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.