tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83417532953349418452024-02-18T20:55:26.153-08:00At the Edge of the Wallcedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-24653250988478895922021-05-25T02:27:00.006-07:002021-05-25T02:29:30.993-07:00<p>Hi all, I'm still running just, not quite up to the same level of fitness as before. Currently working back up to 10km/6 miles using the One Hour Runner Programme. I mainly listen to comedy podcasts now to help keep me motivated; currently Small Town Murder / Crime in Sports are my two favourites.</p><p>I tend to blog now on YouTube which I started last year which covers predominately my Photography experiences (Digital and Film).</p><p>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp4r7r07jdnfbYw6etV5yhw</p>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-42485131644680368622016-06-13T09:20:00.001-07:002016-06-13T09:23:48.650-07:00Poor HealthApologies for not publishing a blog for some time, its not through lack of trying but, I have been suffering from a number of ailments this year (way more than usual) which has stopped me from running for quite a number of weeks now (Mid Apr). I suspect a change in asthma medication (from Seretide to Fostair) last year is partly to blame; something I will be trying to rectify at my next review later this month.<br />
<br />
I had hoped last week after a steady commencement of a few short runs that the tide was starting to turn in terms of my health and that I would be able to start gradually improving my fitness and reducing the weight that has piled on. Frustratingly it wasn't to be as I was struck down with something horrid on Thursday and now any movement causes me a lot of discomfort even with just walking or trying to stand up straight so I think it will be a little while before I can resume running again.<br />
<br />
In the mean time and when able I will continue overhauling my Bike as since my last blog (Nov 15), I have moved jobs and location but unfortunately this has reduced the routes that I can run in a lunchtime to about 2. Therefore to try and diversify my exercise and to improve the variety and number of routes I can gain access to at lunchtimes I have been trying to fix my bike. I say fix as it was pretty much abandoned at my previous work location and has suffered from weathering for a good number of years pretty much outside with zero use as there were plenty of variety in my running routes compared to now.<br />
<br />
The overhaul is going pretty well (thanks to YouTube) considering I had virtually zero experience and always gave it to a shop to deal with in the past but I fancied the challenge this time around. It's almost there I feel for a road test once I can get past my current bout of poor health and get around to fixing the gear cable that snapped last week during adjustment.<br />
<br />
When I do get back into running (hopefully this year), I will continue to use the subscription of Zombie Run that I started this year; another iphone app to throw into the mix of music to try and help with my motivation. <br />
<br />
I have also switched my main running app since my Nov 15 blog to Runkeeper, although I still use endomondo as that has my stats since I started running so I'm reluctant to stop compiling that data. I'll cover this is a later blog to help me think through what I want out of an app to help me ditch one of them as what with starting Spotify, Zombie Run, then Runkeeper and Endomondo it take more time to start and stop running :).cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-63495837929715234332015-11-21T02:14:00.002-08:002015-11-21T02:14:25.456-08:00Picked up another injury somehow...<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After narrowly missing out on a
cold at half term I've now succumbed to an injury, barely a year after my last
one that is one again preventing me from running without enduring serious pain in my foot. I have
no idea what I did other than it was sometime just over a week ago now. In fairness I
have had a 'good run' this year where I have been able to run consistently and
build my mileage base. Best I can hope for now after is a swift recovery to allow me sufficient time to start running again in
preparation for the Yeovil half marathon in March next year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In terms of the injury itself, I
think it's just some inflammation on the bottom of my foot or to a tendon
although nothing is showing at present. Although I ran that day it was pretty
uneventful and my new shoes have finally worn in so I don’t think it
was running related at this stage. It is more likely to have occurred
during some spring cleaning at home where I probably manipulated my foot into an
unnatural position which may have resulting in stretching the foot too far
during some protracted cleaning activity. The pain builds as I walk to the
point that I have to take the weight off to relieve the pressure/pain. It also
feels that a hard lump forms under my foot which further adds to the discomfort. Thankfully
walking on the front portion of my foot offers some relief at the moment and
driving is relatively painless and <s>unfortunately</s> fortunately as my work
is desk based it isn't stopping me from doing that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think in the interim I certainly
need to be careful in what I eat as I do not want to undo all the good I've done
this year in getting my weight down. This may prove more difficult though what
with the silly season coming up as I already have 3 Christmas lunches planned in
addition to my leaving meal at the end of this month as I transition to a new job. At least when I do return to running I will have some new running routes
to try out due to my upcoming new job; my first new job
in over 11 years!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; page-break-after: avoid;">
<br /></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-76513797103504189762015-10-13T09:52:00.004-07:002015-10-13T10:13:31.814-07:00Plodding On<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a data-topotext="[{"attributes":{"tombstoned":false,"paragraphStyle":{"writingDirection":1},"uniqueId":2},"codePoints":[66,101,101,110,32,109,97,105,110,116,97,105,110,105,110,103,32,109,111,115,116,32,111,102,32,116,104,101,32,121,101,97,114,32,117,112,32,116,111,32,97,32,98,97,115,101,32,105,115,32,88,32,109,105,108,101,115,32,97,32,119,101,101,107,46,32,32,68,101,112,101,110,100,105,110,103,32,111,110,32,98,97,108,108,111,116,32,114,101,115,117,108,116,32,119,105,108,108,32,100,101,99,105,100,101,32,119,104,97,116,32,73,39,109,32,116,114,97,105,110,105,110,103,32,102,111,114,32,110,101,120,116,32,98,117,116,32,73,32,116,104,105,110,107,32,116,104,97,116,32,105,110,99,108,117,100,101,115,32,109,105,120,105,110,103,32,105,116,32,117,112,32,97,32,98,105,116,46,32,32,84,104,105,110,107,105,110,103,32,97,98,111,117,116,32,104,101,65,114,116,32,116,114,97,99,107,101,114,32,119,104,105,99,104,32,119,105,108,108,32,104,101,108,112,32,119,105,116,104,32,116,104,105,115,32,116,111,32,98,111,111,115,116,32,112,101,114,102,111,114,109,97,110,99,101,44,32,107,101,116,116,108,101,32,98,101,108,108,115,32,116,111,32,104,101,108,112,32,119,105,116,104,32,99,111,114,101,32,119,111,114,107,46]}]" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"></a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">After a cracking two runs this week I thought it was high time that I actually get this Blog posted. It has been in an unfinished state and in constant flux for a few months now in which time I have continued to just plod on running, building my base now to around 3 runs and 15 miles each week. Since my last post in May I have managed to rack up 310 miles running and 103 miles out and about walking.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">The main delay in posting this time around was due to the wait for the London Marathon 2016 ballot results to come out. I entered it on some kind of whim earlier in the year to hopefully provide me with some direction concerning my next running goal.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpB1eVXg3RMpIlI0AF3lCm6tq0vG_RzogGlg10h9DqN_fJnlZppq5-NU2-iERqQ0JYsTGu0o8EShsX_woOIc8zuFsXdCc9oVLW-hG9EboaiCa2SDrmsCvddPUK1diaak1RU47H1gcgg32Y/s1600/London+marathon_633x418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpB1eVXg3RMpIlI0AF3lCm6tq0vG_RzogGlg10h9DqN_fJnlZppq5-NU2-iERqQ0JYsTGu0o8EShsX_woOIc8zuFsXdCc9oVLW-hG9EboaiCa2SDrmsCvddPUK1diaak1RU47H1gcgg32Y/s400/London+marathon_633x418.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Luckily, I was unsuccessful in the ballot, I say luckily because as the weeks came and went, the dread of undertaking months of marathon training and actually running 26.2 miles started to dawn on me. Nevertheless, it has been a successful process as it has helped me to decide on the future direction of my running in that I will be sticking with distances of 13.1 miles and less that I know I can reasonably achieve and enjoy without the need to massively alter my running schedule.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I still need a goal, something to aim for to help keep me motivated and for the time being that will be my continued weight loss down to my target weight/shape. I say shape because I'm reasonably happy as to how my weight loss is progressing coupled with a sustained effort of watching my intake but, now I would also like to loose the last of my spare tires. This is currently being helped by some cross training routines with a Kettle Bell although this has slipped a little in the last couple of weeks.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I’d also like to continue improving my overall fitness and to that end I'm currently considering investing in a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) of some kind that should help me determine what zone I'm in and/or need to be in depending on what I am trying to achieve in a particular session.</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_-CA-NghNPeZ2C1OGbwve8T0YUGv5Kl6V9yd6nrDtB0kvHN9GyQWAjjjUTYUbflkMm0gVpLb9RozAPgnWxtUVEULm-WWL6l7nGitknsX16eI2ppX_TBPWJK0Skdkaz2bNfSF3jfINJHw/s1600/Chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_-CA-NghNPeZ2C1OGbwve8T0YUGv5Kl6V9yd6nrDtB0kvHN9GyQWAjjjUTYUbflkMm0gVpLb9RozAPgnWxtUVEULm-WWL6l7nGitknsX16eI2ppX_TBPWJK0Skdkaz2bNfSF3jfINJHw/s1600/Chart.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Heart Rate Zones</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">When I decide on my training plan, probably in the lead up to a Half Marathon next year, I will ensure that it includes a degree of interval training as plodding runs can get a little boring, especially as I seem to be exhausting all available running routes in the vicinity. Music on tap using Spotify helps as does the local running club although as winter approaches, the club is less appealing as they are confined to the dark streets of Yeovil and I don’t really want to pick up a repeat ankle injury as I did around this time last year.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmipnbpvWlV1CXLVq5FsaJalmQ3YvFonDSPMhOIIyZjx0BaiDD7Qbwe5sj35bUIyLEsXGmpRofnJdpf5HSr1rnU2ajxNLpgV94rdE2wLP1ar7tphAlBIvE8g6KtUt4it8D8d6yPp8Mka45/s1600/P1030077-1-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmipnbpvWlV1CXLVq5FsaJalmQ3YvFonDSPMhOIIyZjx0BaiDD7Qbwe5sj35bUIyLEsXGmpRofnJdpf5HSr1rnU2ajxNLpgV94rdE2wLP1ar7tphAlBIvE8g6KtUt4it8D8d6yPp8Mka45/s320/P1030077-1-2.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Bakewell, Peak District, Aug 10</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">This post also broadly marks the 5 year anniversary since I decided to and actually started running back in August 2010. I'm certainly fitter and leaner than I was then but there's still more to do as I’d still like to reach my target of comfortably fitting into 34” size trousers; a feat that I have never been able to achieve in my adult years.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaI2Yiem783P4YksxjQXSzmcGeoGfZbONdRvs3enLUIxu2HU4ukk8jcLyz3lbdDIsToriaa_qwejWhU-WM15JqXLTD1IHD0e0NG9U3XpR0YgjqUexpAVOH6BUK7RHVOGOHPt3Q5HwR37g6/s1600/8C465AF0-2C56-49B7-8715-B86DC425059C.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaI2Yiem783P4YksxjQXSzmcGeoGfZbONdRvs3enLUIxu2HU4ukk8jcLyz3lbdDIsToriaa_qwejWhU-WM15JqXLTD1IHD0e0NG9U3XpR0YgjqUexpAVOH6BUK7RHVOGOHPt3Q5HwR37g6/s320/8C465AF0-2C56-49B7-8715-B86DC425059C.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Martinstown, Nr Dorchester, May 15</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">In terms of the future of this Blog, I'd like to continue its development to include insights from my other interests such as walking and photography which I see are complimentary activities to running; all relaxing and enjoyable in different ways.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/edgec/22140650565/in/dateposted/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Fleet Lagoon, Chesil Beach"><img alt="Fleet Lagoon, Chesil Beach" height="357" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5792/22140650565_90f6f79a51.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Fleet Lagoon, Chesil Beach, Oct 15</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In terms of running gear changes since May, I have changed my shoes; moving from the ASICS GT 2000 2 to the Brooks Adrenaline</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> GTS 2013 variant although the jury is still out as to whether the latter are any better. I still haven't got the fit quite right and at the moment after about 60 miles or so I'm leaning towards a return to ASICS for my next pair although I hope to get at least a few hundred more miles out of these Brooks. I am currently trying out the Runkeeper app on my runs as opposed to Endomondo as the former seems to provide for free a lot more motivational information, functionality and better end of run summaries.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm hoping with the next post, that I would have decided on a HRM and will be in a position to provide some comments based on my experience with it. I'm also hoping that what ever gadget I buy to fulfil this HRM functionality will also help provide me with some more direction on what I should be focusing on in each run to help me improve my overall performance and personal bests in future races.</span></div>
</div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-1987153808784381642015-05-02T04:50:00.001-07:002015-05-02T04:55:01.614-07:00ProgressingI've been trying to write this post for a few months now, but all I seemed to do was just add ideas or notes that I wanted to mention so I thought it was high time that I actually composed the damn thing.<br />
<br />
<b>Running</b><br />
<br />
I have had a steady few months of running since my last Blog in March. I managed 48 miles in March and 35 miles in April compared with a total of just 55 miles for November 14 through to February 15 combined!<br />
<br />
Although I don't like running fast I have tried in the last few runs to lengthen my stride and increase my cadence (number of steps per minute) to try and start pushing myself a little bit more.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHO1BcJtSrUKvz35QSXpZXCk-UJb0rryMi76hmEpaZ3tKcFEKVMVu2X_jL-BH00WacLlkBMnkql1QImNb5sTXkJFiyxDRp2yQ9j-1ECENCi1sAkAFvNBt7AKEcFkg5BQvV1lVp7oWJtqf/s1600/roadrunner.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHO1BcJtSrUKvz35QSXpZXCk-UJb0rryMi76hmEpaZ3tKcFEKVMVu2X_jL-BH00WacLlkBMnkql1QImNb5sTXkJFiyxDRp2yQ9j-1ECENCi1sAkAFvNBt7AKEcFkg5BQvV1lVp7oWJtqf/s1600/roadrunner.gif" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
This should help reduce the amount of time on my feet for when I want to run longer distances and in reducing my waistline down to 34" although I need to ensure that I strike the right balance so that running doesn't become a chore and a slog each time.<br />
<br />
I have applied this strategy to the last 2 runs so far; it was hard as I'm not used to sustaining that level of effort but its going well and it helped me to complete a 10km yesterday in under hour with times not seen since 2012.<br />
<br />
<b>Running Tech</b><br />
<br />
I almost purchased an additional step counter in the first quarter of this year to count steps but as I'm already pretty active with running and walking I didn't see the point in the end.<br />
<br />
Since March I have also tried to find whether there are any other running apps out there that are better that the one I currently use (Endomondo) which could provide me with more motivational audio cues like I used to get with Nike+ whilst still providing a similar amount of detail about my runs that I currently receive and like to review to see how well I'm progressing.<br />
<br />
Over a few weeks I tried Runkeeper, Strava, Runtastic, Nike+, Micoach and then gave up as it seems that the features I would like are either on poor apps such as Nike + which its really inaccurate compared to the others or behind pay walls requiring monthly subscriptions to access; something that I'm not prepared to paid for. So for now I'm sticking with Endomondo and if I wish to analyse my information further, then I can just add it to an Excel Spreadsheet and produce graphs like the following relatively easily:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKPcDQG0SxZYMTF13Cicn8oG27msv2o2UuTx0NbN4UqgbRGwNq1Vik9aU6g5hnTiJ2P1EQOUkUY-6Fiy9IiXV1Mxl7K_Z1JoMJlAIFyuCN7HSMg6_SujjPTFQmqlOoI1ifhFhwInXIeFw/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKPcDQG0SxZYMTF13Cicn8oG27msv2o2UuTx0NbN4UqgbRGwNq1Vik9aU6g5hnTiJ2P1EQOUkUY-6Fiy9IiXV1Mxl7K_Z1JoMJlAIFyuCN7HSMg6_SujjPTFQmqlOoI1ifhFhwInXIeFw/s1600/Untitled.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm still using Spotify for my running music playlists as I'm still on a Student subscription but I'm almost at that point that I want to try something else as there are a couple of niggles with Spotify that I'm starting to find a little annoying. These include its continued poor integration with local files, its inability at times to play sound and for some reason local files keep disappearing / become blanked out from my play lists.<br />
<br />
At the moment though I'm waiting for Itunes to release their streaming service over here so I can try that. If that fails I'm going to have to trial all the others I think until I find something that I'm happy with.cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-89931476867541800132015-03-02T11:36:00.001-08:002015-03-03T09:33:00.780-08:00Lets try that again....<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No sooner than the ink was drying on my first blog post of 2015 stating my aims and objectives for the coming year, I was struck down with not 1 but, 2 bouts of illness which after my first foray back into my running shoes basically set my progress right back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the latter stages of my recovery I was in the dangerous state of enjoying the fact that I wasn't running. Thankfully though I managed to overcome that state of mind and start again. However, if I can draw anything following the last few runs, it tells me is that its going to take a few more weeks until I am ready to tackle anything more significant.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t know what it is but every time I stop for what ever reason it seems much harder than the time before to get back into running, to build stamina, to start pushing the distances and in getting my breathing back under control! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It doesn't help that its still cold despite some early signs of spring and that the wind that has been around the last few days has really been punishing when running into it. Bring on warmer and calmer weather!</span></div>
<div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lets hope it doesn't take too long this time around and that I can remain injury and illness free long enough to accomplish the objectives I set myself at the start of this year at the very least.</span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-87042810972925280912015-01-19T09:07:00.004-08:002015-01-19T09:09:08.726-08:00Back to blogging<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I completed my first run this
year and my longest since Christmas Eve. I know my better half told me to
take it easy but when you are having a good run it’s hard to stop, well I was
having a good run up until the point I turned back towards base; then it felt
like a real slog to keep going. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe"
filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75"
alt="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG"
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG"
style='width:180pt;height:240pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'
o:button="t">
<v:fill o:detectmouseclick="t"/>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Chris\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"
o:title="proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-4fjgPENWZIw%2FVL05BBt6qBI%2FAAAAAAAAAdI%2FxVVa7mmwld8%2Fs1600%2FIMG_0888"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway I completed the run and
managed constant running for over 35 minutes so let’s hope I can keep the
momentum up this time and remain free from illness and injury that plagued me
in 2014 for long enough to at least allow me to meet some of my fitness goals
in 2015 that I have had since I started this blog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My main one being to reach a size
34” waist, then I can get into all the clothing I bought myself on the cusp of
reaching this target before injury stuck probably sometime back in 2013.
Since then and due to Christmas, the resultant chocolate/cake stash that
is still going strong and a glut of birthdays at work meaning lots of Cake, I
have probably drifted to about 37”. Still lower then when I started
running but not where I want to be when I've got half my wardrobe devoted to clothing that's a
little on the tight side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Therefore, to help me with my
goals and now that I have nothing to study following completion of MSc last
year, I am recommencing my blog, hoping that they will provide
me with added motivation in the coming months, especially through days like
today when it was a nice temperature in my cosy office but bloody cold outside.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG" --><!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-4fjgPENWZIw%2FVL05BBt6qBI%2FAAAAAAAAAdI%2FxVVa7mmwld8%2Fs1600%2FIMG_0888.JPG&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtXVTj2pNYLHcM4zddjAw-MIdgys-swLTSG-YqXBgn5UId16ZloDM9pk4gJNoQN_W6Aq673WewLsFfr2zdLie59tS6P5JuBZbpNjchgHt9BeGzZFIcjKalQIePEm6JU5xwSFh_o7YqMiE3/s1600/IMG_0888.JPG" -->cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-70658542184040208862014-01-19T11:27:00.000-08:002014-01-19T11:31:24.267-08:00Lancaster by night<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's me, up at Lancaster Hotel for another week to participate in more MSc fun however, I'm billy no mates tonight and after a 7hr train journey from the South West with little to do I fancied getting out and stretching my legs with a nice little and gentle run around campus. Somehow however, I managed to pull off a 11km fairly enjoyable run, my longest 2014 run to date; out under the M6, out into the wilderness, skirting around the edge of the Lakes, past a huge Wind turbine, back over the M6, through Lancaster and back to the Hotel. Even stranger, up until the last km, the run actually felt pretty good, a far cry from my run on Friday where I just managed about 6.5km after what felt like an eternity with zero energy or motivation, that certainly wasn't a problem tonight!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JDprtgyQwEl_0T_45Uy0S6__cJNOzhrSC7GmdBa-WNl6xtALdOex_MbSV7yD0q7151PNDPIiOWsOefUIGQG-GudY0daPD24Ix1GP73ge1nakemVoOx_WXCoLfpHjumNM40yacvgb1jKY/s1600/Lancaster+Route+Jan+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JDprtgyQwEl_0T_45Uy0S6__cJNOzhrSC7GmdBa-WNl6xtALdOex_MbSV7yD0q7151PNDPIiOWsOefUIGQG-GudY0daPD24Ix1GP73ge1nakemVoOx_WXCoLfpHjumNM40yacvgb1jKY/s1600/Lancaster+Route+Jan+14.jpg" height="275" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did take some nice photo's, well I though they were good until I came back to the Hotel and looked at them....my ancient iphone 3gs just isn't cut out for taking photos in low light or anything for that matter. Out of about 6 this was the best one......and it ain't great hence I've cropped it and kept it small.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_t0WUjaMtj2LZiz5Mh3yTSK71YePRjmlPH1fMFsGuG22OJieCBPSCpvlchHf0v24mjHMIm3NGAez9x9Kr3rk9EeXV2c0tFhTJIe8NFDcCDqPs2s-lNee0jsUreDOn6yB1Lnen1rSF4sg/s1600/Lancaster+by+Night+Blog+Picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_t0WUjaMtj2LZiz5Mh3yTSK71YePRjmlPH1fMFsGuG22OJieCBPSCpvlchHf0v24mjHMIm3NGAez9x9Kr3rk9EeXV2c0tFhTJIe8NFDcCDqPs2s-lNee0jsUreDOn6yB1Lnen1rSF4sg/s1600/Lancaster+by+Night+Blog+Picture.jpg" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, that's me done, off to get re-hydrated</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, some food and then finally down to some </span><strike style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">TV</strike><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> work!</span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-65731582336364330582014-01-02T10:26:00.003-08:002014-01-02T10:26:30.798-08:00A Rocky Road...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apologies for not writing a Blog for a while; I've recently passed the year milestone since picking up my old knee injury and problems with it still persist. Not quite to the same severity but it is still ever evident when I start running no matter what exercises/stretches I seem to do or even after a few weeks break! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think my next step will be when my current shoes give up the ghost, is to pop along to our local triathlon specialists and treat myself to a Gait Analysis session and then spend the extra to get the best shoes for my gait to see whether that improves things.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimE6vufFrS7v2Bg_s78lomCsvVAPwBROfECxAEa2puaXud9zG7L2z1FKJycWx1zjsecQvrj9Ni26mGYGdtXQ0nJpttE6qVzXw2DY9v-VpzXuPWsrO9zgJ3nxDXQUConVet9LVP-Y5aKDMH/s1600/Running+Selfie+Jan+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimE6vufFrS7v2Bg_s78lomCsvVAPwBROfECxAEa2puaXud9zG7L2z1FKJycWx1zjsecQvrj9Ni26mGYGdtXQ0nJpttE6qVzXw2DY9v-VpzXuPWsrO9zgJ3nxDXQUConVet9LVP-Y5aKDMH/s320/Running+Selfie+Jan+14.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Running Selfie Jan 14</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My Facebook profile picture was getting on a bit so I took the opportunity to take a running selfie at the end of my run today. It was my first run in 2014 and 3 weeks as I had a cold that I had to shift and due to rest (inactivity) over the Christmas break. The run itself considering this break went surprisingly well; a solid, dependable and reasonably comfortable 5km. The weather was great as well; if I knew it was going to be that warm I wouldn't have bothered with the buff!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Anyway, I hope to step up my running this year after an injury riddled 2013 where I only managed about 50% of my normal distance (approx. 750km). After completing the C25K in August, I went on and completed the Bupa's 10 mile training programme before returning to Yeovil Town Running Club (YTRC) and since then I've just been maintaining that level of fitness. Just before Xmas, I managed to push the distance a little and stretch to a 12 mile run walk run. This run was tough but enjoyable for the most part; as always I began to get bored and sore after the 10 mile mark however it's good to get out and run around the wilderness especially when the sun is shining and its not too hot. Running is a great way I find to just escape and clear/free the mind, especially after a stressful morning at work.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today's run was confined to just in and around Yeovil town but I still managed to venture up a new road and see some surprisingly stunning views towards the country park and further afield, just a short distance from town. I intend to start back at YTRC next week and start taking more photos out and about which hopefully will help me get through the challenging winter months and the pile of Chocolate that is left to eat following Christmas; especially the Hotel Chocolate Rocky Road slab!</div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-5261660797074580072013-08-23T09:28:00.004-07:002013-08-23T09:28:56.287-07:00Yay, completed C25K again.....<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's right, my final run today saw me complete the 9 week programme....again. It was quite a difficult run to round of this week as I could still feel the effects of my 18 hole round of golf the day before and it was quite muggy. I now intend to move on to Bupa's 10km training programme.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, despite being back running now for 9-10 weeks, my knee is still not 100% right, more like 70% although its bearable when running for now and if I avoid bending it at extreme angles but this is the main reason as to why I've decided to start a 10k programme next as opposed to a 10 mile or half marathon plan. Hopefully by the time I've finished this 7-8 week plan, my knee will be closer still to a full recovery. If not, then it might require a return trip to the Doc's.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This plan shouldn't take too long though and I feel like I can miss a few weeks out as somehow the Nike+ GPS running app that I started to try again this week seems to think that I've run 3km more than my other apps.....I've tried to calibrate it today, but if it doesn't work I'm going to ditch it again and return to either Endomondo or Runkeeper which is a shame as their support on Facebook has been brilliant this week. I've generally always used Endomondo and even bought the pro app but now the company appear to be moving quite a lot of the features behind a more subscription style pay wall hence my reasons for starting to try other apps again. I used Runkeeper today as well as Nike+ to check the latter apps accuracy or lack of and quite liked it so will trial it out a few more times to see what I prefer moving forward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been wearing a knee strap since starting C25K but truthfully I'm not sure whether it does anything other than get sweaty! It doesn't hurt with it on so I'll going to keep it on for a while longer.</span>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-19006974609438082972013-07-05T08:08:00.000-07:002013-07-05T08:10:02.705-07:00On the road to recovery?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well I feel that I’m well on the way to building my fitness back up predominantly through running but there’s still a long way to go. ..</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEBsdxl8gfisF6O-WNP2HeEU6DanOXKVOMAtaBny0PSyt_cDHK8yBRYThZEaOI1BqS0aSohh_tMMxBhVQhjNcTwcvee5unm2q1DYFimVN2z9F6XtG6oOFdTRZsqslV_mxgzbHFXrBb48g/s1600/Utah+Road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEBsdxl8gfisF6O-WNP2HeEU6DanOXKVOMAtaBny0PSyt_cDHK8yBRYThZEaOI1BqS0aSohh_tMMxBhVQhjNcTwcvee5unm2q1DYFimVN2z9F6XtG6oOFdTRZsqslV_mxgzbHFXrBb48g/s400/Utah+Road.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This comes about having just successfully completed week 5 of the Couch 2 5k (C25K) running programme with help from Robert Ullrey’s excellent running Podcasts ending today with a 20 minute non stop run in blistering sunny and warm weather. This is after my first round of golf in over 8 months yesterday in equally warm weather.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The knee issue still remains but definitely in the last few weeks I feel that it is getting slowly back to normal although my running gait/form seems to be a bit off at the moment. To help with the fitness recovery, I started the C25K programme right back at Week 1 with the aim of slowing trying to rebuild my fitness and running strength whilst taking it easy on the knee. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95v0xgndYp4HO75fSGIi3FNVPeqPkWfu5ir7u1sojmnds4YCddR4b0H2d4NgaGrPYCD4RlEiAzrBIy4MyvNRt2lNeDa9P4ri0EtB5ecA23PTRjtDI2oyOcX4JcNa3g4Hi1xG9N_LLP96H/s1600/c25k+logo,jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi95v0xgndYp4HO75fSGIi3FNVPeqPkWfu5ir7u1sojmnds4YCddR4b0H2d4NgaGrPYCD4RlEiAzrBIy4MyvNRt2lNeDa9P4ri0EtB5ecA23PTRjtDI2oyOcX4JcNa3g4Hi1xG9N_LLP96H/s400/c25k+logo,jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My knee still suffers from the odd twinge and bending it at extreme angles and kneeling is still uncomfortable but its getting there. Some physio cream and ibuprofen do work wonders when it does start to flare up again but, I might need to get professional help in terms of assessing my running gait to see whether my footwear needs changing to better suit what my support my body/knee needs to avoid further injury. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hopefully by the time I’ve finished C25K I should be in a better position fitness and form wise to know which running programme I can pursue next in terms of whether I should continue taking it easy up to 10k or go straight onto a Half Marathon programme (both start at the end of C25K when running 30 minutes 3 times a week), but first things first, I’ll continue to focus and get C25K done and dusted.</span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-24709561872663045392013-04-13T02:25:00.001-07:002013-04-13T02:25:30.676-07:00No change<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Frustratingly there has been no change regarding my injury so I haven't run or done any exercise for a few months now. I've visited the Docs and a Physio at £40 a pop who stated the cause as Acute Infra Patella tendinitis but nothing really that they suggested has any real impact. It looks like I'm just going to have to play the waiting game.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did have a few glimpses last week that something might be happening with respect to healing so at the moment I am willing it to heal and hoping that it is starts to soon.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What ever happens, when I start back running, I will need to be very careful that I don't overdo anything. To that end, I will be most likely starting back using the Couch to 5k programme to ease my body back into running.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prior to that in May when my exams are complete and the weather is warmer I am aiming to get out a do a few walks as the Physio did say that walking on different terrains will help.</span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-83397848247483281582013-02-08T12:57:00.001-08:002013-02-08T14:14:44.484-08:00Not off to a good start...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not off to a good start this year. Hopes of competing in the Yeovil Half Marathon towards the end of March were dashed early into the New Year due to a reoccurring knee problem that I first blogged about in Nov, what I then thought was <a href="http://attheedgeofthewall.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/runners-knee.html" target="_blank">Runners Knee</a>. I had hoped the break over December and the Christmas period would have given me a good stab at returning to full health and running strength but, it soon flared up again as I started my 2nd week of training in the New Year. A trip to the quack this week after suffering for a further 4 weeks saw it diagnosed as Patellar Tendinitis (inflamed and irritated knee tendon).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hughston.com/hha/b_13_4_4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.hughston.com/hha/b_13_4_4a.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jumper's Knee</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking on the limited
bright side, at least its being problematic in the winter months…..as that wind
this week biting into my face on my light runs coupled with my lungs protesting as I hadn't done much running for a few weeks won’t be
missed much! I did manage a light 5km run this week but as I now know that continued
pounding will delay the healing process, I intend to cut running to a minimum
and focus on cycling, swimming and other low or no impact exercises to continue
building my core strength and strengthening my knee and quadriceps to hopefully
promote a speedy (no pun intended) recovery.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To limit the impact on my
knee in the running that I will be doing (mainly to and from the gym, less than
a mile each way), I've ditched my stability shoes as they may have contributed
to the knee trouble in the first place as they offered little in the way of
cushioning or support when pounding the pavements. I've now switched back to a pair
of cushioning shoes, the 2012 variant of my first proper pair of running shoes,
the ASICS Gel Cumulus (v14) in the hope that they will provide better support and
limit the impact on my knees when I start running proper again.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgec/8346155600/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Yeovil Preston Rd Chuch Path"><img alt="Yeovil Preston Rd Chuch Path" height="320" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8346155600_21a7af35d9_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Preston Road Church Path</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In over news, since I'm trying to take more photographs out and about when I'm running further than just to the gym, I now need to put my phone in my shorts pocket rather than using my armband. This way its a lot easier and quicker to take my phone out of my pocket still connected to my earphones and on the move than it is out of the armband. I was worried that I would notice the additional unsecured weight and the earphones cable would get in the way, but, I am actually preferring it to the armband at the moment as its less faff to set up and the earphones actually stay in my ear a lot better. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will have to keep my armband though as when a cold snap strikes which invariably it does in the UK, I will have to ditch the shorts and there is only a small pocket on my current leggings so no room for the phone!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgec/8457008352/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Nine Springs Saturation by edgec, on Flickr"><img alt="Nine Springs Saturation" height="320" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8523/8457008352_508f65e1ae_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Nine Springs Saturation Point</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've haven't done much running since my last blog, but I have managed to take a couple pictures which are featured in this blog that I'm happy with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-34656265310266212292013-01-01T09:47:00.003-08:002013-01-04T09:44:53.825-08:00New Year<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy New Year to all my readers, here's to another 12 months of running blogs. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well after a 3 week break recovering from my winter ills I completed my first run of 2013 today. Hopefully along with getting back to work this week I will be able to return to my normal routine of running around 3 times a week shortly. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year was a bit of a mixed bags in terms of running achievements that was littered will ills and injuries. My running highlight was probably the Yeovil Half Marathon back in March, an event that I hope to run (and walk) again this year although that will be my limit in terms of distance running as time available will be limited for a couple of years to come now that I am back in education hoping to achieve a Masters whilst still holding down the day job.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other than that aim, I don't think much more weight is going to come off me but I intend to carry on running with more cross training this year through cycling, swimming and golf when time permits. This will hopefully allow me to continue improving my fitness and hopefully tone away some of my more unflattering body parts such as my muffin top and to see whether I can reach my previous year's goal of fitting comfortably in 34" trousers. I'm about 2" off at present especially after excess Christmas and New Year consumption with little exercise. I'm holding off a Wii fit weigh in until I'm at least back running 3 times a week.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do intend on trying something different from this point on with my blog to try and evolve it by making it more interesting for both the reader and something else for me to think about and take my mind of the monotony and pain when I'm out running, mainly in Dorset and Somerset. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To that end, I will be aiming to merge my photography interest with running. I will be aiming to take photographs out and about and then include them in my blogs. I'm hoping that it will make my blogs more interesting for the reader whilst providing me with a great opportunity to have an occasional rest and improve my photography skills. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To start, the following picture was taken at about 9.20am this morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgec/8346873808/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="New Years Day Run by edgec, on Flickr"><img alt="New Years Day Run" height="400" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8364/8346873808_d59cd000b0_z.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, the camera I will be using isn't all that great (Iphone 3GS, 3mb) but I don't need a good camera to work on shot composition and creativity. I will add some effects like the one used in the photograph above in Flickr when uploading them to improve the overall look of the photographs if required to mask any compromises that I have had to make. </span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-53506539254907774902012-12-14T10:16:00.002-08:002012-12-14T10:20:37.834-08:00Running with Asthma<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Realistically, I'm not going to be running much more this year what with feeling and being under the weather therefore this is as good an opportunity as any to post my blog on Running with Asthma.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This blog aims to provide information to everyone but in particular asthmatics on
the importance of exercise, such as running, to improve fitness and hence ultimately
reduce the symptoms of asthma. Prior to
starting a programme of exercise, it is recommended that those with asthma
first consult their doctor to
determine whether running is an appropriate form of exercise to pursue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before examining what benefits exercise
such as running can offer asthmatics, it is important to first understand the
asthma condition which affects 5.4 million people in the UK. When triggered by an irritant, the airway
becomes inflamed and narrows, leading to symptoms
such as a tight chest, coughing, wheezing and breathlessness.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 1.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 1.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 1.0pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1pt 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If symptoms intensify and self-administered
medication fails to relieve the symptoms, an asthma attack may occur. In some cases hospital treatment is required to
bring the symptoms back under control. The
severity of asthma varies between sufferers, as does the triggers. For example, infections, cold air, allergies
and exercise are common asthma triggers. Common precautions to take when exercising will be discussed later to help
avoid triggering asthma symptoms. There
is no known cure for asthma therefore, in terms of managing the condition there
are a number of treatments available to help alleviate and prevent symptoms and attacks
from occurring. These include a
combination of medicines such as inhalers to dispense a drug, lifestyle adjustments
which include a healthy diet and exercise and the avoidance of known
triggers. Medicines usually consist of a
reliever to self-administer when symptoms occur, something to take prior to starting
to exercise in order to help relax and widen the airways and a preventer to
reduce future occurrences. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1pt 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 1pt 0cm;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Asthmatics are also taught a number
of breathing techniques to help manage their condition by varying the rate and
depth of breathing. These techniques can
then be used when exercising to help keep breathing under control. If breathing difficulties do arise and start
to trigger asthma symptoms, then it is likely that the sufferer will have to stop
the activity and use a combination of
breathing techniques and a reliever until breathing returns to normal and the symptoms
ease. It is therefore vital for
asthmatics to carry a reliever when exercising in case symptoms occur that
cannot be controlled by breathing techniques alone. Additionally, it is recommended that exposure
to known triggers is limited to prevent onset of symptoms. For example, if cold air is a trigger, then breathing
through the nose or via a scarf warms the air prior to its contact with the
airways and lungs. Similarly, if pollen or smog trigger symptoms, it is wise to
avoid exercising in high pollen areas or high volumes of traffic. Knowing when symptoms
begin to advance is important when exercising as it will allow the sufferer to
know whether the effort level needs to be adjusted, for example to run more
slowly to avoid symptoms developing to the point where intervention from a
reliever over and above the learned breathing techniques is required.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Exercise
is also required in part to control weight as obesity is believed to have an
adverse impact on asthma.
There are other exercise benefits for asthmatics in addition to those
already listed including improving fitness, boosting the immune system to avoid
respiratory infection triggers and the strengthening of breathing muscles. As
well as improving physical health, running can also improve self-belief through
the setting of targets and goals and help to relieve stress.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">There </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">are many benefits and reasons as to why asthmatics
should exercise. However, what benefits does running offer over other
activities such as walking, swimming and cycling, etc.? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">It generally depends on what the objectives of
the exercise are, for example if weight loss is a goal then running is better
for burning calories. There are various tables online which you can search for on </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Google</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> to compare different exercises. This will help you decide which exercise will help you achieve your goals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The benefits
of running include accessibility, as almost anyone can start running and from practically
anywhere, minimal cost, as gymnasium membership is not required, and it can
improve sleep, boost wellbeing and provide an opportunity to break away from
the daily routine. It is
recommended that stamina and fitness are developed gradually to allow the body
to steadily adapt to the new exercise regime.
To that end it is suggested that a tried and tested programme such as
the ‘Couch to 5k’ running programme is utilised with the aid of podcasts that provide
instructions and music to help motivation through the programmed runs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Exercise such as running can therefore
be considered as both a trigger of asthma symptoms and a method by which the
condition can be controlled as part of a healthy lifestyle. Once the sufferer
has learned how to overcome the symptoms of asthma and to manage the condition
correctly when exercising, anything should be achievable as demonstrated by the
athlete and marathon runner Paula Radcliffe who has suffered from asthma all
her life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further study on this topic in the
future will examine the downsides to running, further detailed examination of
the benefits associated with running and the advantages of cross training.</span><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wish all my readers a <b>Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year</b>. Lets see what 2013 will bring. Hopefully some warmer weather and a longer period of injury/illness free time than 2012 so I can actually run.</i></div>
</div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-68194864084041362972012-11-12T09:40:00.001-08:002012-11-12T09:40:08.299-08:00Runner's Knee<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Unfortunately, I find myself facing
another injury this year and the</span> biggest challenge since I
starting running just over 2 years ago. If my self diagnosis is correct, which
from looking at the symptoms I can’t think it could be anything else then it
seems that I am suffering from runner’s knee. It started to play up 2 weekends
prior and progressively got worse last week. I haven’t run again and I wasn't exactly running a lot before, averaging around 10 miles a week so I’m not quite
sure what caused it. However, from examining the causes that can lead to the
issue, I need to consider whether my running shoes were a factor in that they
may have gone beyond their mileage resulting in a reduced cushioning performance
which may have translated into higher impact on my knees. In fact they can't be as I've only done about 330 miles in them since Mar 13. The following sites
provide some further information on the problem if interested.<span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/beating-injury/bodyworks-runners-knee/229.html">http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/beating-injury/bodyworks-runners-knee/229.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.marathon-training-guides.com/runners-knee.html">http://www.marathon-training-guides.com/runners-knee.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/199726-exercises-to-help-runners-knee/">http://www.livestrong.com/article/199726-exercises-to-help-runners-knee/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">It’s extremely frustrating and depressing,
as the weather has improved and it hasn’t been raining but, now it looks like
I’m going to hav</span>e to avoid running on it for a while to give it
the bes<span style="color: black;">t chance of recovery. That
means all my fitness is going to disappear and when I do start running again, my
asthma is going to make it unpleasant for a while until my body gets back in the
swing of things. Until then I need to do something that at least gives me a
fighting chance of maintaining some of my fitness and to ensure that I don’t
start piling on the pounds, especially with Christmas just around the corner and
another week away at Lancaster University early in December scoffing hotel food
and drink.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I
need to get a new routine up and running (no pun intended) if I am to stick at
it. Thankfully, I have access to a cheap gym therefore I think swimming is my
only option and leg/core strengthening exercises at the moment. So, I’m going
to leave it a whole week of rest, then aim to start on
Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Monday Update:</b>
Started today on my new regime; jogged slowly to the pool (about 1 mile), swam
for about 20 minutes continuously, got bored, ran back to work, some chest
tightness as expected but, no adverse knee pain to speak of yet but only time
will tell. If all goes swimmingly (no pun intended), will continue with this
routine tomorrow and then Thursday. If all goes ok, I might alternate with
cycling and other low impact activities before I gradually start to build up my
running fitness again. The short runs to and from the gym will also help with
this.</span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-37825768787903396502012-11-01T07:01:00.001-07:002012-11-01T07:01:22.391-07:00Nights drawing in<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the arrival of darker nights following the clock change and winter temperatures, one of the negatives of running in a running club at 6.30 pm has come
to light (or not as the case may be). To that end I will decide each week throughout the winter as to whether I prefer to see where I’m going albeit on my own at run lunchtimes or whether I run with others in the club, but in complete darkness
with poor street lighting and glare from car lights and reflections. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I won't be able to completely avoid running in darkness this winter though as when I am working on my post graduate study at Lancaster University, the only time I can fit a run in is after 6 pm as I don't do early morning runs especially in the winter when there is a high chance of ice or slippery conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other than that, my running has been pretty steady since my last blog update, averaging between 8 and 12 miles a week depending on whether I manage 2 or 3 runs in a week. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because of my study I have introduced some new routes into my routine when away studying. One particular route, involved a long climb to a wind turbine but was rewarded with views to Blackpool Tower and illuminations in the distance on the way back down, even the path of the M6 carving through the Lancashire countryside below looked serene in failing light. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately I didn't stop to take a photo but will endeavour to include more in the future.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-53678774597138150452012-09-20T10:05:00.001-07:002012-09-21T06:26:03.027-07:00What a week!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did mean to publish this blog when I hit the 200 workout mark on Endomondo however, that number has somehow surged to 239 workouts in a blink of an eye or in my case month since March 2011 (1097 miles in total, 0.0044 times around the world - nearly there :lol:)! Commuting to work once a week by Bike has helped the workout numbers surge as that counts as two workouts; one there and one back :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVg-38jS1F9fQOce206y_ofNoW1QA6DHgassylt3dcqh-DPNIXYkyfnQtrt9Sr_N63zaEaLXXQ6inlMZvYZJ2uALeyi_Y8pj6hB2rXmwBWVPhrSaRADbRVrLG-QsYcPgi_gppfDyHFfsD/s1600/endomondo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVg-38jS1F9fQOce206y_ofNoW1QA6DHgassylt3dcqh-DPNIXYkyfnQtrt9Sr_N63zaEaLXXQ6inlMZvYZJ2uALeyi_Y8pj6hB2rXmwBWVPhrSaRADbRVrLG-QsYcPgi_gppfDyHFfsD/s320/endomondo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, moving on...this week has been great in terms of exercise despite losing my 2 year old running partner to another country at the start of the week (...and what's wrong with the weather in this country!?...oh, oh right!) who usually made at least one of my runs each week more bearable. Running Club thankfully does now help fill that gap.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving on again, this week I wanted to get my running mileage back up to around the 15 mile mark but, have actually achieved 16.96 miles with a long run of 7+ miles today, my longest non stop run in nearly 12 months! In addition to the runs, I also completed two cycling workouts (1 commute) totalling 13.91 miles. If the calculations are correct (it's good to hope), then the Endomondo website reports that I have burned near on 4000 calories this week alone...34" waist here I come......that was until I scoffed some of my favourite chocolate...Lindt Lindor that my wife bought me today as its our Anniversary and the excess food that I'm about to consume out celebrating....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UJfOiQfoZQDua3GcImPUDRDfrFw0PtvqLSRTNOVLs_z2C-041x3zpk0WrfD_7Y1YWjeCAqqOHMlESRS3o3Lnlc5MRtoGbCEJ1SMqP2baOxe_MxW-6RTGeEE9JU4i0ANQCq2agrzgcpB0/s1600/Lindor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0UJfOiQfoZQDua3GcImPUDRDfrFw0PtvqLSRTNOVLs_z2C-041x3zpk0WrfD_7Y1YWjeCAqqOHMlESRS3o3Lnlc5MRtoGbCEJ1SMqP2baOxe_MxW-6RTGeEE9JU4i0ANQCq2agrzgcpB0/s320/Lindor.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also this week, I have finally made the step back to an Apple iPhone (albeit an older 3GS model as it was what I wanted and could reasonably afford). It also fits in my running armband to so bonus, no new accessories required! Although I think the Android Operating system has come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years; music management or lack of is where it lets the side down. Most of all with Apple, I like being able to rate songs (on a 5* scale) when I'm listening to them </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(apart from when I'm running to them that is :lol:)</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and then syncing back to iTunes to help me form smarter playlists that may help improve my running playlists; something that in my opinion works best on Apple's software at the moment. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuuD4AuHIICT_U7_x-g5D5cjN3CXgr2YshEN7IBmZAoLh0bFtualOH5ga0ay4CjGnz3Wn4HawsSSyHOkQG7K0RXot39Ifl0Hte835HrX7Ua1QA6saDxsJH7hhV9WTdoZ3E-qF-sAIqOkP/s1600/android-vs-ios.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuuD4AuHIICT_U7_x-g5D5cjN3CXgr2YshEN7IBmZAoLh0bFtualOH5ga0ay4CjGnz3Wn4HawsSSyHOkQG7K0RXot39Ifl0Hte835HrX7Ua1QA6saDxsJH7hhV9WTdoZ3E-qF-sAIqOkP/s320/android-vs-ios.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Considering my 2nd hand iPhone 3GS doesn't have as good specifications and is a year older in terms of when it was released than my Android albeit budget handset, its amazing how much more slicker, smoother and faster the whole Apple experience is. I j</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ust need a faster computer now to be able to cope better with iTunes because it does run slowly on my 6+ year old computer....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Things may change with what Android and Windows will offer in the future and I will revisit the competition if they introduce similar music management systems that can rival iTunes and Apple's software, but at the moment I'm glad to be back with an iPod/IPhone. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only downside I can see at the moment, is that you can't get Andoku Sudoku for iOS but, I'm hoping I can find something in the app store which is close enough :).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From my statistics, by the time I post my next blog, I would have run over 200 times since Mar 11 and covered a distance of around 825 miles.</span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-88099264244046659772012-09-02T06:59:00.000-07:002012-09-02T06:59:44.594-07:00Mixing it Up<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last 30 days or so has seen me record 16 miles of walking, 22 miles of running and 66 miles of cycling. I'm still trying to work out when to throw the odd swimming and gym session into the mix to complete the set! And most importantly, I need to find some time to play golf as it has seriously been neglected so far this year and I'm not exactly expecting great things from my last two society games of the season, although in my defence we haven't exactly had the weather for it!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynel6YycKc4rsszKvgUIAURCHgzcpjX1Fgaw0EFzMayMB5V249daC8LZM3vlQhV0Pd0V-lAaaj_vJEua1dDQWrgMLA-V8-QGhFntWWGosA7K7i8pJj5ItWss39fWFTZO_csTpPnNdwmPP/s1600/Golf+underwater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynel6YycKc4rsszKvgUIAURCHgzcpjX1Fgaw0EFzMayMB5V249daC8LZM3vlQhV0Pd0V-lAaaj_vJEua1dDQWrgMLA-V8-QGhFntWWGosA7K7i8pJj5ItWss39fWFTZO_csTpPnNdwmPP/s320/Golf+underwater.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The running mileage is down for the month, but I missed two running club sessions mainly due to our summer Holiday which I intentionally went on without my running gear, but to compensate I did manage to do some walks...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJb-2C6AkX2ngSGZ01Wf7war3xf5Ox0gNK__oniPFGQUhhjH61n1RZtkc9i1_rNPH3BOa11xhudmdFu-nifXqU3FdMmXHHoY4Zc7wAc4XEwINd94zZMGemyLRjhj8vA9sL9KAAR7AB-ftj/s1600/P8211666p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJb-2C6AkX2ngSGZ01Wf7war3xf5Ox0gNK__oniPFGQUhhjH61n1RZtkc9i1_rNPH3BOa11xhudmdFu-nifXqU3FdMmXHHoY4Zc7wAc4XEwINd94zZMGemyLRjhj8vA9sL9KAAR7AB-ftj/s320/P8211666p.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I clocked up a lot of cycling miles this month my bike has pretty much been condemned by the specialists so I'm not sure how much further its going to get me. I spent more on new parts for it this month than what I originally bought it for to try and make the riding position more comfortable and that was before I was quoted an eye watering £85 to get the gears into better working order (almost twice what the bike originally cost me from ebay!).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So enough is enough, I'll try and eek out its usefulness for as long as I can, hopefully giving me enough time to decide whether its an activity I want to continue with and therefore enough time to save up for a replacement! In addition to this, I will be continuing to run, hopefully upping my running to pre holiday mileage and trying to add more gym/pool work into my fitness regime to shed the last few pounds and inches around my waist whilst still finding time for some golf before winter sets in!</span></div>
cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-28910444107532982592012-08-01T09:09:00.000-07:002012-08-01T09:09:15.640-07:00Not for Me<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been running now for nearly 2 years; in that time I have slowly built up from 0 to 5k, 10k and half marathon distances with the latter being the most difficult in terms of requiring the most energy, focus, motivation, will power and raw determination to complete. I have come to the conclusion following a long run last week that I always struggle to muster the required motivation or focus for the longer runs. Yes, I'm sure if I persevere it will come, but the bottom line is that I simply do not enjoy running for long distances enough to warrant me continuing on with my current plan of reaching the Marathon distance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a bit </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">disappointed</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that I didn't reach the full marathon distance but I can already feel the pressure that I felt I was under lifting. I can no divert more time, energy and focus into hobbies that I currently enjoy more including golf, walking, cycling and photography.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what
about running? I fully intend to continue running and I’m now looking forward
to returning to more enjoyable and relaxing distances (10k and under) without
the pressure of a plan. I am also looking forward to adding some variation /
cross training now that our work has access to the local gym and swimming pool
at a vastly reduced rate. I will also try to get back in the saddle of my bike
to add some further variation. These activities and training elements moving
forward should enable me to maintain my fitness, loose some more weight (aiming
for a comfortable 34” waist, currently at 36”), improve my core strength which
still feels weak since by back injury earlier in the year and to enter the odd
race up to and including the half marathon distance with the aim of beating my
Personal Bests. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
always, I’ll keep updating this Blog with my progress and experiences as I
go.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-32287049961629390542012-07-09T11:22:00.000-07:002012-07-09T11:22:56.499-07:00Final Attempt<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every
time lately, no sooner that I start feeling positive about my running, I end up
feeling injured again afterwards which has put doubts into my mind as to whether
my current goal of reaching </span><st1:place style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" w:st="on">Marathon</st1:place><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> distance
for me is attainable. To that end I've decided that if I can’t do it this time
for whatever reason, then I will be more than content to return to distances
under 13.1 miles knowing that these better match/suit my natural ability and fitness
levels.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To that
end, I’ve settled on another of Jeff Galloways plan which I have adapted (see
below) to fit in with my preferred running schedule. To determine where I
should start, I pushed myself last week and managed 11 miles which sees me slot
onto week 5 of the adapted plan to commence this week more or less. All runs
less than 60 minutes will be run in their entirety as per normal and longer runs
will be completed using <st1:place w:st="on">Galloway</st1:place>’s Run-Walk-Run
technique. The exception to this rule is running club runs on Tuesday evening
as I enjoy these runs the most and the distances run on these days will
determine how far I want to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: medium none; text-align: justify;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Week
No.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tues<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wed<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thu/Fri<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sat/Sun<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5
miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">13
miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" valign="top" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 mi
MM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" valign="top" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">15
miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 x 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">17
miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>11</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" valign="top" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 x 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>12</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" valign="top" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 mi
MM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>13</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">20
miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>14</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">40
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8 x 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>15</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" valign="top" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 mi
MM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>16</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" valign="top" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">23
miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>17</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">10 x
1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>18</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 mi
MM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.55pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>19</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">45
min<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">26
miles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; padding-bottom: 0pt; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0pt; width: 61.6pt;" width="82"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Walk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So
there we go, my final plan laid bare to see whether I can go the distance.
Regardless of the outcome, I am looking forward to redirecting the energy and
time used to up my running mileage in the last 12-18 month to my other leisurely
and more enjoyable hobbies that I have neglected as well as continuing with just
maintenance and running club runs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After all, I’m almost at my target weight
and size so I just need to continue maintaining fitness and building core
strength to help minimise future back and neck related injuries which have
dogged me this year. </span></div>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-70529840621954786392012-06-24T08:51:00.000-07:002012-06-24T08:51:12.621-07:00Getting somewhere...<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">Right, after another </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;">osteopath</span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> session and no more serious injury issues I feel like </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">I'm</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> getting back into things a little better again despite feeling inadequate when running in the wrong group at my local running club this week. When suddenly your running the fastest mile you've run this year...you know that your in the wrong group and that pace over anything more than 1 miles is unsustainable! </span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">It's a shame because even when I dropped back to a slower group, they were still gunning it a little too much for my liking. I hope this was just a blip and normal club support services resume next week as it was </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">certainly</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> the hardest run I've done in a while and I could have done without the fastest mile segment at the start which I might as well use for my most recent Magic Mile. It took me quite a lot out of my legs and I didn't feel like running for the rest of the week!</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I still want to try and
get up to full marathon distance this year and I'm looking at attempting some longer runs shortly to try and get back into routine. I've </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">actually</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> walked further the last two weekends then I've run for sometime so hopefully that work will help keeping me upright for longer when I attempt longer runs.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I still intend to
use the <st1:place w:st="on">Galloway</st1:place> walk break technique for the
longer runs and the running club follows a similar technique with regular short stops to
regroup which suits my style of
running and helps me to enjoy them much better as they feel less of a
slog!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Then if all goes well, I can start introducing some core </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">strength</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> exercises into my routine and perhaps some cycling commutes when the weather improves. This week I'm looking at starting back at Week 15 on the Galloway programme but I will attempt the long run </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">with the view of just seeing what I can do. For this I'll plan a long 14 mile route but will ensure that if I'm struggling that there are opportunities to bail out if required.</span></div>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-66320197018603937152012-06-05T05:09:00.003-07:002012-06-05T05:09:30.557-07:00I was almost back!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pun intended. </span>I<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ts been almost 4 weeks since my last blog and I haven't posted as I didn't want to tempt fate as I was doing OK. My fitness was improving albeit slowly and although my flexibility was still limited I was returning to some kind of normality by running 2 to 3 times a week and certainly last weeks runs had pushed the distance covered north of 4 miles which was the longest I had run since doing my back in. I even attended a local organised running club run this week as I was up for trying something new to improve variety and motivation. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was all going so well then for no reason whatsoever, I could feel something wasn't quite right with my back on Sunday...a weakness, a twinge and then on the Monday and Tuesday its been much worse. I've been keeping mobile but its just so frustrating!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm hoping its just going to be another blip and it won't keep me out of this game for too much longer as its been hard enough as it is to get back into a routine and I was almost there!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm planning a trip to the Osteopath soon which may help to speed up the recovery this time around and then promise myself that if I feel any twinges or issues with my flexibility/mobility over the coming weeks to go back despite the cost as it may keep another relapse away and give me enough time to recover some much needed core strength!</span></div>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-47572033030557518252012-05-03T12:40:00.003-07:002012-05-03T12:40:43.554-07:00Hopes of a quick return to fitness dashed!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">My back </span><span style="font-size: 15px;">wasn't</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> getting any better without
running and as I needed to regain my fitness and start building up some more
core strength I decided to start running again this week…slowly. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Monday (1<sup>st</sup> run) – It was OK however, no matter what I tried I just could not run slow. However, when I stopped I realised everything wasn’t OK as my chest was extremely
tight and I had to use my puffer to help my breathing return to normal. This was expected though as it was my first run/exercise for over 4 weeks. My back didn’t seem to problematic either as long as I kept
sharp turns and inclines to a minimum.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Wednesday (2<sup>nd</sup> run) – This was
different…breathing seemed easier and my back felt better but, my legs felt dead
and it was a struggle to keep them moving. Chest was tight on stopping but, not
as bad as Monday’s run. Too hot for a long sleeve top now
though when the Sun makes a rare appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Thursday (3<sup>rd</sup> run) – Prior to
the run, back didn’t feel quite right but my breathing and legs felt normal…but
unfortunately as soon as I started trying to run my back wasn’t playing ball. I could feel my Back locking and
Jarring after every stride and impact with the payment or with the grass verges making continuing extremely uncomfortable/painful. So to avoid damaging
my back further, I turned back and when I had finished I had barely managed a
mile. At least it was a slow mile….<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So there we have it, that’s 4+ weeks now
with back trouble and no real let up, even sitting down and typing this is painful at times! The hope of being able to get back to normal has been dashed
before it even began! I’ll now leave it until Tuesday and if there is no
improvement after a rest then I think it will be a trip back to the Osteopath
for further treatment. Here's hoping for some improvement soon... </span><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8341753295334941845.post-20092772565517809362012-04-22T11:07:00.001-07:002012-04-23T09:51:18.150-07:00Frustratingly, no change!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back from holiday, back to work and still I'm off running thanks to my back and other injuries. I had hoped to restart running this week, but that is now a distant memory after what appears to be a relapse. I visited my Osteopath last week and after a couple of days things seemed to be heading in the right direction but then another injury appeared and then just to add more misery my back pain and lack of mobility came back with a vengence. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Considering I ran a Half Marathon last month, I can't believe I'm not running after the great half marathon I ran last month @ <a href="http://attheedgeofthewall.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/yeovil-half-marathon-race-report.html" target="_blank">Yeovil</a> - No fun at all when I'm itching to start running again. I've even had to pull out of a work Golf society match that was planned for Friday!</span></div>cedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14149087606490828448noreply@blogger.com0