Nur nur nur nur nur nur nur nur BAT RUN!

Thought it best to stretch the legs prior to Saturday's Grim so I planned a little route during the day and headed out for a run while leaving Mrs HMC to put George to bed.

I pried open my trainers and broke off the mud holding them together and slipped my feet into them. Toasty warm due to leaving them on a radiator! A head torch was donned and a little flashy red light arm band type thingy was attached to my arm. It was quite a mild night in Surrey so no hat was needed and after 5 minutes, I was wishing I'd chosen a short sleeve instead of a long sleeve top!

I'd planned a little loop I hadn't done before which had been checked for paths on Google Streetview. Quite a nice run actually that included a great little section with very little street lighting and lots and lots of bats for company and then another part with a view where the sky had some quite cool effects going on. 6.22km was completed in 33:33 which is back to my normal pace as I'd removed the 2 BIG hills from my route.

I have also bitten the bullet and ordered the New Balance 1064 which should arrive soon and it also means that Saturday's Grim Challenge with eatingtrees and fitartist could be the final send off for my last ever pair of 1063's! They've done every race bar my very first half marathon. It'll be a sad day.

Oh and I forgot, this years Half Marathon European adventure has been planned. This year.... The City Pier City Loop on the 13th March. Myself, eatingtrees and Mrs HMC are going on a road trip!

A cry for help! New Balance trainers

Right, this is my problem. My New Balance MR1063WN 2E are coming to the end of their life and I have only used this type of trainer since I started running as they are the right width for my extremely high arches and have NEVER caused me a problem when running.

 AN OLDER PAIR THAT GOT ME THROUGH GRIM '09

They have now been discontinued and I can't find another pair for love nor money (or indeed a long Google search). They have been replaced with the 1064 which although they look lovely, numerous reviews say that they feel a lot stiffer and aren't good for anything much longer than a 10k.

I have a Half Marathon in Feb and another in March and I have no idea what shoe to buy but I need to get it soon to have a chance to break them in.

I'm not going to lie, changing trainers scares me. I know numerous people who have gone on to develop Iliotibial Band Syndrome as soon as they've tried new trainers and that can't happen.

Does anyone know: a)where I can still get hold of a pair of New Balance MR1063WN 2E trainers in a UK9.5 or b)what the hell I buy to replace them if not?

HELP!!!

Up, up and away into the puddles

With Grim happening next Saturday, I headed out on another run this morning in order to stretch the legs and try and have some chance of surviving next weekend. I planned to do the same route as myself and eatingtrees did last Sunday and duly headed up the hills.

There were lots of sights to see today. Firstly, a pond full of even more dead fish than I saw last weekend (frost got to 'em), a prick in a BMW overtake someone at a stupid speed in a 30 zone (we can only hope he will end up in the pond before he hurts someone), a miserable runner in black who did not return my 'Good Morning' (first time this has happened since getting out of London), a big hill that hurts a lot...

THE TOP OF THE HILL ON CHALK LANE

...many, many horses some of which were dressed in pink, lot's of puddles, lot's of mud, a few cars, a cheery 'Good Morning' man getting into his car and some cloud.

Today turned out to be better training for Grim than I could have ever imagined due to the last 3 days of rain we've had. At the end of the long downhill and just before the longer uphill, there was what can only be described as a flooded road. There was nothing for it and the water poured in over the top of my trainers. The bridal path was also just a mud fest which made it tough going and then the entrance to Ashtead Park was also ankle deep mud.

I got to the point where I head home around 3 minutes better than last Sunday's and still felt OK so decided to extend it a bit further. That's where my legs really started aching and the very reason I'm sitting in compression socks right now! 11.33km in 1:06:07. Not quick but with those hills, it never will be.

Motivation and a goal

My motivation turned up today in the form of a bald man with glasses. Eatingtrees made his way down from up north to go for a run around the Surrey hills. It was my first outing for about 2 and a half months so it was going to hurt and if it was going to hurt anyway, I may as well choose a route that at least causes some level of discomfort for eatingtrees too.

A trip that was just shy of 10km and had many a hill, bridle path and road running section was completed in just over an hour and thoroughly enjoyed. It was a good start to 2011.

My 2011 goal is the same as a few others but a bit more lightweight as I have to be honest, if it's too difficult, I'll just give up. 2011 KM either by bike or by running by the end of the year. 2010 for various reasons wasn't really a good year for exercise so this goal is doable but still a push for me. To put this in perspective, since the 17th August until the end of the year, I ran or cycled a grand total of 58.5 km! See, it's not going to straight forward!

Twas the night (or morning of the night)...

...before Christmas and HMC decided to step on some scales (at the parents, he doesn't own any)....

It's been a while. I've never been a light man and never expect to be so as I haven't done any exercise for around 2 months, this wasn't going to be pretty. 14 stone is pretty much standard for me and anything around that I'd be OK with. (for 'OK', read disappointed but not disappointed enough to actually do anything about it).

On we go... Huh? Problem. Step off, reset to 0, step back on again and same reading. A smidgen over 13 stone. Huh? What the _____? When in all that is holy did that happen and second question is... If I seem to have lost a 14th of my body weight, WHERE THE FUDGE HAS IT GONE?

I put it down to bad scales and got on with my xmas of cold, cough, chest pains, no appetite and needing to sleep during daylight hours. This was a horrible xmas personally. I've never been wiped out completely before but on my 31st xmas and George's very 1st, Daddy was not good!

Anyway, next was off to the in-laws for more food, drink and merryment. Again, I wasn't good but they did own scales which enabled me to test myself again. This time though, just after a meal and fully clothed (bet you're glad I left my nakedness out of the earlier weighing session now aren't you!). I came in just under 13 and a half and therefore have lost some weight somewhere.

After a couple of days, I think I've sussed it. No running or cycling means all my muscle has turned back in to fat and that's lighter. That's the only theory I have. I wish I'd known earlier in my life that if didn't exercise I could lose weight. Things would be so much easier.

Anywho, good luck to all the frankly disturbed and freaky people doing Janathon. I have no idea why! The only way I found time for Juneathon was running at 5:20am most mornings and that was before George was born. 5am on a January morning when I already fight for sleep every night? Behave people! But good luck anyway. I will be following you. Now I have 2 weeks to get myself able to do the re-organised Grim Challenge on Jan 15th. Don't suppose snow is due is it?