Uh, oh! A bit of a setback

Friday was a day off. Piano lesson etc. No time for running. But planned to run on Saturday.

Saturday dawned and we decided that as Teresa needed to do some shopping in Dorchester, I would run around the West Walks, Bowling Alley Lane and the gardens area and meet her back at the car in the Waitrose car park. She also found out my trackies. They were in the drawer that I had only looked in once. Can't imagine how I missed them.

So, revised attire: Tshirt, sweatshirt, trackies, hat and gloves. She dropped me off at the corner and I started off with a brisk walk warm up. After a minute or two, I started running. A bit painful, particularly just above my left heel. Each time that I landed on my left foot, pain shot up my leg and the further I went, the more my left leg began to feel stiff and painful.

I continued with the run a little, walk a little routine. Round the gardens twice, back down towards West Walks, around the back of wherever, and finally a bit of a limp across the road and into the car park. Now, all I had to do was find the car. It was of course on the lowest level and I collapsed into the driver's seat and steamed.

Teresa's shopping expedition took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I could probably have driven home, had a shower, read the paper and driven back to fetch. However, I started to peer out around the numerous pillars to see if I could spot her, thinking that it would be helpful to drive the car out of the space to make it easier and quicker for her to get in, because the spaces in the Waitrose car park are very tight. I spotted a woman limping towards the car, but realised immediately that it wasn't Teresa. Shortly after, another limper, but no, she was a waddler, in the way that fat women walk. After a short while I realised that most of the women wandering around the car park were either limping or waddling. Even a relatively young slender woman who got out her car opposite to mine. I thought, "She won't limp." But, incredibly, as if reading my thoughts, she walked off, limping. What is it with females in Dorchester? They all seem to limp or waddle. I only saw two women in 40 minutes who walked normally.

By the time we arrived home, an hour after completing my 20 minutes of exertion, my leg was quite painful and very stiff. After lunch, I checked out the Runner's World http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=197 site to see what I might have done. I wasn't really much the wiser but I do plan to spend some more time researching.

We were invited to a Burns' Night at Fiona and Geoff's for Saturday night where I caught up with Brother in Law John, the London Marathon runner and experienced marathon and half marathon competitor. John gave me lots of good advice and encouragement. He also made me realise that I need to organise my routine a bit better and start building up my strength in other ways. He suggested doing some press ups. I have tried this before but usually collapsed, exhausted after about . . one.

I also spoke to Greg, www.justgiving.com/gregrosssampson who has been running for some time. He gave me more tips and introduced me to this great website http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?locale=en_gb which I need to spend time investigating.

Having just read yesterday's (Saturday's) Daily Telegraph, I see that the BUPA 10k is featured in their 'Top 10ks' feature. You can read the article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/4290685/Running-Top-10k-races.html

Day 3 / 4

My approach to my training regime has been consistent with most things I do. Construction of flat pack furniture, for example:
1) Begin assembly
2) Scratch head
3) Read instructions
4) Attempt adaptation
5) Dismantle
6) Re-assemble . . . according to instructions
7) Puzzle over surplus components

The training plan (plan?) has been thus:
1) Day 1 - go running
2) Day 2 - go hobbling
3) Day 3 - Research tips for beginners
4) Day 3 - Ignore advice and go running/hobbling again
5) Day 4 - Take advice and take a day off!

So, I'm not going out running this evening. I did go yesterday evening however and (contrary to above) did take some advice, but not much.

Some of the beginner's tips, for the benefit of any other wannabes out there are summarised as follows:

1) Do your warm-up by brisk walking
2) Do take it easy Either do a run/walk programme or run at a pace at which you can chat with a friend without being out of breath.
3) Do run by time, not distance Measure your run by time spent running, not by miles covered. That is, try to run for 30 minutes rather than for three miles.

You can find all this on http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=815

So, I did the brisk walk bit to begin with and then ran. GOD, that hurt! But, gradually, it felt better. I took a couple of walking breaks and then I made a huge mistake. When I reached the end of the first stretch, the end of the promenade, I sat down on one of the convenient seats for a short rest. When I stood up again, OUCH! New lesson - slow down to walking pace but don't stop.

I ditched the ski jacket this time but as it was a bit cold, opted for the alternative of two fleeces. Not good. I was steaming well before the end. Luke suggested that I should wear trackies rather than jeans, something I had already considered and, I know I have a pair somewhere but can't find them. So, jeans it had to be. Can't quite contemplate shorts in the current arctic conditions.

The return leg required a walking spell about half way and then I started running again. The startling thing was that it started to seem easier. Yes, my legs were killing me, but I found that I was not running out of breath so easily and it seemed easier to keep going. And, I was really enjoying it.

Had to take off one of the fleeces though. And the the hat, and the gloves. I'm going to have to sort out the right clothing.

Back home and the legs, arrghhh!. As soon as you rest, they seize up. But, after a quick meal, I went out to play table tennis for a couple of hours, not continuously I should add, and the legs didn't seem so bad.

This morning I felt like a cripple for the first half hour but it has eased through the day and I'm feeling pretty good now (8pm).

Tomorrow (Saturday), I'm going to get the bike out. God, I'm beginning to sound like some kind of fitness freak, and those who know me will appreciate how weird this is beginning to sound.

There will now be three of us running in London. Well, probably quite a few more, but I mean Luke, Greg and me. So, don't forget, you can donate at www.justgiving.com/michaelseall and www.justgiving.com/lukeseall and www.justgiving.com/gregrosssampson

Training when it's raining

. . . . and blowing a gale. Well, I couldn't wimp out on the second day, could I? Especially as Teresa said, ". . . you're not going to let a spot of rain stop you, are you?"
I ventured out at 5.45pm and drove to my allotted running strip, the Preston beach wall promenade at Overcombe. Stepping out of the car, I was immediately assailed by gale force winds and lashing rain. The top part of my new running shoes is made of a sort of nylon mesh, intended to keep your feet cool. The wind was blowing through this mesh and across my feet in a weird kind of way. I decided to retain the ski jacket, woolly hat and added gloves to the athletic ensemble. I had (foolishly?) discarded the second pair of socks before leaving home though.
Still, I thought, there won't be many others around this evening.
Now, for anyone who may be interested, there are several good reasons for not training when it's raining (and blowing a gale). First, you get seriously wet. Second, it's not so bad when the wind is behind you, because you get blown along, but when you are running into it, the effect is quite dramatic. And, third, the benches are all wet so you can't sit down for a rest without getting your bottom wet.
I set off into the head wind. I didn't realise that it made such a difference but before long, I was gasping for breath. I slowed to a walk just before reaching the edge of delirium. I also noticed that my legs were complaining from not being given a proper recuperation period from the previous 25 minutes of abuse, just 24 hours earlier.
Two brief walking spells later and I reached the end of the promenade, 0.7 miles. So far, I had seen not a soul. I turned around and started the run back. The same two guys that I saw on the first night were effortlessly loping towards me, dressed in shorts and running tops, chattering away to each other, oblivious to the monsoon conditions.
The change was dramatic with the wind behind me. I almost had to stop myself from being blown along too fast. Just one brief walking spell on this stretch. I've worked out roughly where the halfway mark is now, and so I pushed myself to get there before giving in to the rapidly approaching blackout. I could see the lights of Overcombe corner and pounded onwards, rain dripping from, well, just about everywhere. 20 minutes in total. That is probably pretty rubbish for about 1.4 miles. Still, every journey begins with the first step.
I had to walk up the gradient to the car this time, legs feeling pretty shaky. I stripped off the saturated ski jacket, hat and gloves in pouring rain and scrambled back into the car to set off for home, warmth, comfort and food.
Mark warned me about the pain. After the first run, I thought, "it's not that bad." This morning, every muscle screamed from the thighs downward. I am hobbling around like some old man. OK, I am an old man, but there's a juvenile trying to get out!

The inauguration

Well, not exactly. My inaugural run began as Barack Obama was 5 minutes into his inauguration speech. I listened to him fluff his swearing in and the first couple of minutes and then I was off.

Doing your first run is not as simple as it sounds. There are pre planning issues such as, what is the dress code, and where will you 'do it'. As the temperature was about 3C, I discarded any ideas of shorts and T shirt. In the end, I decided to just go in what I had on: jeans sweatshirt and of course, my new running shoes. I also added a woolly hat and ski jacket, just for luck. Decided against gloves though.

Next, where to run? I had already thought about this and decided that I would start on the beach wall promenade at Preston. This runs alongside the road for 0.7 of a mile. It is completely flat, has no roads or other obstacles other than a few people and is a fairly anonymous sort of place. There are two other advantages to this track. 1) It has a nice view of the bay and something to look at as you run, and 2) It has a series of nice wooden seats every 25 metres meaning that you can have a little rest if the going gets too tough.

So, I parked the car and got out. Now, what is the etiquette here? Do you start to run immediately or do you saunter nonchalantly to your starting point and then break into a run? Well, I chose the latter, feeling a bit of a fraud but hoping that as it was dusk, I wouldn't meet anyone.

Of course, I had hardly run 30 paces when an female jogger came from the opposite direction. She had proper jogging clothes on, making feel a little foolish in a ski jacket. Hey ho!

Things went well to start with. Those shoes - they are fantastic. They sort of propel you along. Half way along though, and I was starting to feel a bit knackered. Time for a sit down and a bit of gasping. Three or four minutes, and I was up again but before I reached the end I had to stagger to the nearest seat for another rest.

It seemed like no time at all when I reached the end so I checked my watch and started on the way back. I was determined not to sit down again until half way when I was feeling pretty exhausted (see picture). Another 3 or 4 minutes and off I went until the last seat, which is about 25 metres from the end. Phew!

Checked my watch and it had taken about 12 minutes, including the rest. Sounded OK to me. And then, I actually ran to the car which was about 100 metres away.

I felt a bit warm and just a tiny bit sweaty but when I got back into the car, the windows all immediately steamed up and I suddenly felt very hot. When I took my hat off, I think you could have boiled a kettle on my head! Otherwise, perfectly OK. That was, until I got out of the car again when my legs felt a little wobbly and started to ache.

Next morning? Not bad. Minor aches at the back of the thighs but otherwise OK. So, I'm going to try the same run again this evening with a slight change of attire. No ski jacket and I think I will reduce the foot covering to just one pair of socks and think about the hat.

If you would like to donate, go to http://www.justgiving.com/michaelseall

I've got the shoes

After much searching on the internet to find out what sort of shoe I need, I finally bought them. There is much more to this than I thought. I used this web site which was very helpful http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=481.

You have to get your foot wet, put it on the floor and see what shape it is to determine the kind of shoe you need. Then you have to go through a whole load of questions and then it gives you a selection of possible models to choose from.

I decided to write them all down and go to a shop to try some on. I went to JJB Sports in Dorchester and was immediately mesmerised by the huge display of shoes and no indication of what they are designed to do. Fortunately, there was a very helpful young lady who asked me lots of questions and then suggested I try on a pair which were in the sale. They fitted like a glove and felt great. I had to try on some more to see what the difference would be but the first ones were best (and cheapest!).

So now I have to go and do some actual, um, running. I haven't actually broken into anything remotely like a trot yet. I have sort of gone up the stairs quite quickly a couple of times but not actually, ah, run anywhere. I thought about it last night, but there was this big black cloud and so I thought, 'Let's not be hasty. Plenty of time, hey?'

So, maybe this evening. We'll see.

I'm going to be a runner!

Luke was intending to run for the Meningitis charity as his friend Charlie contracted this disease a year or so ago. Charlie survived and, I am told, is making progress but it has apparently been a long hard road for him.
Luke had to wait to be accepted by the Meningitis charity but was finally given the go-ahead last week and he signed up for the run on Saturday (yesterday). You can donate to Luke at http://www.justgiving.com/lukeseall

So, I have now signed up as well and I will be running as well. It can't be that hard can it?

I spent an hour or so trying to find out what sort of shoes I need to do this properly. Several people have now advised me that I need the right shoes and as far as I can see, they are going to cost £40 plus! Ouch!
I guess you need the right tools for the job so tomorrow or the next day, I will go to the horrible discount sports wear shop in Weymouth to see what I can find.
I haven't done any actual running yet. For one thing, I hurt my foot a couple of weeks ago and it is still very tender. Hopefully, it will heal up soon. I've been trying to work out how I'm going to fit some regular training slots into my already crowded week. At the moment I'm thinking that around 5pm most evenings in the week would be good.