No disappointment here

Today is the day thousands of wannabe marathon runners get a commiseration magazine from the organisers of the Virgin London Marathon. I know of only two people so far who have got a place through the ballot but if people really want to do it there will be thousands of charity placements.

For me, there is no disappointment as I didn't apply, in fact it didn't even hit my conscience until I saw Tweets and comments in web forums today. I am no humbug as the VLM creates thousands of pounds for charities it is I just hate the fervour surrounding it as though the London Marathon is the only one in the world.

Good luck to those who have got a place and I hope you carry on running after the event

Man Flu

I suppose I have had it coming after 9 months of heavy training and have finally succumbed to another bout of man flu. The whole family has come down with it and it was becoming obvious that I was coming down with it on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On my 5 km run to the running club on Tuesday people mentioned that I was absolutely dripping in sweat. Similarly last night when I ran up the escalators at Charing Cross tube and then up 4 flights of steps to the platforms left me in a sweaty heap on the train.

I had all the intentions of doing about 10 - 12 miles tonight but realised as the afternoon went on the man flu was winning the battle of intention versus ability. So yet another week of low mileage but I may as well rest up as I have a 22 mile pack run on Sunday!

Catch 22

from a mentalfeat on Twitter who is an avid ultrarunner

"Catch 22: Get a doctor to sign off that I'm mentally & physically prepared for a 220km race through the Amazon with 7 days gear in backpack!"

One of my favourite tweets

Beachy Head Marathon

Sadly not for me this year but one cracking race that I know that a lot of my local readers will be running in this year...you lucky devils

Beachy Head Marathon

PS that is me in the photograph, I was trying to be artistic

Hare today...

...but not gone tomorrow.

I had a great time tonight at the running club who were holding the monthly 5km time trial. I don't particularly like racing at these events as I am normally just recovering from a Sunday long run and always seem to have wrecked legs for the rest of the week afterwards which eats into my plans.

However I do like to help out and this week I was given the job of hare....what is that I hear you say dear reader?

The club uses a handicap system describes in the table below:

Time	Handicap (mins)
30	0
27	3
24	6
21	9
18	12

The job of the hare is to start off with the group who want to run a 30 minute 5km and I pace myself at 10 min/miles every 3 minutes a new set of runners take off. This makes for a very competitive last 1/2 mile as all the runners catch up with each other and start to race.

At about mile 2 we passed the counters and I was told "You are supposed to be at the front" I had just been passed by a front runner (who was clearly in the wrong handicap) so chose to catch him (or hare him down) much to my amazement I have just calculated that I ran a sub 7 min/mile that with a back pack and up a hill.

What made the evning better was the people I paced came in under their own steam getting 30:04 and 30:07 which were PB's for themselves to which they seemed reaaly pleased. I loved to see their reaction and congrats to them

Heart rate

Something that I am very aware of at the moment is inability to run up hills consistently and was very noticeable yesterday during my 17 mile run around the North Downs.

My heart rate on these runs is fine, in fact as I sit here typing this I have my Garmin HRM on and it is cycling between 45 and 50 beats per minute, a tad low if you ask me. However, when I ran yesterday I was running quite happily along a section of the North Downs Way with two other runners when I came to this gradual incline of about a kilometre long when I just gave up and walked!

My theory is that I have been running quite a few long distance races recently and have got into a mindset that hills are for walking so mentally begin to walk when I see one. I was trying to blame it on my heart rate but the evidence suggests it is not that. So I am going to get out there and start some midweek hill reps to get the blood apumping and to burn off this tummy of mine.

Doing what I know best

...Running and Eating

This was me at about the halfway mark checkpoint during the Country to Capital 45 mile run scoffing two great wedges of fruit cake in January this year. It was wet, cold, snow on the ground and raining in places absolutely perfect. This was a great run and full of joy and laughter, happy days.

Mojo

It has taken a little longer than I first thought but I have a feeling my pre-Ridgeway fitness is returning, the niggles are reducing and I can run with confidence (if a little slower than I want). The only problem I feel I have is hills, I just can't take hills at the moment so will have to work at a little bit of strength work and definitely some cardiovascular training. So it looks like hill training is required.

Today's run at Westerham was fantastic just to say I was back out on the North Downs and looking forward to some of the same next weekend whenI take part in a 22 mile pack run taking us over some tasty hills and by-ways, can't wait

Quote of the day

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort!"

Herm Albright

Gatliff Marathon Route

For anyone interested, here is the map of the route of the Gatliff Marathon (50km) last year.

Please note that the route changes every year but generally covers the same routes and network of paths. When you get a chance look at the elevation where it gets a little busy between 19 - 27 miles as you negotiate Ide Hill!

A.I.M. 12 hour Ultra 2011

Yes dear readers, after much deliberation I can announce that I have entered the A.I.M 12 hour ultramarathon on 2nd April 2011. As usual it will be based at the K2 Sports Centre in Crawley, West Sussex starting at 7.00am.

In a strange way I am quite excited that I have done it but also a little perturbed when my daughter looked in absolute dismay at me entering it, she told me I looked half-dead the day after!

A new training regime will implemented for this one as I now know my failings were in the 2010 run and I will see to work on my weaknesses. More to come as I still have challenges for the 2010 season to deal with first.

Westerham 17

Looking forward to tomorrow as there is a pack run meeting at The Grasshopper pub in Westerham for a 17 mile trail run.

Last time I did this there were about12 of us running what can best be described as "challenging and undulating" route around over the North Downs. I'll take my trusty back pack with me so I can carry my waterproofs and some chews as it looks like it will be a wet and windy run...BRILLIANT

On the brink

After yesterday's announcement of the Thames Trot, I have another that I am on the brink of decision. This is a big decision, I just need to find an envelope this weekend...more to follow once I have found it.

Status Quo

The Plan: 10 miles by road, first five to the top of the hill and the remainder down it.

The Reality: Work ringing up 10 minutes before I planned to run asking me to check "stuff" is working. Thirty minutes later I don my kit to have a 10 km run instead.

My training in the last few months is one hurdle after another please let work not be another...GGrrrrr

Whoopee

At last I have I have decided on my post New Year run, the Thames Trot on 5th February 2010

I nice little number with a 50 mile run from Iffley to Henley along the Thames Path....problem is it stinks of FLAT, so training on the flat is the order of the day more to follow :-)

ZZZzzzz

Oh boy, oh boy am I tired!

I have just had two 12 hour days at work after a server system failure and have been getting up early to get in before core hours. I am more mentally tired than physical and tonight I had all the intention of going out for a 10 mile run, alas it never took place.

After eating my tea of homemade curry and rice I found I had dropped off into a deep sleep on the sofa and it was dark outside...not good.

Still not to worry I want to slowly build up to about 40+ miles this week and then move on up as I cannot wait to get to my pre-Ridgeway fitness.

Gasp!

Tonight was an experimental run primarily to check if the lacing in my shoes were OK (They were) and went out in view of just running. It soon came apparent that I was getting out of breath very quickly and then slowed down a little and then found myself speeding up again.

Checking my Garmin I found I was running at around 7:15 min/miles at some points which is way faster than I expected...way faster than I expected but it appears my body wants to do it but I am not sure if I am physically ready to push this as I feel I have not fully recovered from Ridgeway and need another week to really push out.

Short term plan

Here we go, the official announcement of my next short term challenge, The Gatliff marathon. I am not sure why they call it a marathon as it is 50 km or 31 miles of BRILLIANT cross country.

You may remember I did it last year with hilarious consequences, water up to our stomachs, mud to clamber through and wonderful hospitality. I know the route will be different this year but it looks to be a great challenge as usual

Running Shoe Experiment

Spot the Difference!

Due to the problem with my toe tendon (I still reckon caused by these new shoes) I have adapted the laces to take pressure off the tender area. I'll try them out tomorrow and see how it goes.

A love affair

Can you get enough of a good thing? During my higher training weeks this year I have found that I always have two bananas between 10.00 - 11.00am with a coffee but recently I have realised that when I go to my work bag, my rucksack or my desk draw there always seems to be a banana there.

They are in different states of ripeness from "on the turn" to downright stinky, I think I need to find another tasty snack as bananas don't seem to in favour now.

A 120 pound journey

I actually had tears in my eyes when I saw the line:

"I can call myself happy"

This video has hit me at so many levels

Out of the blue

I have had the great opportunity to go on a 2 day training course for work up in London and have decided that tomorrow I will run home from Monument (Near London Bridge) where the course is to home, a distance of about 13 miles.

The instructor promises us that we will finish early at about 3.30 pm and so I have planned out a route to home that will take me through Greenwich Park and to home. I may run the Thames Path to be away far from the madding crowd as it is horrific on the pavements in London.

So I am looking forward to this 'out of the blue' run but I will wear my old shoes and tape up my toes to be on the safe side.

Wrap up warm

Something I have been meaning to mention is what happens to me after a long distance run especially after my 12 hour run in April and my recent Ridgeway run.

Directly after these runs and especially when I have get home I find I have a complete inability to control my temperature properly and shiver uncontrollably. I assume it is because I have used up all my glycogen stores and have the inability to produce muscular heat. After Ridgeway I went to bed with a long-sleeved t-shirt, another t-shirt, long pyjama bottoms and a pair of thick socks under my duvet. It is then and only then do I warm up sufficiently to be able to sleep.

Do any of you get this problem, if so how do you remedy it, eat? Drink? What?

One for the trail

I just love this track...total ROCK.

This is not for long distance running but for shorter races as it gets the blood and legs pumping. Just play it loud.

Spooky

Call me obsessed but I really wanted to go for a run tonight, bad toe or not. I decided the common denominator at the moment was my new running shoes that was causing the problem so tonight I decided to put on my old running shoes and see how far I could go before I had to turn back.

I had vaguely planned an 8 mile route which if I say was an extremely boring route as it was a "main road circuit" but about 1.5 miles into my run I saw a group of runners coming from the other direction one of whom shouted "Hello Jerry!" It was a bunch of my club mates going for a run having missed last night due to the inclement weather [wusses:-). ] The group comprised 5 ladies and 1 gentlemen and from a slower group but I was happy to join on with them for the company and also to give my toe a chance to have a workout.

So a pleasant saunter around the local area, no speed just a comfortable run until they decided to take a diversion through the local wooded park ( I had my headtorch!!!) about 400 yards into the wooded area there was a shrill scream from the woods which caused the ladies to scream in utter fright, me to laugh my head off at their reaction and for me to look around and them all holding hands and their pace now picking up to about 8:15 min/mile pace....absolutely hilarious and I stilll don't if it was an animal or kids mucking about.

We parted our ways a mile or so further down the road and I pegged off the last 3 miles to home. It appears that the combination of old shoes, taped foot and a gentle run have shown no ill effects. It seems my new shoes are to blame and I will have to review them soon.

Hot and Cold

Once back from my aborted (but successful) run tonight I went straight to the freezer pulled out some ice cubes, wetted a tea towel and then iced my bruised toe tendon for about 20 minutes. Once the swelling was reduced I went for a lovely hot soapy suddy bath and gave my foot a soaking and once out put a hot water bottle on it and now I have ice on it.

I will tape it up tomorrow to protect it and then see how it goes.

Hot and Cold does seem to work

The toe saga continues

With great trepidation I stepped out of the house for the 3 mile run to my running club rendezvous and as soon as I started to run I realised that the recent rest had done me some good. What was supposed to be a warm up run turned almost immediately into a tempo run as I found myself taking on the local hill with a real spring in my step...things were feeling good.

I then turned off the main road towards the local park which has a good up hill cut through to see two runners ahead of me. Quickly putting on my headtorch (it is tree lined and dusk) I soon found myself chasing them down and see them step aside as I thundered through. I have a feeling they thought I was a bike with the torch but once they realised there was a good natured race to the end of the path and I waved good bye.

Once out with my choice of running group I found myself at the front setting a comfortable 8.30 - 8.40 pace and was 7 miles into evening mileage when I started to feel my big toe really giving me pain, so I pulled up, simple as that, said goodbye and jogged the remaining 1/2 mile home.

So the foot hurts but, boy and I feeling physically fit.

Fed up

I am feeling really fed up today as I find that the bruising to my big toe joint is still tender and also that my fourth toe is still painful when walking any distance over a mile. I had taped my toe up today and it seemed to alleviate some of the discomfort.

The next thing that has really made me down-hearted is that my dates were confirmed for my sessional lecturing this evening and I have now found that one contracts coincide with my 45 mile run in the Brecon Beacons...gggrrrr I was so looking forward to that run but the need for money outweighs the need to run a race.

Ouch

I have tried to be a good little ultrarunner and tried to keep away from any excessive running as I recover from the Ridgeway and have only done 16 miles this week.

I have been away with the family this weekend in Paris and in doing so have done a lot of walking, I have discovered I have a really painful foot around the fourth toe of my left foot by the joint. I have had a quick feel of the area and sense a very small but distinct lump that is very tender which has got worse since I took my shoes off.

I really hope this is not going to be a serious injury as I am desperate to get running again and start hitting the hills.

Back on the Road

Had the great opportunity of meeting up with George tonight for a run. I wanted to go for about an hour but we were so engrossed in conversation that we soon found that we had run approximately 11 miles!

I feel really happy that I am now back from my post-Ridgeway break but am sorely aware that I have a few more days of recovery to go through before I really hit the mileage again.

An interesting aspect of my recovery was I felt really lethargic and achy all day and when I set this evening was out of breath quite quickly. Once I had met up with George though I found that I had warmed up sufficiently to feel the strength in my legs and found myself running consistently, smoothly but slower than normal.

Who cares, Jezza Bear is back and is looking forward to hitting out the mileage as of next week .

New Plans

There is always a little ripple of excitement when I finish and then start a new training plan.

Then I realise that it is no different from any other training plan I have ever written and involves me running lots, enjoying it and running a good race at the end. This training plan is very different now as it will involve lots of speed work and a lot of hill work which I have yet to work out where to do it.

That said, I am really looking forward to the next two ten weeks as I push out a projected 500 + miles and push through the 2,000 mile barrier for the year.

Back on the Road

I am back in my running shoes after 8 days of resting and have realised it was a baptism of fire when I attended the club to find we were doing hill interval training


Sprint 200 m
Jog 200 m
Rest
Sprint 100 m
Jog 100m
Rest and repeat

45 minutes of that soon got the heart pumping but I have to say I did it at 60% effort as my big toe is still grumbling and a tad sore

Head Down

Mrs S's "Running RADAR" is on full sweep and I am having to keep my head well below the parapet as she gets wind of new ideas and plans!!

She has just got wind of me receiving an email from my good buddy George and me scurrying off to make a telephone call so she knows things are afoot! Speaking of which, my foot is slowly getting better and I reckon I will be out running again on Tuesday at the club which will be interesting to see how the rest of my body reacts.

I am at a loss as what my goals will be next year as Mrs S just knows that the 100 mile target is beckoning but I have my doubts as there are very few that I am tempted by...

Got to be careful what I say, that RADAR is still on full sweep!

No sooner has one ended

...another begins.

I have been lucky enough to get a place in this years Brecon Beacons Ultra on Saturday 20^th November 2010 a great 45 mile race. So I have about 11 weeks to get my Ridgeway recovery over and then some serious hill training in with back pack.

I reckon I will have to get in my North Downs Sunday runs back into play with some serious consideration of traversing the escarpment a good few times.

More news as it develops but this will be a nice medium distance but epic up hill crawl run

Food Combination

I thought I would share this little gem from Saturday night when I arrived at Goring absolutely ravenous. I was told a list of foods available by the kitchen staff and I opted for this lovely chunky vegetable soup.

Looking around for something to accompany it I saw a pile of what I thought was bread, grabbed a couple of slices and proceeded to dunk it into the soup and took a bite.....WOW.... not just bread but jam sandwiches! Salty savoury with a sweet after taste.

This will feature high up on my list for future runs...you have to try it.

Die Another Day

I am just watching a classic James Bond film, Die Another Day, and was quite amused to remember that the famous hovercraft chase scene at the beginning was in fact filmed at the Army Driving Training Area, Aldershot, UK

I started running again in April 2007 and had committed myself to run in the GRIM Challenge in the December an 8 mile run through the rutted and muddy roads of the training area mentioned above where the movie was filmed. I look back at that run and realise how far I have come since then in all areas of the sport but still remember how hard it was to train for that initial 8 mile run.

I joke now by saying that the GRIM Challenge was a great way of ruining a perfectly good pair of running shoes, I still think it is but it was a fun race, where else can you have a mud fight and still run your little legs off :-)

Back from Hospital

I was a little worried today when I found that my foot had swollen quite a lot so decided to go to the minor injuries clinic for them to check it out. I explained to the nurse how I did it, his jaw dropped to the floor, took one look at it and sent me off to the X-Ray department.

Results showed that I do not have a break or a stress fracture and it must be just severe bruising. In a way that really pleases me because as soon as the swelling goes down I have a heavy hill training to get on with...Brecon Beacons beckons!