Two new challenges

We're almost a quarter through 2010 - how has your running been going? I hope that you've managed to stay injury free and get out on the roads and trails as much as you wanted.

I'm doing not-too-badly on my running new years resolution. By today, I should have run 120 miles of my 500 annual total. I've managed 98 miles. So a little behind, but still a lot better than I did last year. In fact, last year it was the end of August by the time I got to 98 miles... I'm hoping that as the summer comes I'll be able to put in a few more miles per week to catch up with my target.

The cycling target has had to take a bit of a back seat for now, with me having cycled only 88 miles out of a 1000 mile annual target. I should be up to around 240 miles by now. Cycling, however, is much more possible in the summer so hopefully this will pick up too...

So - what are my two new challenges to follow on from my successful half marathon?

Firstly, I have entered myself in the Timex Eton SuperSprint Triathlon on May 15th.

It's a 400m open water swim, 20km bike and a 5k run. I'm not too worried about the bike and run, but I think I will be one of the slowest on the swim... I'm going to stick my neck out with a race time prediction - 12 mins for swim, 40 mins for bike and 30 mins for run. Add in a few minutes for transitions gives me a total time of 1 hour 25 mins. That compares to a fastest time last year of 56 mins. My predicted time would have placed me 550th out of 868 finishers which sounds like an achievable target.

Secondly, I want to (still) be quite a bit lighter by the time I do the triathlon (now in a little less than 7 weeks' time).

For those who have read this blog for a while, you'll know that I was successful in losing quite a bit of weight last year, going down from 102kg to 90kg at my very lightest. In reality, I think that my more 'natural' weight at the time as aroun 92kg (food in the system, fully hydrated etc.). Over Christmas, I went up to around 95kg and now I'm at 94kg. My target is to get down well below 90kg by the time I do the triathlon - so around 1kg per week to get me down to around 87kg. That will be the lightest I have been (and hopefully the fittest I have been) since I was at university almost 20 years ago...

So from tomorrow I'm going to reinstate my box in the right hand column which tracks my daily weight - check in regularly (or subscribe through a reader) to keep up to date with how I get on!

I still owe you a post about my home made energy drinks and gels which I'll give you next time. I'll also show you how I got a cadence meter for my bike for less than £2 - a lot cheaper than Garmin wanted!

Sunday Silverstone success!

Following on from my last post, Sunday was the day of my first half marathon race, held on the Silverstone Grand Prix track. Overall, I would say it was a big success all around, and I finished in 2:08:15, placing me 3,286 out of almost 6,000 runners. Another way of thinking about this is that I beat 42% of the field, which I find rather surprising!

So, what was it like to haul my 95 kilograms around the course?

In a word, shattering...

The day started well. One of my friends was also running the race, and we planned to meet at the car park, but to go the 'back road' to Silverstone (I'm not giving away the route!) which probably saved us about 20 minutes in the queue to get into the car park.

Once in, we walked over to the paddock area where there were plenty of toilets (apparently not always provided at every race...) and a few trade stands, but we just headed for the cafe to have a drink, pin our numbers on and clip our timing tags to our shoes.

Before long, it was time to head out to the track. One last "pit stop" and then we head out onto the start/finish straight of one of the oldest motor racing venues in the world. My friend went through the "less than 2 hours" entrance and I went into the "greater than 2 hours" entrance.

Only another 15 minutes to wait and the race was underway! Well, actually it was a bit of a walk to the start line - I eventually crossed it about 4 minutes later, but not to worry because the timing tag would give me my own personal time...

The first few miles went rather well, other than having to overtake a lot of people who either (a) had overestimated their speed, so lined up closer to the front than they should have done, (b) didn't understand where they should have started given their speed, or (c) simply didn't care that they were a mobile road block in front of faster runners.

Funnily enough, down the first straight there were quite a few men standing against the crash barriers "lightening the load" if you know what I mean... I waited for a few more miles and then ran past a toilet block just off the track which I dashed into (all the time looking at my watch and saying to myself "pee faster!").

Things seemed to be going well until about 10 miles in when I started to slow and eventually put in a couple of walk breaks before crossing the line a few miles later...

Once my timing chip had been taken off, I felt broken. There was no other word to describe it. My knees, legs and hips were screaming in unison. Loudly.

I hobbled back to the exit of the track and walked through the tunnel where a very large crowd of supporters were welcoming their friends and loved ones. I now understand why people cry when they finish marathons - it was all extremely emotional and I wished that my wife had been able to make it.

The drive home was also painful, with my right leg in a constant cramp - I now know to take a lot more salt/electrolytes through a race like that (and afterwards).

Just a quick note on the organisation of the race. If you're in the UK and interested in doing a half-marathon, I can't recommend the Silverstone half marathon strongly enough. It's cheap (£15), has accurate timing, an iconic traffic free (and flat) course, a "big event" feel, lots of water and sports drink around the course, and a pretty good finishers bag (water, sports drink, chocolate milk, medal, t-shirt and a few other bits and bobs).

Okay, now I've done it, one final request for you to dig your hands into your pockets and sponsor me. I went through huge amounts of pain on Sunday. I'm also doubling the sponsorship of anyone that has already sponsored me (and will also double new sponsorship for a limited time) out of my own pocket. This is all worthwhile because I throughly believe in the work that my chosen charity (Save the Children) does, and the way it does it - it's one of the most efficient charities at making sure that the maximum proportion of donations goes directly to improving lives. That's why I ran, and that's why I'm doubling your sponsorship. Please do something great today and help the world's most vulnerable children.

Half Marathon tomorrow

I'm about to do the longest race I've ever done. Tomorrow, I'll race a half marathon. This is the half marathon I mentioned that I'd entered back in September last year. 13.1 miles. 21.1 kilometres. Over 20,000 foot strikes, each one compressing my feet, ankles, knees, hips...

In some ways, it's quite fitting that my first half marathon will be on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, on the same day that the 2010 Formula One season gets going again.

My training has gone relatively well, with comparatively little injury this time. As you know, I rested the last two months of 2009 to make sure my achilles healed. While frustrating, I now feel that this was time very well spent. And since that break I've been able to run fairly consistently. In fact, two weeks ago, I ran over 40 kilometres in one week - a much higher total than I've ever managed.

And in that week, I did the fastest 10k I've ever run (58:08) and at the end of the week, I ran the half marathon distance (in 2:09:31). A very positive week, and not something I could even have contemplated a year ago...

So just two more things to say.

Firstly, I'd be REALLY grateful if you could sponsor me. I'm running for Save the Children, the world's independent children's charity. This is surely all of us can get behind. And me in particular, given that my wife is now expecting twins (thanks to all of you who have sent your good wishes). Wherever you are in the world, if you have a credit card you can sponsor me (even though the website where my sponsor page is hosted is denominated in UK pounds). I know that any additional sponsorship I get between now and when I run (even if it's only a few pounds), will make the miles that much easier to run...

Secondly, I'm going to try a "home-brew" energy gel to help get me around the course. I looked at commercial energy gels but was completely shocked by the price, as well as the difficulty in getting everything I wanted from a gel. So I'm making my own. More details in my next post (as well as a report on the half marathon and how my DIY energy gels worked)!

So, I'm signing off for now to go and pack my race bag. Please wish me luck, and if you are able to then please sponsor me and support Save the Children's work.

Many thanks.