Tuesday 30 April 2013

Got a bit further today, added another minute and a half to my time but think I need to invest in a GPS watch so I can tell exactly how far I am running.  I suppose at the moment it's more about the length of time I can run for but it would be nice to know exactly how many miles I am ticking off with each run!

Been looking at the Garmin Forerunner 10, but if anyone reading this has any recommendations then please free to let me know :) 

Anyway, this morning was perfect: dry; a little bit chilly; and a gorgeous sunrise to run into on the way home....if only every day was like that! 


Monday 29 April 2013

Week two.

Hello Monday morning! Normally you would have me lounging around in bed hitting the snooze button but oh no, not any more  This Monday morning had other ideas - it had me up at 5 getting ready for another little trot around the neighbourhood 

Really wasn't up for it at all when I forced myself out of the door into the cool morning air - it took a while to get my pace right but when I eventually did I managed to run a good 3/4 mile home with no stopping AND finally conquered the hill that leads up to the top of my road.  This has reminded me that persistence is the key so keep going!!


The new trainers got their first road outing today and felt fine :)


Sunday 28 April 2013

Week one almost done!

Here we are at the end of the first week already.  Managed to clock up another 2 miles on the treadmill this morning taking me up to a total of 8 'indoor' miles if I add that to the 3 'outdoor' miles I have  managed a grand total of 11 miles this week, which I'm very happy with!

As I still appear to be as dedicated to this little project as I was 6 days ago (which is a sure sign that i'm actually going to do this, the novelty of these kind of things normally wear off after 48hrs) I decided that getting some decent trainers was a must.

So I started a bit of research and took a few online tests to see what would be best for me. I began answering questions about my running habits, finding out that i'm a heel striker and stepping out of the shower on to bits of paper to discover that my feet are classed as 'normal' - at least something is!!

The results came back with a variety of shoes that would suit me, but the trainers that came up on every test I did were Nike Lunarglide 4+. Read a few reviews and they seemed to be ok so I jumped in the car and headed to Bluewater on a Saturday afternoon (asking for trouble) and found the exact ones I was after in JD sports (...shudder.).  I fought my way through the sea of chavs and their buggies to finally get my hands on the most comfy (and expensive) pair of trainers I have ever worn.  I realise I would have saved a lot of time, effort and and stress had I just gone to a proper specialist shop in the first place and been properly assessed by an expert but I'm ridiculously independent, as well as scared that I would just be laughed out of the shop when I waddle in asking for running trainers - ridiculous I know but that's just me!!

I will, however make sure my next pair are obtained it that way when I seriously start to pound the pavements when the marathon training starts later in the year!


Friday 26 April 2013

Day two:  It's raining.  When I opened the door to a grey, chilly drizzly day, I nearly shut the door and climbed back into my cosy warm bed, but no, I had to face it.  The marathon is at the beginning of April after all so I can hardly expect a lovely warm day by the seaside - more likely gale force winds and freezing torrential rain - this is England.

Anyway, after embracing the British weather I managed a little over 15 minutes so not too shabby at all :)

Thursday 25 April 2013

First early morning training session today, only a measly 14 minutes and 11 seconds of actual running but as I have so far done most of my training indoors, I figured I had to get out in the real world sooner rather than later.  

The strangest part is that despite the fact my 6am alarm has only just gone off, I was wide awake at 4:30 getting excited at the prospect early morning trot!  Just waiting for the novelty to wear off, which it inevitably will, then the real struggle will begin....

Tuesday 23 April 2013

The beginning....

Ok, so yesterday I was merrily jogging away on the treadmill at the gym, absent mindedly listening to   90's dance tunes, when I noticed the highlights from the London marathon were being shown on the TV.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but later - with my lardy behind perched precariously upon a static bike - I was suddenly struck with a compulsion to enter a marathon!

As soon as I arrived home I eagerly went online to look up details on how to go about entering a marathon, considered the London one but was put off by the fact that you don't know if you are successful in the ballot until October (the lazy git in me didn't want to put any effort in to training if it turned out to be for nothing!). So I thought I'd go for Brighton marathon instead, plus running along the coast has got to beat London any day!  There was a horrible feeling of dread as I entered my card details to secure my place and my heart felt like it was trying to escape my chest (most likely at the prospect of having to do some work)  as I clicked to confirm.  Oh £@&! What had I done!!

Now, anyone who knows me will be aware that I'm not the most athletic of people and to be honest can appear to be downright lazy most of the time.  I barely managed to waddle round the 5k race for life course last year so I know that the reaction from the majority of people will be disbelief, coupled with raucous laughter - lucky I like making people laugh ;) 

I am embarking on this epic challenge for a number of reasons; firstly, it's something I've always wanted to try but never had the confidence to even consider it; secondly, I'd like to inspire other people to push themselves and realise that they are capable of so much more than they think they are; thirdly I'll be raising money for charity, which is always a good thing :)

Writing this blog will hopefully be a way of maintaining my sanity through what will probably be the most challenging - mentally, physically and socially - year of my life!


Right, I had better go for a run!