990 down, 10 to go

...well here we are. I've (almost) done it. Just the 10 K run in Hyde Park to do on Saturday, and I'll have achieved my goal. Well actuall, I'll have achieved it a month early if I'm 100% honest as I said I'd run 1000 km in a year and I'll have done it in just over 11 months. Still, I'm not arguing - I get to have a month off now! By which I mean I get a few days off then have to go running again because now I've got a marathon to train for.

As this is almost my last post before I'm done, I'd just like to say a huge, huge thankyou to everyone who has taken the time to read this and indeed sponsor me. On something long-term like this it does make a big difference to know you've got support and that you're not doing it for nothing, so it's all been very much appreciated.

And with that, one final plug: http://www.justgiving.com/goneabitrunny

See you at the finish line! :)

Time for a bit of an update!

No. of km done: 899

No. of km to target: 101

Conditions: Cloudy and damp

Starting music: Icky Thump by The White Stripes

Finishing music: Chardonnay by Cerys Matthews

Well, we're nearly there. Though when I say "we" I mean "me" and by "nearly there" I mean "100 km away", but in the grand scheme of things it's a lot closer to the finish than the start!

Also passed a personal landmark at the weekend when I did a 15 mile run - the furthest I've ever run, and thoughI was a bit sore and achey towards the end and afterwards, I did fairly well in getting it done in 2 hours. That bodes well for a decent marathon time next May, and I'm also just happy I managed it with no major ill effects.

That might sound a bit paranoid, but 10 years ago when I ran my first ever half marathon I wore myself out and subsequently picked up a horrible virus that then evolved into postviral syndrome and a few months of quite bad depression followed by many more months (arguably years) of bouts of not quite so bad but still decidedly not nice depression. Not pleasant at all, and it's always left an irrational but nonetheless lingering fear it might happen again. So to come out of it feeling not only fine, but well enough to go for another run 3 days later with no ill effects has made me feel really, really positive. That, and the exceptional generosity of my friends that has seen my sponsorship total creep up to just a few quid shy of £500.

Anyway, onwards into double figures! Wahey!

https://www.justgiving.com/goneabitrunny

Catch up time

No. of km done: 799

No. of km to target: 201

Conditions: Cloudy but mild

Starting music: I'm Gonna DJ by REM

Finishing music: Last Stop, This Town by Eels

Hmm, not my best week - just recovering from a cold after recovering from the ankle/tendon pull, so I'm a little behind. Not much - about a week or so's worth of running - but as the end is closing in I have a lot less time to catch up now. Fingers crossed I should be OK to catch up with the odd extra mile, but I may have to pencil in a few extra weekend runs. And of course more runs = more chance of injury. Ah well, bit of drama towards the end and all that!

In other news, I've also now signed up for the Edinburgh Marathon after not getting into London 2012 (that's the marathon, not the Olympics), so if you'd rather sponsor me for that than this (or indeed both - think of it as a 2 for 1!) then either way I'd be delighted. As ever, the sponsorship link is:

http://www.justgiving.com/goneabitrunny

The final straight(ish)

No. of km done: 762

No. of km to target: 238

Conditions: Sunny and warm (which is somewhat bizarre, given the date)

Starting music: Mr Brightside by The Killers

Finishing music: Nothing, because my Walkman battery died after one bloody song :(

Well I'm on the downhill bit* - despite injury (which is still with me - I don't know whether my left achilles tendon aching is making my right knee hurt because I'm running awkwardly to compensate or vice versa) I've passed the 750 km mark and still going. I am, admittedly, a wee bit behind after getting over my various twangs, but just 15 km or so and I still have time to make that up without busting a gut. One or two slightly longer runs to claw it back and I'll be fine - but slightly longer being the key as I can't risk pushing it to clear the backlog in one go. Currently I'm OK albeit not 100% because of the aforementioned leg probs, and I don't want to push my luck as another lay up could scupper me at the final hurdle.

What I am going to push though is my sponsorship stuff - I'm still not past a quarter of what I want to raise. Which I'm not that surprised about - if I were sponsoring me I'd probably wait a while to see if I could do most of it first too - but I do want to rectify it.

*Sadly, not literally downhill. That would be lovely, but unlikely unless I move to the top of Everest in a week or so.

Uh oh

No run update today because I'm injured - my Achilles tendon on my left leg is aching and I think I've got a minor pull, probably from doing a lot of walking as well as a 5-mile run at the weekend. Hopefully it's not badly damaged (it doesn't hurt most of the time nor did I feel it give out at any point, which I'm taking as a good sign), but this is the first time I've actually been worried that I might have done something that'll keep me out for potentially weeks so I'm taking no chances. It's also awkward as it's towards the end of the year so I have much less time to catch up if I am out for a bit - or to put it another way, I have to come straight back from being injured and do a lot of much longer runs than usual. Some of this is probably paranoia too, as it's the same leg and the same injury I had towards the end of last year that stopped me running for about a month (and at one point was so bad I could barely put any weight on my leg).

Oh well, fingers crossed I'll be OK to go out on Friday. I'm bang on schedule at the moment anway (or was on Sunday at least), so the good thing is even with a week out I won't be far behind.

Q. What's got 2 legs and flies?

No. of km done: 651

No. of km to target: 349

Conditions: Sunny and warm

Starting music: Many of Horror by Biffy Clyro

Finishing music: Call On Me by Eric Prydz

A. Me. Though unfortunately "flies" means I swallowed two flies while out today rather than the fact I ran particularly swiftly. I should probably be grateful for the extra protein, but I suspect it's not the most hygenic of snacks...

Can't quite figure out what's going on with my Nike sportband. Or rather, how it works out how far I have to go. At the start of the week I was ahead of schedule, so I skipped a run as a break after my catch-up efforts. Today I did 5 miles - and yet I'm now 10 miles behind??? It might all even out by Friday, but it does seem somewhat schizophrenic. Thankfully I know as long as I'm at the equivalent of 990 km done by the day before my last run, I'm good. Well, I may not be good after having done 990 km, but at least I'll be on schedule.

Hauling my arse back on track

No. of km done: 636

No. of km to target: 364

Conditions: Cloudy and warm

Starting music: Shake It by Metro Station

Finishing music: Where's Your Head At? by Basement Jaxx

Well that was a bit of a slog, but I've done it. After getting at one point 20 miles behind schedule after missing four runs over less than 2 weeks, I've managed to catch up and am bang on target again. Not without some serious effort though - I've run over 20 miles in the last 7 days, and one of those was a 10 km run in 30°C heat (which very nearly did me in - don't try this at home, kids. Especially as running round and round in your home will get very boring very fast).

Pleased to have cleared the backlog though, and also pleased I can maybe bank some miles in advance again so that if I need to take any days off in future I won't have to catch up. Also pleased that I'm very nearly at 2/3rds done! Now if only I had 2/3rds of the sponsorship I wanted - looks like I need to do some more pimping of myself. Or rather, what I'm doing - I'm not literally going to pimp myself to raise money. Apart from anything else, I doubt it'd make much.

A wee bit behind

No. of km done: 563

No. of km to target: 437

Conditions: Cloudy and warm

Starting music: Galvanise by The Chemical Brothers

Finishing music: Better Man by Pearl Jam

I'm about 10 miles back from where I should be just now - not from injury, but from just being really busy at work for a week or so. Bit annoying, but I should be able to catch up fairly quickly.

Think it may nearly be new shoe time again - the current pair are feeling a little bit more leaden. Think I get my moneys worth anyway :)

In other bargainacious news, I think (for me) the hayfever season is over too, so no more antihistamines and nasal spray. That's another £10 a month saved!

Hard work

No. of km done: 540

No. of km to target: 460

Conditions: Sunny and warm

Starting music: I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues by Elton John

Finishing music: Roam by The B-52s

Well the weather's taken a turn for the warmer the last few weeks, which is partly why I've been a bit slack on the blogging - I've been tending to go evenings and weekends rather than during the day to avoid the warmest bits, and so often haven't had the time afterwards to write up a post.

Not quite sure what my Nike+ thing is up to at the moment. Yesterday it said I was 10 miles behind. Today, I'm on target, and I only did a 5 mile run. It seems to forget one from time to time. Quite possibly because it's bored logging the same old route every week. Think I might investigate some new ones just for a bit of variety (plus I could do with another street route for when winter comes and the towpath turns into something resembling a World War I trench).

As ever, the sponsor-me-do link is: http://www.justgiving.com/goneabitrunny should you fancypopping a few quid my way. Ta!