Posts Tagged ‘Races’

Sam’s Running Diary – Training for the London Marathon Week 5

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Week 5

Well I’m certainly starting to feel the pain on Mondays after my long distance runs on Sunday mornings. This week I managed 12 miles on Sunday but really paid for it on Monday as my legs were pretty stiff.

Pete, Our Resident PT

Pete, Our Resident PT

I tend to get a tight IT Band (Iliotibial band) which can give me knee pain from time to time but luckily I took some advice from Leggit’s resident Personal Trainer Pete Morton who has given me some really good stretches and massage exercises to do after training which keeps it at bay.

Aside from that, everything is going well, my times seem pretty consistent and so far the distances have been challenging but more than achievable. This Sunday’s run was 12 miles and I managed to complete it in just under 1 hour 40 minutes – fingers crossed I’ll be able to achieve the sub four hour marathon time that I’m hoping for.

Sam’s Running Diary – Training for the London Marathon Week 4

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Week 4

MyMotiThe blisters on the bottoms of my feet haven’t gone away so I’ve decided to bite the bullet and invest in some new trainers before they get any worse.

I over-pronate when I run (the outer part of the sole of my foot hits the floor before the rest of my foot) which means that my trainers need to support my foot in the right way to prevent a more serious injury.

run-stabilityWhether it’s because I’ve had them a while and they’ve worn away or just that I’m using them a lot more, I think my current trainers must have been giving me too much support which is why I’ve got the blisters. Mid week I popped into my local running store, My-Moti who gave me a full gait analysis and a new pair of Nike trainers.

A couple of sessions in and my new running shoes seemed okay, but I knew that Sunday would be the real test. We were spending the weekend with friends in Surrey and although we had a night out on Saturday I mustered up the motivation to tackle my programme’s 9 miles as soon as I got up, I finished the run and although tired, my feet and blisters all seemed fine.

Sam’s Running Diary – Training for the London Marathon Week 3

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Week 3

Well, the Sunday run went loads better than expected, running around the Shropshire countryside was really pleasant and a nice change of scenery from my training so far. I was meant to do 6 miles at an easy pace and whilst the pace was easy, we unfortunately got lost and accidently ended up running 9 miles instead!

The rest of my training this week has gone pretty well, thank goodness all of the snow has gone now, whilst running on the beach is good fun, its definitely more of a slog than on the roads and difficult to run a decent distance.

Started to get blisters on the inside of my soles the last few days – I’ve invested in some good blister plasters so hopefully these should do the trick but I have a feeling I may need to invest in some new trainers soon….

Sam’s Running Diary – Training for the London Marathon Week 2

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Week 2

Well, if the snow wasn’t a pain towards the end of last week it certainly is this week, cold, wet and now icy and slushy; my Monday lunchtime run took a lot of motivation.

Starting to get the hang of Tempo runs now. This is a 30 minute run split into four 7 ½ minute sections. The first section is run at an easy pace, the second section at a medium pace and the final two sections are run at a hard pace.

Slightly concerned about the Sunday Run this week as I’m going up to Manchester for a friends Birthday on Friday and then have another party in Shropshire on Saturday night. Still have decided to take it easy on the alcohol for both evenings and am planning a run with my girlfriends uncle early Sunday morning.

‘Shining’ at night for Cancer Research UK

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

cr_logo

Cancer Research UK have just announced “Shine” their newest fundraising event taking place on Saturday, 17th April 2010.

Shine is Cancer Research UK’s first night time marathon walk, taking place in the illuminated city of Manchester! The event will feature 5000 participants taking part in a “procession of light” which will pass through many of the cities famous landmarks – including Old Trafford and the Town Hall.

Shine is not just unique in the fact that its the first walking marathon organised by Cancer Research UK, it also give participants the option of selecting which specific area of Cancer Research they would like to see their fundraising efforts support. The research areas for participants to choose from include breast, lung, and prostate, amongst others (there are 12 research areas in total) and entrants also have the option of fundraising for research into all types of cancer.

As well as a choice over which area of Cancer Research they can support, Shine also gives participants the chanced to choose their distance. There are two routes available, a Half Marathon at 13.1 miles or the full marathon at 26.2 miles.

Clive Sanders, Senior Events Manager at Cancer Research UK has said that he hopes Shine’s supporters will

“embrace Shine with as much enthusiasm as they have our other fundraising events such as Race for Life and Run 10k. We would encourage everyone to enter and pledge to raise as much money as possible for vital research into cancer.”

With one in three of us diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives the road is travelled by many, yet everyone’s cancer journey is unique to them, whether they are affected directly or through family and friends. While Shine is one event for thousands of people, participants can choose the length of their route and which cancer to fundraise for so that their Shine experience can be unique to them.” he says

Whilst not a full blown run, a walking marathon is definitely more hardcore than a simple “walk in the park” and training for this event is definitely worthwhile. If you’re a keen runner why not incorprate this into your existing training schedule as part of a wider training plan?

More information is available from https://shine.cancerresearchuk.org/. Registrations for Shine, Manchester 2010 started on 19th October 09 so what are you waiting for? The cost is £30 and the walk starts at 10pm on Saturday 17th April.

Click here to SHINE for Cancer Research and register today!