My fundraising effort ahead of the BUPA London 10K, on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Care, is almost at 50% of my target (i.e., £118 of £250).
If you can afford to spare a few quid, I would very much appreciate your support in raising money for Macmillan; or, if you can’t afford any or can’t (or don’t wish to) support my financially, your moral support is also very welcome! :)
Who said I’m not mental?
So, I’ve just registered for the 10 mile BUPA Great South Run being held in October. This will be a good distance to train for after I finish my 10K, especially after my mid-July holiday where no doubt I’ll do nothing fitness related!
It’s expensive – £36!! – but it’s a big event; a friend of mine did this in 2007, which is what inspired me to sign-up for my first race.
Really looking forward to it!
(And yes, this was seriously spur-of-the-moment stuff!) Read the rest of this entry »
With all this talk of Couch to 10K, I feel I should discuss my goals and plans a little more.
On May 31 I will be competing in the BUPA London 10,000. This was my first ever 10K race back in 2008, and I did it again last year; I have told myself that, while I can, I will do this every year.
It’s a big (read: crowded) race, and the staged start tends to kick things off quite slowly, but it gets a decent number of people there supporting the runners 1 and the route itself, through the heart of London and the City of London, is a great environment to run in free of traffic.
My plan, time-wise, is to get under an hour. If my 10K training plan goes as it should, this will hopefully be doable. As you can see on the Events page, my current PB for a 10K is 1hr 14m, so I will need to be quite a bit quicker.
For my own esteem, breaking the hour would be a tremendous achievement for me, but even managing a PB will make me happy.
Meanwhile, I’m trying to raise money for charity; again, something I only do when running this event.
This year, I’ve chosen Macmillan Cancer Care. They always seem to be at this race offering their support, and they also do great work in supporting those with cancer both as far as ongoing care and support goes, but also in petitioning the government to provide for those suffering long-term with cancer.
If you would like to sponsor me, I would greatly appreciate it! Donations are taken by JustGiving.com, who pass the funds almost immediately on to the chosen charity.
Nothing like the London Marathon, of course, since most people don’t even know this race is on, but there are plenty of charity groups offering their support, and a decent-sized crowd is usually there to cheer the general race crowd on. ↩
Yesterday saw 9,000-odd people descend on Birdcage Walk in London for the 2nd annual BUPA London 10,000. This was my first ever 10k (and road race, period) last year, so it holds a special place in my heart, and it was with much nerves that I returned to it this year. It took me over 90 minutes last year, and with little training this time round I wanted to get at least a 1hr 20 finish.
From my review on Runners World UK:
I did this last year, where we basically had to swim around the course thanks to the rain. This year, despite a few drops while waiting for the start, ended up being nice and dry and not too warm.
The course, of course, is brilliant – through the heart of London with all the sights. With over 12,000 runners the atmosphere was brilliant, and it was great seeing a crowd of people ahead and behind.
Organisation, as with last year, is spot-on. Baggage reclaim quickly and friendly, and even down to having the timing chips removed (again, quick and friendly).
It’s quite expensive to enter, but I think if you have one special race per year, and you’re not one for marathons (I’m definitely not) then this is the race for you.
I managed to get ’round in 1hr 18m, so I’m very pleased. It was bloody heard going, but I managed to run most of the first 2km (the first 1.5 or so non-stop), and kept my walking breaks as short as possible (unfortunately there were quite a few of them!).
Now I have to decide whether I should continue with my running, or pack it in… that sub-60 still eludes me though.
I’m running the BUPA 10k in May, and looking to raise funds for the Everyman Campaign.
Anyone have a few spare coppers they can throw my way, via Justgiving? :)
We stayed over at friends last night, who luckily live just outside of Brighton at Upper Beeding, so we (wifey and I) were chauffeured to the starting line this morning, and I also had a small cheering group which was very nice.
This was my third 10k, and as I’d run the last in 1:20 over lumpy, grassy ground I thought I’d manage this – a flat run along the Brighton seafront – in at least 1:15. But as I’d done no training specifically for this, this morning I was having doubts.
Into the pen we all went 10 minutes before, and it was quite a squeeze. The nerves started coming in, and by the time the clock started and we began the slow slog to the start I wasn’t sure how things would go.
Once over the start, through the funnel, I was able to begin a slow jog, and I surprised myself that I was able to go for 1.68k before I had to slow down to a brisk walk. One thing I haven’t managed to control yet is my pacing, which affects then my breathing and so I end up having to take walking breaks. Could it be an endurance problem, or do I just need to train more and find a comfortable pace?
At 4k we began running up a slight incline, which felt like a bloody mountain and I really struggled. By this time to lead pack were passing us in the opposite direction on the way to the finish – fit fucking bastards.
Turning at 6.5k, and I was pleased to see there were still a handful of people behind me. I picked up the pace and bit and managed to pass a few people I’d been swapping position with back and forth, and left them behind me (he says, like he was actually moving faster than a pensioner (I wasn’t – two in their 70s beat me by at least 20 mins)).
At the 9k, I stopped walking and began running again, and next thing I know a guy with a backpack was beside me on the phone, running alongside. I looked at him, and lo’ it was my boss who was also running today (we hadn’t seen each other before hand). He’d run out – after finishing 30 mins before – to find me, and so we ran together for the last 1km, him offering me advice as we ran down the hill and spurring me on. I can’t believe I ran the full final kilometer. I finished feeling like I was about to vomit.
So – finishing time, 1hr 14 min. Lovely!
I have no idea if anyone still reads this thing, since my post about the Hampton 10k drew no response and the one about next year’s London 10k only a couple, but anyway – it’s here for a reason and so I should update it.
On Sunday I’ll be running in the Brooks Brighton 10k, an event I was talked into by my boss, a 40-minute 10k-er. I am hoping to do it in 1hr15m, since the Hampton Court race was done in 1hr19 over bumpy, grassy ground. This is flat, on a road, and will be frighteningly cold so I’ll want to get it done quickly. I’m also 10lbs lighter than I was 6 weeks ago, which will no doubt give me a couple minutes benefit. We’ll see.
Anyone following my Twitter will get updates as it happens, as I will probably run with my phone (as I always do, so I can tell my missus when to expect me at the end, although last time I had to run past her waving my arms to get her out of her bored daydreaming).
I will admit, I’m nervous. I’ve been doing a lot of training, but it’s all been body weight exercises and HIIT cardio (on the stationary bike) to strip the fat off me (hence, the 10lbs loss). However, it will also be the first time I have more people on the sidelines cheering me on than friends running with me (even when they zoom ahead), which will be quite cool.
Wifey and I are going down to Brighton tomorrow night to stay with friends (aforementioned cheerleaders), and I will be ferried to the start line which will be nice. Afterwards, a piggy reward meal.
A friend mentioned this week how amazed she was at how I’ve turned my life around this year. You see, 18 months ago I weighed over 20 stone (20 stone 7lbs to be exact), very little of which was muscle. Now, although I have only lost 30lbs in weight, I’ve also gone from over 40% bodyfat to around 24-28% (my readings are inaccurate), so I’ve put on a shitload of muscle.
Running hasn’t done this, but it’s the reason behind it.
I’ll stop now before I get more melancholy and soppy.
As a competitor (ha!) at this year’s BUPA London 10k, where we basically ended up swimming for 10k it was raining so much, I got an email offering early entry into next years.
So, sign up straight away I did, even though it costs a whopping bloody £25!! (My boss, a seasoned runner, almost fell off his chair when I mentioned this). It’s all a good cause, and it’s a great race, so I don’t mind too much.
My plan for this one is to do it in under an hour, which gives me almost 8 months to shave 20 minutes off my time.
I should also be not such a big runner by then, if weight loss goes according to plan :)
Ran my second 10k today, and managed a PB for both 10k and 5k – very pleased, very fucking knackered.
The course was good, although quite uneven in parts – one poor girl was down with a twisted ankle just 200m into it. What a shitter.
Also, despite it being cold and foggy to begin with, the morning turned into a scorcher.
My Hampton Court 10k is tomorrow, and I’m geared up for it bigtime. I hope to do around 80mins, which will be 10 mins off my last 10k back in May.
Also pleased to say my race t-shirt now fits(-ish!). Took 3 months to fit into it though :)
This is me. Hello.
I'm Mark. I am a new runner, and an overweight, big bloke. Not necessarily a good combination, you may say, and often I (or at least, my ankles) would agree with you. But what the hell, eh? Might as well give it a go!
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