Chris Barnett's London Marathon 2008 JustGiving page. This year I'm raising money for The Paul Ackrill Memorial Fund in the West Midlands.
read more | digg story
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Monday, 21 January 2008
Thursday 17th January
I forgot that I went circuiting last week.
The hall at Parkside School really is way too small for circuit training, but somehow Jamie always manages to squish something in and make it work.
The usual post-Christmas "boom" is on as usual, it's incredible just how many people decide to "get fit" in January. I guess they just decide to "get fat" again in February because they certainly don't come back to circuits.
The hall at Parkside School really is way too small for circuit training, but somehow Jamie always manages to squish something in and make it work.
The usual post-Christmas "boom" is on as usual, it's incredible just how many people decide to "get fit" in January. I guess they just decide to "get fat" again in February because they certainly don't come back to circuits.
A bit of a change
A visit to circuit training is always such light relief compared to running. It's not that it's any easier, it REALLY isn't, but the social aspect to it makes the whole thing so much more fun.
I was really supposed to be with Stourbridge Running Club doing a hill/speed running session, but I really didn't feel up to running outside in the rain with a cold.
To be honest, NO exercise is the best thing to do for a cold! Anyway, the circuit training was great.
WHY tho is the Dolphin Centre in Bromsgrove having to close the showers for maintenance so often? It wouldn't be so bad if the showers weren't so darn awful in the first place!
I was really supposed to be with Stourbridge Running Club doing a hill/speed running session, but I really didn't feel up to running outside in the rain with a cold.
To be honest, NO exercise is the best thing to do for a cold! Anyway, the circuit training was great.
WHY tho is the Dolphin Centre in Bromsgrove having to close the showers for maintenance so often? It wouldn't be so bad if the showers weren't so darn awful in the first place!
Sunday 20th January
Was this a good time to go on a "no biscuits" "no crisps" fast? I think so! They are just two junk food items that really annoy me. It's not that I don't like them, but it's just that I can't JUST have 2 biscuits, I end up having half-a-dozen. The only way I seem to be able to control it is to exclude them altogether!
Anyway, I ran a 6.5mile today. My Bungay Lake route, it's a nice country route but does involve running up the hill on Timberhonger Lane, that's a real tester!
Not sure I should have been running really, feeling a bit of a cold coming on.
Anyway, I ran a 6.5mile today. My Bungay Lake route, it's a nice country route but does involve running up the hill on Timberhonger Lane, that's a real tester!
Not sure I should have been running really, feeling a bit of a cold coming on.
Wednesday 16th January
Another night out with the Stourbridge Running Club. Tonight I joined an intermediate group, I thought I'd better stretch myself, there's no point in running below your real ability. An interesting route, about 6.5miles taking in the breath-taking scenery of Amblecote, Brierley Hill, Merry Hill and Quarry Bank... Well OK, the traffic fumes were breath taking!!
A good hours run.
A good hours run.
Sunday 13th January
There's always some point in your training when you decide it's time to push up the mileage. I picked Sunday 13th January to run 8.5 miles, it's the furthest I've run since the marathon last year! I picked a tough day, still full of a very nice Italian meal from Saturday night. I picked a tough route too, the Finstall 10k route with a few extra miles tacked on, it's a hilly one.
Friday, 11 January 2008
JustGiving Website
Gill at the Paul Ackrill Memorial Fund has signed up to JustGiving so that my sponsors can make donations by credit card.
You can probably see the JustGiving widget to the right of this blog just below my photo. It's not complete yet, needs more work!!
Thanks to Gill for sorting it, I hope it'll make a BIG difference to our campaign.
You can probably see the JustGiving widget to the right of this blog just below my photo. It's not complete yet, needs more work!!
Thanks to Gill for sorting it, I hope it'll make a BIG difference to our campaign.
Circuits is Easy!
Wednesday turned into a night off from training!
Obviously this meant extra effort on Thursday!! Sure enough I managed to turn up to circuit training, it's so much easier to motivate myself to do that as a pose to getting out and running on my own in the dark!
Ciruits is easy, turn up, pay up, instant motivation! You just get on with doing as you're told.
Planning a Saturday morning easy run and a long run on Sunday; well long for me, it'll be about 9 miles I reckon. I hope the rain stops....
Obviously this meant extra effort on Thursday!! Sure enough I managed to turn up to circuit training, it's so much easier to motivate myself to do that as a pose to getting out and running on my own in the dark!
Ciruits is easy, turn up, pay up, instant motivation! You just get on with doing as you're told.
Planning a Saturday morning easy run and a long run on Sunday; well long for me, it'll be about 9 miles I reckon. I hope the rain stops....
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
A day off?
I just checked www.london-marathon.co.uk and discovered that the 2008 London Marathon starts in 3 months, 3 days, 17 hours and 57 minutes... or thereabouts...
The GOOD news is that the Paul Ackrill charity are going to register on the JustGiving website which will make it MUCH easier to collect pledges and donations. Thanks to Gill for sorting that one out.
Wednesday night is a SRC run night but it might be a day off for me. I had a late night out last night at my public speaking club (did I tell you I won best speaker last night? :o) ) and I think a rest might be in order.
There's always circuit training tomorrow night to make up for it...
The GOOD news is that the Paul Ackrill charity are going to register on the JustGiving website which will make it MUCH easier to collect pledges and donations. Thanks to Gill for sorting that one out.
Wednesday night is a SRC run night but it might be a day off for me. I had a late night out last night at my public speaking club (did I tell you I won best speaker last night? :o) ) and I think a rest might be in order.
There's always circuit training tomorrow night to make up for it...
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Stourbridge Steady
Last night was another run out with Stourbridge Running Club.
A decent steady run for an hour or so, hard to say how far but I would guess 6 miles at that pace.
Makes a change to run in a group, it's only during races that I usually have that experience, although it makes you acutely aware of your footing because you can rarely see more than a few feet of road in front of you... unless you run at the front of the group!
Also makes a change to run a route that I don't recognise and frankly couldn't repeat, I have no idea how we got where we went!
Tuesday is a rest day for me, we'll see what Wednesday brings.
A decent steady run for an hour or so, hard to say how far but I would guess 6 miles at that pace.
Makes a change to run in a group, it's only during races that I usually have that experience, although it makes you acutely aware of your footing because you can rarely see more than a few feet of road in front of you... unless you run at the front of the group!
Also makes a change to run a route that I don't recognise and frankly couldn't repeat, I have no idea how we got where we went!
Tuesday is a rest day for me, we'll see what Wednesday brings.
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Weekend Training Runs
Saturday 5th Jan
An easy 5 mile around Bromsgrove. One of my favourite routes. It's a sort of special treat because half of it's flat! That's some achievement in Brosmgrove since the town is surrounded by hilly countryside.
Sunday 6th Jan
A cold one today with regular running partner Cliff. We chose a local route hoping to avoid frosty, slippery back roads. We were mostly successful!
Off-road is always good when avoiding ice, but obviously mud can be a problem too this time of year. Pepper Woods makes for an excellent half-mile since it has a central well drained soft track running thru it. Shame about Warbage Lane which was mostly OK but with long sections better suited to Torville and Dean....
This route also allows us the dubious pleasure of running up Alfreds Well, a notoriously steep hill with a little twist at the top which is all of 5 metres long but turns up so sharply as to make anyone gasp for air!! Fortunately followed by a gentle off-road downhill past Fockbury Mill Nurseries.
Cold air was definitely a problem today. I'm fascinated by the detrimental effect cold air has on my ability to run at a fast pace. I imagine it's a combination of low oxygen, high water content and low temperature causing your lungs to contract. Hmmm.... I feel some Google research coming on!
An easy 5 mile around Bromsgrove. One of my favourite routes. It's a sort of special treat because half of it's flat! That's some achievement in Brosmgrove since the town is surrounded by hilly countryside.
Sunday 6th Jan
A cold one today with regular running partner Cliff. We chose a local route hoping to avoid frosty, slippery back roads. We were mostly successful!
Off-road is always good when avoiding ice, but obviously mud can be a problem too this time of year. Pepper Woods makes for an excellent half-mile since it has a central well drained soft track running thru it. Shame about Warbage Lane which was mostly OK but with long sections better suited to Torville and Dean....
This route also allows us the dubious pleasure of running up Alfreds Well, a notoriously steep hill with a little twist at the top which is all of 5 metres long but turns up so sharply as to make anyone gasp for air!! Fortunately followed by a gentle off-road downhill past Fockbury Mill Nurseries.
Cold air was definitely a problem today. I'm fascinated by the detrimental effect cold air has on my ability to run at a fast pace. I imagine it's a combination of low oxygen, high water content and low temperature causing your lungs to contract. Hmmm.... I feel some Google research coming on!
Stourbridge Running Club
This Wednesday just gone, for the first time in my life, I attended a running club meeting. It's bizarre but I always had it in my head that you needed to be an elite runner to join a running club.
Oddly enough I had this conversation with a South African friend who told me that she had noticed this particular thought was common amongst British runners.
So I attended Stourbridge Running Club ( www.srclub.co.uk ) on Wednesday and discovered (of course) that it's populated by runners of all abilities who just run and also want to be a club member.
I'm looking forward to the next meeting on Monday, it makes such a nice change to run in a group!
Oddly enough I had this conversation with a South African friend who told me that she had noticed this particular thought was common amongst British runners.
So I attended Stourbridge Running Club ( www.srclub.co.uk ) on Wednesday and discovered (of course) that it's populated by runners of all abilities who just run and also want to be a club member.
I'm looking forward to the next meeting on Monday, it makes such a nice change to run in a group!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
