Year Gone - Come Year

Year Gone
Target of one half marathon was exceeded 100% - as I did two.

My running mileage in the year was 927.5. Did not set a target.
Next year target 1000 - 20 miles per week.

Correction:- my 2011 mileage was only 851.5. The higher figure was mileage since I got my Garmin in November 2010.

One-mile self-timed monthly time- trial - improved by 5 sec over 5 months.
Next year’s target improve by 12 sec over 12 months? Probably does not work like that.

Weight loss past year only 1lb.
Target 2012 - half a stone.

Yule Log
Last year we had a white Christmas and the snow and ice curtailed my running so that I had a gap in my December running of 18 days.

This year we have had wind and rain, I have had to work, and the gap of 8 days in running feels a long time.
Only done one training run this week.

December Routine
My runs have got into a bit of a rut in that I do 7 miles within 70 minutes or 6 ½ within an hour.
Weather and mood changes have provided the variety.

Difficulties Overcome
Douglas Adams seems to have hit the nail when he highlighted the effect of difficulties to be overcome resulting on an improvement in performance - the effect of increasing deafness on Beethoven’s output.

Not in the same league but pertinent - the effect of weather on my runs.
Being able to choose the time of day for my runs means that I can find a slot in the weather that suits me - the dry and sunny patch between the early morning and late afternoon showers.
But - my run in the wind and rain was faster and felt better than the same run on a dry sunny day.

Sharing Running
On 185th Run got to first "way point" quicker than usual so pressed on slightly to get to half way in good time.
On return leg got chatting with another runner and leant about local gym and wear in shoes.
First occasion that I have run and chatted at the same time! HR remained below 170 at max 168.
Parted company at 3rd way point and set out with renewed vigour uphill to home.

Result - enjoyable run in good company and completed within 1 hour target time.
What could be better than that?

Resolution No 5
Do some 5k races in 2012.

When One Door Closes - Another Opens

"Everything on this blog is true.  I should know - I made it up" Westonbloke

A Simple Pleasure

“The best things in life are free
You can give them to the birds and bees
Gimme Money!
    That’s what I want
Gimme Money
    That’s what I want
That’s what I want.
    That’s what I want”
Bradford-Gordy

Get Your Kicks For Free
After a year and a bit I am beginning to get the hang of this Enjoyment of Running thing.
In moderation, of course.

I have discovered the simple unsophisticated pleasure of just running out in the open air.  This arises from the following stimuli:-

1. Physical
2. Sensual
3. Aural
4. Visual
5. Mental

So here is the Bath Point 5 Guide to Free Running Pleasure.

Physical
Actually being able to run - well fast jog - over several miles is amazing. This is something I have not done since schooldays - when I was not very good and very slow.  How is it that I can do it now?  There is a smug satisfaction for this old git to discover that I can stretch my physical abilities and reverse the tide of age-related infirmity - even if it is only for a while.

Apparently our distant ancestors used to feed themselves by hunting game by running over long distances until the animal tired and was unable to continue. It is said that by doing this we evolved as bipedal runners and so it is in our nature to run.  In parts of the Kalahari a few people still use this method of hunting.

Sensual
The pleasure of running is said to come from endorphins released during extreme exertion. As I don’t do extremes I suspect I shall never experience this - when running.  The benefits of Fresh Air and Exercise may have become a cliché - but that is because there is an eternal truth in it.  Different surfaces - hard paths, gravel, mud, grass - all provide varying sensual inputs to be managed - and enjoyed.

There is a satisfaction to be obtained from cheating the weather by getting out for my runs when the sun shines and the rain holds off.  But when I do get caught in the rain the sensual stimulation drives me on to achieve something better in the way of time or distance. Running hard into a strong headwind in heavy rain requires determination.  I don’t go looking for bad weather - but if it comes to me I must deal with it.

Once-upon-a-time in Arizona I borrowed a bike and went riding with the local cycling club. It rained. None of them had ridden in the rain before. They loved it. Bought me breakfast. Stack of pancakes and maple syrup.  The next week I went to California.

It rained.

Aural
What?  The birds for a start. Running silently on my Asics the birds don’t hear me coming so carry on twittering as I pass.  Up at the top of the hill, where I run cross the grassland, the skylarks sing.  The cows all moo, the bull does too, down on Jollity Farm. The farmer on his quad-bike. The shooters in the woods.

I am sure twice I heard a turkey gobble.

Across the valley the cars and trucks are a distant looming boom. The trains hoot and growl - except sometimes when one comes along that is all whistle and puff-puff. Whoo-Whoo!  Planes aplenty - all shapes and sizes. And heights. Sometimes a biplane. The police and hospital helicopters.  The Chinooks or a Puma carrying the Big Cheese from MoD.

Why do Chinooks travel in pairs?

Visual
Trees, fields, brooks, houses, bridges - lots of bridges. A wet path reflecting the distant rainbow . Butterflies in season, grey squirrels all year. Soaring buzzards - and the rooks harassing them at nesting time. In their turn bothered by magpies, who are mobbed by the starlings. Once I saw a sparrow hawk dash into a hedge and grab a small bird. Deer in the field next to the path - remarkably close. The changing pattern of the skies.

Evening Cloud

Cow pats, horse manure, dog poo, dead leaves, fallen branches, shadows from a low sun.. In the spring - new growth and flowers. Bluebells in the woods.

Tins, plastic bottles, and bags (some containing dog poo), a broken toy, discarded tyre, graffiti.

Mental
Physical exercise gets the blood flowing more rapidly - including to the brain. So ideas often come to those who run. Also - I find the puzzles in the paper easier to do after a run. But - letting the mind wander on other things while running is not a way to improve on PBs. For this mental focus is required.

In order to complete the Bath Half Marathon I had to plan my programme of training and adapt it to my progress.  During the course of the race I had to think about whether I was ahead or behind my planned schedule. Another aspect was the mental strength provided by knowing what I could do, physically, and keeping myself on the task in hand.

Cost
Running free is not entirely cost free:-

• Shoes
• Shorts
• Top - short-sleeved
• Socks
• Tights - warm for winter running
• Top - long sleeved and shower proof

A little over £225. Less than £5 per week. Less than a couple of beers.

Cheaper than a trip on Route 66. But you don’t get to see the meteor crater.

"A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
    - Definition of a cynic - Oscar Wilde

Days of Woden

Weather - or Not
Luck rather than good planning has provided me with sunny days on which to run and cloudy wet days on which to rest. The classic pattern of our classic English weather - changing from day to day - has coincided with my alternate run / rest training schedule.

Run - or Jog
But I don’t really have a plan - just a habit. And it seems from my Garmin readouts that I do not run but just get up to a “fast jog”.

Am I bothered?

Weirdo - or Clot
One day I thought I had got a stalker. I was accosted by a female on a bike who said I had “growled” at her.

Unlikely - the last time I growled at a girl was in 1971.

Then she claimed I had stared at her. Hadn’t the faintest idea what she was on about. Kept running and tried to ignore her.

Then it clicked - a week earlier she had tried to mow me down. Rode head-on straight at me.
My “growl” was a yell (audible warning of approach). My “staring” was because of rabbit-caught-in-headlights syndrome - I could not believe she could look straight at me and still steer head-on.

When I told her this she said I was “weird”.

Seems to me that woman out on a bike harassing jogging pensioners is the weird one.

Wandering Only - Cloud Thinking
My weekly mileage has got up to more than 20 as I have done several 7 miles within 70 minutes runs - stretching my usual 6.5 mile out-and-back by a short distance. Practising for the 1000 miles in 2012 challenge on Runners Forum.

But - concentration and pace has dropped. One day I got into a “set” - just followed my usual run and then after awhile wondered where exactly I was and how far.

Another day I pressed the wrong button on the Garmin and lost the record of half the run. This does not do any good for improving my times - although it does help my thinking time. Lots of ideas come whilst out running (or jogging - whatever).

A4 No 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley

Steaming Along
Got whistled at by a steam train. Not directly - it was the other side of the valley. Blue A4 Pacific pulling chocolate-and-cream Mk1 carriages. Bit like locomotive exchange trials in late 1940s - only not quite.

It was the Wednesday steam special.

Heard the whistle again this week but it was behind a hill so don’t know if it was the same loco.

Global Warming
Blackberries in the hedge. In December!

December blackberries for the blackbirds

When two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather - Samuel Johnson

Faster Than Light

Faster Than The Speed of Light
No not my running - obviously. Neutrinos - allegedly.

Well that is what the scientists at INFN - Gran Sasso Labs say they measured. Neutrinos fired off from CERN in Switzerland travelling 732Km (or through “700Km of rock“ depending on which report you read) have been measured arriving at INFN at 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light.

The exact measurement is 57.8 nanoseconds plus or minus 7.8. Close enough for government work and far more accurate than my Garmin is or needs to be.

So What?
If proved to be the case the faster-than-light neutrinos would demolish modern physics. Mind you - some scientists are expecting the existing theories to be overthrown sometime soon. But not in quite such a radical way. See also the Higgs Boson.

Back to square 1.

Experiment Replicated
Not exactly but it has been repeated by the same team.
To be replicated an experiment needs to be repeated by different teams who arrive consistently at the same results as the original.
So far all that has happened is that the INFN team, who published the original findings, have adjusted the pulses of neutrinos to avoid one of the possible system errors.

Pulse Bursts
It had been suggested that in the long pulses of neutrinos the instruments were measuring the last particles to be fired as the first to arrive. The repeat experiment used shorter pulses to counter this - and still measured the 57.8 nanosecond breaking of the speed limit.

Supernovae Observed
These have been observed for many years. Most of the energy emitted is neutrinos. And these are not measured arriving at earth ahead of the light. So how can it be that when travelling over billions of light years across space the neutrinos arrive after the light images - but over a mere 700Km through rock they arrive nearly 60 nanoseconds ahead?

Alternatives

1. Error in the instruments - unlikely as they have been checked and double-checked
2. Conceptual error - the results measure something different from what the scientists think they are measuring
3. Unknown Unknowns - something not yet discovered that affects the results in an unexpected way
4. Existing Theory Wrong - particles can travel faster than light
5. Interference with the Results by Aliens or Gods.

The paper has been published for peer review - to see if someone can spot the error or come up with a theory to explain the unexpected results.
 
Outcomes
Possible outcomes are:-

1. Error in measurement identified
2. Error in concept of experiment identified
3. Something new discovered - but which does not overturn the current theories
4. Existing theory replaced by a new paradigm
5. INFN running out of funds before the experiment is concluded due to the sovereign default of Italy, implosion of the Euro and economic collapse of western Europe.

 
But will it affect the man on the Clapham omnibus?
 
 

Rhymes with Tune

Light - God’s eldest daughter - is a principal beauty in building. - Thomas Fuller 1608-1661

Swindon 10Km - 2011

New PB
My personal best time 10K is now 0:54:13 - official time for Swindon 10K race on Sunday 20-11-2011.

Late
Arrived late - fog on M4 - only just in time to take part.

Delayed Start
Had to run towards the faces at the start line - to the cheers of the other runners. Sorry to keep you waiting folks!

I told them I was just finishing last year’s race - which got a laugh. Fastest warm-up I have ever done.

Got to back of queue just as race started. Garmin not ready either - still searching for satellites after start.

Strategy
Keep It Simple Sunshine (KISS) - just to push myself a little harder than I do in training and to keep this pressure on for the whole distance.

As 6.5 miles within an hour is now a normal training run the 10k distance held no fears for me on Sunday.

Narrative
From last year I knew that the first K or so was flat along a broad largely traffic-free road and so there was space to overtake even within the large crowd without getting in anyone else’s way. Being already well warmed up meant that I could make the most of this broad avenue of opportunity.

At around 2K had to stop to retie shoelace. Note to self - double bow needed.

The K markers seemed to come up with rapid regularity and it was reassuring to recognise landmarks. One surprise was the hills - or rather lack of them. The course is mostly level with some slight gradients up and down. Last year these gradients felt like hills. This year not.

On my training runs I do not carry water and re-hydrate when I get home. The Swindon 10k provides a watering point on the repeat loop where it can be accessed on either lap. I decided not to stop or collect any this year on the basis that I would lose time picking up water and I did not need it as I am used to running the distance without.

From the 8k marker I pushed myself a bit harder for the penultimate K. Back on the flat for the last one I concentrated on a smooth action and steady breathing and pace until the last 100m where I extended into a bit of a sprint to pass the 3 people ahead of me.

Weather & Clothing
Less cold and wet than last year. Wore short-sleeve top but new tights rather than shorts. Comfortable.

Result
296th out of 494 runners. In 3rd Quartile.

Time - 54 minutes 13 seconds.

Improvement on last year - 4 minutes 26 seconds. 26.6 seconds per Kilometre. 7.5%.

Winner’s time 0:32:21.

Rewards
New PB. New Medal. Tea & Bacon Baps.

Oh, and did I mention a new PB?

Blog On Other Blogs (BOOBs)

Other People’s Blogs

This post is about some Running Blogs that I like.
If you have been following this blog you will not be surprised to see that I have selected 5.

In no particular order they are:-

• Run For Your Life - by Old Running Fox
• Skeddadle - by The Knickernator
• Confessions of a Virgin Half Marathon Runner - by Kelly
• Hruns Random Ramblings - By Hrun
• He who trains trains.- by I Am Leg End aka Taffy

Why These?
Of all the millions of blogs out there in the bloggersphere why these five?

In outline:-

• Four of them cover other issues too - they are not just about running
• Three of them are “blokeish” (That is sort of the opposite of “Elvish” as in Lord Of The Rings)
• Two of them are particularly inspirational for me - either due to the age of the runner or the distances covered
• None are the same - all are different.

Run For Your Life
This guy is an inspiration. He only took up running in his fifties and is now in his seventies. He runs farther, faster, more often, and over hillier terrain, than me.

The quality of the writing as well as the content, the pictures and layout, make this a great blog to follow. The writer’s love of life and landscape shine through. Of Fox’s pithy comments I particularly enjoy “The older I get the better I used to be”.

Skedaddle  

Running and life from a young female point of view. I love the many asides into other aspects of life, the universe, and everything. The universe described is a gender-gap and generation-gap away from that with which I am familiar.

In some ways this blog is also "blokish" - but in the manner of the modern woman unconsciously and assuredly exercising her equality.  Another reason why I like the blog.

When I was a lad in order to understand what women want I had to go to literature. Nowadays it is all out there on the www - and anything is possible. No wonder these days young blokes feel inadequate! (Thinks - it was ever thus.) 

Confessions of a Virgin Half Marathon Runner 
This running blog has some clever training and mileage “widgets” for those of us who like to compare data - which leaves the text free of geeky stuff and with space for the literate bits.

The running gag of this site - sorry no way of avoiding the pun - is the A to Z of “Running Terms - Good and Bad”. Hours of fun reading these imaginative definitions.

The title of the blog reveals a pitfall that I too fell into. When the half-marathon has been completed should the blog be abandoned and replaced by an entirely new one? Or get Branson as a sponsor?

Hrun’s Random Ramblings
The running blog that contains cake. Well lots of them contain references to cake but this one has recipes for cake. The author is modern metro-man able and willing to take on housework and cooking.

Bicycles, swimming, and sports injuries also get mentioned - but not necessarily in the same post. Sometimes I find he has written something that I have been thinking.

“A gadget is defined by my dad as something you didn't know you needed until you got it, with a plug on.” 

And no - I am not his dad.

He Who Trains Trains
This is the blog that will run and run. Like the author. A bloke who has been battered by life and is fighting back by running - and running. Stopped drinking and smoking - just like that. Milestones, targets, benchmarks - he has set himself the works. And doing it. 5000 miles within a year - done! Heading for 6k.

Obsessive? Maybe.  Work-life balance appears to be “Run-Work-Run. This guy does two runs a day every day. Nobody can match him for mileage and not slow either. He tops the mileage for the day/week/month/year on Runners Forum. And in due course will top the highest ever. Unless a ‘bot gets there first.

It can be catching. One Monday morning I did a 12 mile run and so topped the mileage for the week. My record lasted until the evening by which time Taff had done his second run of the day.

So - a blog that inspires awe rather than emulation.

Progress

My running started on a whim and continued on the predication of improvement.

Has this happened? Time to check progress.

Metric
Comparisons can only be made on a like-for-like basis. It was just under 12 months ago that I got my Garmin and this make it possible to compare times, distances and other data.

Except the updated software has erased my notes! Lucky I kept a log on Runners Forum.

Improvement
Taking averages of runs over similar distances I have improved over the past year by:-

1. Average Speed - up nearly 5%
2. Max Speed - up 13%
3. Distances covered - up 25%
4. Heart Rate - average and max - down by 7%
5. Half marathon PB - reduced by 5%

I have also lost 11lbs in weight over the year.

Law of Diminishing Returns
Inevitably it will become progressively harder to add to these improvements. There is also the risk that age and injury may knock back progress.

But that is tomorrow’s issue - onwards and upwards today.

As long as it remains legal.

Pic of Willls ciggies old enamel ad

"As we jog on, either laugh with me, or at me, or in short do anything - only keep your temper."
Tristram Shandy - Laurence Sterne

Cut Off

Broadband On The Run
It is Government policy to bring fast broadband to the whole country but BT contractors working on this project managed to leave a large area of Weston, Bath, cut-off for 9 days without phone, fax or internet.

Catch 22
Several hundred households were isolated from a Saturday night after contractors installing new boxes for fast broadband broke the existing phone connection to the exchange. Attempts by residents to inform BT were stymied by the automated response system - which directed faults to be reported online via http://www.bt.co.uk/

Demarcation
By Tuesday BT Open Reach technicians were back at work. One team dug up the pavement again around the newly-installed boxes and then left an open hole. Another was working up phone masts. But neither team were working on the line break and both denied all knowledge of it.

Everything-Everywhere
At least mobile works. But, nice chap called James at BT complaints department says he must read all his check-list. This includes ceremony of unplugging and re-plugging our phones and committing to a £137 charge if engineer is called out and fault is in our home.

Is it me or James who is off line?

James - offline and not yet red

Poli Poli
Open Reach turn up again in street. Oh dear - unable to help as the cables are crushed within the pipes underneath where the trucks had been parked to take away the soil from the hole-diggers.

New Day
Contractors unload and stack pipes.

Another New Day
Long trench dug and pipes buried.

New Week
Phone engineers pull out and replace cables. Phone and internet connection jury rigged by 1-20pm.

Learning From Experience - Not
More contractors fill in holes. Truck parked on top of newly repaired pavement where pipe was crushed last week.

New Speeds
Massive 373 kpbs now available. Slightly less than before.

Compensation Offered
From day report “received” - Tuesday - to day “fixed” - about 58p per day for 7 days - less than cost of mobile essential calls made to landlines during 9 days cut off.

Open Breach of Health and Safety

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose - Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

Extract from TTTE included without permission of the current holders of the right to the work of late Rev W Awdry, illustrator C Reginald Dalby, and publishers Edmund Ward.

Koble on Stew

Training
Without a race in prospect my training appears to be going sdrawkcab - backwards.

Before the Bristol Half Marathon my regular 6.5 mile runs were all under 1 hour.
Fastest was 57min 26secs.

The 10.4 mile long runs were 1 hour 42min.

The race produced a Personal Best time.

Or Straining?
Since then: rest, holidays, eating and drinking, have taken priority over running.

My 6.5 mile runs have all taken more than 1 hour,
and my 10 mile run was 10 minutes longer than before. But that was on a very hot October day when I should probably have been resting in the shade.

In order to improve a stronger Will is needed.

But preferably not a Wills Whiff

Mile Eater Meter
Today I did my monthly 1-mile time-trial for October.

Time of 7min 24 secs was only 1 sec slower than in early September - and against a stiff headwind.

Puffed a bit.

Statistics
For those who love numbers - here are my September and October runs.

Run   Miles  Elapsed Time  Comment
140   10.04  1:43:21
141   6.51  0:59:19
142   6.53  0:59:46
143   6.48   0:57:26
144   0.75   0:06:00   Commemorative Run (Previous year - 8min 9sec)
145  10.23   1:42:09
146   7.32   1:08:87
147   6.52   1:00:31
148   13.28   2:06:14   Race
149   6.50   1:05:14   Planned Slow Run
150   6.51   1:00:10
151   7.90   1:19:21
152   10.02   1:51:37   Hot weather
153   3.17   0:36:20   Hill Run
154   6.50   1:01:41
155   6.48   1:05:25
156   7.27   1:10:54
157   6.88   1:05:25

Ciggie Ads protected by Planning Law

"What I will not, that I cannot do." Measure for Measure



Pleased or Sorry?

Big Issue
I did not get a place in the ballot for the London Marathon (VLM).

Am I pleased or sorry? Relieved or disappointed?

Background
Last year when I told friends I had entered for the Bath Half a number of them said “London Marathon next year then?” A comment which I duly pooh-poohed at the time.

Reasons
But it is a logical progression. Another year - another challenge. Onward!

And if one is going to attempt just one - then London is the big draw.

Especially in 2012. Even without a direct link to the Olympics - 2012 is the year when the eyes of the world will be on London.

So when the ballot opened of course I had to enter. Who wouldn’t?

Looks like everyone else felt the same and went for a place.

Which in my case I have not got.

The VLM Commiserations Magazine
Last week I received a magazine - written for and directed at those who had been unsuccessful in the ballot for places.

There must be an awful lot of us if they print a special magazine.

Options
Now I have to make up my mind what I want to do. Choices are:-

1. Do nothing - accept philosophically that it is not for me next year
2. Enter another Marathon that may still have places
3. Talk to the charity I was to have supported - and see if they have any places
4. Buy a guaranteed charity place - but commit to raising mega money
5. There is no Option 5 - it is only there to make up the number.

So. What to do?

Pink Pig Found in Battersea Dogs' Home

NAMING OF PARTS
This is the lower sling swivel.
And this
Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see,
When you are given your slings.
And this is the piling swivel,
Which in your case you have not got.
The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
Which in our case we have not got.
Henry Reed.

The SMLE MkIII* was manufactured without a magazine cutoff or a piling swivel as these had proved to be tactically obsolete and had a significant cost in mass production. The training Corporal would have had a Mk III with these features but the recruits would have been issued with the newer Mk III*.

Just thought you would like to know that.

Beyond Understanding

A Bosun Named Higgs
Using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva the scientists of CERN are seeking publicity and continued funding at a time of austerity by claiming that after some 50 years they are on the verge of finding the elusive theoretical sub-atomic particle named the Higgs boson.

Or not finding it.

The Standard Model
A child of the 1960s.  The mathematics predict particles - all of which have been found except for the Higgs boson which is an important player in the theory as its existence is needed to explain the mass of many of the other particles.

If the Higgs boson is proved not to exist then the Standard Model will fall - and a new one will arise.

The Standard Model II
But even if the Higgs boson is found apparently this will cause problems for the Standard Model because to make the equations work there has to be something else.

One model requires a partner super particle - a sort of super Higgs.   A master particle.  Named after another scientist, perhaps.

A Pugwash captain, or a Bates master?

Gigaelectronvolts (GeV)
Previous colliders have examined particle collisions in the range up to 114 GeV looking for the Higgs boson.

The LHC has ruled out its existence in the range 135 to 500 GeV.

CERN is now looking in the range 114-135GeV. This is said to be precisely the region where, according to the Standard Model, the Higgs would be found.

Which rather begs the question  of why CERN did not use the LHC to examine that range first - working upwards from the range achieved by the smaller colliders.

Boys and their big toys.

Forty Two
The possibility remains that the Higgs bosun might be in the range up to 114 GeV but it was not found by the earlier colliders because their detection systems were not sensitive enough.  So if CERN don’t find it perhaps they should re-run the earlier experiments but in the LHC.

I predict 42 GeV. You read it here first.

Bath Point 5
The Higgs boson possibilities are:-

1. Finding the particle somewhere in the range predicted
2. Finding it outside the range predicted
3. Not finding it
4. Finding proof of the non-existence of the Higgs boson
5. Running out of funds before the experiment is concluded due to the sovereign default of Greece, implosion of the Euro and economic collapse of western Europe.

What a Higgs boson might look like - artist's impression

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.”  Genesis Ch 2 v 1.

“The Atoms of Democritus
And Newton’s Particles of Light
Are sands upon the Red Sea shore
Where Israel’s tents do shine so bright”  William Blake

Running
In this heat?  Forget it.

Statistics II

Bristol Half

Beaten by Edwin Kipyego. Again!

His time for the Bristol Half Marathon 01:03:20 - almost 2 minutes ahead of the next man.
40 seconds faster than his time for the Bath-Half.

He said that he hoped to beat the Bristol course record of 01:02:55 and suggested the strong winds prevented him. He was reported by the Evening Post as being ill at the finish - so he was trying hard.

My time for Bristol - 02:06:11. The first of 4 with that time - thanks to my final sprint.
6min and 45sec faster than my Bath-Half time.

I was not ill at the finish. Must try harder.
Fractionally over double the time of the winner.

Warm-Up in Millenium Square

Half and Half
Statistically this is a useful rule-of-thumb. My times are likely to be double those of an elite athlete and my speeds about half.

Cycling - On road races when the professionals are slowly cruising they are going at about 25mph. My touring speed is about 12.5mph.

Running - 1 mile - has been done in under 4 minutes. I can do it in under 8.

Swimming - I have no stats for this. But as my breast stroke is faster than my Australian crawl you can guess that my crawl ‘aint fast - or efficient. My back-stroke is my fastest stroke but I need a line on the ceiling to follow - so not suitable for outdoor swimming. My porpoise - whether with dolphin double-kick or breast-stroke style leg action - is so inefficient that I have never been able to exceed a length using that stroke. Doggy paddle is not much more than treading water. My Catherine Wheel is spectacular - but of course if done properly keeps me rotating in the same place so cannot be used as a swimming stroke.

Even Steps
For each of my modes of travelling my average speed appears to double for the “next” one, approximately:-

1. Walking - 3 mph
2. Running - 6 mph
3. Cycling - 12 ½ mph
4. Driving old car - 25 mph
5. Driving modern car - 50 mph.

Does this mean that my world is build by intelligent design? Probably not.



911 - Bristol Half-Marathon

My 2nd Half Marathon but first in Bristol. My Bath HM time of 2:12:56 put me in the penultimate sheep pen (Red Labels) at the start rather than the rear one.

A recce visit last week ensured that I knew where to go and how to get there minimizing worries and hassle on the day. But I still managed to break the chip tie attaching it to my shoe. Park and Ride operated as promised - normally it does not run on a Sunday.

Objective was to beat my PB for HM. On the basis that the route was mostly flat and my recent training had shown decreases in my times for my 6.5 mile training route I was confident this would be achieved. As a stretch target I yearned for a sub 2 hour time - but I knew this would be v hard as my best training times were 58 minutes for 6.5 miles. Could I manage this for just over double the distance? Unlikely but worth a try.

Before the start - penned up and pent up

My race plan was to ease into the first couple of miles and then up the pressure on myself when the crowds thinned a bit. Not that they did. Also to concentrate on my smoothest running style to avoid effort being wasted in scuffs, trips, and thrashing limbs. I know you are supposed to keep a reserve for the later miles but if I went too slowly in the first half of the race I would not be able to make up the lost time - so I had to keep near the top of the range of my fuel-economy cruising speed. This time I also pre-planned which water stops I would use, going for a 2 stop strategy. Except I did not stop just slowed down. Spilled some. Other runners kept throwing bottles at me. Invisible? Moi?

The race goes under the Clifton Suspension Bridge twice so you get to see the faster runners coming towards you on the other half of the road. At that stage this was good for my morale as I only began to see other Red Label runners on the opposite carriageway when I was almost within sight of the turning point.

The route back into town goes around the other side of the harbour from the start and from there zig-zags all around the town. Here the surfaces can be a bit troublesome - tarmac mostly, not too bumpy but with raised metal edges, sometimes wet from spilled water. Granite setts are a bit of a pain - danger of twisted ankles on some of the larger ones and they feel a bit hard on the feet anyway. Slippery gravel on another part of the course. Cross-country and fell runners will be thinking “wimp”.

Although I had looked up the revised route and knew there were a lot of loops in the final portion I had not reckoned on how hard this would be. I did find that the reverse loops and sharp uphill bits in the last few miles were sapping of the morale as well as the physique. I know the bystanders mean well but their shouts of the usual mantras of “You can do it” (Methinks - I know or I would not have entered) and “Not Far To Go Now” (Methinks - 3 miles not far?) began to pall. I expect I was just jealous of Superman who got all the attention - but it did mean that I had to pass him and stay ahead to the finish - so indirectly it helped me too.

The hardest bit was the last 0.2 mile. Yes I know they tell you not to sprint but you just have to make a good finish don’t you? Besides - Superman was not far behind me and I had run out of Kryptonite to strew in his path.

Official Time 2:06:11. New PB.

Special Thanks to MOH who gave up a prime gardening day.

Buzzing

I am an addict.

Before I started out on this venture I was among the majority who regard “joggers” with a silent pity and contempt. Clearly from the agonised looks on their faces and the strenuous puffing sounds they emit the activity cannot possibly be enjoyable.

I was rather more in awe of runners. The guy I met skiing who had done almost every major Marathon on the planet - including London and New York - some more than once. He told me he just had to run every day. Well he was tall and skinny and to my way of thinking build like a runner. Nifty skier too.

Another exception to my theory was my Service colleagues who were required to meet minimum physical standards to keep their job. They ran most lunchtimes to maintain a certain level of fitness by regular exercise rather than lapse and then work extra hard to get it back again. Being stuck in offices as desk jockeys that was a real risk for them.

As an idle youth outrun, outgunned and generally out-sported by my schoolmates - among whom I was always the youngest if not the smallest - I was never athletic, or even fit. Consequently the Forces never had a lasting appeal. Other than the uniform for attracting the girls. In those days the USP for recruitment was - in the words of Monty Python - “For the Sport and the Travel, Sah”.

But now my jogging has taken a serious turn - and I find that I must get out several times a week. Rather like my former colleagues I don’t want to lose the level of fitness I have gained. For one thing it feels better than the previous fat(ter) me.

So I have signed up for 2 more Half Marathons - Bristol this month and Bath again next year. Don’t worry , I am not asking for sponsorship.

Not yet.

Getting a buzz from running

Alas! in truth the man but chang'd his mind,

Perhaps was sick, in love, or had not din'd. - Pope

Gates Analysis

I have just been Microsoft - again.
Hours of work down the pan thanks to Works Not Working.


Meanwhile, back at the blog. It is a year since I began running on 19th August 2010.

Thought I ought to commemorate it in some way. Discovered on Runners Forum a new initiative . A monthly 1 mile time trial.

Appropriate n’est pas?

Using my traditional ruler-on-the-map method I found an exact mile between the outer ends of two bridges on my “Bridge2far” route. Benefits of this are:-

• Easy to identify marker points
• Can be used in either direction
• Familiar territory
• More or less level - no visible gradient
• Proper warm-up of about 2 miles beforehand.

My time - 7min 26.82sec. Or 0:07:27. Not in Seb Coe territory but OK by me. A mile is a long way when you are steaming along flat out.

Now I have to improve on it next month!

The object of this time-trial is to compete with oneself - not with others. Inevitably one makes comparisons.

An arithmetic average of all the times announced is 7min 12sec. There are 13 faster than me and 10 slower. There is a difference of 4 min 39sec between fastest and slowest times. None of the times are faster than 5min or slower than 10. So on a track over 2 miles the fastest would not be able to lap the slowest.

This puts me into the upper part of the third quartile. Happy with that.

I know my place.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. St Matthew Ch 5 v 41

Steaming Along

Thou shalt have one God only; who
Would be at the expense of two?

Thou shalt not kill; but need’s not strive
Officiously to keep alive

Do not adultery commit;
Advantage rarely comes of it

Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat,
When it’s so lucrative to cheat

Thou shalt not covet, but tradition
Approves all forms of competition.

Arthur Hugh Clough

Earth Tides

In recent weeks my running has had a scientific bent in the spirit of enquiry.

I have got into the habit of running the same route regularly to see how the weather and my state of mind affect my running speed for the same distance.

Only - it is not the same distance.

At first I thought I must be cutting corners - so I carefully stuck to exactly the same route each time I ran. But the distance still varied.

On particularly hot and humid days I have been varying the time of day when I run - sometimes early morning and sometimes evening.

Then I found that the distance varied according to the time of day. Thus:-.

Serial Time of Day Distance Run Time

1. 06-57     10.43 Km     1:01:18
2. 08-12     10.44 Km     1:05:15
3. 12-29     10.46 Km     1:00:42
4. 12-30     10.47 Km     1:03:36
5. 15-44     10.54 Km     0:58:41
6. 16-25     10.46 Km     1:01:11
7. 18-43     10.49 Km     1:03:36

Now my Garmin is pretty accurate on distances. It did match the surveyed distance of the Bath Half Marathon and the 10km distance of the Swindon race.

My conclusion is that I have been measuring the phenomenon known as Earth Tides.

The moon causes tides in the oceans. But the gravitational pull of celestial objects is not just confined to very fluid elements like water but also affects the earth. The largest gravitational pull is from the sun and so this will have the largest effect - much more than other planets or the moon.

So as the sun rises and passes our hemisphere its gravitational pull causes the upper crust of the earth to heave up towards it, slumping down as the sun sets. As with the sea tides and the moon there will be a slight lag - with the highest “tide” occurring after midday. My runs at different times of day record the resulting larger radius curve as a longer distance and the figures reflect this “lag“ with the longest distances - and hence the highest “tides“ after midday.

Except for the run in the evening which shows a bigger figure than the late afternoon run. But this variation could be caused by the gravitational influence of heavenly bodies other than the sun - the figures are not necessarily the same on every day.

For a more scientific explanation, and some mathematics, see CalTech

Or for the rest of us try youtube

There are more things in heaven and earth,Horatio,than are dreamt of in your philosophy - Hamlet.

  

Or - it may just be down to satnav imperfections.

Plods Progress

1960s
Birmingham City Police
Town fringe 4am. Youths hanging around. Officer in panda car stops for a little chat.

Ladywood after midnight. Tipsy students carrying Bath Road sign when spotted by constable on beat carry sign into Police Station. Desk Sergeant notes down details of “find”. When asked if can be kept if no claimants, replies “Op It”.

Warwickshire Constabulary
Small village midday. Large group of lads. Local policeman on motorbike stops to find out who they are and why hanging around there.

1970s
Met
North London. Old banger is making lots of noise from exhaust. Waved down by bobbie on push-bike. Driver told “I know where this car lives - take it home now and don’t take it out again except to get it fixed”

Earls Court 10pm. Little yellow car driven in dashing style along Ring Road trying to keep up with Austin Healey ahead. Blue car behind suddenly sprouts sirens and blue lights. Flat-hatted crime cop gives driver of little car severe ticking off  “40 in a 30 limit, perhaps. 50 in a 40 limit, maybe. But you were doing 50 in a 30 limit! Don’t do it again, sonny.”

Central London. Armed police officer shoots and wounds passenger in a Mini.

1980s
Met
South London. A bored police officer advises home owner to “Move Home“ after the fourth break-in in 2 months. Takes no details and gives out yet another crime number. Surrounded by the evidence of finger-prints on windows and boot-marks on the remains of the door says no forensic examination will be done because break-ins are “routine low priority crime“ and the policy is to take no action.

Greenwich. Police examining burgled house of citizen arrest his son for possessing a traffic cone.

Greenwich Magistrates Court. Case of alleged assault. Accused not present. He had been “out” when police had called to arrest him. Police roundly castigated by magistrate. No Further Action taken.

Natwest Bank in Earls Court. Customer assaulted in full view of customers and staff. Police called at insistence of victim. Assailant admits assault. Police refuse to take action “It’s a civil matter”.

Sussex Constabulary
James Ashley - naked - shot dead in police raid.

1990s
Avon and Somerset Police
Second break-in within 1 month. Police reckon they knew who did it as local villains out on parole over Christmas. Hand out victim-support leaflets.

Met
Harry Stanley shot dead by police whilst carrying repaired table leg in bag.

2000s
Avon and Somerset
Notification of “Failure to stop after an accident” issued. Police refuse to supply any statements made about alleged “accident” or its precise time or location. When requested to examine car for signs of damage, police say “You might have repaired it”.

Force praised for its ethnicity and diversity policy guidance.

Cannabis found growing in concrete pots outside Bath police station.

Met
Jean Charles de Meneses shot 7 times in head.

2011
Sussex Constabulary
10 Feb - naked man shot and killed in Brighton.

Met, West Midlands, Avon & Somerset
The BlackBerry and Apple Riots - postcode gangs co-ordinate rioting, arson and looting across London,  Croydon, Birmingham, and Bristol using smart phones.

When constabulary duty’s to be done
A policeman’s lot is not a happy one. W S Gilbert

He that goeth about to persuade a multitude, that they are not so well governed as they ought to be, shall never want attentive and favourable hearers. Richard Hooker

Run Time or Distance?

New Race Entry
Getting a bit slack on the running & decided some incentive was required.
So have entered the Bristol Half Marathon on 11 September.

Same day as Italian GP.
Will have to watch out for poisoned umbrellas on that day - Georgi Markov.

New Discipline
Decided that should regularly run 60/6 - that is about 6 miles within 60 minutes.
Not done every day - or even every other day - but have managed 6 runs of more than this time or distance over the past 20 days. Excuse - heat and humidity.

Quarter Marathons
Distances have been mostly 6.50 miles with one of 6.52 and another 7.24. Variations include an extra loop. Each run involves setting out to a particular marker post at which I turn round - usually after about 28 minutes - reversing the route to the start. Whole thing out and back is 6.5 miles by shortest route.

Time taken has varied from fastest 1hr 0min 49 sec to slowest 1hr 4 min 14 sec for the 6.5 miles.

Injury Avoidance
Not running every day - or even every other day - has meant that aches, pains and twinges are less of a problem. Knee aches less after an hours run than it does over a 2 hour drive.

My theory is that driving at most economical cruising speed is the culprit. My knee aches from the strain of holding off and NOT putting the pedal to the metal. But if it makes a tank of fuel last 400 miles instead of 300 the saving in cost will pay for nearly unlimited quantities of Deep Heat.

Road Works
Lots of these both in the Motorway and on my running route - new gas pipes.
Infrastructure and Jobs.

The Professionals

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, “Make this fellow return” - I Samuel 29 v4.

You ain't going to believe it but I found the above quote just by opening the book randomly and reading what was on the page. It seemed appropriate. Mostly.

Then I edited it.

WYSIWYG

Taking The Long View

For a running blog this seems to have very little running in it.

Excuses:-

1. Back in August I said I would not post about every run
2. I have been travelling - so little opportunity to run
3. Working - for clubs (NOT nightclubs)
4. Gardening
5. Fixing the old car.

Running
In the past couple of months I have completed 17 runs - a total of well over 100 miles.
Distances - from a “quickie” 4 ¼ miler to a long 13 ¼ miles. Even one in the rain!

Travelling
Derbyshire, Isle of Wight, Cofton Park. Beautiful places.

Working
What is it they say about being retired?

Gardening
Mowing, hedge-cutting, weeding, watering, rain dancing.

Car Fixing
Done - head gasket, stud thread, tick-over.
To Do - little end, con-rod, clutch. And just about everything really.

 Mind the Gap

Blog-Offs
Other blogs go off topic too:-

This one includes cake - Hrun's Random Ramblings

And this one has cows Skeddaddle

"They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them."

Of Blogs
But surely all are equally valid in this post-modern world?

Mind The Gap

PPE

Post Project Evaluation
Not Politics Philosophy and Economics - as taught at the Colonel Gadaffi School of Islamic Studies (LSE). Not the London Stock Exchange (LSE) the other one.

Has my project achieved its aims?

What went well?

What could have been better?

Aims
The primary objective was to complete the Bath Half Marathon within 3 hours. In seeking this outcome the project had 5 elements:-

1. Physical - training plan to get fit enough to meet the objective
2. Mental - motivation to complete the task
3. Risks - avoiding injuries and other potential blockers
4. Charity - raising money for a good and popular cause
5. Publicity - blog and newspaper pieces.

Results
The primary objective was bettered - by 25% on target time.

The training plan worked well and resulted in:-

1. Reduced weight - from verging on obese to within OK for BMI
2. Lower blood pressure - from high enough to be of concern to good
3. Lower cholesterol - from high to slightly above average and a greater reduction than medication could have achieved
4. Reduced standing pulse rate - from average to low
5. Reduced heart rate when running - but I still exceed my "theoretical" maximum.

The effect was an improvement in both stamina and speed.

Mental preparation also contributed to the success. An unexpected side effect has been to make me more active and assertive in other pastimes and pursuits. Not all my friends are pleased.

Risks have been avoided or mitigated. I was not prevented from competing by injuries or ill health.

Fundraising was modest only about one-third of the ambitions target. This may be because the charity was considered by some to be a bit specialised with potential benefits limited to the male population. Or it may just be that I did not hustle - or indeed hassle - for contributions.

Publicity could have been better - both to alert potential donors to the charity and to keep up to date with events. A piece was published in the local paper but was among many similar. Links to a Facebook page or regular Tweets could have been effective in widening the audience.

Costs

It is usual for a project to go over time and over budget. This was impossible - the deadline was the date of the event on 6th March and there was no costing. That is a failure in the plan - costs should have been considered.

As so happened the cost of the running clothing and equipment was about the same as the sponsorship money raised. So on a pure-cost basis not economic. Except that the kit can be used for other events.

And on a cost-benefit basis I have received the health benefits of the exercise.

Next

Time to move on. What next? 

No Balls on This Site

"Its not Brown - its Balls" Michael Haseltine

Still Here

Fund Raising
Progress so far - more than £27 per mile.

Thanks to all of you who have donated to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

And to those who have not yet - there is still time - hint-hint.


Still Running
After the race my running training has continued - but with no clear focus it is at risk of being desultory. And other activities have had the priority on time.

But even so - more than 125 training miles covered since 6th March. A mix of long slow runs - up to 10 miles - and shorter faster ones - around 4 to 6 - and something new.

Hill Climbs
In the dry weather - so the paths are not muddy - and with limited time available, I have been trying cross-country hill runs. The ground is softer which is good for the knees and the hills are steeper which is good for the lungs and heart.

The steepest parts have to be walked - not just up but down. Like driving in mountains in an old car - the Swiss recommendation of going downhill in the same gear as going up.

Or else brake fade in the legs!  Wheeeee!

The reward at the top is an extensive flat grassland on which to run and the singing of the skylarks.

So - about time for a review and another plan. And admire the Spring flowers.

English Bluebells

"The great thing about not planning is that failure comes as a compete surprise” - attributed to Sir Digby Jones (now Lord Jones of Birmingham)

Prostate Cancer

Race Over - Time to call in the pledges.

First - a big thank you to all those who have made donations to the Prostate Cancer Charity online at my Just Giving page and those of you who have given me cash or cheques to pass on to the charity.

Second - a reminder of what it is all about.

March Aware
March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

In the UK:

• Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men
• 250,000 men are living with prostate cancer
• 1 man dies from prostate cancer every hour.

The Prostate Cancer Charity provides:

• Funds for research
• Support to those affected
• Information - including email and telephone help lines.

This year there are 10 research projects at an investment of nearly £1.8M.

Neoadjuvant Androgen Deprivation Therapy
Recent research shows that using hormone therapy in conjunction with radiotherapy for treatment of advanced prostate cancer can reduce the potential side effects of radiotherapy including impotence and heart attack.

In The Lancet Dr Chris Parker said:-

"This trial confirms that NADT reduces mortality significantly after radiotherapy for high-risk prostate cancer.”

Statistics

Time
The winner was Kenyan Edwin Kipkorir with race and chip times of 01:04:00.

My race time - from when the gun went off to when I finished - 02:18:21
My chip time - from when I crossed the start time to when I finished - 02:12:56

I crossed the 10Km mark - nearly half-way - less than 3 minutes before the winner finished.

From which you can tell that I did not start until 6 minutes after the gun and it took me more than twice as long as the winner to complete the distance.

Quantity
It is difficult to find out how many people finished the Bath Half Marathon.

The preliminary official results on the website show that I was placed 7907 race time out of 10823 finishers, or 8115 out of 10823 finishers on my chip time.

Among the Veteran Males over 60 my place was shown as 93 (race) and 97 (chip) out of 154. Did I achieve the "standard" for my age do you think?

The Bath Chronicle results show me as 7924 in an ordered list of 10909 names - with times shown for those up to 10848. Sandwiched between a couple of 40 year-old “vets”. Not bad.

So which is right? Does it matter?

Know Your Place
Whichever way you look at it I came in the third quartile.

A comfortable place to be.

Bath - Empire Hotel, Pulteney Bridge and weir.

Except that "Comfortable Place" is on the Upper Bristol Road. The race route passes it.

2012 Bath Half

Priority entries are already open for next year. Shall I go for it?



The Race

They told me about the spirit of the Bath Half. What an amazing experience.

Waiting in the sheep pens before the start was very chilly so I was glad I had looked at the forecast and opted for my warm gear. I prefer to be too hot than too cold. My supporters said I looked very much focused at the start. I think they meant I ignored them. Well I didn’t know they were there. Picked them out later at Queen's Square.

The size of the event truly hit me when I came round the first corner at the end of Poultney Street and saw the crowd or runners ahead of me spread to the distant horizon. Kept a fairly easy pace at the beginning - no other choice really, being hemmed in all around.

Tried to get into Zen mode early on by thinking of all the important landmarks I was passing - the hotel where our wedding reception was held, the ugly office block where I worked in Room 101, the Old Register Office where we were married, the B&B that I stayed in on my first ever visit to Bath, the pub - now tarted up - where my mates and I would go to play pool and eat a curry, the stretch of Newbridge Road where I got cramp in my thigh on a training run - oops Zen moment gone - don’t think about cramp. But some other poor guy has just got it near the same spot!

Despite the Keep Left rule on lap 1 the officials had to clear the way for the elite runners doing their 2nd lap along the Lower Bristol Road. The elite runners got applause not just from the spectators but from us 1st lappers also.

Got some refreshment at a drinking point and then further on, after safely disposing of the bottle in one of the bins provided (and not under the feet of other runners), I spotted a vacant loo with no queue. Tactical wee stop with minimum down time.

The 10Km point turned out not to be an arch at all but a trip-strip taped to the ground.

At Churchil Bridge round the circuit 2nd time. Ran to the rhythm of the music provided by roadside groups - drums spurred me uphill into Queen’s Square again.

I had been told that the hardest part is the second lap along Lower Bristol Road where you are tired and can see for miles the distance still to cover. This was true. It did require some grit and determination.

From Widcombe concentrating on a steady pace over the last mile seemed to work - and I did not succumb to the forbidden temptation of a sprint finish - although some around me did and suffered for their art.

Very impressed by some of the costumed runners. It must be hard to run strapped to a big boob. There was a group from the RUH pushing an occupied wheelchair. An heroic effort and the guy in the chair was brave.

Legs did strange things after end of race - my Groucho Mark impression.

Official chip time - 2hr 12min 56sec
Within "Hard Target" time of 3 hours and "Stretch Target" time of 2.5 hours.
Bonus?

Smug Old Git.

Discovered afterwards I had lost my heart rate monitor chest strap.

"There it was - gorn".

Upset Muchly. Must have left it on the floor of the mixed changing tent. Much Costly.

Finished

Job Done

Garmin time 2 hours 13 minutes. Result subject to official confirmation.

A Memorable Moment

"One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other." - Emma - Jane Austen

Preview

Advance Warning

Tomorrow is the big day.

Today is:-

1. Re-read the race instructions
2. Check have everything needed
3. Prepare list of things to do on day
4. Select sacrificial warm top for pre-race waiting around
5. Arrange drop-off and pick up by Mrs Taxi

My number is high and orange. This means that I start off from the sheep pen at the back of the grid. Long tramp from the runners’ village through the tunnel into Grove Street and then turn back into Henrietta Street. Walk almost half a mile to the start! Advice is to arrive early.

Keep Cool

The Bath Half Marathon website shows the route.

Down Poultney Street towards the Holburne Museum. Right into Poultney Road, under the railway bridge at North Parade junction, curve around the back of Widcombe - past the deepest canal lock in Britain, the hotel by the canal where we had our reception, and the rear entrance of The Ram. Cross the Avon at Churchill Bridge by the new bus station - still not big enough or integrated with the railway station.

The Busometer - Bath Bus Station

Turn left past the end of Quay House, where I worked in Room 101 in the last Century. Curve right past Green Park old station where the Somerset and Dorset trains started for Bournemouth. Slow and Dirty they called it - but it was faster and more direct than now (change at Southampton). Then an uphill bit past the curry house and sewing machine shop to Queen Square.

Exit Queen Square past the old Register Office where we were married. Pound down the Upper Bristol Road alongsde the allotments and Vickie Park. Somewhere about here I will be lapped by the eventual winner. The instructions say Keep Left.  This is not a political statement.

Gasometer - Bath

On past The New Westhall, and Bath Coke and Light, to the north end of Windsor Bridge where the mini-Tesco site still awaits planning permission.Uphill past The Weston and The Old Red House and the long drag down Newbridge Road.

Every town has a “street of a thousand B&Bs”. In Bath, Newbridge Road is it.

Cross the Avon again - near where I had my retirement “do” at a not to be recommended venue so I won't mention it - and turn back towards Bath along Lower Bristol Road.

Past the southern end of Windsor Bridge and past all the car dealers. Under the 10Km arch - or you don’t get a time - and back across Churchill Bridge for lap 2. This is going to be a hard bit. You are supposed to do lap 2 faster than lap 1 - on the basis that part of lap 1 is warming up and on lap 2 the crowd of runners thins out so overtaking is easier.

A reliable source told me that the hardest bit is the Lower Bristol Road second time around. On this long stretch if the fatigue and long view of the distance still to be covered does not depress you then the militant nihilism of the new architecture will.

Don’t go under the 10Km arch second time around - that would confuse the timing chip! After that it seems to be a relentless rise to the finish. Don’t sprint to the finish is the official advice. Chance would be a fine thing. Tortoise not hare.

Drink!

Bath - World Heritage City.

Prostate Cancer

Decision made - it is to be The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Thank you all of those who commented and emailed me after my earlier posting about choosing which charity to support. It has helped me decide.

RNLI
As an official sponsor of the Bath Half Marathon this would have been the easy choice with minimum work on my part. But:-

• RNLI will get the lion’s share of sponsorship of the run - perversely perhaps I want to support a charity that is not already involved
• The money is going to support Lifeguards - which to me is not the core activity of RNLI - rather than the boat rescue services
• I got no response to my email enquiry.

VSO
A small amount of money here might have a bigger impact than a larger sum to another charity. But:-

• Potential contributors have suggested that charity should begin at home - reducing my potential pot
• The volunteer that I thought I was sponsoring in Malawi appears to have changed - and I am unable to update you on what is happening
• There is no obvious link in time or location between this charity and the Bath Half Marathon.

The Prostate Cancer Charity
There are two links here - one personal and one timely:-

• My brother was diagnosed and treated successfully for prostate cancer
• March 2011 is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men. There is a genetic component but most men will get it eventually. There is an urgent need to develop a reliable method of screening. More research is required to find out why some prostate cancers are more aggressive than others and how this can be detected so that treatment can be focused on those most in need of it. Unfortunately available treatments can have unpleasant side effects.

How 2 Help
Today I have set up a “Just Giving” page for you to visit - and make a donation if you wish. You can use credit or debit cars or PayPal.

A couple of things I should point out:-

• If you make a donation now it is taken immediately and you cannot get it back if I don’t run the Half Marathon - you may prefer to wait until I have completed the run
• Just Giving charge 5% of the donation - which they take out of the gift aid - for administration and running their website. The card providers and PayPal also take a small cut.

Details of these costs are at Just Giving - what-it-costs

Give Generously

“Give all thou canst; high Heaven rejects the lore
Of nicely-calculated less or more.” - Wordsworth

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