Running for Off The Fence Trust Limited

PO Box 2206 Hove. BN3 8LY Tel: 01273 733 732

Email: robert.lines@offthefence.org.uk

28 September 2006 - Hangleton and the Downs

Had a run with Paul this evening from his house up to the Dalesman pub and then onto the Downs.
It was all very pleasant, but the evenings are definitely getting darker earlier and it's hard to see that there will be many more opportunities for cross country running after work. We managed something approaching a 50:50 fast walking/fast jogging ratio. The ankle was fine.
My challenge for next Thursday is to stop Paul talking about work all the way round. Obviously you have to concentrate when you're running :)

4.01 miles in 58.36 (25.23 miles in last 7 days)

26 September 2006 - The Pylons

Tonight, for the first time in months it seemed like everything came together. I was conscious of my ankle, but it didn't hurt at all. A whole bunch of us (Nigel, Chris, Caroline, Richard, Clare, Alex, and Edward) joined the Portslade Hedgehoppers for a 3.6 mile circuit known as 'the pylons'.

Out with friends, no injury problems, ideal running conditions, and everything felt fantastic.

From now on I will rest on alternate days. It seems to have had a significant effect compared to last week when I ran almost everyday and then felt fed up with the various pains. I have also been treating the ankle with an odd gadget made by Carmen: it's a deep heat massager and looks like it was made in the mid 70's. But nevertheless the vibrating pad does seem to be loosening up the ankle.

Definitely a positive day in the schedule.

3.57 miles in 33.38 (27.12 miles in last 7 days)

25 September 2006 - The biggest challenge

I had an e-mail today from my running mentor Mark in which he pointed out that the biggest challenge of the marathon was probably getting to the start line fit for the race. I guess it would be too easy if it were just to follow the marathon manual everyday and run what ever mileage it required.

No running today to give the ankle a rest. I'm after an exercise bike for some cross training, so if anyone has one they could lend me for the next 5 weeks it would be fantastic to hear from you.

24 September 2006 - East Worthing to Aldrington

The day I didn't pay my train fare.

After church I got the train to East Worthing as planned. It was another warm day and the running wasn't that comfortable. I remember thinking that I felt OK for a couple of miles after the third mile. I was out for an hour and forty minutes which is a long time to spend just thinking. After 5 miles I realised how much harder it had felt than two days earlier when I had been with Nigel and John over the same distance. Next Sunday afternoon the schedule has a short 5k race, but after that I should be looking at 20 miles. Perhaps I can find some company for at least part of it.

I suppose I should hardly be surprised that training for a marathon is hard work. If I hadn't been sponsored, I wondered if I would have pulled out by now and waited until I had recovered from injury. When I entered the event 5 months ago I hadn't ever suffered a running injury so I guess I was naive as to quite how depressing it can be. Nevermind, perhaps everything will come together on 28 October 2006.

Given my current fitness I have had to start thinking about the 'cruising' method of marathon running which involves walking for one minute every mile. Apparently it only costs 10 minutes overall because you are making progress in the minute breaks, and then run faster after the break. It all feels a bit unsatisfactory when I think back a couple of months to when I was able to complete the 15 mile windmill run over the downs at a steady pace.

Looking on the bright side at least I got out today, completed 9.5 miles and am still on schedule even if it didn't feel great. Oh, and no one came to collect my train fare on the four coach service between Aldrington and East Worthing.

9.5 miles in 1:31:23 (23.55 miles in the last 7 days)

23 September 2006 - Goodwood

Went to the Southdowns orienteering event today at Goodwood. Didn't compete (in order to avoid the risk of injury) but had a run round the path network instead. Rest of the family did well. Alex had a win, Edward second, and Clare eighth. This afternoon (whilst gardening) I started to wonder if the whole marathon adventure has been a bit of a mistake. I can't see any evidence of my ankle improving over the last 6 weeks, and there are only six weeks to go. According to the training schedule I need to do an 8-10 mile run tomorrow. My plan is to get the train to East Worthing and run back to home in Hove. Two months ago I ws looking forward to the big event, but now the injury seems to have changed all that. I guess, if nothing else, the training schedule is getting in the way of orienteering. Oh well, at least it is only 6 weeks away now.

2.8 miles in 31:05 (16:05 in last 7 days)

22 September 2006 - Hove Park and Benfield Valley

Had a good run this evening with Nigel and John. Running is so much easier in a group, and the first three miles passd before I even noticed. I was picked up last which meant that I also had a final mile run on my own which was hard work. However my ankle felt OK for most of the run, and it was only during that final mile that I was aware of it. I found my old Active Ankle from my volleyball days which I wore yesterday when I was out with Paul, so perhaps that helped. Talking of Paul, I managed to get a pretty regular slot organised with him on Thursday evenings so with any luck we can start increasing the jog:walk ratios in the coming months.

I've managed 20 miles this week so I am feeling happier that things are starting to get back on track.

5.35 miles in 49:46 (20.45 miles in last 7 days)

21 September 2006 - Training with Paul Young

Had a very positive training session with Paul Young this evening. It was our first time out and I wasn't sure how we would get on. We warmed up for the first mile and then jogged and walked alternate lamp-posts for the final 1.4 miles. The route took us through Greenleas, alongside the golf-course and across the bridge over the A27.

Came back feeling very optimistic that the Brighton Half Marathon is a reasonable challenge.

2.4 miles in 40 minutes (15.1 miles in last 7 days)

20 September 2006 - Still Summer

Another very warm evening and a 2.5 mile run with Nigel. Went to Hove park afterwards and ran the 1.1 mile lap at race pace. Am really not feeling very fit at the moment. It was good to get out and run again after the weekend competition.

3.6 miles in 28 minutes (12.7 miles in last 7 days)

17 September 2006 - Cadihoe Chase, Bovington

I took a bit of stick for 'giving up' but at least two of the Lines' did OK. Edward (8) ended up 3rd, and Clare also came 3rd in her class.

The marathon is now 6 weeks away and I guess I am going to have to give up orienteering and concentrate on training for the next month and a half. Hopefully if I only run on sensible terrain there is a risk that the ankle injury will be gone for the big day.

For the first time, managed to persuade Paul Young to come out training on Thursday evening, so we will have to see how we get on together as training partners..

2 miles in 29 minutes (13.2 miles in last 7 days)

16 September 2006 - Cadihoe Chase, Bovington

It was a weekend with the family in Bournemouth. And of course to compete in an orienteering event.

The Cadihoe Chase is an annual race in the SW of England that runs over two days. The first day is a 'regional event' which means that competitors are awarded points in the national ranking scheme. So it was worth trying :)

The event was held on the Bovington tank ranges just to the north of the tank museum. I guess that I had gone into the event rather unprepared as I had been resting my ankle for the previous couple of weeks. I managed to finish 13th out of 19 competitors in the 40-45 age category (which for me was a good result!). The course was 9.8km and involved running across sand, heather and several marshes. My ankle felt terrible afterwards and I couldn't imagine competing the next day. And since I didn't feel better the following day I pulled out of the main competition and ran a shorter course.

7.2 miles (11.23 miles in previous week)

15 September 2006 - Superman

Well, just hours after suggesting that Paul Young hadn't done any training for a week, we witnessed him running down the middle of Blatchington Road dressed as Superman.

14 September 2006 - Complaint

Received a complaint today that yesterday's blog entry was not terribly interesting. But hey, at least I wrote something.

Which is a lot more than can be said for my colleague Paul Young who I can't help but notice hasn't written anything for over a week..

13 September 2006 - Hangleton

Had an easy three mile run around the outskirts of Hangleton with Nigel this evening. Followed by three sprints. Ankle not too bad.

3.05 miles in 29:52
0.53 miles in 3:27
0.31 miles in 1:47
0.14 miles in 0:40

(9.99 miles in last 7 days)

10 September 2006 - Junior Team Relays, Sutton Coldfield

I drove some of the Sussex juniors to Birmingham for the Peter Palmer relays - which is a 6 person race that starts at 04.30 in the morning. It was all good fun, but involved sleeping in a sports hall (for may be 90 minutes) before being woken by the juniors getting up at 03.45 to start their first legs.

It's hard to imagine any other sport that would get 200 children out of bed before 04.00 to compete in a pitch dark forest.

Sussex finished 12th out of 33 teams.

9 September 2006 - Horsham Park Orienteering

Unsurprisingly my ankle felt no differently to the last time I ran. Had a mediocre race and finished half way down the results. No serious mistakes in the navigating, but from the analysis it was apparent that another 15 runners were just running faster than I could manage.

2.5 miles in 21 minutes (5.96 miles in last 7 days)

8 September 2006 - Ultrasound

The last time I went to a sports injury clinic I had to visit a doctor first and then finally got to see a physiotherapist. The bill was almost £60, so I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about getting my ankle seen privately. However, I was becoming increasingly worried about what was wrong with it, especially as the weekend of 16/17 September 2006 has a two day race totalling 20 miles.
A quick search in google found another local sports injury clinic that was somewhat cheaper. In fact it was just £18 for a session. So, I booked an appointment and was able to go along an hour later.
First of all the ankle was treated with a vibrating pad, and this was followed by heat. So far so good. Then, for the final 5 minutes I had ultrasound treatment. As I was laying on the couch I couldn't help noticing that one of the three machines couldn't be functioning because it wasn't plugged in... Well, you can guess the rest. Unfortunately it was only when I got up at the end of the treatment that I was definitely sure. And then I had no time as I had to get to another appointment. Still, looking on the brightside, it might have cost £60 again. :)

7 September 2006 - Hove Park

Had an easy run this evening with Nigel after a 4 day break from running. The ankle hasn't improved, but at least there is no swelling. Followed the running with 15 minutes of weight training.
This weekend I'm taking Alex to a junior orienteering event near Birmingham. It's a team event that starts in the dark at 04.30 on Sunday morning. Alex is running a leg after dawn, but it will be interesting to see how much sleep we all get :)

3.46 miles in 31 minutes (7.46 miles in last 7 days)

2 September 2006 - Hampden Park Orienteering

Alex (11) shot some video of the finish of this morning's park orienteering event in Eastbourne. My race went well and although the results aren't confirmed yet it was looking like I am going to be third - which would be great.





At the time I thought I was sprinting pretty hard, but the video evidence seems to suggest otherwise :)
My ankle has been swollen again this afternoon, and I guess I will have to rest for a few days and hope that it recovers. The next big competition is Bovington (near Wareham) in a couple of weeks' time. It would be a nuisance not to be fit for that especially as it is a two day event.

Today's totals:

4 miles in 35 minutes (23.02 miles in last 7 days)