60 minutes

Today's run: 8.59 km / 5.34 miles in 60:00.
Injury check: A few minor tweaks but not enough to stop me.
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1 hour run: done! And I beat my goal of 8k! And I didn't break myself!

I ran with my friend Robert today, which was brilliant. Running with someone is much better than running alone - it makes it far less monotonous for one thing. And running with someone who has a much faster pace than you is even better. I still took a few, short, walking breaks, but I was able to push myself onwards through some of the wanting-to-stop moments and I walked a lot less than I might have otherwise. I don't know how much he got out of it, because we stayed to my pace which is definitely slow for him, but it helped me so much.

Lovely weather for ducks...

It was pouring with rain when we started (it slackened off a bit later) but it wasn't as cold as it has been this week and I think that helped too. Running in the rain isn't bad either, once you've warmed up a bit. 

The Knee coped pretty well, with only a few twinges and a slight post-run ache. I will ice it shortly, as a preventative measure. 

Basically today was an awesome run :-D

Frost and Ice

Today's run: 2.78 km / 1.73 miles in 20:00.
Injury check: Post-run twinges in The Knee.
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Today I went for another run at lunchtime. 
There was still frost on the grass. 
I had to dodge patches of ice. 
There's a growing probability that all of my running posts through the next three months will have the 'cold' tag on them.
Sigh.

But anyway - I beat Monday's distance. And today did feel better - I kept a steadier pace and felt less haggard at the end as well. It wasn't quite as cold as Monday, which must have helped.

I felt a minor twinge from The Knee during the run but not enough to stop me (I paused, I re-arranged my knee support, I carried on). However, once I'd been back at my desk a while - sitting with my legs crossed - it did begin to ache. Could be because it was stiffening up a bit post-run, could be because I was sitting with my legs crossed. Could be because my knee hates me...

I am icing it tonight, we'll see if it bounces back to situation normal tomorrow.

Let's Do Lunch

Today's run: 2.67 km / 1.66 miles in 20:00.
Injury check: All clear.
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It was actually quite warm in the sun today. Pity the wind was doing its best impression of a lively Arctic breeze. 

This was my first attempt at a lunchtime run, which means it was necessarily a short one (I managed the change-run-shower-change routine in exactly an hour), and not a fast one. My office is essentially on a hill - and a steep one at that - so whichever way I run it's going to involve a fair amount of gradient. 
I will not be breaking any records on my lunchtime runs; the best I can aim for is a slow, steady increase in the distance achieved. 

Plan: another lunch run on Weds and then a long run on Fri. 
Yay.

TEAM!

Today was our first Team Em And Me (a.k.a. TEAM!) meet-up. There are 15 of us in the team together but although we all knew Em we don't all know each other, so the TEAM instigators arranged a lunch gathering and even provided homemade cookies. 

Yes, potentially we could all have met up for a run - but there is a vast disparity of abilities across our group, and I'm not sure how successful a mass run would be! Maybe we'll try something along those lines closer to the Real Thing, once we've all got a bit more training under our belts. 

Anyway, we didn't get everyone there but it was good to put a few more faces to names and chat about the various trials and tribulations of long distance running. Several of the team have run marathons before as well, so they had some tips and tricks, and I will definitely be hitting them up for more advice in the future.

Also, it turns out that one of our TEAM members is a bit of a Master Baker - look at this:

Purple laces and everything! (Also, it's a healthy snack, so there's no guilt attached.)

Onwards, TEAM!

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P.S. In checking that the links in this post worked I discovered that our TEAM effort so far has raised nearly £4,000. That's one hell of a tribute to Em already - and we're nowhere near done yet. 

Winter Is Here

Today's run: 5.46 km (3.39 miles) in 40:00.
Injury check: All clear.
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Cold. Really cold. It was sunny this morning, at least. But it was cold. 
I layered up and ran anyway, but I was cursing the cold most of the way round. 

I overheat like a [insert sweaty thing here] so I did warm up eventually, but when that icy wind picked up it was still so cold.

I ran the footpath again, which was actually a bit nicer than before because there weren't any damp leaves underfoot this time. I had to walk some of the way back today though, simply because the cold took so much out of me. 

I got a few stares from the cows in the field I run past, so I said hello to them (because I know that's what Em would have done). I also passed another runner going in the other direction, who looked like he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Hmph. 

Did I mention it was cold?

Short Run Done

Today's run: 2.48 km (1.54 miles) in 19:00.
Injury check: All clear.
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So, this was essentially 2.5k in 20mins, right? I'm happy with that. 

Not a particularly fast one, and I had stitch for most of it (must sort that out), but I made it to the end of my planned (rather arbitrarily chosen) time without stopping. 

I'll do a long run at the weekend - I'm just hoping for good weather to spur me on...

Purple and Lovely

I'm running the marathon as part of Team Em And Me - see here for why we're all doing it and meet us all here. 

Our first full TEAM meet-up is now in the calendar, and to keep us motivated through the many (potentially lonely) miles of training the Chief Instigators have issued us all with some matching laces to help remind us that we aren't alone:

Ready to go

They are indeed purple and lovely and I will wear them with pride. 

Can't Mistake My Biology

Today's run: 4 km (2.49 miles) in 30:00.
Injury check: Bit of a twinge.
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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. 

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:

• 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. 

Autumn Running

Today's run: 6.01 km (3.73 miles) in 45 minutes.
Injury check: All clear.
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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.

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.