Today's run: 4 km (2.49 miles) in 30:00.
Injury check: Bit of a twinge.
______
Today what felt like a torrential storm hit Luton. Also it's dark at night now. And cold. So I was inside on the treadmill.
This run wasn't a personal best or anything, but I am actually ecstatic that I now count 30mins as my 'short' run. (Although I did have to stop halfway through for a short stretch due to a massive stitch in my side.) I totalled just over 4k in the end but I didn't keep track of the few metres more that I managed in each half, it was enough that I made it over 2k each time.
The Knee twinged a little during and then a little more after - and I sat with a bag of frozen peas on it this evening.
My near-term goal is to get up to running 10k in an hour, which I consider to be a respectable distance+time, and is something I've never achieved before. If I can reach it before Christmas that would be brilliant.
Today's top running tune: Girls Aloud - Biology. Yes, it's a silly song, but today the beat was perfect for my pace.
Succeeding and failing on the road to the London 2013 Marathon. Possibly falling to bits in the process.
21/11/2012
07/11/2012
Pounds Mean Prizes
I am running the marathon for Diabetes UK and I've promised them quite a lot of money in return for a place in the race (www.justgiving.com/RhianChapman). I need your help to get to my total.
I know that you are willing to donate to this worthwhile cause out of the goodness of your heart (or possibly because I have badgered you into submission), but it's always nice to get something in return, isn't it?
So, in the style of various crowd funding sites, I'm going to offer rewards for your generosity.
If you donate the following amounts to Diabetes UK through my JustGiving page (not including gift aid contributions), I will give/send you the relevant reward:
Remember, I'm doing all of this in memory of my friend Em. I wouldn't be running a marathon for any other reason, believe me.
I know that you are willing to donate to this worthwhile cause out of the goodness of your heart (or possibly because I have badgered you into submission), but it's always nice to get something in return, isn't it?
So, in the style of various crowd funding sites, I'm going to offer rewards for your generosity.
If you donate the following amounts to Diabetes UK through my JustGiving page (not including gift aid contributions), I will give/send you the relevant reward:
- Any amount of money: personal thanks. This may be verbal or, if I don't see you often enough, it might be via email, but I promise it will be a personal thank you and not just a generic thank you email. (You might get that too, from the JustGiving site, but there will be a personal follow-up.)
- £15: written personal thanks. Who doesn't like getting mail? Everybody likes getting mail. For a £15 donation I will write you a thank you card in my best hand-writing (i.e. it will be at least semi-legible) and send it out via Royal Mail.
- £26.20: I shall exercise my artistic side and create a handmade card for any celebration you'd like (see Exhibit A). Birthday, anniversary, wedding - you name it and I shall make a card for it. All cards will be unique.
- £50: more artistic muscles will be flexed and I will create a hand-painted T-shirt, just for you (see Exhibit B). Give/send me a T-shirt in your chosen size and pick a theme you'd like on it and I shall paint it for you (I'll give any idea a try). Again, all T-shirts will be unique. Just think: you could be the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind piece of clothing.
- £60: a handmade card and a T-shirt painted to your specifications. Good, eh?
- £75: ...well, I haven't really thought this far. I'll work on it and get back to you. But it will definitely be good.
- £100: ...I might give you my soul. One careful owner, only slightly tarnished with general wear and tear, nothing too bad.
Exhibit A
 |
Cards (handmade by me) for any occasion.
Choose your theme, specify your celebration, or just claim a random card.
|
Exhibit B
 |
Examples of past T-shirts I have decorated.
Yours will be new, different and very pretty.
|
Go on. Just give a few more pounds than you were going to and claim a reward for your extra generosity.
Remember, I'm doing all of this in memory of my friend Em. I wouldn't be running a marathon for any other reason, believe me.
02/11/2012
Autumn Running
Today's run: 6.01 km (3.73 miles) in 45 minutes.
Injury check: All clear.
______
I almost didn't run outside today. As I left the office this afternoon it was grey, cloudy and generally grim, and I was very close to giving in and just going for an indoor gym session. However, I then reminded myself that I'm training for a marathon, and I will have to train through the winter. So I persuaded myself to go out and I'm glad that I did.
I tried a new route today, along a path/cycleway that follows the road from Luton to Harpenden. A lot of leaves have turned and fallen off the trees that line the path and it was looking at its picturesque best, especially when the sun came out:
It's a good route, too. It had scenery and gradient (breaking up the monotony of running), was quite shielded from the (fairly bitter) wind, and due to being tarmac underfoot it was better than pavement for The Knee. I even spotted some wildlife: a pheasant running alongside the path... going a lot quicker than I was.
This path is actually a few miles in total; I only ran a certain distance along it before I turned around and came back again, but I'll be keeping it on my running schedule. I like the idea of running it every so often as I work on increasing my distance, getting a bit further each run before it's time to turn around again.
The best thing about this run was that I didn't ruin or injury myself and I managed a whole 6k. Today was a good day.
Injury check: All clear.
______
I almost didn't run outside today. As I left the office this afternoon it was grey, cloudy and generally grim, and I was very close to giving in and just going for an indoor gym session. However, I then reminded myself that I'm training for a marathon, and I will have to train through the winter. So I persuaded myself to go out and I'm glad that I did.
I tried a new route today, along a path/cycleway that follows the road from Luton to Harpenden. A lot of leaves have turned and fallen off the trees that line the path and it was looking at its picturesque best, especially when the sun came out:
 |
| Much better than running on the treadmill. |
This path is actually a few miles in total; I only ran a certain distance along it before I turned around and came back again, but I'll be keeping it on my running schedule. I like the idea of running it every so often as I work on increasing my distance, getting a bit further each run before it's time to turn around again.
The best thing about this run was that I didn't ruin or injury myself and I managed a whole 6k. Today was a good day.
26/10/2012
Winter Is Coming
Today's run: 4.85 km (3.01 miles) in 40:19.
Injury check: All clear.
______
New knee support, new running tights (given to me by another member of Team Em and Me), new enthusiasm for running - and here I go!
Well... two out of three ain't bad.
However, the tights are great: they made such a difference running in the cold weather, and my legs felt so much less numb/chapped/horrible during and after my run.
Now I need to find a lightweight jacket/fleece of some kind to protect the rest of me from the chill - and then once I have that I'll be properly kitted out and the weather will have no hold over me. Mwahahahaha!
Ahem. Apologies for that moment, but I am on a buzz after finishing nearly 5k - in the cold and the wind - and not feeling like I was dying at the end of it.
In other thoughts, I have a JustGiving page now: www.justgiving.com/RhianChapman.
Watch this space for more sponsorship musings...
Injury check: All clear.
______
New knee support, new running tights (given to me by another member of Team Em and Me), new enthusiasm for running - and here I go!
Well... two out of three ain't bad.
However, the tights are great: they made such a difference running in the cold weather, and my legs felt so much less numb/chapped/horrible during and after my run.
Now I need to find a lightweight jacket/fleece of some kind to protect the rest of me from the chill - and then once I have that I'll be properly kitted out and the weather will have no hold over me. Mwahahahaha!
Ahem. Apologies for that moment, but I am on a buzz after finishing nearly 5k - in the cold and the wind - and not feeling like I was dying at the end of it.
In other thoughts, I have a JustGiving page now: www.justgiving.com/RhianChapman.
Watch this space for more sponsorship musings...
19/10/2012
Short Run
Today's run: 1.47 km (0.91 miles) in 10:00.
Injury check: All clear.
______
Today was wet, gloomy and horrible. So it was a good thing I was running inside.
I'll try for a real distance over the weekend but this was a 10 minute run as part of a longer gym session. Not much to crow about but it does feel good that I can now knock out ~1.5k in ten minutes without killing myself: as I walked away from the treadmill I didn't even need to sit down to catch my breath.
I'll make a runner of myself yet.
Injury check: All clear.
______
Today was wet, gloomy and horrible. So it was a good thing I was running inside.
I'll try for a real distance over the weekend but this was a 10 minute run as part of a longer gym session. Not much to crow about but it does feel good that I can now knock out ~1.5k in ten minutes without killing myself: as I walked away from the treadmill I didn't even need to sit down to catch my breath.
I'll make a runner of myself yet.
16/10/2012
With Friends Like These
Today's run: 2.94 km (1.83 miles) in 21:57.
Injury check: All clear.
______
A shorter run today, by design. It was a bit easier today than the last run and I managed a slightly quicker pace throughout as well. It was, however, quite cold. Blustery and chilly. And the skin on my legs went numb, reminding me vividly of school PE lessons outside in the winter. It might be time to treat myself to some more snazzy running gear - to get me through the colder months.
I'm still charting my distance with an app on my phone but I don't have it talking me through the distance any more, since I decided to concentrate on just increasing my time. Of course, if I had known my exact distance on the finishing mark then I would have managed that last 600m to make it an even 3k. Never mind: next time.
Injury check: All clear.
______
A shorter run today, by design. It was a bit easier today than the last run and I managed a slightly quicker pace throughout as well. It was, however, quite cold. Blustery and chilly. And the skin on my legs went numb, reminding me vividly of school PE lessons outside in the winter. It might be time to treat myself to some more snazzy running gear - to get me through the colder months.
I'm still charting my distance with an app on my phone but I don't have it talking me through the distance any more, since I decided to concentrate on just increasing my time. Of course, if I had known my exact distance on the finishing mark then I would have managed that last 600m to make it an even 3k. Never mind: next time.
I've now started telling people that I'm running the marathon. Up until now - until it was official - I didn't want to admit that I'd signed up to something so unlike me. Here are some of the reactions I've got so far:
Me: I'm doing the London marathon next year.
Friend #1: You crazy fool.
Me: I'm running the marathon next year.
Friend #2: What would you go and do that for?!
Me: I'm running the London marathon.
Friend #3: (laughter)
Friend #4: Do you think it's a good idea, with your knee?
Me: No, I don't think it's a good idea at all!
But after the laughter and commiserations on my foolishness, there was support, and even a couple of offers to help me train. With friends like these, how can I fail?
14/10/2012
Why?
I've never run a marathon before. I've never wanted to run a marathon before. So what made me decide to do it now?
In April 2012 my friend Emily died, aged 29. It was in her sleep, due to complications arising from Type 1 diabetes; it was completely unexpected. She will be missed so much by so many people. As I type this I don't think a day has gone by when I haven't thought about her and the things we did, the things we were planning to do - and the things we never got to do.
I knew Em for more than ten years. One of the most impressive things about Em was that she never stopped pushing herself. When she succeeded in one challenge, she set herself another one. Academically, physically, emotionally, she never stopped; she always had another goal in mind. It made the rest of us feel positively lazy.
Em took up running a few years ago, starting with 5k runs, then 10k races, then half-marathons. The next challenge she set herself was to run a full marathon. She trained for it and she got a place in the 2012 London Marathon, running for Diabetes UK. I was looking forward to being there to cheer her on. I had absolutely no doubt that she would achieve her goal.
Em never got to run her marathon. So a group of us, friends and family, decided to run it in her memory.
I never had a reason to run a marathon before. This is why I'm running it now.
In April 2012 my friend Emily died, aged 29. It was in her sleep, due to complications arising from Type 1 diabetes; it was completely unexpected. She will be missed so much by so many people. As I type this I don't think a day has gone by when I haven't thought about her and the things we did, the things we were planning to do - and the things we never got to do.
I knew Em for more than ten years. One of the most impressive things about Em was that she never stopped pushing herself. When she succeeded in one challenge, she set herself another one. Academically, physically, emotionally, she never stopped; she always had another goal in mind. It made the rest of us feel positively lazy.
Em took up running a few years ago, starting with 5k runs, then 10k races, then half-marathons. The next challenge she set herself was to run a full marathon. She trained for it and she got a place in the 2012 London Marathon, running for Diabetes UK. I was looking forward to being there to cheer her on. I had absolutely no doubt that she would achieve her goal.
Em never got to run her marathon. So a group of us, friends and family, decided to run it in her memory.
I never had a reason to run a marathon before. This is why I'm running it now.
 |
| Em finishing a London 10k, 2007 |
12/10/2012
Back on Track
Today's run: 3.74 km (2.32 miles) in 29:54.
Injury check: Nothing more than minor twinges.
______
Following the scary Official Letter - and with it the confirmation that I am actually going to be taking part in the London Marathon next year - I decided it was time I got back into my running shoes.
I read somewhere recently that when you start training you should put your efforts into time on your feet and not worry too much about the distance you achieve. Since the rate at which I'm increasing my distance is feeling a little, well, pathetic, I'm going to try the time tactic instead: slowly increasing my time and seeing how that affects the distance I can cover.
Today I set myself a time limit of 30 minutes, and a running playlist on my phone that was 30 minutes long as a timer.
I made it the end of the time but it was not a fast run. The last two months oflaziness not exercising has definitely knocked my fitness, although my knees held up pretty well to the sudden demand to perform: a couple of tweaks from the good knee but not enough to actually stop my run. I was, however, moving pretty slowly by the end.
Next run: a target of 33 minutes.
Injury check: Nothing more than minor twinges.
______
Following the scary Official Letter - and with it the confirmation that I am actually going to be taking part in the London Marathon next year - I decided it was time I got back into my running shoes.
I read somewhere recently that when you start training you should put your efforts into time on your feet and not worry too much about the distance you achieve. Since the rate at which I'm increasing my distance is feeling a little, well, pathetic, I'm going to try the time tactic instead: slowly increasing my time and seeing how that affects the distance I can cover.
Today I set myself a time limit of 30 minutes, and a running playlist on my phone that was 30 minutes long as a timer.
I made it the end of the time but it was not a fast run. The last two months of
Next run: a target of 33 minutes.
10/10/2012
09/10/2012
Post-holiday Re-start
Today's run: 1 km (0.62 miles) in 6:42.
Injury check: All clear.
______
Well, that last burst of inspiration didn't last very long, did it?
Anyway...
A very short run today, mainly because I wasn't sure how The Knee would take the exercise after two months of not running. It coped very well and I managed a good speed for the whole kilometre.
So, onwards and upwards.
Injury check: All clear.
______
Well, that last burst of inspiration didn't last very long, did it?
Anyway...
A very short run today, mainly because I wasn't sure how The Knee would take the exercise after two months of not running. It coped very well and I managed a good speed for the whole kilometre.
So, onwards and upwards.
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