Up And Running

It has been a while since my last confession.  I didn't want to blog on my running if I didn't have anything else to say apart from "my knee is still stiff when I try to run" or "I'm trying this and will see if it works".  Results people, I wanted to talk about results.  I also didn't blog about anything else, because nothing else came to mind to blog about.

Anyway, running and my knee and stuff.  My handy live-in physio gave me some exercises to strengthen the muscles around my knee and  I have been doing them (almost) diligently, (almost) every day for a couple of weeks or more.  I also went to Up & Running in Manchester and got myself gait tested.  You basicaly run on a tred mill and they film you with a high speed camera and analyse you foot falls on a laptop.  It would appear I am flat-footed and so that is a major part of the reason my knees are feeling it when I run.  My legs don't line up properly.  My feet angle one way, so my ankles angle the other to compensate, then my knees angle the other way to compensate for my ankles.  A pretty penny for some new shoes with more support on the inside of my feet that straightens the whole thing up was called for.  I spent the said money and took off for a run.  No change.  1.8 miles and I stopped.  But it was my first attempt and I had only being doing my physio for one day.  A few days later (physio every day) and I tried again.  I also decided to run l mile laps around the block.  That way if my knee gave up I wouldn't have to turn round and walk the 1 - 2 miles back home.  Lap 1, felt ok.  So I continued.  Lap 2, still fine.  Lap 3, a little stiff but ok.  I decided to call it a day here and not push myself too hard.  3 miles was a good start.  A couple of days later I ran 4 miles.  Then 4 miles again.  Then went for a run with Rick and did 4.7 miles.  Things were looking up.  Sharon was stretching my legs out properly on my return from a run.  We're talking full on tortue, I'll tell you anything, just make it stop, type stretching here.  Really did the trick each time though.  My knee was feeling a little stiff, but the stretching would cure it.  This has lead Sharon to believe it is muscular and not joint related.  This is good.  It just means stretching whilst running if I stiffen up.  A bit of heels-to-bum running on the onset of a little knee-stiffness and I feel good again.

Last night I set off running with the intention of covering 5 miles plus.  I took it very easy.  Slower than my normal pace, but the goal was not speed it was distance.  After 3 miles I felt that good that I decided not to make the turn towards home and a 5.1 mile finish.  I felt too good.  So I continued along the 10Kish route I had devised a few weeks (but what feels like a running life time) ago.  I still felt good.  So I did the detour I like through the estate at the end to add on a little extra.  All in all I clocked up 6.7 miles.  This is close to my furthest ever (that being 7.25 miles).  Ok, the time was R-U-B-B-I-S-H (1hr 3mins 3secs), but that's not the point.  The point is I covered a distance like I was able to before without my knee giving up.  I'd say we're back on track here.

Success and hapiness to be back out there again

Keep On Running... Again

So, I trained for and ran 10K.  It was a resounding success.  But, where to go from here?  Onwards and upwards of course.  I have signed up for a half marathon in Liverpool on March 28th 2010.  That gives me about six months to get my distance up from 6.2 miles to 13.1 miles.  No mean feet!  I decided that if I dropped my running down from three times a week, to twice a week and aimed to increase my distance by a mile a month, I would be up to the distance at about the right time.  The gradual increase in distance would mean I would be better able to cope with it.  So I set out with a new plan and within a few days had pushed a bit beyond it and got up to 7 miles.  I ran this a few more times and even managed 7.25 miles.

Then disaster!  I set off with the aim of maybe doing 7.75 miles (I took my 7.25 mile route and just added a bit extra on to it).  I set off and I don't know whether I went too fast, or if the weeks of running had taken it's toll, but something wasn't right.  My legs felt heavier and after a couple of miles it was becoming a pain to run.  Nothing was agony, but my legs felt very stiff and every step was an effort.  After 3 miles I had abandoned all hope of 7.75 miles and was thinking more of 7 miles.  Then I decided to drop it down to my 6.7 mile route.  In the end I did my 6.2 mile route.  And it HURT.  It hurt a lot.  The last 3 miles were trudging pain.  And it was bad pain.  Not the pain of the wall, but the pain of something being wrong.  I STUPIDLY ignored it and pushed on hoping all would be well.  It wasn't.  My legs were stiff and the next day my right knee was still stiff.  This is the first time my right knee had had anything wrong with it when running.  My left knee had been a little clicky, but my right knee had been silent up until now.  It's worth mentioning that my right knee had been an issue a few years ago and had been the driving force in my stopping doing TaeKwonDo, but I had had no issues in ages.  Besides, this felt different.  I decided to rest it for a few days and see what happened.

9 days later my knee had started to feel ok.  Sharon had done some physioing and had said that there was nothing obviously wrong and, if I felt up to it, to try running, but to stop at the first sign of problems.  Also, to stretch better before and after my run.  I put on my running shoes and off I went.  It was glorious.  Out running again after 9 days of missing it.  The first mile was great.  I say the first mile, that should be the only mile, because out of nowhere it stiffened up again.  I ran on for a few hundred yards, but decided not to make matters worse.  I stopped and looked down at my watch.  I had been running just shy of 11 minutes.  RUBBISH!!!  I turned round and began the trudge home.  It was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E-! I felt so defeated.  This was the first run that had actually beat me.  I'd felt pain and like I couldn't (shouldn't, on one occasion) go on.  But I had never stopped before.  I cut a tragic figure walking along Brangy Road.  Being taunted (in my mind) by the runners gliding past.  I had a bright windproof jacket and shorts on.  I was obviously a runner.  But I wasn't running.  I was walking.  There is a no more pathetic figure in the running community.  I was almost hoping for a limp to manifest itself.  At least that would show why I wasn't running.

Beaten.

That was yesterday.  Today is a new day.  Unfortunately, my knee is not a new knee.  It's stiff.  Once again I am asking myself that question.  Where to go from here?  I have loved these past few months.  The feeling of really acheiving something.  Covering the sort of distance that cause people to spit their drink out when they ask how far you ran is great.  Feeling like I'm getting properly fit.  Also, vainly, seeing the scales drop by half a stone in a few weeks and then level off there because you are building muscle.  Which you can see is making a difference to your overall build when you look in the mirror is a very nice byproduct, I can't deny. To see it possibly all be for nothing sucks.  I don't want to let that go, so I did some surfing (of the web variety.  My knee certainly isn't up to standing on a plank of wood, in the ocean, at the mercy of Mother Nature).  I have found this.  It seems to make sense and is worth a try.  It means a trip to Up And Running for some gait testing and probably the purchase of new running shoes, maybe with insoles (a costly exercise).  It also means some hard work with Sharon on the exercise/physio side of things (handy having your own personal physio).  If it means I can get back to something that has given me such pleasure over the past few weeks it will be worth it.  If not, then I tried.  And the fat bastard sat on couch can look back and remember his 8 weeks of glory.

The Beatles Remastered

The Beatles remastered albums have been with us for a few weeks now. I have listened to them a couple of times and am ready to make my decision on whether they were worth the money. It is an easy answer and one I could have given almost as soon as McCartney finished shouting "1, 2, 3, 4" on I Saw Her Standing There. The answer is they are worth every penny and more. To think I have been a fan all this time and have never truly heard their music as it was meant to be. Every nuance. Every drum beat, strum, chord, harmony and mistake. Yes, mistakes. It adds character to hear Lennon start to wander on the lyrics and then be reeled in by McCartney singing the line stronger to keep him in place. You can almost hear Lennon saying, "Oh yeah, I was thinking of the last verse." Such was the speed in which the early albums were recorded, these were seen as "close enough". Now, and indeed later with The Beatles, time is taken to listen to every note in minute detail to iron out these "mistakes". I think they have a place on the early recordings and am happy to hear them.

The biggest change with the remasters over the CD version released in 1987 is the bass. McCartney was (is) a very talented bassist and now I can hear that in all it's glory. I never realised quite how much the bass drove some songs. A song like Hello Goodbye which I thought to be an average Beatles track is now a joy with it's progressive bass rhythm. The drum beats are also crisper and clearer. Giving me a new found respect for Ringo. He really did some excellent drumming and the songs are all the better for his contribution. This can now be heard.

The harmonies and double tracking of voices is now clearer. You can still hear the voices perfect blending, but tilt your head and listen and you can pick out the individual voices. That high note is McCartney. Harrison is providing the the "Ooooooooo"s. Lennon the "Ahhhhhhh"s. On a double tracked voice you hear the two voices combining in perfection. Rather than almost hearing one voice with what could be echo, or double tracking, or ?

The timbre on the orchestral arrangements is amazing. You can almost feel the bow against the cello or violin on Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby. The brass on Penny Lane feels as if the band are in the room with you, such are the quality and depth of these new remasters.

I could go on to analyse every instrument and what it's remastering has improved. To cut a long story short. If there is an instrument being played, it just sounds better. That is also true of a certain blackbird.

As a whole the entire project has been a resounding success. The music is crisper and clearer. The drums and bass are at a level where they support and drive the melody as they should. And the melody is like being in the recording studio with the band in it's quality.

So, which is my favourite album? Difficult to say. It depends what the criteria are. I would have to choose 4, each for differing reasons. I'll do them in chronological order.

1. Help!
This is the album of a pop group at the top of their game. They had conquered the world and they could do no wrong. Every song is a winner. From Help! to Yesterday. From You've Got To Hide Your Love Away to I've Just Seen A Face. There is no filler on this album (not that there is on any really). Even Act Naturally suits Ringo's voice. This is the early Beatles at their best.

2. Revolver
Everyone says that Sgt Pepper's was the album that changed the world, that it was innovative and original. Where this may be not entirely untrue, Sgt Pepper's owes it's "uniqueness" and overdubbed near perfection to a change that was conceived on Rubber Soul in part (Norwegian Wood in particular), but leapt upon with Revolver. Tracks like Taxman, Eleanor Rigby, Love You To (sitar and tabla), I'm Only Sleeping (backwards guitar) and Tomorrow Never Knows (tape loops and entire song in one chord) were the real innovative and world changing beginnings of the revolution. Sgt Pepper's was the more polished "we know what we're doing now" offering. Revolver (as the name almost indicates, but McCartney said they just thought was funny because it's what a record does) was the real change.

3. The Beatles (White Album)
After "finding themselves" in India and writing many, many songs. This album is almost a collection of solo songs. Almost but not quite. It is still The Beatles working (mostly) in harmony. Ringo walking out and McCartney drumming on Back In The USSR springs to mind. It does signal the start of The Beatles finding their own way as individual artists as they would soon become. I think this is a great thing. On no other album ever will you find so much variety and differing in styles. No song sounds like any other. This is greatly demonstrated after McCartney finishes screaming Why Don't We Do It In The Road, to then gently sing I Will. How many albums could offer the beauty of Julia, the noise of Helter Skelter, the weirdness of Revolution #9 and the poppiness of Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. I haven't even listed all the different styles there either. I would have to do a complete track listing.

4. Abbey Road
This album has some stand alone greats like Something, Oh Darling!, Come Together and Here Comes The Sun. But it is as a collection that this album delivers. The medley on the second half of the album in particular. McCartney said they were simply using bits of songs that they had in a useful way. But the whole becomes so much more than the sum of it's parts. The album, quite simply, is a swan song by a band who had learned how to get it right. It says, "This is how you do an album". It is a masterpiece and about as close to perfect as one album can ever be. Any more analysis would only diminish how much it works. The first half gets you in the mood with great tracks and the second half carries you (literally) to The End.

The Big Race - City Of Salford 10K

So, the big day. Early start, had to be at the Lowry between 8 - 8:30, to start the race at 9:30. They close the roads off, so you need to get there before to ensure you get in. I was up at a similar time as on a work day (6:45am!) and had a quick breakfast of museli and a cup of coffee. I then decided this wasn't calorific enough and had some chocolate pop tarts for good measure.

We arrived easily enough and milled around watching all the much obviously fitter and more commited runners than us warm up. We pretended to do some daft stretches and then figured that actual stretching was in fact a good idea and limbered up. That hour of waiting was worse than the actual race, we were keen to get going. The start time came and we were off. Rick said to not try and keep up with everyone and just run at our own pace and let people pass us. Then when the siren went he was off out of the blocks and sprinting across the bridge with me shouting for him to slow down. I was aiming for a time of around 55 mins, that's (easy maths) 5.5 mins per km. After 1k we had been running for 4.5 mins. I continued telling Rick to ease off. After 2k and a time of 9 mins I decided I couldn't keep this pace up for the whole 10k and eased off a little myself. Rick got the message and dropped back. It was a fairly quiet affair for the first few K. It was just the sound of a peaceful Sunday morning and the footfalls of a few hundred people, indespered with the odd bit of panting. By 4km me and Rick were waffling as normal, it helps us run. We eat up the miles that way. The 5km point was marked by a water station. We wondered whether to do the classic swig of water, rest over your head, drop the cup. I managed to get a face full of water just trying to drink whilst running (it's an aquired skill I think). It was some sort of energy drink and I was rather sticky. I decided against pouring it over my head and finished it. We then had a few K of running down a straight road. This was the most gruelling bit. Just wathcing the runners and road disappearing into the distance and then seeing the leaders coming the other way on the other side of the road. You ran round a roundabout and ran back down. I particularly flagged on this bit. It was boring more than anything. We entertained ourselves by chatting to a bloke who was running a similar pace and coming up with comedy slogans about winning and losing. Some favourites were, "Winning is everything, taking part is nowhere."... "It's not whether I win or lose, it's whether I beat YOU!" and, "It's not the winning or losing that counts, it's whether you beat those girls running in tutus!" We eventually got over the long stretch and hit the 8km mark. We approached the island with The Lowry on again. Rick was keeping pace with me and it was agreed I could happily maintain my pace on my own if he felt he wanted to motor on from the 9km point. Around the 9km mark you run past the finish line. A little demorilaising to be so near but so far. Fortunately our girls were there cheering us on and that gave me the spur I needed. We even managed to pose for a photo mid run. Rick motored off and I attempted to keep up for about 2 strides then decided I couldn't do it. I upped my pace from my original pace but let Rick go. He afterwards felt guilty for this, but I was cool with it. Especially as I picked out a bloke ahead in a white T-shirt and thought, "I'm going to try and beat him." He was going a similar pace and was far enough ahead that I would have to open up a little and drive on. I caught him just before the final bend and by this point I was really running. As I rounded the last bend it became apparent that he had started sprinting too. We bizarrely ended up in a sprint finish with loads of people cheering us on. I'm happy to say I didn't look back and just kept running and came in ahead of him. The point was, of course, to finish in a time I was happy with, but that competitive streak in me got a little buzz out of it. I remembered to hit stop on my watch just after I passed the line and had finished in an unofficial time of 52 mins and 48 secs. As I was aiming for 55 mins I was VERY happy with this. Unfortunately the official time has not yet been posted yet and I can't remember the route to post that either.
Rubbish!

Afterwards I felt fine very quickly. My calves stiffened up from sittiing in the car and my knee was a little stiff later on. Although I felt nothing in my knee at all whilst running.

I managed to get £212.01 sponsorship for my efforts and would like to thank everyone for that. Good stuff people. We did well. I'm sure the kids supported by the NSPCC are grateful too.

Half marathon in March...........

Lucky Number 7

This is it. The final week (as far as the 10K goes anyway, not for my running). The schedule is as follows.

Monday: run for 40 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 30 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: rest
Sunday: run 10k race

A fairly easy going week by previous standards. Really just keeping my body used to running. No pushing it or anything. That is when most injuries happen. When you push yourself at the end of training just before whatever it is you're training for. I chose to avoid that mistake and took it easy. Not much to say on either Monday or Wednesday's run. I ran 4.88 miles on Monday and 3.4 miles on Wednesday. Pretty much stuck to the 40 and 30 mins. Both runs were fine. The training is done. I am ready!

Rick did a run on Monday where he did 5.2 miles in 40 mins. That is monsterously quick! We have agreed to run the big 10K together at whatever pace we can both manage. From Rick's much faster time that means we run as fast as I can manage. I am aiming for 55 minutes.

You may have noticed that I am writing this before the end of the week. It is now Thursday. I will write another blog after the big race. I just wanted to get down my thoughts before hand.

So far my sponsorship is going great. I am up to £192.01. I really want that £8 to push me into the two hundreds. Come on people, get me past that mark http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks

Sixth (No ) Sense

Week 6 Schedule

Monday: run for 45 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 45 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: run for 10km
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest

Monday's run was mostly great. I planned a 5ish mile route. Part way round Rick suggested "turning right" onto a run he had done recently. We motored on round and it was a good run. We chatted and I felt like I could run all day. There was a bit of hillage in the middle, but my calves didn't hurt too much. My left knee twinged occasionally, but was fine. Then I got to the home straight (after Rick had gone home. He runs a bit at the beginning without me and I run a bit at the end without him). I decided to go on my detour round the estate near home to extend the run by a few minutes. I hit what can only be described as "The Wall". My breathing and general fitness felt fine. My legs did not. My left knee joint felt like concrete. My right calf was very tight. Each left step was more a stamp. Not helping my knee at all. Each right step was more of a shuffle. The noise I was making whilst running went SMACK, scuff, SMACK, scuff, SMACK, scuff. The tightness in my right calf meant I started to get pins and needles in my right foot. I tried to stride through it as, when I have been striding the end of a run in previous runs, it tends to eliminate any twinges or pins and needles. I managed about 4 strides before my legs automatically went back into SMACK, scuff mode. I tried again. Same thing. I kept up the trudge for the rest of the half mile home and made it in 49 mins and 59 secs. Turns out I had run 5.61 miles. Pretty much equalling my furthest ever. Only a full minute faster. And that's with the trudge for over half a mile. No wonder my legs gave up, I was at quite a fast pace for quite a long distance. Ultimately I can't complain about running as far as I have ever run and faster, but it was not the most pleasant finish to a run I've ever had. Of course, as I've said before, these runs where you have to force yourself home make you a better runner. My legs recovered fairly quickly (shower scrub was a big help), although my knee was a bit clicky the next day.

Wednesday, I had a "quarterly meeting" at work. Similar to the meeting we have every Friday, but out of office hours... and much longer. It starts around 6pm and finishes around 8:30pm. Means I have to do over an hour and a half overtime just to get to the start of the meeting. Then a few hours of listening to waffle. At least they feed us though. The upshot of this 12/13 hour long day is I didn't have time to run after work. My solution? Go into work an hour late (who can complain when you're doing 12 hours?) and run 5 miles before work. I planned a route which was 5.12 miles and set off at about 6.30am. It's nice running at that time once you get going. There's very few people around or cars on the road and the air is crisp and clear. Just as I got to the point where I can go one way or the other I decided to go the other way around. Big mistake. It meant the first 3 miles of my 5 mile run was solid uphill running. By the end of the third mile I didn't know if I could go on. Just as I was slowing down and only yards from the crest of the final hill my iPod on random decided to play One Day Like This by Elbow. Can their be a more hopeful and uplifting song? It helped give me that extra impetus to run on. Then, cliched as fuck as it might be, as I was running down the other side of the hill on a quiet morning under a blue sky I really did beleive it was it was looking like a beautiful day. If I'd had curtains with me I may very well have thrown them wide!

I noticed on this run that when I get tired and my head starts to hang down, rather than just putting my head down, I also lean a little to the left. Could this explain my left knee and right calf hurting when I'm getting tired? I think it could. I will endeavour to keep more upright, or at least slump more centrally at any rate. Hopefully this will prevent Monday's nightmare finish from happening again.

By Friday I was full of a cold. Perfect. Nothing like more hardship when you're facing a challenge. This was the big one. The practice 10K (6.2 miles). I got home from work and felt strangely better and was really looking forward to it. Ive found myself missing running on my rest days now. Rick ran the first bit alone and I picked up with him after about a mile (I would run this same mile on my own at the end. Saves us having to travel to run. We just map a route that goes past both our houses and meet up along the way). What can I say, the training must be paying off, becasue we chatted and just did it. No real tweaks, pains or struggles. It was almost too easy. So much so I double checked the distance. I started to feel it on the last mile alone, but I've felt much worse at the end recently. Rick said he did it in about 55 mins as we went past his house. Mine was closer to 56 mins (can't say exactly as I forgot to press stop on my watch in my elation). Here is the route.



Big race is next Sunday. Bit of an easy week next week. This week was much more work, this is the hardest week I will do in any of the 10k training. I clocked up 17 miles on 3 runs. It's more a case of keeping my hand (Feet?) in and resting for the big day next week. I feel ready.

Don't forget to sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks and Rick at http://www.justgiving.com/rick-gilpin

Hit The Hut (Oh, how I would have loved to!)

Went to grab some food at Pizza Hut with my lovely lady yesterday. I always seem to somehow convince myself that the service in Pizza Hut in Bury will be ok this time. And every time I am proved unequivocally wrong in my optimism. This time was no exception.

We had a voucher for 50% off the food. This was reason enough to try it again. Besides, Pizza Hut pizza is the best pizza there is. No arguing, it just is! I will hear no more on the subject. This being the case we have visited numerous Pizza Huts in our time and have usually found the service to be acceptable and usually good. Although I do wish they would adopt the policy that seems to be standard in every other restaurant in the world and seat you at your table, hand you your menus and utter those immortal words, "Can I get you any drinks?" I really don't mind waiting 10 minutes for service if you've brought me a beer. But waiting 10 minutes to then take all the order together, then waiting for your drink is unacceptable. In Pizza Hut in Bury this is only amplified by the fact it can be longer than even 10 minutes before they take your order, despite asking staff repeatedly for service. That's if you actually see them on the floor of the restaurant. And If I see one more member of staff cleaning a table when I'm sat trying to place an order I really won't be held responsible for my actions.

Anyway, last night's meal (if you can call it that... maybe food fiasco is a more appropriate phrase). We walked in the door and a waitress walked past us. Not uncommon for this Pizza Hut. What was uncommon was she acknowledged us, "I'll be with you in just a second", she said. Things were off to a good start. Almost immediately a second member of staff came over and showed us to a table. Maybe this was going to be our night. He handed us our menus and muttered something incomprehensible and walked off. Maybe not. After about 15 minutes of trying to attract the attention of anyone in black we finally were able to place our order. Now, why is it they don't work like other restaurants and have waiters/waitresses with there own area? The waitress serving the tables around us seemed very efficient (I think she had wandered into the wrong Pizza Hut). But no, this Pizza Hut has a policy of the person who seats you is the person who serves you. Not efficient at all. Eventually Numpty (this is the name I have allocated to our mumbling waiter) took our order (just as I said I was about to go to Frankie And Benny's next door instead) of a garlic bread with cheese to start, a carbonara pasta and a tango for Sharon, a medium Italian supreme with no mushrooms and a Bud for me. EVENTUALLY he brought us the drinks. We had now been seated about 20 minutes and just got our drinks. Our garlic bread with cheese followed soon after and was fine. It usually is to be honest.

Main course time came. After another 20 minutes and a second drink order that is. The second drink order didn't come, but the food did. We complained about the drinks and started to eat. At least we would have done if the food hadn't obviously been ready for that entire 20 minutes we were waiting and was now cold. My pizza was passably warm and I was hungry so I started. Sharon's, however, was as cold as it would have been if it had been in the fridge for an hour rather than the oven. This is not exaggeration. If you put your finger in it, which I did, it was well below room temperature. We called over a waitress (Numpty was nowhere to be seen) and after convincing her that it was cold (she seemed unwilling to believe us initially!!!) she took it away and said a new hotter one would be brought. We collared the manageress and told her of the problem and that we STILL hadn't had the second drinks. She promised to provide us with free desserts and to get on the drinks immediately. I said I wasn't interested in free desserts, I wanted the meal I had ordered and something doing in that respect. She offered us Sharon's course for free. Acceptable. She went to "immediately" sort the drinks and was then visible for the next 5 minutes doing anything but bringing our drinks. Eventually she spoke to Numpty who brought us drinks with an apology. I think it was an apology anyway, he was in full mutter mode. I heard the bit where he said the drinks were on the house. My hearing is good like that. Sharon's main course arrived as I was finishing mine (hardly ideal) and was obviously the same meal she sent back, but put back in the oven due to the burnt sauce around the edge. She was too hungry to argue and got stuck in. I must add I got a perverse pleasure out of watching the manageress burn her hand on the now scalding dish whilst trying to hold onto it and deliver some waffling excuse.

Food finished (although drinks not, due to having to wait so long for them) we asked for the bill. Numpty now seemed to be making an effort, not to get a tip as that was a laughable notion at this point, but in damage control. He brought it and noticed the 50% off voucher and whisked it away to recalculate the bill. Unfortunately he chose this moment to be fast and not give me chance to see the bill first to check for the appropriate discounts. He brought the recalculated bill back and I checked over it. He had taken the drinks off, but had not taken the pasta off. So I had to call him back over and explain the situation. He took the bill and went hunting for the manageress. She must have confirmed this as he brought yet another revised bill. Now, basic maths would say that if you've calculated 50% off something, and you then need to discount the entire item, you just take a further 50% off. Nope, Numpty took the full 100% off the already 50% discounted bill. HORRAYYYY, his ineptitude actually worked in our favour for once! This heavily amended bill now came to a whopping £8.12. Not so much a bargain, more compensation for an endurance in restaurant torture.

Unfortunately the next time I want a pizza I will almost certainly have forgotten all this and proceed to put myself through something similar again. A shame since the Pizza Huts in Manchester, The Trafford Centre, Bolton and Liverpool are all really quite good. Just a little too far to drive. Well, the Bolton one isn't too bad, but is slightly further away than Pilsworth and always seems a bad idea until we're seated in the one in Bury wondering why our drinks STILL haven't come. The best Pizza Hut I've ever visited is unfortunately in Orlando, Florida and is definitely too far to travel. They even had Superman The Movie on the TV in there, AND they sold draught lager. Heaven.

Taking The Fifth

5th week

Here is the schedule for week 5 of training.

Monday: run for 30 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 40 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: run for 50 mins
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest

I've gotta stop drinking on a Sunday! Had a few beers in the pub with the lads on Sunday night and got through the day at work on Monday feeling ok. Got home and put on my running shoes. Met Rick and off we went. I was scheduled to run for 30 mins, but we decided to run 4 miles. Not too bad, only about 35 mins. It's close enough to the time and I feel my fitness levels are increasing to cope with it. We went on the route that takes us up the nice slippy cobbled hill. My energy levels were totally down from the lack of sleep and excess of alcohol. As we approached the bit where I leave Rick and run home I couldn't face the strain of running down the steep hill cut through to my side of the valley (too much stress on my already flagging calves) so I kept running down the more gentle hill to go around. Ok, it's further and I had further to run up hill on the other side, but I needed the initial downhill at an easy pace to recover. Thing is, it helped. I managed to detour through the estate near my house too, also adding some on to the run and I actually ended up running 4.64 miles (map below) in 42 mins 28 secs. A bit extra on top of a 30 min run there. Although that last mile was not the striding feel good sort of my previous run. It was the small step trudge that you can't help but do when you are hitting your limit. Hence the slow time in comparison with last weeks 4 mile run. By the time I got home my knees and calves felt like concrete. I walked in the front door and managed two words to Sharon, "It hurts!!!" After tea we went shopping and then I sat down to watch TV. I started nodding off. At only about 10pm. VERY unlike me. I went to bed and slept right through my alarm til 6:40am. That is a LOT of sleep for me!



Fortunatley my secret weapon against the concrete muscles and joints worked it's magic and I felt ok on Tuesday. The weapon is this.....

Simple really. After a run I have a shower and scrub my muscles with it and it loosens them all off. Sharon says it's something to do with massaging the lactic acid out or something. I put it down to real live magic. Best thing I've ever bought whilst bored in an airport. Was a completely random impulse purchase in Samford Airport in Florida when trying to spend the last of my dollars a few months ago. "Such an odd purchase", we thought as I lugged it around an airport and on a plane at the time. I'll tell you this though, I'm glad I did it. It is worth it's weight in gold to my muscles.

On Wednesday I went to an IT exhibition at the GMEX. It meant I didn't have to be in work til later, so I got up early and ran before work. It is a good feeling running first thing in the morning. You're so full of life and haven't had a day at work to sap your energy levels. I managed 5.12 miles in 44 mins 54 secs. See the route below. Very happy to have broken the 5 mile barrier. And very happy to have kept my time below 45 mins (just). It was a fairly comfortable run and I kept a nice consistent pace. Recovered very quickly afterwards too.



Friday's run felt like real progress. I covered 5.62 miles (that's 9km... nearly there... with 2 weeks to go! Route below) in 51 mins and 3 secs. This is the furthest I have ever run. I did a similar run about 6 months ago when I had a go at running. I really wasn't ready, but dragged myself round in just over an hour. So to be doing that very same run and noticing that I was approaching the end after only 45 minutes was a great feeling. Was going so well I had to detour through my estate to increase the distance so I could get my time up to 50 mins. After only 5 weeks training my fitness level has improved greatly. There is a hill in the middle. It is quite steep. It hurt. A lot. I managed to keep going but the stiffness in my calves gave me pins and needles in my feet towards the end. Not the best feeling. I got home feeling pleased with myself, only to find I had locked myself out. Fortunately I had my phone with me and my Dad was able to come round with a spare key. Not what you need after running for nearly an hour. I went for a walk in the 20 minutes I was waiting for my dad and had fully recovered from the run by the time he arrived. Fortunately I had taken a bottle of water on the run with me and I have an outside tap. Meant I got to drink a pint of water whilst waiting. I don't mind not being in my house for a while, but I need hydration after running (I am now covering the sort of distances where I need hydration during running too, hence the bottle).



All my runs this week have been more than I was scheduled to do. I have just felt able to run further, so I have. In only 3 runs in one week I have covered over 15 miles. This is a big improvement on week one when I managed about 9 miles in 3 runs. It is actually a big improvement even over last week. I ran just over 11 miles in last weeks 3 runs.

Sponsor me and help the kids http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks

Craig Goes Fourth

4th week of training

I know the week techincally isn't over, but all I have left are my rest days and I'm unlikely to have much to say about running in those days. Possibly, but unlikely.

Monday: run for 30 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 40 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: run for 4 miles
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest

Monday's run was H-A-R-D!! It was just a 30 minute run and I have gotten (I thought) to the point of finding these relatively easy, but it hurt. One of the reasons it was so hard was the fact I spent Sunday in Liverpool drinking lager and watching Beatles music. Was a great day. Left me, not really hungover, but feeling a little run down the following morning. I also didn't load up on water before going out and felt rather dehydradated half way round. Big mistake. Hydration is king whilst running. Talking to Rick kept me going, but the last 8 minutes on my own, running up hill, was a killer. It is the only time I have REALLY just wanted to stop running and walk. I kept repeating the mantra in my head, "Running is 70% physical and 30% mental. Come on mental, get me home." And it did. As horrible as it was, it was a very important run. These are the runs that make you a better runner. Forcing yourself to keep going, no matter what the distance, when all you want to do is stop is good mental preparation for the big runs when you almost certainly will hit these moments and need to keep going. You need to train mentally as well as physically. You find also that sometimes by pushing on you come through the other side with a second wind and are able to go much further than you ever thought you could. A couple of runs I have been on where I felt I was limping (metaphorically speaking) to the end I have found my energy has begun to come back and I have felt like I could run even further as I approached home. One day I may explore this and run past my house and see if I can add another mile on. For now though, I am sticking to "the schedule". It seems to be working well for me.

Wednesday's run was further than I expected when I set off. I had mapped out a route that was just under 4 miles. Once we (Rick also out) started running we decided to try and work out a slightly different off road route. We found our way to where we wanted to be using guess work and judgement. Unfortunately we found a nice hill with cobbles in the rain that we had to run up to get to where we wanted. Was not the easiest, but we kept going. I became quite aware of my calves for the rest of the run. Fortunately the rain was quite refreshing. Once I was approaching home I looked at my watch and noticed I still had 4.5 minutes to go. So I turned left into the estate near my house and went on a detour to make up my time to the 40 minute mark. By the time I got home I had run 4.4 miles. I was chuffed. The route is below.



On returning home I recovered quickly, but my calves and hamstrings felt tight for the first time after a run. The next day I could still feel the run in my legs. Not in a bad way, but it is the first time it has carried over to the next day. I guess that is because I have started pushing on now. I have a secret weapon to combat the aches in my legs, but as this is already a long blog and I still have another run to talk about, I think I'll save that story for another time.

I've just passed the halfway point in my training. This is where it starts to get harder and longer. Most runs have been around the 3 mile mark up until this point. This has gotten me used to running and to a routine. This past week onward they start to push past the 4 mile mark and beyond. The odd 3 mile run on a Monday, but mostly 4+ now.

Friday was a 4 miles timed run. My aim was to do it in 35 minutes. This was by far my favourite run of the week. No offense Rick, he's away and so it was me running with U2. On my iPod that is. I wasn't jogging up the road followed by Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam. After 2 miles (don't remember my 1 mile time) I was up to 17 mins 10 seconds. I was on pace, but I was pushing myself strongly. After 3 miles I was on 26 mins. Still on pace, but feeling it. Get On Your Boots came on. It's fast and upbeat and got the blood pumping. My legs started to open up and I was really striding. Felt great. To really be motoring along after running over 3 miles was quite exhilarating. So thanks again Bono. I managed to finish in 33 mins 57 secs. Very happy with my progress.

Oh yeah, got stung by a nettle on my last run too. Is still stinging 2 hours later. If you work for the council can you get the growth overhanging the path on Brangy Road cut back please. Thanks.

Don't forget the kids, a nettle sting and being a bit tired whilst running is nothing compared to what some of them have to put up with. Sponsor me at http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks/

Running - Third Weak

No that wasn't a typo. Tough week this week. I have been feeling quite weak indeed. I won't bore you with the details, but early in the week I was struck down with an illness of the stomach/bottom variety and it interfered with my training.

Here is the schedule I was supposed to keep:

Monday: run for 30 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 30 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: run for 40 - 45 mins
Sunday: rest

On Monday just before I was due to go out it became very apparent that it was not going to be possible. I was suprised at how gutted I was to be missing my training and how much I had started to look forward to it. Also, I felt if I messed this up I would be letting people down (sponsors... the kids!) Plus, I'm a proud man. I don't want to fail and certainly not in public. Anyway, a few days rest and all was well once more. My revised schedule now jammed a week's running into 4 days and looked like this:

Monday: rest
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 30 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: run for 30 mins
Saturday: run for 40 - 45 mins
Sunday: rest

I'm not a fan of running two days on the trot, as I have previously said, but I am up to a stage where running for 30 minutes does not cripple me, leave me stiff or in any pain the followng day. I also recover almost as soon as I get home and have a glass of water. That is one of the biggest revalations. Not the ease of which I am begining to find running, but the speed at which I feel ok once I stop. I felt 2 days back to back was something I could now quite easily do, but wouldn't like to make a habit of. Especially as next week onwards is when we start to push it. For now I am hovering around the 3 mile mark. It starts to steadily rise to my target distance of 10K (6.2 miles) in the coming weeks. But we are getting ahead of ourselves here.

Wednesday was a good run. Felt nice to be back out there, even though I had only missed the Monday, it felt like too long since I had run. 5 days!!! I went out with Rick for the first time. On a route he had devised. It was, of course, not a nice normal flat run up the road. Most of it was on the road, but Rick likes to take things "OFF ROAD!" So off road we went. Running up steps and slipping in mud and puddles was both not nice and imense fun. It was a welcome change of scenery. I am someone who can be accused of liking routines and getting stuck in repeating the same things again and again due to nothing more than familiarity. But being forced into something new always equally puts me out and excites me in equal measure. This was fun. It reminded me of cross-country at school. I will not be making a habit of having to hold onto a tree whilst sliding down a small banking to avoid falling in a muddy puddle though. It was good to be running with a partner and we ate up the 3 miles quite easily in the catch up chat we had on the way round.

Friday was a run in the driving rain. With Rick again. Was good to train in different conditions. I really don't mind running in the rain once I've warmed up. In fact it's quite refreshing. Meant the mud and puddles weren't a consideration either. We just splashed on through. I'm not a big fan, however, of running the day after having a few beers. I was noticably flagging half way round. Although I did get a second wind on the home straight and cruised on home uphill with relative ease.

Saturday morning I, thankfully, felt none of the previous evening's run. Today was the big one (well, biggest so far). I set off with a kind of sketchy route in mind. The initial downside was that my trainers were wet and freezing. I was quite aware of it for the first mile or so. Once I had fully warmed up I forgot about my feet and got on with the running. Remarkably by the end of the run my trainers were dry. I have bought an armband for my iPhone/iPod and was keen to try it out today. I used the iMapMyRun application on my iPhone. It means I don't have to sit tracing out my route on t'interweb to see how far I have run. Anyway, I ran up the road with the intention of turning left after about 20 mins, cutting through the estate and back down to home. That, I figured, should take about 40 - 45 mins. However once I got to the first turning for the estate I had only been running for 15 mins, so I carried on. By the last turning onto the estate I was up to about 19 mins, so decided to head for the top of the road (as it was only meters away) and go all the way around the estate on the main roads. I managed to run 4.78 miles (thank you iMapMyRun for the acurate reading) in a time of 45 mins and 47 secs. I am extremely pleased with this. Only 3 weeks into my 7 weeks of training and I can cover 3/4 of the distance required. I was surprisingly ok at the end of it too. I struggled a little in the middle. I wouldn't call it "The Wall", more a small fence with weather damaged. As I had been running constiently uphill for over 2 miles I figured that being knackered was inevitable. The last 2 miles or so was mostly down hill, so I managed to get my breath back (amazes me how you can rest and recover WHILST still running) and continue at a steady pace. The armband for my iPhone also meant I could listen to MY music. Thank you U2 and The Joshua Tree. I got through most of the album and it kept me going nicely.

Look I can embed my run in my blog...


Has felt good to grasp this week's training back from the jaws of defeat and turn it into better than I could have imagined. At the start of the week it was looking very unlikely I would do any running during the week, let alone make up my full compliment. Am pleased to have been motivated enough to push myself round the 3 runs in 4 days. Just shows how much of a spur it is to have a goal to reach for.

Sponsorship is going really well. I am up to £107. Which is amazing. My goal (which I didn't think I would get anywhere near) was £100. I've surpassed that with 4 weeks to go. With the gift aid that is pushing £137. Not quite though, as my Dad didn't know to tick the box for gift aid on justgiving.com. He has sponsored me an extra £2 to make it up to the kids. He also added the encouraging words of "If you do not do well you will get a bloody good hiding. Dad" so the support is good too and completely at odds with the policies of the NSPCC. Although as I'm not longer a child (chronologically speaking that is) I don't suppose it falls in their jurisdiction. So, thanks to all who have sponsored me so far, your support has been a driving force for me. If you haven't sponsored me, sponsor me here http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks/

Running For 2 Weeks... with breaks obviously

As I mentioned previously I am training for 7 weeks for a 10k run. I have just completed week 2. Here is the schedule I followed:

Monday: run for 30 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 30 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: run continuously for 3 miles
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest

This schedule makes it appear that this running is the only training I am doing. I am randomly doing sit-ups, press-ups, tricep dips and leg raises and also going out on my bike on rest days. Not far, just round trips of 6 miles to see family and back. Hopefully all this will improve my general fitness and help with my running.

Paced myself nicely on Monday. Covered just under 3 miles in my 30 minutes and wasn't nearly as knackered as I have been on my previous runs and I could have gone further.

I read somewhere that the rest days are almost as important as the training and this is proving to be the case. I have not been hobbling or limping the next day and when I start a run I feel fresh and ready to go. In a previous running life I have been guilty of repeatedly running 2 days on the trot and then not running for 5. The first day would be easier because I was well rested, but running was unfamiliar as it had been days since my last run. I had to find my feet again, as it were, to remember my pace. The second day would always be a killer. It felt as though I was starting off from my previous day's run. Consistently spaced running already seems to be the way to go.

Wednesday was very good. I was looking forward to running. Maybe the fact that I had announced to the world that I am doing this 10k and I have got £60 worth of sponsors in only 24 hours had something to do with it. I need to succeed at this, but also enjoying what I'm doing helps. I paced myself nicely and ran more than I have done previously in the time. It was just over 3 miles. Not mega far, but halfway to my goal and I could easily have run further.

Friday was hard, but ultimately fulfilling. My plan is to do my longer/harder/faster run on a Saturday or Sunday, but plans this weekend simply made that impossible. So Friday it was. I set off at much too quick a pace. I was out of the starting blocks like Usain Bolt and was starting to get a little out of breath after only a couple of minutes. I really wanted to beat last weeks time of 26:57 for 3 miles and was a bit over eager. I kept the pace up for maybe a mile and then had to ease off a little. I still managed to maintain a decent pace and finished in 25:45. Shaving nearly one and a quarter minutes off last weeks time. Who's ya daddy!!!

I have been listening to music this week too. After Sharon dug out her iPod nano and charged it up. She has one of those armbands for holding the nano and it makes life much easier than carrying mine. Unfortunately it also means that it is full of Sharon's music. We have completely differing tastes. In that I have taste and she listens to The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. Our one cross-over in tastes appears to be Michael Jackson, so until I can be bothered putting some of my music on her iPod that will be my running music of choice.

Don't forget to sponsor me here http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks/ It's for the NSPCC.

Beat it.

Tandem Running

I am supposed to be running my big runs with my mate Rick. This whole thing was boiled up between us. He has gone on holiday and I have kind of taken the idea and ran with it (groan...sorry!) When he left the plan was, we were going to see how we got on with training and then maybe sign up to run 10k. Then if that went well sign up for the half marathon. I threw caution to the wind after a weeks training and signed up for both without consulting him. My reasoning being. The only reason he is unlikely to not proceed with this is if his knee can't hold up through the training. He has a knee cap that goes pop after about 6 miles of running. Not good when you are looking at running 6 miles and beyond. The thinking is (at least the way I have understood it) that by training up to 6 miles it will stregthen his knee and gradually get it used to the distance and hopefully it won't go pop.

Anyway, I have digressed, why did I sign up whilst he was on holiday? Four reasons:

1. He can still sign up later if he wants

2. If his knee goes pop and he can't do it, it doesn't mean there is anything wrong with my ability to run it.

3. I was enjoying myself and really want to do this for me and will happily do this alone if he is unable.

4. I am impatient.

No brainer really.

Having said all that, I really hope he will return from his holiday and get into the training with me and also sign up for both races and that I have a partner to train and ultimately run with. These things are always easier if you have someone to go through it with and also to spur you along when it's getting difficult. Plus he's good company and picking over our conquests of Salford and Liverpool over a beer would be fun.

An additional point. I neglected to mention I am running the City of Salford 10k to raise money for the NSPCC. Sponsor me here http://www.justgiving.com/craigwtonks/

Keep On Running

I am taking up running again. Or rather I have taken up running again.

I have been trying to exercise all year, but I soon lose interest. My problem is lack of motivation. I start running or cycling and go for it for a week or two, but then, athough I don't give up completely, I taper off just enough so as to have no real benefit. Especially with the snacking and drinking I do.

So what to do? The answer is FEAR! I have signed up to run the City Of Salford 10K on 27th Sept AND to run the Liverpool Half Marathon on 28th March. Now I MUST train otherwise:

a) It'll really hurt.
b) I won't make it.
c) I'll let down the very generous people who have already begun to sponsor me.

Motivation is there in spades. Now I need to run 10k in 7 weeks (I begin in 7 weeks, not taking 7 weeks to run it... that would be EASY). I have downloaded a training schedule and tweaked it to fit into the 7 weeks and to fit in with my life.

I am now in week 2 of my training. I am planning on writing a brief blog at the end of each week, so I will just cover week 1 for now. Week 2 will follow in a few days.

Week 1
Monday: run for 15 mins, walk for 2 mins, run for 15 mins
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run for 15 mins, walk for 2 mins, run for 15 mins
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: run continuously for 3 miles
Sunday: rest

Monday was harder than I expected. Running for 15 minutes, walking for 2 minutes and then running for 15 minutes again sounds easy. It wasn't. I did do it though and covered about 3 miles. The 2 minutes walk in the middle really was a huge rest. It was also nice to not be tied down to a route that I had worked out in advance because I was running a specified distance. Gave me the chance to explore my area a little and make random turns on a whim. All I had to do was make sure I was near home for the end.

Wednesday was much easier. I did just run up the road though for 15 minutes, then turned round and ran back. Was more interesting and nicer than it sounds as it was up past the fields in the sunshine. I think I will head this way on most runs as it's flatish, for my area, and can be extended fairly well as I get better. I recovered much quicker than on Monday.

Saturday morning I was up and raring to go at 9am. Which is impressive as I sat watching TV and drinking lager til 1:30am. I planned a route on Google Earth that was exactly 3 miles (1.5 miles in one direction and then 1.5 miles back). I managed a time of 26:57. I am happy with this time for a first timed run. 9 minutes a mile. A pretty good start I felt. Although my pace needs addressing, as I ended up almost sprinting the end to keep it below 27 minutes. I must have tailed off somewhere in the middle.

I have also tried to cut down on my midweek drinking and snacking. I have been avoiding the sausage rolls etc left over from the buffets at work and have been eating the fruit provided when hungry. I didn't have a beer Monday - Thursday and didn't drink exactly loads at the weekend. I was never hungover. Just a few beers here and there.

Captain's Blog.... (bet everyone writes that)

So, I've started a blog too. No idea what to write. Just seems that everyone is doing this these days. My life seems to be online now, what with Facebook and Twitter also in action. When I say "my life", I don't mean I'm one of these people who conducts all his interactions online. I mean I use the online social tools to also interact with the friends I already have in the real world and also to keep in touch with those I don't see in the real world very often, sometimes at all (More's the pity). More to enrich my social life, than to replace it. I think that is a healthy way to use these things. Not that, I suppose, completely immersing yourself is unhealthy, if that's what makes you happy.

My status updates on Facebook are getting increasingly longer. This is my reason for starting this. Sometimes I have more to say. Although I'm quite enjoying Twitter also. Sometimes I have less to say, but more frequently. It is also a skill to get something that you want to put across down to 140 characters or less.

Anyway, let's see what this produces. I've tried this before, but it is hard to write personal, but not too personal stuff online. Especially when no-one is reading it. Contradiction in terms? I think so.