Wednesday 23rd September

4 days to go.

A few days to go and the nerves are just starting to kick in.

Last weekend (12th September) I managed a 30+ Km run. I managed to run the first 25 Km and then a small amount of walking for the rest. The only real issue I had was blisters. Every time I run over 15 Km I always seam to get them. I have tried nearly everything so the final thing is new trainers and socks.

I bought another pair of New Balance trainers this time the 723's. They are well cushioned so this should same on my knee pain. I also invested in some New Balance socks (I was already using the Nike running sock). I did a 15 Km Run last Sunday with these and did not have any issues so my fingers will be crossed, my wife will have my old trainers and spare socks just in case I need them.

The other thing I invested in this last week was a fuel belt with 4 water bottles. The only thing I don't like is the size of the pocket for storing things, it is very small. I did manage to lose one of the bottles on my run also, so I am down to just three now. I think I will add an additional strap to ensure that it dose not happen again.

Thursday 10th September

17 Days to go

Nerves are kicking in a little now. With just over 2 weeks left til the big day I am questioning my sanity. Have I trained enough????....nope, do I wish I could change the event to a half marathon?....No Chance. Having done two half marathons I know I need this challenge, I feel confident that I will complete the course but the real question will be, what state will I be in at the finish?

Training has been good and bad. The bad is that I have not managed enough base runs for the last week, mainly because of work and general tiredness (new baby have a lot to answer for). The good was on Saturday Morning I was up a little early so I decided to take a quick run before my shower. I ran my first ever run and knocked almost 2/3 of the time off. The training is paying off

Also I went to the "Sope" for a 3Km run on Sunday. This dose not sound to good but I did not take my car, I ran there and back also. This added up to 18 – 19 Km . On my return trip I ended up running into an organized run (26Km) so I ran with the other runners for around 500 meter through one of the parks. I also saw a very rear site, the main avenue through Mexico city was completely empty so I got to run straight down the center which was realy nice.

This weekend will be my longest run, I am aiming for 30 – 32 Km.

September 1st 2009

26 Days to go

A bad weeks training, but I managed a few runs. My training took a back seat mainly because of the arrival of our new baby and a serious lack of sleep (last night I only managed 2½ hours). I will keep up the runs this week though.

I had planned to enter another race this coming weekend, a 26 Km run. I have decided against this because I am feeling my ankles a little tight so I am going to run at my usual place 'El Sope', this way if I feel like I need to stop I can without having to walk to the finish. With less than 4 weeks left until the big day I will be very mindful of any potential injuries.

1st Emocion Deportiva ½ Marathon

August 24th

33 Days to go

I have not blogged for a couple of weeks now mainly because my wife had our baby last week. Both are at home doing well.

Yesterday I ran the 1st Emocion Deportiva ½ marathon. This was another well organized event by Emocion Deportive. A great crowd of people running. The only thing that I would fault is the final water stations around the 20Km mark were missing, but this was only very minor as we were so close to the finish. At one stage between 12 – 14 Km's there was even someone handing out beer. I was tempted but decided not to. The route was great i got to see some great places along the way that i normaly would not have had the chance to see.



My personal run was hampered by a few things. I was so careful what I ate even declined the Taco's the rest of the family to avoid any sickness. The problem was I woke up at 5am with stomach ache. I was debating whether to run or not then I remembered what I had read or heard in one of my many magazines or DVD's 'you are already a winner by arriving at the start line'. So that was is it I took some medication and promised myself if I felt ill at any point I would drop out, but I was going to give it a go.

I arrived near the start point by 6 am, I had decided to take my care even though I could have gotten there by Metro, this was mainly just incase I pulled out. I started to get my final things organized only to find my Gatorade powder missing, then my start position bracelet had been left behind. Well at least it was now and not the full marathon in a months time. At this point I decided that there was no point taking my fuel belt, so I just took my power gels and car key.


The actual run went well, though I only had one gel because of my illness and limited my Gatorade intake as both aggravated my stomach. It was nice to see my wife and sister-in-law cheering me on at around the 17½Km mark as I was not expecting to see her because she had only been out of hospital for 4 days. Just before the 20Km mark I was slowing down to take a breather before a final 1km push to the finish when a Mexican Guy came up along side me and said ' don’t slow down its only 1 km to go' he then zoomed past me. I thought ok I will keep him in my sites so I picked up the pace and had a final 200 meter sprint to the finish. I did not catch the Mexican guy, he finished about 10 seconds before me (though I did check his chip time and overall I beat him be 5 seconds…..sorry). the other thing I noticed was the last 3 Km people that had already finished had come back down the track to encourage and run in with the people who were still on the course………….GREAT SPORTSMANSHIP I feel proud to live here amongst people with such great character.

When I arrived home I was greeted by the family who then made a nice ham and pancake breakfast before I crawled into bed to try and get over my illness.

Training

August 3rd 2009

56 days to go.

Ok now I am starting to feel nervous I have just under 8 weeks left, I need to get yet more training runs in. I plan on doing a 20 – 25 Km run this weekend (I plan on running for 2½ hours). Next week I will try and increase this to 25-30 Km (so long). Then I have a half marathon on the 23rd August which I am looking forward to, I hope to complete it in under 2.15 which will give me a 21 minute improvement.

I only got a couple of runs in last week, the best one was early hours of the morning at the 'Sope' which is a park with various runs including a 2km run that is distance marked and also has a clock at the start/finish. I guess I was there at around 5.45am when it was dark and I ran until it was daylight. It was so nice.

training

July 27, 2009

Only 63 days till the big event and only 27 till my next half marathon.

I am so happy after last weeks training. I managed some base runs that were between 5 and 8 Km and on Saturday I had a 16 Km long run. I used 500 meters to warm up and 500 meters to cool down (light jogging), but ran the rest of the 15Km non stop. No breaks just a constant pace except for a final 200 meter sprint before my cool down. I took all my drinks while running because I am trying to control take them whilst running. This is mainly just down to my breathing.

The good thing is barring painful knees for a couple of hours after, I am pain free. I even went out with my wife, one of my son's and the dog for a nice walk on Sunday to a local lake.

I started reading a book called Chi running by Danny Dreyer. This has helped me a lot even though I am only a few chapters into the book. Just to prove a point, my previously longest run without stopping and walking was 9.5 Km which I completed on the 18th July 2009 which was just before I started reading the book. Now that is up to 15Km the following week. Also having said that I felt really good at the end of the run.

As for my overweight issue. I weighed in on Saturday at 106 Kg, to date I have lost 9Kg. I am hoping my increase in run distances will help me lose more weight (another 21Kg). It is hard to diet with the running because of amount of energy I am burning (around 2000 calories burnt on Saturdays run). I just have to make sure they are good food and not sweets or cakes.

Also I got to see two motivational films this week one by Dean Karnazes, have a look at his website http://www.ultramarathonman.com/flash/ very very very inspiring person. The second was called Running the Sahara, this was also very inspiring showing what humans are capable of, here is a link about this
http://www.runningthesahara.com/about.html

Lets see how well I can improve this week

Back to normal training at last

July 21st 2009

A fairly good week last week. Training went well, I even managed to start running again and ran 9.5Km on Saturday morning (I only had an hour due o other commitments). My ankle feels fine, no pain though I still know to be careful for the next week. I decided not to do the planed 10 mile run last Sunday purely so as not to effect my ankle again.

I have decided to do my running away from the Gym from next week. I only really use the tread mill and I need to more to more road running now anyway.

I am also getting allot of support from Ford of Mexico. I have the charity now which is 'Ser Humano' http://www.serhumano.org.mx/english.html a very worth while charity offering support to children with HIV and also adopting them. Ford is also going to put an article about the fund raising in the internal Ford magazine which will get more people aware of what I am trying to do.

This also gives me some more motivation to do well in the training and event,…..you can never have to much motivation. I have now had a few sponsorships to my English charities which also helps.