Richard's blog

Well it was a very special day..all 6 hours 24 minutes and 43 seconds of it.

Well here we are. After having felt dreadful over the last few days with coughs and headaches I think I’m going to be ok to run. If I could have deferred my place to next year I may well have done but I couldn’t so I’m just going to have to make the best of it.

Why am I up at this time and not asleep? We got the hour wrong so have to wait until the first trains leave Moor park which is in a few minutes.

Here’s to a successful race

Well its really getting close now. I finally managed to get the charity payment page set up so hopefully I can raise a good amount for them. Had a go at interval training the other day – 4 miles mixed between jog and flat out. Could feel me knee again at the end of the run even with my straps on. Went for an 11 mile long run last Wednesday and could feel my knee again…I hope Ive not brought on the problems from before

Well I managed 19 miles on Saturday which after nearly 2 weeks of resting apart from a couple of 5 mile sessions on the treadmill is really encouraging. Had to stop by home after about 11 miles for a quick drink and rub of my marathon stick – seems to work quite well. I felt absolutely drained by the end but my knees where pretty much fine which is a big relief.

Ive adopted the strategy of running then walking – 8 mins running then 2 walking. It seems to have really worked well and coupled with the knee straps its made me now confident that Ill be able to actually do this run.

Anyway, Ive now done the longest run before the day

…oh and another red marathon book and my number have arrived. Just got to chase up the charity.

Well after a less than successful 17 mile run I’ve been told that I have IT band friction syndrome. Yikes…

I got to 12 miles and my legs were slowly stopping working…and it had started raining heavily. Fortunately there happened to be a physio at the drink stop I reached. I got a lift back to the main building from the main man … and everyone had pretty much finished already.

Apparently its fairly common in runners and I’ve been told I just need to stay off running for a week or two. Im still on track for the marathon (phew) but its encouraging to know that I have a problem…a syndrome even… and not just that I’m not training hard enough.

Ive seen several stretching and strengthening exercises on YouTube which I’m following closely and I’ll keep up the swimming but running and cycling are out for the moment.

I can be a couch potato again

…but guilt-free.

Well after the desperately difficult Hemel run at the weekend I think I’m getting back to normal again. I spent 30 minutes on the bike today and got a little bit out of breath. I should really have put more work in but it was getting boring and just painful in my legs.

I’ve got a short 4 mile run tomorrow and then an 8 mile run on Sunday – thought I’d try some interval training. It could be the biggest mistake of the year so far but I’ll take it easy. I sort of wish that now I’ve got to 12 miles I could run further – there’s plenty of time for that, though.

Well it’s now a couple of days after my second swim and I felt fine yesterday morning unlike the previous Wednesday. I did a few lengths, got out of breath lots and then went home. As far as technique goes, no pretty. When it comes to getting me knackered, though – superb. I’m not aiming to be a brilliant swimmer but just use it as a cross training activity and I think it’s going to be great for that. I probably won’t need to write anymore about swimming (unless I have any near drowning experiences).

Did the Hemel Hempstead run today. I’ve now run two lots of 12 miles in two weeks and I think it’s time to train a little bit more steadily.

I feared that I had shin splints on the way but it wasn’t a problem – at the end of the run I just felt tired but as the day has worn on both of my legs are feeling a little worse. My schedule allows for a couple of rest days but I may take a couple more. I’ll be swimming again on Tuesday which won’t do me any harm.

It was interesting running with others – quite nice to be around lots of other worn out people who know how you’re feeling.

After going on a fantastic personal development course I stood up and said I’d run the marathon (Link Here). My mind has been concentrating so much of running that I’ve neglected some of the lessons I learned on the course.

If it hadn’t been for the course then I’d still be watching endless episodes of Columbo and Midsomer Murders rather than either playing the piano, running or sitting here scribbling down my thoughts.

One of the biggest things I’ve taken from it is the mantra of ‘the universe applauds action and not thought’. I say this to myself whenever there’s something I need to do and it’s starting to stick.

The other two words that have recently enriched my life are ‘why not’.

To be fair, I’ve needed a very big kick to get myself to do this run. Now I’ve promised I’ll make a certain amount of money for an MS charity (the Wolverhampton MS Therapy Centre) coupled with the amount of money I’ve invested in running kit, I’ve not got the option of thinking ‘oh sod it’.

For a long time I’ve had the mindset that I can play the piano, fix computers and develop websites but I’m not much good at other things. I was never particularly successful at sport at school – the only time I ever came better than last (or one from last) in the school cross country was when I missed out a huge lap of the circuit. The games teacher thought is was deliberate but a sense of direction is not something I’ve been blessed with.

I would have never thought 20 years ago that I’d now be running over 20 miles per week and writing an online diary.

The way I see it with this blog is it’s mostly for me – but if just one person finds something useful here then I’ve made something with some worth.

From now on I’m going to post one learning per week.

Well the swim was useful in highlighting how unfit I am above my waist. I did maybe 4 lengths punctuated by goggle fiddling so they wouldn’t let in water.

Technique 2/10; Effort 8/10

So long as I get the breathing right then it’s just really hard work. If I get it wrong then it’s just plain unpleasant.

Complete ache factor the next day 8 but leg ache factor 1. I’ll have another go next week to see whether I can that first number down.

On a different and more depressing note, I developed fairly painful shins yesterday. They just came out of the middle of nowhere. I’d been for a fairly brisk 3 mile treadmill session the previous day with out any problems. It’s really annoying as there’s a 12 mile run in Hemel Hempstead which loads of marathon trainees take part in. It’s forecast to be freezing, though, so maybe I should rest my leg