Saturday 19 October 2013

October Buildup Week 3 - Phew!

This was my toughest week yet - and it feels like it.  On Monday, I ran 10 miles for the first time.  I broke it down into sections, focussed on the bit I was actually doing, and finished feeling pretty good.  I also got exceedingly wet, as the weather veered between spitting, sustained drizzle and heavy downpour.  But as my friends tell me, skin is waterproof.  So, allegedly, is my running jacket - not that you could tell, because when I took it off, the layer underneath was just as wet as the outside.

For the week as a whole, my target was to run 25 miles.  I actually ran 26, because my ability at estimating mileage when planning routes is pretty poor! On the fundraising front, I am now just £4 short of reaching £500.  Could you make my day by getting me over that line?  You could donate online via the link on the right, or give using your mobile phone:  send a text to 70070 with the message:

BGLM50 £4

... and that would be the job done!!  Thank you so much if you feel able to do that.

Now, although the 10 mile run went well, I discovered over the following few days just how much it had taken out of me.  I ran on Wednesday and Thursday, doing five and a bit miles each time.  And I felt increasingly tired, especially on Thursday.  This afternoon (Saturday) as I did my final run of the week, I felt a bit better, but not exactly fresh.  So all things considered, I am VERY glad that I had already planned the next two weeks to be easier, and I do NOT need to go out and run 10 miles on Monday morning...  This is the first time since I started running that I would say it has taken me more than a day or two to feel fully recovered from a run.

As I mentioned in last week's blog, training is a balance between effort and rest.  When you run further or faster than you are used to, you give your body a stimulus.  When you rest, it adapts to that stimulus becoming stronger, faster, more efficient at running.  If you don't give it enough rest, it can't adapt, and if you don't give it enough stimulus, it doesn't need to.  The skill is to do enough to stimulate those adaptations, while still having enough rest.  This week, I could have done with a little more rest.

So, for the next couple of weeks I am going to be keeping my runs a bit shorter, to give myself a bit of a break - ready to come back for a further foray into the world of the 10 mile+ run.  Onwards and upwards... gradually!

Thanks for reading, and for the encouragement which many of you have given me.  It really makes a  difference.

Sunday 13 October 2013

October Buildup Week 2 - Mind, Body and Spirit

First, the summary.  This week I ran a total of 23 miles, with my long run being 9.2 miles. On the fundraising front, I've now reached £391, which is 15% of my target, and a community group has expressed interest in holding an event to help me.  All good so far!!

You may have seen the "Mind, Body, Spirit" sections in bookshops, and I've been musing this week about how a marathon is a challenge in all three of those areas.  Of the three, I think the body is probably the easiest to deal with.  You need to run regularly, with adequate rest in between - because it while you are resting that your body is adapting and growing stronger.  You need to increase the distance you run gradually, paying attention to any physical niggles or signs of overtiredness, as these may mean you are trying to do too much too soon.  You need to eat sensibly.  And that's pretty much it.  Of course if you have aspirations to be Mo Farah or Paula Radcliffe, looking for a fast time and peak performance, you will need to be much more structured, with scientifically-devised speed sessions and so forth.  But for the average recreational runner, what I've described, done for long enough, will get you round a marathon in one piece.

Or rather, it will get you into the physical shape to get round a marathon in one piece.  But, in order to keep going for 26.2 miles, you need a lot of mental strength, as indeed you do to do the training necessary to get you into a physical condition to attempt it.  You need the resolve to get out of bed when you'd rather stay in it.  You need the determination to keep running, when you are tired and would rather stop.  You need to believe that you are capable of doing this, because the moment you start to think you are not capable, you are likely to give up.

As I prepared for my long run on Monday morning, I was intimidated by the thought of running 9 miles.  When you say it quickly, it doesn't seem too bad - but when you stop and think, you realise it is a very long way to run!!  A seed of doubt crept into my mind.  But then I used some of the mental strategies I have learned to get me through it.  I thought about why I had started out on this challenge;  I thought about the people with cancer who had motivated me;  I thought about the changes in my quality of life through losing weight and become fitter, and how much I want that to continue; I thought about how I always feel good after a run, even if I don't feel good at the start.  That got me out of the door!

Then I was underway, on a circular route up through Rainworth, along the MARR road, down the A60 and back along Ricket Lane.  As I ran, I alternately focussed on what I was doing - my breathing, my posture, relaxing my upper body, noticing where I was running - and distracted myself by thinking about other things.  I reminded myself how I was getting fitter and stronger by doing this.  I told myself how important it was to meet the challenges I set myself, because by doing that I increase my expectation that I can do so again in the future.  I counted my footsteps and recited mantras in time with them - things like "I love to run", "Strong light legs" and "I'm getting fitter, I'm getting stronger".  I imagined running the marathon - approaching Buckingham Palace, the deafening noise of the crowd as I turn into the Mall, the surge of speed that I would somehow manage to find over the last few hundred yards.

And, I prayed.  I prayed for the people I know affected by cancer.  I prayed for the people at my churches, especially those going through tough times.  I prayed about some of the tricky or demanding things happening in my ministry at the moment.  I remembered a few scripture verses which seem to be relevant.  First of all, there's St Paul, writing from his prison cell to the church at Philippi:  "I can do all things through him who gives me strength" (Phil 4:13).  Then there's a line from the Psalms, perhaps more relevant to those of my running friends who go in for assault courses - but still a good sentiment for encouraging me to attempt something which seems insurmountable: "With my God I can scale a wall" (Ps 18:29).

And finally, there's my favourite, which I have dubbed The Runner's Prayer.  It comes from the book of Job, and it's not a prayer at all - it is something said to Job by one of his so-called comforters.  But when I say this verse, I address it to God: "Your words have supported those who were stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees." (Job 4:4)

My knees - along with other parts of my body - are sometimes feeble, as indeed is my willpower. But I believe that I can do this, and that I will end it stronger than I started. And in a mere 26 weeks, I will be running the marathon!

Saturday 5 October 2013

October Buildup Week 1

Here is a phrase you may just get tired of - this week I did my longest run so far, and my highest total mileage.  Monday's long run was 8.1 miles, and my total for the week was 21.5 miles.

I did my four runs out of doors, as usual, plus a bit of extra running on the treadmill at the gym.  There are several reasons why I might run on the treadmill:  if I need just an extra mile or two to hit a weekly target; to do a speed intervals session; in the depths of winter, if running outside is impossible; and my reason for doing it this week - some sort of test.

I mentioned in my first blog that I'm using a heart rate monitor to control my level of effort - to make sure that my "easy" runs really are easy.  In theory, as I get fitter I should be able to run faster for the same level of effort.  A month ago I did a test on the treadmill, to find out what speed I could run at while staying just under a particular heart rate - 70% of my working range (140 beats per minute) and 75% (146 beats per minute).  I repeated the test yesterday, and am happy to report that in both cases I can go about 5% faster at the same heart rate.

The lower my heart rate at any given speed, the longer I will be able to maintain that speed for.  And 26.2 miles is a very long way!!  There is a lot of training still to do, but all evidence of progress is welcome. Here's another piece - this morning's run was 4.3 miles, and that doesn't seem a long way to me any more.

The fundraising has also got off to a flying start, with close to £300 raised already.  With 27 weeks to go to the marathon, things are looking good.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.