Day 14 Enjoying running after a long weekend

Today's run - gentle pacing run - Pavement - 5.32K - 26.59
Yesterday's run - fartlek - Pavement - 8.22K - 43.33
Friday's run - Track session at Asics Target 26.2 - Around 7K covered

After a busy weekend it's time to catch up on my runstreak runs. Since my last update on Thursday Day 11 I was at the Asics boot camp on Friday and then had a particularly stressful day yesterday and today to be fair and although I had time to run but not to write it up.

For a summary of my experiences at the Asics boot camp you can read my experience here.

Yesterday I was looking forward to a chilled out Saturday, writing up my boot camp experiences, heading for a run and watching the rugby. It didn't quite turn out that way as when we returned home after a trip out in the morning we found our kitchen flooded!

The rest of the afternoon was then pretty much spent clearing it up then trying to identify and rectify the problem before trying to arrange for a plumber to come out through discussions with our landlord. The problem was eventually pinpointed to a blocked drain just outside the flat and when it was all over I was glad to get out for a run to relax and escape the stresses of the day.



I completed a 8K fartlek run and enjoyed throwing in some good sprint speed work, I am conscious of continuing to work on my speed and get faster ahead of any races next year.

In the evening I was so grateful to relax with some great home cooked food courtesy of my wife.




Today was also a stressful day as I had my parents visiting which is always a draining experience!

I was so looking forward to heading out for my evening run but didn't enjoy it as much as I could of as I struggled after a big Sunday lunch.

One of the main highlights of running at this time of year is seeing the Christmas decorations out and about. Here is the highlight from today's run:

Now I have had a bit of time to reflect on my Asics boot camp experience I am to be honestly feeling pretty calm about the next stage and progressing in the competition. What will be will be!

I am still incredibly eager to be involved in the final 5 and am very interested to see how I would progress in the voting stage but at the same time reluctant to but myself through the stresses of voting.

There were so many deserving characters at the boot camp and I just don't know how the judges will be able to pick out just 4 or 5 runners per category.

Thanks for reading, thanks for the support and honestly and sincerely the best of luck to all bootcampers for the next stage! Please remember my runstreak in support of Pancreatic Cancer and raising awareness of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, if you would like to donate please visit my JustGiving page, thanks!

Asics Target 26.2 Boot camp

Time to reflect on yesterday and my attendance as one of the 50 shortlisted runners at Runners World Asics Target 26.2 Boot camp training day in Birmingham. 

Our introduction to the day informed us that we were lucky enough to be selected from a record number of over 3,500 applicants for the boot camp stage and from everyone I spoke to during the day I can certainly echo the sentiment from Asics that everyone thoroughly deserved their place and should be proud of their achievement of coming this far. 

The day itself.....

The journey 

For me it was a particularly long day as I was up and awake at 4.00 in the morning and out the door at around 5.00 to take on the early less reliant pre rush hour tube service to make it to Euston for my 6.45 train. 

The tube is a completely different proposition at that time of the morning with almost everyone in a zombie like state of sleepiness somewhat surprised that there are other individuals up and awake at this unearthly hour. 

I made it in plenty of time for my train and soon settled down in my seat to catch up on some much needed sleep as I sped my way across the Country. 

At Birmingham New Street Station it was a case of mixing with the early morning Birmingham commuters to catch my connecting train to Perry Bar station and onward to Alexander Stadium where the day was being held. It was pretty easy to spot a few other individuals in running gear heading for the same train so I introduced myself to what turned out to be previous winners Malcolm (AKA Malcs on twitter on the RW forum) and Roger Reid (AKA ChiroRoger on twitter) who both offered interesting and insightful views of their winning experiences. The group also included fellow bootcamper Rosie (AKA Londontrack on twitter) who like me was both nervous and excited about the day that lay ahead. 

Session one - Running gait analysis 

After a quick briefing by the Asics team and watching a video of last years winners experiences we split up into our time category groups for the first session. 

A selfie of the sub 4 group running style! Courtesy of  Sarah @mia79gbr

My category, the sub 4 hours group, had the gait analysis session first where we all took it in turns to have our running gaits analysed and the appropriate suggestions made on our current footwear and potential future footwear. 

The nature of the session meant that the group was able to talk amongst ourselves while one runner was being analysed and it was great to start chatting with fellow runners. We were also able to spend time discussing the incredible prize on offer with previous winners Malcolm (aka Malcs on twitter on the RW forum) Adrian (aka Ady_Livingstone) and Sarah (aka mia79gbr). It was really useful to get a better idea of how the competition progresses as well as hearing about the pressures of the dreaded public vote!

The group listen and learn from last years winner Malcolm, photo courtesy of Craig Bowdery @craigbowdery

Session two - Physio session

Session two for our group was a physio session with Sarah Connors where she talked us though common runner injuries and complaints and how we can combat these. The session especially focused on warming up the nerves in you back and the importance this plays in firing up your glutes and hamstrings to allow you to run more effectively. 

We then all took part in some stretching and core conditioning exercises with varying degrees of success and flexibility. 

After a morning that flew by in a blur it was lunch time and while the other groups hungrily tucked into a wide range of sandwiches our group more conservatively nibbled at our food as we had drawn the short straw of having our running track session straight after the lunch break. 

Session three - Run session on the track 

After trying to take on some sustenance we reluctantly headed outside into the cold West Midland air for the obligatory group photo shoot which gave us our first taste of being out on the track. 

With the formalities of the photos done and dusted the other groups departed leaving us out on the track ready to be put through our paces from the coaches. 

For many of the group it was their first experience of running on a track but I think it is safe to say it was an exciting experience for us all whatever our background. 

The track session had rightly generated a lot of discussion through the day and I think was causing a certain amount of anxiety amongst us especially as we didn't feel particularly well prepared after a hurried lunch. 

After some warming up, which was much needed as it was pretty nippy, our first task was to complete some pacing runs at both 9.30 minute miles and slightly faster at 9 minute miles to give us an idea of the pace required for our marathon times and to see if we could pace ourselves for a sustained period. 

One of the pacing runs as part of our track session, photo courtesy of  @runnersworlduk

It was a difficult task and one I think we all struggled with and relied mostly on guess work rather than an insightful pacing knowledge. 

With several laps now completed we were all raring to go into the main exercise of the 5K time trial. The task was to complete the 5K by completing different periods of sustained increased pace followed by shorter recovery periods. The pattern was to be 400m at our 5K race pace, 200m of recovery at a slightly relaxed pace and repeated 8 times with the final 200m being left for a sprint finish. 

It was a run I really enjoyed both in terms of the mental and physical challenge but also for the testing nature of it. It was pretty tough to keep pushing and raising your speed at regular intervals and it is an interval session I would like to repeat again. Everyone I spoke to form the group seemed to likewise enjoy the session. 

It was hard to judge what was being gained from the session in terms of selection criteria apart from the obvious of making sure we could all run as fast as we had stated on our application which everyone easily demonstrated. I was pleased with finishing fourth in the group despite being ran down in the last quarter but I don't believe it gives me any advantage in terms of being selected for the next stage. 

After another few laps of pacing we were all relieved to head in doors to the warmth and to replenish our energy supplies with some left over sandwiches. 

Session four - Q&A with Holly Rush

Our last session was the Q & A with sponsored Asics athlete Holly Rush which was already a money cant buy opportunity without taking into account the actual prize we were all competing for. Holly was very relaxed in front of the group and obviously is a passionate runner and she was more than happy to talk through her experiences and share with us many facets of her training, nutrition, racing strategies and offered us advice in all these areas plus injury prevention, training methods and race preparation. 

I think the group were all thankful and privileged to have the opportunity to spend time and discuss running with such a talented and passionate elite runner. 

The end of the day

Eventually the session had to come to an end and with it marked the end of the day as a whole. The Asics team gave us a quick debrief of what to expect from the next stage and the boot camp day was then at its conclusion.  

The last thing to do was to pick up our goody bags and make plans for the journey home. And what goody bags they were, here is what we had in them: 

I ended up travelling back into central Birmingham with two runners from my group Chris (aka ChrisBrammer on twitter) and Tony (aka AnthonyMcNeill).

We all had a bit of time to kill before our respective trains so we took the logical option of heading to the pub for a well deserved pint! If an elite ultra marathon like Holly Rush can enjoy a drink during training then why can't we! A nice refreshing pint in the pub was a nice end to the day before the arduous journey back home.

A well deserved pint!

My reflections

Overall it was such a positive day with so many lessons learned. The cynical amongst you might say it is all just a very clever marketing strategy to further the asics brand and you might be right but when they treat us runners so well and offer such an amazing prize I think we are all more than happy to be part of this marketing ploy.

In terms of selecting the bootcampers for the next stage and in turn the final 5 I believe asics know what they are looking for in a potential finalist and maybe I am what they are looking for and maybe I am not. I believe I have a lot to offer but at the same time I am not the big personality perhaps required for some of the demands of being in the final 5.

In many ways I am happy to have just experienced boot camp and would be happy to not progress any further but at the same time I am even hungrier for the prize having found out more about it.

The demands of the voting stage will be gruelling if I get that far and it would be awful to go through to the voting stage and then not get any further. On the other hand I am really interested and motivated by the challenge the voting stage presents!

What did I learn and take away?

• I am definitely a neutral runner
• Making new friends and meeting some social media acquaintances
• Some excellent stretching and core advice and techniques
• To be proud of my running achievements
• A drive to want to be a better stronger runner
• Some good ideas for some more speed work
• A plan to follow the sub 4 marathon training program in the spring
• A renewed determination to run a sub 4 marathon in 2015

Thank you for reading, it was great to be a part of the day and meet so many other bootcampers. I would love to hear what you thought of the day and what you got out of it. I wish all my fellow bootcampers the best of luck in getting through to the next stage and look forward to supporting whoever gets through if I'm not fortunate enough to get through. 

What Target Asics 26.2 means to me

Tomorrow I will be taking my place on a Birmingham running track alongside 49 other runners as one of the lucky 50 to be selected for the final stages of Runners Worlds Asics Target 26.2 competition.

For anyone who doesn't know what its all about it a competition to select 5 lucky runners across 5 different finishing times with a prize of a training plan, training advice and support and training kit alongside entry, travel and accommodation for the Paris 2015 marathon.

Quite an awesome prize, in previous years the competition format has included a public voting process alongside the initial boot camp stage which ha earned the competition the tag of Xfactor for runners!

What does it mean to me

When I entered I never really thought I would get selected for this stage, sure I wanted to but I never thought I actually would! 

For me the prize consists of several more than desirable elements:

• Being part of team Target 26.2
• Attending boot camp for training, advice and meeting other like minded runners
• Runners World and Asics freebies
• Free entry into the 2015 Paris Marathon including accommodation and travel

But it is the money cant buy aspect of the prize that really grabs my interest and no doubt the attention of the thousands of other runners who entered the competition.

The chance to be trained by professional running coaches and to receive advice from dedicated professionals to me that is living the dream! 

Since I got into running some ten years ago I have always vaguely dreamed of becoming an elite runner. 

I recently wrote an article for RunningJunkies about it here entitled 'Do you dream of being an elite runner?'.

The article was mainly motivated by the story of Steve Way who in the last few years has transformed himself from an obese non runner to an elite runner representing England in the marathon at the recent Commonwealth games in Glasgow.

My dream to be an elite runner has been a long standing aspiration as I figure with the correct training and support I could improve my running performance significantly enough to be able to represent my country at international level at a major competition such as the Olympics or World Championships.

It is a wild dream that at the very least would require me to win the lottery to allow me to give up my day job to allow me to commit the time and resources into this plan.

The Target 26.2 competition is however one way of achieving my elite runner aspiration on a smaller scale. 

I would love to be selected in the final 5 and to have an awesome few months training and preparing for the 2015 Paris marathon with the support and guidance of the Runners World coaches behind me. 

I realise all the other 49 runners all hold similar aspirations and I am sure we are all equally deserving of the prize and will all be giving of our all to try and win this once in a lifetime opportunity.

All I want to do is give of my bets at boot camp and the rest is up to the Runners World judges, they know who they are looking for and I think it is then a case if I fit that profile in terms of my running ability, personality and having the right 'look' they are after. What every the criteria for selection I will have to just give it a go and see what happens!

Good luck to all my fellow boot campers and I look forward to meeting you all and experiencing what I am sure will be a special day. 

Day 11 Getting the hang of these early morning runs

Todays run - Race against the clock - Pavement - 5K - 26.00

Day 11 and my third early morning run, I think I am starting to get the hang ofthis  early morning running business! 

This morning I ran the same route as I did on Tuesday morning, the route I am referring to as my 'cheat' route as it is route I usually run the other way round to incorporate the uphills but I have now started using it this way as an easy run to take advantage of the downhills!

I was really pleased with my time as I knocked off 1 minute 46 seconds off my time on Tuesday! I didn't push flat out and nor did I take it that easy on Tuesday so I am pleased that I feel good and have some spee in my legs.

This morning was so much milder than it had been on Tuesday, I had again wore shorts, my new running fleece and a wooly hat but straight from the start I was warm and soon became sweaty and uncomfortably hot. Great British weather hey?! Unpredictable and changeable!

Only one other runner spotted and passed this morning, despite a cheery greeting from myself he powered on by, head down breathing and panting hard. 

I am really enjoying my early morning runs and am planning on keeping it going right through to the warmer, brighter sunnier months, I cant wait for it to be warmer and nicer! 

This is my last run before my Target Asics 26.2 boot camp tomorrow and cant wait to run as part of the boot camp session! Thanks for reading, anyone else enjoying early morning runs in the dark and cold at the moment?

Day 10 Morning treadmill running and hitting some landmarks

Todays run - Morning (Early!) - Speed/Fartlek - Treadmill - 5K - 26mins

This morning I hit the gym for the last time in a while, due to a few personal issues as well as a decision to run more and train differently I am cancelling my gym membership and today was the last I will be using my membership.

I had planned to have an intensive week of training to really utilise my membership in the final days with plenty of weights sessions and perhaps a dip in the pool but the week hasn't quite worked out that way. 

With my main focus this week now being Friday's boot camp session in Birmingham for Runners World's Target Asics 26.2 competition  I have scaled back my training and decided to focus just on running this week. 

So my run this morning was some fartlek and speed work with the majority of the session ranging from 11.0 km per hour and 14.0 km per hour after a few minutes of gentle jogging at 10.00 km per hour.  

Overall I was quite please with how I got on and felt comfortable at the top speed of 14.0 km per hour which is usually about my top speed. I do need to be more disciplined in doing more specific interval training both outside and on the treadmill. I cant say I am a lover of treadmills but I am certainly not scared of them or against using them and in the past I have done some serious mileage on treadmills including a couple of half marathons.

Today was a significant landmark in my training for three reasons, firstly it is day 10 of my runstreak so now I am a third of the way through and also into double figures. Secondly this is the first time I have ventured into double figures for consecutive running days. Thirdly and most importantly todays run means I have now completed over 900km for 2014 and am therefore have under 100km left to go this year to hit my target of 1000km for the year! 

Tomorrow (Thursday) I plan on an early morning run to then give myself as much recovery time as possible before Fridays boot camp session. I will also be concentrating on plenty of stretching and recovery type work to get my legs in the best possible shape! 

Day 9 Another early morning start

Todays run - Morning (Early!) - See how I go - Pavement - 5K - 27mins

An early morning run again this morning and after really enjoying last weeks I was looking forward to heading out early again, but what a change from last week it was! If I thought it was cold last week this week the British weather really showed me what cold is!

An early morning run is never the right time to push yourself to run a quick time but this morning soon after I set off I decided I was going to see what speed I could muster. I felt pretty good so I aimed to finish comfortably under the 30 minute 5K time I had set on last weeks early morning run. Although a different route I felt I could easily knock a few minutes off as I was running well rather than just shuffling around.

In fairness my route this morning was more conducive to running faster as there were a few downhills. Although a new route it is a route I have ran before in the opposite direction to make the route a difficult hilly route but this time I I made it easier on myself by running in the opposite direction to make the route mostly downhill.

I saw five other runners this morning which I thought was a pretty high number for such an unearthly hour but then again my route was a more obvious course along more prominent roads rather than the back streets. The other thing that surprised me was that non of the other runners were wearing hats! And at least three were in shorts and T-shirts! They must have been freezing?! I felt warm enough thankfully in my kit of shorts, running fleece and wooly hat. My fingers did bare the brunt of the cold but as I don't like wearing gloves while running that is the price I will pay! My new fleece has a zipped collar which meant I could protect my neck from the cold which was my main discomfort on last weeks early morning run.

Thanks for reading, wrap up in the cold when you are out running, stay safe and happy running!

Day 8 A tough but exciting week ahead

Todays run- Evening - Recovery - Pavement - 5K - 29 minutes.

Today is day 8 of my runstreak and with 7 days behind me I am feeling good and enjoying my running.

This week always promised to be difficult as my schedule is busy and varied as I am on a course on Tuesday and out of the office again on Thursday. 

So it was always going to be a bit of a challenge fitting in my training and it was going to be a case of just fitting it in rather than having good quality enjoyable training.

The plans for the week were of course complicated by my news that I will be attending boot camp on Friday for Runners World Target Asics 26.2. 

This has changed my focus and made me scale back my training, with the emphasis now being on feeling in the best shape as possible for whatever Friday has in store.

As excited as I am about being involved with this amazing opportunity of being involved in the Asics 26.2 competition its a little disappointing that I haven't been able to throw myself fully into my runstreak challenge.

The runstreak was all about me pushing my limits and taking my training out of comfort zone however with boot camp looming on the horizon at the end of the week I have somewhat retreated into my comfort zone and am just ticking over by completing minimum distance of 5km most days.

I have enjoyed trying out new routes and exploring new roads and areas as my increase in running has demanded more variety in my running routes to help keep things fresh.

Today's route took me through Hornchurch Town Centre where the Christmas decorations are in full flow.

On Friday before I had received the good news about Asics 26.2 I did a bit of online shopping looking for some winter running kit. Sports Direct were doing some great bargains so I filled my boots with what the y had to offer. I figured that with my runstreak and with planning to increase my training generally I thought I needed some new kit. I have never really invested in much winter kit just thrown on any old hoody or jacket with a wooly hat and made do. But last year I invested in a few base layers and got on really well with them and felt the benefit of being warmer and more comfortable. My main purchase was a running fleece which I wore out tonight and it worked out really well, warm, light weight and comfortable.

For an order placed on Friday morning you cant complain with delivery on a Monday I was pleasantly suprised.

So how am I coping with the demands of consecutive days running? Overall pretty well my legs feel good and I still feel strong.

My only two concerns are firstly my lower back which is stiff and sore and I have been seeking some advice looking into some exercises and streches to help.

My other slight issue is a classic winter training problem of dehydration and bot drinking enough in the colder weather. Its easy to forget about drinking enough and rehydrating when it not so warm and you don't feel so sweaty so I will be focusing on staying hydrated for the remainder of my runstreak and to ensure I am in the best condition come boot camp on Friday.

Thanks for reading and thank you for all the well wishes and support on both my runstreak and on my inclusion into Asics 26.2.

Day 7 One week completed!

Today's run: Afternoon - Longer - pavement (and at times water!)- 6.32km - 32.47mins

Wow what a week, seven days of running done 43.17km distance covered and over 4 hours of running completed, quite a week!

Today's run was always planned to be an afternoon run the constant rain throughout the morning meant I kept pushing my run back hoping the rain would subside. Not that I am adverse to running in the rain its just that I would prefer to go out and enjoy my run when its not raining and as I have already ran in the rain a few times this week I was hoping bright and dry weather conditions. 

It was not to be though, it was rainy, it was wet and pretty horrible!

I headed out along the footpath through the Ingrebourne Valley country park. The river Ingrebourne was swollen and flowing high up its banks to a point I have never seen before, not only that but the path was sodden in places and got to the point where it was so flooded I had to detour. 

The detour took me through a less scenic housing estate but it did provide me a decent incline to run up for several hundred metres. 

I was so wet by the time I got home and was glad to jump into a warm shower and pop on a nice big hoody before settling down for a relaxing Sunday evening. 

After seven days it seemed like a logical time to reflect on my runstreak so far: 

The reasoning behind my challenge can be found here, the basic aim of my challenge is to try and raise awareness and funds for Pancreatic Cancer during Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. 

The week started off with a longer run of 8.52km as I started my challenge off with a bang. In all honesty I wasn't sure how I was going to fare with all the running. I didn't feel in the greatest shape, my diet has been pour and the weekend had seen me eat and drink more than my fair share of goodies and alcohol celebrating my wife's birthday. I was also concerned with my calves, which have always been my problem area where running has been concerned. They were experiencing a lot of tightness and pain in the front of my legs before running and mostly during my runs as well making runs painful and not very enjoyable.

Day 2 saw me hit the gym in the morning and then head out for a evening hill session where I covered my minimum target for the challenge of 5K. I felt OK in myself considering I had trained twice and was running on the back of a longish distance form the day before.  

Day 3 was my real challenge as I was determined to combine my usual Wednesday evening boot camp I attend with a friend with my running. This meant I had to head out for a run before work so I was out pounding the pavements before 6 am. An experience I really enjoyed and I look forward to repeating soon. Boot camp in the evening was really a struggle though as I to find any strength or energy in my legs. 

On Day 4 I gave myself practically 24 hours since my last training session on the previous evening before running. I headed out in the evening for what I presumed would be a slow and steady 'plod' around. Actually I found it to be a great run where I felt stronger and fitter than I could ever have imagined after training so hard in the previous few days, this was the run where I really started to feel the positive affects of consecutive days running. 

It was Day 5 where the week changed and took on a whole different meaning. I receive the exciting news that I had been shortlisted to the final 50 runners of all the thousands that had applied for Runnersworld magazines Asics target 26.2 challenge. If its not something you are aware of it is a competition to find 5 runners to run towards their targeted finish time in the Paris Marathon in 2015. The prize is not only VIP entry into the Paris Marathon but loads of assistance with training plans and advice from specialist coaches. What an absolute dream to be part of! The days run then felt like the most important run of my life as I felt such a sense of pride and excitement as I went out running. I felt like Mo Farah or some other successful Olympian feeling 12 feet tall bursting with pride but I know I didn't appear any different to anyone I passed despite how I felt inside. 

Yesterday and Day 6 was a classic Saturday run, heading out running before relaxing in front of an afternoons sporting entertainment on TV. This is the run I have found hardest as I struggled to get going and felt pretty tired and lacking in energy. 

Thank you for reading, any tips on how to train effectively during a runstreak would be greatly received, happy running everyone!  

Day 6 Pre Rugby Run

Today's run: Morning - Gentle/Recovery - pavement - 5.16km - 30.23mins

Today as it is a Saturday I had considered heading over to my local parkrun as I haven't done one in months, but as it has been rainy the last few days I decided to give it a miss as it will be wet and muddy. 

So instead I opted for a short little gentle run ahead of a planned longer run tomorrow. I headed out this morning so I had plenty of time to crack on with a few weekend chores before settling down for an afternoon in front of the TV watching a great sporting lineup. The line up this afternoon including Wales v New Zealand and England v Samoa in the rugby autumn Internationals and Manchester United v Arsenal in what promises to be a tasty premiership fixture.

I chose my running top this morning with the rugby in mind.

A little something to provide some extra motivation for my run!

The run itself was very straightforward a gentle little jog round trying to maintain a nice steady pace. My legs did feel somewhat stiff and struggled to get going until after a few kms but towards the end I was feeling good.

My only slight injury concern is a bit of a niggle with my back as it is feeling painful and stiff in the mornings and takes some time warming up to feel normal. I am sure its nothing major but I will keep an eye on it and make sure I stretch it and warm up properly before each run. 

Thank you for reading this short and sweet post to read further about my runstreak challenge please read here and for my latest incredibly exciting running news please read yesterdays Day 5 post. 

Day 5 A momentous day

Today's run: Evening - Hill sprints & fartlek - pavement - 5km - 26.23 minutes

Day 5 of my runstreak turned out to be a momentous day but not for my actual run.

Lets get the run out of the way first, I went out on a pretty miserable, dark, cold and rainy evening and did just 5K of a few hill sprints and some fartlek around the park.

Again I really enjoyed my running and felt really strong and fast with plenty of energy in my legs.

I really feel this runstreak is suiting me! 

The big event of the day was not the run though but a telephone call I received in the morning. The call was to inform me that I have been shortlisted in 50 runners to attend boot camp in Birmingham next week for Runners World's target Asics 26.2!

If you don't know about the challenge you can find out about it here. Basically it is a competition to find 5 runners over 5 different marathon finishing times with the prize being VIP entry into the 2015 Paris Marathon. 

I can't believe that out of the many thousands and thousands of runners that must have entered I have been lucky enough to be selected in the 50 runners for boot camp! 

It is going to be amazing! Regardless of whether I get through to the final 5 to go to Paris even the boot camp stage next week will be great, to train with some specialist running coaches and to meet with other runners.

I couldn't believe how excited I was once I received the call, I was shaky and couldn't concentrate at all, lets just say I didn't get much work done for the remainder of the day! 

I don't know as yet the full details of what to expect from boot camp next week but I have already planned my journey to Birmingham and booked my train tickets. It is going to be a long day! But worth it!

I will be leaving home at around 5am to get to the training venue for 9am and wont get home in the evening till around 9pm! 

My training plans for the week ahead have all gone out of the window now! I still plan to maintain my runstreak but will be taking it easier as my focus is now being in peak condition for whatever lies ahead at boot camp. 

Thank you for reading and thanks for all the messages of congratulations for Asics 26.2 as well. Well done to everyone lucky enough to be selected as well and I look forward to meeting you all! 

Please remember my runstreak is in support of Pancreatic Cancer raising awareness for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month, if you would like to donate please visit my JustGiving page here.

Day 4 Starting to feel the strain

Today's run: Evening - Long(er), slow(er) and steady - pavement - 8.12km - 42.33mins

First off I must say I am loving this runstreak at the moment! Although I am only just starting off I am really enjoying the continued focus of running everyday and it is having a great affect on my running and I am probably enjoying my running as much if not moret han ever!

Today's run I was expecting to be tough after yesterdays morning run and evening boot camp session but in actual fact it wasn't too bad at all. 

Although I felt a bit stiff this morning I felt I had recovered well from yesterdays exertions. The double session yesterday definitely made me feel the strain, the early morning run was a drain having to run so early in the morning and my energy for the evening boot camp session was pretty drained. 

Boot camp last night consisted of a lot of skipping, I am not a great fan nor actually a great skipper. Although it is a great cardio exercise I unfortunately do not possess the right levels of coordination for it to be a particularly effective exercise and I tend to usually both look and feel like a hyperactive spider in a constant state of half running, half falling in a perpetual cycle of almost tripping over all of his legs. 

The main circuits of last nights training was a split circuit of two sections, firstly using an exercise step, 30 seconds of tappers, bomb jumps and side lunges (all leg intensive exercises designed to build dynamic power) followed by alternate skipping sets repeated 4 times. The second circuit was then again using the exercise step this time a combination of 30 seconds of incline pressups, tricep dips and decline pressups again intersected with skipping and again repeated 4 times. 

So all in all 8 sections of skipping! I was sick of holding the damn skipping rope come the end!

My energy levels particularly in my legs were clearly diminished on my usual performance and I could feel my legs at times just not having anything left to give. I know its all good as pushing tired legs to keep going when they have had enough will only make them stronger. 

I started off aiming to progress slow and steadily but soon warmed up nicely and felt stronger as the run went on. 

My route was planned to take me around 7 or 8km and in the end I completed 8.12km with a decent pace of just over 5 minutes per km with a strong and fast finish.

As well as the obvious physical challenges running for so many consecutive days posses there are also the more practical implications such as needing a high amount of kit.

Earlier this week I was forced into doing an emergency batch of washing made up almost entirely of running socks! Almost 50 socks all washed and ready to wear most of which to be fair have seen better days!

So thats day 4 done and I am already feeling the benefits of my more intense training as I feel stronger, faster and fitter.

Day 3 Early morning run and Evening boot camp

Today's run: Moring (EARLY!!!) - Gentle/Recovery - pavement - 5km - 30.51mins

The first big challenge of my runstreak, combining Wednesday evening boot camp with a run. The only thing for it was a seriously early pre-work run.

I often run in the mornings but usually its either at the weekend so therefore I don't need to get up that early or its heading off from my gym in London so by the time I have commuted into London I have been awake an hour or two and feel pretty alive and awake.

But this morning I was up early and headed out for a run straight away.

I got up at 5.30, had some water, half a banana and some coffee got myself changed and got ready to train. From previous experience I have learnt early morning running is a little easier after a bit of a warm up so I jumped on my exercise bike for a minute or two to get the blood pumping in my legs. After a quick loosen up and stretch I headed out...

The last time I ran at this hour was in the summer of 2013 when I was training for my one and only triathlon. 

It was dark when I headed out but not that cold, I had wrapped up in abase layer and a woolly hat and didn't feel cold but could feel a slight chill on my neck and face.

My legs didn't feel too bad at all as I started off and I tried to maintain a slow, steady pace with the aim of knocking off my 5Ks in 30 minutes.

The experience of the run was refreshing as it was so quiet, still and peaceful out on the streets with hardly any traffic and only the odd hardy dog walker.

One of the aims of my runstreak was to push my self out of my comfort zone and to make me run more than I normally would and to run in different situations outside of my normal routines and this run certainly falls into this category.

It is something I should do more often though as I found the peace and quiet very relaxing and enjoyed the accompaniment of early morning bird song.

I was thankful that it wasn't raining as yesterday was a very rainy day with the rain still falling when I went to bed last night. Yesterdays rain had mixed with the abundance of fallen leaves to create some slippery patches on my route which were tricky to identify in the early morning darkness. Other than this though the run was very enjoyable and rewarding and I completed my 5K in 30.51 feeling good and invigorated.

After an early morning run a decent bit of breakfast is definitely in order!

I still managed to head out to work at a reasonable time safe in the satisfaction of having safely completed day 3 and the pride of having had an enjoyable productive early morning.

Thanks for reading, I hope this goes someway to perhaps inspire you to an early morning run? 

Day 2 - Run to the hills

Today's run: Evening - Intensity/Hills - pavement - 5km - 23.33mins

Day 2 of my runstreak consisted of an evening run after a morning weight session in the gym.

My run was a high intensity shorter run up and down some hills. The road just off where I live is a nice dipped road with a decent hill coming out of each side which although not overly steep provides a decent slope to run up at pace.

The elevation graph from my mapmyrun provides an idea of the elevation changes and it is a common place for runners to train using a variety of different routes up and down the hills.

I was aiming for a decent pace of below 5 minute/km so I was really happy to finish with a split pace of 4.41 minute/km.

Tomorrow will be the first real challenge of my runstreak as I head out for an early morning run before work and then go to boot camp in the evening. Not only will it be tough running the morning after I have ran in the evening but also training twice in a day on top of maintaining my runstreak will probably be hard!

So day 2 completed and my first run done in my new running tops courtesy of Pancreatic Cancer UK who I am raising money for while aiming to raise awareness of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. My JustGiving page is available here if you would like to donate.

Thanks for reading, thanks for following and thanks for the support!

Day 1 of my runstreak

Todays run: Morning - distance/tempo - pavement/trail - 8.52km - 46.34mins

So today is the first day of my planned 29 day runstreak, OK so today isn't really a runstreak but just a normal run but I am hoping it will develop into a long runstreak.

The full reasoning behind my runstreak can be read here. The plan for my runstreak is to run for 29 consecutive days and to cover a minimum of 5km a day. I plan to incorporate a range of different runs including morning and evening runs, sprint and interval training, running partially to and from work, a parkrun or two and a pre Christmas Santa run. 

For my first day I headed off earlyish as I am on a day off work. Normally when I head off before 9 am on a weekend its so quiet with not many people about but on a Monday morning it was so busy! It was so weird to see so much traffic with people on their way to work and kids off to school and college. It was weird to have so many people getting in the way of my early morning relaxing run!

The colours of the trees in the late autumn are really amazing at the moment non more so than the trees outside at our flat. 

As my runstreak is in support of Pancreatic Cancer and November's Pancreatic Cancer awareness month I thought it only right I wore my Pancreatic Cancer research fund top from when I ran the British 10K for them two years ago.

My route was heading out to my local country park Ingrebourne Way and I was aiming to do around 10K.

The route took me along part of the Spitfire Scramble course which brought back good memories from August this year when I took part in this 24hour race event.

As always it is an interesting and scenic place that I enjoy running through.

So that's day one of a potential 29 completed, 8.5km covered of at least a potential 150km if I run at least a minimum of 5km a day.

Thanks for reading and can follow my runstreak progress on twitter, bloglovin, pinterest or google+.