So, very pleased with Silverstone. What I neglected to mention though was the injury I picked up after the race, not thinking it would be a big deal at the time. I managed to finish the race without major incident but whilst queuing for the St John's people to look at my fingers I thought I'd take off the chest harness that was holding the camera I was wearing. In trying to wriggle out of that I managed to partially dislocate a rib. Usually one trip to the osteopath sorts me out but I had to go three times last week and it's still not fixed. It seems that running 13.1 miles slightly hunched, as I was with the basketballs, has put additional strain on my back. Once that rib moved all the muscles have tightened up around it and this tightness is preventing it from popping back into place permanently. So I'm taking lots of ibuprofen and icing it several times a day in order to reduce the swelling and relax the muscles. I'll have to go back to the osteopath later in the week to see if I can finally be fixed. I really need to be running. The Brighton marathon is fast approaching.
While I've been injured I've had time to edit the footage I shot at Silverstone. It's up on YouTube now:
http://youtu.be/rbp4EVWin38
Monday, 21 March 2016
Sunday, 13 March 2016
Silverstone Half
What a day!
Very cold and foggy to start with but by the time the race started the sun was out. It was still cold, but the sun was shining and this was my first test amongst thousands of other runners. That was the main aim of today, to see how I could cope with lots of other people around me. Up until now I've only had to avoid the odd dog and walker and the occasional child on a scooter. This was different and as I have to focus on the floor about 10ft in front of me I was finding the flash of trainers quite mesmerising.
There was a secondary goal. I was aiming for a time of 1:55:00 but my happy window was 1:55:00 to 1:59:59 i.e. anything under 2 hours. Although I didn't pay much attention to the Garmin on my foot, I ran at what I considered a comfortable pace for the time I was aiming for. It was only as I reached mile 12 I noticed I wasn't going to make 1:55:00 but I finished in around 1:57:30 (tbc) with quite a decent sprint finish so I was happy.
I had all sorts of comments from other runners and spectators. Far too many to mention here, but there was lots of "Oh my God!", lots of "Fair play, mate!", a "That's just showing off!" and my personal favourite "Now that's just silly!".
Everyone was really supportive. Firstly I'd like to thank the organisers for letting me do it but the other runners were great too. Lots of encouraging words. I hope I didn't get in anyone's way. I had to take a wide berth round some of the sharper turns as it got a bit congested. I'd particularly like to thank the guy that guided me over the metal walkway they'd put over the gravel we had to cross. He made sure I had a clear path and talked me though it. The balls really didn't bounce too well on it.
It was great to have my family there too. I could hear them cheering from the stands and I could hear my son as he chased me all the way down one of the straights.
I did have to get patched up by St John's at the end. Nothing too serious but at around mile 5 the tip of my right index finger split open and by the end of the race my left one had split too, It's a consequence of dry winter hands. The split on my right finger is really quite deep and is going to take a while to heal. It doesn't make typing this a comfortable experience!
So, overall a very positive experience. Now to focus on the Brighton marathon (without balls) before picking up the basketball training again.
Very cold and foggy to start with but by the time the race started the sun was out. It was still cold, but the sun was shining and this was my first test amongst thousands of other runners. That was the main aim of today, to see how I could cope with lots of other people around me. Up until now I've only had to avoid the odd dog and walker and the occasional child on a scooter. This was different and as I have to focus on the floor about 10ft in front of me I was finding the flash of trainers quite mesmerising.
There was a secondary goal. I was aiming for a time of 1:55:00 but my happy window was 1:55:00 to 1:59:59 i.e. anything under 2 hours. Although I didn't pay much attention to the Garmin on my foot, I ran at what I considered a comfortable pace for the time I was aiming for. It was only as I reached mile 12 I noticed I wasn't going to make 1:55:00 but I finished in around 1:57:30 (tbc) with quite a decent sprint finish so I was happy.
I had all sorts of comments from other runners and spectators. Far too many to mention here, but there was lots of "Oh my God!", lots of "Fair play, mate!", a "That's just showing off!" and my personal favourite "Now that's just silly!".
Everyone was really supportive. Firstly I'd like to thank the organisers for letting me do it but the other runners were great too. Lots of encouraging words. I hope I didn't get in anyone's way. I had to take a wide berth round some of the sharper turns as it got a bit congested. I'd particularly like to thank the guy that guided me over the metal walkway they'd put over the gravel we had to cross. He made sure I had a clear path and talked me though it. The balls really didn't bounce too well on it.
It was great to have my family there too. I could hear them cheering from the stands and I could hear my son as he chased me all the way down one of the straights.
I did have to get patched up by St John's at the end. Nothing too serious but at around mile 5 the tip of my right index finger split open and by the end of the race my left one had split too, It's a consequence of dry winter hands. The split on my right finger is really quite deep and is going to take a while to heal. It doesn't make typing this a comfortable experience!
So, overall a very positive experience. Now to focus on the Brighton marathon (without balls) before picking up the basketball training again.
Friday, 11 March 2016
Nice Crossover!
So I've been concentrating on improving my pace for the Brighton marathon of late and have neglected my balls recently. However, the Silverstone half is this Sunday and I needed to break in the new race balls I'd ordered. I only pumped them up this morning so I needed to spend some time with them making sure the pressures were right. I took one of the babies I look after to the park, along with the two balls this morning. I pushed the him in the swing whilst dribbling the balls, and he went back and forth just dribbling (he goes through a lot of bibs). Because they're brand new they need a bit of scuffing up. They have a bit of a greasy, oily feel to them from when they were made.
After work this evening I went back to the playground at dusk to work on them some more. Practising some skills with my back to the main park I heard a "Nice crossover!" from a guy walking his dog. It turns out he used to play a bit. We had a good chat and he might even go and have a runout at my old club. It's nice meeting new people locally - that's what I like about my job.
Anyway, the balls feel OK but I'm going to give them a scrub in the bath later to remove whatever that oil is. I'll have another little practise with them tomorrow.
I'm feeling pretty good about Sunday. It should be fun. I expect I'll attract a bit of attention and I'm hoping I'll have the energy to put in a decent sprint finish. I'm looking forward to seeing how many people I can demoralise by overtaking them in the final straight. It's always good to be doing the overtaking at the end - it means you've paced yourself well. I'll make another blog post Sunday night and that's when I'm going to go public with the record attempt and this blog. It'll be interesting to see how that affects my viewing stats and whether anyone gives a sh*t!
See you Sunday, Silverstone!
PS. I've been thinking about having that last minute nervous pit stop and contemplating having to ask someone:
"Excuse me, would you mind holding my balls while I have a wee?"
After work this evening I went back to the playground at dusk to work on them some more. Practising some skills with my back to the main park I heard a "Nice crossover!" from a guy walking his dog. It turns out he used to play a bit. We had a good chat and he might even go and have a runout at my old club. It's nice meeting new people locally - that's what I like about my job.
Anyway, the balls feel OK but I'm going to give them a scrub in the bath later to remove whatever that oil is. I'll have another little practise with them tomorrow.
I'm feeling pretty good about Sunday. It should be fun. I expect I'll attract a bit of attention and I'm hoping I'll have the energy to put in a decent sprint finish. I'm looking forward to seeing how many people I can demoralise by overtaking them in the final straight. It's always good to be doing the overtaking at the end - it means you've paced yourself well. I'll make another blog post Sunday night and that's when I'm going to go public with the record attempt and this blog. It'll be interesting to see how that affects my viewing stats and whether anyone gives a sh*t!
See you Sunday, Silverstone!
PS. I've been thinking about having that last minute nervous pit stop and contemplating having to ask someone:
"Excuse me, would you mind holding my balls while I have a wee?"
 |
| New race balls |
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Busted Garmin
So its been three and a half weeks since I've been out with the basketballs. I had to take 10 days off from running completely due to a virus but ran the Bramley 10 (without basketballs) on Sunday. I followed this with 7.22 miles at a 7:20 minute mile pace last night with Petts Wood Runners. Not necessarily a great idea ahead of todays planned 13.5 miles but there you go.
Despite working perfectly last night and having been charging this morning, I got to the park and my Garmin would not switch on. It seems to have died. Problem! I had no choice but to run without it using the church clock to roughly judge my pace each lap. I wanted to try and run 9 minute miles and while I was moving I probably did that. However, without the clock visibly ticking I took a little longer each lap to have a drink and get jelly babies out of my back pack. I also stopped after six laps for an energy gel.
As I intend wearing a chest video camera at the Silverstone Half in March I thought I'd better practise running with it. I didn't switch it on to begin with and it was just as well as it was a bit loose and flopped down during the first lap. I then got my thumb caught on it and lost a ball briefly but once I'd stopped to tighten the screw I had no further problems.
It was a really nice day for running. A little cold but as my upper body is doing a lot of work too, I soon get warm. It's been the first time for a long while that all the paths have been dry which makes it a little easier on the hands but I already had a split finger before I even started today. Due to the time of year, the nature of my work (which means washing my hands all the time) and being outside a lot, my fingers are cracking and splitting. I had to bandage one up and tape the finger of a surgical glove over it to protect it. This worked well so it didn't affect my performance too badly.
It was tough doing an extra 2.2 miles on top of my last outing. There wasn't too much to report in terms of incident and comment (perhaps because people could see I had a camera strapped to me) but I did have to negotiate a large woman and her little dog who took up the whole path at one point - woman on one side (looking the other way pretending she couldn't hear me coming) and dog on the other attached by a retractable lead. I just bounced over the lead and the dog.
The major talking point came on the final lap as a council van was driving down the path. There's a really dodgy bit of path that has been wrecked by tree roots which I avoid running over, never mind bouncing balls over. As the van had taken the good bit of path I had to take the lumpy bit if I was to keep going. Sadly I hit a particularly bad lump and a ball rolled off under the van. It got caught under the double back wheels and is never going to be quite the same again!
So I did about 13.5 miles in about 2hrs 10 minutes. Slower than I wanted but I've now done the distance (for Silverstone). I'm still confident I can beat 2 hours and push for 1:55 on the day.
You can see the video of 'basketball vs van' on YouTube via this link:
https://youtu.be/F07XXhHNP00
Despite working perfectly last night and having been charging this morning, I got to the park and my Garmin would not switch on. It seems to have died. Problem! I had no choice but to run without it using the church clock to roughly judge my pace each lap. I wanted to try and run 9 minute miles and while I was moving I probably did that. However, without the clock visibly ticking I took a little longer each lap to have a drink and get jelly babies out of my back pack. I also stopped after six laps for an energy gel.
As I intend wearing a chest video camera at the Silverstone Half in March I thought I'd better practise running with it. I didn't switch it on to begin with and it was just as well as it was a bit loose and flopped down during the first lap. I then got my thumb caught on it and lost a ball briefly but once I'd stopped to tighten the screw I had no further problems.
It was a really nice day for running. A little cold but as my upper body is doing a lot of work too, I soon get warm. It's been the first time for a long while that all the paths have been dry which makes it a little easier on the hands but I already had a split finger before I even started today. Due to the time of year, the nature of my work (which means washing my hands all the time) and being outside a lot, my fingers are cracking and splitting. I had to bandage one up and tape the finger of a surgical glove over it to protect it. This worked well so it didn't affect my performance too badly.
It was tough doing an extra 2.2 miles on top of my last outing. There wasn't too much to report in terms of incident and comment (perhaps because people could see I had a camera strapped to me) but I did have to negotiate a large woman and her little dog who took up the whole path at one point - woman on one side (looking the other way pretending she couldn't hear me coming) and dog on the other attached by a retractable lead. I just bounced over the lead and the dog.
The major talking point came on the final lap as a council van was driving down the path. There's a really dodgy bit of path that has been wrecked by tree roots which I avoid running over, never mind bouncing balls over. As the van had taken the good bit of path I had to take the lumpy bit if I was to keep going. Sadly I hit a particularly bad lump and a ball rolled off under the van. It got caught under the double back wheels and is never going to be quite the same again!
So I did about 13.5 miles in about 2hrs 10 minutes. Slower than I wanted but I've now done the distance (for Silverstone). I'm still confident I can beat 2 hours and push for 1:55 on the day.
You can see the video of 'basketball vs van' on YouTube via this link:
https://youtu.be/F07XXhHNP00
 |
| I stopped each lap to keep a tally in the dirt on the car. |
Sunday, 24 January 2016
"Are you going ALL the way round the park?"
...Yes. Ten times sir.
It was really quite warm today. Fourteen degrees by the time I'd finished. I wished I'd worn short sleeves. The weather was much better than my last outing with far less wind to contend with and no flooding, although the paths were still wet. Pretty good conditions in fact apart from the top corner of the back straight which was very wet and muddy from the Junior Parkrun they do on a Sunday morning. It's this bit of track that obscured my Garmin screen every lap.
Because it was considerably warmer than it has been, there were a lot of people in the park but thankfully all the dog owners had good control over their animals this week. I stopped briefly every mile as usual to wipe the mud from my Garmin and check my pace. I also took the opportunity to take on water from my camelback at this point.
The first seven miles or so were pretty uneventful but I did begin to get a few comments this week - the first of which is the title of this post. The following lap the gentleman in question removed his cap and proclaimed "I take my hat off to you sir!" On about the ninth lap a runner caught up with me and we had a brief chat on the move:
"Marathon?"
"Yes, next year."
"What's the current record?"
"4 hours, 10 minutes and 44 seconds."
"You'll do it easily at that pace."
"I know."
"Good luck!" And off he went.
On my final lap all the football games in the park had finished and the players were making their way home. As I passed a bunch of lads, one asked:
"What lap are you on?"
"Ten"
One of the other lads then colourfully expressed his astonishment!
Finally, after I'd finished and was stretching my calf muscles, leaning against the car with the balls at my feet, a small West Highland Terrier approached. He had a little sniff of my balls (you know, the way dogs do) - seriously though, I mean the basketballs. He walked round them and then cocked his leg! Fortunately his little squirt fell short but the owner was very apologetic.
So, I did ten laps which is 11.26 miles in 1:38:46. That makes an average pace per mile of 8:46. Not bad and still well within world record pace. Just another 15 miles to do.
I may not go out with the balls quite so often for the moment so my blog posts may be a little less frequent. I've decided that the Silverstone Half is not going to be a problem now and the important thing to focus on is getting fit enough to finish the Brighton Marathon in under 3:15 thus guaranteeing me entry to London 2017 for the record attempt. I've also got the Bramley 20 to run in three weeks.
Oh, and I lost a ball once today, damn it!
It was really quite warm today. Fourteen degrees by the time I'd finished. I wished I'd worn short sleeves. The weather was much better than my last outing with far less wind to contend with and no flooding, although the paths were still wet. Pretty good conditions in fact apart from the top corner of the back straight which was very wet and muddy from the Junior Parkrun they do on a Sunday morning. It's this bit of track that obscured my Garmin screen every lap.
Because it was considerably warmer than it has been, there were a lot of people in the park but thankfully all the dog owners had good control over their animals this week. I stopped briefly every mile as usual to wipe the mud from my Garmin and check my pace. I also took the opportunity to take on water from my camelback at this point.
The first seven miles or so were pretty uneventful but I did begin to get a few comments this week - the first of which is the title of this post. The following lap the gentleman in question removed his cap and proclaimed "I take my hat off to you sir!" On about the ninth lap a runner caught up with me and we had a brief chat on the move:
"Marathon?"
"Yes, next year."
"What's the current record?"
"4 hours, 10 minutes and 44 seconds."
"You'll do it easily at that pace."
"I know."
"Good luck!" And off he went.
On my final lap all the football games in the park had finished and the players were making their way home. As I passed a bunch of lads, one asked:
"What lap are you on?"
"Ten"
One of the other lads then colourfully expressed his astonishment!
Finally, after I'd finished and was stretching my calf muscles, leaning against the car with the balls at my feet, a small West Highland Terrier approached. He had a little sniff of my balls (you know, the way dogs do) - seriously though, I mean the basketballs. He walked round them and then cocked his leg! Fortunately his little squirt fell short but the owner was very apologetic.
So, I did ten laps which is 11.26 miles in 1:38:46. That makes an average pace per mile of 8:46. Not bad and still well within world record pace. Just another 15 miles to do.
I may not go out with the balls quite so often for the moment so my blog posts may be a little less frequent. I've decided that the Silverstone Half is not going to be a problem now and the important thing to focus on is getting fit enough to finish the Brighton Marathon in under 3:15 thus guaranteeing me entry to London 2017 for the record attempt. I've also got the Bramley 20 to run in three weeks.
Oh, and I lost a ball once today, damn it!
 |
| It wasn't immediately obvious what my time was! |
Thursday, 7 January 2016
New Year, New Balls
So, it's been nearly three weeks since I've been out with the balls. I have been out running, including the Box Hill Knacker Cracker on new years day which prevented me from training with the balls on Sunday because I ached so much. However, my right hand has recovered nicely.
Before Christmas I emailed Molten to tell my contact how my training was going with the two balls they kindly sent me to test. I included a link to this blog to prove I wasn't just a chancer selling the balls off on ebay. As I'd settled on the cheaper rubber ball as the best option (given what the more expensive ball did to my hand last time out) I put in a cheeky request for another couple of balls to continue my training with. I thought that given these balls retail for £10-£12 I presented excellent potential for some cheap publicity for them but I haven't heard a peep from them. I'm kidding myself that my contact is speaking to her bosses about putting together a serious sponsorship package for me but I'm not, in all honesty, holding my breath. Maybe they're waiting until after the Silverstone Half? Anyway, I bought myself a couple of new balls.
I was free all day today between school runs but I had to wait until gone 1pm for it to stop raining. I decided to wear my camelback water carrier and I had to spend some time getting the right pressure into the new balls but when I started off I lost a ball at the first corner, the wind was so strong. I lost control another two or three times on that back straight where it was so windy the gusts were like sticking your head out of a car window on the motorway, making it difficult to breathe. Halfway round the first lap the path was flooded and having had such a battle down that back straight I thought to myself 'Sod this! I'm going to throw the balls in the car and just go for a run'. But the sun came out briefly on the less windy side of the park and I decided to persevere.
There were four sections of path where I had no option but to pick up the balls to jog through flooding and I was chased briefly by several excited dogs at various points. I had to stop dribbling at one point so one woman could catch up with her dog that had done a runner when it saw me coming. She was screaming his name after him in increasing desperation: 'Budgie! Budgie! BUDGIEEEEE!' Yes, it's a stupid name for a dog isn't it? Anyway it turns out he was frightened of the balls so I had to wait for her to catch him. Another (thankfully small) dog took a particularly aggressive tone with me and took a bite at my leg. I stopped briefly to see if I was bleeding but didn't seem to be so I carried on. It's only as I write this that I've examined my leg more closely and noticed the little sh*t has punctured the skin.
At one point on that notorious back straight, the wind gusted so hard that it took a ball out from under me. It blew so hard that it was tricky catching up with it running back up the path. I lost a lot of time there.
I was a little concerned for my hands in the cold and wet, particularly in the top corner where the path was very sandy but I'm pleased to report that both my hands are unscathed this week. Ideally I would've liked to do an extra lap this week but the conditions and the fast approaching school run meant I had to settle for another nine laps. I did 10.26 miles in 1:35:02 which is an average page of 9:16. A little disappointing but it was my first trip out since Christmas and the conditions were the worst I encountered so far. I should be satisfied.
Maybe I'll hear from Molten before my next post?!
Before Christmas I emailed Molten to tell my contact how my training was going with the two balls they kindly sent me to test. I included a link to this blog to prove I wasn't just a chancer selling the balls off on ebay. As I'd settled on the cheaper rubber ball as the best option (given what the more expensive ball did to my hand last time out) I put in a cheeky request for another couple of balls to continue my training with. I thought that given these balls retail for £10-£12 I presented excellent potential for some cheap publicity for them but I haven't heard a peep from them. I'm kidding myself that my contact is speaking to her bosses about putting together a serious sponsorship package for me but I'm not, in all honesty, holding my breath. Maybe they're waiting until after the Silverstone Half? Anyway, I bought myself a couple of new balls.
I was free all day today between school runs but I had to wait until gone 1pm for it to stop raining. I decided to wear my camelback water carrier and I had to spend some time getting the right pressure into the new balls but when I started off I lost a ball at the first corner, the wind was so strong. I lost control another two or three times on that back straight where it was so windy the gusts were like sticking your head out of a car window on the motorway, making it difficult to breathe. Halfway round the first lap the path was flooded and having had such a battle down that back straight I thought to myself 'Sod this! I'm going to throw the balls in the car and just go for a run'. But the sun came out briefly on the less windy side of the park and I decided to persevere.
There were four sections of path where I had no option but to pick up the balls to jog through flooding and I was chased briefly by several excited dogs at various points. I had to stop dribbling at one point so one woman could catch up with her dog that had done a runner when it saw me coming. She was screaming his name after him in increasing desperation: 'Budgie! Budgie! BUDGIEEEEE!' Yes, it's a stupid name for a dog isn't it? Anyway it turns out he was frightened of the balls so I had to wait for her to catch him. Another (thankfully small) dog took a particularly aggressive tone with me and took a bite at my leg. I stopped briefly to see if I was bleeding but didn't seem to be so I carried on. It's only as I write this that I've examined my leg more closely and noticed the little sh*t has punctured the skin.
At one point on that notorious back straight, the wind gusted so hard that it took a ball out from under me. It blew so hard that it was tricky catching up with it running back up the path. I lost a lot of time there.
I was a little concerned for my hands in the cold and wet, particularly in the top corner where the path was very sandy but I'm pleased to report that both my hands are unscathed this week. Ideally I would've liked to do an extra lap this week but the conditions and the fast approaching school run meant I had to settle for another nine laps. I did 10.26 miles in 1:35:02 which is an average page of 9:16. A little disappointing but it was my first trip out since Christmas and the conditions were the worst I encountered so far. I should be satisfied.
Maybe I'll hear from Molten before my next post?!
Sunday, 20 December 2015
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!
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 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)