Is the runner finally coming out??

Well it's been a while since i last wrote on here. Training hasn't gone great but i have done 3 races. The minchinhampton 10k wasn't a big success but it was very hilly!! More recently i have completed in 2 events of the runners world trailblazer series, 1 in clumber park, notts and the second in the forest of dean. I have managed to get my 10k time down to 1h 01m 32s and I'm doing the 2 castles run 10k next week at which i am aiming to break the 1 hour barrier!!

Races 2013

Silverstone half marathon  -  2:19:36
Minchinhampton 10k  -  1:04:
RW Trailblazer Clumber Park  -  1:04:31
RW Trailblazer forest of dean  -  1:01:32
Two Castles 10k - 
Northbrook AC 10k  -  
Cheltenham half marathon  -  
Swindon half marathon  -  
Great south run  -  

One week on!!!!!

Well it's been 10 days since i popped my half marathon cherry! I completed the course on and around the silverstone track in 2h 19m 36s which i am happy with for my first attempt. I did try for 2h 14m but was unable to keep with the pace maker further than 4 1/2 miles without fear of finishing (No 1 aim). The good news is that i got to the 10 mile mark 5 mins faster than i've every done the Great South Run so that bodes well for october.

I have a 10k race this sunday in minchinhampton so that should be good. That is the last race untill mid may, unless i can find an event i fancy. I have also entered the two castles 10k run in june, i've done this before and should be a good event for bringing my time down for 10k distance.

You'd think that after 1 half marathon that would be it and i would concentrate on the shorter 10k events but it seems cheltenham is thinking of doing a half marathon and i have added my name to those interested!!!

watch this space!!

New aim!!!!

Well it's now just 8 days till silverstone and preparations have not gone well. I had to have 2 weeks off with sinus problems and a cold. I did manage to get 3.2 miles done on sat and 4.5 on sunday and 3 miles on the treadmill at work on tuesday. It's not been the best preparation but I've got 1 longish run to do tomorrow then just some spin biking during the week to keep my legs free.

I have decided on my new charity for this years Great South Run, Ataxia UK. I have chosen this charity in memory of my auntie Jill who sadly passed away last year. I can personal say i had never heard of this condition until a few years ago and will be doing my homework aswel as promoting and fund raising.

The next time i post i will no longer be a half marathon virgin and will probably be very tired!!!

How long????

Well i can't believe how long it's been since i last wrote on here! Training has not been going well and i had a lack of motivation issue last week. I did manage to do 9.6 miles on sunday which was very hard work for a couple of reasons, 1 - i hadn't done anything for 8 days and that was only 6 miles and 2 - it was very windy out which made my already plodding motion even harder.

With 5 weeks left until the silverstone half i need to try and keep it up not only with the long runs but the short ones during the week. I may even take my light in and go out on the roads in the evenings rather than stuck in the very warm gym.

I'm looking to do more races this year to help keep the motivation up and have 9 in mind to do between now and june (3 already booked) so watch this space!

wardie

All gone pete tong!!!!

Well we are now 8 days away from the main event, after my 8 mile run 2 weeks ago i managed a couple of nights in the gym on the spin bikes to loosen my legs up. I sadly didn't get out last weekend due to being busy.

Then it all went pete tong on monday!!! i managed to turn my ankle over whilst on the golf course, it swelled up almost instantly and was very painful. I struggled on the rest of the round as i have done this ankle twice before playing football. 48hrs on and my ankle looked like this


The swelling has gone down to almost normal size now and the bruising is starting to fade, the problem is the tenderness on the bone on the inside of my ankle. I think i may go have a scan after the run!!

Another week of training has passed. Working nights is not the best training environment really and having to watch a fair amount of monies worth of machinery means i can't just disappear for a run.

! did however manage a 10 min quick paced run at the end of weds shift and a 3.2 mile run on Thurs night. I allocated Sundays as my long run day as this would be the easiest time to do such a run. The Sunday just passed was a surprise to myself as i managed to do a total of 8.26 miles at a pace that would still get me in at under 2 hours for the great south run.

I have 2 weeks in which to keep the high training routine before i taper down in the week leading to the race. I have also been looking at events to help keep up the training motivation and have found a 10k race in cheltenham on 25th Nov and a 12 mile off road race in dursley for feb, which looks a killer so watch this space!!!

Well after a slow start training is finally starting to get a shift on. I managed a 21.5 km session on the livestrong bikes in the gym (not an easy thing at the best of times!) on Fri morning and 12 hours later i ran 5.8 miles from cheltenham home. It took longer than i had hoped but it's more miles under the belt.
I went and did 4.36 miles today, legs are feeling quite stiff now and shoulders ache quite a bit but it's another step towards my goal. I had a free sample of some energy drink supplement lying around so tried that, surprisingly good taste and as my other stuff has been thrown out for being out of date i see a purchase coming on and a shift from SIS to Nectar fuel.

Never too late!! or is it?

Under 6 weeks to go and it's time to make a huge effort. Been very slack with training and i think it will hurt but i will finish. I managed 3.2 miles on sat in 33 mins and did 3.2 miles on the treadmill in 35 mins last night.

Seeing my fat ugly mug bouncing in front of me is proving to be quite the inspiration, I've hit my heaviest weight ever and not happy about it!! M long term goal is to lose 15kg but short term is to lose 5kg, gonna be tough and need to look into my eating habits and be tough on myself.

I WILL SUCCEED!!

I have just entered 2013 silverstone half marathon as well!!

Well 11 weeks to go and trainings not going well. I did manage to get 14 miles cycling done last week followed by a 2 mile run but it's just not happened since. A little is lack of motivation but the weather is so hit and miss that its finding the time without making myself ill. I have also had the distraction of a small thing called our wedding, its now 3 1/2 weeks away so is quite close.

I do have my running shirt sorted thanks to the kind people at squatorange in cheltenham.

http://www.squatorange.com/

Thanks for reading x

Bupa Great South Run 2012

I have decided to do The Bupa Great South Run on behalf of Lisa's Stars for 2012. Lisa's Stars are a non profit organisation who supply knitted goods and moses baskets for hospitals througout the United Kingdom. These are used for babies born as sleeping angels between 16 and 24 weeks. All the work on knitted items is done by volunteers who give up there time for this cause. Funds for moses baskets and other items are raised from donations and auctioning of knitted and donated goods. My partner Debbie Russell is an admin for this cause and does alot of knitting aswell as sorting out reps. More info about Lisa's Stars can be found on there facebook page http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Lisas-Stars/159738440713941.
I am looking to get a team of people, runners and non runners, to run this 10 mile event with me. If you would like join me to raise awareness and funds for this good cause then please contact me @ retrowardie@hotmail.co.uk

darren