Ow, that hurts!

On Monday morning, the Marathon runners were easy to spot in central London - they were the ones having trouble walking. Going up or down steps - or even walking downhill - is very painful.

Andi Jones, four times winner of the Snowdon Mountain Race, missed his target time on 25 April by 4 minutes, finishing 10th in the men's event - the same position achieved by Mara Yamauchi in the women's race. Both those elite runners were about 1 3/4 hours quicker than me, but I take heart from the fact that they - like me - are only human, and everyone has off days.

My off day saw my 3 hours 40 bid evaporate in the heat of a muggy London, and I crawled, rather than romped, home in 3.51. I was okay at 13 miles, but something went badly wrong after that and at 17 I'd quite happily have given up.

I was taking on water every mile and slurping down energy gels, but to no avail - my legs just didn't want to work.

But lots of encouragement from the wonderful crowds helped keep me going - I've not had so many people wishing me happy birthday since I was in junior school.

RSPCA to turn away unwanted animals

According to an exclusive report on Channel 4 News, a change in policy at the RSPCA could see tens of thousands of unwanted animals being turned away, with the burden of caring for them falling on smaller charities - like Capricorn.

Fox hunting not an issue?

Just had a Tory candidate on the doorstep. I somehow managed to bring up the issue of fox hunting. She said it's not an issue in the election. Odd that - cos it is an issue for me. Hunting is barbaric. It's a sign of a more civilised society that it's banned. But how long will the ban last if the Tories get in?

I ran a few miles yesterday first up some hills then through the woods. Knees aching today, so need to make sure I don't overdo things in the last week.

Why run?

BBC News website today has an item about a study of why people run. It seems that men and women tend to have different motivations, with the former being more competitive and the latter more likely to run for health reasons.

For me it's a mixture of the two. The only competition is with myself, so I'm inteested to know what my time is for a particular race or course. But that's really only a way of assessing my relative fitness. Am I much slower than I was five years ago - or am I more or less the same? And the bottom line is that running - for me - is about keeping healthy. I can still run 26 miles, even at my age. So my heart, lungs and legs are all in pretty good shape.

That said, this morning's 5 1/2 miles reminded me just how hard I find 'early' runs - I'm better later in the day. But it was good to be out in the sun. Fingers crossed for decent weather next Sunday.

Fartlek!

Didn't run yesterday cos I had the troublesome molar removed. Dentist used a pair of pliers (!) - a few twists and tugs and the tooth was out. Glad I was all frozen up though.

So today's session was just a few miles through the woods to see how my mouth reacted to cold(ish) air and to check that my legs were working after Sunday's half marathon run. Mouth and legs were fine, so I turned the second half of the run into a fartlek session - faster stretches interspersed with recovery ones. Hard going, but a refreshing change from the usual more-or-less-the-same-pace outings that I do.

Right - back to work ...

Fingers crossed

I was at a meeting in Leeds yesterday. I sometimes get backache after the long car journey, especially if it's after a long run, but so far there's no sign of any trouble. Which is just as well, cos the toothache is back with a vengeance. Tried to get an appointment at the dentist, but was told they're short-staffed this week and they'll call me if and when an appointment becomes available. Great. Fingers crossed I can get sorted soon, cos I need to be in peak condition (!) for the Marathon.

Had a few more donations, but am disappointed by the lack of interest and support.

Two weeks to go

Had awful toothache last night and thought I might have to make an emergency visit to the dentist. However, the pain died away today and so - with the Marathon just two weeks away - I ventured out for another 13 miles in the hills.

It was a great afternoon to be running - bright and sunny with a cool breeze. Painkillers kept the toothache at bay and probably helped my knees too. A couple of energy gels and a litre of water kept me energised and hydrated and so far I feel fine after my exertions - though the toothache is making a comeback.

I'm planning another five runs before London - a couple of relaxing outings through the woods, a couple of faster road sessions and a longish run probably a week today.

All being well that will see me in good form and ready to beat my 3.40 target on 25 April.

Bad knees?

Did a few miles through the woods at lunchtime. Was troubled by pains in both knees. Hope it's not going to be long-term as has been the case when I've been training for other marathons. The run-up (!) to this one has so far been almost trouble-free. Just need to keep it like that.

Good news from Capricorn is that they've got planning permission to add new housing for the animals in their care. Sounds like the money I'm raising might be helping to fund a new cat and kitten unit.

On the strength of that, here's a photo of Bunty, described as 'a very lucky little cat', because - paralysed from the waist back - she was dragging herself along the middle of a main road when a kind soul picked her up and took her to Capricorn. Apparently she now walks well, with just a slight limp on one hind leg.

 






Photo courtesy of Capricorn

Too much work

Hoped to run today, but pressure of work made me think again. Instead, I did 13 miles on the exercise bike. Just 29 mins, so far less time-consuming, even with a shower afterwards. If I can finish the work I'm currently doing, I should be able to run tomorrow. And the weather's getting better ...

Abandoned

This is Bryn, one of the dogs rescued by Capricorn. He was found tied to a telegraph pole on a main road. He was very thin and had a damaged hind leg.

Said to have been in agonising pain for about a year, Bryn is described as a wonderful young dog who's now full of life - and always hungry!

Photo courtesy of Capricorn

Three weeks to go

In three weeks' time, the Marathon will be over. And I'll have beaten my target of 3 hrs 40 - or not.

I'll also have raised some money for Capricorn - though not as much as I'd like, judging by the poor response so far. I'm particularly annoyed that I've not even managed to recoup 20 quid that I spent on putting a flyer in delegates packs at a conference I was involved with.

Fingers crossed that donations pick up after Easter ...

That's better!

Did 13 miles in the hills. Bright, sunny, cold and very windy at times. Also very, very muddy in places and still some patches of snow. Took me 2 hrs 15 mins, but that was okay, cos it was just about doing a long run and not about speed.

Felt amazingly good afterwards- so different from last Sunday, when I was wrecked after 17.5 miles. Maybe eating a Zipvit energy bar rather than using gels helped?

Same again ...

Another four miles through the woods. Very wet underfoot and dangerously slippery in places, so lots of concentration needed to stay upright.

Weather so far today has been glorious, with sunshine and blue skies only now giving way to cloud, though no sign of rain. Just a few days ago, the forecasters were telling us today would be a washout. So wrong again, as they so often are. If weather forecasters were on performance-related pay, they'd struggle to make ends meet. Too many of them seem to think their role is to entertain us. Just focus on giving us accurate forecasts. Please.

Mud, mud ...

Did about 4 miles through the wet, windy and very muddy woods. Didn't bother with the Garmin, so don't know exact distance. Just used my trusty old stopwatch (bought as a souvenir when I did the 2006 London Marathon). Thought I'd enjoy the run more without constantly worrying about pace and distance - and I did! Great to be out. Hopefully that sets me up for something similar tomorrow and then a long run on Sunday (when the weather is supposed to be better).

Comments!

Realised that it wasn't easy for people to leave comments, so changed the settings. Almost immediately got a message! So someone, somewhere is watching ...

Time to taper

According to the latest training schedule I've just received from Runner's World magazine, the coming week marks the end of the toughest phase of training and the start of 'tapering' - i.e. easing down before the Big Day. 'The hard yards are behind you', they say - 'now it's time to ease up and give your body the chance to recuperate.'

Sounds good, especially as my legs still feel awful after Sunday's run. The advice is now to give my body 'a chance to recover after months of hard work', with the aim of 'feeling healthy, strong and raring to race.'

The downside is that the RW schedule reckons I should be doing 40 miles over the next week. 40 miles? Can't see me getting anywhere near that, the way I feel at the moment. Hey ho, tomorrow's another day ...

Another 13 miles

Bad weather and still achy legs decided me against running today. Instead, had a strenuous walk through the Wintry Woods and have now just done 13 miles (20k) on the exercise bike. Amazing how easy it is to cycle a distance that takes me 1 hr 45 or so to run. Really must get out for an easy run in the next day or so. Something off road would be good, so my knees don't take too much of a hammering - my right knee was sore on Sunday's long run and started hurting again towards the end of this evening's cycle.

Caffeine kick?

Forgot to say that I tried the High5 gels with added caffeine on Sunday. I took an ordinary (ie no caffeine) gel at about 55 and 75 mins, then a caffeine one at about 95 and 115 mins.

Hard to know if the caffeine had any effect. It didn't upset my stomach, but I didn't feel any great boost (though the way I felt on Sunday's run, I'd have needed Paula Radcliffe's legs and/or lungs to give me a lift; it wasn't one of my better days!).

Oddly, after getting home, bathing, eating etc, I ended up working at the pc until 10.45 pm, which is late for me. Maybe that was the caffeine at work!

It's Lucozade gels at the Marathon, but I'm not forking out on them - I'll take some High5s with me and then use the Lucozade ones when they run out.

Thinking about animals

Today's Start the Week with Andrew Marr has an interesting item on the new book 'Second Nature: The Inner Lives of Animals' by Jonathan Balcombe, which argues that animals are no less sentient than human beings and that it is time for us to stop feeling superior and adopt instead a more humble, less oppressive relationship with them.

A tough 17.5 miles

I dragged myself out this morning, with my legs complaining they didn't want to go, and ran 17.5 miles in 2 hours 34 minutes.

Disappointing, as I'd hoped to do 18 miles in about 2.24, but my legs were aching all the way round and they really didn't like the hilly bits, which rather slowed me down.

Even on the relatively flat course, I climbed 1,295 feet, which is rather more than I'm expecting to have to manage in London. As I also dropped 1,283 feet, I averaged 8.48 per mile pace - which is good enough to get me in under the Marathon target of 3 hours 40.

So I'll have a few days rest before the next run, to let my little legs recover. Though with bad weather forecast, limiting my exercise to dog-walking, table tennis, and using the exercise bike might not be such a bad thing.

Don't ever think that marathon training is easy. It isn't. There's lots of days I'd rather give the training a miss - it's just too much like hard work!

Run postponed

Not the marathon of course - just today's long training run, which has now been put off until tomorrow morning.

Have had some exercise today though, cos we took Lucy to the woods for a run through the leaves and mud.

Good to see that there's now an item about the Marathon on Capricorn's website.

A new lot of energy gels arrived by post this morning. Decided to give the High5 gel with caffeine a go and will try it on tomorrow's 18 mile outing.

Disgrace

Last night, I finished reading - for the second time - J. M. Coetzee’s novel ‘Disgrace’. Set in post-apartheid South Africa, it charts the fall of a white academic following an affair with a student. Amongst the unexpected turns his life takes, the main character finds himself working for a small, under-resourced animal rescue organisation.

He has never been fond of animals; his volunteering is a penance. Yet working with them - especially in their last moments - brings some change in him: 

Of the dogs in the holding pens, there is one he has come to feel a particular fondness for. It is a young male with a withered left hindquarter which it drags behind it. [...] No visitor has shown an interest in adopting it. Its period of grace is almost over; soon it will have to submit to the needle. 

Will he save the dog? It is in his power to do so, but that would be an improbable ending to such a dark tale. Instead, he wonders how the dog might see things, how it might react to the (almost) inevitable fate awaiting him: 

What the dog will not be able to work out [...], what his nose will not tell him, is how one can enter what seems to be an ordinary room and never come out again. Something happens in this room, something unmentionable: here the soul is yanked out of the body; briefly it hangs about in the air, twisting and contorting; then it is sucked away and is gone. It will be beyond him, this room that is not a room but a hole where one leaks out of existence.

Powerful stuff ...

Less secs

Today's run was exactly the same route as yesterday's, but I ran the 3.92 miles 40 seconds faster. Wow! And on an empty stomach ...

Average pace was 7.40 and fastest was 6.13. Even on this relatively flat course, I climbed 377 feet and dropped 381 - though not all in one go!

Unusual for me to run the same route on consecutive days, but it was really a question of dragging myself out for something that wouldn't take too long, and the 30 mins or so was just about right.

Need to feed myself up now on carbs ahead of Saturday's longer outing.

Thoughts on Thursday

Will try to do a shortish run again today, then have a day off on Friday before a long run (hopefully 16+ miles) on Saturday.

That's the plan anyway - I was supposed to be taking the tent into the hills for two nights, but the weekend forecast isn't good, and I'll do better putting my energy into Marathon training.

Getting faster

Today's run was just under 4 miles, but at times I was running at about 6.30 minute mile pace. My aim for the Marathon is to run 8 minute miles for as long as I can.

During the bad weather, I was doing long runs of 2 - 2 1/2 hours, but at a slow pace - taking 10 or 11 mins to run a mile.

Since then I've been putting more effort into picking up my speed - though the hilly terrain round here means it's difficult to find long flattish stretches to practice on.

London Marathon

I'm running the London Marathon on 25 April - my 53rd birthday.

With just 31 days to go til the big day, I thought I'd best try and attract a bit more attention for my chosen charity - Capricorn Animal Rescue.

My fundraising page could do with some more visits - and donations.

I'd intended to have the page ready a couple of months ago, but problems with the registration process for Capricorn slowed everything down, and the page didn't go live until 21 March, leaving me with relatively little time to get the money rolling in.

Fingers crossed that everyone who's promised to sponsor me actually will now that they've got the chance!