Gym'll fix it...

London, and in particular Docklands where my hotel is located, has changed a lot over the last decade . This shiny new hotel is right beside the shiny new Docklands Light Railway and has a shiny new gym that was going to help me see how my back would react to a little running, critical if I'm going to run 10 miles with Nike tomorrow morning. Thankfully it couldn't care less so it looks like I'm injury free! No excuses now!!

Week 5: 3 miler

It's almost there... but not quite, let's give it one more day.

On the up side Nike got back to me and I'm in for Sundays 10 mile training run in London!

Week 5: 5 miler

It's getting better but I'm giving it another day before I run again.

No word from Nike yet...

Week 5: 3 miler

Scratch that, I'm still in pain so running is out of the question today!

I don't believe in fate BUT... I'll be in London this weekend and I'm scheduled to run 10 miles on Saturday or Sunday, hopefully my back will be better by then. Anyway, while working out potential street routes from my hotel an email from Nike dropped into my inbox. It was an invitation to a training run on March the 1st AND it happens to be in London when I'll be there AND it happens to be 10 miles... how weird is that?? It's an invitation only run that starts at Oxford Circus then heads south to the river and then east along the embankment. At the 5 mile marker there is a water station where we double back and run the same route back to Oxford Circus. There are only 250 places and I replied immediately in the hope of getting one...

Damn it to hell and back...

... I must have pulled something in my back after this mornings run, it's killing me! Hopefully it's trivial and I be OK for Tuesdays 3 miler.

Week 4: 9 miler

This was a real struggle and I spend most of the run playing catchup. I really felt tired during the entire run. I wondered if it was because I had postponed my Thursday run to Friday and left no recovery time for this 9 miler or was it a simple fact of poor fitness. Whatever the reason I am worried but there is time to fix it!

Week 4: 3 miler

I should have ran last night but just couldn't muster the energy, enthusiasm and whatever else is needed to leave a comfy sofa and warm fire after a long day to run 3 miles in the cold night air. I promised to get up extra early and run first thing in the morning and to my amazement I did exactly that! With my last midweek run done I had the 9 mile weekend run to look forward to!

Week 4: Midweek 4 miler

I have to say I felt great during this run, it looks like pain of yesterdays run paid off! I felt comfortable over the entire 4 miles and finished with plenty more to give, not a regular occurrence!

3 mile race pace training run

Ouch, this one hurt... we ran the first 1.5 miles at a blistering pace and it was tough to keep up. The return leg was less frantic but, tired from the first half, I found that difficult too. The takeaway is I have a lot of work to do if I plan on running a respectable time in Cork on June 1st.

Mid year marathon

I have decided to run the Cork marathon as my mid-year marathon. It's on June 1st this year and if last year is anything to go by it'll be a fantastic weekend and a great days running.

Cupid Dash 2009

Some might say it was a perfect morning for a run. Of course these people are either crazy or super hardcore runners, possible both. I, on the other hand, was at a disadvantage before I had even fallen out of bed that morning. A single glass of unremarkable red wine a few hours before made sure of that. It was that one glass from that one bottle, in addition to several glasses from another quite remarkable bottle, that set me up for a tough morning.

Tired and feeling like I had been dragged through several hedges backwards I managed to get up, get ready and get to the start line in once piece. It was a very, very cold morning... so cold that anyone in fancy dress opted for the more substantial costumes, leaving the mini skirts and nappies/diapers at home.

We were very late getting off and by the time the starting pistol rang out hypothermia was about to set in. The temperature was so low that it took me 3 or 4 kilometers to warm up, and my head was thumping as if a team of miniature panel beaters were enthusiastically redesigning the shape of my brain.

It was a tough run and completely self inflicted so I can't complain. But I was glad to have done it, these races are always a lot of fun and it's great to meet up with my running buddies. The time wasn't all that bad; 58.11 which is only 45 seconds slower than my personal best for a 10K. The takeaway there is that if I don't sabotage myself the night before I should have a shiny new PB next time I run a 10K!

Here's a link to my route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2160271

Gymtastyic

Having uncovered the mystery of my aching feet I switched back to my trusty blue Asics and hit the gym for my final midweek session.

After 3 miles on the treadmill, 6 miles on the bike, and 6 lengths of the pool I had done my bit without any sign of unexpected fatigue.

This weekend is Valentines weekend we've got the Cupid Dash 10K race in Dublin. While I'm looking forward to it I hope that fancy dress is kept to a minimum, seeing grown men running any distance in nappies (diapers) with a bow and arrow would put me right off!

Laced in haste...

Street running is a world away for the monotonous trudging on the treadmill, I wonder if my problem yesterday was more treadmill related than trainer related.

Tonight's 5 mile route followed the familiar streets of Naas and it was really nice to be outside again. It started well but very quickly my left foot started to feel a little uncomfortable, later followed by my right foot. I battled on but after 2 miles it was obvious that I wasn't going to run this off.

We were running at a relatively slow pace which helped a little and because I wasn't running alone I wasn't going to give up and stop. The discomfort slowly increased with time. It felt like pins and needles, and the more I thought about it I began to arrive at the conclusion that my feet felt constricted. Can you imagine if my laces were tied too tight? How pathetic would that be?

We finished the run after what seemed like a lifetime and I was so relieved to stop. I checked my laces and they seemed OK but I loosened them a little more anyway. The sense of relief was overwhelming!! Damn it, it was my laces after all. Just a tiny tweak made such a big difference. Feeling like an idiot quickly gave way to relief knowing that my new expensive trainers were OK after all!

A mile too far...

I have decided to run a marathon mid-year this year to help me get back into training and lose some of this festive bulk. Here are the options:

• The Cork marathon on June 1st; it is relatively local, familiar and really well organised. I really enjoyed it last year.
• The Prague marathon on May 10th; looks like a nice race. The weather is likely to be warm and I have never been to the city.

I'll have to decide which one to do over the next couple of weeks.

Tonight I ran in the gym. I climbed onto the treadmill with my trusty iPod and foolishly attempted to select an appropriate treadmill program while selecting an good starting song at the same time... I should know by now that multitasking is not something I do well, the results can be disastrous.

After that comedy moment I was on the way with ABBA's Dancing Queen filling my head... my iPod was on shuffle mode and an upbeat tune was hard to come by, I settle for the first one that came past.

3 minutes later I was in full stride when the next musical surprise revealed itself... The End by The Doors; a super slow song that seemed completely inappropriate at the time but turned out to be prediction of what was to come a lot earlier than expected.

After a few clicks of the next button I found a group of uptempo tunes that more or less matched my pace. My plan was to run 3 miles but after only half a mile I felt very uncomfortable in the foot department. As I approached my first mile the situation was getting worse. It was really weird, both my legs felt really tired and sort of numb. I tried to figure it out as I ran and decided that it must be my new trainers. I didn't think trainers had to be broken in but I must be wrong, unless I bought a dodgy pair which would really upset me as I bought them the Washington and that's a hell of a commute to bring them back.

After almost 2 miles I had to stop running but feeling guiltily about not running the full 3 miles I jumped onto a bike and cycled for another 20 minutes. Following that I made for the pool and swam for as much as I could, a pathetic 6 lengths, as I find that swimming does the world of good for tired limbs after a run.

I wonder if my new trainers are from a bad batch. I'll wear them tomorrow night for my 5 miler and decide then.

Bonjour le route...

Languages have never been my forte, I can barely string a coherent sentence together in English never mind French. When travelling abroad I find communication very difficult. Take France, I feel that I have a pretty extensive French vocabulary but more often than not I find that I am unable to use them in the right order. Frequently I have to rely on animated gestures and sound effects to get my point across.

This is becoming a bit of a problem; my niece, who lives in Brussels, is three years old and loves to talk. Her French is better than mine and I've been trying to learn it for over two decades, that's bad. What's really bad is that her English is almost as good as mine...

I'm in Brussels this weekend for the annual Brussels Running Club winter event, since this is the 29th the official title is the "29ème HIVERNALES DU RACING CLUB DE BRUXELLES". It's my second time running and I was looking forward to it. The race starts on the outskirts of Watermall-Bosvoorde, south of Brussels. The route briefly brought us into the town but by kilometer 2 we were on the way into the forest where the rest of the race was staged.

It was below zero, a little colder than I would have liked, and it took 3 or 4 kilometers to warm up properly but once I did the run was thoroughly enjoyable as it had been last year. My rubbish French meant that couldn't understand instructions from stewards as I ran past them, instead I had to pay careful attention to signs indicating the route as there was a 20K sharing parts of the same route and I didn't want to stray into that territory.

My finish time was 55:52, about average considering it was a 9.5K run. When I crossed the line we had warm tea with sugar (I think it a Belgian thing and it really works) and plenty of water. Looking forward to the 30th annual race next year!

Here's a link to my route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2160274