Last day of Run December



Charlie gets in da groove


Well, it's done. There were times there were I wasn't sure I was going to finish it, but my natural stubborness kicked in right when it was required and drove me on through the snow with gritted teeth and a complete lack of self-preservation.

The rest of Team #FitTwits have all completed with smiles on their faces and happy hearts. We are invincible guys!

The final total for the month is 68 miles. Not far, but then Run December for me was never about miles, it was about mindset.

I have spent the past few months, since the marathon with the words "I don't have time. I'll run tomorrow" firmly on my lips. Run December was about shaking that up and doing something drastic, before the marathon training started in earnest.

So has it worked? Not 'arf.

And what have I learnt?

1. You can always fit a run in. You just might have to give it a bit of planning.
2. You can always run. If wind, rain, sun, snow and ice haven't stopped me, nothing else will.
3. I love rest days. And I will appreciate every single last one of them in the next few months.

The celebration of finishing has begun with a pub lunch, a pint of cider and now the breakout of Charlie, my xmas ipod-playing, groovin' monkey friend. And tomorrow I get to have a rest day and cheer the lovely Hughesy on round a New Years Day 10k. Ahhhh rest days.

Take it away Charlie... "I'm livin' for the weeeeekeeeend...."

Run December - Day 31
Distance: 3.54miles
Time: 36.38mins
Weather: Warm and dry, for  change
Surface: Triumphant

Here's a tear in your eye.

Day 14 of Run December

Yes, yes, I know. I missed another blogging day. Well blog off, I was tired. Dog tired.

Yesterday I went back to the running club for the first time since the snows hit. And boy, did I know about it. I really like being part of the club. They push me much faster and further than I would push myself and you get to chat to that type of 'mature' runner, who never runs fast, but never seems to stop. Last night I ran with one of these runners. He could keep a conversation going no matter what the speed, and when I and another new member were seriously starting to flag, he was endlessly encouraging and never missed a step. I'm starting to feel like I am getting to know a few of the members I'm running regularly with as well, which is always a major plus point. All I need is a couple of pub meets and I'll be well in there!

Of course the downside of the running club is that it gives me such a huge high that I can't sleep for hours. Hence the tiredness. So today I eased off with a strength session at the gym and a quick mile on the dreadmill. Day 14 down, 17 more to go!

Run December - Day 13
Distance: 5.59 miles
Time: 53:44 mins
Weather: Dark, but nice and cool
Surface: Pavementy

Run December - Day 14
Distance: 1.24 miles
Time: 11:29 mins
Weather: Air conditioned
Surface: Plastic

Here's sleep in your eye.

Tweets, Beats and a lack of sweets

Me again!

Errrm Dobby... you remember? ... the idiot doing marathons and burpees and mud and stuff?

Yes! That Dobby!

No, no, I haven't been ignoring you, I've been busy. Or lazy. Honest. What?? What crazy-ass stuff have I been doing now? Well nice of you to ask...

September - Tweets, Beats and a lack of sweets.

You may recall that September was my Month of Half-Marathons (if you were born when I last did a blog post anyway), and what a month it was.

I'll get this out of the way early on, so you can tut and sigh and say 'serves you right' and all that. My training over the summer consisted of one 10k race, one 5k Race for Life with the flatmate and several British Military Fitness classes. That is all. No running. You are now up to speed with why pain is involved so heavily in the following.

It started with the Rodley Run, a lovely (but painful) 13.1 miles meander by the Leeds/Liverpool canal. it's organised by my twitter buddy @nimblerunner and there were only about 100 of us taking part. You can walk it, bike it or run it. The flatmate and Mr Flatmate decided to bike it, while Hughesy and I ran it.

The course starts under a bridge just outside Leeds. And this is where we found Stephen (Nimblerunner), with a clipboard, a worried expression and Suzanne Shaw. I hadn't seen Stephen since the kilomathon and it was lovely to meet up again, even if only for a quick hello. He even introduced me to Suzanne (what a lovely lady).

Mr and Mrs Flatmate headed straight off on the bikes at the start and Hughesy soon left me for dead as he legged it off into the distance closely followed by my 'save me a burger' scream. But being left alone for the run was actually quite nice. The event is so small that everyone chats, and you run with first one person, then another. I even spent the last few miles walk/running with a lovely lady called Jill who was suffering as much as I was. We crossed the line together with big grins on our faces and hearty back slaps for helping each other along.

Race report - Rodley Run:
Time: 2:38 (eeek!)
Organisation: Excellent
Course: lovely, mostly flat (beware 5 Locks!) and not too crowded.
Would I do it again? Oh yes.
After effects: Walking downstairs backwards for 2 days.




Run two was the long-awaited Run to the Beat in London. I was looking forward to not only running this race, but also meeting up with loads of my Twitter buddies who have been so brilliant, encouraging, funny and inspirational over the past year. A few of us were staying in the same hotel the night before and more were meeting up for a pasta party at Canary Wharf as well.

It ended up with 20 of us signing Happy Birthday to @jamesthekat while he blew candles out on the best Pacman cake I have ever seen. Huge respect to @TARDIS900 for his excellent skills with an oven and many packets of jelly tots and I mean it - adopt me Michael.

The next morning we donned special Tweet to the Beat t-shirts designed by the ever-bouncy @raywise and headed off through the tube-cancelling chaos to the O2 Arena. To say it was cold is an understatement (as the photo above will attest to). Most of the crew set off (over 45 mins late) from pen 2, including @nuddypants and @runningfairy trying to run/stalk the luscious #902... God help him if he ever goes to another race with any of us. He'll be bundled into the back of a van and delivered to @runningfairy before he's passed the 3rd mile post.

Hughesy and @jamesthekat legged it past me from pen 3 10mins later. I saw @TARDIS900 disappear in pen 4 soon after. I however, got right royally stuck at the back of pen 5 and crossed the line 39 mins after the gun, freezing cold and with literally 12 people behind me. As a result I did nothing but pass people the whole way round and hardly ever got overtaken. Race tip: it's very good for the ego when you start in the last 20 and finish in the last 1400. Go me.

All the twitterers did wonderfully well with special mention to @raywise for a storming 1:30 (were do you get the energy Mr Bouncy?!?) and @ScotLassRuns who despite recovering from a serious back injury managed the whole race in a cracking 2:16.

Race report - Run to the Beat:
Time: 2:20:51 (PB!)
Organisation: Delayed start, confusing pens and not enough music for a music marathon.
Course: Boring and the race profile is just a plain lie.
Would I do it again? Probably not.
After effects: Exhausted, but very happy.

So there you go, all my September races accounted for.

What's next? Well I've joined a running club and this Saturday I get to nearly kill myself at Men's Health Survival of the Fittest in Nottingham. But more about them when I've got something to tell.

Here's mud in your eye.

Hi Honey, I'm home!

It's been a while since I blogged. This is mainly due to the fact that I managed to get my life back after the months of agonising training and partly due to the fact that I actually haven't been doing anything worth blogging about. I doubt you'd be interested in what I had for lunch (pasta with out-of-date chicken).

But my Year of Crazy has taken another turn and not satisfied with a marathon, I have set myself a few more challenges. So here we go!

September
This is now known as 1/2 Marathon Month. I have 2, Hughesy has 3 (yes I know, but he wouldn't listen).

The first is going to be the Rodley Run. This is organised by one of my twitter buddies @Nimblerunner. He's quite an inspirational chap having lost nearly a Dobster in weight and raised over £25,000 for Cancer Research UK in the process. The Rodley Run is quite a small, friendly event. It hasn't got any marshalls or big inflatable start line. It won't have a grandstand finish either, just a BBQ and hopefully a few of my other twittery buddies eating burgers and downing a few beers. This one is going to be a warm up for the rest of the month...

The next weekend, I'm off to get slightly squiffy at The Wedding of the Year and Hughesy is off to do the Great North Run. Bit sad I can't be there to cheer him on as he's been such a great supporter for my runs, but I shall be thinking of him as I down my 4th champagne and bust a move to the grease megamix.

The weekend after that is the biggie - Run to the Beat in London. There are a whole load of us going as a Tweet to the Beat group, in twittery tshirts and possibly garish pink leggings if @nuddypants has her way. I've challenged myself to do this in under 2 hours. So that's what my training is going to be working up to over the summer.

October/November
A few 10ks planned around Nottingham during these months in prep for the new year and...

January 2011
Run Rampage!!! Yes, the twitter mafia has struck again and I am now part of a 3 woman team ready to compete on a xc, muddy, hilly, off-road vehicle-testing track on Bagshot army barracks. Oh yes, in JANUARY. Lots of hilly, fast runs and lunges required for the training for this one. @Harerunner, you have a lot to answer for girl!

March 2011
Probably do the Beast again. Be rude not to. Oh and the Kilomathon if its happening.

April 2011
The pain has subsided, so the new year will be spent on 20mile training shuffles again for the Brighton Marathon. Hoping for a sub-5hr on this one. We'll see.

So there you go, a full run down of my racing year. Looking forward to 1/2 marathon training where my long runs can actually stay within one city, nevermind one bloomin' county. And hand weights have been purchased to help build up my leg strength for all those hills.

Will keep you posted on the way with anything that is vaguely interesting and feel free to tell me when I ramble on inanely.

Here's mud in your eye.

The_sobster

Well, it's over. The Edinburgh Marathon has been completed and I can actually feel my legs. Result. On the down side my face appears to be glowing in the dark.

After months of training and hours of planning and organisation I was ready for this weekend. All my kit was packed. I had a folder full of confimations, maps and forms. I was Miss Organised 2010. Unfortunately fate had different plans. Firstly the hotel kicked both me and my friend Collette out due to double booking. Then I managed to nearly die driving around Edinburgh trying to find Hope Street (note: it's pedestrian. #Fail). I also managed to get the wrong bus and ended up in Leith at 10pm with no idea where the hell I was and no further buses, and finally the weather forecasters all lied like flatfish and instead of 19 degrees and overcast/showers, we had 27 degrees of sweaty, burny sun. Rant over, back to the race.

26.2 miles is (by definition) a buggeringly long way. Nibbling anything more than a biscuit and my fingernails the night before was pretty much impossible due to extreme nerves. I went to bed with my RNLI vest, leggings and trainers laid out on the table waiting for my alarm to go off and me to leap out of bed and attack the day. I didn't wake to the alarm, I awoke to a troop of howler monkeys in the zoo next door at 6am. I was having a dream about cycling around Bournemouth at the time, so the inclusion of a pack of rabid monkeys on rollerskates was an interesting image. I believe I'd even put a tutu on one of them.

I tried to eat some brekkie, which didn't go too well and then headed into the city to met up with Collette and walk down to the start line. The start was 9.50am and we got there at 8.30am. It was deserted. I found this very odd as most races I have been to, the loo queue forms at least 3 hours beforehand and grows exponentially by the hour. By 9am Regent Road was getting busy and I was busier trying to spot some of my Tweeting buddies. Sadly I didn't spot any :o( Hope to catch you next time guys x

The start was good - all downhill for the first few miles, although it was very, very, VERY warm. I was feeling fine and was on schedule for a 5 hour finish. At mile 10 we passed Musselburgh stadium and the finish line. I waved and told it I'd be back round in a few hours. About half a mile later the lead runner went legging it past on the other side of road only a mile or so from the finish. Not only did he have about a 6 mile lead, but he also managed a joke and wave with some bystanders. Freak.

I was going OK and passed the half way point at around 2.30hrs. But after this the shade stopped and the sun came out in full and nearly melted me. The rest of the route was out and back along the coast path. There were lots of supporters for most of it and the people of Edinburgh were brilliant. Many of them had hosepipes out to give us 'field showers' as we melted past. One of the good things about running for the RNLI is that any kid with a hosepipe who saw my immediately tried to "sink the lifeboat!" If it wasn't so hot I might have actually drowned.

Miles 16-18 were utter hell. These were spent running around a park with no shade and away from the coast there was no breeze either. I was suffering quite badly at this point. Passing one or two of the other RNLI runners at cross over points was a highlight as we high fived, punched the air or shouted 'Go Lifeboats!' With so few of us (I only saw 3 others running, and a couple who had done the half marathon), it was a big boost every time we saw each other and could have a litte chat.

Miles 18-21 were better. The aches and pains had eased slightly and the clouds briefly appeared to give us some respite from the heat. I managed to run quite a bit of these miles and although I knew I wasn't going to hit my 5hr finish by then, I hoped to be quite close to it. Alas no. At mile 22 the sun reappearred hotter than ever. By now it was after 2pm, I was sunburnt, my head was on fire, my feet had swelled so I'd had to stop and loosen my laces and my sportsbra had cut off my circulation to my back as my skin swelled up.

Only the Rocky music someone was blasting out from thier garden, blind determination, stubbornness and the knowledge that all my friends were willing me on got me over those last few miles. The shuffling run from mile 25 to the finish line was agony, and I apologise to all the crowds at the finish when I appeared, sweat-stained and grimacing with tears streaming down my face. But you know what? I was an emotional wreck and you didn't help by shouting my name and cheering me on. It was just too much for a The Sobster to take.

Official time: 5.39. Collette did a fabulous time of 4.10, and my twitter friends did amazing runs and got times from 3.50 to 4.50. We are all marathon runners guys!

Huge thanks to all the people of Edinburgh who were amazing, the organisers and marshalls who made sure we all got water and cheered so well, and the wonderfully lovely ladies of the RNLI charity tent who repaired Collette and I with sandwiches, coffee and massages. They are the reason I can still walk today.

A massive, massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored me for my year of crazy, you are all stars xx

Finally, this is not the end of the craziness, I have other things planned, but that's for another blog post. Right now I'm off to the pub for my first pint for 5 weeks. I think I've earned it.

Here's mud in your eye.

Sad afternote: Just heard the news of the runner who fell in the first few miles and sadly died. I had passed him at mile 7, surrounded by paramedics giving CPR. I know it shook everyone and my thoughts are with his family.

Tick, Tock

85 hours to go. That's right, I've resorted to hours, rather than days.

The training has all been completed and I am now sitting around, bored witless while I build up my energy reserves and allow all those niggly little aches and pains to settle down.

My lovely (but rather bright!) running vest from the RNLI turned up last week and my official marathon pack plopped on my mat the following day. So it's all rather real now. In 85 hours I'll be standing on a start line with a few thousand other maniacs feeling a bit nervous and needing the loo for the 6th time that morning. And (hopefully) in 90 hours I'll be an emotional wreck hobbling over the finish line with mascara streaming down my cheeks and a frizzy afro.

Unfortunately my hotel (which I booked over 6 months ago) has kicked me out for 'maintenance' and moved me 1 mile away to a "fabulous hotel with free use of the gym and pool". Oh excellent. I can do a few miles on the treadmill the night before *sigh*. To add insult to injury my mate, Collette, who is running as well, hasn't been moved. So the logistics of driving up the Edinburgh, dropping off at 2 hotels, getting into town for a tweetup, meeting my friend (whose birthday it is!), getting back to 2 hotels, figuring out where to leave the car during the race, getting back to the car afterwards, and then driving all the way back to Nottingham is giving me a headache.

Never mind. The weather is supposed to be perfect and I've just stuck my name onto my vest. So if you see me on the day, give me a wave. I'll be the only one in yellow who isn't a daffodil.

I'll let you know how it goes, after I get back, recover a bit and break my month of 'on-the-wagonness' with a day in the pub. Apparently alcohol numbs the pain. Honest.

Here's mud in your eye.

Hell and back

OK, so Beeston may not strictly be hell, but it feels pretty diabolical by mile 15.

Tonight I did my last long (long) run of 19 miles. It was long, painful and slow, but very very useful. And did I mention long?

A lot of training plans advocate one peak mileage run of 20 miles about 2-3 weeks before the race. Mine advises 2 at weeks 5 and 3 and is one of the reasons I choose it. As a complete novice to marathons I knew I'd have a lot to learn, and needed the extra run to sort out any problems.

So this run involved the testing of new socks (dual layered - essential), new running tights (Nike capris and excellent), new bottle holder (room for sweeties and keys) and new fuel (Tooty Fruities). Although the tights and bottle holder were useful, they were nothing on the Tooty Fruities!!

When you are expecting to be on your feet running for 5 hours, you are going to need fuel. The body uses up the easy-to-convert, glycogen stores in your muscles as energy first. However it is finite and once used up the body turns to its fat reserves. Fat metabolism is not as quick and easy, and when this happens you Hit the 'infamous' Wall. The only way to delay or avoid the wall is to make sure you have more glycogen than you'll use by carbo-loading and taking on carbs during your run. During the run you can use drinks, gels or food to take on carbs.

I have been using Powerade for runs over 90mins for a while. It is tasty, gives me enough energy and electolytes to keep me from passing out and doesn't upset my stomach. But I was going to need something for extra quick energy en route. I'd tried gels (bleurgh), and jelly beans (not too bad) and was willing to try something else. Cue the Tooty Fruities. 2 fruities per 30mins gave my legs that little bit of extra energy needed to stop me running out of muscle power by mile 13.

So it looks as if I have sorted out most of my strategy and kit for the big day. Onwards to the day now. Only a bit of training still to go:

• 5x British Military Fitness sessions
• 3x interval speed sessions
• 2x 4 milers
• 1x 15 miler
• 1x 10 miler
• 1x 8 miler

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Here's mud (sweat and tears) in your eye.

Challenge 2.5...

Hello blogville.

It's been a while and I haven't really felt like blogging. 'But why??' I hear you cry? Well I have been slogging my way around long runs and knackering tempos feeling like I'm getting nowhere (not very) fast and generally not feeling very good about my running.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that I set off on Sunday for the Derby 10k. The last 10k (and only my 3rd ever race) was a hilly, x-country style race in Wollaton Park, Nottingham. I did it in 58:30 and had to have a little sit down afterwards. The lovely Hughesy had entered me in the Derby 10k with an estimated time of 55mins making me a bit nervous. 3.5 mins off my PB was a challenge which I was not sure I could meet. But he had faith in me, so off we set.

The Derby 10k is rather a bigger event than the cosy Wollaton 10k. Instead of 400 runners, I found myself in the midst of thousands all penned up under their expected finishing time in the shadow of Pride Park, the Derby FC stadium. He had warned me about 'undulations' at 3-5km, but apart from that I had no idea what the route would be like and as the gun went and the strungout line edged towards the line, my nerves rose. Everyone looked like they could run me into the ground before breakfast. But as I headed off into the city centre, I found myself sprinting past professionally kitted out runners, who were walking, panting and sweating it out at 2km. Why the hell were these people ahead of me?!?! What time did they put on their application forms?!?!

The route was actually a pleasant amble around the city centre, taking in the sights, before heading back along stretches of the river. It is not in the slightest bit hilly, but has a couple of little undulations, including a couple of bridges to negotiate. Many seemed to find these difficult, but after 18 months of being beasted up hills by camo-clad British Military Fitness instructors, I managed to take them (literally) in my stride. The start was a bit sparse on spectators, but by halfway, they had crept out of bed to wave and cheer us on. Always nice. I would seriously recommend this race to any newbie runners as their first 10k. It was well organised, easy and fun.

I was attempting to work out my times at each km marker, and not do my previous mistake of setting out too quick and regretting it. I hit 5k at around 29mins, which worried me... a lot. At that rate I would be lucky to beat my PB. However the second 5k was flatter and more strung out, so no fighting my way past pink tutus and bananas. I also felt quite good. True I was puffing like a steamtrain, but nothing compared to many around me.

At 7km I passed the Thunderbirds. After losing the Kilomathon to a banana, this felt good.

By 8km I was utterly convinced I was going to take over an hour, so it was with elation that I entered Prinde Park to a roar of spectators and music and saw the clock at 54' 12". I sprinted to the line. My gun time was 54' 42", but once the time to cross the line was factored in, my chip time was a staggering 53' 42" giving me a chip position of 1525 out of 2993. Well happy. Add to that, I was 84th home out of 380 in my category and I was even well happier.

The lovely Hughesy did a chip time of 48' 13", shaving 6mins off his PB for the race and coming in 181st out of 454 in his category. There was much celebration that night *pop* *fizz* *glug*.

All in all, it raised my flagging spirits hugely and gave me a much need confidence boost - that I wasn't getting slower, I was capable of running well and I wasn't going to be the last finisher on this marathon.

20 miles are beckoning ths weekend. Bring 'em on!

Here's mud in your eye.

Nothing to wear...

It's less than 48hours to go to the start of the Kilomathon and I have a dilemma. I have nothing to wear. Now, stop panicking and bear with me. I'm not going to post pictures of me in various flourescent leggings and ask if my bum looks big in them. I'm not that stupid.

Like most runners training over the winter I have been battling the freezing temperatures in 23 moisture-wicking, air-flowing, wind-stopping layers, 2 pairs of gloves, a thermal hat and a pair of woolly knickers so big I have to cut eye-holes in them to see where I'm going. That means I have had numerous pockets to secrete gloves, ipods, keys and jellybabies in. I have therefore not thought about race day, assuming I'd run in my trusty wind-stopper. And then it happened... THE SUN CAME OUT!

The weather forecast is not helping. On Wednesday it was forecasting sun. Yesterday it forecast rain. Today we are splitting the difference with sunny intervals. What will it be tomorrow?? Snow? Heatwave? Typhoon? WHO KNOWS!!

The thought of running without a pocket is causing me some disturbance. The 9am start is going to make it cold to begin with, so hat and gloves may be required. But 20mins into the run, I'm going to warm up and by the time I crawl over the line gasping for oxygen it's going to be closer to midday. I can't add a pack, or new top at this point without the risk of serious chaffing (ouchy). What to do with all the paraphanalia you accumulate on your run?!!?

For layers I have a cunning plan and will be starting the run in an old t-shirt I can dump on any unfortunate passerby (or use to trip up rude runners) as soon as I need to. I may be able to slot my gloves down my ipod armband at strategic points. I'll carry a water-bottle for the first few miles, which I can dump at the water points. The jellybabies days are numbered and they're getting nommed before I even start. Which leaves the hat. Might just have to get cold ears :o/

And as soon as it is over? Well, I'm off to get a top with a pocket ready for the marathon. Lesson learnt.

Here's mud in your eye.

Half marathon down... horse jump to go

My tactic of carrying a backpack with kit around with me has paid off and I took advantage of the snowlessness to put in a long run after work this week. A very long run. 13.14 miles to be exact. Now this is the furthest I have ever run in my entire life. I did a half marathon in December 2004 and although I wasn't last, I could see it from where I was.

I did my long run in 2 hours 7 mins 13 secs, which you might think is rather slow, but bear in mind that my half marathon in 2004 was 2 hours 37 mins 6 secs and you can see how far I've come in a relatively short period.

Just a short 3 mile tempo run (fast pace) tomorrow to keep the legs and lungs going before Sunday's crazy Beast run! I'll let you know how that goes...

BTW, Jim says Hi.

Here's mud in your eye.

What a difference a day (+ or - 504 others) makes

So I'm into week 4 of my training programme and the longer runs are hitting double figures and taking well over an hour now. That is a lot of 'me' time and I am not one of those runners who head into blissful meditation when they run. My brain runs faster than my feet. And it was during my tempo run this week that something occurred to me - I wasn't thinking about the run. Up until now every run had involved some element of how much Jim was hurting, how I wasn't sure I was going to make it, or why I wasn't as fast as that guy in the baggy lycra legging it up the hill in front of me. And that in turn led my thoughts to how difficult I used to find all this just 18 months ago.

It was a dark and stormy night... Well it was raining anyway, as I headed over to the park for my first British Military Fitness class. At that time I was a stone heavier, couldn't do a press up, had never heard of a burpee and couldn't run 100 yards without having a cry and cake. I watched all the mental Duracell Bunnies in the 'elite' green group bounding effortlessly up the hills and decided I wanted to be one of them. So I started trying to run and I found several things very hard -

1. Heating. I never seemed to heat up on runs like other people and ended up running in big jumpers and two set of leggings. I envied these runners in a t-shirt and shorts. But as I have got fitter, my internal thermometer seems to be working much better. I can now run in a thermal top and thin jacket on even the coldest of days and be perfectly warm.

2. Routes. I live at the bottom of a hill. To the east is a red light district. To the west dark, lonely streets. To the north an uninspiring ring road and to the south a rowdy city centre. Finding a route that kept my interest was impossible. But now I can run further, I can get to the interesting parts. Result.

3. Speed. It's difficult to do speed sessions when your 'easy' run is as fast as you can go for 30 paces without turning grey. As the miles notch up, the short speed sessions become possible and feel more credible.

So some of the basics problems I encountered at the start seem to have worked themselves out. And now, I am a very proud owner of green BritMilFit vest myself, although my hill bounding is anything but effortless...

Here's mud in you eye.

Me and Jim become close

So I'm now in my 3rd week of the marathon training and Jim (my little blister) is growing at a rate similar to a Blue Whale calf. He's a persistent little soul, but isn't causing too much trouble, as he's tucked away on the side of my big toe. As a result I've starting to use him as a yardstick of whether I've run far enough. If he hasn't put on weight, then I probably will...

But back to the training. Weeks 1 and 2 were hard work. Going from a nice little bimble around the park when I felt like it, to a minimum 4 miles irrespective of the weather was a shock. My first real long run (8 miles) was extremely painful, both physically and mentally. But week 3 has so far been easier. I did a 40mins steady run today at a good pace (for me) and felt good. I had to actually stop myself from going further. It's a great feeling to get back from a run feeling great, when it would have left you exhausted and aching a few weeks ago.

This week I'm up to 10 miles on my long run and actually looking forward to it. But that may well change before I lace up those trainers, pad up Jim and work out exactly how far 10 miles is going to take me. I'll keep you posted.

Here's mud in your eye.

And so it begins...

So the ice and snow has melted and more importantly the temperature is warm enough for me to take a deep breath and not go a little grey and need propping up.

This exciting warmth has resulted in a distinct improvement in my cough and a renewed motivation to get out and pound those pavements in my lovely RNLI t-shirt. And that's exactly what I did. Tonight was the first training run after falling ill and it felt great. It did, however form a new little blister. I've called it Jim. He's a bit too small at the moment for a twitpic and a smiley face, but I think he's going to stick around and become big and strong, so expect to be introduced to Jim soon.

Looking forward to getting some miles under my belt and getting my routine back on track. I'll keep you posted on my progress on route to the big old marathon (eeek).

Here's mud in your eye.

The Dobster is fundraising for RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - JustGiving

The Dobster is fundraising for RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - JustGiving

Yes, I am. So please by nice and sponsor me a little bit.

WHY!?!?! I hear you cry...

Well for one thing I'm a diver. For another I grew up by the sea and know the hard work the staff and crew of the RNLI put in every day of the year. But mostly its because they get no government funding, their lives are in danger on almost every call out and (as the recent floods prove) we all need their help, no matter where we live.


Up until now I have done a couple of minor runs, the odd 10k race and one (painfully slow) half-marathon, which involved more walking than running. So this year is going to be a bit of a challenge. But then if you have read my previous posts, you'll know my thoughts on challenges...

So what am up to?

28 February - The Beast. 5 miles over a x-country horse run, complete with (horse-sized) jumps, thick mud, hills and water-features rather deeper than is healthy for a 5ft 6 woman.

14 March - Britain's first Kilomathon. Its a marathon, but its in Km instead of miles. So thats about 26.2km to you and me. Its from Nottingham to Derby. I'm just hoping we don't have to walk home afterwards.

23 May - Edinburgh Marathon. The biggy. Its big. BIG. Never done a marathon before and this one looks great. I'll give you a wave when I pass a tv camera.


So, I hope you can help me get to my fundraising target, and if you specifically sponsor my blisters I'll post you pictures of them as proof. No really, I will.

Here's mud in your eye.



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