Week 1

20AUG12

Day one. Feeling a little daunted but I strap my ankle up and get on with it. I haven’t seen Dan about this and anticipate him not being impressed at me for going ahead without advice. I’m doing this on treadmills for a number of reasons, mainly because there’s no trip hazards and the machine dictates the pace I tell it to so there’s no chance of me slacking off if it gets hard during the run. I’ll need to get some practise on the road eventually before the GSR but thankfully there’s a running track at the gym which should be a good stepping stone. It’s only 3 miles and at one minute slower than 8 per mile I’m looking at 10.7 kph for 27 minutes. Why people run in miles but machines work in km I’ll never know. It bloody hurt. 8 miles per minute is clearly too quick for me as I’m supposed to be able to do this and have the capacity to go another mile. Not a chance. Feels weird running with a limp too. Apart from looking like a prat I have to be cautious that I’m not doing damage elsewhere whilst compensating for the fact that my left leg is nowhere near as strong the right. Accompanied by OCS.

21AUG12

Pain. Ankle is tingling, I have a blister on my right instep and my left hip is sore. I tell myself that sore is expected and therefore okay but sharp pain is there to tell you something so at the moment I’m okay.

22AUG12

Revise my goal pace to 9 minutes per mile so today’s 3 miler is at 10 minutes meaning 9.6 kph for 30 minutes. I’m still daunted after Monday’s run and feeling sore to begin with but this passes after five minutes or so. Definitely feeling more comfortable and I think I’ve found my pace. I begin to think about what has passed before and it is here I decide to record everything. I spend the time drafting things in my head and the time flies by. Maybe there’s some benefit in this after all. Accompanied by The Jam.

24AUG12

I go into today’s run with plenty of confidence. Still a bit sore but okay with it. Accompanied by The Stone Roses.

26AUG12

My first long run. It’s at two minutes slower than goal pace so only a rounded up 8.8 kph but for 44 minutes. It occurs to me that my Week 8 run of 11 miles will mean me running constantly for over two hours!! This dents my confidence a bit but Roger and Pete get me through.

Later on I wander into town to watch the football. On my way back I decide to take a short cut through some private land and, as I climb over a gate, I slip and fall, landing on my knee. It’s quite badly grazed but at least I didn’t drop my chips.