace or 09:05 (per mile) pace that I should finish in just under two hours.

I haven’t mentioned my weight in a long time but I will today because I went in to town to buy some new running shorts.

I was trying on some new shorts (I bought Nike) and I tried on a large for the first time in ages. I’m usually an XL and have been for some time (as far as I can remember). They fit. I couldn’t believe it. I tried on a pair of L shorts (waist 34/36) and they fit perfectly fine and even felt loose. Considering my waist was about 40/42 at it’s biggest, buying those shorts today felt amazing. Last time I weighed myself I was still hovering around 99/100kg (218 pounds).

Now for the push ups training that I’m becoming obsessed with…

You’ll see from my last post that the previous training session didn’t go well and I didn’t manage to achieve many of the goals for each set. This time it was different:-

Set 1: 25 (okay)
Set 2: 29 (hard, but I did it)
Set 3: 25 (hard, but I did it)
Set 4: 25 (very hard, but I did it)
Set 5: To failure (at least 36) – I only did 21

I wasn’t that bothered about the impossible 5th set this time. I thought “Screw it! I’ll just rest a minute and do another 15!”. And that’s what I did. So, I did the 36 but not all in one go. To top it off, I did two more sets of 15 with short rests in between. I was extremely weak afterwards!

As for non-running related matters, nothing much to report. My fiance and I took our son on a train in to town this morning (to get me shorts) and he loved it. We’ve taken him on the train a couple of times now and he just loves it. His little face just lights up.

I’m sure he won’t be like that when he’s older and if he has to commute to work every day on the train. Oh, how the enthusiasm will wain.

• One-to-one coaching and support from one of three top coaches – Steve Smythe, GB Olympic athlete Liz Yelling or Nick Anderson
• Personalised nutrition advice from the Lucozade Sport Performance Team, as well as a four-month supply of Lucozade Sport products
• Entry and return travel to key warm-up events
• Opportunity to attend two hands-on training seminars with Liz Yelling
• Lucozade Sport Super Six adidas running kit (including trainers) and a state-of-the-art Garmin Forerunner 405
• A night’s luxury hotel accommodation, travel costs to and from London and VIP hospitality on race day

You don’t even need a place in the race (done by ballot); they can take care of this as well!

In return, I would have to commit to following a marathon schedules/training plan and share my experiences with Runner’s World for the duration of the project.

I entered on the 7th and decisions were going to be made by today… I’ve heard nothing. Oh well. Life goes on!

My current training is going okay, however I did some speedwork on Wednesday which consisted of 1 min fast run, 1 min slow recovery jog, 2 min fast, 2 min slow, 3 min fast, 3 min slow, 4 min fast, 4 min slow, 5 min fast and 5 min slow (30 mins in total). I had a 10 minute jog to warm up and some stretches beforehand.

The next day (Thursday) my achilles on my left foot (it’s always my left foot) was kind of tender again and stiff, which means this injury of mine isn’t going to go away anytime soon! I took a day off from training on Thursday and stayed at home. I have always continued to do stretches for my legs of every shape and size as well as strengthening exercises and I’ll keep doing these.

I don’t want it to get so bad that I need physio or anything because I’ve been to physiotherapists before for other things and they seem to make them much worse before they make them better! I don’t have good experiences with them.

Ran today (an hour – 10.3 km) and will have a long slow run on Sunday.

My weight is still hovering around the 100.5 kg mark and I’m pushing for the big drop to the double digits! I’ll let you know when it happens.

Achilles/Calf Stretches

Step1 – Gastroc stretch. Lean into wall, keeping affected leg back straight, heel on floor and turned slightly outward. Stretch should be felt in calf.

Step2 – Soleus stretch. Similar to above with affected leg back but knees slightly bent; lean into wall until stretch is felt in lower calf.

Step3 – Achilles tendon stretch. Stand with toes on stair, heels off the edge. Raise up on toes, then down as far as possible. Return to starting position.