Monday 30 November 2009

Run Geordie Run sinks to new depths!

Have a look at this superb photo! I was gob smacked when I first saw it. It was sent to me by work colleague Richard Scholfield who was also a very generous sponsor of my run from John O'Groats to Lands End in 2007.

Richard was one of the first people to buy a Run Geordie Run t-shirt and he's obviously put it to very good use in an attempt to help spread the word of the next big run across the USA in 2011.

The photo was taken at a depth of 30 metres on the floor of "The Canyon"; a famous dive site near Dahab, on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

I'm reliably informed that 30 metres is generally accepted as the maximum depth achievable using recreational scuba equipment! Richard went on to explain "The wall behind us rises about 10-12m vertically, and there is a similar wall (creating the canyon) just behind the photographer, so its a fairly claustrophobic place, and not an easy dive.". Wow!

Pictured from left to right are Doug Biggs (Instructor & Guide), Susi Moser and Richard Scholfield. It sounded like a bit of a multinational effort, as Susi is Swiss, and the camera was deftly wielded by Mia, who is Swedish!

Sunday 29 November 2009

USA 2011 Training Summary - Week 56

The Run Geordie Run Training Summary is brought to you in association with Northern Runner, 52 Low Friar Street (Just down from the Gate), Newcastle.

Why not visit the Northern Runner shop and let the experts examine your feet to recommend the best shoe for you. Alternatively, click on the link to the left to go straight to their website.

Sunday 22nd November - 10.5 mile run, The 6 Bridges Challenge. (01:39:46).
Friday 27th November - 2.6 mile run, Jesmond to Gosforth. (00:23:54).
Friday 27th November - 2.7 mile run, Gosforth to Jesmond. (00:24:26).
Saturday 28th November - David Fairlamb's Beach Bootcamp. (00:45:00).

Wednesday 25 November 2009

The route


This is the latest draft of the route to give you a rough idea of where I'll be running in 2011.
 

Location

State

Point

Altitude

Distance

Overall

Day

Huntington Beach

California

1

28

0.00

Rowland Heights

California

2

300

29.45

29.45

0.95

San Bernadino

California

3

1,040

42.00

71.45

2.30

Victorville

California

4

2,714

33.95

105.40

3.40

Barstow

California

5

2,106

40.20

145.60

4.70

Pisgah Crater Rd on Route 66

California

6

1,500

37.50

183.10

5.91

Amboy

California

7

639

41.10

224.20

7.23

Kelso

California

8

2,125

39.20

263.40

8.50

Nipton Road

California

9

2,625

36.65

300.05

9.68

Las Vegas

Nevada

10

2,174

46.35

346.40

11.17

Moapa

Nevada

11

1,704

43.50

389.90

12.58

Mesquite

Nevada

12

1,608

43.80

433.70

13.99

St. George

Arizona

13

2,840

49.70

483.40

15.59

Hildale

Utah

14

5,042

28.90

512.30

16.53

Pipe Spring

Utah

15

4,900

29.25

541.55

17.47

Mt. Carmel Junction

Utah

16

5,200

37.40

578.95

18.68

Panguitch

Utah

17

6,624

50.00

628.95

20.29

Marysvale

Utah

18

5,866

47.00

675.95

21.80

Salina

Utah

19

5,160

46.70

722.65

23.31

Meadow Gulch

Utah

20

7,800

33.20

755.85

24.38

Castle Dale

Utah

21

5,771

41.90

797.75

25.73

Helper

Utah

22

5,840

40.60

838.35

27.04

Duchesne

Utah

23

5,517

43.10

881.45

28.43

Roosevelt

Utah

24

5,100

28.20

909.65

29.34

Vernal

Utah

25

6,109

30.30

939.95

30.32

Dinosaur

Colorado

26

5,900

33.90

973.85

31.41

Hwy 40, Mile Marker 51

Colorado

27

6,693

45.10

1,018.95

32.87

Craig

Colorado

28

6,186

37.70

1,056.65

34.09

Steamboat Springs

Colorado

29

6,728

45.70

1,102.35

35.56

Kremmling

Colorado

30

7,364

48.40

1,150.75

37.12

Winter Park

Colorado

31

9,110

44.90

1,195.65

38.57

Idaho Springs

Colorado

32

7,524

36.70

1,232.35

39.75

Denver

Colorado

33

5,280

31.90

1,264.25

40.78

Byers

Colorado

34

5,201

46.80

1,311.05

42.29

Lindon

Colorado

35

4,899

44.00

1,355.05

43.71

Kirk

Colorado

36

4,200

45.40

1,400.45

45.18

St. Francis

Kansas

37

3,320

46.40

1,446.85

46.67

Road 29 on Hwy 36

Kansas

38

2,850

48.80

1,495.65

48.25

Norton

Kansas

39

2,300

53.10

1,548.75

49.96

Kensington

Kansas

40

1,784

47.10

1,595.85

51.48

Mankato

Kansas

41

1,776

43.00

1,638.85

52.87

Belleville

Kansas

42

1,550

31.60

1,670.45

53.89

Marysville

Kansas

43

1,202

54.60

1,725.05

55.65

Sabetha

Kansas

44

1,318

43.30

1,768.35

57.04

Elwood

Missouri

45

813

50.80

1,819.15

58.68

Hamilton

Missouri

46

994

47.50

1,866.65

60.21

Brookfield

Missouri

47

767

50.40

1,917.05

61.84

Clarence

Missouri

48

600

43.40

1,960.45

63.24

Hannibal

Missouri

49

491

49.30

2,009.75

64.83

Pittsfield

Illinois

50

550

35.30

2,045.05

65.97

New Berlin

Illinois

51

654

53.70

2,098.75

67.70

Decatur

Illinois

52

670

52.70

2,151.45

69.40

Tuscola

Illinois

53

680

41.30

2,192.75

70.73

Rockville

Indiana

54

711

57.20

2,249.95

72.58

Indianapolis

Indiana

55

717

50.60

2,300.55

74.21

Dunreith

Indiana

56

1,036

44.10

2,344.65

75.63

Lewisburg

Ohio

57

1,000

46.70

2,391.35

77.14

South Vienna

Ohio

58

1,200

52.90

2,444.25

78.85

Wagram

Ohio

59

1,061

47.50

2,491.75

80.38

New Concord

Ohio

60

900

53.20

2,544.95

82.10

St. Clairsville

Ohio

61

1,284

57.40

2,602.35

83.95

Washington

West Virginia /

Pennsylvania

62

1,100

37.70

2,640.05

85.16

Uniontown

Pennsylvania

63

978

50.90

2,690.95

86.80

Frostburg

Maryland

64

1,500

52.00

2,742.95

88.48

Hancock

Maryland

65

448

48.30

2,791.25

90.04

Waynesboro

Virginia

66

713

39.20

2,830.45

91.30

New Oxford

Pennsylvania

67

561

36.20

2,866.65

92.47

Lancaster

Pennsylvania

68

368

38.00

2,904.65

93.70

Kutztown

Pennsylvania

69

417

49.30

2,953.95

95.29

Washington

Pennsylvania

70

594

50.00

3,003.95

96.90

W. Orange

New Jersey

71

500

47.90

3,051.85

98.45

New York

New York

72

107

33.30

3,085.15

100.00


Sunday 22 November 2009

The story so far (PART 4 - Looking forwards)

It's time to bring a close to this week's 4 part series of the "story so far". Over the last few days I've talked about why I chose the charities that I'm raising funds for, how I've been preparing for the mental battle and how well my training has been going over the first year.

There are just 16 months left until I set off from Huntington Beach, California on a 3100 mile run. Believe you me, there isn't a day that goes by where I'm not doing something associated with the event in order to make it a success. There is still loads to organise and plan but I'm sure that it'll all come together in 2010.

ROUTE PLANNING

The first aspect that I need to devote more time to next year is the route planning exercise. I'm fortunate enough to have in my possession a very detailed route. I need to become more familiar with it, though, and reconcile the mileage for my own peace of mind. The sooner I'm able to publish this the better I think as people with then be able to see what a huge task running across the USA is. If they didn't already that is!!

SUPPORT TEAM

One of the most important tasks I need to complete is to put in place the USA 2011 Run Geordie Run Support Team. I've already got the funding in place to accommodate them. i.e. in a Winnaebago. I'll step up the search for the team next year and should look to have it finalised by the end of the Summer of 2010. If you see yourself as a potential member of the team then please get in touch at rungeordierun@googlemail.com.

PUBLICITY

Throughout 2010, I'll be looking to spread the word about the run and seek as much good publicity as I can. The Journal newspaper have been very good so far as have nufc.com. In fact, I can safely say that with nufc.com on board again, then this run is guaranteed to raise a lot of money for the 2 charities.

There is the possibility of appearing in Men's Fitness magazine next year. I'll have to be in better "shape" before this is to happen.

In the near future, plans are progressing for the first Run Geordie Run Roadshow. The first of which will involve me running on a treadmill for 8 hours or so in the Metrocentre, Gateshead. This will be a good opportunity to raise further funds and raise the profile of the run at the same time.

I'll be looking to produce more training diaries via You Tube next year which should make for good watching. A local PR company have offered to produce a short promotional film.

It would be brilliant if a production company could pick up on this run and follow me through 2010 and into the actual run in 2011. That's got to be worth doing don't you think? I'd want to watch something like that.

COMMERCIAL SPONSORSHIP

I'll be pleading to the world of commerce next year in order to try and broker deals similar to the Peter's Pies matching scheme. I'm not asking for outright sponsorship (although that would be nice). Instead, I'm looking to work hard for the commercial sponsor's money by only having it released if a personal donation is made first. I think this serves a few purposes. Most importantly, it encourages people to donate when perhaps they wouldn't have otherwise done. Using the Peter's Pies matching scheme as an example, knowing that £5 gets added to a £10 donation is a great incentive to donate. Add on top of this, the Gift Aid (where applicable) and the donation is just short of £20!

The current Peter's Pies matching scheme expires at midnight on the 31/12/2009. In the first 7 days of the scheme being up and running £200 has been donated in the form of t-shirt sales and traditional pledges. Peter's Pies have added £100 to that figure. I'll be going all out to try and get Peter's Pies to part with even more cash in the remaining 5 weeks of the scheme.

The good thing about this scheme is the fact that I'm constantly mentioning Peter's Pies as I look to attract new sponsors. They also got a good deal of exposure on nufc.com last week. The matching scheme really does reflect well on Peter's Pies I think and is hopefully the first of many such schemes. Fingers crossed!

If you know of a company or small business who would like to contribute to the 2 charities under a similar deal then please get in touch at rungeordierun@googlemail.com.

RUN GEORDIE RUN MERCHANDISE

First there were the Run Geordie Run t-shirts (they've raised nearly £1500 so far by the way!). Next up was the Run Geordie Run CD written and recorded by the Exiles (they've raised £200 so far).

I'm currently looking at the feasibility of other types of merchandise. If I had a £1 for everyone who said that there should be a Run Geordie Run calendar then I'd be a rich man. This one is a distinct possibility for 2010 and 2011.

Finally, the possibility of a book covering the run is also a possibility. I have a few good contacts who I'll be pursuing for advice. Watch this space next year for news on that front.

Training

Oh yes! Training! That's the bread and butter of this event and things are about to get even more difficult next year. I'm currently putting together a schedule that focuses very much on running high mileage on consecutive days. I'll be running a maximum of the intended daily average mileage in the USA. i.e. 31 miles a day.

Roughly speaking in the first few months of 2010 I'll build up to 31 miles per day, say, for 2 days a week. The other days in the week will be the regular runs that I've spent the last year doing. The target is that by the end of the Summer in 2010 I'll be able to run 31 miles per day for 7 days. How I combine this with family life, work life and going to the match is an unknown at the moment!

2010 - A crucial year

So there we are folks. There is still so much to do as you can see. I'm sure I've not added a couple of things in this article which I may remember later too! 2010 is without doubt a critical year. It's the year where many aspects of the run should come together and give me a fighting chance of succeeding in 2011.

The third "6 Bridges Challenge"!

The conditions at the start of the 3rd 6 Bridges Challenge were pretty good indeed and not at all consistent with the howling winds and pouring rain of late.

Joining me this week were Jacko (with his New Run Geordie Run t-shirt) and Chopper from week 1, Mike and Tom from week 2 and Craig a new participant who saw the event publicised on Twitter.

We set off just after 9 am and I must say that my aim was just to get round in 1 piece given the nasty cold that I'd failed to shake off all week. Mike also had a cold so I was in good company!

The first indicator that I wasn't on top form was the fact that my heart rate raced to 180 bpm at the top of Bottle Bank where last week it was 160 bpm. I was gasping for air at the top of the bank. Most unusual!

As per usual, the first 5 bridges were out of the way pretty quickly. I then settled into the run and was quite comfortable until we got to the 6.5 mile point. I felt pretty tired for the next mile but that feeling was soon gone as the towering Redheugh Bridge came into sight.

Just like the other 2 attempts on this course we seemed to put as much effort into the banter as the running and this is what I've come to really like about this run. It's not taken too seriously and it's a great chance to catch up with friends and colleagues past and meet new runners at the same time. Having said that, we were almost a minute quicker this week than last and Jacko

I must admit that I would have put this one off until lunchtime had I not advertised it again on the blog, Twitter and Facebook. Knowing that I have to be somewhere to run with people at a set time is great for motivation.

My cold feels a lot better after this run and David Fairlamb's Beach Bootcamp yesterday. I'm not setting my self any targets this week though. I'll just try and get as many miles as I can. One thing is for sure, I'll be doing the 4th 6 Bridges Challenge next Sunday and in the words of Mike Lewis "It's a great route. Anyone wanting to give it a go would really enjoy it.".

USA 2011 Training Summary - Week 55

The Run Geordie Run Training Summary is brought to you in association with Northern Runner, 52 Low Friar Street (Just down from the Gate), Newcastle.

Why not visit the Northern Runner shop and let the experts examine your feet to recommend the best shoe for you. Alternatively, click on the link to the left to go straight to their website.

Sunday 15th November - 10.5 mile run, The 6 Bridges Challenge. (01:40:43).
Saturday 21st November - Beach Bootcamp. (00:45:00).

USA 2011 Training Summary - Week 54

The Run Geordie Run Training Summary is brought to you in association with Northern Runner, 52 Low Friar Street (Just down from the Gate), Newcastle.

Why not visit the Northern Runner shop and let the experts examine your feet to recommend the best shoe for you. Alternatively, click on the link to the left to go straight to their website.

Sunday 8th November - 10.5 mile run, The 6 Bridges Challenge. (01:45:14).
Tuesday 10th November - Personal training session. (01:30:00).
Wednesday 11th November - Spinning. (00:45:00).
Friday 13th November - 11.3 mile run, 6 Bridges, Silver Lonnen, Gosforth. (01:52:55).
Friday 13th November - 6 mile Bike Ride (Gym). (00:23:22).
Friday 13th November - Personal training session. (01:30:00).
Saturday 14th November - Beach Bootcamp. (00:45:00).

Saturday 21 November 2009

6 Bridges Challenge

Tomorrow will be the 3rd time I've ran the 10.5 mile route across 6 bridges of the Tyne from the Millennium to the Scotswood. There were 3 of us for the first week, 4 of us last week and hopefully there'll be even more tomorrow. Invitation is open to anyone who would like to take part.

For those of you who don't know, this is a casual jog across the Millennium Bridge, The Tyne Bridge, The Swing Bridge, The High Level Bridge, The Redheugh Bridge and the Scotswood bridge before returning back to the start. Last week we managed a nice easy pace of 00:09:35 per mile. I'm expecting to be a little slower tomorrow as I'm full of cold.

Anyway, if you fancy getting your Sunday off to a great start then why not join us at 09:00 on the Millennium Bridge. There will be a bacon sandwich for every finisher! What an incentive!

Friday 20 November 2009

The story so far (PART 3 - Training progress)

At the time of writing, I've ran a total of 1661.8 miles during the 55 weeks of USA 2011 training. There have been a lot of highs in those miles and I might add a couple of lows.

The original plan was to build the mileage slowly each week. This worked really well during the first 20 weeks and I managed to reach a schedule containing 70 miles per week. Running was just part of the story though and to help build overall strength I added a few other types of workout to my schedule. The most important one, being, the personal training sessions given by Mark Fleming. This not only gave me a chance to get a tough high tempo 90 minute workout in the gym but also to use Mark as a sounding board; to discuss progress and new ideas and to highlight areas that I needed to focus more on. Mark's mentoring has proved extremely valuable to me during the first year of training. It's one of the factors that has without question contributed to my consistently high confidence level. Long may that continue!

I've also managed a fair amount of mountain biking, Spinning and Body Pump classes. These have all helped to keep things varied, interesting and give me a low impact option in my training.

The other important type of session that I take part in is David Fairlamb's Beach Bootcamp. There is usually a very good turnout for the 45 minute session which is made up of various components much like a circuit class. Unlike circuits, however, the surrounding beach environment is used as "apparatus". And I must say that it is used to very good effect indeed. In the early months of training I would often run up the steps in King Edwards Bay following the session. I've also used this time to run to St Mary's Lighthouse and back on the odd occasion.

Meanwhile, back to the running. After 20 intensive weeks of training I lost my appetite for running a little. Easy done I suppose when you're trying to cram in 70 miles a week during the winter months. David Fairlamb, had previously warned me about peaking too soon and it was around this time (March 2009) that I started to appreciate that taking a well timed rest was actually a very good thing to do. So then! It was off to Egypt with the family to recharge the batteries. Of course, I took my trainers with me and managed some very tough runs in the desert. I managed 50 miles in total that week and returned back to the UK full of confidence and ready to get back to the serious training.

My aim was to try and get up to 110 miles per week in training. In the weeks following the Egypt tour my mileage had a consistent increase each week. I went from 70 to 75 to 80 to 85 to 90. I got my training into a good weekly rhythm and this showed in my weight loss too as, by the 1st week of July, my body fat was down to 19%, weight was down to 15 stone 3, lean weight was up, fat weight was down. All of the indicators were just where I'd hoped they would be by that time.

I got the rewards for my efforts with a PB of 00:46:48 in the Blaydon Race. That run was done at an average of 00:07:48 per mile. I hadn't ran as fast as that for 14 years.

July and August were supposed to be key months where I hoped to really push on and take my running to a new level. I certainly did that at the start of July with a successful attempt at the 20 mile Chevy Chase run. It was after this, however, that many things went against me and I found myself in a constant battle to fit all of the required mileage in.

The first obstacle I came across was a chest infection. This happened in August and really knocked my routine out for weeks. Add to this, the fact that I was spending more time in the office than I would have liked and all of a sudden my daily window for running was getting smaller and smaller. Of course, family life is the highest priority and at first, during the Summer, I let this slip down the list. This didn't last long and instead of beating myself up about missing family time I decided to not miss it and beat myself up about missing runs instead.

I reckon I missed out on about half of my intended running between July and October. The bar was raised so high and I seemed to fail week after week. For the first time during this training campaign I started to think quite negatively but by early October I knew I had to put a stop to this. It was time to look at the positives!

I started to think about what I had achieved over the previous 49 weeks. First off, I had ran many more training miles than I had ever done before in the space of almost a year. Within those miles were many PBs for various distances, terrain and elevation. One thing I was pleased with, was the fact that I was able to get out and do a run first thing on a morning. This was something I'd struggled with for years and in terms of my schedule it's too important a slot to miss. In that early morning slot I've managed 11 miles recently with no ill effects. And that is a feature of my running these days. i.e. the ability to knock off a steady half marathon distance or more and not feel as if I've ran it at all. This is particularly useful when you have to do another run that same day or the following day.

I'd also gained the confidence to head out on a run with a view to doing 10, 11 or more miles simply by making up the route as I went along. This is something I always remember Jimmy Bell talking about. Just getting out there and exploring various routes. Who cares if it was a few miles more in the end.

During the Autumn I was very mindful of doing more miles per session. This was one of the reasons why I wasn't getting the full weekly mileage in. Finding the time to fit these distances in was really difficult. I felt it was better to try and find the time to get 10 miles in and perhaps fail than to definitely get 5 miles done.

On reflection, I did do a lot of good long distance running in the Autumn months. Recovery time, as I said before, was very short indeed. The longer the average distance though, the slower I was becoming. I had gone from quick (by my standards) in the first 6 months of the year to a lot more controlled and consistent pace for the most part over the last few months. With any distance from 8 to 20 miles, I had settled into the sort of pace that is just a little faster than what I need to be able to run in the USA in 2011.

In week 52, I decided to test myself with a distance that I'd never attempted before; 37 miles. The original intention was to see how far I could get in 10 hours. However, during the run from Shotley Bridge to Blyth, I had a change of thinking and called it a day at 37 miles in 09:40:28. I attempted this distance just 2 weeks ago in terrible conditions and knocked a good 27 minutes off the previous time. Not only was I pleased with that particular PB but the recovery that followed over the following 7 days was quite remarkable. I managed 90 miles in total that week and after a lot analysis I was of the opinion that my training schedule was probably more or less bang on.

So what can I take from the first 12 months of training? Well, I've hardly had an injury to speak of. My skeleton continues to be able to take everything that is thrown at it. My range has improved vastly. My recovery times have lessened. In a race situation I can put my foot down and get up to the mid 07 minute mile pace. Confidence, of course, is very high. You could say that, with 16 months to go, I'm on track. There is still lots of running to do and lots more to learn.

As an added bonus, 2 weeks ago, I started doing a 10.5 mile course on a Sunday morning across 6 bridges crossing the Tyne. This has attracted a few new running partners both times it has been ran and this Sunday at 9 am should be no different. Watch this space over the coming months to see how the numbers grow.

So that's 55 weeks of training done. Where do I go from here? Tune in on Sunday to find out as I continue this "story so far" series.