Perfect Company for a Half

A half marathon training run was the order of a beautiful Sunday morning! My folks were staying for the weekend and were only too eager to look after the kids whilst Ellen jumped on her bike and joined me for the full distance (and impressive she was too!)

With the company came the ability to carry my water, and for the majority of the run my t-shirt too, and it felt fantastic to run unhindered.

For a 09:30 start it was surprising to see so many cyclists and horse riders out and about on a route where you can run for miles and miles without generally seeing anyone.

Anyway, it was a slow one, mainly due to the heat and being tired from a weekend full of nights out and gardening but I managed to shift my arse around averaging 8:55 minute miles; slow but pleasantly satisfying!

Downlander with plenty of ups!

Sunday morning (27th June) was my second time of entering the Downlander 10 challenge. 10.2 miles on the Garmin, not yet worked out the total climb.

I never would have thought it could have been hotter than last year's event but how wrong could I be? Hottest day of the year so far, not sure of the temperature but well into the high 20's!!

It became apparent at the start that the number of competitors was down on last year (178 in 2009 but only 135 this year) and maybe the weather was a bit of a deterrent. Anyway, strict pacing and water stops was on the cards.

01:35:25 was last year's time to beat. It's not a fast course due to the 'undulations' so my aim was to dip under 01:30, any quicker and I'd risk writing off a good part of the day recovering. The first few miles were kept sub-8min/miles and from then on (funnily enough coinciding with the long dragging hills) gradually slowed to around 8:30 and 8:45ish. The heat was pretty intense and I became involved in a sprint finish with a club runner (I lost!) but I eventually came in at 01:29:59 for the course. Really pleased with a finish in the top third of the field (42/135) and enough in the tank for a frantic bit of gardening/tidying up for friends coming round to watch the football!

Same time, same place next year. Highly recommended.

Running V Decking

After a 1:20 10-miler last week, which I was pretty pleased with, the running has taken a bit of a back seat with Zachary's 2nd birthday weekend and a new decking project.

I am currently focussing primarily on the ACC training and so building up the distances on the back to back runs. Last week was the starting point at 5 miles on three consecutive days; all sub-8 minute miles. The pace will obviously gradually get slower as the distance increases, with 3 consecutive 10-milers over three days starting on Thursday 21st June (on the 16th I'll be busy demolishing a steak dinner and bottle of red with Ellen for my Birthday!)

I'm aiming to get to around the 3 x 20-mile mark by around mid-September'ish (ACC 2010 is 1st October) and then taper to the start.

Busy months ahead......

Revisiting the ACC

All's going well on the running front at the moment. A new lease of life has arisen following the 2-week self-imposed rest, and I'm focussed again and raring to go.

I am consistently running comfortable sub-8 minute miles at the moment on all distances up to 10 miles, although I've not tried on anything beyond that for a while so need to pick up the mileage to test it out.

We're heading back home to Newquay for the bank holiday weekend and I'll be heading off on a 10-mile coastal run which follows the route of Day 1 of the ACC. Really looking forward to it, just hoping for a bit of sunshine. I plan on heading out early morning so I can get back for breakfast and spend the day on the beach with Ellen and the kids.

Next race is the Downlander 10 in Marlborough, a really great course and some lung bursting hills to contend with. Better crack on with some decent weekend big runs!

All gone couch potato shaped!

Stop, hold the press! Everything's changed.

You may have noticed the slightly (!) negative tone in the last blog entry, primarily down to the sickness bug that I carried for weeks which totally drained my energy levels (re: Paris). Well, I was supposed to be taking part in the Neolithic Marathon back on the 2nd May; it was one race that I was really looking forward to all year. As it happened I ended up deferring my entry for next year. No energy, heavy legs and STILL a dodgy belly made the decision for me. I'd never dropped out of a race up to that point and it seemed totally wrong to do so.

It ended up that I only did one 10 miler over the next 2 weeks, giving my body a well earned respite from the tarmac. Anyway, a thoroughly enjoyable 2 weeks which initially took a few days to empty the brain of the desire to get my trainers on. Unfortunately, the ability to eat what I want and not put any weight on whilst training did not apply, hence the need to now lose a few lb's.

An important development has been my registration for the ACC 2010!! I needed the focus for keeping up the training for the next few months and there's also the important factor of raising more money for Ataxia UK. Therefore, training has begun in earnest...watch this space!

I have also entered the ballot for next years London Marathon. The successful entrants are notified in October, so fingers crossed; I have unfinished marathon business on the road.....

Back to the Stone Age

With the Paris Marathon shocker almost 2 weeks ago, my thoughts have now turned off-road to the Neolithic Marathon; that is, Avebury to Stonehenge cross-country, just over a week away. I've slowly started to get back into my running although not back to normal by a long way. I did a 10 miler in glorious evening weather last night which raised my confidence a little, but it's beyond the 13 mile point that is unknown and whether my body is going to have recovered from the bug I had before Paris.

The weather recently has been stunning and last nights run was no exception. Beautifully clear skies and warm weather (although I became a fly magnet!), the type of run that makes you glad you're a runner. However, I hope it's not too hot for the Neolithic as there will be limited shade over Salisbury Plain!

I think there'll be a few suffering the heat during this weekends' London Marathon; 22 degrees and sunny by all accounts........phew!! Good luck to everyone who's taking part. I hope to be successful in the ballot for next year's race.

Anyway, pumps on, fingers crossed and until the 2nd May..... let's get running!

Unfinished Business en Paris

Short of it is that Ellen and I had a fantastic weekend, quality time together and loved every minute of it but missed the kids loads. However, the race was a shocker for me. I was ill on the Wednesday and Thursday leading up to the race and kept it on over the weekend. The race involved me diving for a portaloo at mile 9, absolutely beaten by 13 (MILE 13 FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!) and being left with a feeling of running backwards for the remainder.

Not great at all and I have been depressed since. Despite the race, it's made me more determined and, subject to persuading Ellen, I aim to return next April to absolutely slay the course!!