Training Summary (Week ending 29/04/2007)

Tuesday 24th April - 6 miles. Town Moor Memorial. (00:51:56). PB!
Wednesday 25th April - 9.5 miles. Blaydon to Shotley Bridge. (01:41:30).
Thursday 26th April - Gym.
Friday 27th April - 9.5 miles. Blaydon to Shotley Bridge. (01:36:16). PB!
Sunday 29th April - 22 miles. Castleside to Middleton in Teesdale (04:20:04)

Yet another PB as good form continues.

Yes I know! The headline for this one is a bit sensational. But I continue, week in, week out, to make vast improvements. I'm losing weight. I'm running better and further than I have ever done. My endurance and stamina levels are improving noticeably and I'm starting to feel that I might actually reach Lands End in August.

Tonight was the 2nd time this week that I'd ran from Blaydon to Shotley Bridge. On Wednesday, I ran the course in my second ever quickest time - 01:40:52, just missing out on a PB by 30 seconds. Tonight, however, using my super GPS watch I decided to race against myself using Wednesday's time. For the purposes of this story we'll call that runner from Wednesday Slow Mark . I never once used the watch to check the elapsed time, distance or pace. I merely relied on trying to keep ahead of Slow Mark.

Pictured is the watch at the 3 mile point. It was telling me that I was 0.2 miles ahead of Slow Mark. By the time I'd finished the run this gap had increased to just over half a mile. When you run up the same old paths week in and week out having something to race against at least makes things a bit interesting.

As it turned out, I smashed my previous best of 01:40:36. I amazed even myself when I saw that I'd completed the 9.6 mile course in 01:36:16. I knocked nearly 4 and a half minutes off my previous best time. Absolutely awesome (for a fat lad!).

Given that the run is all uphill (See the pictured elevation profile) I was even more pleased with this outcome.

These long uphill runs are really going to stand me in good stead for the mountains I'll be running over in Scotland. Oh and there is that little matter of the ones in the Pennines!

Right that's the nice positive stuff over. Sunday is my next scheduled run. I'll be attempting the very challenging 22 mile course from Castleside to Middleton. Thankfully, the forecast is good. Not too hot at 16 degrees and a nice 12 mph easterly wind. Wahooo! That should be a tail wind!

The quickest ever Town Moor run!

So much for sticking to a 10 - 11 minute mile pace! When I was getting changed for today's run I felt as though I could achieve a PB for the 6 mile run round Gosforth and the Town Moor. Despite hot and humid conditions (about 18 degrees) I was going to go for it. My previous best for this route was 00:52:52. I set this PB back in the winter of 2003 and have rarely come close to beating it. In fact I never got less than 1 hour all last year, often taking about 01:05.00 or thereabouts.

Rob, Jonathan, Ian and Steve set the pace. The first few miles were done at a pace faster than I'm used to (08:59) and I thought that I would never be able to keep that up for the whole run. On the uphill section of Grandstand Road I picked the pace up even more and managed to reach the 2 mile point at 00:17:40. It wasn't long before I was at my familiar position at the back of a pack of runners. However, I used this to my advantage on the 3rd and 4th miles where Ian "The Coach" and Steve were setting a good pace which I managed to beat and I left them at the 4.5 mile point. I later found out that Ian had forgotten his running socks and was struggling to run at his usual pace.

Knowing that a PB was in my sight, I really pushed myself on the last mile and a half. I had now increased the speed to an 07:30 minute mile pace. I crossed the finish point (which is simply a lamp post near Northern Rock's head office) at 00:51:56. I had to stop there and then for fear of collapsing!

What a way to start my running week! As well as improved fitness, I think that losing a stone since Christmas has helped. Right! It's time to start running sensibly again. Back to that 10 minute mile pace!

Training Summary (Week ending 22/04/2007)

Tuesday 16th April - 6 miles. Town Moor. (00:57:17).
Wednesday 17th April - 8.4 miles. (01:45:13).
Saturday 21st April - 12 miles. Castleside to Stanhope. (02:33:05).

12 windy miles from Castleside to Stanhope

Today's plan was to run 11 miles from Castleside to Stanhope. I was accompanied by Ian "The Coach" who thought it was a good idea to also try the 17% climb out of Stanhope at the end of the run. He's a hard task master to say the least.

We had a comfortable start and seemed to reach Waskerley Way (pictured) in no time. I once wrote the following about this desolate place while running the C2C route in 2002: "Now for the most depressing part of the whole run; Waskerley. Now do I not like Waskerley. Waskerley Park, Way, Reservoir or anything else Waskerley.". I can safely say that nothing I saw or ran on today has changed my mind about Waskerley Way. It's like another planet out there. It's even worse when it is as windy as it was today (about an 8 mph south westerly). The wind was in our faces for 6 miles none stop. It was a complete nightmare. And boy did we whinge all the way! "It's too windy", "The stones are digging into my shoes" and "it's too cold" were just some of the complaints to be heard. What a pair of wusses!

We eventually got to the road section near Crawleyside Bank and it was some relief to be sheltered from the wind. A steady descent followed into Stanhope and we had a quick water stop before setting off up "that hill". I must say that the climb up the 17% hill is not half as bad when you have been running for a while. Either that or I'm getting used to it! We continued uphill for another mile before Katy arrived in the car to pick us up. At this point (pictured) I felt as though I could have ran the remaining 10 miles to Middleton no problem. I think I'll have an attempt at that next weekend. All in all, it was a great morning's running in difficult conditions and up some steep hills. When the wind was really blowing, I did mention to Ian that I'd rather be watching Soccer AM on a nice warm setee! Pictured, thanks to my wonderful Garmin 305 Forerunner GPS watch, is the elevation of today's run. As you can see it was uphill for the first 9.5 miles. And did I mention the wind at that point of the run?

On a positive note, I felt no reaction to my groin injury. I know I've been a quick healer in the past but this recovery has really surprised me. When I felt my muscle "tear" last week I thought that this was a serious one. Thankfully, this seems not to be the case. I'm now going to forget all about running as fast as I can and "beating my previous time". I've got too much to lose at this late stage of my training. So for the purposes of self preservation, it's going to be 10 - 11 minute miles from now on for me. That's the pace I intend to run from John O'Groats to Lands End, so I might as well get used to it.

Raring to go.......

Due to the injury that I picked up on Wednesday, I haven't done any exercise for the last 2 days. I've enjoyed the rest though! I'm now pleased to report that, after a fitness test, the pain in my groin and leg seems to have gone. And when I say fitness test, I mean that I raced Jack to the school gates when I picked him from school. He won, as per usual!

So I'm all set for a long run in the morning with "The Coach". The plan is to run part of my John O'Groats to Lands End route (Day 16). We'll be starting off at Castleside and the minimum distance thereafter will be 10 miles to Stanhope. Any mileage achieved after that will be a bonus. I fancy at least trying to make it to the first summit after Stanhope (pictured). I'm interested to see how I'll cope with that 17% climb out of Stanhope after 10 miles of running. I think the answer will be probably just as badly as the last 2 Sundays when I've ran up it!

Groin injury hopefully not too serious.

While on the last mile of an 8.5 mile run around the Havannah Nature reserve, I felt a sudden ping in my left groin (possibly the adductor magnus (pictured)) with further pain extending round to my hamstring. I was running at just less than a 09:30 per mile pace at the time, which is fast for me. I managed to do the last mile in a little discomfort having to slow things down only very slightly.

Only time (and the appropriate "massage" from Katy!) will tell, what this means to the rest of my running schedule this week. I'm due to go to the gym tomorrow, run 11 on Friday and run 12 or so on Saturday. I should be ok for the gym and may have to miss Friday's run. It is crucial , however, that I do the run on Saturday, a tricky run through the hills of the North Pennines.

In my 15 years of running I've hardly had an injury. I've certainly never had a serious injury. When I have picked up a knock, I'm glad to say that I've always proved to be a quick healer. I'm sure it will be the case with this latest one. Fingers crossed! With only 12 weeks left until the big run I'm going to have to be very careful and try to steer clear of any further injuries. I'm going to have to take longer warming up and then down again at the end of a run. Which is difficult, when you sometimes take 2 hours or more for a lunch break. It'll be interesting to see how I get on in tomorrow's gym session. Check back for the latest news tomorrow evening! Now...about that massage.

Training Summary (Week ending 15/04/2007)

Wednesday 11th April - 10 miles. Race course, Havannah. (01:45:30).
Thursday 12th April - Gym.
Friday 13th April - 5 miles. Race Course. (00:44:41). PB!
Saturday 14th April - 11 miles. Blaydon to Shotley Bridge. (01:45:13).
Sunday 15th April - 11 miles. Stanhope to Middleton. (02:21:01).

11 miles of hills in 22 degrees of heat!

I knew when I looked at the forecast on Saturday that today's run from Stanhope to Middleton was going to be one heck of a scorcher! At least I had a bit of company to share the pain with! Mike and Michael (pictured left) decided to put some training in for their up and coming 22 mile Pennine Challenge run. This event runs parallel with day 16 of my big run from Castleside to Middleton. I've been trying to scare these two for some time with stories of the steep hills in and around Stanhope. I reckon by the end of today's run that they thought my stories were justified. Although nothing these fit lads can't handle!

We set off, in glorious sunshine, with me leading the charge up the 17% gradient hill out of Stanhope. After 10 minutes or so, I found the pressure of leading such a high quality field too much and asked if Mike and Michael would share the burden of leading. They are both built for speed and I thought we benefited as a group from this approach. I still maintain that that first climb out of Stanhope is by far the worst on this stretch. It's a complete nightmare to run up (Especially at my weight!).

Things got much easier after that first climb and I felt I was getting stronger and stronger as the run progressed. The other lads hardly seemed out of breath most of the time.

As was the case last week, the cars and motorbikes passing by gave me plenty of room. I find the riders of those big Harley Davidsons to be the most courteous. There was one spot at around the 9 - 10 mile mark that had a few blind bends. Thankfully, Mike and Michael (pictured) were a bit in front of me so they would have got hit first!

We all had a strong downhill finish into Middleton and, as planned, Katy was there (with Monkey) to pick us up in the car.

Despite a very difficult start, in scorching conditions, I have to say that this was yet another pleasing run. Even more pleasing considering I ran 11 miles yesterday afternoon in equally hot conditions.

It's obvious when you think about it, but I've noticed that I consume twice as much water on hotter run. I got through 2.2 litres today, mixed with that wonderful electrolyte powder, in just 10 miles. It's a bit of a culture shock running in such heat after months of cold winter training. I much prefer the hotter conditions though. Just as well, as I'll be running my 900 miles in the height of summer. Scorchio!!!

Just 3 months left.........not time to panic (yet)!

There are less than 3 months before the big run. It's time, just for a moment, to take a step back from all the training, organising, pestering, dreaming and planning and take stock of things.

This event has presented me with 4 main challenges; organising it, training for it, sponsoring it and running it. The organisation of the run has gone almost 100% to plan so far. I haven't managed to acquire the camper van that would have solved all of my accommodation problems in one fell swoop. I have, however, managed to get some very cheap and often free "digs" with the help, imagination and generosity of colleagues and friends. So far, I've got 24 nights of "quality" accommodation. This leaves 18 nights sleeping in a tent in both the Scottish highlands and later in Devon and Cornwall. These 18 nights coincide with support from my wife and son - Katy and Jack (and not forgetting Monkey of course!). It should be an interesting family experience to say the least! My other supporters, Keith and Owen, have put their hands into their own pockets for digs. I owe them a beer or two after the run when I start drinking again (My last beer was New Year's Eve!). Speaking of support, I have all but 4 days of the run supported. I need to finalise support for these 4 days very soon or I face the prospect of running 96 miles solo! Heaven knows how that would work out.

I'm currently giving thought to the changeover arrangements needed when one supporter finishes and another starts their duties. I do feel that I'm almost there on the organisation front.

My training for the run has gone far far better than I'd expected and my fitness is probably the least area for concern. I'm running quicker than I have for a long time and further than ever before. Apart from a sore groin lasting a couple of days and a bad back caused by carrying 2 litres of water for 51 miles there's hardly been the hint of an injury. I've said it many times before and I think it is worth emphasising again. The support and encouragement from my colleagues at Northern Rock has been key to the progress I've made in training. Again, I think a few beers are in order when I return, God willing, from the south coast in August.

I set an unprecedented and very ambitious sponsorship target of £5000 for this event. At the time of writing, I've achieved 51% of that target. In my school days, that would have been enough to get you a pass in an exam. I'm after an A+ this time round and nothing less than £5000 will do for the pain I'm about to put myself through. I've still got plenty of avenues to pursue and remain ever confident of reaching this target in aid of St Benedict's Hospice.

And finally we come to actually running the thing. How on earth is a human being supposed to run that far in 6 weeks? Especially a 16 stone one! I'm resigned to the fact that it's going to hurt like mad. I'll be prepared for the pain knowing I'm backed by so many people, pledging money, for such a great cause as St Benedict's Hospice. One thing is for sure. This is a real step into the unknown for me. It doesn't compare to anything I've ran before. I could really do with something like a "Running 900 miles for Dummies" book.