March - To re-start or to stall?

Hello hello!

Well after last months awful training programme, I started feeling the heat a little... if only due to the growing hypocrisy of trying to encourage my friends to train, whilst I sat with my feet up :)

I decided I had to raise the bar with my training as time was ticking and I'd done enough 6k runs to build my general fitness up, so I knocked the distance up to 10k and decided that this was the distance I needed to focus on. However, as I was just starting at this distance, the focus would be on the number of runs rather than the time at this point.

10km
05/03 - 56:37
12/03 - 51:52
25/03 - 49:56
31/03 - 57:50

The last run was a particularly bad one sadly. This was due to having the day off work, and slobbing about and not making any food. This meant when I started on my run in the late afternoon I was running off my pre-run booster of a few mini-eggs and a banana. This worked very well for two thirds of the course, but after I'd burnt them off, there was no food at all left inside me to burn, which led to a chronic collapse in performance for the last third. The legs really did refuse to obey, and they felt more tired then what they had during the Great North Run. I think this showed me just how important diet is for these longer runs.

Anyway, looking back at the month, I felt I'd managed to recover it a bit... but could have done more runs. If I'm going to get a better time than last year, I'd need to step things up as there wasn't enough runs this month to get much of an improvement... but it was a start at least and would stand me in good stead for Aprils. Next month would be make or break time I felt, and as I entered May, I felt the mental resolve was finally there again to get out and hit the streets.

Andy

February - Lent or gluttony?

Hello avid Jog Blog readers... or just bored souls

Apologies for not updating the blog in a while. I'd love to tell you that it is because of a lack of spare time due to training so hard, but as you'll find out, that would be a lie!

At the end of January, with only days to go, I left you with the "Cliffhanger" of whether I would last the reaming few days of my non-alcohol stint. Well sadly things didn't go according to plan, and I failed to make it :( I lasted till January 28th when I went to my cousin's 18th Birthday party. I had intended in not drinking at this, but when I'd seen how they'd gone to such a great effort to make me feel welcome by buying in some Guinness (I'm the only one in the family who drinks it), I decided the date was a bit academic and wasn't worth appearing ungrateful for the effort they had put in... never mind, there's always next time!

Anyway, onto the training runs in February... well... there weren't any! That's right, for Lent I decided to give up jogging, and descend into a party lifestyle. In the end, it just turned out to be a busy month for me. One weekend was taken up with my birthday (I'm now a quarter of a century old!). This was a weekend well spent in my books... action packed, with all you can eat Chinese, trip to Manchester, a couple of games of bowling, and an expedition to Staly Vegas with both Rangers and Uni mates. Another weekend was taken up round at Justin's new place which was fun. There was also a weekend spent on holiday in Bratislava. This was a fantastic trip. There was only three out of the usual four (Anton, Paul and myself.... Marcus Trescothick was absent due to high government workloads, well somebody's got to make sure that the next generation of kids understand the stats on Football Manager 2006!). Bratislava is a fantastic city, with some great looking areas, as well as some not so great ones, which by Western standards could look quiet intimidating. However, even in the not so great ones, we were made to feel welcome and I saw no trouble all the time we were over there. It just goes to show how true that old saying, "You shouldn't judge a book by its front cover!" can be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating throwing caution to the wind in unfamiliar countries, just that sometimes it's worth taking a step back and asking if there really is any evidence to be worried, and not going off appearances alone.

Anyway, to recap, February's training had been none existent, and so heading into March the thought did cross my mind as to whether I was putting enough effort in to deserve a place in the Great Manchester Run? After all, it didn't seem like it based on this month's performance. Would I be able to snap out of this casualness I had adopted towards my training, or would I be following the path of George Best into career retirement before my time due to a heavy party lifestyle? Only time will tell...

Cheers

Andy

New Year, New Training regime

Hello!

Well it's been a while, and a lot happened since the last blog. Halloween... Christmas... and New Year in Cork. December was a particular bad month for health, with lots of drinking on an epic scale. New Year was a particularly big session, and it meant that starting January, I wasn't in the best of states.

So, first things first, I thought I'd lay off the alcohol till early Feb and give my body time to recover. Second, was to start my training runs back up. Third was to sign up to the Great Manchester Run on Sunday 21st May 2006.

So how am I doing?

Well, I've still not had a drink, though with the speed dating and my cousins 18th this week, it will be the toughest test I've had.

I've signed up for the Manchester run, and am aiming to do it (injury, weather and traffic permitting) between 40 and 45 minutes

Finally, the training. Well for January, I didn't want to push to hard to soon, so I just did my medium 6km course, and focused on getting my body use to running it a couple of times a week.

6.2km
03/01 - 29:28
08/01 - 29:25
14/01 - 28:36
21/01 - 27:30
22/01 - 28:08
24/01 - 29:24 - late, very cold and after food!

Well, it's a start, and I'm happy with it. In February, I'll be looking to start including some training advice from various souces into my training plan, and we'll see what happens. For the moment though, the big question is if I can make it through to February without a drink!!!

Cheers

Andy

Great North Run Special - 18/09/2005

Hello, and welcome to the Great North special. Well this is what the whole nine months of training has been building up to.

Forename(s) Surname Race Number Time Race Position
Andrew Shirres 16015 01:49:49 4461 out of 38011

We stayed at Newcastle Uni - Castle Leazes. It was excellent value, we got a pasta party in the evening and a breakfast in the morning thrown in. There was even a quiz. All in all they made us feel really welcome.

In the morning, I had a light English breakfast, got my banana, and headed off to the start. There was a really good atmosphere at the start line, with the red falcons doing a formation parachute jump, the Ashes being displayed by Paul Collingwood and lots of people in fantastic fancy dress.

The starting gun went, and we were off! It was good to get underway after all the standing around! As we ran along I was dreading the image of Gateshead Stadium as this was the marker for the tallest and longest hill on the course. After about four miles I started going through a bit of a rough patch for a while. It was very hard to run at the pace that I was use to as there was just a sea of people as far as the I could see. There was also lots of short, steep, inclines round here. after a while I recovered and felt ready to step it up a gear, but still hadn't seen Gateshead stadium. I must have missed it as I ran across the Black Bull junction at the top of the course.

Somewhere around here someone was in an unfortunate state and an ambulance had to be called for them. Whilst obviously unfortunate for the person who needed it, it did clear a corridor through the crowds and I got in it's slip stream and got a half mile of uncrowded running.

I remember seeing the 10km marker and thinking back to the manchester run. I looked at my watch and it was something like 56 minutes at the time. Not the best really!!! But given how slow the start was it wasn't surprising. Somewhere round here, I passed the first army guy. Like Manchester, he was wearing a full pack so it wasn't much of an achievement.

Around the seven mile mark I saw an old chap who was doing remarkeably well. He had an England shirt on so I had a bit of a laugh with him that at least someone was doing the shirt proud! Ended up having a chat with him for a few minutes about Englands problems, then wished him luck, and then carried on.

Around the nine mile mark we were entering the housing estates of South Shields, and the locals were being really friendly. They had sliced oranges, ice lollies, biscuits... it turned into more of a food crawl!!!!!!!!!!

When I finally turned the corner onto South Shields sea front with one mile to go, I began to get quite excited. The end felt near, but the last stretch did seem to be the longest mile! I heard our support team near the pub at the finish line, but sadly didn't see them!

Anyway, I crossed the line in a time of 1 h and 49 mins and 49 seconds finishing 4461st out of about 50,000. It was a fantastic day and I've raised over £500 for the Biritsh Red Cross, so a big thank you to all the people who have sponsored me, as they managed to turn an event that would have only benefitted me, into one that will benefit many both in the UK and abroad.

Thanks very much all, I hope you've enjoyed reading the jog blog, I may restart it next year for the Manchester 10K, but I expect this to be the last post for a while!

Over and out!

Andy

Training for week commencing 04/09/2005

The first run of the week was actually the second leg of a back 2 back 8 milers (having done one the day before). Needless to say this was quite challenging and my time wasn't great because of the previous one. It was also the week that I increased the furthest I'd ever ran to 11.2 miles. All in all a successfull week!

13km (8 miles)
04/09 - 67:01

18km (11.2 miles)
10/09 - 89:46

After I'd run the 18km run though I felt I slight pull of my right calf muscle. This was a bit annoying as it meant I had to play it safe and have the rest of the next week off which was the final few days before the Great North Run.

Andy

Training for week commencing 28/08/2005

Well it's starting to get closer to the Great North Run now. The training needed to be up'd, but I did not have the time to go for a longer run, so just stuck to the usual 8 mile runs...

13km (8 miles)
30/08 - 64:25
03/09 - 64:20

The total distance I've run so far is 393.8 km.

Andy

Training for week commencing 21/08/2005

Joy of joys, the bank holiday weekend was at the end of this week! And this meant a trip to Madrid for me for a friends 40th Birthday. This meant that despite a promising start to the weeks training, I wasn't able to turn it into a hardcore running week with 3 runs. On the plus side it was a really great holiday and plenty of fun with far to much Tapas!!!

In other news, my exercise on the football pitch was getting better as Bramhall Rangers had won 3 in a row after this weeks game!

Anyway, back to the running! After not having made much of a breakthrough in my running times due to a general lack of energy in the last third of the 8 mile runs, a friend from work sugegsted something so odd that it just might work... Jelly Babies! Sure enough, no energy loss meant I was able to keep up my speed and get my best time yet over the distance! Obviously I would only use the best type of Jelly Babies which as everyone should know is Bassett's!

10km
21/08 - 55:34

13km (8 miles)
23/08 - 59:45 - New Personal Best!

The total distance now run in training is up to 367.8km

Andy

Training for week commencing 14/08/2005

Well after recovering from my mates wedding, I needed to push ahead with this weeks training as time was ticking away and the start of the Great North Run was getting closer! After my first run of this week at 8 miles I noticed my time was getting worse every time I attempted it. This was a bit worrying, as whilst I'm not that focused on the time, after three attempts, I wasn't expecting the times to make a nice graph showing me going slower! Thankfully the second run of the week changed that form thanks to a lot of grited teeth! Also the weather may well have played its part, as the second run of the week was in the not uncommon "Manchester Grey" type weather, whereas, the others had been in weather more at home on the Costa Del Sol! So I'm definitely hoping for a dry but cloudy day for the Great North!

13km (8 miles)
17/08 - 66:26
20/08 - 63:37

This brought the total distance I have now run in training is up to 344.8km. This is equivalent to running all the way from Stockport to Newcastle, and then back to Northallerton!

Andy

Training for week commencing 07/08/2005

Well, another week, another set of training runs. With the increasing distance, the time it takes to do them goes up too. I beginning to find it really hard to fit these distances in with a hectic work and social life... something had to give, but what. Well in true male fashion it was the house work. My flat is now a bit of a tip, with the usual hygiene standard going down hill. However, given that we never once properly cleaned the kitchen and bathroom at uni, I reckon my immune system can cope with the less than perfect cleanliness! Anyway back to the runs...

10km
07/08 - 53:38

The total distance I have now run in training is up to 318.8km

Andy

Training for week commencing 31/07/2005

Well only two training runs this week due to lazyness on my part mid week. Still it was an important week as I did manage my first Eminem run... 8 miles geddit! It also happens to be 13km, and then topped it off with another on Saturday! Finally managed a distance which is over the half the Great North Run distance which is reassuring. Still, on this longer distances I have noticed that I am feeling a distinct lack of energy towards the end. I've tried things like bannan's an hour or so before but still get this feeling of a hole in my stomach. I'll start looking into this but don't have time today!

13km (8 miles)
31/07 - 61:07
06/08 - 63:51

This means the total distance I have now run in training is up to 308.8, and breaking the 300 barrier is another milestone.

Andy

Training for week commencing 24/07/2005

Well another week and another set of runs! I went for two 10K runs this week as I held off on the Saturday as I planned to do a 8 mile run for the Sunday of the next week.

10km
24/07 - 51:09
27/07 - 49:20 - Yay another 10K run under 50 minutes, this use to be a standard thing before the Manchester run, but now it's a rare one!

Total distance that I've run in training is now 282.8 km

Training for week commencing 17/07/2005

Well this was my most interesting training week since I started. I set myself the challenge of three 10Km runs, and managed it... just! I got my best 10km time since the Great Manchester run, and followed it up with my worst time ever!

10km
19/07 - 49:24
20/07 - 56:53
23/07 - 50:26

Now you'll notice that the run on 20/07 has an appalling time compared with the usual time area I aim for. This happenend due to me hitting "the wall" which worryingly is known in the running world as "bonking". Needless to say I wasn't expecting it, and it was a surreal experience as my heart & lungs were OK, my legs weren't in any more pain then they usually were, and then all of a sudden I stopped! I had no control over it and the legs simply wouldn't respond to start with. I only had about 2 km left so had to do a mixture of walking and running which really damaged my time. I think this was caused by diet, as I had only had two cookies since lunch and the training run was later than usual. Also I hadn't had any Banana's as the supermarket had sold out of them... typical

Anyway, after getting another education, it spawned my 5th lesson in running:
Lesson 5: Cookies might taste great, but Banana's stop you bonking!

Anyway, the total distance run so far is 262.8 km. This is further than running from Stockport to Newcastle Upon Tyne! I wonder if I can make it back by the start of the Great North.

Andy

Training for week commencing 10/07/2005

Well a great start to my second attempt at getting training in for the Great North. The Sunday (i.e. 10th) had been the day after the stag do where I had finished drinking at 04:00 am. By the evening though I felt that I was OK to do a run, and given the time left before the Great North also decided that I needed to raise the bar to a minimum of 10K training runs now!

10km
10/07 - 53:18
13/07 - 53:02

Sadly I didn't get a run in on the Saturday as it was another friends wedding. However it was well worth missing out on a training run as it was a great day and a fantastic laugh.

This meant for the first time in roughly a month I could update my total distance run count which now stands at 232.8 km

Andy

Training for week commencing 03/07/2005

Well, back from holiday, but catching up at work and home and a friends Stag do ate most of my time up so again no training. Things aren't looking good for the Great North given my appaling training over the last month! However after a bit of friendly banter off some work colleagues of it turning into my "Summer of sitting on my arse" I vowed to get some serious training in the following week.

Andy

Training for week commencing 19/06/2005 & 26/06/2005

Well both of these weeks I was on holiday, so naturally did no training runs, dranks lots beer (though the price did limit it to not being the usual holiday amount!), and had lots of food. All in all I guess I did some serious damage to my overall fitness! However lugging my heavy backpack around must have given me some exercise... at least thats the story I'm sticking to.

Anyway here's me in the arctic circle towards the top of Finland...

And here's another of me dressing up as a local...

It was a great holiday with the only drawback being the price of beer, throughly recommend it though and I would love to get to Nord Kapp at the top of Norway!

Andy

Training for week commencing 12/06/2005

Well, no training runs this week as I had the U2 concert, REM concert and packing my bags for a two week holiday and catching the flight to Helsinki on the Saturday meaning I didn't have much time spare.

Here's a photo of me on the Saturday passing through Copenhagen.

Training for week commencing 05/06/2005

Well not updated the blog in a while so appologies for my lazyness! Thankfully my running hasn't been as lazy. This was a good week for training times, but the distance could have been a bit longer ideally...

6.2km
05/06 - 26:55
07/06 - 25:56

The total distance I've now run in training is up to 212.8 km

Andy

Training for week commencing 29/05/2005

After last weeks poor show I struggled to break out of my new found sloth like attitude. However, by Saturday, I realised I needed to break this attitude, so got a 6.2km run in... but had I spent to much time sitting on the couch?

6.2km
04/06 - 28:46

Now I've had stitches before, but the one I had on this run really felt as if someone had stabbed me just under the ribs on my right hand side with a knife! I ended upp bent double at one point whilst people drove past in there cars (most probably laughing)! I ended up having to walk for a bit, and once I remembered the breathing technique I'd read about on the web, it soon went away and I carried on running again. The time wasn't great, but interestingly, it was still better than some of my earlier ones even with walking!

The total distance I've now run in training is 200.4km, which is equivalent to running from Stockport to Durham as the car drives!

Andy

(lack of) Training for week commencing 22/05/2005

Well after the high of the Great Manchester Run I decided I'd spend the week sitting on sette instead of running! A bit of a poor show but in my defence I did use the week to donate a pint of blood which probably would have meant training would only have ended in disaster!

Speaking of disasters, Bramhall Rangers lost again...

Andy

Great Manchester Run Special!

Well hello. A special report for the day of the Great Manchester Run 2005. For those short on time, the end result is below...

Final Result
Name Time Pos. (Race)
Andrew Shirres 00:45:20 1158

Overall Results (excluding elite and disabled althletes)
Name Pos. (Search)
Andrew Shirres 825 out of 12881

Results for Male ages 20-29
Name Pos. (Search)
Andrew Shirres 275 out of 2133

For those with a bit more time, the full story started on Saturday! Waking up early for the excitement of FA Cup final day I decided to pack my back. It was at this point I realised that I'd lost my number and microchip for recording the time! After tearing the flat to bits, I came to the conclusion that in one of my rare tidying up spree's, I must have thrown it in the bin!!!!!!! Disaster!!!!!!!!

With only two hours to kick off, I had to get into Manchester, confess to my stupidity to the Great Run officials and hope they took a sympathetic view. Thankfully it seems that they expect a certain number of people like me every year, so I got a replacement number and managed to get back with half hour to spare in time to watch the FA Cup final.

The big race day arrived and the atmosphere was fantastic! The excitement and camaraderie was something else, and as the wave I was in approached the start line the crowd reached fever pitch. A quick song from the Halle orchestra and we were away!

The first 400m were at walking pace, some people pretended to jog, but me and Mark, just walked. An overtaking lane somehow developed and we quickly got in that. However with all the crowd progress was slower than I would have liked.

As I passed the Museum of Science and Industry, I overtook two army recruits. My pride in out running two of Britain's finest, was short lived when I realised that they were carrying fully loaded backpacks! As Mark and me were heading towards Old Trafford on Bridgewater Way, we caught up with one of my friends known as Pie. He'd started off in the wave in front, so I knew we were going at a good pace!



There were a few pinch points around the course where track narrowed and people bunched and overtaking was impossible. As we were leaving Old Trafford on the return leg, Mark and I managed to get in the wake of wheel chair athlete as he carved his way through the crowd! A great idea if you can manage it but as this part of the course was mainly down hill, keeping up with him became too much of a challenge and we were left to battle it out with the masses. Somewhere around here we overtook another friend of mine called Mini though I didn't see him sadly.

Next was the home straight on Deansgate and any thought of a sprint finish quickly evaporated with the huge crush developing ahead. I crossed the line in a bit of a daze from the run as it turned out I'd managed to put in a personal best!. A big credit has to go to my running partner Mark for much of the race, who in the last kilometre, despite getting a broken rib on Easter week and having to miss 7 weeks worth of training, managed to come back and finish first out of our group in an incredible time of 44:33

A big group picture of those of us who managed to meet at the end is below...



Big Pete, Me, Mini, Pie!

Andy