May 23rd 2010

Edinburgh Marathon

Today’s photo is just before the start of the Edinburgh Marathon. Tim Brown, whoever you are, I hope you did well.

Me? This picture tells a false story. The race started with misty grey skies after a heavy morning shower. However, miles 2-26 were all run in blazing sunshine, hitting 28°C at one point. But I completed the course, and though my time was not as good as I hoped, I am proud both for completing and for raising over £820 for my chosen charity so far. Was it my last marathon? Probably …

April 25th 2010

Please drive carefully

I did better than drive carefully … I ran carefully. Then walked. Then stopped. It’s an unremarkable village, nine miles away from where I started, via a somewhat circuitous route. But Edinburgh is four weeks today – today’s run should have been 20 miles, not nine.  I’ve got my excuses but this isn’t the place for them. This sign just needs to serve as a reminder that the next time I approach it I need to power through confidently for another ten or eleven miles. If I can do that … *when* I do that next week, all will be fine.

Fifty-two weeks ago, I ran the London Marathon. For all those who had the greater mental and physical strength than I did today, and completed it – I salute you, you should all feel as amazing as I did last year. You are better men and women than I am right now, but my time is next month.

March 28th 2010

Finish!

The finish line of today’s Forest of Dean Half Marathon. Marshals in attendance and crowds still waiting, but I, and almost everyone, had finished by this point. I have more interesting photos from today, but this was today’s big event for me. The sun came out, the rain and the wild boar stayed away …

Thank you to all who have followed my progress and encouraged me, and a specially huge thank you to a special friend who travelled a long way to support me and look after me for the day. Maybe that’s what spurred me to beat my personal best by a huge fifteen minutes today. Bring on the Edinburgh Marathon at the end of May!

March 21st 2010

No laughing matter

I haven’t blogged much about my running this year. In preparation for running Edinburgh on May 23rd, I have had some difficult runs, mentally, physically and logisitcally, but overall training has not been going too badly. Part of that preparation is a half marathon (13.1 miles) in one week’s time.

Today, in perfect cool afternoon sunshine, I set off to run 12 miles at my planned marathon pace. After 1.5 miles, I stopped, took a shortcut, walked/slow jogged, and came home after only a few miles. Yes, I had an excuse – some pain and discomfort in my chest/stomach that seemed to go if I walked and come back if I ran. I don’t know if it was bad diet, bad preparation or muscle soreness for a different reason.

Now I don’t mind having a bad day but I have really been kicking myself at giving in so easily. Next week I can’t just stop 1.5 miles in because things aren’t feeling right, nor can I do the same in Edinburgh. Eddie Izzard wouldn’t have done this – he would have walked or hobbled the full route however many hours and ice creams it took him. I’m blogging this openly today in the hope that this is the last time for two months and a day that I have to write about such a failure to achieve what I have set out to do. I will start fundraising in earnest soon and from that moment on I can’t afford to let anyone down. Nor will I.

But I don’t like downbeat entries if I can help it. Today’s photo shows the Sport Relief socks I wore to run in. I eschewed the Sport Relief events today with the excuse of more important and specific training running, but whereas I failed, many many people will have donned these socks and run one mile to six miles in events up and down the country. Those who did, you should be proud! Today, you are a better man/woman/child/dog than I am.

March 10th 2010

National Hunt

Could this be the Jamaica Inn, housing smugglers as a fierce storm batters in from the Cornish coast? Could it be the Slaughtered Lamb, on the bleak Yorkshire moors as two American backpackers shelter from a thick foreboding fog?

Or is it the sign of the local estate pub in a bit of a stiff breeze on a gloomy day as I popped to the Co-op to buy a pizza for my tea?

Look I’ve only got two photos today – I’ve worked all day and then run eight miles this evening. It was this or an out of focus pigeon in the back garden …

March 4th 2010

Canada Geese

This blog was supposed to just convey random or significant events as I journeyed through a difficult year in my life, but it’s fast becoming an ornithologist’s journal!

Today as I ran past the lake in the late afternoon I had two more interested spectators. Canada geese I believe …

Feb 28th 2010

How the other half live …

A photo from my run today – looking for a nice shot en route in late afternoon sunshine I chose this building which until running past a couple of weeks ago I never knew existed, despite being less than a mile from where I grew up. It’s not residential any more, to be fair, but presumably used to be – and makes you wonder what kind of garden lurks behind that wall.

Feb 20th 2010

Rebellion

This week is not going well. I’m not running because I’m so far behind with my studies. And instead of catching up with my studies I’m staring at the screen, doing silly photo blogs and fretting about not running.

In a rare break from this stagnation, I went for a run today. I wanted to get the bad week out of my system with an act of blatant disregard for authority. Well, what do you think about that then? I’m that crazy I just don’t care!

Anyway that’s enough rebellion and blogging, I’ve got an assignment to finish and I don’t want my tutor to be cross.

Feb 13th 2010

Spectators

Every time I run round Shurdington and Badgeworth I get the same interested spectator. This morning it came at a price – shortly after stopping to take this photo my iPhone landed in a large pile of mud. At least it was a soft landing, but it meant a fast 8.5 mile run (by my standards) could have been faster!

Still, it was worth it I think.

Jan 31st 2010

Sunset over the downs in Berkshire

This morning, staying with my sister and family in rural Berkshire, I went on an undulating 11.5 mile run. It was scenic, hard work and great training. But with no photo snapped (I never saw the promised deer or red kites) I re-traced my route in late afternoon.

A few photos of the route emerged but this sunset, taken over the Downs, although it doesn’t show the route as such, was too good not to include. So the photo blog has made it to the end of the first month, and ends, appropriately, with a sunset.