Day 31 - 31st January 2016

Old Railway lines Run (Durham)
11.26 miles
18.12km

Well the final day of the January Challenge was here and I had a lot to do. I was also a bit hung-over after the Newcastle Pub Crawl. However, the run did not start until 2pm, so I had just about recovered as I reached the start line. There was quite a few people running this route today from the running club. We did two separate 7.5 mile runs, out and back in along the old railway lines of Durham. This gave me a total of 15km. However, I then had to go back out and run a further 3km to achieve my 100 mile target for the month. The last 3k seemed to last an age and I am sure my feet skidded across the ground as I ran them. However, as I ran the last 100 metres up the slope to my car and the Broompark picnic area I had a huge grin on my face. I had done it, 100 miles in January!!!!

So, only 11 more months to go!!!!!!

Final total for the month is 100.72 miles

Wooooohoooo

Day 30 - 30th January 2016

Sedgefield Park Run
3.09 miles + 1.25 miles (extra)
4.97km + 2.01km

Well another Saturday had come around and it was time for the park run. I decided to race in a local park run this weekend as I had an important Newcastle pub crawl that was starting at 12pm, got to get my properties right!!!

The Sedgefield Park Run takes place in Hardwick Park. It was a crisp, sunny morning with a cold wind. There was a good turn out, unfortuantely I did not have a good turn of pace. I think the last three days of running had caught up with me. Nevertheless I got around and another 3.09miles had been added to my total.

However, my running did not stop there. I was quite keen to not leave too many miles for the last day of the month, so I did a further short run around the park, taking a few pictures on the way. This was a further 1.25 miles.

So my total for the month of January stands at 89.46 miles

Day 29 - 29th January 2016

Treadmill Work Run
5.03km
3.13miles

Well tonight I had to use a bit of ingenuity and adaption with my running. I had to work until around midnight as I was dealing with a temperamental hydrogenation on the plant. Therefore, when I had a spare hour I jumped on the treadmill in the work gym and managed a quick 5k run. Nothing special, just churning out the miles to try and reduce my remaining total and to make it more manageable over the final few days of the January challenge.

So another 3.13 miles complete and my total stands at 85.12 miles.

The Races are building up nicely!!

Hi Folks,

Well the race calendar is building up nicely for this year. I have already got places in the following, and every race helps with the miles.

March 6th - Haweswater Half Marathon
May 1st - Sunderland 10K
May 22nd - Pier 2 Pier
June 5th - Durham Coast Half Marathon
June 25th - Total Warrior
July 17th - Morpeth 2 Newcastle Marathon
July 24th - Northumberland Coastal Half Marathon
September 11th - Great North Run


Don't forget, please sponsor me. You can follow the link at the side of the page.

Thanks

Day 28 - 10 miler to get me back in the mixer!!

Durham Run
10.08 miles
16.22Km

Well tonight was a nice pace 10mile run to get my distances for the month of January back on track. This run normally takes place on Friday, but was brought forward to Thursday night, which was just what the doctor ordered.

It was a lovely mild evening along the usual Friday route.

 

So another 10 miles and my total for January is 81.99 miles

Day 27 - Hill Reps

Durham Hill Reps
5.44 Miles
8.75 Km

Hi folks,

Well tonight (Wednesday) was running club. Normally on a Wednesday I would do the track session which involves interval training and normally has a distance of around 5k. However, as I have quite a few miles to claw back as the month end approaches, I thought I would go out around Durham on the Hill Rep course. The run was 5.44 miles in length and involved running hard up 6 hills and then jogging back down. There was a couple of steep hills, but overall it was an enjoyable run.

So that was another 5.44 miles added to the total, which has now reached 71.91 miles for January.

Day 23 - Park Run (Twice)

Delemere Forest Park Run
3.06 Miles
4.92Km

Second Lap
3.12 Miles
5.02Km

Hi Folks, Well with a busy week last week and my 40th Birthday celebrations at the weekend, I have not manage to get as much running done as I would of liked. As a result I am significantly down on my target. I will have to pull out all the stops during the last 5 days of the month.

Anyway I did manage a lovely park run back home in the land of Cheshire on Saturday morning. It was a lovely sunny morning. After the 5k park run was finished I decided to run around the course again, to try and build up some more miles.

So overall a further 6.18miles added to my total, taking the total for January to 66.47miles.

Day 18 10K Run

Durham Town Run
6.84 miles
11km

Hi Folks,

Well I managed no running over the weekend. Many of the local Park Runs were cancelled on Saturday morning due to icy conditions. However, it didn't help that I slept in as well!!!!
On a positive note though I was fresh for the 10k run on Monday night with the Striders. It was a great run, and the strongest I have felt in ages. The course was the usual Monday night one with hill sprints, which I attacked with vigour. There was a big turn out as well, considering it was the 'Brass Monkey' race in York the day before, which a lot of Striders had competed in.

Anyway overall a good run in very cold conditions and another 6.84 miles added to the total, taking it to 59.98 miles.

Day 15 Feeling Good

Durham Town Run
10 miles
16.09km 


Hi Folks,

Sorry I have not updated for a few days.

So day 15, which was Friday 15th Jan was a excellent run. It was the first time I started to feel that I was gettting my fitness back after christmas and the first time I felt as though I was starting to shake off this cold and cough that I had. Friday was the same 10 mile run that I did around Durham the Friday before. There was a good turnout again, although not as many as last week. Nevertheless it was a good workout and another 10 miles added to my total. This takes the total for the month to 53.14 miles

Day 13 Rain, Coughing And The Track

Durham Interval Training
2.71 Miles
4.36km

Hi Folks,

Well tonight I was trying to fight off this stupid cold and cough.However, that did not deter me from the track session tonight at the Elvet Striders running club. Tonight we did two laps warm-up jogging the bends and striding the straights like last week. Then we did five lots of the following:-

3 minutes at threshold pace
1 minute walk or jog

Threshold pace is, in a nutshell your race pace. It is a run carried out at an intensity or speed just below where your body would not be able to get rid of the acidosis that builds up in your muscles. You can only run above that pace for a short amount of time.

To make matters worse it was raining and was freezing cold. However, it was a good session if a little shorter than normal

Day 11 - A cold one!!!

Durham City Run
6.27 miles
10.09km

Well after another rest day on day 10, it was back to it last night (Monday). It was the usual 10k run around Durham with the usual gang from Elvet Striders. However, it was a real struggle!!! For starters I have been trying to shake off a stupid cough for the last week and to make matters worse the temperature was -1C. It also did not help that I arrived late, so the group had already set-off. I expended quite a bit of effort catching them up around the 4-5k mark. Just in time for the hills. We do the same course every Monday. This particular 10K run is all about a nice steady pace with hill sprints. There are 5 hills on the course, the first being the worst. Sprinting up the hills with a temperature of -1C was not particularly enjoyable, but good for stamina and building leg strength for the coming year. Anyway, at the finish an enjoyable pint.......of coke was just what the doctor ordered!!!!

Another 6.27 mile ticked off.

Day 9 - The Hardest Day

Gateshead Park Run (Saltwell Park)
3.09 Miles
4.97km

Well as I mentioned in an earlier post, coupled with my challenge of 100 miles per month, I am going to try and complete as many different Park Runs through the year. They take place every Saturday all over the country. Last week, the first Saturday of the year was at my local Durham Park Run. Today I was doing the Gateshead Park Run in Saltwell Park. This location was chosen for two reasons. The first is that I have never done this park run before and the second being that a few friends from Elvet Striders were doing the run as it was their 50th Park Run. Saltwell Park is a lovely park located near Low Fell.

I have to say that this was the hardest run of my challenge so far. Not because the course was particularly difficult, although there were a few hills, but because my legs were feeling the 10 mile run the night before and the runs from the previous days. Nevertheless I managed to get around, although my time of 31:17 was my worst Park Run time ever. However, it was a beautiful park and a good run with more miles added to the total.

Afterwards, a group of us went to Saltwell Towers, a lovely cafe inside the park where we had a bacon sandwich and cake to celebrate Debbie and Nicola's achievement of 50 Park Runs. Well done ladies.

All in all a good Park Run and a total of 34.16miles ran so far!!

Day 8 - 10 Mile Half Marathon Training

Durham Town Run
9.8 miles
15.77km 

Hi folks,

Well as I mentioned day 7 was a rest day as I had ran 6 days in a row and for day 8 I was doing a 10 mile run around Durham. This 10 mile run was the first long run I have done since the Great North Run last year. I am taking part in the Haweswater Half Marathon in the Lake District on March 6th so I need to start doing one long run per week and totting up the miles. This run was a group run organised by people from Elvet Striders and other local running clubs. It was a great turn out with 47 people running. This Friday night run was split into several parts, to cater for everyones ability and fitness. The first end point was 6.2 miles, then 10 miles, then 13 miles and finally, for the super fit, 16 miles. I did not want to risk a longer run too soon, so stuck with the 10 mile cut off point.

It was a good run with a great group of people. After the 10 miles were finished, a much deserved pint was on the cards, and I just arrived at the pub in time to see my beloved Liverpool score to make it 2-2 against Exeter in the FA Cup!!!!! A narrow escape!!!

Day 6 Interval Training Track Session

Elvet Striders Track Session
3.73 miles
6km

Well tonight consisted of a track session at the running club at the Durham University track.

It was a good hard session this evening. There was a brief warm up period with some dynamic exercises, before the running commenced.

We started with two laps jogging the bends and striding the straights. Striding the straights is not sprinting, it consists of running harder and lengthening your stride. Once this was finished it was time for the training.

There was 5 reps of the following routine:-

2mins running hard (race pace)
1min jogging
1min running hard (race pace)
30secs jogging
30secs running hard (race pace)
15secs jogging

It was a good workout and is good conditioning for improving your speed and pace for races. Overall I clocked up another 6k (3.73miles).

 

Day 5 Tired Legs

Sherburn Village
1.46 miles
2.35km

Well Today was just a short run around the block, literally. I only managed 1.45 miles tonight. I didn't want to force it too much as I have a track session on Wednesday at the running club. So I just took it easy with a casual jog.

Day 4 Hardcore Running in the rain

Durham City Run
6.45 Miles
10.38Km

Well tonight's run was the first 10k of my challenge. Most Monday nights, a few members from the running club (Elvet Striders) organise a 10k run around Durham. The run is a nice steady pace, but we have several hills along the route, where we push hard followed by a sprint finish. The route is a good testing workout.

Tonight the weather was awful, it rained all the way around the course and there were lots of soaking wet feet and muddy legs. There was around 15 runners in total, it was good fun but we were soaked from head to toe at the end. It was a run for the pure hardcore and the cross country runners of course.

Well another 6.45 miles ticked off the list giving me a total of 16.39 miles completed so far for my challenge. I am ahead of target so far, but that may not last!!!

 

 

 

 

Day 3 Village Run

Sherburn Village Run
3.74 miles
6km

 

This morning I completed a leisurely run through the back of my village. Thankfully it was dry and the run was steady and uneventful. The run was 3.74 miles (6km), so that takes my total for the week so far to just under 10miles. I need to search for more scenic and interesting runs around my village or within a short car ride, as this course is just along the by-pass through the back of Sherburn Village, it can be a little boring. Once the weather is better and the week nights are lighter I will start doing some routes along the coast and cliffs, I love the Durham and Northumberland coast and I realise that good routes to keep me interested will be key to getting through this challenge.

 

 

Day 2 - Durham Park Run

Durham Park Run
3.1 Miles
5km

The first park run of the year, and the first of my challenge. Unsurprisingly, the conditions were bleak. Underfoot was muddy and slippy and there was a fine rain in the air. There was a good turn out none the less.The time wasn't spectacular and was nowhere near my best, but a steady eddy wins everytime. My second day of running and first park run of the year were complete without any trips slips or mud on the face!!!!

A New Dawn.......A New Day..... A New Year

Sherburn Village Run
3.13 Miles
5km

My first run of the New Year and of the challenge was a steady one. With all the over indulgence during the Christmas period, the many mince pies, beers and wines, that is all my body could cope with. The pace was slow, as I ran late in the evening after a lovely new year's day walk along the Northumberland coast and Warkworth. A flat run around my local village was just the ticket for the start of my running challenge. I was underway........fingers crossed.

The Challenges!!!

So a New Year is here and with it comes a new challenge. Last year I ran three half marathons, several 10k runs, along with a few park runs and a few cross country races. I raised money for the Neuro foundation for all of the events I ran last year. This charity is important, not least because the daughter of my good friends suffers from this condition and as yet there is no cure. Everyday a baby is born in the UK with Neurofibromatosis and there are over 25,000 people in the UK affected by this condition.

This year, I want to better last year and set myself a harder challenge. The first challenge is to run 100 miles per month throughout 2016, coupled with this challenge I will try and run at least 5k everyday. To put this into perspective, in 2015 I ran approximately 350 miles throughout the whole year. So this challenge represents a big step-up.

The second challenge, is to try and run as many park runs around the country as possible. For those who are unfamiliar with park runs, they are free, 5k runs that take place every saturday morning at 9am all around the country. There are 53 Saturday's in 2016, ideally I would like to run a different park run every weekend, but this could prove difficult, so I will aim to complete as many as possible.
The plan is to start and finish the year with my home Durham park run. So fingers crossed.

Lastly I have set-up a just giving page that will be open all year, the link is in the side bar. Please feel free to give as little or as much as you like........Every penny counts.


Thank you for your support.

Gareth