Day 157 started with a day trip to Keswick. No running was planned there but a nice 4 mile walk around the lake was a nice loosener. Órlaith (pictured) really enjoyed herself. A treadmill session was done back at home in a very pleasing 02:58:59.
Day 158 saw me have some running company for the first time during this campaign. That's 2056.7 half marathon miles on my own. My old work mate Phil provided the company. He is one of those people who has used the Run Geordie Run brand for inspiration in recent years. As a result, his fitness and subsequent weight loss has been considerable as you can see below. I should point out that the after picture is on the left and the before one on the right. Phil has been a brilliant supporter to St. Benedict's Hospice in recent years and his support of Run Geordie Run is hugely appreciated.
Back to day 158 and the route was from near Phil's house in South Shields to Roker and back. We talked all the way round and the pace up to mile 11 was very comfortable indeed. I thought at around mile 6 that I was on for the quickest time of the year. While this campaign is not about speed or breaking personal records, on this occasion I decided to go with it and try and maintain the 12 minute mile pace. That was achieved all the way to mile 11 when my hips started complaining!
The final 2 miles were 13 minutes each which meant that an overall time of 02:47:09 was the quickest of this campaign so far. 02:48:43 was the previous best way back on day 59. A huge thank you to Phil for some brilliant running company. I'm sure this won't be the last time we run together this year.
Day 159 was the now traditional attempt at getting to Pegswood on time to meet Donna. It was a lovely sunny day and a far cry from the cold, dark and wet days earlier in this campaign.
I didn't set off from work on time which meant that I just made it to Pegswood on 9 miles. I got a lift home and finished day 159 off on the treadmill. A combined time of 03:12:16 was really pleasing. Especially given that my legs felt like lead and my muscles felt like they'd been hit by a hammer.
I got the Metro to Bede on south Tyneside on day 160. It was then a case of running to the coast and following the path all of the way to the stadium where Take That were in concert.
At the 4 mile point I could see some very dark clouds heading my way. Moments later, the heavens opened and I got an absolute soaking.
I made it to the stadium after 11.5 miles. The remaining miles were done after the concert when I made my way to the meeting point to get my lift.
The concert itself was absolutely amazing. You must understand (and long term readers will know) that Take That have got me through some difficult moments during my run around the world. The first instance was during the 2007 run from John O'Groats to Lands End. I don't have it documented but there was a day in the north west (Day 25 I think) where I had the song "Shine" on repeat. With each play, my pace got faster.
Fast forward 4 years to day 25 of the run across the USA. My blog from that day reads "
Since Jack was at the Take That concert back home, I spent most of the day listening to that very band. I also sang a few songs too. Singing loudly and running is very difficult at altitude I can tell you! At one point I was mid song blasting out the chorus when a 4x4 pulled up alongside me and asked if I needed any water. I declined and thanked him in my semi embarrassed state.". That was the start of realising the inpact of their music on my running. There is a huge mental benefit for me. It's hard to explain but when you're thousands of miles away from home (like I have been many times) then Take That will get you through. You can read more about that day in 2011
here. There are many more instances that I could talk about but I'll leave it there. I'm sure you get the message. Needless to say, that seeing Gary, Mark and Howard in person was extremely special for me on day 160.
An overall time of 03:20:51 was achieved on day 160.
As a fitness bonus, I later discovered that my fitness tracker had recorded an "activity" during the first half of the Take That concert. I'll put that down to some "dad dancing".
Days 161, 162 and 163 were all done late in the day on the treadmill. Times of 03:22:30, 03:04:22 and 03:06:38 were very pleasing given the recent quicker times and warmer weather. Although, it appears that I've picked up where I left off last year in the USA with regard to coping with higher temperatures. "The hotter the better" is something I'm constantly telling myself.
Day 164 was a loop within a loop around Bedlington before heading out to the outskirts of Morpeth and back.
A final time of 03:09:16 was another pleasing result.
Days 165, 166, 167 and 168 were all done on the treadmill. This enabled me to pass the time by watching the world cup. Times of 03:16:00, 03:07:44, 03:06:19 and 03:04:18 were achieved. After many months of running, the average times were beginning to come down. On the down side, muscle and tendon soreness was at a campaign high.
Day 169 almost saw an end to the 365 campaign! I’d had a very busy week and far less sleep than I needed. The impact was a very bad migraine. I actually started the miles around Gosforth but had to abandon that and get the bus home.
I tried to grab an hour of sleep to try and help with the considerable pain in my head. That didn’t help and with time ticking I just had to get out and do my route to Morpeth and back in any way possible. I set off along the path and I couldn't even raise my head such was the pain.
I realised that I forgot my phone when I was a few miles down the road so there was no option to get picked up if things got worse. I had blurred vision for a while so extra care was needed along the narrow and often overgrown paths. It took 5 or so miles for the pain to subside and paracetamol to kick in.
Thankfully, it was a pleasant evening as I’d also forgotten a top layer. As has been the case many times in the past, I think the cool breeze helped my headache.
So with an 11pm finish the 365 dream was still alive after 169 days! I felt as relieved to have finished the mileage as I had for any run in recent memory.
2213.9 half marathon miles have now been done this year. That's about the same mileage that it took to get to a point across Australia before that run broke me. Of course, I managed to get those final miles done back in 2013 to get the coast to coast journey done.
Day 169 took a whopping 03:57:52 to complete. As I mentioned earlier, it's not about speed. It's about 365 half marathons.
I'm very pleased and grateful to report that the £4000 barrier has now been hit for St. Benedict's Hospice. If you are able to support my 365 campaign in aid of the hospice then please visit
www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun365.
