Fog, colds and Movember

Like most of the rest of the UK it seems, I've had a cold for the last couple of weeks - which has curtailed my running a bit. I thought I'd got rid of it but it seems to have made a return and is still lingering in spite of all the fruit eating, vitamin C tablets and hot lemon and honey drinks. Hopefully I'll shake it off soon.

Last weekend I went to Greenwich for my regular Saturday "long slow run" to discover a 10km race was underway as part of Movember - the annual moustache-growing extravaganza to raise funds for men's cancer charities. Lots of the runners had entered into the spirit with plenty of moustaches, real and painted, on display on men and women alike. It was a good natured event with plenty of banter between the runners, stewards and passers-by. Even the "come on come on woman", a regular Greenwich visitor, helpfully pointed out to me that I was "running the wrong way!" as I passed the runners on my anti-clockwise lap.

I completed four full laps and a smaller one for a total of 9 miles, and ran down the "finish straight" the wrong way as the organisers were dismantling the race tents etc.

Work is pretty busy at the moment so I haven't been able to get out at lunchtime as much as I'd hope but I managed a couple of 4 mile runs along the Thames on Tuesday and Thursday this week. The weather has been great for running lately - mild, clear and dry. If only there were more marathons and half-marathons in November !

Bit of a late start yesterday so we went to Dulwich and did a few laps just before lunchtime, but made up for it this morning with another trip to Greenwich, where I did three full laps and one smaller one for a total of 8 miles. It was a cold, foggy start and while the sun was doing its best to break through it never quite managed, making for a rather strange, and chilly, running experience.

So the challenge-o-meter now shows a total of 928 miles. 72 miles to go, in 35 days if I'm going to finish before Christmas. Soon I'll have to start thinking about how I'm going to celebrate the end of the challenge - I think eating and drinking is going to feature quite heavily.

Approaching the final straight

It might seem odd to be talking about "approaching the finish line" when I still have 115 miles to run. But in a 1000 mile "race" it's the equivalent of passing the "3 miles to go" sign in a marathon. Which makes it seem a lot closer. Although fortunately I don't feel as knackered as I did when I reached the "3 miles to go" sign in an actual marathon back in April.

And at the current rate of progress my "challengeometer" says I should complete 1000 miles by 14th December. Which would be good since I don't really want to be out clocking up miles over the Christmas holidays. After 1000 miles and a year's worth of denial (not much alcohol, not many late nights, not much lardy food) it will be nice to just relax and put my feet up for a while. Also, if last winter is any guide, we might have a cold, snowy snap before Christmas, and while it's possible to run in the snow, and I did plenty of it last year, I'd rather not.

Actually I'm quite enjoying running without a training plan, now that I don't have any more races planned. No tempo runs, no intervals, no race pace runs, just gentle jogging and plenty of scope to enjoy the scenery. My four laps around Greenwich today were a real pleasure in fact - a cool cloudy day, a nice empty park (seemed like most folks were at home or preparing for Bonfire night) and, now that the trees in the park have lost most of their leaves, great, open views.

It was also a day of polite, friendly, people holding gates open for me - a spate of them in fact, including one other runner who waited quite a while for me to reach the gate, and an older couple who said to each other "hold on, we should let the athlete through". Not sure who they were referring to, perhaps someone behind me :-)

Tomorrow it'll be off to Dulwich Park for a few more laps.

Earlier in the week I completed my 150th run and my total for the year now stands at 885 miles. Not far now. Just the equivalent of running from my house to Bath. Fortunately not without stopping.

Quick update

A good week of running - couple of lunchtime runs along the Thames, a very comfortable 3 laps around Fairlands Valley Park for 7 miles on a beautiful cool sunny morning yesterday, and 4 miles around rural Hertfordshire this morning (the highlight of which was a couple of families out for a walk doing a Mexican wave for me as I ran past them).

Bringing my total for the week to 18 miles and for the year: 851.84 miles.

Another landmark

After a week off, back to Greenwich yesterday morning for three laps of the park. A beautiful, calm day for running - cool autumn sunshine. But it's maybe the end of the shorts-wearing year and time to dig out the tracksters and long-sleeved shirts - the forecast is for much colder weather for next week including snow in Scotland.

My right leg, the one which cramped at the end of the Royal Parks, was still a little stiff and sore so it was quite a gentle run. Similarly today at Dulwich where I did four laps of the outside of the park and a little extra for 4 miles.

Yesterday's run took my total for 2011 so far past my total for all of 2010. It's quite satisfying to look back on how my mileage has built up since I started running (and keeping count) back in autumn 2007. Hard to imagine that back then even completing a one mile circuit of Dulwich was a struggle !

I've also been trying a few alternative fundraising tactics and last weekend emailed a bunch of CEOs and politicians asking for sponsorship. I wasn't expecting much of a response but I figured it was worth a try. So far, a few polite refusals, but no donations. Since I'm well on target to complete the running part of my challenge, it would be good to fulfil the fundraising target I set too, without having to fall back on pestering my long-suffering friends, family and colleagues again.

Having completed all of my planned runs for the year, I'm going to scale back the weekly mileage a bit but still hope to run 4 times a week - Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday - and do 18-20 miles each week to keep me ahead of schedule. It will be more relaxing not having a training plan to keep to for a while.

My total for the year now stands at 833.72 miles.

Royal Parks Half

So - my last race of the year is over.

I completed the Royal Parks Half Marathon yesterday in a time of 2 hours 9 minutes 16 seconds. Six seconds slower than my time at the New Forest. So consistent if nothing else.

While I was again disappointed with my time, it was a really enjoyable day. Not only did I have the support of Sophie, her sister and brother-in-law, but the team from Practical Action were there cheering all 15 of their runners on the course and handing out goody bags at the end. Thank you to all of you for your support !

Wearing the charity's orange shirt with my name on it made a real difference as I made away around the course. I was quite startled the first time someone shouted my name a few metres after the start -  "you talkin' to me?" and it continued all the way round the course and even the woman on the PA gave me a mention as I shuffled across the finish line.

My race didn't start particularly well as I was actually sitting on the toilet some way from the start line when the elites and celebs started at 0930. Unfortunately I'd fallen victim to the dreaded toilet queues. I'd arrived in plenty of time but instead of just staying in the first queue I could find I foolishly swapped for another one. It seldom works in the supermarket and it didn't work for me.

However a quick sprint to the start got me there in time to join the back of the green wave of starters (my allotted group) and being a little late actually worked in my favour, as the rest of the group shot off at breakneck speed and I was left with a nice slow, free run for the first mile.

I deliberately avoided going off too fast and my pace for the first 10km was pretty ideal.  I completed the first section of the race (down Constitution Hill, past Westminster, along Embankment to Temple, then a U-turn followed by a trip up Whitehall and the Mall to pass Buckingham Palace) and arrived back in Hyde Park in good shape, passing the half way mark in just over 1 hour. I'd been drinking a full bottle of water at each water stop and eating my jaffa cakes and jelly babies at the allotted rate and at this stage things were looking good.

However I reached just beyond the 8 mile mark passing back alongside the Serpentine and felt a sudden twinge of cramp in my right leg. I stopped to give it a stretch and walked for a short distance. It felt ok so I started running again and made it to the corner at the 9 mile mark, passing the Practical Action team and Sophie, Sally and Phil, and right up the hill to Marble Arch, feeling in good shape.

However at around the 10 mile mark I started to run out of gas, legs felt heavy and lactic. I walked for a while but when I saw the British Military Fitness 2 hour pacemaker go past with his group of runners, I thought I would try to keep up with them. I managed it for a while but ended up slowing to a walk again at around 11.5 miles. A mixture of running and walking took me to the 12 mile mark, passing several runners being treated by St John's ambulance staff (hope they were all OK).

I managed to summon up some energy from somewhere and jogged much of the last mile, although on the final (slightly) uphill stretch to the finish my hamstring locked up entirely and I had to hobble while trying to stretch it. I passed Sophie and team for a final time, doing my best to smile, and finally made it across the finish line.

Initial impressions at the finish:

- a great race, well organised, and a beautiful course;

- disappointed at my time;

- a few lessons to be learned about nutrition and training. For whatever reason I wasn't as fit for the race as I thought. Maybe I need to look at using energy gels or drinks instead of my homemade approach. I seem particularly prone to getting cramps during and after races so maybe I'm finishing (or starting) races a bit deficient in something or other.

I could look at my split times and say I should have gone (even) slower in the first half to save energy for the second half. But I don't think it would have made much difference. I think my training this summer just didn't get me as fit as I was last summer. Too many flat midweek runs and not enough hill running.

Having said all of that, it was a huge pleasure to run and feel part of the Practical Action team, and running a marathon, two half marathons and two 10km races in a year, is not something many ordinary pedestrians do. So I'm quietly proud.

Of course, running for the year isn't over - I still have the rest of the 1000 miles to complete - and nor is fundraising. However I'll be taking a week off running to let my body recover.

But finally - a huge thank you to Michaela, Natasha and all at Practical Action - and to Sophie, Sally and Phil for their great support yesterday (and photographs !)

Pre-race nerves

The night before the Royal Parks Half Marathon.

Race number pinned on the T-shirt - check.
Name ironed on - check.
Pile of clothes for tomorrow - check.
Travel plans - check.
Garmin and heart rate monitor - check.
Pace plan - check.
Drinking water, eating carbs - check.
Timing chip attached to shoes - check.
Jaffa cakes and jelly babies - check.

All that remains is to get a good night's sleep.

Targets for tomorrow - if I can beat my New Forest time I'll be fairly happy, if I can beat 2 hours I'll be very happy, and if I can beat 9 minute mile pace (1:57:54) I'll be very happy indeed. Otherwise, just looking to enjoy the run. I just need to remember to go off slowly tomorrow and not make the New Forest mistake of peaking too soon.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is promising - cloudy and 13 degrees for the start, with the possibility of a rain shower. So hopefully comfortable running conditions.

My two lunchtime runs this week leave my total for the year at 813.81 miles. Soon to be 826.91, all being well !

Flaming October

After a warm dry spring and a cool wet summer we've finally had an outbreak of July weather - temperatures in the mid twenties Celsius just as October begins!

Not ideal for the final week of half-marathon training, but the forecast is for the warm spell to only last until midweek and after that we'll back to more more normal conditions.

Last week I had a couple of midweek runs lined up for Wednesday and Thursday, but the weather was so hot I cut one of them short. No point in killing myself ten days before a race.

However yesterday I got up early to avoid the worst of the heat and completed my planned 11 miles (nearly 5 laps) around Fairlands Valley Park in Stevenage. It was satisfying to do a decent long run after the disappointment at the New Forest, and hopefully it will stand me in good stead for this Sunday and the Royal Parks.

The forecast for Sunday is actually rain, but most importantly it's going to be cooler and, along with the flatter course, I'm hoping I'll have a better chance of a decent time.

This week the plan is a couple more midweek runs, and then rest until Sunday. And meanwhile, try to ramp up my fundraising.

My long run yesterday took me past 800 miles for the year and my total now stands at 806.23 miles