What goes up...must come down but preferably not shouting wheeeeeeee!!

Well yesterday was the official first run of my 14Run charity campaign the Helsby Four villages Half Marathon.

My day started with a leisurely 7.30am wake up call and a feeling of nice relaxed calm and no sense of back pain or stiffness which was a good sign as I often can wake up with back issues, but thankfully this situation is improving since re-joining the gym and working on my back and core more.

Quick shower and a bit of porridge and a cup of coffee and my pre run fueling was pretty much done.

The time came to finally start putting my compression gear on for underneath my shorts and vest.This sometimes literally requires rolling the stuff on as it is often tight fitting and can make you feel like you've just been vacuum packed, but it is a nice feeling as you feel secure and your muscles are nicely packed in their garments and good to go for the race.

Next came my transport and lift for the day from a fellow runner local to Southport , I'll call him Mr M for the sake of the blog.
9am and we were off on our way to Helsby in Cheshire, nice journey overall with a bit of a diversion due to a motorway closure along the way, but we got there nicely in time and got parked up.

I few quick hello's to fellow runners mainly from Liverpool Running Club and Knowsley Harriers to name a few, and then it was baggage check and toilet time.
There was a fair queue to get the baggage stored but it was all sorted eventually and then a couple of chats with more fellow runners and we were prompted to make our way to the start line.
It appears that the start line is practically right in the middle of the car park, so lining up was interesting but we eventually set off after the sound of the air horn and we were on our way.

This is a road race as such so the going is pretty much nice and smooth all the way around, and the weather was excellent and kind to us as it didn't rain and we were blessed with the odd bit of sun.

The miles passed and the scenery was nice all the way around as it was mainly country roads/lanes and open fields and passing various farms etc.
As you would expect in the country there were hills or gradual slopes as we runners like to call them when we are trying to convince ourselves that no extra effort will be required to get up them :) this is where the what goes up must come down comes in, after about 10.5 miles of little ups and downs but mainly ups came the final hill as such and then a steep downhill for about 300-400 yards followed by a little up again and then a nice long 2 mile or so gradual downhill.

The downhill was a lifesaver as I used it as an excuse to just throw caution to the wind and fly down the hill as quick as I could, if I hadn't been amongst several hundred other runners on that stretch and I hadn't actually been a rather shy adult individual I probably would of been shouting Wheeeeee!! as I went.

By now on the last mile of my run I was on for a new PB a personal best time as we call it so I was very happy and rather ecstatic as I thought the hills overall would of sapped all my energy and I wasn't expecting a good time, but thankfully my legs held on and felt good to go for a nice little sprint to the finish line....and a new PB of 1hr 43 min 05 secs over 3 minutes of my previous PB :))

Next was the goodie bag collection and a medal and a surprise a nice selection of Gingerbread men which was a treat as food was definitely required.

Some more quick hello's and well done's to other runners many who had also achieved PB's on the day as well and then it was back to the starting area to a huge queue for our bags.....but I won't gripe about that one on here.

After a long wait we were finally off back home to Southport again courtesy of Mr M and another diversion due to an incident on the motorway which was playing havoc over the whole area, but as it involved someones death not a lot of complaining could be done really.

So there you have it run #1 0f 14 done and dusted and a new PB to boot and training has already recommenced as I ran a new PB on the treadmill in the gym today for a 5k run 21 min 50 secs, so it's looking good for the next run which will be the Southport Mad Dog 10k on February 9th.....

When the going gets tough....the crafty ones stop for Chocolate and Lucozade :)

And you thought this running lark meant we starve ourselves..ha ha think again.
There is method in our madness or maybe just mine but since I started running I have burned so many calories on my individual runs it's a challenge to be able to replenish them all in a suitable way and in a reasonable period of time, hence my weight loss over my running career so far.

As my training starts to hit full flow and goes into the realm of middle and long distance training runs i.e. regular 10k middle distance runs and minimum half marathon long runs on my days off, the crucial element of actually eating enough of the good stuff i.e. carbs..oh carbs the thing all the idiotic fad diet people convince you you should not be eating and "oh..no, you shouldn't be eating bread or potatoes ..and pasta..oh my gosh no" do us all a favour and kick them where it hurts and tell them to go and screw someone else's diet and life up.

Carbs are a necessity when running if you want to eat a fairly normal healthy diet without going down the extremely difficult palio diet route of eating meats and fat in abundance and minimal carbs..think Atkins diet.. and still a fad and you would be almost there.

You don't have to carb load as such i.e. eat loads of carbs for days before a run, unless you are at least going to be running a half marathon because your not likely to deplete your energy stores in your muscles, and an energy drink along the way is usually enough if you've had a decent meal a couple of hours before your run.

But if like me you don't always eat a lot or even enough, forgetting to eat enough carbs the night before or even early on in the training day is a mistake you'll often discover when you get to 10k or so and sometimes start to wonder where the magic spring in your legs has gone, and if your doing a half or more you may well start to struggle.I often take a sports gel along with me to give me a boost if my legs feel a bit lacking in the energy or enthusiasm stakes but towards the end of my longer runs feeling hungry is a sure sign that I did not prepare properly or indeed eat enough pre run and no amount of gels is going to make that feeling go away, and running past all those frickin KFC adverts on every frickin bus stop doesn't help either, and Chinese take-a-ways and Fish'n'Chip shops etc that I always seem to run past just when I am at my hungriest and weakest..arghh!!

So what about the Chocolate and Lucozade??.. well that's my dirty little secret for my long runs, as I'm dragging my tired legs along and they are telling me "just take me home you masochist" I can convince myself and them that a little `Pit stop` at the local garage while still 3 or 4 miles out from the end of my run is a great and magical long run saving idea!

If your tough enough you will merely pick a light snack of the shelf and a bottle of water or healthy drink and continue on within minutes and consume as you go,but if you want to get as many miles as you can in and achieve a new longest distance for yourself this important `pit stop` will allow you to refuel some desperately needed energy,preferably a sugar and glucose based snack and drink (sorry girls, you thought I was going to give you an excuse to consume a chocolate bar) Boost bars are good especially the Glucose labelled one, Mars bars preferable snack size or half a duo and Milky way if you want a light equivalent, and drink wise go with the Lucozade sport (still) or Powerade or even Gatorade if you can find it.
If you are like me on my last run it was a full Mars bar swilled down with a little Lucozade and the rest saved for the last 3-4 miles of the run as I struggle on.I personally use the magic pit stop as a chance to stretch out my back at the same time and after a few minutes I am good to go!!

So life's not all bad and healthy as we run, we can have some of life's pleasures while out on a run and manage to justify them as well, just don't get home and repeat the same and call it recovery fuelling....that's just being a pig...strictly magic Yazoo's only allowed for that one ;)....

Wohoo..2014 is finally here and the running campaign has officially started :)

Well it is finally here, 2014 has finally arrived and after months of planning and painstaking setting up of donation pages, facebook pages and this blog I can finally declare the 14Runs charity running campaign for 2014 officially launched and my training well and truly started.

I've posted my donation page links on my facebook page, my dedicated 14Runs facebook page and on my favourite running forum on facebook also.

If you have missed them from my initial blog here they are again:

Donations to Caring for Life:
http://www.justgiving.com/14Runs     

Donations to Mind:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/14Runs

My first run is at Helsby and is a Half Marathon road race consisting of 13.1 miles of country roads so hopefully a nice scenic one.
This particular race was called off last year due to extreme weather and an abundance of snow and ice which is never good in the eyes of health&safety with regards to runners possibly getting serious injuries due to slips and falls so it was a good decision.

I think I can say I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not looking forward to a possible very cold run in exposed countryside area's, I've never been a fan of the cold and am a terrible winter trainer as the first sign of rain or poor weather and I just rollover in bed and have a few more hours of rest and recovery as I've come to call it :)

I've had a nice 13.1 mile training run tonight and felt pretty well throughout most of it so I think I am ready for Helsby, I'll do a few more 13.1 training runs in the meantime to get my legs completely comfortable again with the distance though as it is always good to be able to run it comfortably.

I've also discovered I've dropped to my lightest weight in 25 years over the last month so I have to ensure that although being light is good for a long distance runner, it is also vital to eat the right kind of food and enough of it to cover my training, running and recovery in order to ensure my progress continues and I don't risk injury due to lack of nutrition.

Anyway onwards and upwards or forwards in my case,and one foot in front of the other as Dean Karnazes says....

Choo..Choo...the inspiration train has arrived today and just in time.

Well today I was starting to feel a little disheartened and a tad of self doubt about my physical capabilities for the upcoming onslaught of runs for my running campaign in 2014.

It's not surprising really as I have only fully restarted my training runs over the last week as I have had tried my best to rest over the last two months, especially after a last minute Marathon in early November which took a lot out of me, and to try and rest up my back
due to ongoing issues I've had with it for quite some time.

After a couple of earlier runs I managed a 12 mile run a couple of days ago and my back locked up at the end which took a while to ease off, but as usual it did subside.Overall I recovered well but my knees joints didn't feel to comfortable yesterday or this morning so I decided on an easy session in the gym.

So an easy session, listen to your body I told myself as I've often heard this advice from many running Guru's.A little bit of core work for my back etc and then some moderate leg work on the various weight machines and 5km on an exercise bile to loosen it all up and get the blood flowing through the offending knees and joints.

As per usual the little voice in my head said "go on, have a run" I resisted for a while and then thought sod it! so onto the treadmill I went.But what should I do? !mile sprint? 5k? a lazy walk and hope no one notices my lack of effort?

I finally decided I'll start with a 2 minute walk and then into a nice easy run, but I wanted to build my speed toward the end to fast finish, so I eventually decided I'd try intervals, i.e. a run and then a walk for a bit of a rest and then a run again followed by a walk as a rest..and so on.This is what I actually did:

2 minute walk at 4.5mph followed by 3 minute run at 7.5mph (8 min mile pace)
2 minute walk at 4.5mph followed by 3 minute run at 8mph (7:30 min mile pace)
2 minute walk at 4.5mph followed by 3 minute run at 8.5mph (7:04 min mile pace)
2 minute walk at 4.5mph followed by 3 minute run at 9mph (6:40 min mile pace)
2 minute walk at 4.5mph followed by 3 minute run at 9.5mph (6:19 min mile pace)
and finally.....
2 minute walk at 4.5mph followed by 3 minute run at 10mph (6 min mile pace)
Total distance 3.2 miles and in a total time of 30 minutes exactly.

It was actually a fun workout and not at all boring or drawn out and here's the point...
it was actually quite inspiring as I discovered I could teach my body to run faster as long as I took baby steps and built up the stamina and speed.

I left the gym with fresh feeling legs and they felt well up to the challenge ahead for 2014.

The next dose of inspiration was returning home to find two inspiring items in my post box.

Item number one was  a book I had been waiting several weeks to arrive from the USA by non other than Ultra runner Dean Karnazes  this guy can run through hell and back and still go onto run another 100 miles lol.His book is about his 50 marathons in 50 states of America in 50 days!!
Hell if he can run through that I can at least run through 14 runs in an entire year without complaining about pain in my knees and joints.

The other item was my new Mind running vest all ready to go for another year of sweat and not so subtle charity promotion for a good cause.

So I have boarded the inspiration train today and am heading full steam ahead into 2014 and I'm going to enjoy the ride..Choo!!...Choo!!

Today's training run will consist mainly of having a face that feels like it's in a blast freezer...and a serious attack of the munchies....

Well that's another training run done to help out my training partner for the day, I was expecting an easy 6-8 miles tops but Mandy needed to make up the miles for her target miles for the year (1500!!) so I politely obliged whilst regretting not bringing a snack or money with me as I knew the munchies would catch up with me.
After a fair bit of random direction running which involved running past various chip shops, take-a-ways and anything else that smelt of food we eventually ended up back at Mandy's after about 9 miles for me and 11 miles for her.
Thankfully I managed to bag some choc chip cookies and a small orange juice to restock and rest for 5 minutes, and then we said our goodbyes and I was off again.
By now my back had started to lock and the muscles spasm quite a bit so I had to struggle on through it.I managed to clock 12 miles after a bit of redirection at the end to get a nice round number :)
Now I'm going for a lie on the floor and ask my back to forgive me.
That's my long slow run target for this week done so I can treat myself to a shorter faster run on Sunday.                       .  

In the beginning.......there was an idea, a rather daft one at that, and then there was a blog to explain it all....and here it is.

Welcome to my opening  blog of the official 14Runs charity running campaign for 2014.

I think it's best to open with the lengthy description of myself and this campaign that I have already posted on the various social media pages and official donation pages I have set up for this campaign already as I am trying to keep it all neatly tied in together.....

About 14Runs and myself.

14Runs is a series of charity runs across the broad spectrum of distances and types available to the everyday runner, and all to be done in 2014 and all for two charities close to my heart.

My new running goal/challenge and charity campaign for 2014 comprises 14 different runs over different terrain and distances and all to be completed by the end of 2014.

I wanted a new goal and running challenge for 2014 and I wanted to try some of the other distance varieties and run categories like trails, ultra's, 24 hour runs and week long running tours, but I am obviously not Iron Man and therefore decided it would be good to cover as many different distances as I could including the shorter ones that I am already trained for.

It is going to be one hell of a challenge and physically very demanding and will require some nifty planning to try and get all 14 types of runs in within the year and with a decent amount of rest and recovery between each one to prevent injury etc.

Remaining injury free and doing everything I can to reduce the physical impact of all the miles is vital and for this reason I have purchased myself a pair of top end running shoes especially designed for long runs over trail and road.These incredible shoes are called Hoka's and come very well recommended from the long distance running community.

I have been very honored to of been offered a personal discount on all my running gear needs throughout my campaign by a very kind supplier the Ultra marathon running store.com based in the UK, here is a direct link to their Hoka range of shoes and one for the above mentioned generous supplier,a very big thank you to them.

http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/Hoka-One-One-Shoes-s/1935.htm

http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/

A big thank you also to Colin from Holmes-Smith Butchers in Southport for sponsoring me for most of the cost of the Hoka's and for helping me with my nutritional needs again in 2014.

I will be requiring the usual friendly support and encouragement from my running pals and from my family which I know will be readily and happily supplied in abundance

As ever there needs to be a sense of purpose and cause for such a daft way of keeping fit throughout the year otherwise I would probably give up after the first run .So as ever it will all be for charity but this year I have chosen to run for two charities, Mind and Caring For Life.

For more info on why I have chosen Caring For Life please see my page info on my JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/14Runs donations can be made direct to Caring 4 Life via that link.

As some of you will probably already know I ran for Mind in 2013 and I will again be running for them in 2014, for donations to Mind please use this link www.Virginmoneygiving.com/14Runs

The two different links give you a choice of charity to donate to or if you like you could donate to both :))

The distances and types I am covering range from a 1 mile backwards run at the National Backwards Running Championships to 5k's,5 miles, 10k on road,10k on trail,10 miles on road,10 miles on trail, Half marathon on road and Half marathon on trail, Full marathon on road and Full marathon on trail, ultra marathon, 24 hr relay and a 6 day running Tour of Merseyside.

Details of each and every run will be released one by one as they are booked and confirmed on my dedicated 14Runs facebook profile at https://www.facebook.com/14RUNS 

Details will obviously also be released within my blog posts so please follow them via 
http://14runs.blogspot.co.uk

Sponsors as ever will be welcome so please get in touch through here.

As Buzz always says " To infinity and beyond" :))