9 weeks to go.

So last week finished OK.  I went out on Friday and did the Tadworth Court short course run of 3.63 miles, taking it really steady after Thursday's nightmare and went round in a comfortable 36:12, or 9:57 mpm.  It was much better and my legs felt back to normal.  So far so good.  I then had my weekend off to rest and recover so Week 8 finished on the magic four runs but at a reduced mileage of 21.84.  Today Kerry and I came back from our lovely relaxing weekend in the Cotswolds.  It was going to be the chance to complete the second of my two targets, namely 100 miles in February.  Obviously I hadn't done my weekly LSD so with a goal of 8.75 miles to hit the century I headed out planning to do between 9 and 10, depending on how it went.  Well not very well was the answer.  I was only about a mile and a half in to the run and my lower left leg started really hurting.  It felt like I needed to stretch it out more so I stopped and did some stretches and then carried on.  It did feel a lot better, at first that is, but soon it all just locked solid and was aching badly.  I stretched it out some more and once again it felt better so I pushed on again, hoping that as I warmed up more it would ease itself.  It was pretty cold tonight and it just didn't seem to want to play ball, I got to two and a quarter miles and it locked up again.  That was it, I decided to call it a day and disconsolately walked the mile home.  I'd missed my 100 mile target right at the last gasp and had to be content with finishing February on 93.5 miles, however that was still the most I've ever run in a month so I have to take the  positive from that.  Ironically by the time I got back my leg felt much better but I didn't want to take any risks.  I'm out with my mate Andy tomorrow so let's see how things go on Wednesday. (S)

Hold your horses!

Wooooah there fella!  I think I got a bit carried away in my last post.  Those of you who know me will know that I have a tendency to get a bit obsessed with things and throw myself into them with an all consuming passion.  It's probably an Aries thing.  Anyway, in my headlong charge to achieve the two goals I was talking about in my previous blog entry I forgot the golden rule of running... Thou shalt not over-train!  Tuesday night was a high point in my build-up so far.  I went out and did the new improved 7 miler as a tempo/fartlek run and went round in 1:02:22 which equates to 8:55 mins per mile.  Now I've run under the 9mpm pace before, but it was the first time since 2007 that I'd managed it for a distance as long as that.  So I was well pleased!  Wednesday, not unsurprisingly, I felt a bit sore in the legs and had a rest day.  Last night was due to be another 7 miler but as soon as I started out I knew that it wasn't going to be another speed session.  I felt lethargic and my legs were really heavy.  My calves had been replaced by two blocks of concrete and despite stopping several times to stretch them out they didn't really ever loosen up.  I struggled round to about three miles but it just wasn't happening, I was feeling knackered and wasn't running smoothly at all, so decided to cut my losses and head back home.  I ended up only doing just over four miles and with the stretching and a couple of walking breaks I finished with a 10:46 mins per mile pace, somewhat slower than Tuesday's effort!  It wasn't that I was in any physical pain, more like that I had somebody else's hips and legs on and they didn't fit properly!
When things are going well it is all too easy to push yourself ever harder, to go further and faster, but it is so important that you give your body time to recover from the exertions and rebuild stronger for the next time.  I think last night was just my body asking for me to slow down a bit, I've been running so much more in the last few months and whilst I've been following the 10% max increase rule since the start of 2011, I have to remind myself that I'm not a twenty year old any more!  (For those of you who don't know, the perceived wisdom is that you should not increase your training week on week or month on month by any more than 10%, to give your body a chance to repair, recover and be ready for the increased stresses of the next level of training).  With this in mind tonight's planned seven miler is now going to probably be no more than four miles and then I have Saturday and Sunday as complete rest (in the Cotswolds with my lovely wife!).  That way I will still keep up the four runs a week and depending on what I do on Monday, I still might just get to my 100 miles for the month mark!  Have a great weekend one and all. (S)

10 weeks to go.

Well then, 10 weeks to go and I make absolutely no apology for my choice of image!
So on with the running.  I was feeling a bit sore in the legs after Sunday's 10 miler but knew that I had to get out last night as there are a few targets I'm going for this week.  Firstly I still want to keep up the four runs a week regime, but as I'm taking Mrs. Beast away for a romantic weekend in the Cotswolds I won't be able to run on Saturday or Sunday, meaning I'll have to fit them all in before then.  (Oh the irony of pissing her off by being out running every night, just so that I can take her away on a romantic weekend afterwards!).  Secondly I am in touching distance of 100 miles for February, the biggest mileage I've ever clocked in a month by far, God I just can't resist a stat- related goal!  So to mix it up a bit I decided to do an alternative seven miler (click if you're interested).  I started deliberately slowly as my ankles were creaking a bit, but got up to a comfortable speed after a couple of miles and finished in 1:06:07.  I'm feeling a bit knackered today and I'm fully aware of the importance of rest days/weeks, so I'm going to just push on through to the end of those two targets and then make next week a bit of a recovery week.  So another seven miler ahead of me tonight, better have a kip on the train on the way home!
P.S. Good luck to Jim at the Consultant tomorrow! (S)

Run to the beat.

A couple of different runs this weekend, and a bit of an experiment.  Since I've been back into my running (which will be a year to the day on Tuesday) I've pretty much been listening exclusively to podcasts as my run entertainment.  So on Friday I decided to see if "running to the beat" would have a positive effect on my performance. I had run the 7 miler for the first time on Monday accompanied by Frank Skinner, so this time I took Messrs Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, Young, Young, Johnson, Williams and Rudd instead, otherwise known as Metallica and AC/DC.  I was hoping the up-tempo nature of the tracks would help me to a couple of minutes quicker than Monday, so I was well pleased with my 1:05:58 which was over five minutes quicker.  So it's conclusive, a bit of metal injection is a good way to improve your running times!
Today was back to the weekend LSD (maaaan).  I hit double figures, with a very slow (11:00mpm) ten miler which was a mixture of road and trail, incorporating some of the 7 miler followed by a Spire (check out the route here).  The first couple of miles were a bit hard going (probably down to last night's evening of excess for Vix's birthday!) and I had to stop several times to stretch out my calves and thighs, but by the end I was moving freely and felt good.  So there we are, Week 7 done, four runs completed again and 27.63 miles logged.  Rock and Roll baby! (S)

Hey Mr Consultant I kneed to know the knowledge on my knee....



And cough......



Apologies dear readers for my lack of update on the crunching knee. I am now relatively pain free, apart from night times, and am back to work at intervals sat at the desk. Current understanding is the meniscus is damaged, restricting the movement of the knee. Always feel like it is just about to go again, so am being very careful.

The lesson for me, I guess, is not to overdo it with exercise, Kerry and I in the same boat! Have to say I am bored to tears with being house bound and am missing my work travel, but am getting some great support from mates via e-mail and calls, which are excellent thankyou.

For sure the Mighty Gunners' victory this week was a real highlight, and a great night even if my wife did remove herself upstairs to bed because the football was on!  My daughter and boyfriend, both Gooners, and I sat in the living room shouting and cheering and waving scarves at the TV. Wayhay what a night. Have to say my texting live with Steve Strutbrother, who was at the match, was great and made up for not being there to a degree...cheers Stevie!

And I am sure you will all agree with me, he is now running for two, and doing a stalwart job in training for the GWR half. Keep it going mucky legs, and keep on blogging your efforts, brings me out in a sweat just reading the hill work!

So next week brings physio part 2 on Tuesday and the consultant appointment on Wednesday to see if any surgery is required, so will come back to you with a further update next week.

Have great weekends, Steve I will virtually join you on a run, you are tasked with finding a portable run cam for the blog!!

Is it beer o'clock yet?

It's all about the Little Russian!

And last night it certainly was!  As a footie lover and someone that follows a particular team it is nights like last night that are the reason you go through all the disappointment, heartache, mediocrity and frustration of being a fan.  For those of you who don't follow the beautiful game, my glorious Gunners stunned Barcelona, arguably the best team in the world at the moment, and beat them in an amazing night at the Emirates.  It was the first leg of the Round of 16 in the Champions League and Arsenal claimed a famous victory, coming from behind to beat the Catalans 2-1 with goals from Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin.  RVP equalised David Villa's first half opener with just 12 minutes left on the clock and then the Little Russian scored five minutes later to put the seal on one of the truly great evenings at the Arsenal.  I know it's only "half-time" and it's going to be exceptionally tough in the second leg at the Camp Nou, but they can never take last night away from us.  It was simply awesome and I was so proud of my team. Well done boys and fingers crossed for the return.
Anyway, this is a running blog and there are better descriptions of the match elsewhere (Click here for a link to the excellent Arseblog) so back to the matter in hand.  Thanks to the woeful state of the London Underground it took me an hour to do a journey that normally takes 15 minutes tonight, and consequently I missed my train home.  By the time I finally got back it was way too late to do my proposed 7 miler so I decided to compromise and do the Tadworth Court Short course 3.63 miler (Click to route) as a tempo run instead.  I started off feeling a bit tight in the chest for some reason and had to stop for a quick blast on the old puffer after about a mile, but that could have been just because it was a bit cold on the lungs out there tonight.  After that everything seemed a bit easier and I powered round (well, in my definition of "power"!) in 33:25, or a season's best pace of 8:38!  I was really pleased with that and was really glad I'd forced myself out the door and hadn't just given up on the evening's session as I'd been tempted to do.  I'm going to have to do my 7 miler tomorrow now I'm but looking forward to it and feel encouraged by tonight's pace.
I entered another race today too, the "Down Tow Up Flow Half Marathon" in July.  I did the "Up Flow" route last year with mixed results (loved the race, very disappointed with my 2:15 time), so hoping to do better this year when they run the "Down Flow" direction.  For more details see the race website (Link to race details).  Catch you later! (S)

11 weeks to go.

So the start of another week and for once I didn't run on Monday.  Well what sort of husband would I be if I abandoned my lovely wife on Valentines Day to go running?!  So a rest day it was, with a lovely (healthy) meal and a bottle of wine, a bit of a snuggle on the sofa and some tele.  Ahhhhh.
Normal service was resumed tonight though and it was my first go at my new 7 miler (Clicky thingy). It took me 1:11:27 to do the 7.15 undulating miles, so that was fine, as I took it fairly steady because I was feeling a bit knackered after a long day at work and my legs were still a little sore from the weekend's cross country.  I'm going to have another recovery night tomorrow (I won't mention why so that I don't jinx anything!) and then will have another go at the route on Thursday.  Only a short blog tonight so adios amigos! (S)

Time to get yer legs out!

Like the clocks going forward in Spring or the Glorius Twelfth in August there are things that happen at certain times of the year without fail.  For me it is getting my legs out come mid February.  All through the winter I tend to wear my leggings but this weekend (barring unexpected snowfall) they've gone back into the running stuff draw until the autumn and it's bare legs from now on!  Mind you it was actually pretty chilly on my runs this weekend and was alternating between sideways freezing rain and hail today, but I suppose that meant that at least I wasn't bogged down by soggy bottoms. As it were.  Both runs this weekend were cross country and muddy, as the photo to the left will testify, but I've always rather enjoyed running in the mud and rain.  Indeed sploshing through the puddles (it's pointless trying to pick your way around them on the Downs routes that I run) is almost as pleasurable as the hot shower when you get home.  Thursday's fartlek session obviously did some good as on a reasonably challenging route I held my best cross country pace so far this year, completing the 6.1 miles in 1:00:36 (9:56 mpm).  That was Saturday morning and this afternoon, after a calorie and alcohol laden dinner party last night, I went out again and did another cross country 8 miler in 1:21:05 (10:08 mpm).  Neither route is really comparable to road running as the conditions are often very slippery, ankle deep in mud and pretty steep in places, compounded this afternoon by the inclement precipitation. Fun though!  So Week 6 is now chalked off and I've managed to keep the four runs a week going, this time clocking 25.35 miles and taking me over the 100 miles for the year so far.  Nice. (S)

Pizza and wine makes you feel fine.

So Wednesday’s run didn’t quite go to plan.  I got a call from Richard who was up in London on business from his home in sleepy Devon.  Obviously I couldn’t abandon the chap to a lonely night in a faceless hotel in Euston, with only a curled up cheese sandwich from room service to look forward to, so being a good friend I sacrificed my training session and went out with Rich and imbibed several pints of strong ale, some crostini, a massive pizza, a bottle of red wine and finished off with a cheeky limoncello.  Ah, the things we do for our mates.

Last night I obviously had to make amends.  I had to pop the ticket money from our clergytastic thespian endeavours in to the church treasurer, so I decided to run to her house and kill two birds with one stone. I know it had only been Monday since I’d last been out running but for some reason it felt much longer and it was good to head off out the door again. The run up there was conducted at a very steady if rather leisurely pace, and after a brief chat on the doorstep my breathing and heart rate were almost back to normal.

As Thursday night is hill session night I had intended to carry on to where I do my reps, but time was against me so that idea was ditched in favour of the pea and pancetta pasta that the lovely Kerry was preparing for me at home.  However I started feeling a bit guilty, and with the spectre of “junk miles” looming over my shoulder I decided to up the quality of the session and turn it into a fartlek run.  Using alternate lampposts as my markers I speed-played all the way home and what was in danger of becoming all a bit mediocre turned into a really uplifting run. I’ve only done one fartlek session this year so it felt really good to push my body to near its limits.  I arrived home panting and sweaty and basked in the glow for the rest of the evening.  I’m not sure that the efforts countered the massive calorie intake of Wednesday night but the final stats of 44:22 for 4.85 miles made me happy! 

As a footnote I have recently signed up to the Fetcheveryone website (Clicky clicky) and joined the “1000 miles in 2011” group.  As I only completed just over 500 miles in the last twelve months it is a bit of a step up, but so far I’m pretty much on track and it’s good to have a goal!  My other group is the “Sub 2 hour half marathon” one, although I’ve actually gone under two hours on seven previous occasions I haven’t done it since 2007, so it’s also given me a bit of performance related focus to my running.  My first attempt is going to be at the Fleet Half Marathon on March 20^th so we’ll see how that goes!  It’s a rest night tonight but I feel a bit of cross country in the offing for Saturday.  TTFN. (S)

A Cute Injury?

Well is it? Cute? I don't think so! Yes tomorrow is D-Day, the appointment at the acute injury clinic at the local hospital. Will let you all know how it goes. Missing the donning of the hi-vis and looking forward to the race in May.
Steve is going geat guns with the training even with a few sore thighs, keep it going and don't over do it!
I'm looking forward to tomorrow as at least I will know what the prognosis is. I think I have torn the cartliage, let's see what the experts say!

12 weeks to go.

Well the clock is ticking (excuse the pun) as we head into the second week of February (God where is the time going?!).  Last week (Week 5) finished on a total of 4 runs over 23 miles so the mileage is creeping up, this week I'm going for 25 miles, which with a bit of tweaking I should be able to cover in four runs again.  A proper length long run at the weekend (with no chaffing!) should see that done.  Tonight is going to be the same 6.4 mile route I did a couple of times last week, at the pace target of 9:45 mins per mile, so we'll see how I get on.
So here I am, back after my run.  I was taking no chances tonight and had padded plasters on my "wounds", long boxers, running shorts and then tracksters on top.  Four layers to protect my delicate little thighs.  Bless.  It did the job though and I headed off using the Virtual Partner on my Garmin to keep around the 9:45 pace.  It all went pretty smoothly and I got to 4.5 miles just 10 seconds down so decided to push on and up the pace for the last two miles home.  I'm beginning to get a feel for the sort of pace I'm running at and was pretty confident of making up the time, and by the end I had actually gained a minute and finished in 1:01:25, which translates as 9:36 pace. Whilst I was a little surprised to find myself down at 4.5 miles I was happy with the finish tonight, seeing as the race is going to be twice as long as this training run it was good to be feeling strong at the six mile mark.  I'm going to have a rest day tomorrow and then I think I might have a bit of a go at some fartleking on Wednesday.  (S)

More Vaseline Vicar?

Well first things first and last night I trod the boards for the first time in many, many years in a murder mystery whodunit play called "Who Killed the Vicar?".  It was a fund raiser for the church roof (no, seriously!) and I played the part of the Reverend Tobias Byrne, the curate of St. Ignatius the Unflappable, in the parish of Steeply Willows.  We had an audience of about 150, raised about £3,000 and had a very fun night.  And no, I wasn't the murderer, but I was the murderer's accomplice!  Thanks to everyone who came and supported a worthy cause.  Anyway, we had a bit of an after show drinkie back at Chez Richardson, and I must admit I wasn't feeling 100% this morning.  I'd left my car at the hall last night and had planned on doing an amended version of the Sheep Walk 8.1 miler, taking in a Spire and ending up back at Walton to pick it up.  However things didn't go quite to plan, it was all a bit laboured today, although the uphill bits didn't feel as hard as usual so maybe the hill sessions are beginning to pay off.  That in itself wouldn't really have been too much of a problem, I would have been quite happy to plod along at a slower than the normal pace, no the trouble was that bane of a runner's life, chaffing!  I had applied my Bodyglide as normal (ooh errr Vicar!) but wasn't wearing my normal running undergarments, and consequently my inner thighs started to chaff.  Now, any of you that have experienced this particular phenomenon will know just how bloody painful it can be!  I was only about 3 miles into the run and already things were heating up below.  Every stride was beginning to sting just a little bit more, I was half an hour from my car and obviously didn't have a handy travel pack of Vaseline about my person!  On the big city marathons you always see the good old St. John's Ambulance people with their rubber gloves and big globs of Vaseline at the road side, and they have brought relief to thousands, but unfortunately there weren't any lurking around all greased up on Epsom Downs today.  There was nothing for it but to get back to the car asap and try to minimise any damage.  This meant cutting out the Spire bit of the run and settling for 6.1 miles, but I didn't care by that point.  Red raw and grateful I finally got back to the Beastmobile and drove home, my legs apart the whole way.  A footnote to this story will be a couple of pieces of advice, firstly make sure you are adequately lubed up or have sufficiently long enough pants or running shorts to avoid inner thigh friction on your run and secondly, once you are safely home be very careful, hot water and shower gel can sting like buggery! Toodlepip and may your God go with you. (S)

Hills in the morning.

Mornings and hills... Two of my least favourite things.  And in a moment of synchronicity they came together to usher in the weekend.  Due to a visit from my mother-in-law last night I ended up staying in and postponing what was originally Thursday's hill session until this morning.  I woke up mentally ready to do the session but in retrospect I'm not so sure I was ready physically.  It was all a bit too early after a night of steak, chips and red wine. And a box of Maltesers.  God I love Maltesers, there's something about that malty goodness.  Anyway I'm in a Murder Mystery play tonight and was heading off for the dress rehearsal at 10am, so I had to do the run early or it might not have happened.  The warm up run was OK, I took it pretty easy, stopping for a few stretches, the hills themselves weren't too bad and the warm down, complete with some more stretching was painless enough.  It was just that I felt generally knackered and slow.  The whole 4.1 miles took 44:45 which is fairly irrelevant as today wasn't about the time.  As I blogged with the last hill session I'm going to start focusing on improving the hill reps themselves which today took 15:19, so we'll see how that changes over the weeks.
It's good to see Jimbo back in the blogosphere, fingers crossed for a favourable outcome fella!  Finally today I have a shout-out to my old mates Andy and Wozza from South Wales, they've also signed up for the Great West Run, so I hope to include some updates on their progress along the way too.  Have a great weekend one and all! (S)

Well that's torn it or tales from Knee Ville...

What is the true definition of friendship? Well look to the left...this is the only way I will complete the Great West Run, on current form! Limber up Stevie I'm coming aboard!

Yes dear blog readers, you will have read my compadres news of my knee injury. I have waited until today to blog, as it was doctors day. Was not worth the wait!

On Sunday I was 5 miles into my 7.5 miler, good pace, sun out, breathing good. Slight ache in right knee so had support bandage on. 3/4 way up killer hill, Willsbridge, an invisible man jumped me and stuck a blunt knife in mt right kneecap. I staggered back, lost my breath and grabbed a thorn bush in desperation not to fall over (stop giggling). It was so dramatic a car stopped to see if I was OK! A fellow runner no doubt. More likely a young couple thinking fat old bald bloke having a heart attack! After stumbling / jogging home (it hurt as bad whatever I did) I got home and after a few hours of agony, during which I cooked Sunday lunch, my son took me to A&E.

I am now on co-codamol and diclofenac pain killers and anti inflamitories. When it's pain free its fine and I think 'what am I doing here?'. But for a few sessions each day, like now, it cramps up, goes into spasm and takes my breath away it is such sharp searing stabbing pain and burning inside the knee. It goes into my toes, and up my leg. I get pins and needles in my toes and am bound like a kipper cos of the pills!!

Needless to say, from one who travels a lot with work, and is busy busy busy, the last 5 days have been hell. I have nearly completed a full family tree history on www.ancestry.co.uk a great site by the way, Did a bit of work, watched interminable tosh on TV (how many relocation and antiques programs can they make!) and have learned how to bake a Victoria sponge, do a fashion makeover for 65 year olds, learnt the vagaries of the most recent face creams and how to spot a fake perfume in the market. My god, we wonder why the British are so brain dead, just watch the complete tosh on our TV screens. DUR!!

Rant over. What shall I do now....

Well next steps are waiting for physio appointment for them to assess what is wrong with the knee ( we think you have hurt it Mr Dalton, yes I know, oh OK, you will need to wait another year fro another appointment etc etc). Doctor recommend an MRI scan then we can see what needs to be done. Have started painting the Forth road Bridge and reckon it will be done before I see the scanner.. ho hum.

Well the knee fairies have departed and the gremlins arrived and poured molten mercury over my knee cap, gotta go and wince for s bit... don't worry I'll be back.....

Passing on the baton.

Well there's nothing definite yet but it looks like Jim may have to have a operation on his knee.  That pretty much would certainly rule him out of the GWR, although there would be an outside chance of recovering in time it's doubtful that he would have the fitness or the miles in the tank to take on the distance.  There is a lot of talk about "respecting the distance", and whilst a half marathon obviously isn't as tough as a full marathon it shouldn't be underestimated.  Running over 13 miles is something that a couple of lumps the age and condition of me and Jim have to build up to (slowly!), or we could come a real cropper!  Anyway, more from Emergency Ward 10 when our brave (not so) little soldier has been to the knee doctor.
And so it falls to me to take up the baton on behalf of the Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee partnership and keep the training going.  I decided that a bit of effort was required tonight so headed out on the same 6.4 mile route I did on Monday.  The idea was to up the pace and after yesterday's rest day the legs felt OK, so I pushed on when running on the level or downhill and tried to keep it steady on the hills.  The end result was nearly three minutes quicker and under the hour mark in 59:38 (9:18 mpm).  I have to say that five weeks into my training I'm pretty happy to be running at that pace over that distance.  It's far too soon to be thinking about times for the actual race, but if I have aspirations to go under the two hour mark (9:10 mpm) for the first time in four years, then things are progressing in the right direction.  Fingers crossed I can keep it up! (S)