The end, and some stats

So, a nostalgic 4 mile run around my former neighbourhood in Edinburgh on 29th December brought my 2010 challenge to an end, and brought my total for the year to 829.29 miles.




A big thank you to my wife Sophie and her sister and brother-in-law for sharing so many of this year's runs, and for helping to keep my enthusiasm high. While we seldom run alongside each other, we often start and finish our runs together, and they've probably run as far, if not further than me.




Thanks also to those people who sponsored me for the BUPA 10000 back in May - I really appreciate your support, as do the Cure Parkinson's Trust.


Finally, some stats on this year's running:


Total miles: 829.29 (2009: 601)
Number of runs: 168 (2009: 167)
Average run distance: 4.97 miles (2009: 3.6 miles)
Total time running: 5 days, 13 hours, 32 minutes, 43 seconds (2009: 97 hours, 43 minutes, 43 seconds)
Average time per mile: 9 minutes 40 seconds (2009: 9 minutes 44 seconds)
Longest run: 13.1 miles (2009: 12.06 miles)

And a few graphs:


Next stop 1000 miles !



Not sure this graphs shows much except that signing up for half marathons makes you run further !



Pretty consistent pace, with a few slower runs due to weather / keeping people company.




Pretty consistent running all year, with the exception of June when we were on holiday in Greece and it was too hot to do much but lie by the sea (or in it).



Generally running further on each trip than in 2009.

Averaging around 5 miles per run.

So, what now?

Answer: The marathon challenge !

And so, the end is near

As the challenge draws to a close, time to reflect on a successful year of running:

• In March, my first half marathon, in Milton Keynes, in a very respectable time of 2:04:20;



• In May, comfortably my fastest 10k so far in the BUPA 10000 in London, finishing in 54:19;



• In September, a very enjoyable New Forest Half Marathon where I broke the 2 hours barrier, finishing in 1:59:37;



• and as a bonus, a new 10k PB of 53:30 in the UNICEF Hong Kong Disneyland 10k;



• added to which, with the help of my sponsors - thank you - I raised £335 for the Cure Parkinson's Trust.

At the time of writing I've reached a total of 819 miles for the year, comfortably beating my 750 mile target and my 601 mile total for last year.

I've run those miles at an average pace of 9:39 minutes per mile, faster than last year, and averaged nearly 5 miles per run, again more than last year's 3.6 miles per run.

Hopefully this all sets me up well for next year's marathon and 1000 mile challenge, which I'm running for Practical Action and CLIC Sargent.

Mission accomplished !

On Sunday November 28th at around 7:10 am in Hong Kong I completed 750 miles of running since the beginning of 2010. And I went on to complete the UNICEF Hong Kong Disneyworld 10k in 53 minutes 33 seconds, a personal best by around 40 seconds.

Prior to the race I'd built up my total with a few runs along the Kowloon harbourfront. Running there, while pleasant compared to the temperature in London in November, is also a challenge due to the humidity and pollution, so I'm glad I got some "acclimatisation" in ahead of the race.

The race itself was really well organised, with a separate start for "elites" and the masses, good marshalling and signage, and a nice course with a good mixture of terrain and some dramatic scenery.

I set off at a pretty steady pace but then speeded up somewhat unconsciously due to missing a couple of the kilometre markers, and so reached the halfway mark in 26:10, a little faster than planned. The second half of the course, although flat, was also slightly into the wind and as the sun came up the temperature rose quite quickly towards 23 degrees - together with the humidity and my early pace this took its toll and by the 9th kilometre I was struggling and had slowed to 10 minute/mile pace. However I managed to speed up a little to complete the final kilometre in 5:23 and crossed the line in 53:30, beating my time in the BUPA London 10000 by 41 seconds. Very happy with my performance.

All four of us who took part found the race conditions tougher than expected and were glad we hadn't signed up for anything longer !

So... I've achieved my target for the year. Time to celebrate my achievement - looking back only 3 years when I started running I could barely manage a mile without stopping - now I am comfortably running half marathons, and regularly exceeding 20 miles per week. Not bad for an old-timer !

With a month of the year still to go, I want to keep going and see by how much I can exceed the target. Much will depend on the weather over the next few weeks - currently there's heavy snow cover and low temperatures which makes running more difficult. I also need to keep my mileage ticking over prior to starting my marathon training just before Christmas, so will need to find a way to start fitting in at least four runs per week - at the moment I am just about managing three, sometimes only two, per week.

A lunchtime run to Dulwich and back today in the snow and frost added just over 6 miles to my total which now stands at 764.78 miles.

Deja vu

Damp days of autumn are here now - a grey and rather misty weekend in south-east London. But good running weather, not too cold, and just like last weekend I totalled another 16 miles: 4 laps of Dulwich on Friday, 4 laps of Greenwich on Saturday, and back to Dulwich for 4 more laps today.


On Saturday I decided to run a bit slower in preparation for my marathon training, where if I'm going to run at 10 minute mile pace apparently I should be doing my long slow runs at nearer 11 minute mile pace. According to my new gadget my average pace was 10:25 minute miles, and my average heart rate was 157 bpm, which was slower than last week, but somehow I'll need to run even slower once my marathon training starts to ramp up next month.


My total for the year is now 733.5 miles - 16.5 miles to go. So if I do 4 miles next Friday, and do a few training runs along the waterfront in Hong Kong next week, I'll be right on track to cross the 750 mile finishing line during the UNICEF 10k on Sunday 28th.

New gadget

Mostly I try to avoid too much paraphernalia and gadgetry when I'm running - no iPod, no water bottle, no flash gear, just a comfy pair of shoes, t-shirt, shorts or tracksters, a simple sports watch and that's it.

But a recent work bonus and the upcoming marathon made me decide it was time to invest in a bit of technology and I bought a Garmin Forerunner 305. As it's GPS enabled it will be handy for those days when I'm running somewhere unfamiliar and take the guesswork out of how far I've run.



It also displays instantaneous pace, and a bunch of other stats which will be helpful towards the end of long runs when doing the calculations in your head becomes a bit too demanding. And there's a wireless heart rate monitor with the package which will allow me to be a bit more scientific with my training and ensure that my long slow runs are slow enough, and my interval training is fast enough.



The device looks a bit bulky - due to the large screen and also, I guess to the size of the GPS transceiver - but it's actually quite comfortable on the wrist. And the heart rate monitor, although it takes a bit of getting used to, is ok to wear - although once the novelty wears off I probably won't wear it for every run or race.

Anyway, the gadget added a bit of interest to my runs this weekend - I did 4 laps of Dulwich on Friday, 4 at Greenwich on Saturday and four back at Dulwich again today for a total of 16 miles. During today's run I made an attempt to find out my maximum heart rate by doing a "stress test" which involves running 400 metres close to maximum speed and then running the next 400 metres flat out. Well maybe my "flat out" wasn't really flat out because my heart rate only rose 2 bpm to 179 bpm compared to my peak rate after running up the hill in Greenwich on Saturday.

Here's my graph from today's run. I guess over the next few weeks I'll start to figure out what it all means...

My total for the year now stands at 717.5 miles - so only 32.5 miles to go. If I calculate things right I might cross the 750 mile finish line when I'm running the UNICEF 10km in Hong Kong - a nice way to complete the challenge...

700 miles !

A wee burst of weekend activity has taken me past the 700 mile mark for the year.

Four laps of Dulwich at lunchtime on Friday, four laps of Greenwich on Saturday morning, and back to Dulwich for three and a half laps today - 15.5 miles, taking my total to 62.9 miles for October.

Lancashire and Hertfordshire

We've been away for the last couple of weekends, in Stockport and Hertfordshire. Still managed to fit in an 8 mile run along the Mersey last Saturday, and 3 laps of Fairlands Valley Park for 7.45 miles yesterday.

A few laps of Dulwich Park last Friday and a 35 minute run this morning brings my total for October to 47.38 miles and for the year to just under 686 miles. Only 64 miles left to reach my target !