Blood, Sweat and Raindrops

It was wet again today. When I opened the curtains it was dry, but before I could get out, it rained. It cleared a bit by the time I got to the park but consequently the path was very wet and there were a lot of puddles.
I'm starting to get nervous before runs now. I know it's still training but 10 miles is a significant milestone and I was a little anxious the night before. As usual it took about half a lap to settle down but I got into a good pace. A few comments, a few dogs chasing me (one with a massive stick in it's mouth) and I overtook several other joggers.
I did nine laps as planned which is 10.25 miles and didn't lose either ball again. However, just short of nine miles I noticed my thumb was bleeding and at this point it started raining too! I pressed on as I figured it would be good training getting used to sore hands and I could probably take Boxing Day off and give may hands a couple of weeks to recover. The fingers of my right hand felt a bit tingly but it didn't worry me too much. It was only when I stopped after the full nine laps that I realised my fingers were bleeding too. It has, however, made a decision for me. So, far I've been training with two different balls, always using the same one in the same hand. I've been using the entry level rubber ball in my left hand and the more expensive, tougher ball in my right. I was beginning to think that the tougher, more expensive ball was the better option but that's the one that has wrecked my right hand today so I think I'm better of with two of the cheaper, rubber balls. I had concerns over its longevity as it looks a bit battered but it's done 52 miles round the park now which is twice as long as it would need to last on race day.
Anyway, those 10.25 miles took 1:26:32 which is an average pace per mile of 8:26 - quicker than last week despite bleeding hands!

Ooops!

Cleaned up

Patched up

Dead Puddles

It was a wet one this morning. Not actually raining but the path was very wet with standing water in places. The slightest bit of water takes a lot of the bounce out of the balls so I tried to avoid them as best I could. Very little else to report about todays run. It's beginning to get a little trickier but I still managed the planned eight laps in 1:17:44 which is 9.08 miles and an average pace per mile of 8:34. This is still a long way ahead of the marathon pace I'll need to run and I'm more than a third of the way there now. It's looking good already for the Silverstone Half in March. I had in mind to beat two hours at Silverstone but I'm thinking I ought to be looking at beating 1:55:00 now.
I stopped briefly at each mile to wipe the mud from my Garmin and check my pace but I didn't lose control of either ball again today.
10 laps next week!

Dottie the Rottie

I didn't get to train on Sunday due to having entered the Seaford Mince Pie 10. This was a great race despite the atrocious weather. I got soaked to the bone and more than a little bit chaffed! I'm mostly recovered from that now and after the school run this morning went to the park to try 7 laps.
It's a cold day but sunny and with very little wind - not far from ideal conditions for this time of year. The first half lap is always a little bit nervy as I settle into a rhythm but I was extremely pleased with todays run. Seven laps as planned which turns out to be a tiny fraction over 8 miles in 1:07:52 which is averaging 8:27 per mile - an excellent pace.
No children about today but plenty of dog walkers. I got chased occasionally by excited dogs but none of this was a problem until I encountered two women with about 6 dogs between them on my final lap. The largest one (the largest dog, that is!) took an interest in me and started bounding around in front of me. One of the ladies called to it: "Dottie! Dottie! DOTTIE! HE'S NOT PLAYING!" By this time, Dottie had tripped my right leg but bar a little stumble I was ok and managed to keep control of both balls. Dottie looked like a Rottweiler to me and is no doubt affectionately known at home as Dottie the Rottie.
On the short straight by the running track I had the sun directly behind me and my shadow stretched out ahead right in front of me where I focus. This was quite distracting but good practice.
I stopped momentarily once a lap to check my pace (Garmin strapped to my right shoe) but despite Dottie's best efforts I did the full 8 miles without losing control once.
The weekend is busy again but I may be able to squeeze in 8 laps Sunday morning. It's all going rather well at the moment!

We don't mind you overtaking but...

I had to get out early today. Mum & dad are over and the children were booked in at Go Ape at Leeds Castle at 11:30. It was a rush but I wanted to have a go at six laps today.
To say it was windy was an understatement. A Facebook friend had described the weather as 'apocalyptic'. Now I wouldn't have gone that far but it was flippin' blowy down that back straight of the park today. I really had to keep low. Gusts of wind were blowing the balls backwards! so it was good handling practice. I considered doing just the five laps today due to the wind and time constraints but I managed to complete six laps as originally planned.
Six laps are 6.84 miles and I did it today in just over an hour - 1:00:45 to be precise, which makes my average pace per mile 8:53. I'm disappointed that this was a slower pace than last week but I have to give myself a bit of a break due to the weather.
There were more 'Wow!'s  from children and a 'Woah!' from a grown up but todays reaction of the day was from two older gentlemen running round the park on my last lap. People I overtake obviously hear me coming long before I reach them and these guys had been looking over their shoulders for a while. As I approached, one said: 'We don't mind you overtaking but not while you're bouncing two balls!'.
'Sorry gents. I'm nearly finished.'
I won't be able to do the planned seven laps next Sunday as I'm running the Seaford Mince Pie 10 Mile race (without basketballs). Maybe I can fit it in the following Tuesday Morning.


It's dirty work

Hit by a Frisbee!

Well, it was my birthday yesterday and I had a great day but didn't drink myself into oblivion. So I was reasonably fresh when I went to the park at 3pm today. It was much quieter than it was last Sunday morning but there were still quite a few people about. Bitterly cold though! but no wind to contend with. Because of the cold I had to put quite a bit of extra air in the balls to make them bounce properly. Also because of the cold, I decided to dig out my old Bromley basketball shorts to wear instead of my usual running shorts. They're huge and much warmer.
I wanted to do an extra lap today and managed it with ease. I didn't lose either ball despite a couple of scares. I still managed to maintain the dribble even when I was hit in the leg by a Frisbee! I've no idea where it came from. It kind of came from the side. There was no "Sorry!" so I'm not sure if it was an accident or if I was targeted. I didn't have time to stop and look. I just carried on.
A few more comments again today. Mostly from children. My favourite today from a little girl on a scooter aged about 3 or 4: "How DOES he do that?!"
So my five laps covered 5.72 miles and I did it in a time of 47:44 which is an average of 8:20 per mile. At that pace I could beat the record by more than half an hour! I know it's going to get tougher as the miles increase though.
Six laps next week.

Hecklers!

So, my second long run went really well too. Didn't lose control of either ball at all. I had a couple of 'moments' but I recovered them. What made today tricky was the wind. Coming down the back straight of the park was a really strong wind which made control more difficult. I had to keep the balls lower on this stretch of path. Four laps of the park or 4.52 miles took me 38:57 which is an average pace of 8:37 per mile. To beat the current record I'll need to maintain an average pace of 9:30 per mile so I'm running a fast pace at the moment if I can maintain that pace as I increase the distance.
I have mapped out on my calendar what distances I want to run each week with the two balls. I intend going to the park every Sunday and doing one extra lap each time. Last week three laps, this week four, next week five etc. I've built in a few weeks where I'll run the same distance for consecutive weeks and I'm not kidding myself I'll run on December 27th. However, by the end of February I should be doing 11 laps which is approximately 12.3 miles. Two weeks later will be the Silverstone Half.
I did overhear someone mutter "F***ing hell!" as I dribbled past them getting out of their car and another runner who had stopped for a chat with some friends said a more polite "That's really good!" as I ran past. My favourite heckle of the day, however, came from some cheeky footballers who on my 4th lap were calling over to me "Oi, mate! Have you got the time! Ha, ha, ha!" And if you're having trouble picturing that, it's not easy to look at your wrist whilst dribbling two balls. I just responded with a smile and a "Very funny!"
I felt good after last weeks run but my shoulders did ache a little on the Monday. Not horribly but enough to tell me they'd had a good workout. I'm expecting the same tomorrow.
Obviously I'm running mid-week too but not with the balls. These runs are just to build my general running stamina, besides, it gets dark very early at the moment and I'm not dribbling round the park in the dark. I won't be writing about these runs because that would be REALLY dull. Just assume I'm doing them.
So, all is well so far. Next Saturday is my birthday so I'll have to see how I feel about those five laps I had planned but I hope to still do them even if I have to leave it until the afternoon.

Day 1 - first long run

What am I doing? A quick bit of history.
In the summer of 2015 I stumbled across an article about an American who ran the London Marathon dribbling two basketballs, setting a new world record. I looked at his time of 4:10:44 and thought; "I could do it quicker than that". So I decided to ask Guinness World Records for permission to challenge for the title. They accepted my application and so begins 18 months of training leading up to London 2017 when I intend claiming the record for Britain! Although this blog will be freely available online I'm going to keep it fairly quiet until after I've done the Silverstone Half and have a better feel for the challenge I've set myself. So here we go!

Apart from a three mile trial I did with the children's mini-basketballs some weeks ago, today was my first long run attempt with two (full size) balls. That first 3 mile test was tougher than I expected and I lost control a number of times. Today it was wet and there were leaves and sticks littering the path around Norman Park. However, I was really pleased with how it went. I only lost a ball once and that was right at the end when I was squeezing past a gate. I did 3.38 miles in 28:11 which is well inside the pace I would need to run to break the record. Of course I would have to keep that pace up for another 23 miles! but it's a good start. The two balls that Molten sent me to test were both fine. I'll train with the two different balls for a while before I decide which to use for racing. The Silverstone half marathon people have agreed to let me run their race with two balls on March 13th so that is my immediate training target. I know I can do it, it's just a case of how fast I can do it and how much it takes out of me. Once I've completed this race I will have a better idea of how realistic this record attempt is. If I'm happy I can do it, it's at this point I will approach the charity I think I will run for during my record attempt at London 2017 and talk to them about publicity opportunities.
I felt a bit awkward in the park today, worried that the many people in the park might think I was a bit of a dick or just an outrageous show-off. Small children were pointing and adults were saying 'yes dear'. I overtook three other joggers going clockwise round the park which must've been a bit demoralising for them although I've no idea how far the were going. An Alsation pup got a bit excited at one point and jumped around in front of me wanting to play ball but I kept control ok. Overall very happy but got very dirty hands.