Saturday 28 November 2015

Train hard, fight easy

The saying 'Train hard, fight easy' is applicable to more than just boxing, you could apply it to practically anything. In this instance I'm going to use it to describe the past 2 days, a PT session yesterday and bootcamp today. The idea is to increase my core strength to help with my running and also getting my glutes reactivated. I left the gym yesterday struggling to lift my arms and then went back for more of the same. The good thing is my cardio is improving for sure as today's session was just as brutal but others had to suffer with me. That said, there's no where to hide, there's only one person who benefits if I train hard or one person who doesn't if I slack off, me. Completing the marathon is a lifetime's ambition with the added bonus of raising money for a very worthy cause, Sense. I will complete the course, of that in certain but I want to finish it well. I will give it everything just like in the gym, when I cross the finish line I will do so knowing that I had given it everything, nothing left in the tank. 
Long run Sunday looms large, I need to do a decent distance, fingers crossed that the weather improves considerably as it been thoroughly miserable here today!

Just £60 will see me exceed my £1500 target, it's so close now! 

Friday 27 November 2015

Night off

I rarely drink these days but last night a few work colleagues and I hit the town for some beers and Chinese food. A great combination! It felt good to have a night off running but I did make up for it with a intense session in the gym with George.  Plus, tomorrow I'm back in bootcamp so whatever 'damage' a rare night out did will be short lived.
I plan to get back on the marathon bus on Sunday morning too to take on a different route.

£60 is all is going to take to exceed my £1500 target.  

Good times!

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Nothing to like here, move along

Following on from the highs of Sunday's run, I went back to see Donna on Monday. she was really pleased with my progress and set about the root cause of my back issues, dysfunctional muscles.  Basically, my lower back is doing the work of my glutes but with even after a week there has been a marked improvement.  Last night I was supposed to run 10km for "Doing it for Dan" but took a wrong turn and ended up doing 6.5km (I will re-do this).  During my run I felt good, breathing was good, no niggles and I was picking up speed as I went - running at forgotten speeds.  When I finished though, within seconds, there was a pain in my right shin.  Judging from the work I had done with Donna I wasn't convinced that was actual the source of the pain, just where it was manifesting.  My calve muscle was very tender, I foam rollered, stretched (and winced) for a good while after but I need to continue to follow the routine and not get disheartened.

Tonight, I think I'll have a bit of a cycle and a trip to the jacuzzi to work on the glutes.

My usual Thursday evening run needs to be adjusted as I'm going out with work colleagues for dinner and beers, not a typical training regime but I'm looking forward to it.

Ideally, back on track on Sunday for the marathon bus. Fingers cross

Sunday 22 November 2015

Wasn't expecting that...

Was struggling to drag myself out the door to do my run but decided to bring my headphones for a change and listened to the Foo Fighters as I pounded the pavements of Swindon. I gave up listening to music whilst running as I was told a lot of events wouldn't let you have headphones but as I needed a bit of motivation I thought sod it. The weather so cold but dry and it was nice to be able to run without the aid of lights for a change. I didn't feel at my best as I hadn't eaten or drank a lot today so I was surprised when I got home to see I had recorded my second fastest 10km!
Pleased to report no niggles so my exercises are obviously paying dividends

Core

All the resources tell you that running a marathon is not just about running but it's about core strength. I'm back training with George with the sole focus on the core.  I had forgotten the intensity of his PT sessions and whilst boot camp comes a close second there's no hiding here, giving it everything, muscles and brain screaming in resistance but deep down knowing that the benefits will come later. I left the gym feeling drained physically but it felt good to be back.
No bootcamp yesterday as I was in Birmingham for the day but need to get a minimum of 10km running in today.  I was supposed to do the marathon bus this morning but slept through so have to make up for it later.  

Thursday 19 November 2015

Back in the game

Considering the terrible weather recently, tonight was dry and mild with little to no breeze. 

Decided on the middle route tonight and was joined by Steve who's also returning from injury. Usually we run at a similar pace so it was good to have him back. Both of us were struggling for 'match fitness' for want of a better phrase but we kept a good pace despite not knowing the full route. No pains or niggles a touch of a stitch so the lessons from Phil, Donna and Jack are paying off. 

I've added a Strava feed to the page so you can keep an eye on my progress. 

Talking of progress; we're so close to hitting the £1500 target:


THANK YOU!

Tomorrow sees the return of training 1 on 1 with George to improve my core strength. It'll be hard but worth it in the end

Wednesday 18 November 2015

The road to recovery

On Monday I visited Donna @ Activology to get the issue with my back investigated.  Turns out to be money well spent as even though it still feels I have her elbows or fingers in my back, the actual pain I was experiencing has disappeared.  The root cause is muscle dysfunction which is pulling my pelvis out of alignment.  So when I was stretching underneath the desk the other weekend the muscles were already being stretched and I just overcooked it.  The knock on effect is now it has been diagnosed it can be corrected and hopefully have a positive effect on my notorious hamstrings - win, win!

I'm a little disappointed as I would have liked to have run a few km yesterday or today with Ben Smith on his incredible journey of running 401 marathons back to back http://www.the401challenge.co.uk/ but because my back was so painful I didnt think it would be possible so didnt book the time off. Typical really.

However, I did manage a 5km run last night to test the waters and haven't had suffered any negative fallout out so I just need to continue with doing my homework exercises in conjunction with the ones I was shown on Saturday and I should be back in business.

Saturday 14 November 2015

Inspired

I just realised I basically duplicated a post so apologies for that. 

Today I met the Sense events team and over 40 of my fellow marathon runners. It was inspirational to sit in the room with them all, talking to some and hearing from others there were a lot of first timers there, all from different walks of life and backgrounds. I learned that I'm fortunate to have already built a good, varied training plan and I had considered everything that needs to be covered. The big thing I need to really concentrate on is nutrition as my diet isn't exactly the typical athlete's baseline.  Time to routinely use MyFitnessPal and understand how to fuel my body during my long runs. 

I also learned new exercises to help pre & post running so that's great. 

I'm looking forward to Sense setting up the #TeamSense Strava and Facebook pages to help us encourage each other and see how everyone is progressing. 

There's another training day in February and I hope that people are excelling with their running and their fundraising. 

I'm up to £1,222.01! The target is within reach but I don't want to stop there! I'll do a sweepstake on my finish time and if there are other ideas on how to get you to part with your hard earned cash, let me hear them

Friday 13 November 2015

Injured

On Saturday I was working and somehow managed to pull a muscle in my back which has halted all training.  The fact I couldn't lie flat or twist and turn properly meant there was no way I was risking making things worse.

Tomorrow i'm heading to London to meet Sense's event team, I was hoping to participate in the 5km run afterwards.  This evening my back feels reasonable so who knows!  Cross fingers

Sunday 8 November 2015

Injured

It happens to everyone and it's my turn now.  Yesterday I had a few twinges in my back but nothing too painful.  I hadn't been lifting anything just moving stuff at work and crawling under desks to run power, network and phone cables as part of an office reorganisation. However, I woke up in pain in the middle of the night.  Even lying flat was uncomfortable.  I'm supposed to be doing my long run today but it's best if I don't and try to be patient and try again next week.
I had deliberately started my training earlier than the 16 weeks to allow for injuries and bad days.  As a runner there are some days you can run and it feels great and you can run further than you planned to.  But, there are other days where a 5km parkrun can leave you utterly exhausted before you're even halfway. Those days are hard to deal with, they mess with your head. How is it I can run a 10km race or a half marathon but struggle on a parkrun? Having a charity place in the London Marathon brings with it so additional incentives and motivation; there's the cause - raising awareness for them and of course funds to allow them to carry out their good work.  Also there's the list of people who donated in the process, they're saying that they believe you will do everything you can to deliver, in this case crossing the finishing line in The Mall. It would be bad if I let them down by not being fit enough to take on the challenge through lack of preparation but worst of all it would be terrible to let myself down so I will prepare myself as best as can, mentally and physically to meet the challenge, to complete a lifetime's ambition. When injuries come I will deal with them and find other ways to continue the journey.

Thursday 5 November 2015

Wow!

I was really struggling for energy today, tired and lethargic.  As the day wore on, the weather turned miserable which did nothing to energise me. As I drove to meet up with the Allstars, my dad called to say that he collected £47 in sponsorship last night which took me over £1000! I'm thrilled with having raised that amount in a little over a month and I know of others that have told me that they will donate so the target is certainly achievable, I'd love to have the full amount in the bag before Christmas so all that's left to worry about is the training. That said even when I get to the target I'll still be reminding you (if anyone actually reads this) to donate.
As I met up with the others, lots of people were opting for the short route due to the weather. I opted to run with Mark and Nathan, both great runners, on the long run.  I was pleased I did as I was buoyed by the fundraising results and the rain stopped as we set off. A good pace and a good conversation and we were soon back at the clubhouse having a brew.

Wednesday 4 November 2015

R&R + Fundraising Update

Tonight I decided to try and help my legs recover a bit more by relaxing in the spa.  Unfortunately the ice maker was out of order and the jacuzzi wasn't as warm as usual but it was good to chill out for 30mins.  A bit of time on the foam roller is planned for this evening plus a few body weight exercises chucked in for good measure,

I'm very near to reaching two thirds of my £1,500 target tonight which is hugely humbling and provides great motivation when it comes to training so thank you all very much!


Tuesday 3 November 2015

Club night continued...

Well the legs objected to running at Richard's pace and I let him crack on and claim a few PBs along the way.  I was struggling at one point and gave myself a break by walking between a lamppost then carried on.  It wasn't long after that Alan & Richard caught up with me. Alan passed by and Richard and I completed the last few kilometres together.  Chatting helped to distract from the legs telling me they wanted to stop and have a brew! So thanks to Richard for helping me finish the route.

In terms of the new running light, it was great. Very bright and comfortable to wear, if you wear a chest based heart rate monitor you will need to adjust it to ensure they don't sit on top of each other.

Club night

After the strains of bootcamp and my long run over the weekend, my legs were in need of rest and a massage yesterday. Jack has done sterling work in loosening the muscles ready for tonight's club run.
It's the final week of this particular route but my first club run in my new trainers and first ever run with my new run light.  It has a chest mounted white LED which is pretty bright and a flashing red LED on the battery pack which is on my back.  I'm hoping it's more comfortable than the miner's style light I used last week, it's certainly brighter. Whilst most of tonight's route is reasonably well lit, I'm very aware of the cracks in the pavement and trying to avoid injuring my foot again, hopefully this will help.

Sunday 1 November 2015

Post marathon bus #1

It started out a bit chilly and foggy but the sun came out and burnt the fog away. Managed 15km today, must remember to wear decent socks for longer distances as these started to rub. The new trainers felt OK and overall pretty pleased considering the silly start time but to be fair there's little traffic about and quite a few dog walkers, cyclists and runners making the most if the quiet start to the day


When I got back to the car and grabbed my water bottle there was actually stream rising off my arms and legs!



Too early!

I'm not considered to be a morning person, to be honest seeing this time of a Sunday morning should be illegal as far as I'm concerned but I have to get used to it. Day 1 of the marathon bus and I'm trying to stretch what Clayton and George left of my legs. I didn't sleep that well and the thought of just climbing back into bed and snoozing for a few hours is hugely appealing but it won't get round a marathon course. Enthusiasm hasn't appeared yet, perhaps I'll find it along the way?