Week 70 complete

I'm pleased to report that tonight's 13.2 mile run brings a close to a succesful week 70 of training.

I've hardly got the energy to type any more for now. I'll post my thoughts on this week's training tomorrow.

In just over 9 hours I will be starting week 71 with the 10.5 mile Peter's Pies 6 Tyne Bridges Challenge.

I'm really looking forward to a rest day on Monday! I will have ran 114.5 miles in 9 days by then so a rest is very well deserved.

Week 70 almost in the bag.

So far this week I've managed 6 half marathons. The thing that has surprised me most is the fact that I've had no aches or pains from any of those 13.1 (or 13.5 on Monday) mile efforts! Seriously! There has been little physical evidence that I've actually done any running. It's an encouraging sign, given the fact that I've managed 78 miles so far this week

What I have experienced, though, is a little bit of de-hydration on a couple of days. Will I ever learn! Worse than that has been the tiredness! I've never had so many early nights as I have this week! 

To bring week 70 to a close I have the small matter of my last half marathon of the week tomorrow. I'm going to treat myself to a lie in so the run will be done when I get back from the Boro match. If Newcastle get the 3 points then I'll be well up for the run. Howay lads! Don't let me down!

The recruitment drive continues.

I had the pleasure of talking to a group of students at Northumbria University today. The aim was to try and recruit some more members for the Run Geordie Run USA 2011 Support Team.

I only had 10 minutes in which to talk about my background, the 2 charities, the facts and figures of the trans USA run, the expected duties of the support team and all that it entails. I just about got the message across in that time with a few questions afterwards. 

I was very grateful to those students who wouldn't be able to join the team but took time out anyway at the end to wish me good luck. For those students (and any other reader for that matter) who would like to apply to join the team then the application form can be found by clicking here.

Thanks to Brooks Sports (again!).

Once again it's time to give a special mention to my kit sponsors Brooks Sports. In the last few weeks they've sent me a few pairs of my favourite running shoes (Brooks Glycerin) and base layer tops (Brooks Equilibrium). I'm ever so grateful for their continued support and as this run is being paid for out of my own pocket, any chance to keep the costs down is very much welcomed.

Ever since I ran from John O'Groats to Lands End in 2007 I've worn Brooks Glycerin. They are a wonderfully comfortable shoe. The fact that I've ran 6 half marathons so far this week without a single blister or graze is testament to their comfort and fit.

Of course, my shoes are supplied by Brooks Sports so I may sound biased when I speak of their quality. I should say that I bought my own Brooks shoes for the John O'Groats to Lands End run back in 2007. It is with that in mind that I would recommend that any runner to get themselves down to Northern Runner in Low Friar Street, Newcastle (Just down from The Gate). If you have a neutral running style like me then why not try a pair of the Brooks Glycerin for size. If not then get the staff at Northern Runner to check your feet out and recommend the pair of Brooks shoes that suit your style. I'm confident you won't be disappointed!

Tyne Tees Update

Stop press!!! I'll be on North East Tonight on Tyne Tees next week. i.e. week commencing 12/03/2010.

Watch out for me on Tyne Tees TV.

I spent this afternoon filming a piece for the local news programme North East Tonight. The film crew took some footage of me running on Tynemouth Beach and then I gave a face to face interview at David Fairlamb's gym.

I thought it all went very well. After the event, as ever, I thought of things I should have said or could have said differently. I must admit I got a bit choked up when I talked about leaving Katy and Jack for over 3 months while I'm off running across the USA. Overall though I was very pleased, with my contribution to the whole thing and I'm sure after some neat editing it will come across well. 

There is a good chance that the item will be shown on tomorrow's programme at 6 pm. Failing that, it will be early next week. Please watch out for me on Tyne Tees TV. I'd appreciate any feedback or opinion after you've seen the piece. You can get in touch at sponsorship@rungeordierun.com. 

A good start to week 70

This week I have been mostly running 1/2 marathons! It's week 70 of training for USA 2011. Today I ran my 2nd 1/2 marathon in 2 days. Today's route, a big loop 13.5 mile one around Gosforth, was done in 02:10:38. Yesterday's 13 mile effort was an extended Peter's Pies 6 Tyne Bridges Challenge took 02:17:50. I suffered a bit on this one due to a quick 11 mile run on Saturday which had 5 x 8 minute miles and a 7 minute mile in it. That's far too fast for me given what I'm trying to achieve this week. i.e. 7 x 13 mile runs. Will I ever learn!

One thing I have noticed since last week's back massage is that my posture has greatly improved and I've got a much better technique as a result. For me, better technique means better breathing and better breathing means better rhythm. This was evident on Saturday with those quick miles.

I've got another 5 half marathons to do between Tuesday and Saturday this week. The aim is to get each mile as close to 10 minutes as I possibly can. This will be the key to getting all 91 miles done this week. A repeat of Saturday's pace would be foolish!

Back pain no more!

David Fairlamb arranged for me to have a back massage from one of his associates today; John Addison. My back pain had been getting only very slightly better and has been limiting by pace recently. I'm glad to report that the excruciating pain endured during today's massage seems to have done the trick. The real proof of the pudding, however, will be during tomorrow's run when I've got an easy 5 miles to do. I've got a further easy run on Friday and an 11 mile run in the North Pennines on Saturday morning.

Next week is my second so called "Red Week" of the year. This is where I have 7 days of consecutive high mileage.The first Red Week was 4 weeks ago where I ran 10 miles a day for 7 days. Red Weeks occur every 4 weeks with the final one in mid August where I'll be running 32 miles a day for 7 days. 

Next week's Red week is 13 miles per day, starting with an extended Peter's Pies 6 Tyne Bridges Challenge on Sunday. I don't have any school runs to do and will be reducing my hours at work so everything is set up for a successful week.

With further massage from John I should be in much better shape over the coming months. Thanks to David Fairlamb for arranging the sessions with John Addison. Thanks also (I think!!) go to John for donating his time for free and for inflicting so much pain that seems to have cleared up my back problem.

Where will it all end?

The current route that I'm using to run across the USA next year starts at Huntington Beach, California and finishes in Central Park, New York. There is one problem with this. The run will start at the Pacific Ocean but will fall short of the Atlantic Ocean by 20 or so miles. 

It would be a shame to travel all of that way and end up with the run not being a true coast to coast venture. 

Finding an end point for the run has been on my to-do list for quite a while now. With the help of Caroline O'Doherty from The Children's Foundation (and her sister in law in New York) I've decided to bring the 3100 mile run to an end at Coney Island.

Wikipedia has the following to say about the location of my new found "finish line".  "Coney Island is a peninsula, formerly an island, in southernmost Brooklyn, New York City, USA, with a beach on the Atlantic Ocean.".


The thing that swung it for me, though, is the fact that they have their own Hot Dog eating competition! Last year's winner managed to eat 68 hotdogs and buns in 10 minutes! I reckon, having just ran 3100 miles, I may be able to beat that!

In the meantime, it's official. My 3100 mile run across the USA is a true coast to coast route!

Starting to think about the logistics.

I dedicated last night's free time to pricing up flights to and from the US, looking for a hotel in LA and New York and starting the VISA application process. I didn't have too much luck I'm afraid. 

The departure date is too far in the future for flights and hotel bookings. More annoyingly though was the fact that my online VISA application session "timed out" mid application.

When the session timed out, I was at the point in the application where it asked "Where will you be staying"? "Hmmmm, ermmm, arl owa man like"!. Which for readers outside of Newcastle translates to "All over old chap".

I'm going to leave the VISA application until I can book flights and a hotel. Most sites won't allow you to book more than a year in advance so it looks like this is a job for May 2010.

I then decided to issue an appeal to the 1360 members of my Run Geordie Run Facebook group and to my 300 followers on Twitter. The appeal was for anyone who had access to discounted flights and hotels in LA and NY to get in touch. I've had a couple of good replies but I think it's appropriate to mention one particular person at this point.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce the latest member of the Run Geordie Run team; Shelli Tench Mayfield. Shelli lives in the USA and with her best friend being a Geordie she knows what people from our region are all about.

Shelli is currently in the process of creating a PR plan for me "stateside". I don't want to go into any details at this early stage, needless to say that I'm very excited about her plans and even more so with her dedication and effort so far. Aside from PR, it's very comforting to have a good contact in the USA. All of a sudden the whole thing seems a little less daunting than before with access to local knowledge such as Shellis'.

Thanks to Shelli and thanks to all of those folk who have written to me with advice on various aspects of the run and also on fundraising and publicity. The virtual community of helpers and advisors is growing by the week. It's great to have you all aboard. I've said right from the start that the USA 2011 run will be a team effort. It's me putting one front in front of the other a few million times but I'm sure a lot of credit will go to those people behind the scenes who contribute, advise and help out.