Bright & breezy

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.”

Dr. Seuss

This week’s activities
Monday: 9.5 mi bike ride
Tuesday: 7.3 mi run
Wednesday: 2 mi canoeing
Thursday: 3.85 mi run
Saturday: 12.6 mi run


If I could use one word to describe my current disposition, it would have to be: zealous. Zealously zipping up hills and down valleys, zealously logging each run on my shiny new phone. Zealously (& geekily) re-reading routes on Runkeeper and being buoyed by what I’ve done.

As my parents are avid ramblers, I’ve been on many a lengthy hike. This early period of training reminds me of the first stage of a long mountain walk – the pleasant, easy parts. The sun’s shining away, it’s soft underfoot and that imposing summit is but a distant destination. My world is brimming with optimism.

I’ve added some pictures of the longer run I did this weekend, which took me and 2 good friends (Ben & Barn) through Knotty Green, Beaconsfield and some lush woodland in the fantastically named ‘Great Beard’s Wood’. It's the sort of deep, canopied woodland you'd expect an ancient race of tree people to be stalking, furtively gathering nuts and sticks with which to whittle giant, primitive weapons, to be thrown at the heads of unsuspecting runners. In their language, we are called 'Uungh-Hak' (Travel Man). Uungh-Hak bad.

This was the first time of running this route, and I can see it becoming a regular favourite – we wove our way through plenty of hills and clocked up a decent distance of about 12 miles + 1200ft of climb. The photos don’t do it justice – the section through Great Beard’s wood is especially scenic.

Inspiration is easy to come by at the moment. In just a few days, possibly weeks, I’ll be holding my baby and beaming at every wonderful inch of him. I want to be in the best physical and mental state, so I can cope with all the challenges life will throw at me. As I see it: the fitter I am, the better chance I have of keeping my eyes open and experiencing every moment.

His imminent birth also means that I am on a mandatory alcohol-free diet, as I'm now a driver on call. I have discovered the wonders of Becks Blue (non-alcoholic beer) and can’t recommend it highly enough to anyone who needs an affordable alternative to methadone. I’ve now sat through several football and cricket matches with Becks Blue as my trusty partner, quenching that habitual thirst.

I’m already feeling the benefits of non-alcoholic life - it’s much easier to concentrate, I feel more sprightly and I’m convinced that training is easier. I’m into my third month of training now, and the miles I’ve logged are starting to pay off. 
Runs have become enjoyable, not painful. Hills, which were once arduous trials to be cautiously approached are now appealing diversions for me to bound over. I’m finding a natural cadence which carries me up, over and round my routes.

The one daunting aspect is my fundraising target - £1500 for the St. John Ambulance. I’m planning on getting in touch with them soon, to find out more about my local organization and to get some fundraising tips. This week I’ve made my first dent in the £1500 target. I baked and sold some butter-laden brownies to my work colleagues. I’ve had a couple of weeks of doing this now and have raised about £20 so far. Not much, but if I can keep doing it regularly, it will help bring that total down, bit by delicious chocolatey bit.

So, zealously on I go; merrily bouncing along, discovering new routes, finding form, and scaling the nursery slopes in this mammoth challenge. The reality of that marathon distance is looming in the background, reminding me to take it seriously. If I can maintain this sort of routine, I should have a good chance at reaching the finish line.
For the time being, there's fun to be had, sunshine to bask in, and lethal-log-launching tree elves to flee.

Long is the way, and hard

The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. It has camaraderie. It has heroism. Every jogger can't dream of being an Olympic champion, but he can dream of finishing a marathon.

Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

Over the next 8-and-a-bit months I'm facing England's winter weather, grizzly evening runs, probable injury and a test of character to get myself into shape for the Virgin London Marathon 2011. I'm expecting a tough time all the way, but I'm thrilled at the thought of participating. To run a marathon is something I have dreamed about; I'm absolutely intimidated by the challenge, but can't wait to go for it. 

I'm doing this in aid of St. John's Ambulance, a very valuable organisation who I'm delighted to be raising money for.  You can donate on my JustGiving page - no donation is too small.

A little research has taught me that a marathon training regime should feature:

• 1 long run per week, where you get in as many miles as you can and as much running time as possible. This is the run to be most committed to, as time on your feet is crucial for marathon training (especially for a marathon first-timer like me).
• A regular mix of varied running training and cross training (e.g. biking, to help prevent injury) through the rest of the week.
• Carbohydrates, carbohydrates, carbohydrates.
• Not very much chocolate or beer.

My aim is to run at least 4 times per week, and to cross train at least once. I'm very aware that even finding the time to train will be a challenge. My target time is sub-3:30, but it seems a tricky thing to predict. First and foremost: finish.

I also have the small matter of our first child being due on 2nd September. In between the nappy changes, sleepless nights, piles of unwashed muslin and treasured moments, I somehow need to find the time to get out there and train. Nothing will be more important to me than looking after our son and my wife, but I'm hoping that running will be a good way to stay healthy and stress-free (ish). 

I've deliberately started my training very early (most marathon training plans start about 3-4 months before the race date) in the hope that I'll keep some sort of fitness level through those tricky early months, and keep my training on track. 

At the moment I'm running about 11-13 miles for my long run, exploring the very pretty countryside around where I live and work (the Chilterns). My other runs are between 4-10 miles, squeezed into lunch breaks or straight after work, while we still have light. I take my phone out with me for some much needed music, and to map my routes and times. 

I really, really prefer running on paths compared to roads. Getting out there has been great fun: within 5-10 minutes the roads are long gone and it's just you, the countryside and your inappropriately short running shorts.

You can view my training runs and x-training at runkeeper. I've seen a few benefits from the training already - there are a couple of pairs of old jeans which I can just about squeeze back into and I don't feel the need to suck in the old spare tyre quite as often.

I'd like to keep a photo diary of some of my runs, as I think we have some very special English countryside around these parts, and I'm hoping to capture it through the seasons. Whenever I read the description of Hobbiton I always think of home - rolling green hills, pretty farmland and small people with hairy feet smoking pipes.

I'm at the foot of a very large, very steep mountain. Somewhere in the distance I can just about make out the top, but there's a long and tough road to run.  

Still, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, and elephants are a great source of carbohydrates, so I'd best get going.