A charity element added to the running – please donate

I’m still sore and still haven’t taken any ibuprofen for three days and so this morning’s run saw me take a go-slow around Tooting Common.

I’ve also signed up to go and visit the sports injury clinic at Crystal Palace next week to see if they can do anything to get rid of the tightness in my calves – all this running over the last six months has really taken its toll and I’m considering dropping the 22mile run I have planned for this Sunday as training for the Brighton Marathon on April 18 and just do a regular three miler instead.

The amount of mileage I’ve put on my total in the last two months has been pretty high thanks to my adding a marathon into the middle of it all and my legs could do with a week off long Sunday runs. If it makes me finish Brighton a little slower, so be it.

What I have done though is finally add a charity element to my running – if Im going through all this pain, hobbling around South London and on my travels, someone should see the benefits.

I’ve chosen two charities to benefit: one at home and one abroad. Both are ones I care about and I hope that by splitting the proceeds evenly, people will be touched by one or the other if not both.

From a home perspective and as a Leeds United fan, I have chosen Candlelighters - a children’s cancer charity based at St James’s Hospital in Leeds.

Candlelighters is also the chosen charity of Leeds Fans Remembrance – a fundraising effort to recognise the 10th anniversary of the senseless killing of two Leeds fans, Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight, while they were following the team in Turkey on April 5, 2000. LFR has been set up by the families of Chris and Kevin.

The other charity is the Waterside Charitable Trust and I have to declare a personal interest: my father-in-law, Eric, is one of the trustees. The WTC raises funds for health, sanitation and education projects in the slums of Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city.

The area the WTC works in is called Obunga and, having visited, I can testify to the poor conditions people live in there: shanty houses, no running water, no sanitation, high incidences of HIV/Aids and other communicable diseases….

The WTC has attempted to correct some of that by installing public toilets and shower blocks, building a community and health centre, funding education for youngsters and helping set up small businesses so people can help themselves. They are in the process of planning a new youth centre in Obunga alongside their partner UK charity, the Hunslet Club.

If you do think either of these charities are worthwhile or want to support my running efforts, please click on this link to my Virgin Money Giving Page.

I know charity fatigue is an issue so to set the ball rolling, I’ve sponsored myself to the tune of £100. Please pass on the link to your friends and keep coming back to 1095miles.com to see how much I’ve raised and read about me moaning about my aching legs!

Click here for a Google Map and full details of today’s run

Miles today: 3
Target: 558
Miles to date: 734.94

Please donate to my chosen charities by clicking here

Trying to plan ahead to the upcoming races

After yesterday’s mammoth, I left it till the early evening to go out and run today, which is a shame as after a lovely sunny day, it was getting chilly again.

I decided to run Streatham Common to get some hills back into the training and actually felt surprisingly good though, naturally, a little stiff. At about 1.7 miles I had a bit of a scare when my right knee just locked up but I stopped for a minute, stretched it out and it was fine. Cramp around the knee? That’s a new one.

I’ve also not mentioned much about nutrition on here (other than the occasional hangover run!) but I am trying my best in the run up to the upcoming Water Of Life Half Marathon at Bisham Abbey this weekend and the Brighton Marathon in five weeks. One of the things I have introduced after most runs is a smoothie: half pint of milk, a banana, punnet of blueberries and a scoop of Maximuscle Promax protein shape all go into the blender… I figure it’s got carbs, protein and antioxidants in spades and doesn’t taste half bad either.

I’ve also been indulging in my running consumerism ahead of the race. With the sun out yesterday, i had a few of those bits where when you walk or run past a fence, it has a strobe affect and no I’ve ordered some cheapish running sunglasses from Wiggle to try out… I also ordered a hydration pack that stores about 2 litres of fluid in a bum bag with a hose to drink from during long runs.

I’m not sure how much use it will get but running with a bottle, either in hand or in a belt is a pain. The hydration pack should, theoretically, sit in the lumbar of the back making it easier to carry. I’ll let you know how it fares when it turns up.

Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3
Target: 531
Miles to date: 697.56

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

Seriously concerned about an injury

I was supposed to do a long run today as part of my training for the Brighton Marathon, but it would have been impossible.

I’ve still not really recovered from last week’s Portsmouth Coastal half marathon and Friday’s 20-mile cycle into the peaks, three-mile run yesterday morning and 12-mile hike yesterday afternoon haven’t helped – my left calf has started to give me some seriously worrying gip.

I’m not too bothered about not doing the long run… they’re mainly about getting time on your feet as much as distance and the fact that the hike took us more than five hours is good enough for one week – but on the face of this morning’s run, I might have to drop Brighton.

David and I set off around 8am while the other boys were still in bed. The wind war swirling sprinkles of snow around and we headed downhill into the village. Less than half a mile in, the heavier force of running down hill kicked in and I felt the calf tweak tighten right up.

We continued on but I was hobbling behind David with gritted teeth until we completed the circuit.

I’ve iced and taken lots of Ibuprofen but it’s not really helped much. Tomorrow will have to be very light and I’ve an hour of sports massage on Tuesday that I am finger crossing for… having to drop out now would be a real pain. Especially as I have another half marathon coming up in three weeks and have also signed up for the Leeds half marathon on May 9.

Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3.17
Target: 486
Miles to date: 624.36

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

Why you should always pooh before running

Still with a bit 0f  soreness from Sunday’s Posrtsmouth Coastal Half Marathon and with a shift to do in town, I was up early for what I thought would be a nice, slow recovery run this morning. In a bit of a rush, I threw some clothes on, wolfed a banana and went out.

Regular readers wont be surprised to see a crucial incident missing from my pre run prep… a visit to the bathroom.

A mile from home, I started to feel the first tummy cramps but knew finding a loo at 6.45am in Streatham other than the one at home was going to be impossible. I momentarily weighed up the idea of running back, making a loo stop and what would have been two miles and setting off again but I convinced myself I could sweat it out… quite literally as it happens.

Each step over the next two miles sent another signal to my brain saying ‘you need the loo, you need the loo’ and as I ignored the stiffness in my legs and speeded up the pace to get home quicker, there was more sweat coming from the feverish need to go than the running itself.

Past two miles was a total nightmare… to the point where I began to feel light headed – I was clinching my bum as though I’d just got in to the prison shower with Mr Big and his very big gang.

I finally made it home in time, bursting through the door and frightening Laura and the cats… but I dont think I could have taken another step if still outside.

Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3.00
Target: 474
Miles to date: 612.19

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

The hills are alive

As part of my regime for the Brighton Marathon, I was supposed to do some hill training last week while in Orlando. Pushed for time though and given Orlando is as flat as one of this Tuesday’s pancakes, I’d missed it out in favour of a flat run and so decided to do it today.

I’m not absolutely sure of what the benefits are but it hill training is in every training programme and, I think it is meant to strengthen certain muscles that are perhaps not put under the same stress when running on a straight.

Anyway, the program involved running for a mile as a warm up, finding a hill and running up it for two minutes fast before jogging back down in three minutes to the start. And then repeating this nine times.

So I headed out into Norbury as far as Norbury Hill – which is pretty steep – and went up and down it, veering off to side hills a couple of times to break up the monotony. Some builders in one of the houses there were just looking at me as though I was mad.

Toward the end of the run it started to rain, heavily and I began to curse my stupidness at going out in just shorts and a tee. By the last hill, my arms were red and sore with cold and to compound things, it started hailing as I was running home. Hard, fast hail that stung as it hit my head – but quite enjoyable in a masochistic way.

I’m off to do my first official half marathon on Sunday in Portsmouth and was chuffed to hear the doorbell ring this morning with the postman announcing the arrival of my new pair of trainers. There are the ones I’ll hopefully be running Brighton in but I’ve had to upgrade from Asics GT2140s, which you can’t find any more to Asics GT2150s… I’m hoping they’ll be as good and faithful as the last pair.

Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 5.27
Target: 456
Miles to date: 584.32

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

Sometimes you just don’t feel like running…

… and today was one of them.

On top of a slight cold I’m sure I got by taking an ice bath after Sunday’s 15 miler, my legs are still slightly sore from that run and my chest muscles ache from a weights session at the gym yesterday.

To top it all, I hardly slept last night and gave in at around 4am to take a melatonin tablet which is meant to release sleep inducing hormones – cue me almost not being able to get up this morning and feeling like I have no energy all day.

I was supposed to do a speed session this afternoon as part of my training regime for Brighton but I just didn’t feel like it (plus I was worried about the legs) and so I did an easy 3miler around Streatham Common.

Unlike my mood, at least the sun was out as I set off on the route which takes me straight into a massive climb. I wasnt too fussed about the steepness as at least it slowed me down but on the way back, when running on the Common itself, it was ludicrous. The heavy rain from last night was still running down the grass (water on Streatham Common gathers from the Downs I believe) which was waterlogged and had me slipping and sliding all the way back.

I’ve never been more glad to see the front door but I guess day’s like today come to test the resolve. I managed to grit the teeth and carry on and, as a reward, ordered some new trainers ready for the big Brighton push.

Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3
Target: 453
Miles to date: 579.05

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

Day 150 and thank heaven for sports massage

For Natalie Onions – as mad as me

Crickey, day 150 and still feeling very tender after Sunday’s 15miler… this training for the Brighton marathon is taking its toll.

I felt even more tender when I visited my sports massage therapist Lillian this morning. When I told her where it hurt, she started sucking her teeth like a plumber who’s found a blocked u-bend… ‘Don’t say shin splints,’ I said as she went to work and continued to suck on her teeth.

She eventually, after half an hour, said my legs aren’t in too bad shape for someone who’s been running continually for six months and just told me to look after my legs over the coming weeks.

‘This is the time when you are more prone to injury in your training, luckily you’re seeing me early enough for me to help,’ she said.

And so I did a very very gentle run in the gym to celebrate and you know what, it didn’t feel too bad.

If you’re wondering who Natalie Onions is, she’s a woman who is also doing a year long challenge… but not with a run every day, but a thusfar entertaining blog. She even runs dressed like a pirate. Check it out at www.run1000miles.com

Click here for full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3.11
Target: 450
Miles to date: 576.05

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

Ouch, ouch, ouch

Really stiff from yesterday’s 15miler and my left calf has quite an ache, so I spent today’s run going very, very slowly on the treadmill at the gym. Ice and paracetamol on their way to help out…

Click here for full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3.01
Target: 447
Miles to date: 572.94

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

Signed up for the disney Marathon

Very excited yesterday to find out Disney actually hosts a marathon around Walt Disney World in Orlando every January that runs through the four parks – I’ve already put my name down to come back next year and run it.

This morning’s run was another dark one as we have another early start but I managed to just run a straight and back instead of going around the lakes as I have done the other days I’ve been here.

It’s something I’d not done previously as I had no idea where the road that goes right from our hotel goes, but we drove it yesterday (it heads to Epcot park) and so, even though I knew it was dark, I kind of knew where I was going…

I’m not sure if I ended up somewhere in one of the back lots at one point, but I did pass a building called Disney University – I’m sure they give Mickey Mouse degrees.

Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3.00
Target: 435
Miles to date: 548.78

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here

Walt Disney World Orlando, run 3

A full day on our Disney itinerary today has us meeting at 7.30, so it was just after 5.45 when I went out this morning.

I’ve not really got the time to do my two day’s speed training while here this week (each session takes more than an hour) so I think I’m going to have to stick to just the three miles.

As it was dark, it was another difficult run… While the Magic Kingdom castle was lit up this morning, the path’s around the resort can be a little hit and miss, so at times it was pretty dark. And when you are running by water in Florida, the last thing you need it to be is dark thanks to the gators that lurk there, so it all felt a bit bitty and saw me doing lots of running up and down the queue lanes I mentioned yesterday.

Click here for a Google Map and full details of the day’s run

Miles today: 3.00
Target: 432
Miles to date: 545.78

Want to dedicate a run to someone or have one dedicated to you? Click here