One Weetabix is Not Enough ...

So, Joe and I headed out for the 75 minute run today. We jogged around New Hall Valley (Or 'The Brook') and then hit Sutton Park. It was at this point that we democratically agreed to cut the run short by 15 minutes. It seems a bowl of weetabix is not enough fuel for an afternoon run. My legs felt fine, I was breathing quite easily ... but there was no power left (Oddly this makes me think of those old battery adds with the pink rabbits).

Overall, training has been going well this week. I went for two additional runs, a swim and a ten mile walk; not to mention an hour of walking before today's run ...

A a result my legs are feeling rather achy this evening and in reference to Joe's last post - I'm not sure I'll be needing to tenderise them with a meat cleaver anytime soon! My muscles are sulking from all the movement and making their complaints heard through the medium of 'Stabbing Pain', rather than numbness... each to their own I suppose.

Anyway, as the marathon draws closer I'm trying to think of interesting ways to reach our fundraising targets. Suggestions are welcome! There is talk of Flash Mobs, Murder Mystery Parties, Band Nights and our very own Olympics. Keep your eyes peeled!

Good Griffins It's Getting Close

To echo the sentiments of the title, crikey it's getting close to Marathon Day. Well, in the grand scheme of things it's not, we still have over three months to go, but in terms of mental preparation the pressure's on. I have been quite good this week, I've done two runs and if all goes to plan I'll be off for a swim this evening. I'm finding it increasingly hard to stay motivated though. I think my problem is that I get quite bored after about half an hour of running, so I'll open up the floor to suggestions for ways to add an element of excitement or interest to my running. I already take my iPod along, and have started to experiment with new routes, but any other suggestions would be very welcomed.

The plan on Sunday is for Sam and I to run for 75 minutes without stopping. This is quite daunting as I completed a half marathon in 105 minutes, so we'll only be half an hour away from 13.1 miles in theory. And by the end of the half marathon I wanted to cut off my legs and tenderise them to try and get the feeling back. Watch this space...

Oh, and don't forget to check out the Fundraising Flash Mob we've set up here.

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Now playing: Iron & Wine - Half Moon
via FoxyTunes

Run, Laugh, Stumble, Walk

Hello, sorry for the lack of posts of late. Training is coming on slowly but steadily...
Though difficult to squish into the day I'm finding the 'post-work-run' quite satisfying. A serotonin hit is more than welcomed after a day in the call centre (yep, I am that annoying person trying to get you to take part in government research).

Joe and I went for a particularly good 30 minute jog yesterday around the streets of Erdington, even including a bit of Fartlekking! Sadly I'm not quite as fast as the bearded one at sprinting ... but maybe one day ...

A slight tangent but the work 'Fartlekk' does bring back disturbing memories of Saturdays run. Last week Joe and I decided to run from his abode to Sutton Park and then some. Having not drank very many liquids that morning, Joe (in all kindness) handed me a glass of orange juice to down before heading out ... I'm not sure if it was the acid, the volume of liquid, or a bizarre form of IBS, but I was soon feeling like Paula Radcliffe (for all the wrong reasons).

Needless to say, whilst fighting the need to pee, I passed a 'substantial amount of wind'. Bouts of laughter ensued, so much so I was forced to walk a while as it's impossible to run whilst laughing. The moral of the story? No juice for breakfast on marathon day ...

Productive Days Off

I'm just over a month into my training now, and I'd like to say it's going well. However, my last run on Monday was not a success. It was only a short three mile affair, but I had to walk far too much of it and felt quite sick when I returned home. I blame my job. I've been forced to bite the bullet and get a temp job whilst I'm still looking for what I like to term "real work". The job is horrible, with the only saving grace being that Sam also works there, although we do have to sit on opposite sides of the office for no good reason. Anyway, I blame the job for my lack of fitness because it is hard to pull a run in after work, primarily because of a lack of food in the afternoon to fuel the run. I've been experimenting with afternoon snacks and bigger lunches, but nothing seem,s to do the trick. I'll keep on running, don't you worry!

And now for the real reason for this update: I have finally set up a Just Giving page, which you can access here. So please if you're reading this head over and give what you can, and don't forget there's three of us running so we don't mind if you want to split your donation three ways!

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Now playing: Cut Copy - Hanging Onto Every Heartbeat
via FoxyTunes