Sun, Rain, Sore Nipples, and Gingerbread Men

As I sit and write this blog my legs are sore and a cold descends. The dark clouds of feeling poorly have well and truly begun to set their sights on my throat and nose. At this stage things don't seem to be too bad as my nose isn't yet runny, but deep down I know it's only a matter of time.

Aside from the doom and gloom surrounding my head our run this morning/ afternoon was a battle through Hyde Park. It began as a sunny and cheerful day with children and animals abundant throughout the park, however the day soon turned wet and cold about 6 miles in. Nonetheless we pursued the target of 16 miles (that's not to say that it was easy).

I have to admit that the run today was one of the hardest runs that I've had to do. It's fair to say that I haven't had the greatest week in terms of preparation. A sedentary week at home for half term, sickness as I've already mentioned and a twinge in the knee that still gave me a bit of bother during today's run have all contributed to feeling less than happy with my running. Thankfully, Jess has turned a corner and was there to pull me through, when I would have been quite happy to pack it in.

We persisted and completed what we set out to complete, albeit with sore nipples (not bloody) and with yet another loo break - that cheeky gingerbread man struck again.

A Niggle, Stitch and a Twinge

Once again the week ended with mixed feelings and a few concerns. Jess has been afflicted with a stitch the last few short runs and I have had aching foot arches and most recently a twinge in the knee. This is a slight concern but it should be ok, I'm sure I know how to manage it, it's happened before. Anyway, looking to the future! Tomorrow will be a 16 mile run and with a bit of luck and good preparation, we will have a good day out tomorrow. Jelly Babies are bought, deep heat and knee support at the ready - Hyde park here we come! To sponsor... http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JessAsz http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BenSandison B

True Grit

Well the motivation has taken a dip in the last fortnight and both Jess and myself have struggled over the last two weeks to get up for our runs. Jess has been suffering from stitch and I have been battling to focus and meet my goals for even the shorter sessions. However, despite all this we managed to knock out a 15 mile run around Hyde Park and while we were both drained by the end of it, we're hoping that it'll be the end of our poor form. Not only have we been struggling to put in good feeling runs, we have suddenly been confronted with the amount of sacrifice that we have had to make in order to be ready for the VLM. Jess has stopped smoking (and doing well with that) and we have both refrained from drinking alcohol. Now this is all well and good, but it means that socialising and going to pubs for a couple of drinks at the end of the week becomes a completely different experience - one that is not as enjoyable as it once was. Both of us are starting to find this hard, Jess probably more so, but we just need to knuckle down and consider the relatively short amount of time we have left on this punishing routine. On the flip-side, we are undoubtedly more healthy and fitter than we have ever been, so, swings and round-a-bouts... Finally, I'm loving the weekly podcast 'Marathon Talk' by Martin Yelling and Tom Williams. It's making the tough weeks easier and helping to inform me along the way - would recommend. B (http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BenSandison) J (http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JessAsz)

Time to get serious!

Well here we are and 10 weeks out from the start of the marathon and the pressure is starting to mount. We've added another training session into the week. That makes it 4 runs a week now and we should start seeing milage in the range of 30 miles a week in the next few weeks - yikes! Recent sponsors from home and from our places of work (BBC and Norwood Green Junior School) have helped to push our totals higher and comfortably over the half way mark, but we still need more people involved to get to that £2000 pound target, each! So just in case you forgot... Jess - http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JessAsz Ben - http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BenSandison Great to see my pupils following the blog too, and hopefully those parents out there are inspired to get out and have a bit of a jog around Hounslow :) Off for a run in the rain, until next time! B

Watford Half-Marathon

An early start this morning to make our way on the train to Watford, north of London, for our first official race before the London Marathon in April. Jess and I were a little nervous about turning up to a real running event, we always feel a bit fraudulent among all the seasoned runners - but we ended up looking the part at least. After a quick toilet break (had to include that detail) we headed into the marquee for the bag drop and to get our heads around the idea of running with other people.

10:20am and Jess and I separated to take our positions at the men's and women's start lines and before long it was time to head off. Naturally we didn't begin running until about a minute after the starting gun sounded, but once we were underway the first thing was to find each other again through the sea of lycra tights, fluorescent running tops and sports watches. After 600 yards (548m) the two groups met up and the density of all these things increased. Thankfully we found each other and began running the 13.1 miles. We both felt great for the first 3 miles as we wound through the suburban streets of Watford, waving at dedicated locals who took the walk down their drives to wave at the lunatics running down their street. It wasn't long before we ran into the leafy countryside and welcomed (ha!) the hills that we had heard so much about. Our strategy, being that the extent of our hill training was virtually nil, was to walk some of the hills in order to conserve energy. As it turned out, this lost us no time and we managed good split times throughout.

The course was it has to be said, quite hilly and these presented more problems on the down hill runs more than on the way up - pounding the knees and lower back. We both ended up a bit stiffer that normal after the race because of this. The down hill sections did however allow us to make up any time lost on the up hill walk/run and we reached the 10 mile mark at a time of approx 1:41:00 with for us is, and I've wanted to say this for a while, our PB for that distance. We continued this form to reach our previous longest distance of 11.5 miles in under 2:00:00. With a strong finish we crossed the line in 2:14:39 which for a pair of first timers, is something we are very pleased with. The event was really well organised by the Watford Harriers Running Club and while it was at times a little windy, the scenery was great and we both had a good first competition experience. Bring on the Marathon (in a bit). B