Cold Progress

I would assume most of you are aware of the current snow and sub-zero climate making its home in the UK at the moment. Snow and sub-zero temperatures are two things I did not put on my running wish list when I applied for the (London) marathon! And unfortunately good cold weather running gear is not something which companies are handing out for free, however I got paid on Friday by the clothes shop I work in so decided to invest this in some protection from the cold. I opted for a long sleeve running top, and having never bought a brand new running top before I wasn't entirely sure what I should go for. I knew Asics were a good company who know a thing or two about running, so I chose there top without trying it on as I had a 15 minute break from work to go purchase it. I tried it out for the first time properly this morning (after having used it as an extra layer to keep me warm at church last night) and it was so very good, I can't recommend it enough, it kept my arms and chest relatively cold free (at -3°C its hard to be genuinely warm) and definitely made the whole 8am run experience in the snow more pleasant. Heres a picture of the top:

So yer, for those who are interested, thats a pretty good LS running top in my opinion, and not too dear at £19.99.

The last couple of runs have felt really quite good on my legs as well, the first few weeks I would run in the morning and for the rest of the day be complaining about how my legs hurt. Thats not been the case this week, as I now have a stretching routine before and after exercise which has helped immensely. Not just in recovery but also my calves feel much more comfortable whilst out running, and I think this, along with the few weeks training have contributed to me running the furthest I ever have in one bout last Friday and this morning cutting 2 mins 30 secs off the same run from last week as well as my fastest 1km in training so far.So a good week on the training front. 

On the fund raising front I hope to send out letters to various friends and family this week, and I have set up a facebook group this week: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_173588062660809&ap=1 so feel free to join. Please do dig deep and sponsor me, I've tried to make it nice and easy using the link below:

SPONSOR ME HERE

Thanks for reading!

Please no Snow!

Half way through my 3rd week of training now, last week I only managed 3 runs due to having a job interview on the Friday but I still managed to run over 21km which I was happy with. Tomorrow I am hoping to run 13km which will be my longest ever run and would be a good step forward, my challenge is to run for 10 minutes longer each Thursday, so I started at 50 minutes, and will be running for 1hr 10mins. Not very much at the moment by most recreational runners standards but come January/February time I will hopefully be running 2-3hrs once a week on top of my other 3 training sessions, which is both exciting and scary!

The weather is forecast to snow in the North and some Eastern parts of the country this week, and as I'm yet to get my running tights or training top I am really hoping it doesn't!  Heres some stats for my total training so far:

I have burnt off more calories than there are in 9 Big Macs.
I have run for longer (time wise) than if you watched all 3 of the Bourne trilogy back to back.
I have run the distance from Loughborough to Coventry.

Not bad for 9 sessions I don't think. Please don't forget to sponsor me, it would be great if you could all dig deep and contribute what you can for HOPEHIV. They are a fantastic charity, please follow the link from the text at the top of the page!

Against the Elements

Week one of my training plan has been completed, and I don't think I've ever appreciated a Sunday as a day of rest quite as much as today! I went out running 4 mornings of the week, and have covered 27km which I am pleased with. I've never done any kind of regular endurance training before and this is easily the furthest I have ever ran in a week. Although this would be fairly standard for most recreational runners. I also played football yesterday, we lost 1-0 in what was a very close game. I was expecting to be walking round for most of the match unable to run, however I managed to keep a good pace going for the entire match which is something positive to take away from it, and hopefully my running will lead to improvements on the football pitch as well. Fingers crossed.

The morning runs have been cold, which I expected, but also very windy, which I hadn't! Tuesday morning being the worst, the first half of my run was almost all in to a head wind making it rather difficult. I should be receiving a bit of money this week after my Vauxhall Corsa was scrapped, so I am hoping to get some new kit (windproof jacket, running lycra tights and gloves) to battle the elements in the coming weeks.

I've also managed to come up with a breakfast plan before and after a run. I usually head to breakfast at 7.45 to eat a banana and a small bowl of yogurt, giving me a good balance of carbohydrates and water just before exercise, and prepare a bacon and egg sandwich to eat straight after I finish my run, to deliver protein and carbohydrates post-exercise. And all free as I am in catered halls. Just need to make sure I remember to throw away any uneaten food or it makes my room smell.

One thing I have learned from my first weeks training. Train hard, Rest easy. Making the most of R&R is very important to good quality training and performance. As promised, here is my fundraising page set up through Virgin Money Giving, so if you would like to sponsor me it would be greatly appreciated!

A good week, thanks for reading.

Running to a New Routine

Well today was my first day of training, and I opened my curtains wide hoping for the rays of morning sunlight to burst through my window. Unfortunately, this was not to be as rain beat down on the grass outside and grey clouds filled the sky. So off to the gym it was and the treadmill was the order of the day. Felt like it went ok and I kept a good pace, and was interesting looking at the adidas micoach afterwards to see my heart rate during my exercise, and which of their neatly colour designated training zones I was in at different times.

This afternoon I went round a friends house briefly, before going in to town to buy some new running shoes, which I've never had before so it was great having my gait cycle (stride) videoed and looked at to see where I needed support from my shoes due to foot shape and running technique. I bought some New Balance running trainers (see picture) in the end, with £20 off the RRP so I was pleased to have saved some money there, also bought some running socks and a drinks bottle for running I got for free!

The week ahead, I've got 3 more runs, football training and a game on Saturday, and 2 gym sessions, so I'm keeping busy. With regard to sponsorship for my Marathon I will be setting up a page through which you can donate if you so wish in the next week. Thanks for looking.

Anything worth doing, is worth doing well.

Today I've been thinking about this simple phrase and wondering what it means for the next 5 and a half months. Yesterday I received the fantastic news, that HOPEHIV had accepted my application to run the 2011 London Marathon and to raise funds for them. So theres obviously a lot of excitement on my behalf, yet also I'm quite aware of the dedication and commitment this challenge is going to be. I want to not simply finish the marathon, but enjoy it and run well.

I've set my training start date to Monday, between now and then I need to sort out my training plan, have an idea of the time I am looking to run the race in, sort kit and gear out, and think about the long road to raising sponsorship money. Quite a challenge, but I have been giving the opportunity to push my body's limits and raise money for a great charity, so this is definitely a challenge worth doing!

HOPEHIV 10 Year Anniversary

HOPEHIV is about the generation of hope. They support children and young people in sub-Saharan Africa orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS. They have the potential to make Africa's future one of hope, rather than despair. Today, HOPEHIV is helping some 50,000 vulnerable children and young people through some 40 partner organizations in 400 communities in sub-Saharan Africa.
HOPEHIV turned 10 in 2010, and this is a nice short video to give you an introduction to the charity, a bit of history, and the work which it is involved with.