running

Tortoise or The Hare

simon running , , Comment

The return to double-digit miles has gone far smoother than anticipated.  After an assessment of the miles I needed to cover before June I decided to slightly adjust my training.  Instead of simply running the miles I decided to do a run walk split.  This involves running for 25 minutes and walking for 5, I feared this might impact my average pace; surprisingly it didn’t.  It had the opposite effect it made me faster.

Running for smaller segments allowed me to increase my pace slightly and eek out the miles over 1-2 minute per mile faster, meaning the walking didn’t have such a detrimental impact on my pace.  My heart rate also stayed incredibly low throughout the entire run and muscle ache was kept to a minimum.  The new run walk training is definitely here to stay for the weekend runs.

I have also begun to experiment with nutrition, during the run I have started to use gels.  I had been determined to stick to easily obtainable foods, but the gels have snook in.  I will be mixing it up with normal food and gels but for now I am enjoying experimenting with the different flavours.

Keep on running

simon running , 2 Comments

There is nothing like baptism by fire.

I decided to finally bite the bullet and enter my first 100-mile race, in fact the first race I have ever entered.  I am sure some people may say for a first race it is a little adventurous: but I am certainly adventurous.

I am currently recovering from my knee injury but I am confident I can catch up on the training.  I have adjusted my goal and have decided to walk for larger sections of the race in order to complete the race.  The goal of a sub 24-hour race may no longer be possible but I will finish.

So I am asking for a little help from anyone who can run/cycle even a few miles to act as a guide.  I do not need hand holding just a little assistance to make sure I don’t run into cars or posts.  So it is a simple task really, if you cycle; as long as you take point or ride alongside I will be fine, the same goes for running.  If you prefer to run anything around an 11min a mile pace will be enough.

What I really need is someone who is able to run a 15 mile segment through the night, this will be the toughest stint, BUT even if you cant run now, training to run a 15 mile distance by June the 24th will be a breeze.  So if you want to help me achieve the challenge of a lifetime and be part of something special get in touch!

Plan B

simon Uncategorized , , Comment

It is always a good idea to have a plan B.  The past few months seem to have taken the opportunity to drive this point home.

My initial plan to run the Cotswolds 100 has been put into jeopardy due to a knee injury.  I injured my knee in November and thanks to my stubbornness I ignored my own body and continued to push hard.  I am now nearly 2 months behind in my training.  I now however have moved onto plan B, rather than not run at all I plan to utilise a larger run walk split.  I will now walk the majority of the night section to reduce the running miles to the 70 mark, this should allow me to rapidly catch up on the training and still achieve the goal of a sub 24 hour 100 miler.

My other plan B is going to have a large impact on my entire family and me.  I had planned to attend a local university to obtain my BSc in psychology.  Unfortunately I received an unsuccessful through the UCAS system so will not be attending.  This is forcing two other possible options, one will involve a total relocation the other a sizable commute.  With mobility an issue the thought of the commute is causing great anxiety but will be something easily conquered after a few practice runs.  Moving will prove the most problematic, with finances strained we cannot live in a comparative area to what we do now.  We will be forced to live in a smaller house and live in (I will put this a nice way) a less affluent area.  This move also imposes another issue for me, no more running.  I will lose my beloved paved paradise and due to size restrictions in the housing will not have room for a treadmill.  This doesn’t leave me with many options at this point, persuade the wife to put a treadmill in the living room (unlikely) or utilise a nearby gym.  The lack of freedom from running will be a hard blow but I need to remember the rewards of the BSc and a new career path far outway the negatives.

In the end I WILL HAVE to find a way to run, just not sure what plan B is quite yet……

 

Off the beaten track

simon running , 1 Comment

As regular readers may know I run a set route all the time. Not being able to see and new running routes do not mix.

Around 10 days ago I was doing my usual route listening to my audio GPS and I heard a voice “HELLO!!!!”. I jumped in the air turned round and heard an old man making conversation. It was a fellow runner. Now this is the first time a runner has actually took the time to chat to me so I decided to be enthusiastic and engage.

At this point I had another mile before I had to turn round and run back on my set route, so figured we had plenty of time to talk. As we chatted we both talked about our running goals, I the 100 miler, the old man just for fun. He had a long running career though, over 20 years of racing marathon and ultra distance.

We got on to chatting about our families and what we were up to this weekend. As we continued to run along the old man stopped suddenly a few times so I bumped into him. After about the third time I mentioned I was registered blind and had to follow the white line. He seemed shocked that despite my vision I was out pounding the pavements.

We had chatted for so long we were now off route. The old man decided to cut through the woods so I was left off route with the daunting task of finding my way back. I hugged the curb and decided to turn round. When the route became slightly difficult I decided to walk and try to get back on route as quickly as possible. After around ten minutes I was back on familiar ground and continued my run.

I will definitely be sticking to the route for future runs as the fatigue creeps up way to fast off route. I put this down to an increase demand on the thought process, no longer am I drifting away peacefully; I am panicking about getting back on route and spiking my heart rate.

I really enjoyed chatting to the old man, but paid the price in fatigue and had to drop a mile off my run.

Off the beaten track

simon running , Comment

As regular readers may know I run a set route all the time. Not being able to see and new running routes do not mix.

Around 10 days ago I was doing my usual route listening to my audio GPS and I heard a voice “HELLO!!!!”. I jumped in the air turned round and heard an old man making conversation. It was a fellow runner. Now this is the first time a runner has actually took the time to chat to me so I decided to be enthusiastic and engage.

At this point I had another mile before I had to turn round and run back on my set route, so figured we had plenty of time to talk. As we chatted we both talked about our running goals, I the 100 miler, the old man just for fun. He had a long running career though, over 20 years of racing marathon and ultra distance.

We got on to chatting about our families and what we were up to this weekend. As we continued to run along the old man stopped suddenly a few times so I bumped into him. After about the third time I mentioned I was registered blind and had to follow the white line. He seemed shocked that despite my vision I was out pounding the pavements.

We had chatted for so long we were now off route. The old man decided to cut through the woods so I was left off route with the daunting task of finding my way back. I hugged the curb and decided to turn round. When the route became slightly difficult I decided to walk and try to get back on route as quickly as possible. After around ten minutes I was back on familiar ground and continued my run.

I will definitely be sticking to the route for future runs as the fatigue creeps up way to fast off route. I put this down to an increase demand on the thought process, no longer am I drifting away peacefully; I am panicking about getting back on route and spiking my heart rate.

I really enjoyed chatting to the old man, but paid the price in fatigue and had to drop a mile off my run.

Running to a Stop

simon college, running , , Comment

For the first time in a number of months I haven’t run. So get ready for the excuses.

My college work has gradually been piling up and thanks to a few time management issues; which aren’t my entire fault! I now have 5 assignments and one week to complete them. Obviously this time restraint makes it even more difficult when reading is a real strain, the level of mental concentration needed for me to read cannot be maintained over long periods of time.

The work will get done, one way or another.

The next excuse? Slightly sore knees. As the weekend miles have increased I have been suffering from a little pain in my knees. I am confident this is just a strength issue and with the help of some glucosamine, plies and a little ibuprofen I will be back running in no time.

Determined to put both these things behind me I headed out for a swift 3 miles yesterday. Half a mile in I convinced myself the knee pain was not worth it. The real problem was simply my head was not in the game. I was worrying to much about whether I should include diagram a or diagram b in my kidney assignment.

I have managed to eek out a little work today, so hopefully tomorrow I will rack up a quick 4 miler. Along with 2 assignments, the weekly food shop and oh yeah looking after a baby.

Challenges

simon college, running , , Comment

The past few weeks have presented numerous challenges. The combination of parenthood, college and running has made excellent time management essential.

Grayson is growing at a furious rate and is changing by the day. Sian is having great fun dressing him in cute little outfits and subjecting him to photo shoots. I am sure they are all available over at her site.

College has been draining these past few weeks, with numerous assignments and the dreaded personal statement to complete. The assignments have been flowing out without a hitch; the personal statement however is a different story. Attempting to mention being blind and making it sound anything but negative is a real challenge. I have gone through many iterations and I am yet to arrive at something that strikes a careful balance.

Running however is a true escapism right now. The miles are steadily building with me racking up a few half marathons in the past couple of weeks. Within a month I will hopefully be running marathon distance on the weekends.

With these recent challenges beginning to become manageable I hope to be updating the blog on a regular basis. I promised myself when I started blogging a few months ago I would make sure it was a regular occurrence; so I am determined to get back into the swing of things.

A Memorable Week

simon Uncategorized , , , 3 Comments

The past week certainly lived upto expectations with the arrival of our baby son.

On the 9th of September around 8pm we headed to our local hospital for a quick checkup. We assumed we would be heading back home shortly after, turned out we were wrong.

Sian was actually in labour so we were checked in and prepared for a long wait. Wrong again! the labour turned out to be incredibly quick and a short time later in the early hours of the 10th of September Grayson Paul Wheatcroft was born.

Sian did fantastic through labour achieving a natural birth. With the new family tired we stayed the night on another ward and headed home the next day.

Since Grayson arrived home time has flown by, its still hard to believe we have a little baby.

So as well as many posts about running I am sure I will slip a few in about being a father too.

grayson.tiff

Triple Header

simon college, running , , Comment

Undoubtably the next week is going to be monumental. My wife is now beyond her due date so the arrival of our son is highly likely. We are both becoming anxious now and just want him to be here already!

Tomorrow is also my first day of college. The long road to my degree begins. I am a little nervous about mobility issues but not so much the lessons. I am frantically converting books to ePub as I write this in preparation for the morning. I just hope it all works! I will detail my first day in a blog post tomorrow.

This week will also be my first double digit long run. Saturday holds the possibility of a 10 mile run. This may be jeopardised by labour or a little baby. Hopefully I will find a sneaky couple of hours to complete the run!

Looking forward to a truly life changing week.

Waiting on eBay

simon running , 2 Comments

On my last run I managed to tweak my left knee. I assign blame squarely on the cyclists I was forced to dodge. Pesky cyclists!

I decided to rest my knee for a full day and hope for the best. With the pain still present when walking, I thought back to my ankle. Rather than hoping for the best I decided to get on eBay and order a Vulkan knee support. The previous Vulkan ankle support was fantastic in aiding in my recovery, so I have high hopes for the knee support.

With the order placed I became even more recovery conscious and cracked out the ice pack. Laid back in my leather armchair I ate a sneaky Snickers ice cream as the ice pack worked its magic. At the end of the ice cream I noticed the ice pack no longer seemed cold on my leg.

I removed the ice pack and felt some kind of sticker on the back of my knee. I tried multiple times to peel it off. Then I realised, it wasn’t a sticker at all, I had frozen my skin. I panicked and rushed upstairs to show Sian, thankfully no permanent damage. But a great reminded not to leave the ice pack on to long.

I am hoping the knee support arrived in time for sundays run. Otherwise I wont be running till next week.