A Newcastle Racecourse 5 mile PB

In preparation for two 11 mile runs at the weekend, I decided to warm up with a nice and easy 5 mile run to Newcastle Race Course and back. Conditions were on the chilly side and I was joined by Ian (aka "The Coach") who had regrettably, for him, decided to wear a very thin vest. Oh how I laughed! Ian was nursing a couple of niggling injuries so he wasn't his usual speedy self. We still managed to run at a fair pace and I was more than pleased with the final time of 00:44:41, smashing my previous best of 00:46:13. This means diddly squat in the context of running from John O'Groats to Lands End. It is, however, pleasing when you use it to show how much progress has been made in the last few years. I never managed to break 50 minutes for this run in 2006. My average, this year, has been around 48 minutes. If I keep this level of training up I hope to run even quicker in the future. And, of course, even further!

Major national celebrity pledges support!

What a coup! What a signing! Call a press conference!

As well as having a crew of 4 road side support staff for this year's big run, I've managed to secure the services of a major iconic national celebrity. I'm proud, privileged and excited to announce that none other than the ITV Monkey has agreed to sign up for the cause. It turns out that Monkey (as he prefers to be called) is a massive Toon fan and, after reading my story on www.nufc.com, got in touch and asked if there was anything he could do to help out.

So for the next few months Monkey will be taking on the role of press liaison officer, fitness advisor, physio and sports psychologist. How can I now fail the task of running 900 miles in 6 weeks with such world class support as this! Pictured to the left, are Monkey and I, just this afternoon, waxing lyrical about our favourite Alan Shearer moments. We voted "that goal" against Everton in December 2002 amongst our many favourites. Who'd have thought, after all this time, that he was a loyal member of the Toon Army.

Obviously (and in particular a note for the lawyers of ITV, Johnny Vegas and PG Tips) this is just a bit of tongue in cheek fun. Do, however, check back and see how Monkey and I are getting on. This Sunday will see our first training run together in the North Pennines!

Halfway there thanks to readers of nufc.om

I'm very pleased to report that I've passed 50% of my total sponsorship target. As I write this entry in my blog, the fund stands at £2516. This is down to some very generous pledges from the readers of www.nufc.com. Thank you! Thanks must also go to Niall and Biffa, the creators of the site, for the publicity they've granted me.

When I set myself the very ambitious target of raising £5000 for St Benedict's Hospice I knew that It wouldn't be easy. I am now left with trying to raise a further £2500 in the remaining 3 months before I set off from John O'Groats. I remain as confident of being able to achieve that goal as I am of actually finishing this mad run. If I keep up the training and people continue to be generous and supportive then I stand a very good chance.

Training Summary (Week ending 08/04/2007)

Monday 2nd April - 5 miles. Race Course (00:48:25).
Tuesday 3rd April - 6 miles. Town Moor Memorial (00:54:00).
Wednesday 4th April - 9.1 miles. Race course (01:30:10).
Thursday 5th April - Gym.
Saturday 7th April - Gym.
Sunday 8th April - 11 miles. Stanhope to Middleton. (02:10:11).

An 11 mile Easter Sunday run in the North Pennines

You just can't beat running 11 miles in the North Pennines on a sunny Easter Sunday! This is the first time I've actually trained on a section of the John O'Groats to Lands End route. In fact this is approximately mile 424 - 435 of the big run. Or you could think of it as 1.2% of the total distance! I prefer not to though as it makes me feel rather sick!

Setting off from the ford at Stanhope, I immediately had second thoughts about doing such a hilly run. That first 14% hill is an absolute nightmare and is enough to put anyone off. I was gasping for oxygen after only 7 minutes and boy could I tell I'd had a Chinese meal the night before! Half a mile later things started to even out a bit (not much mind!) and I started to get in my stride. It did, however, take 16 minutes to do the first mile, such was the steepness of the first climb. I think this may be a new record for me.

With it being a Bank Holiday. there was quite a lot of traffic on the road and I'm pleased to report that 99% of them gave me plenty of room and a few of them slowed down to wave for some strange reason. I reckon that the 1% who drove very close were more than likely bitter Mackems who spotted the Newcastle training top I was wearing.

After 4 miles or so, I was stopped by a colleague from Northern Rock - Richard. He'd been out for a walk with his good lady. It's always nice to see a familiar face and he reckoned that once I'd reached the nearby 1650 ft summit (pictured) that I'd have "broken the back" of today's run. It was quite appropriate that I bumped into Richard on this day of all days (Easter Sunday) as some say he has a look of the Messiah himself! I'm referring to the biblical one by the way and not Kevin Keegan.

Richard's words of encouragement turned out to be quite right. Once I'd gone over the 1650ft summit, I really did feel that the worst climbs were out of the way. In the distance, I could see the valley in which Middleton was situated. This, at least, gave me something to focus on and I picked up the pace to around 11 minutes per mile. This is much slower than my usual training pace but that's all the steep hills and strong wind would allow.

After 2 hours and 10 minutes of running, I met Katy and Jack (pictured) for my lift home. I felt really good at the end and felt like I had a lot of miles left in me. This was surprising, considering the amount of crispy duck, ribs, chicken and seaweed I ate last night!

All in all, a successful day's running was achieved and Jack was rather pleased too, having gone to the park in Stanhope and had an ice cream while waiting for me to finish.

As far as training runs go, this has got to be one of the most scenic I've ever done. The conditions would have been perfect if it hadn't been for that pesky 13 mph westerly wind. The glorious sunshine more than made up for it though. Happy Easter!

In case I don't make it back......

At midday today I will be attempting to run from Stanhope to somewhere near Middleton. Sounds good until you take the hills into account!

I hope I show more stamina then my mate's missus, Sarah, who had to "retire early" last night after drinking too much. You'd think she'd know better at "that" age. As for me, I consumed about 5 pints.....of diet coke! Oh and there was the small matter of a Chinese banquet. Great fuel for a run in the Pennines.

Confidence high after 2 very good runs

What better way to spend a lunch break than to run 9.1 miles in a big loop around Gosforth on a warm and sunny day. I felt like I could run all the way to Land's End there and then, such were my apparent energy levels. I'll put that one down to Katy's superb pasta the night before. I finished today's run in 01:30:10 which was at a slightly slower pace than yesterday's 00:54:00 for 6 miles. However, today's run was a solo effort. Yesterday, I was accompanied by Jimmy and John and they set a very good pace for me to keep at (slow for them I might add!).

All in all, my confidence is very high. I'm looking forward to and enjoying nearly every training run (Those ones in the dark weren't the slightest bit enjoyable!) . I'm running injury free. I'm almost a stone lighter than I was in January. My recovery times are virtually nil. I'm sure you get the idea!

I must give some credit for my progress in the last 6 months to my colleagues at Northern Rock. I often run in the company of some very accomplished runners. Many of whom have taken time out to do a "slow" run with me just to keep me company. Their encouragement is appreciated and they still have a major part to play in getting me up to the required standard for the big run in the summer.

Bye bye bad back

I'm pleased to report that I successfully completed a 5 mile run today with no pain whatsoever in my back. I've got a variety of runs and gym visits planned this week. It will be nice to do them injury free.

The Route (Week 6 of 6).

The end! Hopefully! Note that I have included 3 contingency days. If I don't have to use these at some point, it will be a miracle.

Training Summary (Week ending 01/04/2007)

Tuesday 27th March - 6 miles. Town Moor Memorial (00:55:21).
Wednesday 28th March - 5 miles. Race course (00:50:30).
Thursday 29th March - Gym.
Saturday 31st March - Gym.