Temporary Setback

It had all been going so well. Both of my first two training runs since returning from India had been completed in best ever times for the circuits involved, but as I set out on a gentle three miler early on Friday evening, something just didn't seem quite right. My legs were moving, but with absolutely no fluency and I felt completely drained of energy.

After about two miles I simply ground to a halt and had to walk the final mile back along the Alban Way, the first time I have not kept running for many, many months (frequently for much longer distances). Perhaps it was the effects of an unusually hot April day, or maybe the intoxicating polleny fragrances heavy in the air. Or more worryingly that my first two post-50 runs had been something of a swan song, and this was how things would be from now on.

The most likely reason became clearer yesterday morning, however, when I woke up to find the lymph glands in my neck a little swollen and a lumpy sensation in my throat when I swallowed. Currently taking a course of penicillin, Hannah was adamant that I too had fallen victim to tonsillitis and I guess she is probably right. Other than my lumpy throat, though, I felt OK and enjoyed our visit in the afternoon to Butterfly World on the outskirts of St Albans.

One of the themed gardens at Butterfly World

A beautiful inhabitant of the steamy butterfly enclosure

Overnight I started to feel quite shivery and, rather like a butterfly about to emerge from its chrysalis, increasing uncomfortable in my own skin. After a restless night with little sleep, I woke up feeling exhausted and in no fit state to attempt the six mile run I had planned.

After a snooze in the sunshine in the garden on a beautiful Easter Sunday, a longer sleep in bed during the afternoon and the healing power of a large chocolate easter Egg, I now feel a lot better although my glands are still swollen and I'll go to the doctors if they're still playing up on Tuesday. I'll also leave it a couple more days before going for my next run, and hopefully my preparations for the Beat the Banana 5K in Hyde Park on 12th May will not have been affected too badly.

I'm tempted to give Charlton's home game against Rochdale a miss tomorrow to avoid the inevitable strain on my vocal chords, but I just know that if I don't go Charlton will go on and win. This would be such a rare event of late that I don't think I want to take the risk of staying at home. Come on you reds!

The Bath Half Marathon

The past is always present in Bath

I'm starting to write this blog post as I enjoy the beautiful late Sunday afternoon sunshine from the passenger seat of the VW on the way home to St Albans after a fantastic weekend in the west country. After two months of training interspersed with the occasional trip down memory lane, this was the weekend when Project Five O got properly underway. Sunday 6th March. The Bath Half Marathon. My first race of the year.

I'll get to the race itself shortly. The weekend wasn't just about the half marathon, however. It was a welcome weekend away in a beautiful part of the country. We made our way relatively unhindered by the usual Friday night congestion, and arrived at the picturesque village of Freshford, near to Bath at around 7:30 pm. Our destination was the lovely house of my uncle David, whose legendary hospitality was as generous as ever throughout the weekend.

One of the original houses in the village.

After a traditional English breakfast on Saturday morning, we travelled the short distance on a crowded train from Freshford to Bath.

The main focus of this first of trip into the city to see the impressive Roman Baths. This was my second visit and felt even more enjoyable than my first due to the chance to listen to the thoughts of the always interesting Bill Bryson via the audio device provided to visitors to listen to on the way round. Other attractions take note - this was included in the entry price, not an optional extra at further cost.

Steam rising from the hot spring water of Aquae Sulis

There is a real sense of the distant pass at the Baths and the ingenuity and technical achievements of the Romans, way ahead of their time, never cease to fascinate me. Travelling back in time, however, is hungry work and we were ready for a very modern day lunch at Yo Sushi followed by a heavenly toffee apple from the Fudge Kitchen Shop.

Mine's the second from the right at the front on the top shelf!

As I had already consumed two helpings of summer fruit strudel with ice cream for my dessert the previous evening, I was beginning to worry that all of my training and reasonably healthy eating thus far in 2011 would be undone by this onslaught of puddings just when I needed to be at my fittest and lightest. Mind you, it didn't stop me from indulging in a second helping of apple crumble and ice cream following David's chicken curry later the very same day!

Anyway, enough of the build-up. Race day arrived distinctly chilly and overcast. David dropped me off near the start in Great Pulteney Street. After feeding what rapidly appeared to be turning into a pudding addiction with a pancake smothered with lemon and sugar from a stall in the 'Runner's Village' I joined a field of 15,000 waiting for the start.

In Henrietta Street - about 300 metres back from the start in Great Pulteney Street

As soon as I passed through the start line I felt comfortable, and set off at a steady pace that I was able to stick to without difficulty as I passed the half way mark. I was still feeling good, but having struggled badly in the second half of most races I have entered since 2006, I kept thinking "This can't last. Any time now I'm going to start getting a pain in my knee or hip or the strength is going to ebb from my muscles." Remarkably, though, I just kept going and barely slowed at all until the torturous half mile incline leading back up to the finishing straight in Great Pulteney Street. I crossed the finishing line in my fastest time for a half marathon since 2006, and although it was still 17 minutes short of my personal best, it was my third best time ever and over 26 minutes faster than I ran (or more accurately started running and then hobbled) last year.

Passing through Queens Square after about 7 miles

I still think my 2:09 at Fleet may prove beyond my capabilities five years on, but nevertheless I was thrilled by my performance today. It's really encouraged and motivated me to push on and stretch myself in the challenges to come. But of course, first must come the post-race analysis. The secret of my promising return to form needs to be scrutinised by Hawk Eye and Hotspot for the benefit of geriatric runners of the future.

Well, here are what I think are the four key factors behind my improved performance.

1. Puddings. In all seriousness, having eaten pretty healthily since the beginning of the year, I reckon that my last minute burst of glucose-rich carbohydrates turbo-charged my leg muscles at the ideal time, leaving them bursting with 13.1 miles worth of strength and endurance.

2. A nice little link with Roman times here - grapes. My usual practice is to boost my energy on the way round by eating a Jelly Baby every time I pass a mile marker. I'd forgotten to buy any this time and so popped a bunch of grapes into my bum bag on Sunday morning. Not only did a couple of the seedless wonders once a mile seem to inject just as much energy as a JB, they left my mouth feeling fresh and unsticky.

3. Boobs. Let me explain. 144 runners, including television presenter Fearne Cotton, were running with an inflatable breast attached either to their front or back in support of the Breast Cancer charity coppafeel. It was quite a sight to behold and the large mammaries were the subject of many a ribald comment out on the course (not from me I might add, although the experience did rather change my mental image of the phrase "tweaking a muscle")

"Jogging for Jugs": http://www.coppafeel.org/

Fearne and friend

Between the 7 and 10 mile markers I found myself running behind two girls each with a boob attached to their back. They were running at just the right speed to act as perfect pace makers and the rhythmic swaying of their (imitation) breasts was almost hypnotic. The part of a half marathon that I have really struggled with recently just flew by!

4. Having a realistic training plan and sticking to it. All of the above would have had no effect whatsoever if I'd not trained properly. I have built up slowly but have resisted all temptation so far to skip  a training run. With the help of a sports massage from Stan I have avoided injury, and the extra hamstring stretching he recommended has definitely helped too.

Another medal for my collection

So, a fantastic race as part of a great weekend. Newham 10K on 27th March is next - bring it on!

Progress Report

Tomorrow will be 1st February. Where did January go?

It seems to have absolutely flown by. I've been busy with work, England won the Ashes series down under and Charlton removed Phil Parkinson as manager and replaced him with Chris Powell. Otherwise it has been a fairly unremarkable month, but nevertheless it's gone by in a flash and its already time for a quick report on my Project Five O progress. Cue the music.

It's been an encouraging start. I've gradually built up my distance each week reaching a total of 55 miles for the month. My times are significantly faster than at the same point last year, and so far I've encountered no injury worries at all, other than an occasional twinge in my left knee. I feel confident now to crank up the mileage during February in preparation for the Bath Half Marathon on 6th March. Weight-wise I'm back now to my pre-Christmas level (slightly under in fact) and I'm starting to feel the benefit of this. 

I use a fantastic iphone app called Runkeeper to track my progress. Details of a run can either be input manually, which is useful for my treadmill runs, or it can use GPS to track my progress around a route. Runkeeper can also be used to measure out a route in advance.

Data from the iphone is transferred automatically to the Runkeeper website, where all sorts of useful information about the performance is available including the number of calories burned. A really motivational feature its facility to plot progress over time. Here is the bar chart showing my weekly mileage totals for January:

Further motivation is provided by the email alert facility. This sends out a 'well done' message every time a new best is achieved. This might be the longest individual run, best weekly or monthly total, fastest average pace on a run or the most calories burned. It's clever stuff!

Here's hoping for an even fitter and faster February.

Photo Opportunities on the Run

My legs felt as if they were full of lead for most of my five and a half mile run this morning. This was probably down to the sizeable pick 'n' mix I consumed at the cinema last night. Juliet and I had taken advantage of Hannah's attendance at a birthday sleepover to watch the brilliant film, The King's Speech. Starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist Lionel Logue, it tells the uplifting, although at times painful to watch story of King George VI's battle to overcome his debilitating stammer. The performances of Firth and Rush are magnificent and Helena Bonham Carter is pretty good too as a rather foxy Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother).

Anyway, with such heavy legs it was lucky I had already decided to make a photographic record of my Sunday run this week. I usually try to complete my Sunday run without stopping. However, being Lord Lichfield for the morning would involve making a number of short stops and give my strawberry bonbon and chocolate brazil afflicted legs valuable little breathers in which to revive themselves. The lengthy weekend run is a necessary feature of building up towards a long distance event. I'm only up to around 6 miles at the moment but this will steadily build, eventually nearing 20 miles as I approach this year's marathon attempt in November. Whilst listening to music or a podcast can help the time to pass more quickly, these solitary long runs can be be rather tedious. To lessen this I like to have a number of different circuits to choose from - these can then be combined to make up the really long runs. On each run I also like to identify a number of landmarks along the way. This breaks the distance up, making it seem more manageable. Today I am going to guide you photographically around my 'Cotton Mill Lane' circuit.

Access to the Alban Way from Hill End Lane

The first two and a bit miles of this run is along the Alban Way, formerly the Hatfield to St Albans branch line of the Great Northern Railway and now a trail for walkers, runners and cyclists. I love running along it because it is either flat or very gently sloping and its 'tree tunnel' effect for long stretches keeps the sun at bay during the summer. Apart from the very few places where it crosses a road, the Alban Way is also traffic free. In 2003 the St Albans Cycle Campaign (STACC) produced an excellent pictorial map to raise awareness of this great leisure facility.

Immediately after joining the trail at Hill End Lane, the old platform of Hill End Station comes into view. During the 2nd World War St Bartholomew’s Hospital relocated to Hill End Hospital, and this platform  is where many of the war wounded and Londoners injured during the Blitz would disembark to begin their treatment.

The old platform at Hill End Station

The route continues and shortly after passing behind Morrisons, Fleetville Junior School and the Hatfield Road Cemetery the Alban Way crosses over the Camp Road Bridge, high above the passing traffic.

Camp Road Bridge

This leads into a lovely tree-covered, gently down hill half mile or so en route to to the impressive railway bridge conveying trains along the London to Bedford main line. If feels cavernous below the bridge, and if you shout loudly you can hear a clear echo. You can hear a clear echo.

London Road Railway Bridge

Just beyond this structure the much more modest bridge conveying London Road itself is passed under, bringing the very attractive London Road Station into view. This is currently is use as a children's nursery.

Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery - formerly London Road Station

The Alban Way now passes through the modern houses of Orient Close and crosses the river Ver before coming to an end where it is passed over by Cotton Mill Lane. The next mile of this run proceeds along Cotton Mill Lane, again crossing the river Ver as part of a tight double chicane close to the site of the old cotton mill itself.

Bridge over the River Ver

Coming out of the chicane on the right hand side can be seen the 450 year old tithe barn, which now houses Blacks of Sopwell, a family run furniture business.

Blacks of Sopwell, housed in an old Tithe Barn.

Next on the right hand side is Sopwell House itself. Most of the current House was built in the eighteenth century by master mason, Edward Strong. Perhaps its most notable tenant over the years was Prince Louis of Battenberg, whose four children including Lord Mountbatten grew up at Sopwell. Like many similar properties in the UK, Sopwell House is nowadays plying its trade as a country house hotel. The gatehouse lodge marks the three mile point of my run.

Sopwell House Hotel, Country Club and Spa

Sopwell House Gatehouse Lodge

Cotton Mill Lane has now become Mile House Lane, which dissects Verulam Golf Course at this point. Samuel Ryder, a wealthy St Albans seed merchant was a member here and in 1926 donated the trophy that was to become known as the Ryder Cup. The rest, as they say, is history. The green of the third hole is adjacent to the road here. If you look carefully level with the right hand side of the bunker, St Albans Abbey can just be made out a mile or so in the distance across the valley.

The third hole at Verulam Golf Course, 'Sopwell View'. An ominously moody sky.

The busy London Road is reached via the end of Mile House Lane, but only after it has passed again below the mainline railway. After about a quarter of a mile the run turns left into Highfield Park Drive, with Highfield Park remaining to the right for the final 1.5 miles of the run via Hill End Lane and back to Colney Heath Lane and Firwood Avenue.

Sunday Morning Football in Highfield Park

Highfield Park comprises 60 acres and is managed by a charitable trust. It houses two orchards, a throwback to when the two hospitals in the area grew their own fruit and vegetables. The park in its current form was opened in 1996 and includes playing fields, allotments, ponds and a fine example of a Hertfordshire Puddingstone, which provides inspiration for one of the nearby road names. The park is regularly the venue for community events including a Christmas fair, a Summer Fete and an Apple Day to promote conservation and healthy eating.

A Puddingstone is a conglomerate of small pebbles bonded together by nature to form a solid rock

And that's the run - 5.53 miles according to the Runkeeper app on my iphone. As you can see, it's full of local, historical and natural interest, and there's a lot more I could have written about if I had the time. If you're from the area or will be visiting at some point, why not walk (or even run) it yourself?

My legs may have started off a little leaden, but thanks to my frequent short photography stops, they gradually came back to life and the time I spent actually running was three minutes less than when I ran the same route last weekend. A great workout for mind and body!

These shoes were made for running

..... well, this particular pair have clocked up a fair few miles already and will need to be replaced by a shiny new pair very soon. 500 miles is considered to be limit for a pair of running shoes. After that they start to lose their spring and ability to cushion the pounding punishment of road running, and the risk of injury increases exponentially. So most of the events on my schedule of races for the year will be run with a different pair.

Here is my provisional list of races for Project Five O:

6th March           Bath Half Marathon

12th May            Beat the Banana 5K (Hyde Park)

30th May            BUPA London 10K

12th June            St Albans Half Marathon

4th September     Richmond River 10K

25th September   Windsor Half Marathon

30th October       Great South Run (10 miles - Portsmouth)

27th November   Florence Marathon

11th December   Jingle Bell Jog 5K (St Albans)

This schedule may well change as the year progresses. I'm allowing myself at least two goes at most distances, and have pencilled in three half marathons. I think my PB from Fleet in 2006 for the half marathon is going to be the hardest to beat as it was achieved at the height of my fitness, and although Bath and St Albans are great events, they are probably too undulating for PB purposes. Therefore I'm hoping Windsor will provide a similar challenge to Fleet, which I ran in 2:09:12 in 2006.

Looking remarkably fresh and bouncy after 13.1 miles in Fleet 2006

Florence should provide a memorable finale to the year. I've not visited the city before but I have been told it's beautiful. It certainly looks stunning in the film A Room with a View starring a young Helena Bonham-Carter. Of course I have chosen Florence purely because I want to experience its wonderful culture and architecture. Nothing to do with the marathon course being very flat and, in fact, downhill overall.

I'm all excited now.

Highly Visible

Juliet (my wife) and Hannah (my daughter, age 11) returned from Bluewater yesterday with, amongst other things, this rather swanky set of scales. I salute their bravery in visiting the quarry at this time of year. It's not for the faint hearted - that's why I stayed at home.

So, it was time for my post-Christmas weigh-in, and I was somewhat alarmed (although shouldn't have been really after the truck load of chocolate themed items I've consumed over the festive season) to discover that I had put back on 4 of the 14 pounds I had so painstakingly shed since first conceiving Project Five O back at the beginning of October. Consequently, still some way off my optimum running weight of 11 and a half stone I decided it was necessary to go for my second run in two days.

Now there are some people who think I need to put on weight rather than lose it. Hi Mum! However, the difference being 11 and a half stone makes to the stress on my knees will be crucial if I am to have any chance of reaching my goals for the year. It is reckoned that every stride puts pressure equivalent to three times one's body weight on the knees, and as I will recount at some point over the coming weeks, my knees have let me down in the past.

The fact that dusk had long since passed by the time I made my decision to hit the streets also gave me the ideal opportunity to model my new hi viz running gear - a Christmas present from Juliet.

As the photo shows, the kit makes me look like a cross between a banana and Eddie the Eagle but more importantly it will help keep me safe. I completed a steady but satisfying three and a third mile run around the "Elvis Circuit", so named because it passes a bungalow in Smallford with a life-size cardboard cutout of the King resident in the porch. Whenever Juliet or I run past St Alban's very own Gracelands it has become customary to offer a smart salute to Elvis - one of those silly foibles that most people develop over time (I think!), but it always makes me smile, especially when it elicits a look of puzzlement from a passing motorist.

That's all I have time for today as I have promised to finish painting Hannah's bedroom before she goes back to school tomorrow, and we need to set off for the Valley by 3:00 pm for Charlton Athletic's game against Swindon at the Valley at the Sky determined time of 5:05 pm.

Just one more thing. Please feel free to add a comment to any of my posts. If you are new to this kind of thing (as I know one or two reading this will be) you just need to click on the comment link on the small rectangular box at the bottom of the page. When you've written your comment, you will need to choose a profile from the drop down menu. If you don't have one of the listed accounts, choose anonymous (you can add your name in the comment box if you wish), copy the wobbly 'security' letters into the box and submit.

Come on you Addicks!

The Big Five O

This was me aged two and a half in December 1963, 47 years ago. Cute, wasn't I? OK, dodgy haircut I agree but cute in spite of it. It is now 1st January 2011, and I'm finding it hard to comprehend how quickly the intervening years have passed, but nevertheless here I am on the verge of a half century's occupancy of planet earth.

A report featured in the news this week predicts that one in five of people alive today will live long enough to receive their telegram from the Queen (or for those not in the already in their 80s or 90s, from Charles, William or his first born). I think most of the realistic candidates for this feat are probably some years younger than myself, already with black belts in yoga or pilates and eating vast quantities of super foods. Nevertheless, assuming that I first make it to the 15th April 2011 in one piece, I hope I'll remain healthy enough to be able to make significant inroads into my second half century.

To kick start this endeavour I have set myself the goal of running a personal best (PB) during 2011 in each of the following distances:

5K, 10K, 10 miles, half marathon (13.1 miles) and full marathon (26.2 miles)

I started running about 7 years ago, having exercised very little after retiring from playing local football in my mid-thirties. I'm certainly no natural athlete and as you will discover if you decide to visit this blog regularly over the year, my existing PBs are far from spectacular. However I'm proud of them and trying to better them (in all but one case five years after having achieved them) is not going to be easy. It may even prove to be impossible, but it's going to be fun having a go. I am confident of bettering my best 5K time though, as I have only ever run the distance once and that was last month whilst dressed as Santa and suffering from a mild dose of 'flu.

Why are most of my PBs five years old? Well, time does take its toll on the old legs of course, but in truth, having got myself very lean and fit (for me!) by 2005/2006 I have since gradually lessened the regularity and intensity of my training and allowed my weight to creep back up, which has added minutes to every mile I run. Project Five O seeks to take me back to where I was fitness and speed-wise in 2006, and a little bit beyond.

I will reveal more about my planned schedule for 2011 and previous attempts at each distance over the coming weeks. My intention is also to intersperse news of my progress and preparations with reports and thought on other things going on in this landmark year for me. I also anticipate looking back on a range of events from my first half century as memories are triggered throughout the year. I'm hoping to create something fairly light-hearted and engaging, and aim to post at least one entry every week. Thanks for taking the time to read this opening salvo, and I hope you will return from time to time to find out how I'm getting on.