A summary of my running year

In summary 2014 was an epic year, at the start of the year I would never have dreamed I would have been involved with most of what 2014 brought. I never thought I would start a blog and had no idea of the supportive world of social media that lay in store! 

In all I covered 1,648Km or 1,024 miles which passed my target of 1,000miles! 

They say pictures tell a thousand words and they are of course much quicker to view than hundreds of words so if you are a bit strapped for time a flipagram of my year is here: http://flipagram.com/f/OQy63MFpUe

The start of the year:

2013 ended with me feeling very disappointed after a poor performance at the Beachy Head Marathon in October. I was eager to quickly get this disappointment out of my system with another marathon in early 2014 but couldn't find anything that fitted into my schedule for the early part of the year.

So in January I instead took part in the Benfleet 15 not so much a running event as a mud fest! It was a great event though that I really enjoyed and quite liked running a 15 mile distance although it took me around 2 and a half hours! 

A half marathon PB

Come February I had entered the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon searching to better my half marathon PB of 1.46 and aiming to run sub 1.45. The event goes down as my best running performance as I smashed my PB and expectations finishing in 1.39! The feeling of catching the 1.40 pacers in the last mile and then powering past them in the final few hundred metres will live long in my memory as a real highlight! 

Three marathons in three months 

Around this time I hatched my plan to run three marathons in three months later on in the year, my three marathon challenge was designed with the aim of me running sub 4 hours for the first time and giving me a focus ahead of the impending doom of my 30th birthday in early 2015.

As things transpired I missed out on my sub4 hour target principally because two of the three marathons were tough off-road affairs where a PB time was never realistically going to be achievable.

The first of the three marathons was the Vanguard Way in August starting in Croydon and taking place over the North a Downs. It turned into a very eventful race as I got lost three times and eventually crawled over the finish line in 4.55. The race was probably the most enjoyable of the year as I enjoyed the camaraderie with other runners, the small scale of the event and the subsequent isolation and solitude experienced while running.

Marathon number two was an altogether different affair with a large scale inner city marathon with the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham. A great performance and a marathon PB of 4.09 which I was really pleased with.

The third marathon was a tricky kettle of fish, a local off road trail marathon the Weald Park marathon which consisted of 12 3.5km laps. Again really enjoyable but so demanding and again I was massively pleased with my finishing time of 4.34. 

Overall I loved running marathons so close together and really felt I gained momentum as I progressed through the three and I was able to learn more about myself as a runner as well as the requirements of running a marathon.

Spitfire scramble

Somewhere towards the end of my training towards my first of three marathons I ended up unexpectedly taking part in spitfire scramble which is a 24 hour team relay event which held its inaugural event in a nearby country park. I say unexpectedly as I ended up getting involved only days before the event was due to take place as a team had suffered with dropouts of runners with injuries and illnesses and I answered an urgent appeal on Twitter for runners to get involved. 

The event was amazing and it was a great experience to run late at night and in the early hours of the morning, in all I contributed six 9.5km laps in the 24 hour period towards our teams total. 

I enjoyed it so much I am already signed up for 2015! 

Running all the way home

My other memorable achievement of 2014 was the completion of my long held aim to run all the way home from work a route of some 18 miles. I capitalised on my marathon fitness to complete this aim in October and you can read about it here. 

30 Day runstreak  

After these three marathons and the relative disappointment of missing my sub4 target I was a little unsure of what my next aim would be. In November I embarked on a 30 day run streak to push my limits as a runner as well as aiming to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer awareness month while also fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK, you can still visit my JustGiving page here. 

Asics 26.2

I was only a few days into my runstreak when I got caught up in the whirlwind that is Runnersworld Asics Target 26.2. I was fortunate enough to be selected in 50 lucky runners from over 3,000 entrants to go through to the boot camp stage. It was an amazing experience and I was so lucky to have been involved despite not progressing any further in the competition. I have made some great friends though and am really looking forward to following everyone's progress in 2015 as everyone searches for Marathon PBs at various events in the spring. 

The year ended with me completing my 30 day runstreak and my last event being the traditional Santa run, which as always is great fun! 

Thank you again for all your support I really appreciate it, best wishes on all your running endeavors in 2015!

The last run of 2014

Today was my first run post Christmas and my festive indulgences and despite feeling like the Michelin man after calorific merriment my run felt pretty good.

I am rather ending 2014 on a low note as over Christmas I have struggled to walk let alone run with severe pains in the front of my calves caused by a previously diagnosed complaint I suffer from, compartment syndrome.

Today's run was about seizing the opportunity to run while out visiting family, it provided the chance to run somewhere different and to reminisce about past running routes I used to regularly cover. A visit to Dagenham is not necessarily the most attractive proposition but it was nice to rerun familiar routes and I have always fairly enjoyed running in the area.

Coming towards the end of the year when you are feeling nostalgic it was nice to run around some of my old haunts.  

Castle Green Park

Back several years ago when embarking on training for my first marathon as a naive, up confident runner I did the majority of my training in and around Castle Green park. Foolishly I used to run the same routes repeatedly, over and over to build up my mileage for long runs as opposed to exploring new routes. In castle green I used to run my usual route around but then include figure of eights or extend my course towards the boundaries of the park in the aim of trying to squeeze in extra mileage. 

Castle Green lives up to its name of being a green expanse (minus the castle) which is somewhat rare in these parts with the busy A13 buzzing past. The City and more specifically Canary Wharf is easily visible on a clear day providing a scenic background. 

The most notable part of the park is Barking and Dagenham's sporting tribute to the boroughs sporting heroes. Overlooking the A13 opposite Barking rugby club proudly stands four monuments to the sporting prowess of England's football World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore and manager Sir Alf Ramsey, England's rugby World Cup winning star Jason Leonard and 8 Paralympic medal winning swimmer Beverley Gull. It's a tremondous moment to recognise the boroughs sporting achievements especially the unique and quite unbelievable feat of this unglamourous and less prestigious borough providing both England's triumphant manager and captain for our only World Cup victory. 

In many ways the monument is misplaced as it is somewhat hidden away and not in the most well visited of areas but despite this being placed across the road from the club where Jason Leonard started his career off and just down the road from Beverley Gull's childhood home makes it more than a fitting location.

The statues have provided plenty of inspiration as I have ran past them many times over the years and they have certainly motivated me when using the slope they stand upon for hill training. 

My run then took down to Becontree before heading straight down Hedgemans Road towards Dagenham Heathway. Hedgemans Road is one of those straight never ending roads that goes on and on. Great when your running well and want to power on but demoralising when running poorly when the end of the road never seems to come! It's also a great road for fartlek/interval training as the little side roads provide natural intervals to split up efforts. 

Old Dagenham Park

Then in the second half of my run I ventured through to Old Dagenham park which is part of the area that commemorates the old village when Dagenham was a small green hideaway miles from the hustle and bustle before urban sprawl gobbled it up into London's greater suburbia.

The park is somewhat of a hidden gem as it is a sizable green space consisting of tree lined paths, several football pitches, a traditional children's play area as well as the modern young people's skate park and hangout area as well as a surprising purpose built BMX race track which seems slightly out of place and underutilised.

Overall I covered around 8K over pavements, pathways and grass taking in residential roads, parks, busy shops and industrial areas. 

It was pleasing to finish 2014 with a successful and enjoyable run even if I feel I am limping into 2015 feeling less than fit after a Christmas of excess and feeling injured with my calves.

Thank you for reading and for whatever part you have played in supporting my blog and my running in 2014. I hope your year of running has been successful and I wish you every success and plenty of PBs for 2015!

How was your running over Christmas?

First off best wishes for the holiday season to everyone, hope it has been a merry Christmas and all the best for 2015 to everyone reading.

My Christmas break has been spent tucked away in a rented holiday cottage in Yorkshire with my wife as we decided to escape the stresses of a typical family Christmas at home by going off on our own, and we have had a great time!

Christmas day run?

Did you run on Christmas Day? In the build up to Christmas I noticed the buzz on social media focusing around people's plans to run over Christmas and specifically people's plans to run on Christmas Day itself. At the start and of the week I was full of plans to run over the week and to get out and run on the day itself but the week didn't quite work out the way. Who managed to get out for a run on Christmas Day? Pre Turkey or post Turkey? And who managed to maintain their running over the Christmas holiday period? Hats off to you if you did!

Running sight seeing

I am not afraid to admit that I haven't been running in a week!

My last run was while in Sheffield visiting my sister and I took the opportunity to sneak out for a few miles to see some of the sites. Predictably the sites I was in interested in seeing were sports related as I made a beeline for Hillsborough football Stadium.  

I was pleased to get out and stretch my legs and get a few miles in ahead of the indulgences of the coming festive period. 

Over the next few days I plan to reflect on my running achievements in 2014, so after a shortage of posts over the last few days standby for a flurry of activity for the end of the year! 

Day 29 - Finishing my runstreak with a running commute

Today's run - Run commute - Busy London streets - 5K - 27 minutes

I realise updates on the last week or so have been non existent on my blog but I have been posting regular updates of my run on twitter, if you would like to come and join in on the twittersphere I am @beoutrunning. 

Since the Parkrun on day 20 and Santarun on day 21 of last weekend I have still managed to run everyday but it has been such a busy week I just haven't ha the time or energy to write up blogs for my runs.

In summary I have done a few interval sessions, a 7.5K course PB on Friday Evening(day 26), an early morning Saturday run (day 27) before a boozy day on a pubcrawl which was then followed up by a recovery run on Sunday (day 28). A long with all that there has been the usual busyness of everyday life along with the extra demands of the festive season. Throw into that mix excitedly following the conclusion of the asics 26.2 competition; (massive congratulations to the final 5!) and being offered a new job it has been a busy week!

So with today being day 29 and the last official day of my runstreak challenge I wanted to mark the occasion with a suitable run. 

Since quitting my gym last month my running routine has had to change up, instead of travelling into London heading to the gym then popping out for a run before returning to the gym for some training and/or a cool down before showering and departing for work I am now needing to run straight to work if I want to run in London in the morning.

Significantly impressed by the running commute of one of the asics 26.2 final 5 Tony McNeill I decided to go for it! I took the train to Tower Hill then took the scenic route through to my work near Chancery Lane which rounded the route up to the required 5K as well as taking in some famous London sights.

All in all it was a very enjoyable run, I enjoyed the quietness of being both that bit earlier than I usually am and the fact it was cold and dark in comparison to the more attractive summer months. London still looked as amazing as ever there and provided a captivating backdrop for my run.

Having kind of decided on this run commute on the spare of the moment I hadn't done any preparation so therefore I had to carry everything in my rucksack (runsack?!) work clothes, towel, lunch, toiletries etc.

I didn't find this a problem at all though, I think for running 5K in a steady pace, (I covered the route in under 27 minutes which taking into consideration the hour and the London traffic I was very impressed!) it's fine, any faster or longer though and it would have been troublesome.

I decided my runstreak doesn't end here though, with some Christmas socialising and associated drinking and eating planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday it made sense to me to extend to Tuesday so I could have Wednesday to Friday off as a well deserved rest while also rounding up my runstreak to 30 days. 

So one more day to go! I have really enjoyed this runstreak and the idea of 'when shall I run today as opposed to am I going to run today?'. I feel I have got so much stronger and faster, not to mention leaner as well. The runstreak has provided an ideal way to lay down some base miles before training for Half Marathons and Marathons in the New Year.

Day 21 Runstreak Santa Run

Today's run - Santa fun run - pavements - 5K - 24.12

Today was the one run a year where PBs and performance go out of the window, where looking cool in your running gear is forgotten about and instead you run around looking like a bit of a prat all in the name of charity!

This morning I took part in Saint Francis Hospice's annual Santa Run at Dagenham and Redbridge football ground the snappily named The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Football Stadium. 

The premise is quite simple; everyone meets up, gets dressed up in santa outfits and runs around the streets of Dagenham on a 5K route raising money for a local charity. 

The atmosphere is incredibly friendly, positive and cheery and everyone takes part with the smile on their face with a hood friendly spirit whether running or walking, seasoned runner or slow paced walker.

Its a great event that unites the whole community, it is a great introduction to running and running events for many and it was great to see so many youngsters taking part with their parents. And although it might sound strange I sensed a greater sense of satisfaction amongst runners at the finish line than I do at marathons as many participants would have envisaged a 5K distance as unbelievable and are therefore rightly proud to successfully complete the course with finish times becoming irrelevant.

The main challenge of an event like this is struggling with the 'one size fits all' generic costume. With our ever increasingly over weight society one size fits all becomes more aimed towards the larger individuals  and therefore becomes very troublesome for those of a smaller frame like me!

My wife did remark that I looked like a messy Santa as I didn't look particularly smart in my outfit as it was so grossly misfitting. Running in such an outfit was difficult to say the least, trying to stop the bottoms of your trousers coming down around your feet to trip you up, holding your waist band to stop your trousers slipping down (although I did have shorts on underneath!), then wrestling with your Santa jacket as it flailed in the air caused by running, there was also the itchy beard irritating your face and threatening to strangle your throat at any moment! 

The event was made all the more special as I wasn't running it on my own and was joined at the event by my mother in law. Although she opted to complete the course at a more serene steady walking pace while I chose to run round in a pleasing time of just over 24 minutes it was nice to have someone to chat with at the start and cheer on at the finish.

Today's race forms a part of my bigger fundraising efforts of taking part in a 29 day runstreak which you can read about here. As well as raising funds for Saint Francis Hospice today I have been specifically raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and if you would like to donate please visit my Just Giving page here.

Day 20 A cold, muddy wintery parkrun

Today's run - Parkrun - Trails - 5K - 24.29

This morning I was up bright and early for a Saturday to head off to a parkrun. 

It was a slightly special parkrun as I was excited to be taking part in @brentwoodparkrun inaugural event. Held in Weald Country park it is a 10 minute drive there which this morning meant defrosting the car from the arctic grip that enveloped it over night. 

The early morning run and start was not helped by a night out last night at a family birthday party which involved quite a few celebratory drinks, a whooping big pizza as below and getting a taste for and subsequently rather enjoying more than a few shots of lemoncello.  

South Weald park was the venue for my last marathon the Brentwood Weald Country park marathon which I completed at the end of October.

The park is one of my favorite local parks and its a lovely place to walk and is fast becoming one of my favorite places to run. 

This morning the park was at its best and could have provided plenty Christmas card worthy photo opportunities. 

The run its self was tough, not just because of the icy and muddy conditions but because of the hilly terrain and the technical trails provided by running through the forest and in and around the assortment of trees with their protruding roots and branches.

Overall I felt pretty strong and was happy with my pace, my aim was to try and go around 25 minutes as I felt that would be a decent time on a trail based course knowing it would be hilly and muddy. I finished in 24.29 which I was very pleased with as the course actually ended up being tougher than I envisaged. 

I tried to run at times with the same pacing strategy we used for the 5K track session at Asics 26.2 bootcamp of pushing for 400m, recovering for 200m and repeating throughout. I found this method useful to keep pushing myself and I was pleased I was strong enough mentally and physically to keep pushing. I definitely fell I am strong enough at the moment to put some decent pressure on my 5K PB. 

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for tomorrows post on my Santa run! 

Day 18 A good run after a long day

Today's run - Just a run - Pavement - 5.5K - 30mins 

Today after a long day at work I headed out for a simple run. I recently read a great bit of advice on running during a runstreak, 'it is a case of when can you run rather than should I go for a run'. And it today's case it was a case of going for a run when I could and just getting on with it.

As mentioned previously the highlights of running at this time of year are the Christmas decorations so here is the pick of the decorations I passed on today's run.

:)

Away from running I realised I have neglected my non running training so last night I cracked on with a 300 workout which consists of 100 reps of press ups, squats and mountain climbers in any order and in any sequence of reps but against the clock.

It was a great quick workout but I am ashamed to say I was a bit outside of the suggested beginners time. I also completed 100 reps of crunches and dips against the clock to round off my workout. 

I am planning to do this workout again and do so regularly to improve my time and performance.

Looking back at this week I can't believe this time last week I was excited about attending the asics 26.2 bootcamp.

You can read about my experiences here and if you would like to vote towards the winners here is my article I wrote in support of a friend I made at boot camp who is very deserving of your vote.

Barburrito Burrito Review

It has been a long time since I had a burrito let alone write up a review, so today looking for a lunch time option and wanting something substantial and filling I headed in search of a tasty burrito.

I headed to Barburrito which opened up a new store a few minutes walk from work a few months ago and I haven't had a chance to check it out mainly due to trying to stick to a healthy diet while marathon training. 

Having never tried Barburrito I was interested to see where they ranked in the burrito pyramid of excellence, near the top with the burrito kings of Daddy Donkey, chipotle and Tortilla or along with the mass ranks of average burrito providers.

Today I was kind of in the mood for something a bit plainer and probably chicken based but the pulled pork option soon grabbed my attention as I walked in!

My burrito ingredients today were:

Tomato rice
Mild beans
Pulled pork
Roasted onions and peppers
Medium 'ranchero' salsa dressing
Guacamole 
Lettuce
Cheese (I didn't ask for it but still got it!)
Sour Cream

So to review my burrito: 


The actual tortilla wrap: Pretty poor, doughy, quite chewy, no flavour, disappointing. 
Tomato rice: OK, not a great consistency and no real flavour. 
Mild beans: I love my beans and these were pretty good, they gave good consistency and texture and added a good nutty type flavour.
Pulled pork: Nice, not particularly authentic as such but tasty and meaty. But Barburrito are stingy with their meat portions! Might have been a one off but wasn't very impressed with the small little scoop of meat I received!
Roasted onions and peppers: Good and a nice option as not everywhere offers this vegetable option, again added plenty of flavour and a nice bit of crunch to the burrito. 
Medium 'ranchero' salsa dressing: hmmm, not sure, a bit smoky and very tomatoy and was perhaps a little overpowering. 
Guacamole: 75p for some guacamole was decent but I forgot I ordered any as it didn't really taste of anything and again there was not very much of it! 
Lettuce: Nice lettuce, fresh and crunchy but come on you don't have a burrito to have some nice lettuce?!
Cheese (I didn't ask for it but still got it!): No idea, didn't taste it and didn't notice it at all. 
Sour Cream: Another highlight, cool and soft proper sour cream adding coolness. 

Overall rating: Pretty disappointing,  found the burrito to be a bit on the small side and I as I mentioned they were not very generous with their portion sizes. The individual ingredients all seemed to be of decent enough quality but altogether it just didn't work. As I have already said the salsa was a bit overpowering and there were too many poor parts to it especially the tortilla which was very poor. Things could have been different if I had had a more generous meat portion, will have to see next time, if I give them a next time that is. 

Barburrito experience: Mixed reviews on my experience of Barburrito as a chain. I liked the actual restaurant as it had plenty of seating and was a better restaurant set up than many of its rival chains. However the staff weren't great and didn't have any of the South american charisma you usually associate with staff in burrito places irrespective of their actual background. The other big problem was that they got my burrito wrong, on the last stage I asked for sour cream and lettuce but ended up with cheese as well! Big no no! I cant remember ever having an incorrect burrito before as it just doesn't happen so this is a massive disappointment. The other thing I didn't like was the upselling, too many offering of meal deals, drinks and extras, people especially in the city know what they want and don't want to be hassled to this extreme and it did ruin the experience. 

Rating: I have struggled to think of a rating as I never want to score too low, but I cant give it anymore than 3/10, it was however more than edible but it wasn't filling and it wasn't satisfying or tasty. 

Very disappointing, I will have to go for another burrito soon to get a better experience than what I had today so stay tuned for my next review coming soon!

Daddy Donkey Burrito

I love burritos and have started doing a review/rating system of the various different chains, please see my previous reviews of Poncho8 & Chilango. 

So Daddy Donkey, if you are not aware of this smaller Mexican food group you have got to love their back story. Supposedly the first company to start serving Mexican street back in London back in the old day of 2005 they seem to have stuck to their roots of authentic awesomeness. 

This is the second time I have been and the last time I don't remember being blown away by their burrito.

But today was a different story, first bite,  BAM!!! in your face with Kick-Ass flavour exactly as they advertise on the website!

Daddy Donkey talk a big talk and have a cult following as the regular queues outside their Leather Lane shop testify to. 

As I mentioned earlier they claim to be the first Mexican street food provider and are therefore the reason why larger chains like Chilango are now scattered around the area.

Chilango can open as many shops as they like though as they don't come anywhere near Daddy Donkey for a taste experience.

Today I was hungry and wanted some big flavour and I wasn't disappointed with what my burrito provided.

My burrito ingredients today were:

Coriander lime rice

Black beans

Marinated Chicken Breast

Medium Green Tomatillo salsa

Sour cream

Cheese

Lettuce

& extra for Guacamole

So to review the burrito; 
Tortilla wrap: quality, authentic, chewy and flavorsome.

Rice: wasn't sure I would get much from this but you could really get the cooling effect of the coriander and lime.

Chicken: meaty, succulent and good sized chunks of good quality meat.

Salsa: I went medium and it provided a good punch of flavor right from the start. Authentic, natural, full flavored and good tasting.

Black beans: Wow! A rarity! Proper black beans with real texture and flavor! 

Sour cream: great tasting and nice cooling effect and you could feel it working against the heat of the salsa.

Cheese: Probably the weakest ingredient and didn't really contribute to the burrito experience unfortunately. 

Lettuce: did its job of providing some crunch and freshness.

Guacamole: the mighty green stuff, transforms any burrito into a whole different world of experiences. The last two burritos I reviewed I had for various reasons opted out of going green but today I was all in! Disappointingly the guacamole didn't quite meat all expectations, yes it provided more flavour, a different texture and a splash of colour. But unfortunately the portion size was a little on the stingy side and it seemed to be the kind of guacamole that had chili in which although good as it added an extra kick of flavour it wasn't the traditional avocado green gooey goodness guacamole that I was after. 

Overall rating: I haven't bothered to think of my own descriptive cliches to describe this burrito when Daddy Donkey already provide their own. That definitely was a Kick-Ass taste experience that is a real daddy in the burrito world! OK that was cheesey (not as chessey as the burrito) but it really was a great burrito! 

Really enjoyed the chicken, it is some of the best meat I have ever had in a burrito or in a precooked fast food kind of set up for that matter. The rice was very good and a real difference of flavour to the usual tomato flavoured rice which can sometime be quite bland.  The big plus though was the beans, loved them! Beans are a key player in burritos for me so if they are great the burrito is on to a winner as it was here. The salsa was also top drawer and really had a good deal of flavour and tasted authentic and non artificial which makes it stand out from some of the other chains. In terms of extras it was nice to have high quality sour cream and good quality fresh non artificial guacamole as well. 

Daddy Donkey experience: great, I timed my lunch to get there for around 2pm so I missed the lunchtime rush but he place was still teaming if not queuing out the door and down the street which is often the case. Very efficient service by a large number of enthusiastic and genuinely smiley staff squeezed in behind the counter enthusiastic team. The only slight draw back compared to other companies is the lack of choice, you wont find three differ types of rice or different types of beans here. They do however have four different meat options as well as six different salsas and I would say the quality of their ingredients makes up for any lack of variety. 

My overall experience would have to be a whopping 9/10 as it was a really top drawer burrito full of strong authentic flavors. The only negative aspects I thought of were the small portion size of guacamole and the lack of a napkin in the bag, a little thing I know but something that irritates me as I always forget to pick one up and am then left with messy hands! 

I wouldn't rate the burrito as any more filling than anywhere else despite what the website would make you believe about it being the size of a small baby but its by no means small. The great flavours the burrito left me with meant I was reluctant to eat anything for several hours after so It didn't matter matter whether I wanted to eat anything more. 

So that's 3 reviews done with Daddy Donkey coming out on way ahead of Chilango and Poncho8, hopefully there will be  more reviews soon and stiffer competition to come!

Runners World Asics Target 26.2 - Vote now!!

As you will have read from my previous blogs and a lot of frenzied activity on twitter I was lucky enough to be selected from over 3,000 runners to be shortlisted in the final 50 for the bootcamp stage of the competition. The competition is most easily summarized as an Xfactor for runners with only 5 winners places up for grabs. 

You can read about my bootcamp experience here.

Unfortunately lady luck was not on my side and I was not selected to go forward to the public vote stage. Unlike the real Xfactor rather than falling down into a heap of tears or crying on Cheryl's shoulder I have dusted myself off and will be supporting the other competitors. 

In the First Timers category a friend I made on the day Anthony McNeill has made it through to the public vote, here is what he has to say about his running history, why he got into running and what the competition means to him. 

OK, a bit about me and my history as a runner. I'm one of those MAMLs (middle-aged men in lycra) who discovered running ridiculously late in life and who now has the bug. I took up running nearly 4 years ago after seeing myself in a photo looking overweight and on my way to an early heart attack. This would be a very Bad Thing as I've three kids (aged 6, 9 and 15) who I want to run, skate, play footie with etc. for a long time to come.

I bought a pair of cheap trainers (from M&S would you believe) and went running in the local park. It was all I could do to run a length of it - only about 200 metres - before having to walk the width. I'd suffer about 20 minutes of this pantomime of half-walking, half-jogging before limping home, my cotton Tshirt drenched in sweat (I hadn't discovered the joys of technical tees). After a week or so though, I was running a lap. After a few more weeks, consecutive laps. Finally, after a few months I felt like I could run forever and decided to get myself some proper kit. 

I went to my local branch of Sweatshop - a big shout out to the Teddington SRC! - where they not only recommended a pair of Asics GT1000s (I've been wearing this model ever since) but signed me up to the Sunday morning run. Since about September 2011, I've been a regular Sunday morning 10km runner, often adding another 10km running from home and back and sometimes bringing my oldest son along with me. 

I really enjoy the social side of the running and it's no coincidence that my PBs have been running alongside others. I've enjoyed helping others hit a new PB too. It's also become a family thing for me: Gabriel (15) is now a really fast runner and did the Pine Ridge 10km last October (finishing well before me) and my daughter Eve (9) has done a few fun runs and completed a couple of junior triathlons. I really like the fact that this is something we can all do together (whilst also secretly enjoying when I can get away from them now and again!).

Getting into the top 5 means taking the ASICS Target 26.2 challenge to its ultimate and thrilling conclusion. It means new challenges and sacrifices but new friendships and shared achievements too. I feel I've already made a few already. What I think I can bring to the team is experience (age?), grey hair and a few too many kilos but but determination, humour and spirit.

Please vote - early and often;-) - and follow @anthonymcneill on Twitter.

So there we go! Someone with a real dedication and passion for running and someone who is really determined to proceed further in the competition. Not only an enthusiastic runner but a funny and entertaining guy as well who is well deserving of your vote. 

Please vote for him here: http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/target262/runners-500.aspx 

Day 17 A tough run made better with music

Today's run - Recovery run - Pavement - 5K - 28 mins

Today was a tough one, with bootcamp planned for this evening I had to head out early to get my run in which was fine a part from the fact I had attended Pigs Ear Beer and Cider Festival last night and had a few drinks and got to bed rather late!

So while preparing to head out this morning I decided I needed a little something extra, a bit of music aaccompaniment Fresh in my mind was runnersworlds compilation of their best running tracks and I had already added my favourite of these tracks into my own spotify playlist alongside my own running songs.

So off I ran with a soundtrack of the best morivational and uplifting tunes playing away in my ears. It definitely spurred me on and have me an injection of pace that would otherwise have been lacking.

Franz Ferdinand's Take me Out was a great start and by the time The Red Hot Chilli Peppers had fired up their anthemic Cant stop my air guitar was in full flow! It goes doen as one of my best running experiences as it really connected me back with the simple enjoyment of running and reminded me of how great running is. This was pretty much exactly what I needed after the disappointment of not progressing to the next stage in the Asics Target 26.2 competition.

Despite being gutted at not progressing I am relieved at not having to put myself through the stress of the public vote and am genuinely excited and pleased for the lucky ones who have got through.

Day 16 Feeling rough on an early morning run

Today's run - Seeing if I actually feel OK to run - Pavement - 5K - 27.30

Today's run had to be an early morning start and I really didn't feel in the best shape for it. Could it have been the 10K I ran yesterday, having an Indian last night, having a few drinks yesterday, or just having a busy few days with not enough rest and sleep? To be fair I think all these factors were to blame. 

Again it wasn't that cold heading out just after 6am and I soon felt sweaty and stuffy in my running fleece and my new Asics running beanie.

I tried to run as fast as my body would allow which actually was a decent enough pace which I was happy with. Again I ran my 'cheat' route comprising of mainly downhills which definitely helps with an early morning run.

I realise more and more I really need to start eating better to get the best out of my training as a long weekend of eating crap really hasn't left me feeling well and certainly not feeling particularly athletic.

I have realised in previous years the period from end of October to Christmas is just terrible for eating badly and putting on weight. I know it is for most people but for me especially as after the sweet treat fest that is Halloween I then have my wife's birthday in mid November, I then usually see my parents at the end of November/start December and my mum does like to treat me, and then of course you have the run up to Christmas with all the Christmas meals out, Christmas drinks meet ups with friends, Christmas snacks, chocolates and general binge eating! Combine this with cutting loose on a healthy eating regime after usually completing a marathon training program at the end of November and by Christmas I have usually pile on a few pounds! 

The need to burn these extra calories off was another motivating factor in wanting to undertake my runstreak. At the moment I think I am just about managing to keep a balance!

This is my first post in a while with no mention of Asics 26.2, well today is definitely the day we find out who has gone through to the next stage so I am trying not to think about it! After a few days off work I need to knuckle down and get on with some work but I think I will struggle with being productive today!