As running is going so well at the moment I’m wondering whether to do a half marathon sooner rather than later. There is one in Edinburgh at the start of March (5 weeks away). If I can comfortably run over 10K now, can I make it through a half marathon? I ran for 1 hour and 8 minutes last night so making it through to 2 hours should be possible shouldn’t it? I’m going to give it until teh end of this week and then make a decision.
My knees are better today by the way 
Still a bit tender but definitely better.
Cheers, Mark
Did a great run tonight - set myself a goal of 9K on my Nike+ and managed 11K without too much effort. Really feeling the benefit of regular sessions now - it seems to get easier each time.
The only problem I am facing at the moment is my knees have been a bit tender for the last few days. I originally put it down to football on the astro turf but now I think it may be the running. I quickly googled it and found various suggestions. I tried lying on my front before the run and kicking my butt with each leg individually. Doing this 60 times for each butt cheek seemed to loosen my knees off. I could occasionally feel them twinge during the run but nothing too bad. I’ll wait and see over the next 24 hours.
I am also going to start taking cod liver oil tablets just in case - they are very good for your joints apparently. I don’t want to turn into a crotchety old bastard by the age of 40 so I am taking this seriously.
Cheers, M
Last night was a real test for my resolve - we had a Burn’s supper at the house for 6 kids and 6 adults. There were loads of sweets and cakes and puddings - none of which I ate. I was seriously tempted to just grab a handful of cola bottles but managed to use the “Devil Food” technique.
The main reason why it was particularly difficult was due to the copious amounts of red wine being drunk…. it tends to make you just say - Oh fuck it - one won’t hurt….
So even when I’m pissed I’m still on a mission - got to be happy with that.
Ta, M
Last night was one of the grimmest nights on record (80 mph winds, pouring rain). I knew I had to get a run in as I have plans for tonight. I thought if I could make 5K I would be really happy as the weather was so terrible, just getting out there was an achievement.
I managed to do more than 8K (around 50 minutes) which was just brilliant. When I was running into the wind I was gritting my teeth and screaming at myself - “Come on!!! I can take anything!” It felt great - nothing was going to beat me.
I am reading an autobiography by Sir Ranulph Fiennes at the moment (Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know) which really helps. His whole life has been spent pushing himself and it makes you feel pretty inadequate when you read about the battles he has had. I was imagingin myself running across the Antarctic last night and that nothing was going to stop me (it was so cold and miserable it felt like the bloody Antarctic).
I am on top of the world!
from a v. happy Mark
This is the first time I have measured this for years. It is 4pm and I’ve been drinking coffee so not sure if this is sensible as a benchmark (as coffee can make your heart rate go bloody bonkers).
Anyway I measured it twice and both times it was 56 BPM. I would say that is pretty good and indicates that I am starting to get fit. I’m sure it used to be high 60s. From now on I will measure this when lying in bed in the morning once a week and take a note of it.
Once I have monitored that for a while I may start on the next thing which is a more accurate sign of fitness - the recovery time. How long it takes to recover after exercise. I will blog more about this soon.
Cheers, Mark (suitably relaxed)
An important part of learning to run is knowing how to increase what you are getting out of it. If you don’t improve you will get stuck in a rut and will lose the faith.
The only two factors are: improve your speed or improve your mileage.
A simple tip for improving your mileage once you are capable of running for 20 minutes is to use the “just one more block” mentality. You can even say it in a “Just more thing…” Columbo style if it helps.
I live in an area that has blocks of around 300 yards all round. I have a few routes that take me well away from the house for around 5K. As I’m coming back to the house I tell myself “I could stop now and that would be OK but if I do one more block it’ll be easier next time - surely I can manage one more block”. At the end of that block I’ve added another 300-400 yards to my total and I think “that wasn’t too bad - maybe just one more….” and it honestly becomes addictive. Before you know it you have added a couple of K to your run and it now becomes standard.
This is my plan to get me from being able to run a 10K race to being able to run a half marathon comfortably in 6 months.
Let’s see how it goes.
Cheers, Mark.
I have been making a conscious effort to watch what I eat since I started running. I have actually found it really easy. Normally I’m a grazer - any little thing lying about will go in my mouth (a piece of chocolate, a biscuit, etc) - this is especially difficult with four young kids as there is always the king of temptation - Jelly Babies!
Anyway - I cracked this problem for the moment with one simple phrase - “Devil food”. Anytime my mind even contemplates picking a snack up I instantaly tell myself it is the food of the devil and it is evil. After repeating this a few times it really works - honest. I am not missing snacks in the slightest.
As a backup I tell myself I was really strong for ignoring the temptation and it will in turn make me a stronger runner. Bloody right it will!
Cheers, M
I played 5-a-side football for an hour last night for the first time in 10 years. It was amazing.
Now, I have never been good at football - but I will always put the effort in. I was definitely in the bottom group for football skills last night though. However, I did score and did some great defending. I also managed to be the main hacker - taking out people’s legs unintentionally - honest! “Oooyaaa - you f***ing tw*t!” was ringing in my ears half the night. The main highlight was the fact that I managed to run around for an hour with virtually no rest and I didn’t feel like I was dying. The running has obviously started to pay dividends in terms of my aerobic fitness.
There is a chance we may make this a regular, once a week session which would be ideal. Good fun and a bit different from running. You also have other people to keep you going which will be useful if motivation ever becomes an issue. At the moment I’m flying high and motivation is so NOT an issue for me.
If I keep going at this rate, I will achieve my weight and fitness goals by the summer. I am going to Australia in March for a week and it would be really great to be feeling the body benefit by then. I haven’t started with measuring my vital statistics or weighing myself but I think I will do that this week so I can benchmark things. I think I have lost a little weight of the last two weeks (maybe a couple of pounds) but not an amazing amount. I’ll buy myself a fancy set of weighing scales and a tape measure!
Cheers, M
… but it was minus 3 degrees. I managed a 6.8K run which I am very happy with considering how the evening started.
I had to make a quick dash to Accident and Emergency with my 4 year old daughter. She had a large bruise on her leg but it wasn’t normal at all - it had a massive white lump in the middle and looked like a clot of some kind. All our kids are constantly covered in bruises (from all the Star Wars fighting and tree climbing I hasten to add - we don’t beat them up!) so I know this was definitely unusual.
Turned out to be nothing but it was worth checking. Touch wood we haven’t seen much of the hospital recently - we went through a point where we were in danger of having all the kids on the “At Risk” register as we were in pretty much every week…
So I didn’t start my run until 10pm (which is the latest I’ve ever started) but I managed a good 40 minutes and 6.8K. Felt really good and I even managed a couple of decent hills too. I though I was only going to manage 5.5K but I used the “just one more block” tactic and pushed through. I kept telling myself “if I manage another block tonight I’ll find it easier on the next run - and before I know it I’ll be up to my half marathon without even breaking sweat”. At this rate it might just bloody work
Cheers, Mark
I’m back from my weekend in London (having had a lot of red wine and the odd mojito). I’m dying to go out running tonight to blow away the weekend. A big part of how I want to live my life is being able to enjoy drinking at the weekend and still be fit enough for running during the week - and crucially still achieve that body beautiful, ready for Bondi.
It is absolutely pissing it down and will be when I go running tonight. Running in Scotland is all about being able to cope with the elements. It is always doing something (rain or shine) and you need to be prepared to go out in all conditions. The weather should never be a reason not to go running - unless it is dangerous due to ice, deep snow or lightening.
I’ll let you know how I get on tonight.
Cheers, Mark