I move slow and steady

I've had to temporarily abandon my transition to minimalist running due to what could be plantar fasciitis or what I generally class as a bloody sore foot! The facts are this. I'm too fat and my running style too inefficient to carry on in those shoes to be able to run a half marathon in what is only around 8 weeks time around Maas.

Today, I reverted back to the old faithful's that got me through the Berlin Marathon. You know, the ones that made my toes go numb for 4-6 weeks!! Brilliant. Quite frankly though, I needed to get some k's back into the legs. I know I can get through the 3 days of cycling on our trip to Belgium but I needed to prove to myself that I can run more the 7km without dying. I can!

I left this morning with the words 'I don't know where I'm going and I hope to be back sometime between 35 mins and an hour' depending on how it was going. Well it went OK. As per the Of Monsters & Men inspired blog post title, it wasn't quick but 12.3km completed in 1hr 6mins.

What made it better was some good coffee when I got home. Now rather embarrassingly, I cannot remember for the life of me, who sent it to me but I can vouch that it is bloody tasty despite having quite frankly, the most bizarre packaging. What has a picture of a pouting/angry women and a fake monkey got to do with coffee. Any who, it's called Bounce or Aroma, I think. Who knows.... However, as I said, really, really tasty and highly recommended. So much so, I'm off to make another pot!

Lo(s)ts of ups and downs

After eating my own body weight in cake, crumble and roast dinner yesterday (notice no chocolate, couldn't fit it in) I knew that my planned quick run of 8/10km would have to be increased somewhat. I also knew it was time for some hills if I was to burn it off properly.

I planned for around 13/14km which would take in a brand new, never run by me, path through the countryside and would include my least favourite route in my area. Chalk Lane. It's not an evil hill but has just the right mix of evil and length. 60/65m gain which takes around 1.5km. Its just doesn't seem to end. My reward for getting to the top of this mountain* (AUTHOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EXAGGERATE A TINY, TINY BIT) a biting wind throwing the so far pleasant rain, into a horizontal angle into my face. Joy. 

Hey ho, there's then a lovely downhill that follows just moments before another uphill that is on a muddy, uneven and horse trodden bridle path. More joy! At the top of that hill was the never run before path. Time for some 'I don't really know where I'm going but I know where I'll end up' running.

Only I didn't. I ran straight making no big detours but as I crossed the M25, I realised that half of my 'never run before' path was still never run. At no point was I meant to cross the M25. Decision time, carry on or go back... Sod it, carry on it was. It felt like a bit of adventure. I then found a road with no paths that I plodded down hoping I was heading in vaguely the right direction and by shear chance, came upon the A24. A-ha. Not where I was meant to be but at least I knew where I was now.

Once I was back on my planned route, I worked out that my run was more likely to be a tad over 15km. Then the thoughts were, if it's only a couple of extra to pass the 16.7km or 10mile mark, it would be rude not to. An extra couple of turns were thrown in to add a little to the distance and back home I was, soggy, aching and grinning like a cheshire cat. I love the rain!!

REALLY NEED TO GET BACK MY CONSISTENCY! ALL OVER THE PLACE ALTHOUGH YOU CAN GUESS WHERE THE HILLS WERE!

There's something going on around here...

Well there was yesterday anyway. Knowing the heat was going to get to me if I went out later in the day, I decided to get out of the house at 7:30am for a long run. The Maidstone HM is now only 14 days away so I thought I better start the training at some point and it seemed as good as any. I pulled on my trainers and headed out on a 15.4km route I'd been doing earlier in the year.

As I don't listen to music when running, I sometimes need something to keep my awake and today was VW counting. It seems there was a show on somewhere as by the time I'd finished, I'd seen 21 classic VW campers and 8 classic Beetles. There really are some dedicated people in the world!!!

Anyway, the route is an undulating little fellow that always tests my legs and 5-10km I could really feel something in my knee. Not a pain so much as some discomfort. Oh dear I thought but as with the majority of my running hypochondriac-ism, it settled down a bit as I was coming back along the road to home after around 12-13km.

At this point my brain decided that it would be good mentally if I could get 17km under the shoes as leaving only 4km extra to do on the day would just be a case of pushing on mentally so as I got closer to home, I suddenly took a detour and headed up another hill. The High St was coming alive now as it was close to 9am but I continued up the hill, past the other end of my road, up another hill and the started the steady descent back to home. Then the knee did it again but this time with pain. I slowed right down an got back and then id A LOT of stretching and touch wood, this morning it seems OK if not a little achy (along with the rest of my legs).

My pace was a lot slower than my recent 10km outing but 17:3km was completed in 1:32:55 and it's just a relief to have done some distance. It's not going to be quick but at least I know I should be able to complete it now.

Ashtead 10k 2011 - Race Report

Ah the joy of a home town race. No getting up stupidly early and before The Boy wakes up, no looking up directions to places unknown the day before, no sitting in a car park for over an hour as you turned up far too early and best of all, a toilet close at hand without the queues.

The Ashtead 10k was here again and along with it, the uneven bridle path of kilometre 1 and 9, the 'will there, won't there' of the hornets, the wearing his union flag/jack shorts by the organiser and the singing of the national anthem before the start.

Being this close to home, it also gave Lovely Wife a chance of being on time for the finish too which is more of a rarity now The Boy's around and I'm please to say she made it to cheer me along the final straight and even got it on camera.

eatingtrees came to visit before the race which was good to have a catch-up and then a slow wander down to collect our race numbers, pin them on and get to the start. The course is an out and back and can only be described as 'undulating/hilly' and as I said while walking down there 'there's no chance anybody would get a PB here unless they haven't raced much'.

Knowing the area and course like I do, the second 5km is more downhill than up so at the halfway point, the thought is more, 'worst is over' rather than a 'having to tackle it all again' attitude.

It's a little bunched at the start so I took to the long grass at the sides and when I ran through the first km mark which is mostly uphill in 5:05, it boosted my confidence no end. A recent training run on this exact course was long, slow and painful so I plodded on with a renewed sense of energy.

It's a keep left on a pathway kind of race and for me personally, the plan was to get as close to halfway point as possible before seeing the leaders run back past me. As it was, I made it to just past 4km (just before 6km for them) before the leader sprinted (it can only be described as sprinting) past and got from me as well as others on the course, a big cheer/clap/well done such is the general good feeling of the runners.

I hit the half way point on 24:45 and wow did that bring a smile to my face. I was honestly expecting to fight against last years time on 52:07 but currently, I was on for a sub 50 minutes for the third time in the last four 10k's! Another motivational boost.

Right, off we go. A slapped hand while passing eatingtrees less than a minute later kept the legs moving up the hill to the back of Ashtead common and now the watch was being checked every kilometre. 6km, still under 50mins. 7km, still under 50mins and I knew 7-8km was a quick one. 8km, 5:15!! I'd backed off too much as I felt it was easy and was now only 10 seconds inside that 50 minute mark and had the short sharp uphill to come. DAMMIT! Time to dig in again and now I had pace makers. They were going at a good rate so I felt that if I stayed in touch, I could still do it especially as the final KM is downhill albeit on the most uneven bit of ground I ever run on. Well except Grim.

Uphill and 9km complete and I'd got back 15 seconds. Sub 50 was back looking likely. What I didn't know (and had I known during, I may have pushed a bit harder) was how close to a PB I had come. 49:10 finishing time. 7 seconds off a PB. Nearly 3 minutes quicker than last year and I felt great!

Wonderful marshaling, a lovely atmosphere and a great race for me personally. Today was a good day!

Job done

The 2 birds, 1 stone theory came out last night as I headed out on an 8km loop that ended at the polling station to vote a mere 300m from my house. Upon walking in and giving my address, I got the pretty quick witted line of 'and you're that tired running from there, you need some more practice'. It was said with a smile and I thought still showed some humour after being sat at a desk most of the day handing out polling cards.

The run was non eventful but felt comfortable the whole way and that even includes the 2 hills that i have to contend with on that route. In fact I spent pretty much most of the run thinking about Saturday's cycle to and Sunday's run around Worthing. It was just nice to be running in the evening again to be honest without the need for torches, 14 items of clothing and frost on the beard. The 8km was run in 5.15's which was a comfortable non pushing pace for me.

A 34km ride is planned for tomorrow followed by a run on somewhere in the region of 9-10km on Sunday morning which should give me a good level of fitness as I approach Grim Beast in the East the following weekend. Not that will be fun. Quite a few people I know who are doing it so it will be a real team 'get everyone over the line event'. Bring it on!

Sorry for the extremely dull post. I even got bored typing it but I've come this far now so I better fi....

Hydration. I got a D

I worked from home yesterday. This meant a few things:

a)I had a fridge full of chocolate
b)I had a boy to look after as Mrs HMC had to pop into work for a meeting
c)I had lots of spelling errors on my emails from an excited boy hitting the keys
d)I had time for a run

Now seeing as this blog is loosely about running, point 'd' seems to be the most relevant.

I needed to take the boy to one of his nursery settling in sessions and had planned to stay in town, take my kindle, buy a coffee and kill some time. However, in a moment of inspiration, 10 mins before I was due to leave, I realised I could drive in, drop him off, drive back, get changed, go for a run, have a shower, drive back in and pick him up again just as he finished if I was organised.

I was. Now after my last run where I found an old route I'd done a while before and spanked the time out of the park, I decided on that theory again and promptly found a 9.11km route that I'd last run on the 24th July 2010. It had taken me 47:56 and I assume it was hot. It certainly was yesterday. Perfect blue sky, sunshine beating down (to give the tops of my cheeks their scarlet glow) and absolutely no water in my body. Yup, stupidly forgot to drink much during the day so when at 3pm, I headed out into the bright light, I could already feel that my lips were dry after about 500m of running. Arse.

The ups and downs ticked themselves off as I battled with the school eviction time and the mums in their ridiculous Chelsea tractors double parked everywhere but all got better once I got off the roads the through the common. I'd wrongly read the time I had to beat and was pushing to finish in under 47:11 which I thought was the time I'd set so when I came in at 46:58, I thought job well done. Then I checked the computer and realised I'd taken nearly a minute off. Result. Imagine what I could achieve with the power of water.

Long weekend number 2 is on the horizon and I'm hoping this one doesn't see me have to cancel any planned bike rides or spend any nights on the loo but hey, you just never know. If the plans don't get interrupted, they'll be a 37km bike ride on Yolkey, a bit of a run or 2, some tinkering on Mrs HMC's new bike and lots of play time with the boy. It all starts tonight though with dinner with eatingtrees and the listening to of stories regarding his Vibrams and his absolutely destroyed feet.

A top run

I had to get myself out for a run today as the weather looked like it could be a good one and I have the little matter of the eatingtrees home town race next week, that being the Hertford 10k.

It was also a chance to test a couple of recent items I'd been sent to review. Today's was a new top. Without a doubt, one of the softest tops I've ever had. It's like running in a cuddle! The only problem is that it was a long sleeve cuddle and we're coming into spring so it was quite warm. It would have been great to try this one about a month ago but beggars can't be choosers. They can just merely comment.

The top is from the people at BAM who produce some quite lovely Bamboo clothing. It's not designed primarily as a running top but something for everything. Running, cycling, skiing and hiking etc which means I'm pretty sure, it's going to get a lot of use and in that way, I'm certainly going to put their 'Non Smelly' claim to the test.

It felt like it was going to absorb a lot of moisture and being dark blue, I suspected that come the end of my run, it would all be a slightly darker colour and soaked. I was wrong. At the end of 14.34km in 1:19:07 and in quite warm temperatures, this was the result!

LOOK AT THAT FINE SPECIMEN. NO, I MEAN THE TOP

So all in all, really happy with it and I'd even be tempted to get a short sleeve version for myself apart from one thing, the short sleeve don't seem to have the zipped neck which in keeping the wind out really helps but in letting the air in, would be even better.

The run was a non eventful and quite slow trot around my usual route while listening to an audiobook . There really is nothing else to add but I do love spring. I think it could quite possibly be, my favourite season . Not too warm. Generally dryer and you don't have to wear half your wardrobe to go outside. Bliss

Next week's trip to Hertford will be lovely with promises of 10k runs, bike post removal, shisha and Mrs Eatingtrees' home cooked food to look forward to, how could it not. Right, I have a lawn to mo and boy to entertain. Enjoy your weekend's people!

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.

It has it's ups and downs

I really do have to lose some weight at the moment and as LG is putting me to shame with her running group, I yesterday, vowed to do a 10k this morning to blow some cobwebs away and get back into it.

I knew the course I had to run. Well when I say I knew the course, I knew the roads I had to run on but couldn't decide on the order in which to run them. Do I do this one with a fast downhill start and a punishing second half...

or do I do this one which is more undulating throughout?

I went for option 2 in the end. I decided there was no point in having a fast start if i was just going to be in a world of pain later on.

It was however, a thoroughly enjoyable run. 10.04km around the streets of Ashtead and Leatherhead in 52:44. I could feel my stress levels drop the more i ran. I just need to do it more often now.

Going forward, Ashtead has a running group that meet every Tuesday night which is meant to be very social and also my favourite price... free, so it looks like my Tuesday nights will now be spent running around in the dark with some other local people which suits me just fine and may be just the thing i need to increase my mileage. This is something i certainly need to do pre Grim as the less time i have to spend running around in the puddles and mud, the better!

Beanz Meanz Stitch

7 weeks to the day after giving birth to George, Lovely Girlfriend went on her first run yesterday. This was the first time since we found out she was pregnant back at the beginning of December '09. LG was just starting to get in to her running at the end of last year and numerous times during her pregnancy, she would tell me that she missed it and would love to get back out again.

Well now she can and through a local Ashtead running shop, she has joined a beginners running group with a few other people. This works perfectly as she doesn't have to run alone in the dark at night once I get home and can get her fitness back. £30 for 10 sessions which includes a training diary and 'homework' seems great value to me.

The only downside is that George pretty much whinged/screamed/cried from the moment she left until 30 seconds before LG's return. Picture the scene as LG walks in to a wide awake inquisitive baby lying on the bed with me looking like butter wouldn't melt and then picture my face which looks like I need a large glass of wine and some quiet time. He's a clever little bugger!!

Anyway, deciding that wine wasn't a good option (never said that before) and being slightly jealous the LG has enjoyed her run, I decided that I should get my butt out too. I'd eaten just over an hour a go so this should be fine right??

I decided to resurrect my Juneathon 5.14km route to get the legs moving. 10 mins gone, MUST STOP. The stitch I had was excruciating so a bit of a walk was demanded which doesn't happen very often. Apparently, beans on toast with grated cheese (I eat like a King) is not the best fuel for a quick 5km round the block.

Anyway, I managed to get moving again and loved running past the quite frankly, eeire Ashtead Common. The mist was just rolling across it. It could have been a horror movie! Past the church and up the poorly lit road saw me only looking down and trying not to trip up on the raised and cracked pavement. I made it back to the main road still without having fallen on my arse and then set in for the home stretch. No more walking after that first time but it certainly wasn't pretty. 5.14km in 28:03. My second slowest time ever on that route. Room for improvement then and maybe a little prior dinner planning will do me some good next time!!