Too Hot for running...

....damn this Hot weather.  I must be the only one in the country today who’s wishing this hot weather would just go away!  I left for my long run today at around 12.40pm......big mistake!  

The sun had its chance and it failed over summer, now buzz off and let those training for a Half Marathon get back to not feeling like they are going to die after what should have been a fairly straight forward 6 miles at my planned half marathon race pace.  So much for supposedly being fit enough to do another 6 miles afterwards!  I was lucky enough to keep on running and not stop at the 4/5 mile point as by then the heat had burned away all of my motivation and boredom set in.  I was running with someone therefore I had no music or other distractions to fall back on, no idea how I managed to reach the end!

However as I started to recover after lunch and a lot of water....on reflection apart from the heat (which hopefully will be gone by next Sunday), it was a good solid run at a good pace, slightly too fast but when running without headphones/with someone else it was difficult to pick up on my lap times which normally would allow me to adjust my pace to suit.  Despite how tired I felt I still feel ready for next week’s half marathon as long as normal weather service is resumed ASAP…else I will be in deep trouble!

Other news in week 12 of the plan...completed a 48 minute (4.4 miles) recovery run on Monday, followed by a 42 minute tempo run on Tuesday (4.2 miles) and a 30 minute Cross training swimming session on Wednesday.  I used to swim every week but even 30 minutes was enough this time although the environment was much better as I paid the extra 25p the visit the more modern swimming pool this time around.

So as a round up, that’s Week 12 complete, 1 week to go ending on the Half Marathon next Sunday (gulp!) where I haven't gone for sponsorship this time around, a percentage of the proceeds from the entry fee do go towards the Fire Fighter charity.

...still no real clue as to what training plan I will be following after next weeks race other than resting!

Lets play Tag!

As a way to sort the different types of Blogs I intend to publish on this site I have tried to set up functionality within this software to basically 'label' or in more familiar terms 'tag' my Blogs.

The tagged Blogs are posts that I have deemed to be either just Useful Information like this post, a Race Report, Reviews on running equipment/clothing, Features on a particular running topic or just Blogs containing Links to sites with a description on how they have helped my running.  These Blogs can be accessed under the 'TAGS' list on the right hand side.

At any time you can return to the home page by clicking on the 'At the Edge of the Wall' title at the top of each page.

Down and right back up again!

This running lark is a real roller-coaster.  Completed week 11 today of my slightly stretched training programme of 13 weeks which will get me to Race Day, which is now only 16 days away (I don't think I'll report it like that in the future, I'll say....approx. 2 weeks away instead!).


I feel like I have finished on a high this week, a 7.5 mile route with quite a few hills thrown in for good measure including a particularly nasty hill after only 1 mile where I had to climb approx 200ft and my average pace including the short walk out of work was where I want it to be on race day (around 11 min/mile).  All this with the aim to try and get more accustomed to running hills when I least expect them in preparation for the race which I will be running blind.

I'm doing it this way so hopefully when I'm running in the race, all the scenery will be new for me so hopefully it will keep me interested/motivated on race day.  When I'm running in the race I'll probably be cursing the hills and blaming me for not driving the route before booking the race, oh well you live and learn....


At the end of the run today, I actually experienced a fleeting moment (didn't last long) where I felt ready for the race in 16 days approx. 2 weeks; that's the first time I have felt that since running the 12 miles/booking the race last week.  


According to my programme I am now in the tapering period; a time of recovery and preparation for the race with the aim of keeping the gains I have made over the past 11 weeks, whilst ensuring that my body has time to recover before the race.


One thing I have noticed in the last couple of runs is that my running shoes don't feel as comfy/springy after approx. 320 miles and 5 months...

...so it looks like I'm going to have to struggle through until after the race with shoes which are wearing out as it's a bad time to try and 'run' in a new pair in time for the race.

Motivation in Crisis!

Rapidly losing the motivation to run/finish runs at the moment.  I'm not sure whether it’s the current 1/2 marathon training programme (less than 3 weeks left), the same old running routes or the prospect of winter runs that are fast approaching.  Whatever the cause, unless I manage to overcome it, running for 13.1 miles on race day in less than 3 weeks time might be a tad difficult!

I tried to stem the loss of motivation by attempting a Fartlek session today to try and break up my running and to also to try and make running more ‘fun’. Farlek translates to 'Speed Play' in its original/native Swedish tongue so I hoped it would be the variety I need to make motivation not an issue in some of my speed sessions but I'm not sure whether I enjoyed it as I prefer a bit more structure to my runs. I'm going to have to look at this type of session in my next programme to see how I can make it work/more enjoyable.

I have also taken it upon myself to investigate joining a gym/leisure centre to introduce more variety in my routines and to enable me to train in a controlled (read warmer) atmosphere rather than in upcoming freezing winter & wet conditions.  Downside with these sessions like swimming, is that I won't be able to track the sessions on Endomondo, but I should hopefully see improvements in the remaining outside runs that I do complete as cross training should improve my aerobic fitness and hopefully tone up some areas of my body that have yet to see the full benefit of my weight loss from running.

I’m still unsure as to what to do post the current programme despite what I manage to achieve on race day i.e. if I have to walk some of the way, then so be it although it would be a bonus to manage a consistent 13.1 run!

I’m at the stage where I am not that keen on running for long periods of time (more than 6/7 miles) as I get bored even when listening to music, but somehow a Marathon might appeal, so I may look at adopting a Jeff Galloway approach to this training to see how I get on.  This technique, introduces a run/walk routine which enables faster recovery during and post runs and can improve speed/running durations.  My only concern if I go down this route is that I would lose the ability of consistent running which I have managed to get to 12 miles so far in the current programme and the sense of accomplishment that I get when I do complete a run composed of all running which I’m not sure I would get if I run/walk however it may improve my motivation/performance so it might be worth it...

That's enough of motivational images for now... If anyone has any comments, suggestions or inspirations that I may benefit from, please feel free to add them through this blog, reply with a tweet or if you must as a last resort via Facebook.

Wall Broken...

...more like smashed for this run, Hurrah!.  Pace was faster and more consistent throughout; around 11 min/mile, I didn't get any stitches and I ran for the full 12 miles!

Firstly, the rest of the week.  Good runs on Sunday and Monday but the pressure was always going to be on yesterdays long run.  Completed a cross training activity of swimming on Wednesday in a manky local public swimming pool.  Don’t thnk I will be making a return visit any time soon - there's nothing worse then stepping into a dingy, dark, crowded and warm pool.

The route I ran yesterday was much flatter than the last long run I did.  I walked up the first hill and then started running from the top (12 miles continuous running from that point).  The conditions were good for most of the run (started earlier in the day so it was cooler to begin with) and I felt that my energy levels were OK as I didn't start taking on fluids until about 40 minutes in.  The run though was far from easy though as I expected; it was as hard in some places as the infamous run as there was more pressure on me to succeed this time around.  


The run was fairly enjoyable up until I passed the wall and my longest run completed prior (7 and 8.4 miles respectively) but from then onwards my will power / motivation rapidly deteriorated and it became very challenging and exhausting to keep my mind and body on the task at hand.


It helped that I passed through some lovely countryside in this run, especially at the start and through a country park at about the 9-10 mile point which helped to distract my mind from the noises my groaning legs were making up until the aroma of the sewage treatment plant hit my nostrils and I became back to reality with a thud knowing that I was still 3 miles away from the finish and back on to familiar running routes which turned my mind back to boredom and the motivational difficulties started up again.  

At this point I was concerned that any pauses/breaks in my running rhythm i.e. to cross the upcoming busy roads would mean the end of my run and up until the last few hundred metres this Blog could still have been titled 'Failed Again' but seeing the finish line helped my mind to focus and allow me to finish the run in style with my fastest mile of the day!  


Now that I've finished and my body is aching (thighs mainly) I'm not sure whether I enjoy the longer runs as much as the shorter distances due to the issues of motivation/boredom and the feelings they leave me with afterwards.  When I finished yesterday I felt really rubbish for a good hour afterwards; dizziness, light-headedness, seeing stars, etc. were the norm especially the first 10 minutes after I had stopped running.

I need to look into avoiding these issues in the future; pre and run food/fluid consumption could be to blame.  Pre run, I had breakfast as normal, I choose grape nuts as I thought it would give me more energy but I'm never going to eat them again, they were disgusting and although they stated they were naturally sweet I couldn't tell!  Then in work at around 7.30-8.00 I had a cereal bar followed by an apple and then about 30 minutes before my run I had about a pint of squash.  I went out at about 9.30 with about 600ml of water containing a sports drink tablet.  Post run I had a normal lunch straight away (sandwich, crisps, cereal bar and apple), about 3-4 pints of squash and a birthday donut from someone in the office.  After about an hour sweating despite a refreshing shower in my seat I started to feel better......until the aches that I'm really feeling today started to creep in anyway!


The end is now in sight for this running programme which I am determined to finish.  No more runs over 6 miles until race day (now booked) which is about 3 weeks away, so until then I will be on taper weeks to reduce my mileage to allow my body to fully recover and prepare for the race and final run of the programme.   

One plus on race day is that I won't have to lug around water with me as there will be water stations so it will be interesting to see what affect that has on my running.  After today's consistent pacing and result I will be looking to run at a similar pace during the race, aiming to complete the 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours 30 minutes.


However, unless I have a good run and I manage to find more motivation from somewhere at the latter stages of the race to help keep my mind on track I intend to switch back to shorter distances (less than 10 miles) for the foreseeable future as I seem to be able to cope better, enjoy these runs more and recover from them faster.

Someone Has Soiled the Air!

That's week 9 (out of 12) of my Half Marathon Training Programme done and dusted with a final run of 5 miles completed earlier today (approx 19 miles completed this week) which was good and solid but didn't fill me with great confidence about more than doubling that distance next week and there was a little something in the air today that made the run interesting....

In preparation for my 12 mile (gulp) run next Friday I went out in my run today looking for inspiration for a flatter route then the one I attempted during the run that won't be named again last Friday.  It was flat for 2.5 miles and then I had to turn around as my run today was only 5 miles.


The final 12 mile route will need a bit of fine tuning over the next few days which i'll do on Runkeeper where you can create routes and examine the profile i.e. is it flat, but early indications seem to show that it will be flatter then the one I attempted last Friday (phew).


Once the route is sorted, I just have to hope for better weather conditions.  I know a lot of people are holding on to the hope of an Indian summer before Winter arrives, but for running longish distances I much prefer cooler weather with a hint of moisture in the air if possible!  Similar to Swimming, when I do go for a session, I like getting into a cold pool and then warm us as I get going.


Back to the air.....the route today and the longer route next week takes me very close to a local sewage treatment plant, so it will be interesting to see whether my Pace stays the same during that segment next Friday.  Again, depending on conditions, the sites aroma could end up lasting a good chunk of my run, a clothes peg might be in order.

A couple of years ago this wouldn't have been a problem but following an operation to fix some problems in my nose 2 years ago, which slightly improved my non-existent taste and smell, something that further improves when out running didn't really do me much favours today.


Update 10 Sep - Wii Fit says I've lost a further 3lb this morning from the same time last week.  I've set a new goal now to get down to the middle of the BMI Ideal range, only another 14lb to go.

Why I started running?

So why and where did it all start for me?  I would have to say I decided to start running at our holiday in the Peak District at the end of July 2010. This is how I looked then (click to enlarge and ignore the closed eyes!):

Ever since I gave up regular swimming (it got boring and expensive) about 15 years ago, I would say my weight had been a pretty consistent 16.5 - 17 stone despite some feeble efforts over the years to cut down what I eat (what can I say...I have a sweet tooth!).


Up until our holiday in the Peaks, my wife who began swimming a few years previous had also started running early that year which accelerated her weight loss.


This got me thinking and after a few days of walking on some excellent running friendly trails in the Peaks, I thought that when I get back, I would have a crack at running too, specifically the Couch to 5K (C25K) training programme that my wife used to successfully ease her into regular running to see whether it would work for me as according to my BMI, I was overweight so some weight loss wouldn't go unnoticed.  


I also hoped that running would help me to boost my aerobic fitness, to further help me cope with my asthma which is something in addition to my dodgy knees and back that I thought would stop me from running.  In a way asthma helped me from the start as it over the years it has taught me to keep my breathing under control! 

Problem starting running though was that I'm not much of a 'sports' person and I was never exactly first choice back in school for sports, more like last and I always struggled to finish even the smaller field events so what hope at running would an overweight, unfit and asthmatic person with an aversion to physical exercise have?

The initial training programme (C25K) and the podcasts that I downloaded to help follow the programme were excellent and frankly I don't think I could of started or finished without them....13 months down the line, I am now on my 3rd training programme (half marathon), i'm still enjoying running regularly, I'm now in the ideal BMI range (according to Wii Fit) after losing 3 stone, my clothes size has gone down from XL to L/M and my 38" waist jeans now feel loose after I had started to stretch the bounds of 40" trousers prior to starting running.  


In addition to the exercise, I haven't really cut down on food massively but running almost makes you look more responsibly about what you eat as you don't want to flush all the hard work down the drain.  If anything, I do look more closely at and try to avoid is food/drinks with a high sugar content apart from jelly sweets, chocolate and Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream which is excluded from this scutiny!.  


Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog, this is how I look now (well 1 week ago when the picture was taken - click to enlarge!):

Please check back in a couple of days for my next published blog.

Second run after the wall...

...Okay, I'll stop with these types titles after this Blog :)


Did a 55 minute tempo run today (20 minutes warm up followed my 20 minutes at a tempo pace with a further 10-15 minutes to cool down).  Pushed it a little today after my better run yesterday gave me some confidence back and managed to get to 5 miles before finishing my session today in 54 minutes.  My breathing was also under control almost immediately and I felt much more comfortable and stronger today although the tempo was tough in places, I managed a much better pace overall bringing 5km under 30 minutes (average 10:27 min/mile including as always my pre and post run walk to warm up/cool down).


Stay tuned, I hope to publish a Blog on 'Why I started running' this week.

First run since the Wall

Couldn't sleep last night probably due to worry about doing this run, so unusually I woke up before 8.00am on a Sunday (stupid).  I found that I needed to just get up and go straight out while my mind was focused on completing this run to try and move past Friday's disaster and build my confidence back up and get back on track with my running programme.  

I don't normally like running at the weekend or in the mornings but felt after a few weeks in of my current plan (Bupa) that I needed to space the 4 sessions throughout the week better to allow for enough rest between sessions for my body to recover.

My aim for today's run was simples, put in a good, solid and consistent performance whilst putting Friday's long troubled run behind me.  I chose a route that took me back to my 'running roots' so that I didn't have to think too much about where to go next.  An added bonus was that it was all down hill on the way back.  Shame that this involved going up a steady hill to begin with which is what finally stopped me on Friday, so it was important for me this time around to overcome.

My plan said a 40 minute recovery/easy run but I knew because of Friday that today's run would be anything but easy and for the 1st mile I was absolutely right.

As of late, it seems to be at the top of my thighs 'the groin area' that has been where my worst aches have been (I have started stretching this area in my pre run routine) and boy could I feel them this morning when I set off.  Weather was completely different to Friday, misty rain and much cooler apart from when the Sun appeared, which luckily wasn't until I had finished running today. 

I began by walking for a few minutes past busy traffic and roads and out onto the beginning of a relatively quiet country road (picture above), I think I saw about 2 cars once I started running ignoring those that were parked obviously.  This short couple minutes of walking before hand helps me to warm my body up and help me to focus (psyching myself up) before starting the same old pavement pounding routine (more tarmac than pavement this time around).

It took me a while to settle (1-2 miles) into the resemblance of a routine, partly through some aching, worry that I would just stop like I did on Friday and trying for what seemed like ages to get my breathing under control, which as an asthmatic is quite important for me to do as soon as I can.

Once my breathing came under control, I did start to relax, settle into a consistent pace (much better then in Friday's long run) and enjoy being out despite the misty rain outlook.  My music was also helping me to relax (my new earphones are great - MEElectronics M11+) and get into a routine as its rare these days that I run on my own and listen to music as I tend to run in a group/partnership during the week (I intend to revisit this subject in a later Blog, examining my experience so far of running on my own versus running with others).

Once in this state of mind, I felt much stronger in my running and managed to reach the 4 mile marker in a good time considering the recovery nature of this run, slightly more distance/time than was required in today's run but I felt compelled/comfortable to reach before I slowed down to a walk (as I always do) near home to help me cool down and then finished with a stretching routine (another subject that I hope to cover in future blogs).  I did nearly came a cropper/lose my precarious momentum at the 3 mile point when I slipped on some wet mud so a tip for beginners is to avoid running in the rain on mud and also anything metal i.e. drain covers/grills that farmers and road designers like to put at the edge of roads where we all like to run!

As a minimum I intend to summarise my runs each week in my Blog to help me track my progress in addition to the cold hard statistics and figures that endomondo keeps safe for me.


So to summarise this run (Half Marathon Training Programme, Week 9, Run 1):


Negatives:

- Took too long to get breathing under control,

- Still some aches (no pain or sores) from Friday's run,

- Didn't manage to get in the 'zone' (more on this in a future Blog)

Positives:

+ Once I started running I didn't stop and didn't walk until I reached my planned finish point,

+ My running form and style felt good once I had relaxed and knew that I wouldn't repeat what happened to me on Friday,

+ Pace for me for this type of run (recovery/easy) was good and consistent despite the hill and faster than Friday's run.

Statistics (run GPS tracked using Endomondo):

• Duration: 46 minutes 47 seconds
• Total Distance: 4.13 miles (6.65km)
• Average Pace: 11:20 min/mile (includes warm up and cool down walking)
• Best 1 mile Pace: 10 minutes 26 seconds
• Best 5km Pace: 33 minutes 4 seconds

No personal bests beaten in this run (didn't expect to or try as it was a recovery run), my best 1 mile and 5km times to date is 7 minutes 45 seconds and 27 minutes 30 seconds respectively.

That will do for this run's Blog as it looks quite long already, even before the odd tweak!  If this is too long then let me know and I will try and address this in my next couple of Blogs.  For these as well as talking about my running I plan to revisit why I started Running and How as I doubt many people including myself much before last August would have pegged me/put me down as a runner or someone that would give it even a second glance away from watching professionals on the TV!


Lastly, if there is anything you would like to know or anything you think I should be including in these runs then let me know and I will try to include them in future Blogs.  As always please free to add any comments below each post.

Additionally if anyone knows how to use the blogger software I welcome any advice you can give on trying to sort out the line spacing which looks 'off' in this post.

The Damn Wall...

....and my first experience of slamming right into it.

I had planned the run today quite meticulously but had to change the route yesterday due to traffic concerns surrounding the busyness (that doesn't look right but the spell check has no issues with it) of my planned route for my 10 mile milestone run in Week 8 of my current training programme (Bupa).

The programme will hopefully see me through to competing in my first half marathon (Salisbury Half Marathon in October), but more importantly for me to just reach the distance (13.1 miles) in the hope that shorter runs will become easier, faster and perhaps more importantly...fun!  That was my aim at Week 1 anyway, but more on that in later posts.

Anyway the day of the run came (i run at lunchtimes from work) and right from the start I wasn't comfortable:

My pace was down from my previous long runs and the heat (and I thought summer was over) was quite unbearable at times with not enough shade patches to shelter.  Then the hills came, and the 'rare' stitches for me and they didn't stop...and it was one particularly nasty hill 7 miles later that didn't want to level out where I met with the Wall.

After that, the final 3 miles saw me limp across the finishing line.  My pace slowed by about a minute/mile and I ended up completing the 10 miles in 1hr 57 minutes.  I did push myself more in the last 1/2 mile to try and finish under 2 hrs which I succeeded in doing so that is some comfort to take from this experience.

I've since uploaded my run (GPS tracked via my Android Phone) checked my graph on Endomondo and counted 8 stop starts in that final 3 mile stretch which is something I have never done before (walking in a  run).  I tried to keep going as my breathing was fine (not bad for an asthmatic after 90 minutes on my feet) and for a change there was no major pain or aches but I felt completely drained of energy and the will/drive to continue had left me!

This is the first time this has happened to me in 13 months of running as I prefer to run all the way through a run with no walking unless a stitch comes along, some gravel finds its way into my shoes or to give way to some troublesome cars when crossing roads, but it didn't work out that way this time around.

Its even stranger when I managed to run nearly 9 miles a couple weeks ago quite well with no such 'Wall' in the way, although I think the weather today and the Hilly/undulating route played a huge part in zapping all my energy so I'm hopeful in the coming weeks that I will be able to Edge around the Wall.

....Anyway I read that the average reader has a 96 second attention span when reading Blogs so I'm off to watch some TV to relax, I may revisit this Blog later to tweak the detail and if its not too long add some more detail as hopefully I can learn from this experience to prevent such re occurrences in the future.

Why start Blogging Now?

Why now you ask create a Blog when I've already been running for a little over a year (13 months to be precise)!  Well that's a good question, probably because I hit what runners refer to as a 'Wall' today in what I hoped would be my longest run to date (10 miles), I'll report more on that in my first 'proper' blog.  


Anyway, I thought a Blog might help me explore my current hobby better and help others who might be thinking about giving running a shot.  I'm going to aim to keep the posts short but frequent on topics ranging from my experiences so far, where I want to go with running and features on various subjects predominately around the subject of running i.e. running equipment, clothing, hydration/energy products, published articles.


Finally to end my first post/Blog I'd like to thank my better half who also created a Blog recently which got me thinking on creating one for my hobby and for supporting me in my endeavours even though I should really listen to her advice more often especially as she has been running for longer than I have!