The Snow is gone and the running is back

Because of the recent snow and ice it has been 2 weeks since any type of run and nearly 3 weeks since a substantial run. That has now finally changed as the snow has gone and roads are safe to run. Luckily with the snow comes sledging and all the running up hills certainly keeps you active.

So yesterday Rob came up and we went for our usual run round the village, Rob was already feeling it after the run up the hill to my house. It's not surprising as he's only managed 2 runs in the last 2 months, and because of that he only managed 5.5km. I carried on to do 10km as I felt really good but oh did that change. Around my usual wall of 7-8km I was still ok and I even managed a good pace but just past 8km my legs decided to give in almost. I pushed on and when I hit 9km I managed to get a stitch down my left side, which gladly came just as I was on a downhill so could ease off a touch to work through it. I pushed on to 10km but there was no chance of anything more but that was ok, as this run was mainly about getting out again and de-stressing a bit, it wasn't about distance.

Since my last run my wife and I haven't had the best of luck. Our tumble dryer broke, the van wouldn't start, the car exhaust broke a day after we fixed the flat battery on it, and yesterday the water pump on the car went. Worst of all last week my wife had to make the difficult decision to have her horse put down after she became ill and was in real pain with no obvious cure or solution. Lets hope this is the last of our bad luck at least for a while please.

On a positive side the Shepley First School Fun Run is progressing nicely and we have 25 confirmed runners so far with a few more hopefully still to come. I would have been happy if we only got 20 so anything now is a bonus, and as its the first School fun run of hopefully more I think it's going brilliantly. We were having lots of questions about "facilities" for the ladies and had enquired about hiring Birds edge village hall but the cost was too high. So 1 of the ladies in my sub committee which I've named "my Rachels" for the obvious reason they are all called Rachel or Rachael, had an idea. We have changed the start/finish line from where it was to now being at the Windmill Nursery cafe which is on the original route just a different point on the route. This means there will be some where to meet and eat afterwards too. Plus there is now somewhere for the spectators to keep warm, until we eventually turn up.

I've also discovered this week via a twitter friend Sam Ward that we have a Huddersfield 10k. After living here for 33 years (basically all my life) I've only just found out about it. So I immediately signed up for it and shared it on Facebook and Twitter etc. There is a £100 bonus for this race to anyone who beats the race record, this won't be coming my way that's for sure. The record is 20 mins faster than my average 10k time, 20 mins oh dear that's fast.

Well it's good to be back running and blogging and remember everyone, keep running.

Snow running good idea or not?

For the past week my wife and I have been weather forecast addicts, waiting for the first decent snow fall of the year. Now it's here it's all smiles and giggles from the boys and constant questions of can we go outside on my sledge or snow scooter. I love the sound of happiness and excitement in the boys voices and even in Sarah's voice too, she loves the snow and not just because she might get a day off work. Today is suppose to be run day but unless the snow melts pretty quick it's gonna be a tough decision weather or not to go out. I don't mind the cold or the snow its the hidden Ice underneath that you have to be careful of, and will my running shoes cope if there is some. At the moment it's not too deep and most of the pavements and roads are ok but will it get worse or will it stop? I'll just have to wait and see especially as it not gonna be easy to find time otherwise. Sarah is gonna be late home tomorrow, its FOSFS meeting on Wednesday,Thursday it's parents evening at Sarah's school so then the next opportunity is Friday. That would mean it will have been over a week since my last run, and as I have completely caught the running bug that is unacceptable.

My last Run was on Wednesday but seem ages ago, at times I can still feel it in my legs. I did another PB distance of 14km but I tried to keep the pace up all the way through which meant it was really tough. I even attempted to finish off with a fast last km , 5.09 my not sound like a fast km but after 13km I think it was pretty damn good. I had pushed my legs and lungs a lot on the last 500m and was struggling to keep a rhythm, I was almost out of breath when out of nowhere a dog jumped up at a gate I was passing and almost scared me half to death. It wasn't what I needed cardio wise but after I had caught my breath I did laugh the remaining 300m I had to run, I bet not many people have laughed finishing a 14km run.

The Fun Run is, after a slow start finally taking shape and numbers are growing. There is a FOSFS meeting at school on Wednesday where I should get a few more entries too. I now have to write some letters to some of the houses on the route to inform them we will be running past, if only for courtesies sake. I've been trying to get people to join Rob, Luke and I on a practise run of the 10k route this Saturday but as the weather is the way it is then I don't even think we will be going but we shall see. I can't wait to do it with someone else just so I have a comparative view of it, as I'm the only one who has run it so far.

This past Friday it was Clarks 2nd Birthday thank you to everyone who gave him a card, present, or just wished him a happy birthday. Can't believe he is 2 already.

I will keep you up to date on the Fun Run and training but for now, Keep Running everyone.

Back into the routine and 2013 target set

The New year has passed and the routine is slowly coming back.

On my birthday I got a surprise text from Rob seeing if I wanted to go for a run. He did put 1 stipulation on it thou, and that was that he only did 5k. I agreed but I was going to carry on past 5k and if Rob stuck with me then ok and if he was struggling he was going to drop out. It was the first run for Rob in about a month and with Christmas timber to burn off he was determined to get back into the routine. We ran at a steady but slowish pace and Rob managed to stick it out till 5.5km. I carried on and did 1 more lap to make the total distance 8km, I could have done more but as it was my birthday I thought I should go home and spend it with the family.

Then on Sunday I felt like another run and on the off chance I texted Luke to see if he wanted to come along. To my surprise he did and actually sounded upbeat about it too. He asked for my help with something first but it was a nice warm up before the run. Luke was a bit more out of the routine compared with Rob, he goes to the gym a lot but doesn't do any running. So we set off at a good pace but after 1km Luke was already struggling, his ankle was sore and he has a bad back which became more inflamed and painful the further he went. So by the end of lap 1 and before he was in to much pain Luke dropped out after 2.7km and I kept going with a determination to do 4 laps. Which I did with no problems at all, I was slightly tired and my pace had tailed off a bit but for 11km it was, dare I say it, 'easy'.

In these runs I had sorted it with both Rob and Luke to do a practise run of the 10k route of the Fun Run I'm organising. In about 10 days time were gonna run it properly like we would on the day of the fun run. It will give us a chance to look at how things will run and if we need to make any alterations and how many signs and marshals we will need.

I have also created a Facebook event for the run to invite people who might not get a flyer or I won't see for a while. I left the event open so other people can invite people too. This lead to the 40 people I invited growing to just over 100, which is brilliant. I had interest from about 20 people in just over a couple of days. The rest of the flyers go out at school this week so I hope to get a bit more interest from that too. The closer it gets the more nervous I'm getting I just hope it goes well and no one gets hurt in training or on the Run.

One of my birthday presents was some money from my step mother and only to be used on some new running shoes. So I've been browsing the web and shops looking at what to get, but can't make my mind up.

What do you think I should get? I mainly run on roads and do an average of 20-25km a week. What type of running shoe should I get? What colour etc? These are the questions I keep circling I just don't know what I want yet.

I also had other questions in my head this week and the most important 1 was, what target should I set myself for 2013. After reading a few other blog and tweeting a few people to see what they had set themselves I arrived at a 1000km target. Last year I managed 358km from July to year end so a whole years running and longer distances I should be able to reach it. I will review it in June to see if I need to increase it or not.

Keep running everyone.

New Year Resolutions and New Gear

Here are some photos from over the festive period

 

Christmas and the New Year have now passed and attention after my Birthday tomorrow will be firmly on this years runs.

First up and most excitingly is the Shepley First School Fun Run which I have set up. Over the Christmas period I have been slowly spreading the word and a few of the flyers. I have also set up a Facebook event for it and posted the Flyer up on Twitter and Google+ and early doors things are looking good. I've already sent out a few registration forms and had lots of positive questions and comments about it. This is all without the main distribution if the flyers which will be when the kids are back at school. The school are going to put a copy of the flyer in each of the children's book bags to take home with them. We are hoping that people will take up the challenge, weather it's a New Year resolution or as part of a diet or as part of a new fitness regime.

After the fun run is the Yorkshire warrior run which is 10 miles or 16km of Obstacles. I finished off last year with a PB of 13.1km so I feel almost ready for it distance wise, but I'm going to need to build up a bit more strength and cardio to deal with the obstacles. I think I have all my gear for it too as my Christmas presents this year were mainly running based. I have almost everything no matter what weather is thrown at me I will have the appropriate clothing/equipment. The most important thing that I am missing for the Yorkshire Warrior is my running mates, over the next couple of weeks I'm going to have to sign them up for it.

A few days ago one of my oldest friends ask for my opinion over which running App to get. I advised him to go with the Endomondo App as its more rounded and has more features and setting to get a more personalised feel to it. Well I actually said it in a more bloke way I said 'get that one its alright yeah'.
Since that conversation he downloaded the Endomondo App and has done 3 1.7mile runs in 3 days each quicker than the last, very proud of you Jamie. Jamie and his girlfriend Lisa are also running the Fun Run with me on March 17th.

There are still many more events on my list for 2013 and there are also spaces in my calendar too. So keep reading as I keep running and let's see how 2013 progresses.