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!