Back to training

Well Tewkesbury half is complete and now onto training for London tewkesbury was a really good run starting in the town and moving out into the country side the run was going really really well with my pace owing as planned with 3 miles to go for some reason I sprung a nose bleed which is never good while running but I kept my head down and continued to power through while throwing water into my face to try and clear it. With a mile and half to go my legs were wanting to stop but knowing I was nearly there I upped my pace slightly. I turned the final corner and sprinted the last 150meters smashing my personal best by over 6 minutes bringing my new official pb to 1 hour 59 mins and 16 seconds so this has set my bar even higher than planned now the idea is to really hit the training hard try and get a stone of weight off and work on building up my core strength. The plan is to be doing a couple of 6 mile runs each week along with a Sunday morn run of at least 10 miles if I want to beat my pb again then I am really going to have to pile the miles in. I want to get into the mid 1 50s for London so bring on the pain.

And the team is complete

Well that's it - all you eager people itching to join us in our marathon in a month quest (I know you were all secretly queueing up even if you weren't openly volunteering!), I'm afraid its over - we now have taken the final Royal Parks place for the NRAS. So welcome to the team Jen Avila, a workmate of my wife, who managed to make it successfully round the London Marathon Course this year in aid of Shelter.

So a team of 25 are taking part in the Great North Run and 10 in the Royal Parks Half Marathon for the NRAS. And of those, the marathon in a month team have managed to get 6 places for each run, with 9 of us taking part. Our final target is set at £4,800. Please post these blogs wherever you can, and let people know about the blog, the virginmoneygiving page (link at top and bottom of the page) and exactly what a stupidly ridiculous challenge we are trying to complete.

To highlight the stupidity of the situation, I include below a picture of my celebrity body double! Just think how hard it would be to heave that mass round two half marathons! (Pleasant isn't it)

So please, spread the word, and if any of you can spare even a pound towards the cause - we would all be very thankful

Motivations back.....but the fitness isnt quite there yet!

Well, in the last couple of weeks, Ive failed miserably with any training at all! Knowing that the first half marathon is creaping up really hasnt helped and until Tuesday, I hadn't gone running for a good couple of weeks.

Im happy to say, that with persuasion and pushing from friends and family, Tuesday and Thursday I've done training runs of 30 and 35 minutes and finally am starting to feel the motivation is coming back - the next step, two weekend runs of 30 and 40 minutes to see if Im really starting to get somewhere.

You will see on the right of the blog, some vital stats have been added, admitedly with TBC's on a lot of them for the time being. This is so that you guys that are sponsoring, watching, reading and following can see the levels of past running we have all done - we are all true amateurs, and although a lot of people may find doing one or two half marathons in a period of time easy - it's certainly not for any of us.

Over the next few weeks, Im going to share not only the training, but also a few past experiences from the runs I've taken part in, along with some of the more memoriable moments - for good and bad.

But to start - an example of the level of fitness currently being displayed by such fine atheletes. I wear a heart monitor to check everything is ok when I run. The idea - get your heart rate over the 80% mark to get a good work out. Over 95% and it bleeps to tell you to stop as you are pushing yourself too far. So........when preparing for a run a couple of weeks ago, I was shocked when it started bleeping telling me to stop........especially given I hadnt even started running yet - all I was doing was bending over to try and do my shoelaces up!!!! Hopefully - the training and subsequent weight loss will ensure I dont suffer this sort of embarrassment again!!!

Good luck with the training everyone.

Sponsorship request

Hi all hope the training is all going well I have had an ok week I did a 11 and a half run on Sunday and then a 6 mile one on Wednesday. I am planning on doing another 6 tomorrow and hopefully have a full on week this week as I only have 2 weeks today until the tewkesbury half marathon. I am thinking of putting together some sort of official letter to ask some companies for sponsorship I would like to include a picture of each of the members of the team wearing there NRAS running vest I know that we are not going to be able to meet up for this so if everyone is happy with me doing this then could people send me a pic Darren has my email address there are a few big companies who I work with alot that I know would love to put some money towards this great cause. In the letter I would like to include a quote from simone if she is happy with that along with information on exactly what we are doing all of this obviously on propper NRAS headed note paper. What does everyone think? Please let me know.

Hot summer, hot, hot summer...

.... so the song goes.

Not conducive to running at all. My times have suffered somewhat in the heat I must admit. I think I'm a winter sort of guy - non symptomatic S.A.D they call it.

Personally I thrive in the cold and dark. Mainly because no one can see how drained of energy you look and also my running style, I have been told, resembles the gait of a pregnant goat. It's not an attractive sight.

However, what I lack in grace I make up for in a new training diet of BBQ's and light refreshing summer ale that has seen my weight travel in the opposite direction. Not good.

Bring on the winter.

Marathon running and the blog gets popular

Well I've just got back from a few days away, and am shocked to see the blog has lept in views, which is brilliant news. 350 views - may not sound much, but for the team running this, knowing that so many people have already read it, its brilliant, and motivational. Also amazing to see just how many countries are now viewing - the stats are brilliant and the countries visiting so far are: UK, US, Germany, France, Cyprus, Hungary, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore.
So hello to all our friends round the world that are checking up on us and supporting us as the training starts (slowly for some of us!) And for all of those passing on the blog for others to read around the world thank you too. Now all we need is some sponsors ;-)

While sat in the sun, thinking about running (ahem!), taking a break from work for a few days (yes I know I should have actually gone running! And I did think about it........was lovely countryside for running too! but very hot!.......and I was on holiday), I got to see the London Marathon. Seeing the achievements that those taking part in it did makes me realise that running two half marathons in a month really shouldnt be that difficult! (but for us it is!) Some guys on the day of the marathon actually ran from the finish at 4am to the start, before running the main marathon - now thats just stupid!

So we may not be doing a marathon, but for those taking part, this is a massive challenge, and seeing all those runners taking part in the London marathon certainly is inspirational. I know I will be applying again this year and hoping that I manage to get a spot!! Special congratulations to Peter Sharp and Jen Avila, friends of Simone and I that took part and raised loads of money for Dreams come true and Shelter. An amazing effort by both of them especially given the very hot conditions on the day. Their next challenge - avoiding me as I try and persuade them to join team NRAS for the Royal Parks Half Marathon - come on guys you know you want to :-)

Anyway, only 173 days and both events will be completed hopefully!!! Better go and do some training.....

And if anyone has any ideas of additional things to add in to this blog, widgets, gadgets etc, please drop a comment or a note and will see what we can do.

I don't run - Simone's story

Okay, so I’m no runner. I’m not planning on running this ‘Marathon in a Month’ thing. In fact, I have absolutely no intention of running anywhere; I don’t even run for the bus! No, I’m not lazy. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I’m hoping by writing this I can drum up a bit more support for this wonderful group of people who are running the ‘Marathon in a Month’ for the NRAS. My husband Darren is constantly telling me that I need to share my experience of this disabling disease in order to help raise public awareness. So, here goes...

I was diagnosed as having Rheumatoid Arthritis at the grand old age of 17. I was ignorant to the condition, and like many, believed that this was a disease which affected ‘old people’. How wrong that was! The arthritis initially developed slowly, and only affected my right hand. Not a big issue and nothing a few painkillers couldn’t fix. However, over the next few years the number of joints affected grew and my mobility has become more and more restricted. I now have RA in most of my joints, and immunosuppressants, painkillers and steroids are the only way for me to continue as normal life as possible.

My normal day to day routine is as follows:
Get up at 5am. Wake Darren up to move my arms so I can use them to help me sit up. Slowly get out of bed limping (which eventually turns to a walk in about an hour). Next, take my first 7 tablets of the day and start getting ready for work, sometimes with help from Darren. It roughly takes me 2 hours to un-stiffen enough to be able to leave the house for work. Next, I do a day of teaching. More tablets. Then home to rest (as soon as I can!). Spend some time with Darren, eat, slump in front of the TV etc. 3-4 more tablets before bed at 9pm (early start means early to bed!). Sleep is usually interrupted by not being able to settle from stiffness and pain. Then, I’m up at 5am to start my day over again. Occasionally I may slip in a trip to hospital for a steroid jab. I mustn’t forget the odd stint in the knee brace. Oh, and the compromised immune system meaning that you catch and develop every known virus and infection under the sun! The biggest surprise was contracting Meningitis. When I’m not suffering from bad pain and fatigue I like to see my mates too!

It doesn’t sound like much fun when you put it into basics, but don’t get me wrong, I don’t resent a minute of this. It’s my life (and Darren’s now) and I’ve learnt to cope. In fact, I’m proud that I can cope so well. I’m so used to this that I don’t even think about having RA sometimes. I know that many people look at me and don’t see it. It’s an invisible illness, and unless you’re limping, using crutches, crying etc, people don’t realise the constant pain RA suffers can be in.

I want to live my life as normally as I can, and I refuse to stop doing so until I have to. Yes, it even hurts to walk (let alone run!) but I can, and I will continue to do so until I can’t (fortunately, my Blue Badge means I don’t have to walk very far now!). It is inevitable that many of us with RA will get to the stage where we are severely limited in what we can do, but it’s the support of charities and research facilities such as the NRAS that make it easier for many of us to keep going and not give up.

Please support these amazing runners who are running for me and all RA suffers who can’t do the run themselves. Thank you.

Back to training

Hi all just thought I would give a little bit of an update on training all is going really well I had a week off last week due to work commitments, birthdays and weddings so have gone back to training last night with a 10.3 mile run in 1 hour 41 so really happy with that just need to keep the milage up and try to get quicker hopefully I am on target to get my royal parks time under 2 hours but I think that may be pushing it a little 2 much anyway we will see how it all continues everyone keep going with your training you are all doing really well.

Avoiding Expensive New Gear

I take it back.

Stick with your HiTec Silver Shadows and your old pair of shorts from your '97 (INSERT YOUR OWN TEAM HERE) away kit.

The run on Monday at 5 miles with a decent-ish time of 40m12secs completely destroyed my feet. Couldn't feel a thing for pins and needles. Very odd indeed and annoying. But mostly odd.

Obviously having self diagnosed my issue through Google clearly I am bout to keel over and pass on into the next world any second now.

Or maybe I need to review the trainers I purchased.

Back to it - how do you motivate yourself to train!!

Well, Ive been out of action now for nearly 2 1/2 weeks, having missed 10 training runs from the schedule that has been set for me by the micoach app - your training friend and shouting maching that appears to take great pleasure in telling you you are going far to slow and need to speed up!!! Bugs and just feeling really off colour have resulted in not running, but tonight is the night.....................hopefully!!!!

After a break like that, its really hard to get motivated to go for a run, and although its only 20 minutes (yes you heard me - whilst Tom, Laura and Dave try to beat each other with what for me would be impossible runs at this stage) Im just happy to still be standing after 20 or 30 minutes. To be fair, hearing how everyone is doing is really motivational, but sat here on the sofa at the moment, with work to do, and Man Utd vs Chelsea\ on TV (unfortunately not the mighty Wolves!), it was always going to take a lot to get me moving!

Receiving the NRAS newsletter for Spring, and seeing the articles about what we are getting up to has also helped, and whenever I feel like I really can not be bothered, its things like that, and thinking about how hard it must be for Simone (the unfortunate other half) to get up each day with the aching and stiffness of the arthritis, knowing she has to try and go and work, that makes me think - its only 20 minutes, and hopefully its going to result in lots of money and good things for a charity that have done so much (I try and block out the thought of the pain, the inability to breath, and the general thoughts of what people may think (and mock) as a 17 stone man tries to jog at the same pace as the elderly walk!!)

So - this is it - think its nearly time to get going!! One last thing for today - thanks to everyone that has read this blog - over 200 views from all round the world (may not sound like much - but every view gets people to learn a bit more about the NRAS!)

Wish me luck............................(and inform the emergency services just in case!)

ps - 180 days time - it will all be over! 26.2 miles complete - or the alternative......injury!