My 4th running life !! (Comments Welcome)

[col1]

So have been focussed on getting long runs in over the last few weeks in preparation for my 26.2 in 4 weeks time, 15 miles done 2 weeks ago and 17 last week….. tomorrow will be 19/20 miles prior to flying out Wednesday for the Sprinting surprise.

We are away for 2 weeks so will race the 10 miler at WDW then on way home on 24th April I will race a Half Marathon with a view to trying to going Sub 2.

I ha e packed my suitcase and have selected my race shirt , I have ran quite a few Disney races since my first WDW marathon in 2004 but they were all 2016/2017 at Disneyland CA.

So in honour of my first WDW race since 2005 I am going with this…..



Will be staying at the All Star …. really getting excited now

Who else is going

 

[col1]

Just back from picking up my bib and T Shirt, skipped the expo….. I am not prepared to join an online queue just for the opportunity to buy race merchandise…. Probably just my age showing there but I can’t help it

Also I have so many Disney race T Shirts and medals I don’t really need anymore.

Had an enjoyable easy 3 miles , not to humid and made a change running in warm weather.

Will be leaving for the parks at 0630 tomorrow so undecided if I will run in the A.M.

 

[col1]

Hey !! took a little while to get round to the race recap Life in many forms has gotten in the way off many things running being one.

I enjoyed the race although very humid plodded round in 1.42.27, I did like the course and was fun to run a distance I had not done before.

I note there are spaces still left for 2024 but don’t know if I will be clear of current situations that would allow me to properly enjoy such a trip.

I have regained some but not all of the weight I had lost so trying to get back below 170 lbs again.

Running has continued but added weight and some inconsistency has seen my training time drop quite a bit but no matter. I have run 450 miles for the year which I know is not much but significantly more than any of the last 4 years, I am hoping to finish the year at 600 fingers crossed.

I am considering early retirement in the next 12 months a bit earlier than I had intended, and have been reflected as quite a number of runners I have know since I first ran I. 2004 have had to give up completely due to ongoing health issues as they have got older I am feeling a real sense of needing to make the most of the ability to run and try to achieve goals whilst I still can.

I had an fated DNF at a Full Marathon in May, I struggle with ITB over 16/17 miles. So I may have to accept a full marathon may not be in my future the last one being in 2005 and I had the same issues then.

I don’t have any races planned or in the books as yet but am on the lookout for a suitable Half Marathon in the new year.

In the meantime running is providing some release from life current challenges.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Stay Safe

Col

 

[Scootin'By]

One foot in front of another, one day at a time

 

[col1]

One foot in front of another, one day at a time

Thank you, you are absolutely right

 

[col1]

4 runs this week for a total of 12 miles.

Missed long run today but my hip was very painful so decided a rest day was in order.

There are no Half Marathons nearby for the remainder of the year that I fancy which I normally have as an upcoming goal.

I have decided to see if I can break 26 mi s for 5 k before end of year.

I did 26.41back in March but I weigh 18lbs more at this point….. but I think with good diet and following a specific 5k plan it is possible.

Have a great week everyone

Col

 

[col1]

So for last 3 weeks running has been sporadic with this week being very poor.

Lots of reasons but lack of proper routine and motivation the main culprit.

29th October to 5th November

4 runs = 15 miles

6th to 12th November

3 runs 8.6 miles

13th to 19th November

1 run 3 miles

However the universe must have been listening to me when I bemoaned the lack of local up and coming races and lo and behold a new half marathon has been announced in my home town in 15 weeks time

I have dug out my old 1999 copy of the competitive runners hand book, well worn and missing it’s back cover and selected a training plan and will attempt to follow it rather than my usual make it up as I go.



I will do a few weeks of the base mileage weeks until the plan kicks in in 2 weeks time.

Managed 2.08 in spring this year but going to try and dedicate myself properly to see if I can get sub 2 a running bucket list item.

Looking ahead to 2024 I have decided to run only local races this year so rough plan is as follows

Middlesbrough Half 3 Feb

Sunderland Half 12 May

Middlesbrough 10k 1st Sep

Redcar Half September 22nd September.

For 5k’s in the UK there is a thing called Parkrun free organised timed 5ks every Saturday at 9 am.

There are hundreds of them and I have about 4 within a 5 minute drive.

There is also one on a Sunday which is the same idea but independent of Parkrun about 3 miles away so I will likely do quite a few of these in my attempt to get below 26 minutes.

If anyone is ever here for a visit looking for a free, timed social 5k check it out, I know there are some now in North America, I did one in San Francisco but not as widespread I think as here. Anyway they are great

I am trying to find a Santa Dash/Turkey trot to see out the year but not found one yet.

Below is a Copy of my Half Marathon plan, feel free to make any suggestions.



Have a great week everyone

Col

 

[jmasgat]

Sorry...I can't get past the outfits they're wearing on the book cover!

Good luck with getting back at it.

 

[col1]

So on todays run I passed 500 miles for the year. My previous 3 years on Strava averaged between 260 and 325 so this feels like progress.

Hoping to finish at 600 for the year (99 to go )

Felt like a milestone so thought I would share as no one in”real life” world would get it

 

[AZMermaid]

Wow! That’s a great accomplishment!

 

[col1]

So nearly 6 months since I last posted an update !!

I finished the year with 535 miles for the year which I was quite happy about.

My first run of the New Year saw a return of the knee injury that saw me out of action for almost 6 months in 2022.

This meant i missed the Half Marathon I had registered for which was disappointing.

So January and and Half of February saw no running whilst I tried to rehab my knee.

Fortunately it only took 6 weeks rather than the 6 months in 2022.

March saw 13 runs for a total of 39 miles.

Just as I thought I was back on track an ankle injury on 8th of April had me out for a further 3 weeks.

Got back running again on 30th April and managed first full week of running this week. All 3 miles with 2 min run 30 seconds walking.



So feeling a bit more upbeat The grim totals for last 4 and a half months below.



Hoping to just slowly build from here, a bit disheartening that this time last year I had 2 Half marathons and the Springtime Surprise 10 miler in the books

Still, straightforward no looking back…..

Having regained 32 of the 45 lbs I lost during my injury in 2022 my focus for
the Summer is losing that again as I’m sure it is contributing to the injuries.

I have had quite a lot going on at work and with family so that has led to overeating etc.

I had a full physical recently and no Major issues other than the self inflicted ones such as Cholesterol being too high etc so that’s the focus.

One positive is I have completely cut out
Caffeine and doing more stretching which seems to have helped with my hip pain.

If anyone has any suggestions for any beginner stretching routines on you-tube etc let me know , did try a couple but a bit to challenging I am very stiff and seized up

Hope everyone is doing well?

Will try and do a better job of keeping this Diary up to date.

Col

 

[azrivest]

anyone has any suggestions for any beginner stretching routines on you-tube etc

Adriene has a few yoga videos targeted at runners on YT and some are only 7 minutes long.

Otherwise @WillRunForPizza pointed me towards FitnessBlender which has strength training videos of all shapes and sizes and a great deal are free

 

[col1]

Adriene has a few yoga videos targeted at runners on YT and some are only 7 minutes long.

Otherwise @WillRunForPizza pointed me towards FitnessBlender which has strength training videos of all shapes and sizes and a great deal are free

Thanks !! I will give both of them a look

 

[col1]

Week 2 of getting back hopefully while
Keeping injuries at bay.



2:30 Run 30 walk.

3lbs lost.

Happy with that

Hope everyone is doing well.

Col

 

[col1]

Hi Folks

3 runs last week of 3 miles each same 2.30 run and 30 minute walk.

Wednesday did beginners yoga……. It was tough I am very inflexible !

On Wednesday and Sunday I did strength training 20 minute kettlebell workouts.

Knee and ankles held up

So all in all happy with that.

Hope everyone is doing good.

Col

 

[col1]

Hi all

Time for an update, I thought it had been a few weeks since I last posted turns out it’s been 7 !!!

So recaps below nothing to write home about mainly just a couple of 3 mile runs per week but thankfully injury free so I am grateful for that







The reason for the Gap between 12th and 18th of June was sorting out the arrival of Tilly our newest addition to the family

She is a 4 year old Sproker from our local rescue centre.

I plan to take her for a run at some point so will report back on how that goes



Here she is enjoying her first (with us) visit to the beach



In regards to weight loss which would assist with injury prevention and running times has not went so well due to a couple of factors, one was a series of Music concerts we had planned since last year which involved quite a bit of travel and nice food.

For those interested they were Status Quo, Liam Gallagher (one half of Oasis) Tom Jones and AC/DC (who were a bucket list band to see)



Been back on weight loss for 10 days so far and 3lbs lost so progress.

In reality the last few months have been a struggle with motivation. I have been off work sick for 3 months for the first time in 37 years At a welfare meeting 2 weeks ago I was advised that the are making me redundant, quite a shock and having a hard time processing it all.

If someone had offered me 3 months off work at any time in last 37 years I would have been making such good use of it. Strange to have so much time and so little motivation.

To be honest I would have likely retired (from this role at least) in about 18 -24 months but not how I expected my career to end. It is what it is I guess.

Still the Sacramento Kings had a good off season which has cheered me up ….. go kings !!

Hope everyone is doing well.

Stay safe

Col

 

[jmasgat]

Wow. Sorry to hear about the job situation. It is never a good thing to be let go--even from a job that you were planning on leaving. Sending good vibes your way for whatever you choose to do next. At least you have had other good things happening to help balance out the crap. Tilly is a beauty, and travel & food are (usually) always fun.

 

[col1]

Wow. Sorry to hear about the job situation. It is never a good thing to be let go--even from a job that you were planning on leaving. Sending good vibes your way for whatever you choose to do next. At least you have had other good things happening to help balance out the crap. Tilly is a beauty, and travel & food are (usually) always fun.

Thanks @jmasgat I appreciate it. I will be fine just temporarily lessened my motivation whilst I await the process moving forward.

You a right of course lots of good going on and I am trying to focus on that as much as I can. Tilly is amazing such a laid back and loving temperament we are lucky to have her

 

[azrivest]

It must not be fun to be called "redundant" 37 years is quite a career, you should be proud

 

[col1]

It must not be fun to be called "redundant" 37 years is quite a career, you should be proud

Thank you In the long run it’s probably for the best , once the dust settles I will see what else life has in store