112 days to go - Enough is Enough!

We had a "new year's eve eve" dinner last night with Bobbie, David and God and things got a little out of hand! My body hoisted the white flag and made it quite plain that there would be no exercise today in fact it pretty much insisted on spending the day horizontal. I have to admit that when the Potties phoned to say that their party for tonight was off I breathed a huge sigh of relief. To tell the truth this whole festive season is starting to get a bit old, and I am looking forward to getting back to serious training as of tomorrow.

113 days to go - Captain Morgan leaves his mark

Route #8 Duration : 1 hr 43 min 25 sec Energy : 1304 KCal Distance : 11.2 miles Max HR : 150 Bpm Av HR : 142 Bpm Mile pace : 09:14 min/mile To be honest I am still feeling a little bit slow, might be something to do with the half bottle of rum I drank at the God's last night, who knows. Anyway I just would not have been able to live with myself if I had missed again today, so I forced myself onto the road. At least the weather was better. As it happens my pace was good for the first 5 miles or so, and then I started to feel the true effects of my recently unhealthy lifestyle. All things considered not too bad a run, at least I feel that I am back on the training trail. For the record, I passed the 200 mile mark today!

114 days to go - Just too much

Another day off, constant partying and filthy weather outside made me decide on another day of rest - hey it is the season to be merry!

115 days to go - Revenge of the Devilboy

No Running today due to a very late night and the continued presence of DevilBoy and the Gibbos. Maybe I can get back on the road tomorrow, fully rested.

116 days to go - Cool Runnings

Route #2 Duration : 58 min 50 sec Energy : 709 KCal Distance : 7.0 miles Max HR : 148 Bpm Av HR : 138 Bpm Mile Pace : 08:24 Min/mile Inspired by yesterday's efficient run, I decided to test myself on a slightly longer distance at the same moderate intensity rather than going for the full half marathon as I had been planning. Things went pretty well with my pace/performance much the same as the day before. I would like to think that this represents the pace and intensity I will be operating at come the big day.

117 days to go - Refuelled and on the road again

Route #11 Duration : 44 min 45 sec Energy : 531 Kcal Distance : 5.3 miles Max HR : 146 Av HR : 136 Mile Pace : 08:26 min/mile Late nights and (moderate) consumption of Christmas fare left me feeling a little woolly headed this morning (I got up just before noon, I promise), and I had to make an effort to get out on the road. I was really pleased I did because the run cleared my head and I enjoyed the feeling of having fully refuelled legs. That freshness shows up in my performance as I was able to run at a good pace without overdoing the HR. I wore my orthotics again today (complete with gaffer tapped arches) and they felt much better. I think the way to describe the fit would be "Uncompromisingly Comfortable". I am looking forward to an early night and a 13 mile run tomorrow.

118 days to go - The yule log glows

Christmas Day, eat drink be merry for tommorow we die!

119 days to go - Nobody stirred not even a mouse

Route #7 Duration : 36 min 21 sec Energy : 333 KCal Distance : 3.5 miles Max HR : 126 Bpm Av HR : 118 Bpm Mile Pace : 10:23 min/mile

Winding down for Christmas I had a very pleasant light recovery run round the field that ironed out the last of the stiffness in my legs and cleared any remaining cobwebs from last night's minor festivities. It is great to be out in milder weather, not feeling as though you are on a survival course! I gave the orthotics a second run out, having first ducktaped my foot to protect the blister I got last time. They were not quite so painful today, I might get used to them yet. I am hoping to have a chilled day off tomorrow (with only just enough to drink), with a view to tackling another 13 mile run on Tuesday or Wednesday. Merry Christmas !

120 days to go - Into the recovery zone

Route #3 Duration : 39 min 2 sec Energy : 355 KCal Distance : 3.6 miles Max HR : 125 Bpm Av HR : 117 Bpm Mile pace : 10:50 Min/mile I awoke with slightly stiff legs and hips after yesterday's exertions and decided that a recovery run was all that was needed today. I actually find it quite difficult to force myself to run at the slow pace necessary to stay in the recovery zone, but I managed pretty well and I must say that I definitely felt better after the run than I did before it and the subsequent trip to Tesco was harder than the run! The sight of me gently jogging along seemed to greatly amuse my aunt and cousin who I passed on my way round, I suppose I should be glad that I am bringing joy to others!

121 days to go - Half way is still a long way

Route #10 Duration : 2 hrs 6 min 33 sec Energy : 1687 KCal Distance : 13.1 miles Max HR : 157 Bpm Av HR : 147 Bpm Mile pace : 9:39 min/mile What can I say? I thought that going from 11 to 13 miles would be a breeze, how wrong I was. I cannot believe how hard I found it yesterday. The weather was foul - more freezing fog - and my general level of performance seemed to be down from the start. I had intended to keep my HR in the conversion zone all the way but soon discovered that I was struggling to keep below 150 BPM. My pace for the first 7 or 8 miles was OK, averaging around 9 min per mile but after that things went down hill fast, with my last mile taking nearly 11 min! While I am pretty happy to have cracked the distance, I am a little disappointed with the time it took me. I am telling myself that a number of factors have contributed to the slow pace - weather, extra clothing, over-training etc. - and I will have to ensure that my next attempt on this distance is in optimal conditions when I am well rested. I really need to be doing this distance in well under 2 hours if I am to have any hope of doing the main event in under 4.

122 days to go - Rest days are training too.

A day off today, planned I might add not enforced by over indulgence. I am planning to do my first half marathon distance tomorrow and some shorter runs on Saturday and Sunday so I can have Christmas day off without compromising my schedule.

I acquired two new bits of equipment today. My new camelback catalyst hydration pack arrived in the post this morning and I bought a new Polar RS100 heart rate monitor to replace the one that went wrong yesterday. Needless to say that once I had purchased the new HR monitor I discovered the reset procedure on the old one which sorted it out. The moral of the story being RTFM I suppose. Oh well, I expect I will get something for one of them on EBay.

123 Days to go - Frosty in foggy bottom

Route #9 Duration : 1 hr 10 min 0 sec (estimated) Energy : 750 Kcal (estimated) Distance : 7.00 Max HR : 155 Bpm (estimated) Av HR : 135 Bpm (estimated) Mile pace : 10:00 min/mile

Wow, winter got here big time today! I do not think I could see further than 50 yards at any time during the run, and the temperature was well below freezing - I had frost on my clothing at the end - real freezing fog. The whole experience of running through the countryside in such radically different conditions was quite bizarre if not surreal, and it was made stranger by the fact that my stopwatch/HR monitor stopped working after 10 min, so I had very little idea as to how fast I was going.

I had intended for the run to be at conversion pace and I was quite relived to see that I was just about spot on when I saw the time on my return home.

124 Days to go - Testing the orthotics

Route #7 Duration : 27 min 3 sec Energy : 423 KCal Distance : 3.5 miles Max HR : 172 Bpm Av HR : 154 Bpm Mile pace : 7:43 min/mile I could feel yesterday's exertions in my legs today, in fact I felt generally tired and slow all day. Lots of people around me seem to have colds, I hope I am not going down with one. The run today was short and fast, I stayed in the tough zone the whole way. I managed the first couple of miles in good time (15 min by my estimate) but my pace tailed off towards the end. I wore my orthotic insoles during the run for the first time and I am quite sceptical as to the accuracy of the fit. There is a definite pain under the ball of my left foot and in the arch of my right. Suvanne warned me that it would take some time to get used to the insoles but they seem very gnarly at the moment.

125 Days to go - 11 mile challenge

Route #8 Duration : 1 hr 36 min 43 sec Energy : 1278 KCal Distance : 11.2 miles Max HR : 154 Bpm Av HR : 148 Bpm Mile pace : 8:38 min/mile Call me impatient, impulsive or obsessive but I have been stewing over how fast I could have run Saturday's distance at a higher level of effort. I know that I had chosen to run at an easy pace, but that pace, coming in at nearly 10 min a mile, would put me well over my 4 hour target on race day. With this in mind I decided to tackle the same run at the next level of effort - the challenging zone. As you can see from the performance data upping my heart rate by 13 beats per minute quickened my pace by more than a minute a mile, knocking almost 15 min off Saturday's time. I must admit that this did get to be pretty tough after about 9 miles but it has also reassured me that my sub 4 hour target is achievable.

126 Days to go - It must be Sunday

Ah the day of rest, and a good job too as yet again I find myself incapacitated by over indulgence. We went out to dinner last night and the combination of the euphoria from the long run, great company, fine wines and 5 days of abstinence led to definite over consumption and inevitably a filthy hangover. It seems I can no longer be trusted with alcohol! At least my timing was better this week - there being no run scheduled for today. This weeks totals are 36.8 miles in 5 hrs 37 min 53 sec burning 4164 Kcal at an average heart rate of 142 BPM and average mile pace of 9 min 10 sec.

127 days to go - Fat burning in the long run

Route #8 Duration : 1 hr 51 min 19 sec Energy : 1255 KCal Distance : 11.2 Miles Max HR : 157 Bpm Av HR : 135 Bpm Mile pace : 9:56 Min/mile Having studied various training plans and seen that the "Long Run" should be a session that is specifically designed to train the body in fat assimilation, I set off on today's run determined to stay in my "conversion" HR zone of 115 - 135 bpm. I managed to achieve this for the vast majority of the run, albeit at the very top of the range. In fact I am pretty sure that my recorded maximum HR of 157 was a monitor glitch because the rate suddenly jumped up to that level for a few seconds before jumping straight back to 130. Bizarrely I found it quite difficult to keep my pace in check and felt full of energy at the end, although I found I had to run the last couple of miles quite slowly to keep my heart rate in the zone. The advice I have seen states that these long conversion runs are typically a minute or so slower per mile that the target pace for the race itself, that being the case I am relatively pleased with today's performance. Today was the first time I have taken water with me on the run and I think that it is a very good idea, and I have ordered a runner's hydration pack to make this easier to do. The weather today was perfect, it was a real pleasure to spend a couple of hours running in the sunshine with next to no wind and a nice cool ambient temperature, I suppose days like today are the reward for those foul wet and windy days! Finally, I suppose even I must accept that the Ashes are gone, go on England, prove me wrong!

128 days to go - A blast on the grass

Route #7 (Xcountry) Duration : 27 min 42 sec Energy : 407 KCal Distance : 3.5 Miles Max HR : 167 Bpm Av HR : 156 Bpm Mile pace 7:54 min/mile Today was a high speed low duration day and I chose my cross country loop for the route. Considering that the terrain is a little more challenging, both in underfoot conditions and the number of contours crossed, I was relatively happy with my pace. Any stiffness that I was feeling yesterday had eased overnight and the run itself caused no further reaction. I had a chiropractic check up today and it seems that I am straighter than usual. Must be the power of orthotics. As you will see in the picture to the left I also had a haircut, now my head is more aerodynamic I can expect a performance improvement. I don't know what to say about the cricket, England will have to have a spectacular first session of day 3 or the Ashes are history, if they aren't already.

129 days to go - GO, Monty GO!

Route #2 Duration : 1 hr 1 min 8 sec Energy : 834 KCal Distance : 7.0 miles Max HR : 157 Bpm Av HR : 151 Bpm Mile Pace : 8:44 min/mile So can you tell me why we have to wait until the 3rd test when we are 2 and zip before we play our best bowler? I am sure I am not the only one asking and I would not be surprised if Monty's success spells the beginning of the end for Duncan Fletcher. The day would have been perfect had England not lost those two early wickets, but at least they are competing and have not lost the Ashes yet. Enough about cricket, I had better tell you about my run. A nice little medium intensity hour today, I wish I could say that I was completely happy, but I must admit to a bit of a niggle in the right ankle. Not that unusual, but annoying all the same. Comparing performance to the last few times I ran this course I have noticed that although my heart rate (intensity) is similar my pace is significantly slower. How can this be? Have I got less fit over the last few days?

130 days to go - A short sharp shock

Route #3 Duration : 27 min 40 sec Energy : 401 KCal Distance : 3.6 Miles Max HR : 167 Bpm Av HR : 156 Bpm Mile pace : 7:41 min/mile Yesterday's efforts left a little stiffness in my legs for the first time in a while, shows that the extra duration of the longer run had left it's mark. In line with the recommendations in the "Marathon News" training schedule I have decided to mix up distance and intensity this week so today's run was short and sharp. I spent most of the run on the very edge of my comfort zone and I was quite encouraged with the pace I achieved. In fact I think that my slowest split was the first mile so with a more intense warm up I believe I can go faster. I have been wearing my new insoles today, except during the run of course, and I can feel my feet getting used to them, they even feel comfortable every now and then!

131 days to go - A new route and another sponsor.

Route #6 Duration : 1 hr 50 min 4 sec Energy : 1267 KCal Distance : 11.5 miles Max HR : 150 bpm Av HR : 136 bpm Mile pace : 9:34 min/mile Better late than never, I finally got to go on the 11.5 mile "Long" run. I ought to have run this distance twice before today but as my readers will know fate and partying interfered with my plans. I set out with a fair degree of nervousness as to whether this was too big a step up in distance/duration and set a very conservative pace. I am pleased to say that apart from getting bogged down in the X-country section I coped with the run pretty well and feel I can go further and faster. A big thank you to "tanner" for his generous donation - I think you walk like a girl! On the medical front I finally took delivery of my orthotic insoles today from Suvanne. My initial impression is that they will take some getting used to. My first run with the insoles fitted is scheduled for Friday so I will let you know how that goes.

132 days to go - Oooooooh my poor head.

You guessed it - completely hung over, not even large doses of ibuprofen were enough to get me out today! I feel a bit of a fraud, this is the third day with no running, I am pretty sure that is not the way to train for a marathon. I need to keep more focus and confine my binges to days when I am not scheduled to go for a long run the following day!

133 days to go - Lunch, Absinthe and God.

I had vaguely promised myself that I would get up early and catch up on yesterday's missed run this morning. Well If getting up just in time to make the pub for lunch counts as an 11 mile run I achieved my aim! Oh well it was a very nice lunch, and was followed up with a Sunday session at God's that definitely ranks as a big fall off my fitness/sobriety wagon. Ah I love the smell of absinthe in the afternoon! While at God's I noticed that none of my .wmv videos will work on his various macs so I have decided to convert to flash for video content. I will post a note to all you apple heads when I have converted the existing video. For the record this weeks totals are as follows, total running time 4 hrs 15 min 13 sec, total calories 3319 KCal, total distance 29.40 miles, average HR 146 bpm and average mile pace 8:40 min/mile. This also means that my cumulative total miles is now over 100 which I recon is some sort of milestone.

134 days to go - Missed another one!

I am afraid that I just did not get on the road today. I had been mildly unwell overnight and just did not feel up to any sort of run at all. I spent much of the day investigating the wonderful world of PHP and PEAR and I must say I am quite impressed. Coming from a MS background and building applications at the database server (with MSSQL) the sparseness of MYSQL came as a bit of a shock, but having accepted that the business rules for a PHP/MYSQL web application have to reside at the web server (in PHP) rather than at the database server (in TSQL SPs) the various objects within the PEAR Library certainly seem offer the right solutions.

135 days to go - Bad news on the ballot but bobbie comes through.

Route #2 Duration : 58 min 41 sec Energy : 762 KCal Distance : 7.0 miles Max HR : 160 bpm Av HR : 146 bpm Mile pace : 8:22 min/mile I got the "unlucky looser" magazine from the Flora London Marathon today. That means that I have not been successful in the ballot for free places for April and I will definitely have to take up the Golden Bond place offered to me by Cancer Research. This means that I am commited to raising at least £2000 so please dig deep for those sponsorship pennies. On the subject of sponsorship, a big thanks to bobbie for her generous donation today. The training today went really well, I cruised round the 7 mile route staying in my target HR Zone the whole way. Reading the training plans in the Marathon magazine has given me pause for thought over my training schedule, I must make sure that I incorporate sessions with varying degrees of intensity, from long jogs to explosive interval work.

136 days to go - Finding the hard yards

Route#2 Duration : 1 hr 4 min 31 sec Energy : 788 Kcal Distance : 7.0 miles Max HR : 148 bpm Min HR : 141 bpm Mile pace : 09:13 I found the going tough today for some reason. My pace was slow, my heart rate slow and my legs aching. The weather was wet and windy and although the sun came out towards the end I was really glad to get home. A big thank you to Boingle for my impromptu PHP/MYSQL tutorial.

uk2 Server back up

www.middleagedmarathonman.com came back online at around 7pm.

uk2 Server out

Just a note to say that the uk2 server is down, so the links to content hosted on that service and linked to from this blog are temporarily unavailable.

137 days to go - Faster and faster

Route #2 Duration : 58 min 26 sec Energy : 774 Kcal Distance : 7.0 miles Max HR : 157 bpm Av HR : 148 bpm Mile pace : 08:20 min/mile I surprised myself today, I'd felt pretty stiff after yesterday's run and was fully expecting a grind today but as it happens the miles slipped by and I easily set a new PB for this route. I feel that my fitness level is on the up and my cruising pace is improving. The splits for each mile today were pretty much even and I felt I could have run further at the same pace at the end. I am also really pleased that I have had my first two sponsors today, thanks again guys. I posted a new video clip today - route 1

Closely followed by the second!

Nice One Jane, thankyou very much! Giving gives that nice warm feeling every time.

My first sponsor!

Big thanks to Trebz, my first online sponsor. Thanks a lot mate, a nice surprise and great to get my first e-sponsor.

138 days to go - On the road again.

Route #5 Duration : 1 hr 13 min 35 sec Energy : 995 KCal Distance : 8.4 miles Max HR : 162 bpm Av HR : 150 bpm Mile pace : 8:45 min/mile I was really up for the run today, 72 hours rest has left my legs fresh and pain free for the first time since I started training in earnest. I am quite happy with the pace I achieved - and I was in my target HR zone (145-155) pretty much all the way. I expect to shave another 2 min off this time (to 8:30) before I move up to 11 miles on Saturday week. I do have to report that my right knee played up a bit towards the end, what is it about Tuesdays? I think I will have to go back to the knee bandage for the rest of the week. What on earth went on in the Ashes overnight? I am in shock, I went to bed early last night thinking that there was little point in staying up to watch a draw and woke this morning to find the Aussie's needing 30 odd runs runs off 10ish overs to win! I hate Shane Warne! - or at least wish he was English (in which case I would love him).

139 days to go - Return of the podiatrist

OK, I know I usually start with my running data on a day with a run in the schedule and today I was scheduled to run route #5 (8.4 miles) today. I am ashamed to say that I got up very late after watching the cricket all night. There was just no time to fit in the run before a trip to the podiatrist to get my feet cast for my "marathon insoles". We have decided on a lift of 7mm in on the left side and the insoles should be ready next week. I have updated the schedule catch up the miles I missed today over the next 5 days.

140 days to go - A day of rest

A scheduled day off today - 48 hrs between runs to let the muscles recover. Bliss! I stayed up most of last night watching the ashes test and fiddling with the website, come to think of it that is what I am planning tonight! - I don't like cricket, I love it! This weeks totals are 36.8 miles in 5 hrs 47 min :15 sec, that is a mile equivalent of 9 min 26 sec. I have set up hqCam so you can look in on middleAgedMarathonMan HQ.

141 days to go - 8 mile and the Poms have a go!

Route #5 Duration : 1 hr 18 min 34 sec Energy : 1062 KCal Distance : 8.4 miles Max HR : 159 bpm Av HR : 150 bpm Mile pace 09:21 min/mile Nothing to do with Eminem but the longest run so far. I thought I was going to do it in 8 min something but did not make it. I have to break 9 min for this distance before going further. I ran without a knee bandage today and had no problems until I stopped, at which point my right knee seized up completely! A pretty good incentive not to take rest stops! Anyway it was fine after an icing and a hot shower. I am publicly blaming my poor pace on watching of the ashes series all night, but privately I think it has more to do with the refreshments on hand!

142 days to go - From Dawn till Dusk

Route #4 Duration : 42 min 11 sec Energy : 588 KCal Distance : 4.9 miles Max HR : 165 bpm Av HR : 152 bpm Mile pace : 08:36 min/mile I got really involved with computer issues this morning and it was 3pm before I knew it. In order to finish my run before it got dark I decided to go for a shorter faster run today with a longer run tomorrow to finish my weekly total. As it happens it was damned nearly dark by the time I got home anyway. I was slightly disappointed with the pace I achieved - it was faster than my "4hr pace" (9min/mile) but I was anticipating running this shorter distance in under 8 min / mile. I need to do some speed work to get my pace up.