Sunday 21st October (Week 3)

With the prospect of playing no football over the weekend and the lack of a certain person being around (still), I turned my attention to sleeping... with a bit of running on the side. Friday night was a write off however as I was invited out on the town with the Simmonds crew for some end of week drinks. I think Julie was competing with everyone else with the drinking as this photo shows:

But anyway, Saturday brought us the visit of Middlesbrough...

Yep, I'll move on...

And Sunday, running had to be met with pride... and it was! A nice 10 hour lie in and I was ready and raring to go. The weather was beautiful: light rain and a reasonable wind, perfect for a jog (pronounced yog). After a little stretch, I began running, having no idea of where I wanted to go or how long I wanted to take. With QPR v Everton on TV, I didn't mind being out for a while...

But today was very successful, I just kept going! For miles! 

And it appears that I passed people I knew today (nothing like a bit of encouragement)...

• Hi Andy and Karen, I didn't see you, but thanks for waving.
• Hi Man in Orange Mini, thanks for the support and the wave and honk, but I didn't see who you were.
• Hi People on Speldhurst Hill, I'm sorry for running past your pub on a Sunday afternoon, thanks for the advice/abuse (not sure which it was).

But yes; the running was sublime. 8 miles, 95 minutes. Really bloody sore now though... not my legs but my shoulders, apparently running is all in the arms...

After the love I received after the last edit, I have brought you this lovely picture... it's from the thoughts I had today about the worrying prospect of having to wee/poo during the marathon...

I should probably go before I start running, and avoid a Vindaloo the night before...

Anyway, as always:

Route for Wednesday Week 3: 8.07 miles, 95 minutes.

Estimated Marathon Completion Time: 5 hours 30 mins (fingers crossed)

Wednesday 17th October (Week 3)

I got a little worried yesterday... I had plan to run around 3 miles just to loosen the legs up but could barely do that. Breathing was all wrong, did not feel comfortable and had to retire after just 20 mins...

And worst of all, I got overtaken by an electric wheelchair...

But anyway, I decided that I needed to prove to myself that I am still up to this marathon task (ha) and today was the day to get back on schedule. I was still a little overwhelmed at how far I had managed to run on Monday of this week - smashing my 4 mile target.

The hardest bit today was getting out the house, with temperatures of 7 degrees outside (now it doesn't sound so cold... but it was!). Alas, today was the smoothest run yet. I feel great. Felt like I could have doubled my distance and very proud of myself!

This is me completing my run today...

Route for Wednesday Week 3: 5.36 miles, 50 minutes.

Estimated Marathon Completion Time: Maybe under 6 hours!

Monday 15th October (Week 3)

After a shattering weekend of football including a trip to prison, the running must continue...

I took to the streets of Tunbridge Wells today in the hope of beating the 4 mile mark (and all of my previous efforts). However, struggling with injuries from the weekend, I was sore. Really sore. A whopping bruise on my thigh, did not help with the pressure of running.

The running was OK though! Got into it and tried a different route; really regret choosing to run UP Major York's Road to finish though. Finally starting to actually enjoy it now, just need to keep it up... 

I'm starting to think that it may be wise to purchase some ACTUAL running shoes now because as cool as I look in my pink and black astro's, they are starting to produce little blisters on my toes...

They'll do for now I'm sure.

Route for Monday Week 3: 4.99 miles, 45 minutes.

Estimated Marathon Completion Time: 6 hours

Blackhorse FC 1 - 2 Lokamotiv Simmonds

Ali Jones scored a stunning winner as Lokamotiv brought their losing streak to an end, denying Blackhorse F.C. their third win of the season.

Table prior to Kick Off

A string of top-class saves from Sam Roberts kept Blackhorse at bay after Alex Carl squeezed his shot past the Blackhorse keeper to put Lokamotiv ahead. A domination of possession kept Lokamotiv on top and Ali Jones missed several chances to double the lead.

Going into the break Lokamotiv looked the much better side, creating the most chances and controlling the game. Unfortunately due to missing key players like Johnny Waters and Laurence Ford, Lokamotiv were lacking in fitness (and substitutes). In the second half, things took a turn and Blackhorse equalised due to some sloppy defending from Rob Jones. They continued to pile on the pressure and had plenty of shots at the keeper, but Roberts was proving impossible to beat. 

In the closing stages of the game, Lokamotiv resorted to pumping the ball forwards - Reece Crowhurst and Callum Funnell pushing on to support the stranded Jones. Against the run of play, Lokamotiv created a corner which proved to be the decisive moment. A dummy run to the back post and a quick change of direction shocked the Blackhorse defense as Carl drilled in the ball for Jones to volley home past the keeper.

A win could lift Simmonds off the bottom this week on goal difference and may provide the confidence that they have lacked so far this season.

Match Facts:

Goals: A. Jones & A. Carl

Player Ratings (out of 10): Roberts (11), Crowhurst (9), Funnell (9), R. Jones (2.5), A. Carl (9), A. Jones (9)

Wednesday 10th October (Week 2)

BOOM

Wasn't meant to run today according to the schedule but football tomorrow night so thought I'd try and cure the burning calves and go for it again. 

3.3 miles - much much better. Actually solid running for 30 minutes; have a feeling I may be more sore tomorrow though...

Route for Wednesday Week 2: 3.30 miles, 30 minutes.

Estimated Marathon Completion Time: 6 hours

P.S If anyone is interested in my pants "situation", Calvin Kleins today - worked a treat. (Also a quick thank you to Callum Funnell for the Vaseline suggestion - magic!)

Tuesday 9th October (Week 2)

So training week 1 was a bit of a disaster... 

With it being the same week as the release of Fifa '013, it became increasingly difficult to become motivated. I managed to scoop myself out of my slumber for one night only, forcing myself to at least go for a walk. This wasn't too unsuccessful as I managed to walk around 3 miles. What I didn't realise was that it actually feeling cold outside, does not mean wrap up like it's -10. With my t-shirt-sweatshirt-jacket-scarf-hat combination, I baked. I mean REALLY baked. It wasn't just the top half, wearing jeans is a bad move (some seriously unwanted constriction, where you do not want it)

Lesson 1: Don't wear too many clothes - it's warm when you move around!
Lesson 2: Jeans are constricting around certain areas.

So anyway, back to week 2...

According to the schedule, I should be running/walking for 20 minutes. I decided that this would be too easy for me as I play football twice a week and can't be THAT unfit...

I chose my outfit sensibly for running this time: a t-shirt (and baselayer), shorts and these baby's:

My aim was to have a 5 minute warm up walk and then run as long as I could, just to see how far I could go. Now having a style of football that's comparable to Andres Iniesta, I assume that I run about as much as him in one game. Google informs me that this is around 7 miles. 

This should be a piece of p***...

WRONG.

Absolutely loved the walking, got right into it - even managed a power walk for a couple of minutes. As soon as the running started, I was still ok. About 2 minutes in and I was flying; I felt like I was going to finish a double marathon in world record time at that point. How wrong was I?

After 15 minutes of running, I began to tire. And there was this "pain" between my legs...

Turns out I didn't choose ALL the right clothes for running, and that pant-choice is very important. 

If anyone has pants like these, do not even contemplate wearing them for running.

Lesson 3: Wear good pants. Frictions burns are sore down there.

My run soon changed back into a gentle stroll for a couple of minutes to let my legs "cool down". Nevertheless, I was up and running shortly after and managed another 20 minutes running home to complete day one of my mission. 

Glad that it was over though.

Route for Tuesday Week 2: 3.98 miles, 40 minutes. 

Estimated marathon completion time: 6 hours

The Plan!

As some of you may be aware, I will not be doing this alone. My partner is none other than my mother...

She seems a little/lot more into the whole preparation than I am - looking up best training regimes that fit into our timetables and planning what clothes to wear; whereas I was just planning on going running occasionally and relying on my already top notch levels of fitness. 

Anyway, we (mum) have (has) found a "'Beginner's Guide to the Marathon". It consists of a 24 week training schedule starting with walking/gentle jogging 3 nights a week, then building up to running for longer and longer. The longest we are meant to run is 20 miles, 3 weeks before the big day. 

Can't be hard, surely? 

Mum's Training - a little more organised than mine; even includes notes to say how long she ran/walked for!

My regime:

Doesn't look like much right...?

So here goes...

The London Marathon... How hard can it be?

After 5 years of applying, I have finally been accepted to run the London Marathon. I have heard various reports of how tough it is and so I thought I'd take it on, plus it'd be a pretty cool thing to have done. 

Bring on the running, healthy meals, reducing alcohol consumption and more running.