Chooons and fellow runners

Music can be very important to a runner – so much so that some cannot run a race without it even though all entry forms now say ‘you will burn in the fires of damnation and your soul will be consumed by undead oompa loompas if you use an mp3 player’.

Note: entry forms do not actually say this, it is just my interpretation

I waver between listening to music and not – I have a ‘classic’ iPod and that means that I tend to lean to one side if I wear it while running.  I have plenty of music to listen to and a few playlists.  However, I can just as easily go for a run without any music other than the latest song that is stuck in my head.

I will listen to music on the way to a race and here is the playlist that I used while driving to the last half marathon that I ran.  Looking at them again, some are very apt for what I am doing!

Clawfinger – Biggest & the Best

Metallica – Sad but True

Dizzee Rascal – Bonkers

Prodigy – Firestarter

Ted Nugent – Stranglehold

Audioslave – Cochise

Survivor – Burning Heart

Survivor – Eye of the Tiger

Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)

The Killers – Losing Touch

Ozzy Osbourne – Diary of a Madman

Daft Punk – Digital Love

Ian Brown – FEAR

Slayer – Stain of Mind

The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter

What are your running favourites?

Also, I have added a few links – check them out. 

Mr Bobbett has kindly name checked me in his first post (although his comments settings mean that I cannot comment) – he recently ran the London marathon.

Orange Squeaky is an American living in Oxfordshire who recently ran the Rome marathon

Dailymile is a nice site for runners/triathletes and others to log workouts, log routes and generally be social

3 down and I’m getting slower!

Plymouth Half Marathon today.  A 9am start saw me leaving the house at around 7.15am after being woken (the first time) at 4.55am by a hungry Amy!!

This is the biggest, in terms of number of runners, that I have competed in and it took a full 5 minutes for me to get to the start line from my position in the 2hr plus area.

The day decided to be a hot and sunny one – not great for running a long distance but I felt OK.

That was until around the 5.5 mile mark when they decided to throw in a killer hill.  It sort of went pear shaped from there on.  I think that again I ran at least 10 of the 13.1 miles.  But the time of 2 hours 29 minutes is my slowest ever half beating the last one!

Fantastic athmosphere at the finish with people lining the streets.  At one point it resembled the finishing stages at Tour De France mountain stages with runners trudging uphill and spectators only a foot or two away and shouting encouragement.

All in all, it was a well organised and well marshalled race.  Plenty of goodies at the end including pasties and chocolate muffins.

Next one is around 5 weeks away – hope my sunburn feels better by then.

Number 3 approaches and getting back on the horse

Half marathon number 3 is just around the corner and yet again my training has been pitiful!  Looking after a baby is hard work!!

I have never competed in the Plymouth Half Marathon before so this will be a course where I will need to keep an eye on the signs and marshals so that I don’t get lost.  Looking at the snazzy brochure that I received recently, there are mile markers at each mile which will be very useful for my planning.  Also a good number of water stations – which we will need if the weather continues as it is (although the latest forecasts, thankfully, show the temperature falling over the week).

As part of the training that I have done, I decided to run straight after work.  Last time I attempted this 4 mile route, I ended up hobbling the final mile back to the office with my right leg numb from mid shin down and my left leg not much better.  At that point I decided that my shin splints had ‘grown’ into something more serious – which was true.

I set off with some trepidation given the proximity to the next race.  It was a warm evening so by the time I had finished I was sweating buckets.  I also managed to set off at an odd gait and ended up with my left shin aching – as if I had been running without putting the toes of the foot down and therefore attempting to kill the muscles!

But I got to the end and the nightmare hill close to the finish felt easier than it had done in the past.  No problems followed so I am feeling much better about the race.

Again, I am not going to run the whole way – I know that and am not afraid to admit it.  I am hoping to again run at least 10 of the 13 miles and hopefully by the end of the 10 I will be able to make the whole distance.

Sponsorship still welcome at www.justgiving.com/10halfmarathons2010.

Bitten on the bum!

OK so maybe hills are not quite as good as they seem.  At least not for a newbie runner or someone getting back in to running.

Last year (2008), I ran 2 half marathons.  After the second one, during a run, I had to stop with excruciating pains in my right shin.

I went to see a podiatrist http://northernhayclinic.com/default.aspx in Exeter who diagnosed me with Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome – more commonly known as shin splints.

This is partly due to my weight and also the fact that I overpronate.  He recommended some carbon fibre orthotics, some decent trainers and a lot of rest. 

Now that I am training regularly (for me) again, I have started to feel the twinges again.  Turns out that too much hill work can be a cause.  Today I went for a 2 mile flat run and at the end had no problems whatsoever!

Looks like I am now going to be planning lots of flat routes until the muscles in my legs are a bit stronger and some of the weight has come off.  I may need to be reacquainted with the treadmill in the garage as well.  Oh joy!

The value of hills

When I was younger (we are talking 14 to 18/19 here).  I ran regularly to the point where I was running 3.5 miles 5 days a week and 7 miles twice a week.

My regular run involved the toughest hill that I have ever run up as well as having the first 1/2 a mile being an incline.  It was all comfortable and enjoyable back then so I didn’t realise the value that it added to my running.

Now, I live in a very hilly part of Exeter and the majority of my runs involve hills and it really tells when I get on to a flat run.

My training for a 5k race recently involved a 5k loop starting and finishing at my house.  The first mile and a bit was a series of hills and the last 1/4 mile involved steep inclines.  My average for the run was around 30 minutes.

The race had a couple of hills but was much flatter and I ended up running it in less than 29 minutes.

Fast forward to my current training stint and my 2 mile runs are basically downhill for 1/4 mile, flatish for 1.5 miles and then uphil for the last 1/4 and it is really helping.  The 3 miles that I tried out recently ended up being run in 27 minutes 40.  I had to remeasure the route just to check that it was actually 3 miles and not shorter.

So now (when I don’t necessarily need to know it),  I’ve realised the value of hills.

And I have just watched Bolt smash his own 200m world record – superhuman!

Training is underway

2 weeks in to training and it is not getting any easier.  Doesn’t help that I was a little bit ill on the weekend.

At the moment, it is 2 miles per session but I am hoping to step that up over the coming weeks.

Luckily, Exeter has a fantastic flood relief area next to the River Exe which provides miles of car free smooth surface for running.

Unluckily, my house is up some testing hills!

I am about to put a training log page up so that you can see my progress.

Runs are measured using mapmyrun.com which is a great tool!

A bit more detail – and a request

OK, the ‘What’s the deal’ page tells you a bit more about what I am doing and why and I will use the posts page to keep you up to date.

This is my first blog and if just one person finds it interesting then I will be happy.

For those who can’t be bothered to look at the other pages, here is a summary

• Turning 30
• Not given much back to society
• Going to run 10 half marathons in 2010
• For charity

The chosen 10 are on a page aptly titled ‘The chosen 10′ although at the moment there are only 9!!

The request bit? This is where you come in.  It’s the last bullet point above.

I want to do this for a charity/collection of charities and I am looking for suggestions as to which charity or charities I should raise money for.

At the moment, I am leaning towards a charity connected to Parkinsons disease as one of my uncles has it but I am open to suggestions.

So, please, suggest away.

The start

More to come – check back for updates.