So, it's tutus all round then?

Six days left until the London BUPA 10k. I've started ramping up my training this week. Luke just did one 10k run as a kind of warm up, 10 days ahead of the race and that's it!. I have to keep at it because if I don't get out there almost every other day, everything seems to fall apart. Just shows what a 30 odd year age difference makes, hey?
Speaking to Greg at the weekend, he believes Luke has a tutu for him. Luke confirmed this yesterday and also told me that he's got one for me as well. This is probably just as well because I made a bit of a blunder with my race entry.
When I filled out the online entry form, it asked how long I was expecting to take to complete the race. This was back in January, before I had actually started running. Not having any idea, and not thinking that the answer would have any significance, I put 2 hours. Some weeks later when talking to John, I happened to mention this. He advised me to call them and get it changed. He said that the starting position was determined by this time and this would put me right at the back.
For various reasons, I didn't get through to them until last week, by which time it was too late. The stuff arrived on Friday confirming that I would be starting with the last wave. My number is in the 13,000s and there are 15,000 runners. So, I should be in good company with all the comedy chicken outfits and polar bear suits.
I also need to start ramping up my fund raising. so friends, beware. Sorry in advance folks, but it is for a good cause.
I will try to get enough photos on the day to do a MapVivo.com trip. If you haven't tried it, do have a look.

The tortoise and the hare . . . .

Of course, I always look for advise, read the tips, listen to the voices of experience and seek the views of those who know about the topic in question. Do I heed the advise? Well, er . . not very often. One of the first tips mentioned on http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=815 is, be a tortoise, not a hare. I saw that and took note way back at the beginning.

So, when I started running, I thought that if I was going to make the effort of putting one foot in front of the other in a sort of energetic fashion, it makes sense to put that foot as far in front of the other as I can. Simple. I figured that this may require a teensy bit more energy but, you get to your destination in half the time. That makes good sense, doesn't it?

Well, no. I have got that completely wrong. As I have been explaining in the previous two posts, Luke suggested I try the slower approach. My excuse so far is that I didn't realise that I was actually trying to run too fast but yesterday evening I set out to run slowly. EUREKA! It works. I passed my usual slow down to a walk places with ease and was just about to pass the first 1km mark (1km!) when I was interrupted by the phone ringing. I pulled it out of my glove, (I know, this wounds weird, but I take it in my glove thinking that if I collapse, at least I can call an ambulance) and tried to press the answer button with my gloves still on. I could see that it was Teresa calling and wondered why on earth she would need to reach me. It stopped ringing, but I thought I had better call back, so I de-gloved and tried to call. The line was busy. Tried the other number, no reply. So, I gave up, walked a little further and then started my slow running again. This took me about another 1km or just under and I turned around and walked a little way. Teresa called back to tell me that the guy who is quoting for the new dining room floor had arrived to measure up as agreed and I had forgotten he was coming. Hey ho.

Started running again and miraculously ran about 1.5, maybe 2km all the way back without stopping, and feeling as if I could carry on if I wanted. Amazing!

So, thank you Luke for your words of wisdom. Apologies to everybody whose advise I probably ignored. And, my advise to any oldies out there is, take it v-e-r-y, v-e-r-y S-L-O-W-L-Y. This is echoed by Candice, another reluctant runner at http://www.reluctantrunner.net/2008/11/. Candice's story is an inspiration. I urge any wannabe runners out there to read it. Candice is running huge distances. Maybe it's easier in a huge country like South Africa.

Anyway, I think that, at last, I am on my way.

Finding a rythm

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Last week, I managed to develop a bit of a routine. I can't get out training on a weekend, it is too complicated, too many other things to deal with. So, Monday to Friday is my plan. Last week, I managed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The weather was fine most of the week and it was very pleasant.
I am starting to run a little further and walk a little less. I reckon something like 0.25 mile running and 0.20 walking - something like that. By the time I have done a 20/25 minute stint however, I am close to collapse. My plan is to gradually increase the running distance and the total time and I hope that in about another 4 weeks, it will be something like 0.50 running and a bit less walking with a total time of 40-60 minutes. We shall see!
It is interesting to see some of the same people out running in the evenings. There seems to be a sort of code of silence though. The form seems to be head down, don't acknowledge any other runners, in fact, don't acknowledge anybody. It is serious stuff. I'm not sure if that is the correct etiquette or perhaps just the ones that I seem to meet. There are the usual dog walkers. They don't seem very friendly either, or perhaps they have learnt the code and understand that runners don't have time to say hello.
One young woman with two crazy dogs on a leash obviously didn't understand this last Tuesday though. As I ran (staggered) by, she cheerily called out to me with a friendly " . . aren't you doing well?" By way of reply, I managed no more than a grunt as I passed, partly from surprise and partly because that was about the only sound emission I was capable of. Ah, that's why nobody speaks. If they do, it would mean: a) wasting precious oxygen and, b) letting on that you are really gasping for breath.
I have to confess though, that it was rather nice to be given a little encouragement and I felt a bit guilty that I had not stopped to return the greeting. I'm not even sure that she would have heard my muffled grunt in acknowledgement. I think I'm going to have to be better prepared for any future offers of encouragement. As I ran on though, I started to think about why she might have said this. I was not wearing my hat for the first time as the weather had been warming up and I thought it best to let the steam out. "Perhaps," I thought, "she is so amazed to see such an old person running that she just felt compelled to say something."
This week has not been so good. It was my intention to go on Monday. Didn't happen. Too many things got in the way. Tuesday? Did you see the weathe? Not likely. That just leaves Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (you are supposed to do 3 runs a week). So, the pressure is on.

Snow go this week

What a week for weather, eh? It has played havoc with my training schedule. I only managed Thursday last week and it was Tuesday (this evening) when I finally managed to get out again. Needless to say, I was not perfectly toned. I stuck to the 60 second run/90 second walk X 8 regime. That is - run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds and repeat eight times. I can't believe how breathless I am after just 60 seconds of running. Well, it's OK the 1st and maybe 2nd 60 second spells but by the time I'm on the 7th and 8th, I'm pretty knackered..
There must have been 20 other people running on my race track this evening. They have all presumably been in the same situation weatherwise and have chosen the first reasonable evening to get out there and burn some rubber. I'm hoping to get Wednesday and Thursday in as well. Won't get back from Swansea until 8pm on Thursday. So, hoping for some reasonable weather.

A new start

After the lower leg injury of last weekend, plus taking on board John's and Greg's advice, I decided that I needed to be a little less impatient and develop a sensible strategy. The leg was starting to feel better on Monday morning so I decided that I would take a long (ish) brisk walk on Monday evening and then try to alternate running and walking days. My plan was that the walking would stop my muscles from going back to sleep while giving everything a bit of a rest at the same time. I also decided to take some of the advice from Runner's World http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=29
It says that you should comfortably be able to build from nothing to running continuously for 30 minutes in the space of eight weeks. It suggests that you follow this plan:

Week 1 Run one min, walk 90 seconds. Repeat eight times. Do three times a week.
Week 2 Run two mins, walk one min. Repeat seven times. Do three times a week.
Week 3 Run three mins walk one mins. Repeat six times. Do three times a week.
Week 4 Run five mins, walk two mins. Repeat four times. Do times a week.
Week 5 Run eight mins, walk two mins. Repeat three times. Do three times a week.
Week 6 Run 12 mins, walk one min. Repeat three times. Do three times a week.
Week 7 Run 15 mins, walk one min, Run fifteen mins. Do three times a week
Week 8 Run 30 mins continuously.

It does also say that if you are over 40, you should start by doing lots of walking for about 4 weeks before starting the above. But, I have decided to start by with a brisk walk for a couple of minutes followed by alternate 30 second runs/50-60 second walks for about 2.5 miles which takes about 30 minutes. This is from the Oasis cafe at Overcombe to the Pier Bandstand in Weymouth and back again.

We were away in Amsterdam for Tuesday and Wednesday but on Thursday evening, I started my new training plan. I also decided to cut down to T-shirt and sweatshirt plus hat and gloves and to try to stick to my beach front promenade running track.

5.30pm Thursday. Dusk, dry with brisk icy east wind blowing straight off the sea, brrrrrr! Promenade more or less deserted. Off I go. It seemed to go well. I was warming up (as in - no longer freezing cold) by the time I was into the last half mile and by the time I clambered back into the car, I felt as if I had stretched and exercised everything and needed to turn down the heating.

Friday was piano lesson so didn't do anything but Saturday morning at 11am, was back to running 30 secs/walking 50 secs. This seems to work well. Don't think I'm going to do anything today (Sunday) but will be doing either run/walk or walk only tomorrow (Monday).

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

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.