Two for the price of one

No. of km done: 240

No. of km to target: 760

Conditions: Grey but warm

Starting music: You Know My Name by Chris Cornell

Finishing music: The Hindu Times by Oasis

Completely forgot to upload my run on Monday, so hence no blog post either. Not that it was very eventful, but it was quite warm and I'm definitely going to start trying to run in the morning - that should suit me anyway as I much prefer running when I haven't eaten much as it's a lot more comfortable (translation: I burp and slosh about a lot less). Which is why I went out today at 4.30 pm after a large lunch, obviously*.

Slowly working my way back to being on/ahead of schedule. Was planning to go for a run at the weekend or make one of the runs this week a 10-mile one, but another twinge in my upper thigh muscle has suggested this might be a bad idea if I want to be able to sit down comfortably in the near future.

*There was actually a sensible reason for this - it'd been tipping down all morning.

I've got my new shoes on...

No. of km done: 223

No. of km to target: 777

Conditions: Sunny and warm

Starting music: Amazing by Seal

Finishing music: Chardonnay by Cerys Matthews

...and by crikey, they're making my calves hurt. Hopefully it'll only be a day or two more before they're broken in, and I suppose it could be worse - at least they aren't rubbing.

First proper, proper "hot" run of the year today, and it's only March. Think I'm going to have to start looking at going out earlier in the day. I do tend to overheat anyway, but in 70-80°C heat in summer I'm looking at spontaneously combusting if I'm not careful!

Fixed! (ish...)

No. of km done: 214

No. of km to target: 786

Conditions: Sunny and warm

Starting music: That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings

Finishing music: Thunderstruck by AC/DC

Not bad at all yesterday. New trainers have made my legs ache a bit but are much more comfortable and springy in general, new sport Walkman is on order (and £20 cheaper than the previous one), and my Nike+ Sportband decided to fix itself after I (predictably) turned it on and off again.

Only slight downer is that I've got a mild strain in one of my upper thigh muscles (oh all right, it's actually one of my buttock muscles), and until my new Walkman arrives I'm stuck using my elderly first generation iPod shuffle. As a music player it works fine, but unlike my headphones-only Walkman I have to have earbud headphones (that fall out due to ear rubbishness on my part) and also keep it in the pocket of my running shorts, which is on the back. So if I want to change track or adjust the volume while out without stopping to fish it out, I'm left randomly poking and slapping at my arse as I jog along.

Still, should be more entertaining than the usual panting and wheezing for anyone I run past. Though in fact, coupled with the panting and wheezing it could get me arrested!

Further technical difficulties

No. of km done: 206

No. of km to target: 794

Conditions: Sunny and warm

Starting music: Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow

Finishing music: International Bright Young Thing by Jesus Jones

This is annoying. My walkman is definitely buggered, and the left ear is much too quiet. So new one of those purchased, and until it arrives I'll be running to the soundtrack of my own wheezing (which is horrible, as with no distractions you tend to notice every little ache and twinge). And on top of that my Nike+ sportband decided not to log the run I did on Friday. meaning it now looks like I'm 15 miles behind schedule whereas after I go for a run today I'll actually be 5 miles behind at most (and probably less than that). I've also had to buy some new new trainers, as my old new ones just didn't agree with me and felt dead and lifeless after only a few runs. Bah.

On a more positive note, I have crept over the 200 km done mark, so am now over a fifth of the way there. And of course 250 km will be up soon, which will be a quarter of the distance done. Wahey!

Wonky

No. of km done: 198

No. of km to target: 802

Conditions: Mild but cloudy

Starting music: Club Foot by Kasabian

Finishing music: None, my battery died (again) :(

Well that was a slightly odd experience. My trusty sport walkman thingy may be on its last legs, as not only did the battery die halfway round after a fairly decent charge the other week, but for the while it was working I had the distinct impression one of my ears was blocked as the sound seemed very muffled from the left. My ears are fine though, so I think the headphone bit itself might be damaged (or, quite possibly, clogged with sweat after nearly 2 years of abuse). The effect was really strange though, as it made me want to run to the right a bit. Must be some sort of inner ear thing, but it was really offputting!

Have given it a good clean and another charge, so hopefully that'll be enough to resurrect it for now. Otherwise, it'll be off to the shops for a replacement - and it took me long enough to find this model!

In other news, 2 more km and I pass the 200 mark. Woohoo!

Hardcore!

No. of km done: 190

No. of km to target: 810

Conditions: Spring like!

Starting music: Where's Me Jumper? by Sultans of Ping FC

Finishing music: Galvanize by the Chemical Brothers

Right, after a couple of slack weeks with only one or two runs, it's time to get back on track. A full 10 km today, and 5 miles on Wednesday and Friday should get me pretty much on schedule again and also take me over the 200 km done mark. 

Feeling pretty good considering it's the longest distance I've done in a while AND it was with new trainers too. Think the weather must have helped!

Oh, so *that's* how that works!

No. of km done: 180

No. of km to target: 820

Conditions: Sunny but cold and windy

Starting music: Collapse Into Now (album) by REM

Finishing music: Collapse Into Now (album) by REM

In answer to my own question from my previous post about how I could be good to run with sleep deprivation - I'm not. Went for a run Wednesday and it was absolutely exhausting, not helped by a headwind for the entire uphill section of the run. By the end of it I had the shakes, and needed to eat before I did anything else. Fine now, but I am worried that all this running while so tired might make me prone to injury, so I'm being very careful not to push myself.

Still a wee bit behind schedule - 6 miles, or basically 1 run, which is what I missed on Monday so I'm not concerned yet. Plus I know things will get better as little J sleeps through the night more and wakes us up less. Glad I'm at least getting all the hardest months with regard to weather and tiredness out of the way first - easier to catch up with 9 months to go than with 1 month!

How does that work?

No. of km done: 172

No. of km to target: 828

Conditions: Cloudy and chilly again

Starting music: I can't remember!

Finishing music: I can't remember this either!

Went for a run on Saturday rather than Friday as very tired on Friday after J didn't settle well and consequently not much sleep was had. Still very tired Saturday but forced myself to get out and ran one of the fastest 5 miles I've done!

Fatigue - the new no. 1 energy booster!

Boing!

No. of km done: 164

No. of km to target: 836

Conditions: Sunny and mild

Starting music: Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel

Finishing music: I'm Gonna DJ by R.E.M.

Very pleasant out yesterday (I forgot to upload my run, so I'm only writing this up the day after) and incredibly spring like for the second day in March. Though typically, now I'm writing this a day later it's grey and a bit chilly again.

Think it's definitely time to say goodbye to my current pair of trainers - the air cushion in the sole is audibly wheezing now with every step so must have a fairly big leak somewhere and they're starting to make my feet feel a bit numb afterwards too, which is usually a fairly good sign that they've gone past their prime. Which in turn means next time out I get the joys of breaking in my new pair, and all the foot cramp that usually entails. Bah!

For the first time, I'm also actually slightly behind schedule - albeit only by a couple of miles, so should be caught up by next week. Has been a pretty exceptional week or so though, so I'm not too put off. Especially as I've also passed the 100 miles mark, which means I'm more or less a sixth of the way there (there are 621 miles in 1000 km, in case you're wondering). Woohoo!