Week 48 – Help wanted!

Right, I know I said on the last blog that it was my target to have confirmed my final race, booked that race, chosen a charity, ordered my final vest and upped my longest distance to 18 miles all in the next week, but… I am actually writing this blog only 3 days after the last blog (which was itself 6 days late) so in reality I’ve still got 4 more days to do all those things, which is when Week 49’s blog is due, so in actual fact I am bang on target if not a little bit ahead of schedule. Confused? Not sure whether I’m talking nonsense? Baffled? Excellent, job done! Now, onto this week’s blog…

With only 5 more weeks, and indeed blogs, to go I’m currently finding it extremely hard to maintain the same intensity to my training that I have had the majority of the way through so far. Don’t misunderstand me here, I’m still doing a considerable amount of training, but I am struggling to be as single minded and as focused on it as I was before. I guess this could have been expected some 48 weeks into a 52 week challenge, but it’s something I am really struggling to counter at the moment. Presently it feels as if long runs are less frequent, it’s getting harder to push myself during intervals and hill training has almost completely dropped off the radar. My training since the last #HalfMarathon has been as follows…

• 10th May – Ran 6 miles (7m47s pace)
• 11th May – Swam 1.2 miles (45 minutes)
• 12th May – Ran 4 miles (7m37s pace)
• 13th May – Ran 3.85 miles (7m14s pace)
• 16th May – Ran 15 miles (8m27s pace)
• 23rd May – Ran 8 miles (7m55s pace)
• 27th May – Ran 5 miles (8m00s pace)

Listed like this it probably doesn’t seem too bad to the un-trained eye, but I know that my intensity during some of these runs has just not been there and I’m struggling to get it back.

Trying to think back to what the difference was back then I feel like I’ve allowed other factors to influence my focus too much. In the beginning it was all 100% about getting a plan and sticking to it. Work colleagues and friends both gave me grief about being a boring old fart because I’d blow off everything if I had a training run, I used to bore Kristy to death with my “I’ve got to run/swim tonight – see you in an hour” texts and the dogs #GeorgeAndCharley positively hated me because I’d always run/swim ahead of taking them for a walk. I think it’s fair to say that all of that has completely changed of late.

Being aware of a problem is always the first step to resolving it however, so the fact I (think I) have recognised this now should help me attack it and fix it over the coming, final few weeks. With the last race being a full marathon I also simply can’t rely on my base level of fitness to get me over the line, as I arguably may have done over the last race or two, and I need to push myself in order to improve to the levels that I need. This is not going to be easy on my own so I have to ask a favour.

I put out this plea put to you, my friends, to help me during this, the final stages of my #12in12months challenge. Below is my training plan for between now and the final race. If you think you can help me by joining me for some intervals, hill training, a warm down run, a swim or best of all one of my weekend long runs then PLEASE get in touch. Having some people to train with during these last few weeks would be of a massive help to me I promise you. You can tweet me @12in12months if you think you can, and want to, join me to help me get over the line…

• Thursday 28th May – Run 4 miles
• Friday 29th May – Swim 60 lengths
• Saturday 30th May – Rest Day
• Sunday 31st May – Run 18 miles
• Monday 1st June – Swim 30 lengths
• Tuesday 2nd June – Rest Day
• Wednesday 3rd June – Hills Training
• Thursday 4th June – Rest Day
• Friday 5th June – Run 4 miles
• Saturday 6th June – Rest Day
• Sunday 7th June – Run 20 miles
• Monday 8th June – Rest Day
• Tuesday 9th June – 60 lengths
• Wednesday 10th June – Start tapering

Please help me guys! I need to tap into some additional motivation and focus from somewhere to help me get over the line. Maybe we can inspire each other?

THE CHARITY BIT
Before I confirm the charity for my final #12in12months run I just wanted to give all of you, my generous, kind hearted, positive Karma seeking friends one last go at donating to any of the previous 11 charities. There is, in theory, something for everyone and hopefully at least one of these incredible charities will resonate enough to motivate you into donating the cost of only one drink, or one snack or ‘treat’. These wonderful charities were, in no particular order of preference…

PAWS MAURITIUS
Donate HERE

BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION
Donate HERE
Text FIGHT to 70123 to give £3

UNICEF
Donate HERE
Text UNICEF to 70099 to give £5

CANCER RESEARCH UK
Donate HERE
Text RESEARCH to 70200 to give £5

GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND
Donate HERE
Text ‘Dogs05 £5’ to 70070 to give £5

SHELTER
Donate HERE
Text HOMES to 87085 to give £3

SAVE THE CHILDREN
Donate HERE
Text SAVE to 70008 to give £5

MIND
Donate HERE
Text SUPPORT to 70660 to give £3 or Text GIVE to 82773 to give £5

OXFAM
Donate HERE
Text ‘DONATE’ to 70066 to give £5

BATTERSEA DOGS AND CATS HOME
Donate HERE
Text DOGS to 70800 & donate £5

DIABETES UK
Donate HERE
Text PROGRESS to 70300 to donate £3

Thanks everyone – you’re the best!

Week 47 – a slight change in focus

Those of you with functioning eyes and a basic understanding of the Gregorian calendar will no doubt notice that I haven’t posted any blogs for 13 days!  I’d love to be able to say that was because I have been flat out training for my final challenge, the full marathon in June, but that would be an outright lie.  The sole reason for my inactivity on the blog has been because I have been struggling for any motivation at this (very) late stage in my #12in12months challenge.   Actually, that’s not completely true.  When I say struggling for motivation I don’t mean to do the exercise or the training.  In the past two weeks I have been running and swimming regularly, including my longest run ever on Sunday when I ground out 15 miles along the towpath of the beautiful Kennet and Avon canal. What I am struggling with is finding the motivation to do the more functional, administrative aspects of the challenge, which it would appear seems to include writing the blog.    A tactic that I found quite motivational earlier on in the challenge was writing about what I was hoping to achieve each week in the blog and then updating on my progress or achievements in the following weeks blog, so that is what I am going to do now.  Here I am doing it…

By next week I will have…

• Chosen the venue for my final race, which is going to be a full marathon
• Booked that race
• Chosen a charity to support for that final race
• Ordered my final vest from the Personalise My Vest website
• Upped my longest distance run to 18 miles 

Written down these tasks already seem much smaller than they were in my head just a few seconds ago and the more driven, more motivated me (that’s in there somewhere – honest) can’t believe I haven’t done them already.  See, it’s working as a tactic already! In terms of stepping up from 11 official (15 unofficial) half marathons to a full marathon for my last race, I think I have mentally accepted the challenge, and already I am relishing all the extra ‘digging deep‘ required even at this early stage.  Without wanting to sound blasé about half marathons, because I obviously have the upmost respect for them (after 15 in 11 months) and all the people who do them, but I feel that I was ready for a new challenge and a new training regime.  I’m not saying that running a #HalfMarathon isn’t a huge challenge, especially when you are (still) trying to crack 1 hour and 40 minutes….but, the relentless pursuit of trying to get a little bit quicker, trim 5/10 seconds off your per mile pace, take 1 minute off my race time or any of those ‘smaller’ goals is a long, long, slow path.  The degree of consistent extra effort, day to day slog, commitment and general grind required to achieve these minimal gains just doesn’t seem to be a fair exchange of reward for effort to me at this stage.  I’d much rather shift the focus of the remaining 5 weeks or so to completing a full marathon, try to freshen up the training plan and my attitude and really enjoy what’s left of my challenge than keep grafting away to maybe trim 2 minutes off my half marathon time.  I know the sense of achievement I will get from completing a full marathon will hugely outweigh beating my PB by 1, 2 or even 3 minutes so that’s what I will aim for.  As I mentioned earlier, I ran 15 miles in Bath last week after heading down there to meet my Dad for breakfast (he was there on a Canal boat holiday) and the sense of winning that I got from doing my longest distance ever was instantly rewarding and motivating.   

 I guess it’s only logical for an amateur runner such as I to freshen up the challenge a little after 47 weeks in order to keep it interesting, because all exercise should be fun and rewarding as well as a physical test. I don’t think it’s ‘cheating’ to change the challenge at this stage but what do you think?  It’d be great if you let me know!

5 weeks left!  

Week 43 – 10 down, 2 to go.

This week I ran the 10th official race of my #12in12months #ManProject the Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series in Exmoor, Devon.  This race is advertised as ‘the toughest trail run in the U.K.’ and I have to say that it completely lives up to its billing!  Easily the toughest run of the 10 official (and 13 unofficial) races so far! 



PRE-RACE

Kristy and I travelled down immediately after work on the Friday, from Richmond, Surrey, and checked into The Royal Hotel, Woolacombe at just after 10pm.  Knowing time was going to be tight we had a McDonalds on the way.  I could already feel the run was going to be a struggle tomorrow.  Not ideal preparation alarm number one.



Although it was pitch black when we arrived in Woolacombe, we could immediately smell the sea air which all added to the anticipation for the cliff run the next day.  We parked the car and walked down to the hotel reception where we were greeted by 50 or so Harley Davison’s parked outside.  We were then welcomed inside the building by someone murdering The 80’s Classic ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ by Tiffany.  Excellent, Karaoke night.  We checked in and found our room, room 403, was right above the bar.  Nice one!  We listened to a few more murders (‘Spirit in the Sky’, ‘Heaven in a Place on Earth’ and ‘True Blue’) whilst we showered and sorted out stuff out and then thankfully the music stopped at around midnight and we were able to go to sleep.  Not ideal preparation alarm number two.





The next morning we were up at 8.15am, quick shower, quick cup of tea in the room and then we were packed and off.  The night before I had finally read the official email about the run and realised that there was a load of ‘mandatory kit’ that I was supposed to have brought with me.  A foil blanket, a bottle of water, a first aid kit, a whistle, a mobile phone, £20 in cash, a waterproof jacket and a hat.  Because of this we stopped on the way at a local garage to stock up on Water and Plasters where Kristy (who wasn’t running) noticed they were also doing Bacon Rolls…so we ordered two of them and ate them on the way.  Not I deal preparation alarm number three.  After a thirty minute drive we arrived at the Hunters Inn near Exmoor Park where the event base camp was.  We parked up, got out of the car to go and get my number, chip, etc and were immediately struck by how cold and windy it was.  This was definitely going to be tough run!  Soon enough we’d got all my stuff, I’d put my new free t-shirt on to keep me warm (once I’d realised I was a large and not a medium – very upsetting) and I was soon once again stood on the start line counting down.  5-4-3-2-1….and we’re off!  Oh wait there, I forgot to buy all that mandatory kit.  Not I deal preparation alarm number four.   Oh well, too late now! 









MILES 1, 2 AND 3

The first three miles of this run were absolutely, without doubt the most horrific three miles that I have ever run and I mean EVER.  Worse than the Dirt Run, worse than the last KM in Barcelona, worse than when my knee went in Miami and even worse than the dunes in Gansbai!  During the pre-race briefing the organiser, James, had made a little ‘joke ‘about how he hoped we’d all studied the course before signing up because the first three miles were all a climb, and when everyone laughed riotously, I genuinely thought he was joking!  But he wasn’t.  The first three miles saw us climb something like 1,600 feet in altitude.  The first three miles had everything as it started along a little mud trail by a stream, developed into a zig-zag path up the side of a large hill and then finally turned into a full on Coastal path literally cut into the side of the cliff.  The first three miles were carnage, for everyone.  Most of the first three miles were single file trail, with only a few passing spots, so you were held hostage to the pace of the mob.  Almost everyone had dressed for the cold and windy start, but once they’d done the first 100m of climb were absolutely roasting hot and trying to strip off layers whilst on the move and it felt like no-one was quite prepared for the state of some of the paths.  They were about 30 cm wide, made up of loose rocks and with around a 2,000 foot drop into the see on the right hand side.  These aren’t all my photos, or indeed all photos of me, but they show the ‘beauty’ of it perfectly.





MILES 4, 5 AND 6

As we headed West along the coastal path the climb started to level out and then even included the odd downhill.  Admittedly this was almost immediately followed by another climb on every occasion, but it was still possible to enjoy the level running and downhill running as you could finally lift your head up and take in the beauty around you.  I have to say of all the race these were my favourite miles.  Having endured the awful stop, start, single file, vertical climb/walk of the majority of the first three miles it was at least possible here to do some actual running and try to at least start a rhythm.  Eventually we reached the turning point on the Coast Path and did a sharp left up another hill, past a mound stones, past the first checkpoint, over the road and then downhill along a trail and through some woods.  This part was also lovely.  As I glanced at my Garmin though I could see it already said 1 hour 12 minutes and i had only just managed 10k.  This was becoming a very slow slog. 





MILES 7, 8 AND 9

The beginning of mile 7 saw us head down past the Hunters Inn again, where Kristy was there to take a photo of me running, cheer me on, take my jacket (which I had tied around my waist by this point) and then also take this selfie!  A colleague commented that I look exactly like Tom Hanks in Castaway in this photo – brilliant!



At this point I remembered during the pre-race briefing that the organiser had made another ‘joke’ here about a climb for miles 7 and 8 but this time I totally believed him and mentally prepared to dig in!  I managed to say goodbye to Kristy and keep running, and looking strong, around the corner and out of sight, only to be faced by an even bigger hill than miles 1-3.  FML!  Along with more than a few of the other competitors a combination of Power Walking, purposeful uphill jogging and some gentle sobbing saw me climb nearly 1,700 feet in altitude between miles 7 and 8.  This made the first three miles seem like an amble down Ocean Drive, Miami.  The relentlessness of this section meant that around every corner of this winding path was yet another hill, yet more heartache and ultimately many more reasons to give up.  But for the gallows humour of some other competitors, my own bloody mindedness and the fact this was race 10 I think I probably would have!  But we talked, we walked, we jogged, we laughed, we cried, we jogged some more and eventually it flattened out again, so we could all start running properly once more.  I thought nothing could be harder than these 3 miles…..





MILES 10, 11, 12 AND 13

…then along came the last 4 miles.  They started with a lovely, easy, long downhill section of about a mile where I simply let gravity win and fairly sprinted down.  But as i had learnt in the previous 10 miles, there are surprises around every corner and the last three miles were to be no different.  The path consisted of either mud tracks through woods or the 30cm wide uneven stones along the cliff edge again.  Whilst there were some lovely downhill sections which were most enjoyable these were interspersed with annoying little uphill climbs, both of which took every ounce of effort as my calves burned from slogging uphill and my knees rattled inside from careering downhill.  My Garmin was getting closer to that magical 21km number though when I knew it would all be over, so I kept pressing on.  At 19km there was one last, long climb back up to the cliff path where you were suddenly exposed to the most amazing view of the North Devon coast line which nearly almost made it all seem worthwhile.  Then as I passed the ‘ONE MILE TO GO’ sign I stopped for a few seconds to stretch off a bit of cramp in both calves, drink the last of my water, enjoy the view and then set about putting in one last burst for home.  The last mile was mostly downhill where lots of people suddenly found lots of energy and enthusiasm resulting in shouting, hollering and whooping and after a small incline we were back by the Hunters Inn and heading for the finish line.  Kristy was in prime position to get some great photos of me as I rounded the last corner, so I sucked it all up (and in) and put in what sprint I could with cramp in both calves and drove for home.  I crossed the finish line with a final time of 2 hours 26 minutes and 55 seconds, which for someone with a PB of 1 hour 43 minutes might sound a bit disappointing but I can assure you I am over the moon with it!  The climbs, the paths, the less than ideal preparation, the cramp, the (eventual) hot weather and the wind made this the toughest run yet – but I kept going and I finished it!





10 down and only 2 to go now.  So exciting, and yet a little bit sad.  Richmond Half Marathon is next on Sunday 3rd May with June’s full marathon (EEEEK!) yet to be decided.  





THE CHARITY BIT

Last chance to donate to Battersea Dogs and Cats home!  Please text DOGS to 70800 & give £5 or go to http://www.battersea.org.uk/donate



Thanks! 

Week 42 – “I don’t know how you do it….and keep on doing it?”

…is what a good friend SMS’d to me after I posted the splits for my latest 4 mile run on MapMyRun at the weekend.  They couldn’t believe that after 10 miles on Saturday I could still motivate myself to churn out another 4 miles before 9am on Easter Monday morning.  They, and many others, can’t understand how or where I continue to find the motivation to keep grinding out training runs yet alone keep going on with my overall #12in12months challenge.





Motivation is in my limited experience a very subjective business and extremely personal for each specific individual.  Before I started on my silly little #ManProject this was a question I often found myself asking about my own more motivated and athletic friends (such as Benny the Fireman and Jon the Ironman) and even as they took the time to explain their own, personal, subjective reasons I just thought ‘I don’t get it?’.  My response these days however is obviously much, much more different but I think relatively simple and straight forward.  My approach might sound odd, or like I’ve taken the ‘fun’ out of it, but the tactic I employ for every training run, swim or gym session is telling myself that I have absolutely no choice in the matter.  



If the plan says it’s a 4 mile run, then a 4 mile run it is, regardless of how much energy I think I’ve got.  If the plan says swim 60 lengths, then 60 lengths I swim, regardless of the day I’ve had.  If the plan says go to the gym and row for an hour then guess what, I row for an hour.  It doesn’t matter what’s gone on before, how I feel at the time, or what else I might have planned afterwards.  I do what the plan says do, because then ‘motivation’ doesn’t even come into it and isn’t really required.  It feels really simple to me doing it this way I have to say.  Take anything resembling a choice out of the equation, everything else will be easy.



If I do start thinking about the reasons for going ahead with a specific training activity, or conversely excuses for not going ahead with one, then I completely see where my friends are struggling with ‘motivation’.  Do I need to build up my fitness?  Not after 9 months of training.  Do I have enough ‘base’ fitness to get me through the final 3 half marathons?  Absolutely, 100%.  Will it matter if I ditch today’s training?  Absolutely not, in any way shape or form.  All of this tells me that if I was relying on ‘motivation’ to get me through then I’d have a million reasons not to do it and very few, if any reasons, to actually go and do the exercise.



In the earlier days of the challenge I had loads of motivating factors that initially got me out there doing it, all of which were based around my perception of myself.  I’m too fat, too old, too slow, I’ve no stamina, etc.  Then as the challenge began in earnest my motivations changed and became based around capabilities.  Can I run for that long without stopping?  Can I run for that long without walking?  Can I do that distance?  Can I actually row for an hour?  Can I swim that many lengths?  Then finally as the challenge gathered more momentum my motivations became totally based on performance, or limitations of performance.  Can I do that quicker?  Can I row further in that time?  Can I swim those lengths all in front crawl?  



And now finally I’ve moved on to the ‘take anything resembling a choice out of the equation’ approach which is working for me so far.  As I say, I can see how from the outside this may feel like taking the fun out of the whole thing but I can assure you that at this stage, after 10 months, 9 races, 1,000+ training miles and over 30 miles swimming I will take my motivation however I can get it.  Anyway at all. Even if that means catching the train to Waterloo just to mix my run up a bit by going from the Houses of Parliament to the O2 in Grenwich. 





My advice to you is to find your own personal motivation wherever you can, however you can.  Just keep on keeping on because that’s literally the only way it will get any easier and it’ll have any chance of becoming enjoyable! 



THE CHARITY BIT

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home is the charity that I have chosen for race number 10.

To donate text DOGS to 70800 and give £5 or visit http://www.battersea.org.uk/donate



Week 21 – Epic fail week!

This week has been nothing short of an epic fail as far as my training plan is concerned. Despite being fully aware of the pitfalls that come after enjoying a recovery week, including the effect it can have on your motivation and how hard it makes it to simply get going again, I have done nothing to combat any of those things and subsequently done next to no training. I have a list of reasons that have undoubtedly contributed to this, which I will go through just now, but I know I my heart of hearts that these are all excuses and that the only real thing stopping me was me.

That said, aside from my own poor attitude I have found the clocks going back an hour a huge mental barrier to executing my training plan. It is now completely dark when I leave work at around 6pm which makes road running a different game. Additionally the temperature has taken a real dip this week and it is now very, VERY cold when I leave work. This combo, coupled the fact it has been spitting or raining most nights, has chipped away at my motivation and eroded it almost completely this week.

Add to this the fact that I’ve had an eye infection which has meant that I can’t run in my contact lenses and that after Mondays run (the only one I’ve done all week) I felt on the edge of ‘man-flu’ after breathing in all that cold air, and I think that’s enough reasons/excuses not to beat myself up – but you’ll probably be the judge of that.

Here are the splits from Mondays 4 mile run:

I’m writing this blog on Friday night though and I’ve made a promise to myself to get right back on the horse tomorrow morning with 10k session of Kenyan Hills prior to heading off to watch West Ham v Aston Villa in the afternoon. That’s one of the things I like from running, despite having a piss poor attitude all week and achieving nothing I can wipe all this from memory tomorrow simply by setting myself a challenge tonight and going out and hitting it tomorrow. When I complete my 10k of Kenyan Hills tomorrow I will feel great again and be right back on it mentally.

It’s been interesting as well to find myself gaining motivation from others that I have perhaps motivated in the first place, as my own motivation has wavered. Through my running and this blog I have had a number of friends, colleagues and acquaintances explicitly tell me they have started running because of it, indicate that it’s played some part in them starting or just tell me that it’s motivated them to do more, run races, enter triathlons, etc.

Every single person that has told me something along those lines has been a massive motivation for me, and for that I am grateful to each and every one of you. Especially now. You all know who you are, and I won’t name you, with the exception of my girlfriend Kristy. I know 100% that Kristy despises running and yet not only has she started, but she’s also done two 5k races already. For someone who hates running with a passion as she does that’s amazing! Knowing she went out and ran today, when she’s been on nights, is a massive motivator to making me pull my finger out tomorrow. As are all the Facebook status updates, Tweets and Instagram pictures from all my friends! I’ll let you know how the Kenyan Hills go.

The Charity Bit
There are 2 people I regularly see around Richmond who both have Guide Dogs, one is a chap in his mid 30’s and the second a slightly older lady. Every time I see them I literally stand and stare in awe of them, and their dogs, as between them they negotiate uneven streets, selfish pedestrians, reckless drivers, unpredictable children and everything else involved in the modern day commute as they head to Richmond train station (and presumably to work).

The communication, understanding, teamwork, consideration and respect shown between Guide Dog and owner is frankly breath-taking. I know that it might sound like an am being overly dramatic here, but next time you see a Guide Dog and it’s owner just watch and appreciate how amazing they are together, and what they give to each other.

Guide Dogs for the Blind receives absolutely NO Government funding and depends entirely on public support. There are currently 4,800 Guide Dog owners in the UK and Guide Dogs created more than 820 new Guide Dog partnerships in 2013 alone.

Please make a donations HERE!

The Race Schedule
Here is the plan, such as it is, for the remainder of the #12in12months #ManProject challenge. Only November and December have been booked this far:

Saturday 15th November 2014
Dirt Run Half Marathon

Wednesday 31st December 2014
Dangee Point Half Marathon, South Africa

Sunday 19th January 2015
Helsby Four Villages Half Marathon, Cheshire

Sunday 15th February 2015
Barcelona Half Marathon, Spain

Sunday 22nd March 2015
Fleet Half Marathon

April – TBC
Plymouth Half Marathon TBC

Sunday 3rd rMay 2015
Richmond Half Marathon – TBC

June – Full Marathon TBC

If you fancy joining me for one, or know of any better ones then please get in touch @12in12months

PS: It’s Sunday morning now and I can confirm that the Kenyan Hills went well!

Week 13 – Where are we and how did we get here?

A combination of being a quarter of the way in to the #ManProject (3 down, 9 to go) and having just enjoyed a beautiful ‘recovery week’ in and around Tuscany, Italy means there isn’t really much to report on this week so I thought I’d do a whistle stop tour of the 13 weeks so far. Ciao…

Week 0
14 days of constant eating, drinking and looking at my growing paunch whilst on the paradise island of Mauritius convinces me I need to set myself a physical challenge. Somehow my little pea brain comes up with #12in12months – 12 half marathons in 12 calendar months. One each month in a different town, with different people, experiencing different feelings each time. With hindsight….What. A. Genius! Talk about taking a leap of faith…

Week 1
Secured a Coach and booked the first run….we weren’t calling them races at this stage! My girlfriend Kristys ex housemate runs fairly seriously (full marathons completed in 2h 45m!?!?!?!) so she seemed a great choice to put together a plan for me. So glad I did this because the plan included differing times, distances, intensity and made sure it was all as interesting as running could be. Booked the Wimbledon Half Marathon as the first run and the first step of the #12in12months if you like…

Week 2
First week of training against a proper plan, except I got injured before I had even got the plan. Some old school Sunday Morning Football physiotherapy and treatment soon got me back up and running (figuratively and literally) and I enjoyed the first week of Coach Lauren’s plan in the end. It felt good to have a plan…

Week 3
Really, REALLY struggled with the numbskull I my head telling me to stop and that I couldn’t do it. Got some good advice from Harriet at work to run near other runners (because pride alone will ensure you keep putting one foot in front of the other) and to also not under estimate the importance of a good playlist each time. I also introduced some outdoor swimming and some outdoor gym work to the training plan to keep it fresh. Anything to keep those Numbskulls quiet…

Week 4
This was the first week that I really started feeling the benefits of the training plan. Having the structure of the plan and the regularity of it meant that I slowly but surely built up my strength, endurance and commitment to it. This was the week that I finally understood the saying “Enjoy your body…it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.” I also booked the second race at Burnham Beeches near Slough and also chose Paws Mauritius as the first charity to promote.

Week 5
Focused on the Top Ten things I had learnt in the previous month. These were, in no particular order, get a proper plan, get the right gear for everything, playlists, stretch before and after, mix up the exercise/plan, don’t overdo it, stick with the swimming, it all takes ages, eat what you want but ALWAYS hydrate and appreciate it when someone takes time to pay you a compliment about the #ManProject – it’s very motivating!

Week 6
First run completed after only 5 weeks of training! With the benefit of a last 400m head down sprint I broke my initial two hour target with a time of 1 h 59m and 39s for the Wimbledon Common Half Marathon, which I ran with an old friend of mine from Betfair Paul Lewis. Kristy was unfortunately working so Coach Lauren and Assistant to the Coach Jon came and supported me. Things I learned. It’s tough, every step is tough. The support means everything, I definitely would have walked if Lauren and Jon hadn’t of been there. Despite it being tough I definitely had something left in the tank at the end, so I can go quicker for sure!

Week 7
I realised that the #ManProject was simply another pathetic way to try and fight the relentless pursuit of time and ageing. Accepting this realisation was fairly easy, I’m always trying to find ways to pretend I’m not 41, and it didn’t affect the sense of achievement that I was already getting from it. I selected the British Heart Foundation as my charity for the second run at Burnham Beeches and also chose my third run at The Old Deer Park, Richmond. Everyone gets old….eventually…

Week 8
Went to see my Dad and Rachel in Cornwall and had the best run of my whole 13 weeks so far as I ran around all the places where I grew up. I covered 8 miles so easily as I just let the memories, feelings and emotions wash over me. Kristy and I also went surfing which was awesome! All in all the whole weekend felt like good, strong week of preparation forthe Burnham Beeches Half Marathon next week.

Week 9
After only 8 weeks of training I have already broken what was my goal for the whole #12in12months #ManProject Well supported by my good friend Adrian and his fiancée Emily I smashed the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon in 1h 51m and 56s! The overall target for the whole thing was to try and beat 1h 52m. DONE IT! Things I learned from this one. A timely shout of encouragement from a Marshall or Spectator can make ALL the difference to whether you keep going. If i am struggling then just focus on the very next step,not the end of the fence/straight/road/mile….simply the next step. And again, despite it being tough I definitely had something left in the tank at the end, so I can go quicker for sure! This is when the possibility of the remainder of the #ManProject REALLY got exciting!

Week 10
Had to to change the third race from The Old Deer Park Half Marathon to the Cheltenham Half Marathon due to a change in holiday plans for Tuscany. Whilst I was sad to be missing my ‘home’ run I was excited about Cheltenham as with 3,700 runners it was going to be a big one! I also realised the ridiculous sense of pleasure and satisfaction you get from simply setting a physical goal, working to achieve it and then actually hitting it! Knowing you can build up your physical strength and endurance as well as manage your own mind and willpower to overcome your own physical and mental limitations is a very enlightening experience. I would recommend it to anyone, whether it be a walk, 5k run, 10k run, half marathon, full marathon, triathlon, iron man, whatever. As Nike so eloquently put it ‘Just Do It’!

Week 11
Struggled to fathom out ‘recovery week’. The similarities between losing momentum from recovery week and when you are actually out there running are weird! Decided to focus on one step at a time, and just putting one foot in front of the other, then the run takes care of itself. So that’s what I am going to do with this type of week from now on, try and focus on the moment of the specific run or swim I am ‘in’ rather than think about the long run, week, month or 12 months of training ahead. I am a firm believer in ‘living in the moment’, like a dog does, so I going to try and bring that approach to my training.

Week 12
Ran the Cheltenham Half Marathon with my friend David Bruce who lives there. Smashed my PB, getting it down to 1h 47m & 49s, despite the on-set of man flu, a bad tummy and being in the portaloo as the starters gun went. My girlfriend Kristys shifts were finally kind to us allowing her to come and offer me support (in every sense) which was massively appreciated. 3 down and 9 to go.

So there you have it, my 12 weeks in a nutshell! More on November and Decembers choices for my half marathons and my new chosen charity for Octobers run in next weeks blog!

God bless!

PS: Special thanks to all who have donated so far! You’re the best!

Week 12 – 3 down, 9 to go!

I ran the third #HalfMarathon of my #12in12months #ManProject on Sunday, here’s the story of the #CheltenhamHalf…

Miles 0 – 3
Had a bit of a nightmare before we even started! Having had something of a ‘bad tummy’ for 4 or 5 days previous to the run I got my toilet timings completely wrong prior to the race and found myself in a portaloo as the starters pistol fired. Luckily there were 3,700 registered runners for the race, so even though I passed the start line with 1 minute 27 seconds already on the official clock I still had lots of people around me and hadn’t been left behind.

The early nightmare didn’t end there though as the first 3 miles were amongst the toughest that I have had since this whole adventure started. Every step was an absolute slog. My lungs felt bunged up, my calves heavy, my head was spinning and I was sweating like I’d done 13 miles already rather than just 3. At the time I was convinced it was a combination of man-flu, bad tummy and a poor sleep and I probably came as close to quitting as I have on any run ever before. To be brutally honest, if it wasn’t for seeing Kristy there cheering for me and taking photos at the 2 mile marker I think I would have stopped. Thankfully she was there so I kept running. Looking back at the splits I can now see that I’d clearly gone off massively too quickly and my body was simply reacting to that. 7.21, 7.50 and 8.01 were my first 3 splits – ridiculous!

Miles 3 – 6
This section of the run was equally as bad as the first section. I still felt like I had no energy and was coughing up some horrible green things along the way, but I was also continuing to put in some good splits of 7.52, 8.13 and 8.12 and at least had reached a point where I felt more settled into the run. I had also become aware that my splits were now averaging out at under 8 minutes a mile, which was 15 seconds a mile quicker than my last run at Burnham Beeches, so I knew that if I could keep this up that I’d have a great chance of taking some time off my current PB of 1 hour 51 minutes and 52 seconds.

Miles 6 – 10
Contrary to both the Wimbledon Half and the Burnham Beeches Half these were my most enjoyable miles of the Cheltenham Half Marathon. The 8.01, 7.52, 8.12 and 7.57 splits showed a consistency to my running, regardless of incline, surface or congestion, that made me feel much better and more determined than previously in the race. The 10 mile marker saw the race enter the toughest section of the run mentally, Cheltenham Horse Racing course. As you entered the course you could see the next two and a half miles spread out in front of you, with fellow runners the size of Ants in the distance as they ran around the circumference of the course, and you had to dig deep. Somewhat perversely I enjoyed this bit most of all…

Miles 10 – 13.2
I might have enjoyed this section most because I’d finally caught up with my friend Dave who I’d lost on the start line due to my bad toilet timing, or because I felt strong and was able to keep at my 8 minute mile pace and steadily overtake some fellow runners (which is always good for the ego) but whatever the reason I was just glad to finally enjoy some part of the run. Solid if unspectacular splits of 8.06, 8.05 and 8.27 kept me under the 8 minute per mile pace for the whole 13 miles. The last mile was a bit of a balls up on my part to be honest. I actually missed the 12 mile marker and was conserving energy a bit, in order to try and push for a fast last mile but by the time I saw I was in the final stretch it was a bit too late and resulted in a poor final split. You know what though, I’m not going to beat myself up about it because my final time was 1 hour 47 minutes and 49 seconds….a whole 3 minutes and 3 seconds quicker than run number 2 and a full 11 minutes and 50 seconds quicker than run number 1. That’s crazy right? You know what’s crazier? I can definitely do quicker! Maybe even break 1 hour 45 minutes in Exeter! But that’s for another day.

I have to say that one of my highlights of the day, aside from having Kristy there to support me, was getting tapped on the arse by a total stranger as I crossed the finish line (a 6 foot 5 inch man) who said “Three down mate! Great stuff!” having run behind me reading the back of my vest. He is dead right. I am now officially a quarter of the way through my #ManProject

The full run down of my week is as follows:

Monday
– Ran for 15 minutes covering 2.0 miles with splits of 7.18 and 7.25. Felt great. Runners roller afterwards.

Tuesday
– Nowt. Nothing. Tapering i think it’s called.

Wednesday
– Intervals. Urgh! Covered 3 miles in 25 minutes. 5 minute warm up, 5 X 90 second intervals and then 5 minute warm down. Runners roller afterwards.

Thursday
– Had a colleagues leaving do at Notonthehighstreet.com so indulged in 3 or 5 pints at The Britannia Pub in Richmond.

Friday
– Was a little hungover today so no exercise.
– Kristys cousin Gaston came to visit for the night so we went to Vodka Revolution in Richmond and drank too many cocktails for a man running a half marathon on Sunday.

Saturday
– Ran for 15 minutes covering 2 miles with splits of 7.31 and 7.13. Felt a bit man-flu-ish, but am putting it down to 2 nights of drinking.
– Drove to Cheltenham where Kristy and I had a brief stroll around the town before a couple hours of sleep back at the hotel.
– Went to see my friend Dave and his wife Jo, who live in Cheltenham, for dinner at their place and just a couple of beers. Also drank some water because I’m a good lad Coach….honest.
– Had 2 Vitamin C/ Berroca type drinks and 8 Cold and Flu capsules during the day. Definitely felt worse as the day went on.

Sunday
– Woke up at 7am, had toast and black coffee for breakfast at the hotel and then headed back over to Dave and Jo’s to meet Dave and a few of his mates who were running the race.
– Before the race drank 500ml of water, a bottle of Powerade, ate a banana and some jelly babies. Immediately needed the toilet and missed the start of the race.
– Ran my third half marathon in 1 hour 47 minutes and 49 seconds. That is all!

It’s now a fair few weeks until my next one, the Great West Run in Exeter on Sunday 19th October 2014, so I am planning on enjoying recovery week this week, going to Tuscany for a weeks holiday next week and then getting right back on the training to make sure I’m ready to break 1 hour 45 minutes in Exeter.

More on November and Decembers choices for my half marathons, my new chosen charity for Octobers run and a summary review of the 12 weeks so far in next weeks blog!

God bless!

PS: Special thanks to all who have donated so far! You’re the best!

Week 11 – Just keep on putting one foot in front of the other, everything else will take care of itself.

I am finding the week after ‘recovery week’ a hard week to fathom out. After the high of the actual half marathon race, then the relaxing pace of the following recovery week, the second week after the race almost feels like starting from scratch again.

I’m not sure I have helped myself out that much with the timing of my first 3 races, having them 3 weeks after one another, but regardless I’m finding it extremely tough mentally to get going again. It feels similar to when you’re out running and have to stop to cross a road, tie a lace or go around some pedestrians. Just the slightest break in your momentum then requires you to put in what feels like a huge effort to push off again and get back into your stride. The second week after a race feels the same in many ways! Once I am in the groove of training and the rhythm of the schedule it’s easy to keep going, but getting back there after a break is a real tough mental challenge.

On the first Monday back on a full training week I find myself already thinking about the intervals coming on the Wednesday or the fact I have to do four runs and a swim that week rather than just focussing on that run and trying to enjoy it. But recognising this is the first step to fixing it.

Again the similarities between the mental approach to a training plan and when you are actually out there physically running are spooky. When I start out on a run, of any distance, if I start focussing to far ahead or thinking about the overall distance I am planning to run then the whole thing becomes an awful mental battle. If however I just focus on one step at a time, and just putting one foot in front if the other, then the run takes care of itself. So that’s what I am going to do with this type of week from now on, try and focus on the moment of the specific run or swim I am ‘in’ rather than think about the long run, week, month or 12 months of training ahead. I am a firm believer in ‘living in the moment’, like a dog does, so I going to try and bring that approach to my training.

My week looked like this…

Monday
– No exercise….it was a bank holiday.

Tuesday
– Didn’t have anything in me, so didn’t do anything.

Wednesday
– Intervals. Urgh. 7 minute warm up, 5 X 90 second intervals with 90 second recoveries and 7 minute warm down. 4 miles covered in total. Runners roller afterwards.

Thursday
– Took #CharleyAndGeorge for a 4 mile walk.

Friday
– Smashed out 4 miles in less than 30 minutes for the first time EVER. Am away for a ‘lads’ weekend in Nottingham so figured I best get the miles in now.
– Interesting drinks in the car on the way to Nottingham: Pale Ale, Mojito (in a can) and a Bottle of Bucks Fizz.
– Night out in Nottingham so LOTS of Lager, Jaegerbombs and JD and Cokes.
– Ate a mountain of chips – you’d have to ask Steve Jones why.

Saturday
– Benny The Fireman and I dragged ourselves out of our pit for a 5 mile run at 8am, where we ran past the grounds of Nottingham Forest and Notts County.
– A day on the lash at the cricket followed by a big night out in Nottingham. Lager and Guiness to ridiculous extremes.

Sunday
– Nothing. Broken.

For the third half marathon I am trying to promote the amazing work that UNICEF do for kids all around the world.

Did you know that UNICEF is the largest global organisation working specifically for children and their rights. If you care about children worldwide and making sure they are all given a chance then please make a donation HERE!

Thanks so much to all who have donated so far!

Week 10 – Its not about the destination, it’s about the journey.

Ten weeks in, two half marathons down and a nice easy ‘recovery week’ to have a good, long hard think about everything.

The first ten weeks have been very, very challenging in lots of ways but also very rewarding! The thrill of just completing the first half marathon was amazing, but to then take 8 minutes off that time in only the second one and also break the 1 hour 52 minutes target was ridiculously fulfilling!

Having now done it myself I actually now feel a bit bad for anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure of setting themselves a physical goal, working to achieve it and then actually hitting it! Knowing you can build up your physical strength and endurance as well as manage your own mind and willpower to overcome your own perceived physical and mental limitations is a very enlightening experience.

It’s funny though because the process of undertaking the man project has also had a knock on effect on other aspects of my life. First of all my focus at work has returned, which has brought with it positive feedback from both my peers and my superiors. Secondly my outlook on life has become more positive, a result of which is that I am apparently cheerier…according to some of my friends. Thirdly my energy levels have increased hugely, when I’m not broken from running, which means I am getting much more done generally.

It’s funny how bringing some focus, discipline and direction into your personal life in such a pathetic, people pleasing way can have such a knock on effect to so many other areas of your life. Funny, brilliant and the last thing I expected when I felt like this on the finish line last week!

At the risk of sounding like an X-Factor contestant however I’m really excited about the rest of the ‘journey’. If this is where I am and what I am feeling, after only ten weeks of the #ManProject, then just imagine the possibilities after twenty weeks, thirty weeks or even fifty-two weeks? Anything might be possible! I can’t wait to find out!

The break down of the rest of my week is as follows:

Monday
– Absolutely broken after Sunday.

Tuesday
– 15 minute gentle run after work. Only covered 2 miles but it felt much tougher than Sundays half marathon. Still broken. Runners roller afterwards.

Wednesday
– A little swim @poolsonthepark with my girlfriend Kristy. Only managed 40 lengths, 1,330m, as I am STILL broken.
– My number arrived for the #CheltenhamHalf #HalfMarathon Feels far too soon!

Thursday
– Large Big Mac meal for lunch, with a cheeseburger chaser.
– Few pints after work. 5 Peroni’s actually.

Friday
– Did nothing except watch a BBC documentary about Kate Bush. Feeling less broken today…,ready for a run tomorrow.

Saturday
– 3mile dog walk with George and Charley.
– 60 length (2,000m) swim at @poolsonthepark Richmond.
– Pasty, chocolate and lucozade ‘fuel’ post exercise, followed by a LOT of chocolate. A lot!

Sunday
– 3 mile dog walk with George and Charley.
– 10km run in 53 minutes. Was tougher than I imagined. Not looking forward to a proper training week next week. Urgh!
– Visited Steve, Ingrid, Frankie and Liam in Wokingham and scored an early contender for goal of the season during our ‘kick around’ in the garden.

The Charity Bit
I am using the third marathon to promote UNICEF and the incredible, life changing work they do around the world.

Their mission in the UK is to raise money for UNICEF’s global work for children and their rights, and to advocate for those rights to be realised for all children worldwide. UNICEF is the largest global organisation working specifically for children and their rights.

Please make a donation HERE!

Thanks also to everyone who has made a donation so far to either Paws Mauritius or The British Heart Foundation.

Your generosity is massively appreciated!

Week 7 – What’s it all about?

This week has been a ‘recovery week’ after the first half marathon last week, which has meant very little exercise but lots of reflection on the first 7 weeks of the #ManProject.

The question I get asked most, after ‘can you please stop going on about your f***ing #ManProject,’ is why am I even doing the challenge? The topic even came up during the two day, off-site Management Training with work this week and when I actually stopped to think about it, and was pushed on the reasons by our Management Trainer Jan, the actual answer surprised me a little.

This might not be news to those of you that know me well, but the #ManProject actually seems to be about me proving that age is just a number and that I can still ‘cut it’. The final end goal for the project that Coach Lauren and I agreed on at the start was to simply beat the time I set for my first ever half marathon, six years ago, of 1 hour 52 minutes. The half marathon where I was ‘only’ 35 years old you may ask….yep, that one. This surprised me because I truly believed the motivation was get fitter, get stronger, run some half marathons with some friends, etc but when I drilled down into it these reasons were only partly true and it seems it was more about me trying to ‘cheat time’.

Now those of you that do know me well will undoubtedly point to the multitude of other indicators of this generally being a recurring theme in my life. My childish sense of humour, my attempts at dressing like a teenager, my desire to keep going to ‘gigs’ and trying to be ‘street’….I do, of course, recognise this now but as with these other ‘symptoms’ I simply don’t care. It is what it is and it’s making me train like never before.

To be completely honest it’s been tough so far, tougher than I imagined, especially with the overall commitment required, but it’s also been extremely enjoyable and massively rewarding. Whilst I may have been hobbling around this week physically I have been gliding around mentally, on the back of achieving and actually massively surpassing my initial goal. Age is making it tougher, I’ll admit that much so far. This was without a doubt definitely much easier six years ago, but I have to say that I do feel fitter, stronger and far more prepared than I ever did at Silverstone six years ago and I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that not only will beat 1 hour 52 minutes but I will break 1 hour 50. How do you like that my sh*t old mans 41 year old body!!!!

Here’s a summary of the rest of my week…

Monday
– Rest day.

Tuesday
– 15 minutes easy run to aid recovery followed by the runners roller.

Wednesday
– Rest day.
– Dog walk of 3 miles.

Thursday
– Rest day followed by an evenings wine tasting at a suppliers. Only 8 or 9 glasses of wine.

Friday
– Rest day followed by 3 or 4 pints at a colleagues leaving drinks.
– Dog walk of 4 miles.

Saturday
– Rest day including a BBQ and LOTS of drinks at Adrian Dhuna’s.
– Drunken dog walk of 3 miles.

Sunday
– My amazing girlfriend Kristy joined me in an easy 2 mile recovery run along the river in Richmond followed by the runners roller. It’s always nice and massively motivating when she does that because I know how much she hates running. Thanks Princess Shiny!
– Got a new plan from Coach Lauren to get me to the next race at Burnham Beeches.

The Charity Bit
The British Heart Foundation is the UK’s number one heart charity. Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer but they are leading the fight against it. Their pioneering research has helped to transform the lives of people living with heart and circulatory conditions and their work has been central to the discoveries of vital treatments that are helping to change the face of the UK’s fight against heart disease.

If you wish to make a donation please do so HERE

One Final Thing
Finally this week I would like to take this opportunity to apologise if I’ve bored anyone about the #ManProject so far…which I suspect I may have done. If you are genuinely interested in the challenge, my progress, the charities, my motivations and ultimately the blog then fantastic, thanks for your interest, support and motivation. If you’re not then apologies….but I’m going to be talking about it for another 10/11 months yet so I’d unfriend me on Facebook, unfollow me on Twitter and Instagram and learn how to tune out my voice. Seriously.