ASICS Kingston 8.2 Mile Race

EIGHT WEEKS TO GO

Sunday 30th March

A mile is longer than a kilometre.

Not rocket science I know, but something I became acutely aware of this morning.

Most of my training thus far has been done in kilometre denominated races: You run, every so often a sign pops up telling you which kilometre you're at. Psychologically it's quite comforting and - when you're running in kilometres - it's never too far until the next sign.

Cut to rainy Kingston at 7am on a depressingly-grey Sunday morning. In real terms it was 6am because the clocks went forward last night. Eighty-percent recovered from a knock-out bout of Winter Vomiting Illness, and after five straight days without running, I had - perhaps foolishly - decided to get back in the game at a 8.2 mile "breakfast run" in south west London.

Got off to a slow start in a bottle neck. Forced to dodge way too many obstacles in Kingston town centre (Not cool, Mr. Race Organiser). Became distressed at lack of distance sign posts. Realised a mile is a lot further to run than a kilometre, hence lack of signage. Splashed about in some mud. Ran along the river (pretty), then along the road (not so pretty). Handed free lucozade. Finished. Handed more free lucozade. Became stuck in long queue to give in bar code (Again, not cool.) And another to pickup bag (Ditto).

Maybe it was the weather or the rude early start or perhaps it was my mood or lack of health, but I didn't enjoy the Kingston run as much as I'd hoped. Granted, part of the course goes along the river and past Hampton Court Palace which is pretty, but the thrill of that is soon eroded by the drudge of running the final two-thirds of the race along major roads. Not good for the lungs or the knees. And the organisation could be better: there's no accurate timing, no clocks along the way and at the finish you're required to rip off a bar code and queue up in a funnel system so that your place in the race can be recorded. Which seemed to take forever. Bah humbug. Overtired. Going to bed.

Ran: 8.2 miles in one hour and fourteen minutes

Loot: Novelty Mug (much respect), ASICS Branded Pen, Organic Dark Chocolate, Banana, Honey and Oat Snack, LOADS of Lucozade

Really Dreadful Pictures:

www.sportcam.net/photos/0804010747/0/pv_BRE08_5193x015604.JPG

www.sportcam.net/photos/0804010747/0/pv_BRE08_5193cx013216.JPG

www.sportcam.net/photos/0804010747/0/pv_BRE08_5193x002182.JPG

Highs: Running along the river, Finishing.

Lows: Queuing to finish, grim porter loos, moody women in the bag drop, lack of proper time checks.

Ate:
Porridge with banana
Honey and oat bar (in race goody bag)
Hot cross bun
Chicken and avocado sandwich (yum)
Mint choc chip ice cream cone
Hot chocolate
Pineapple chunks
Pasta with courgette, tomato and bacon sauce

Two More Days Of Nowt

Friday 28th and Saturday 29th March

Really there isn't much to blog about. I've wasted 48 hours of my life lying in bed. Felt well enough on Saturday to try 3 "normal" meals but not well enough to run anywhere. Consulted my friend's doctor-boyfriend over lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. He said I'll be well enough to run again on Sunday, provided I'm properly hydrated. Apparantly that's one of the key aspects of marathon running (eight weeks off, it's a constant learning curve). Onward and upward, off to bed early ahead of loss of hour and VERY early start...

Learnt about: hydration

Watched: Hot Fuzz on dvd

Ate:
Dry bread
Smoked chicken salad
Chocolate brownie
Chicken stir fry
Cadburys Creme Egg

Wipe Out: Third-Straight Day

Thursday 27th March

The second day of trying to shake off the norovirus saw me floating round the house in a trance, bleaching everything I own and watching a lot of dreadful day-time TV.

Realised things were hitting a low point after spending thirty minutes musing as to why diet coke tastes so much better out of a can...

Ran: No where, THIRD DAY IN A ROW

Ate:
A few jacobs cream crackers
Lots of cans of diet coke
Two slices of dry toast

Knocked Out By Norovirus

Wednesday 26th March

Training's taken a back seat after some unscrupulous villain infected me with Norovirus, or Winter Vomiting Disease.

It's a new one to me, but according to BBC Health, Norovirus is the most common cause of gut infection in the UK, hitting over 60,000 people in England each year. Plans to run home as part of training had to take a back seat as did the idea of meeting a university friend from Leeds who's only in London for one night. Stomach feels like its in a wrangle, sleeping a lot. Bored myself to sleep listening to France-England on Radio Five Live and surfaced only to watch The Apprentice at nine.

The Apprentice: First episode of a new series. Interesting collection of 16 "High Achievers" this year, whittled down to 15 after trainee solicitor Nicholas de-Lacy Brown got the boot for selling whole lobsters at four pounds ninety each. Sir Alan Sugar sent his job-seekers to Islington's Chapel Market to flog 600 quids worth of fish and return with a profit. Unsurprisingly the market-goers snapped up the cheap lobsters, prompting the boys team to lose and Nicholas "Head of Pricing" de-Lacy Brown to get his marching orders. Shockingly all of the eight team members seemed to think £4.90 was the right price for a lobster. I wondered where they shop. Lobsters are about 15 quid each in Waitrose. At the Big Easy in Chelsea they have a lobster festival where half a lobster sets you back £15, and in J Sheeky, it's a hefty forty quid. The more cynical among us might speculate that these blunders are, at least in part, solely for the camera's benefit...

Ran: No where, for the second-straight day

Ate:
Porridge
Tuna sandwich
Half pack of cheese and onion crisps

Vommed: A lot

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7169347.stm

Inpromptu Day Off

Tuesday 25th March

Knee and hip felt off after yesterday’s escapades. Resolved to tackle problem by wearing four-inch heels to work and “resting” i.e. ignoring alarm clock to lie-in when I should have been on a pre-work run. Wracked with guilt over lack of training: tried to overcompensate by researching training watches on the internet. Couldn’t commit to one. Watched Hollyoaks, ‘Stenders and Napoleon Dynamite in succession. Should have been running.


Ran: No where

Worried about: Getting a cold

Resolved: To do better tomorrow

Ate:
Soy-milk porridge with honey and banana
Niçoise salad (no anchovies)
Apple, kiwi and strawberry salad
Innocent mango and passion fruit smoothie
4 x mini eggs
1 glass of white wine
Prawn and pea risotto
3 x mini Cadbury crème eggs
Lots of Rooibos tea

Stanwick 10K Road Race - Easter Monday

9 WEEKS AND COUNTING

Monday 24th March

Madness is... getting out of bed at 7am on a Bank Holiday Monday.

Utter madness is getting out of bed at 7am on a Bank Holiday Monday in sub-zero temperatures, dragging your entire family an hour in the car to a village you've never heard of and completing a 10K race over undulating terrain.

And so my marathon journey took me to Northamptonshire village, Stanwick, and its annual Easter run. It was cold. Numb feet and blue arms at the start line. Much debate over whether or not to wear jumper.

Started as well as could be expected on an incline. Spurred on by sighting of Grandpa at 1K. Mental strength left me at 1.5K when it dawned on me that there was likely to be more than one hill... pretty sure I'd been overtaken by at least 50 other runners by then. Got into stride behind seriously old dude with pale grey mullet, matching sweatbands and tiny shorts. Internalized thoughts. Lots of hills. Sharp incline about three quarters in = upsetting. Downhill finish = serious killer.

Ran: 10K undulating road race in 50 mins and 37 seconds.

Loot: Medal, orange squash, glory.

Highs: Spotting Gramps at 1K, regaining the feeling in my toes at 2K

Lows: Turning blue, getting overtaken by a geriatric

Ate:
Shredded wheat with skimmed milk and banana
Baked potato with beans and cheese
1 slice Cadbury's Easter Cake
Pint of shandy
1.5 glasses of rose
Unorthodox spaghetti carbonara (chicken as well as bacon).