110 days to go...

Tis the day after Boxing day - Merry Christmas to y'all, hope you had a great couple of days of over-indulgence, I certainly did.  Lots of great presents, great company and great food.  My problem is the abundance of food and my passion for eating as much as humanly possible, two days on the trot!  So fast forward to today and my determination on going for a run to reduce the growth and swelling that I affectionately call my belly (soon to be referred to as waist, then stomach then washboard).

So the run... Decided on a longer run in a different direction.  The knee started aching after 2 miles but I began to notice that by running on the left pavement the cambre of the road actually took the pressure off the knee and so I was able to carry on running.  And carry on is what I did for my longest run so far.  Just forgot to note the time when I left but Gem said it was "ages".

The weather: Cold, dry and calm
The route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4204990
Distance: 6.371 miles
Time: not recorded
To sponsor: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StuartSpicer

113 days to go...

Now I'm not saying that I'm worried but my knee still ain't right and it's beginning to piss me off.  You would have thought that it would be my discipline letting me down, especially at Christmas time and with the dark, snowy and cold conditions.  But no, it's my right knee.  I went for my "longer" run to the gym again yesterday morning - down to the gym everything seemed reasonably fine, lots of stretching the warm muscles and tendons as prescribed but then within half a mile home I was again in pain.

That aside it's Christmas eve today.  That'll mean no running for the next few days so hopefully by 27th I'll feel better and be able to run.  I'm just desperate to be able to start running properly and begin to push myself but at the moment it's the last thing I can do.

The weather:  Very cold, dry and calm
The route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4177818
Distance: 3.2285 miles
Time: not recorded

117 days to go...

Disaster!!  Ok, so on my last blog I wrote how I was suffering with my knee... little did I know but the "jip" turned out to be a suspected problem with my IT band (iliotibial tract band).  Apparently it's something that 70% of runners suffer with, especially novices like me!  It called for immediate cessation of all training for a couple of weeks, lots of stretching and then last Friday I had physio.  Ouch... I wouldn't recommend having your IT band stretched - it hurts... lots.  As it turned out, Bruce (my physio) said that my IT band seemed fine and that the problem was my lower back and the little pull I'd experienced just when I started my marathon training.  Phew!

So today was my first day back running again.  I had decided not to run over the weekend, primarily due to the fact that we had our works Christmas do on Friday night (4am finish) and then another night out on Saturday (another 4am finish) with copious amounts of alcohol consumed along the way.  So today's short run was the first for a while - fingers crossed my body can hold up.

It's the week leading up to Christmas and right on cue the snow is falling.  As much as I like running in the cold, wet, snowy and dark I'm actually looking forward to reading back on these posts when the Spring arrives.  117 days to go, blimey!!

Weather:  Dark, very cold, snowing but calm
Route:  http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4169627
Distance:  1.8079miles
Time:  not recorded

133 days to go...

After all the ice and snow for the last couple of days I was fully expecting to have to walk down the gym and then spend a boring hour on the treadmill with nothing but my own reflection to keep me company.  Alas not!!  The snow had all but gone and the paths were relatively clear (albeit bar some dodgy ice patches!).  So I donned my gear and headed off out with a preconceived idea of running a bit further (as I'd missed yesterdays run down the gym after 7 inches of snow).  So today I made it to Alinora Avenue in Goring before cutting down to the seafront and heading on home.  The weather was just about perfect and the crashing waves did help take my mind off my aching knee.  And that's what seems to be the problem at the moment - my right knee.  I even had to stop twice to stretch it but that only gave a momentary rest-bite.  Even now it is still aching - I think some advice is in order...

The weather:  Ground was wet from thawed snow, slightly icy, calm

The route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4183008

Distance: 5.8769 miles

Time: 1hr, 1min, 11 sec

136 days to go...

So Gem's snow dance worked then... I woke up to a blanket of snow and decided on my dog walking duties that it was still possible to go for a run.  My thinking is that when it has just snowed there is no ice, so no slippery pavements and my theory turned out to be true.  The run felt good today, the knee-jip is a bit better for the stretching (thanks Philip!) and I felt quite strong.  I especially liked the feeling when I hit the seafront and realised how far I'd run without really thinking about it.  Am I turning into the running man?!!

The weather:  Had snowed and was snowing, a bit windy on the seafront
The route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4177818

Distance: 3.2285 miles

Time: not recorded