Fed up with ordinaryExtra ordinary is where it's at

Saturday saw my first two run day. I wanted to see how I would cope with running when tired but it also meant I could get in a good mileage in one day.

The day started with a run in the company of my brother-in-law, Mr Mark Sprenger. He’s just started running and was up to about two miles. I’d told him that was nonsense and, seeing as he’d done that distance three or four times now, he could easily run much more than that.

He insisted that he couldn’t and also refused to believe that he was running too fast.

Anyway we set off and it was an effort to slow him down! He shot off at a ridiculous pace – probably about 9mph! The young whipper-snapper reminded me of me, out for a run with that wily old fox JP many years ago in my first attempt to get into running (I was unsuccessful then!).

We settled into a much more reasonable pace and made good progress through the parks. All in all we did 4.5 miles in about 45 minutes, which Mark was (rightly) impressed with.

Later on we went out for a walk through Longshaw and then retired to the shelter of the Fox House for food. It was snowing heavily at this point. I was going to run back from there while everyone else drove back and wasn’t too impressed with the snow.

In the pub, I had a dilemma over food. What do you eat before a run? I mean, I know what you should eat ideally, but in a pub there’s really only pub food. I was starving hungry as I’d not eaten loads after my run in the morning and so settled for a shepherd’s pie.

We didn’t stay long after that and I set off for the run home only 30 minutes after lunch. My stomach was still heavy but thankfully it had stopped snowing.

The route back was 9 miles, bringing my total to 13.5 for the day. It was all done in my Five Fingers, which is the furthest I’ve run in them in one day.

The next day my calves ached a little but I was able to walk and run without any issues at all. That’s good news for me as I was a little worried that my calves would be in pain. I must be getting stronger!

Now I’ve done a couple of 13 miles in a day, my next target is an 18 mile run. I think I’ll do one more 13 miler and then up it to 18 miles in a couple of weeks. Then by the first week of April I need to up it again to 24 miles or perhaps a full 26 miles.

Well, yesterday saw my first 13 mile run. In the snow.

We’d been planning the route for a while but to wake on Sunday morning to about 6 inches of snow was a shock. The run would be off, or so I thought. We were all up for cancelling the run but JP kept strong. He was going to go out anyway… That made me feel like a wimp and so reluctantly I said I’d go. Boy, am I glad I did.

I couldn’t wear my FiveFingers as they had less than no grip in the snow, so it was back on with my trail shoes.

When I met Smack and JP (Rich decided against joining us) I felt way under dressed. I’d forgotten my hat, my gloves and I was in shorts. But I’d remembered the important things: lots of homemade peanut butter and honey flapjacks and a jam jar full of homemade sloe gin!

Off we set to the park. The route was through Endcliffe Park as usual, up to Fulwood Lane. Nothing out of the ordinary here, except for feeling the extra strain of carrying a 30 litre rucksack. It wasn’t over packed and on the run we’ll need more stuff, but it was much heavier than the pack I’d been taking out previously. Smack and JP were carrying hydration packs too – the first time they’d taken a pack at all. I think they were shocked at how much extra effort that required.

Once at Fulwood Lane we started across fields and open countryside. Did I mention that it was snowy?! After a windy and exposed mile, I think the cold got to us. We took a wrong turn and ran back to path across knee deep snow and stopped to have a snow ball throwing competition and then carried on laughing hysterically. Writing it down, it doesn’t seem funny at all, but somehow out there, it was the funnies thing in the world!

The route only got harder, the ground got boggier and snow got deeper. Running across frozen bogs was really disconcerting. Hearing the crack of the ice underfoot and waiting for the time when it gives way and you go up to your ankles in freezing bog water… we all took a tumble or two and had at least a shoe-full of bog!

We missed the path and had to scramble across some rocks to get to Redmires Reservoir. We got to the reservoir, 7 miles, in about 2 hours! A quick stop for more flap jacks and a glug of sloe gin and we were off on the homeward leg. It was good to pick up some speed and get out of the snow because at this point I couldn’t feel my fingers at all and my feet were freezing.

The route was dull in comparison on the way home, along a path by a stream (which I was convinced I was going to fall into!) and then back through the parks. We covered the final 6 miles in just under an hour which is pretty good going. Running on snow is like running twice as far in terms of effort.

The last 2 miles were hard. Really hard. My legs were tired. My feet were aching and it was a real effort to keep going.

At the end we were all exhausted but very pleased we’d done it. Thanks JP for keeping us strong!

Surprisingly, today I feel good. My legs are tired but not stiff or sore. I tried running and it doesn’t hurt at all but my legs feel empty. No power there at all.

I’m going to go for a 2-3 mile walk to loosen up and tomorrow I’ll try a 4 mile run.

I’ve been thinking a lot about fitness lately. More specifically the fitness of society as a whole and people’s perception of what “being fit” is.

When I started this I couldn’t run for toffee. Less than a mile had me exhausted. Looking back, then I thought that people who ran 10km races were fit. Doing a half marathon made you properly fit and running a marathon, well, you were weird.

But now, 10km is a trivial distance. Anyone can run 10km can’t they? At least that’s what I think. It seems strange to me that there was a point in time (only a couple of months ago really) when I couldn’t run that far without killing myself.

At the weekend I’m doing a cross country 10-12 mile run, so approaching the half marathon distance, but I still don’t feel or think of myself as being fit.

Recently, several of my friends and family have started running. Seeing them start and struggle with distances of 1 or 2 miles is weird. Was I really that unfit? Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not belittling their efforts in the slightest. I too was one of those struggling with less than a mile. Sometimes even getting out of breath walking up short hills.

But as a nation are we so fat and sedentary that 2 miles is a killer distance?

So, I’d like you to vote in this little poll. When do you think you are fit? Please select the lowest distance that you think makes someone fit.

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Since I started running, way back(!) in September 2009, every body who ran told me: “You’ll get addicted. Running’s great”.

I’d go on runs with Smack and when I would moan he’d always say things like, “Yeah, but it’s great to be out. Isn’t it?”. Every time I would respond along the lines of, “No, it isn’t. It’s hard work and I’m knackered!”

But this last week or so, something has changed. I think it’s because I’ve changed my routes to get in as many hills and as much off-road as possible. Even through the parks I’m looking for the hidden path away from the main route and I’ve taken to following off-road footpaths I’ve never seen before, just to see where they go.

The FiveFingers pay their part too. I’ve mentioned before that running on the road or pavements is fine but running on the grass or through the woods feels amazing. Coming from a trail back onto a hard path is like coming down off some drug induced high (I imagine, of course I have never taken any illegal drugs.)

I see pictures of woods or beautiful scenery and rather than thinking, “That looks nice, I wouldn’t mind going there”, I’m thinking “I’d love to run around there!”

The joy to be had in just running is bizarre. I can’t explain it at all. Why would just putting one foot in front of the other over and over and over and over be such good fun? I mean, I’m not even chasing a ball or anything!

It’s my rest day today but I’m itching to go out and find a new path to explore or just run through the muddiest, wettest bits of the woods I can find!

It’s taken nearly seven months but I think it’s happened.

My name is Kit. And I’m addicted to running.

Thinking that I could run like usual in my Vibram FiveFingers, after only doing a few miles previously, I did a seven mile, cross country run in them. The run was great but man did my calves ache the next day… and the next… and the next…

I didn’t run for a week almost.

But now I’m back running and am taking it a bit slower. After a couple of tester runs I’m back more seriously. Monday was 4 miles and yesterday was 5 miles. Today is my rest day and my calves feel a bit tight but generally pretty good. Tomorrow will be 7 miles, Friday 7 or 8 and then after another rest on Saturday I’m gearing up for a big 10 mile plus.

Obviously we’ll see how my calves do but that’s the plan.

I do feel like I need to eat a bit of humble pie regarding the FiveFingers. I was very bullish when I first got them. I did 3 miles straight off even though everyone said do less than that to start with as you need time to adjust.

I didn’t need time to adjust, I was born to wear these things! Well, perhaps I was but I’m 33 now and have 33 years of walking and running in ‘normal’ shoes to contend with.

So, my advice is: if you get a pair of Vibram FiveFingers (and I suggest you do), take it easy! If you think you’re different, you’re not!

I can’t remember if I’ve actually posted this before, but apologies if I have (I can’t be bothered to actually read all my previous posts!).

The route we’re running has changed several times since we started this venture. The “final” route and dates were set a couple of weeks ago.

In terms of dates, we’re running from Thursday 6th May to Tuesday 11th May. Due to exams and work commitments, John-Paul is no longer able to run the entire six days with us. He’s joining us on Friday night and running the Hadrian’s Wall section with us. That leads nicely on to the route…

As some people weren’t happy with running long distances on-road we moved the route from the C2C cycle way to Hadrian’s Wall which is very off-road. But Hadrian’s Wall is “only” 90 miles long. to make up to the 150 miles we want to do, we’re starting in Ravenglass which is about 60 miles south of Bowness-on-Solway where the wall starts on the West coast. Yes, we know the wall is usually walked East to West but this fits in with our plans better.

At the moment I’m trying to work out exactly where we’ll be for each day so we can book accommodation but it’s harder than you think. It’s taking way longer than expected. Perhaps we’ll just need to camp wherever we fall at the end of each day!

Well, I’m back running after a prolonged sore calf! I did a hilly 4 miles yesterday and my calf was a little achy at the end but today it’s fine. I’m going to try 6 miles later but if it’s sore I’ll do less. But if it feels good I may do more. We’ll see. I need to get back up to at least 10 miles before the weekend as I’m off out with the lads.

Either way, I’ll be running in some new running gear! IAfter a clear out of crap from my office, I found a couple of bits of software which I probably was given years ago. I thought I could sell them for a couple of quid on email. Well the first item sold today for £140! I’m well chuffed with that and so a load of new running gear is now mine!

I’m also selling an old phone on Mazuma Mobile as apparently an old phone sitting in my draw is worth £42 which will go nicely towards my running fund.

Anyway, today I got an Inov-8 Race Pro 30 litre running pack with a 2 litre bladder, some Merino wool base layers and a Ron Hill Advance Windlite jacket. I’m off to buy some shorts later too. All very exciting. A shame I’m in the office really…

That was my choice this morning at 5:30am. Clean up wee or sick.

Our youngest has caught a bug off his cousin and had vomited all over his bedroom and then proceeded to urinate on the floor (I’m sure he just thought: “Well, I’m covered in sick, I may as well wee myself too”).

The day before my sister in law went into labour early. My wife was called to go and look after their daughter at 3:30am. The phone ringing woke our kids and meant I was awake from then on. They had another little girl and all are doing well, by the way.

Given that I was so tired anyway, being woken up early to clean up bodily discharge of varying sorts was not the best thing in the world! I’m pretty tired now and have no real motivation to run. A shame really as my calves are doing fine now and it’s beautiful, if cold, day.

Perhaps tomorrow…

P.S. I chose to clean up the sick.

Today my calves are feeling the pain of my run yesterday!

They are very stiff and sore. Oddly though as soon as I move with any purpose (as in, fast) they get better. Sitting still then walking short distances hurts!

I think I’ll rest today and try another run tomorrow…

Oh, the FiveFingers came out of the wash looking (and smelling) all lovely and clean. Perfect.

I’ve just finished a 7 mile run across very varied terrain. You can see the run on mapmyrun.com.

So how did my Vibram FiveFingers perform?

Well, to honest, they didn’t perform brilliantly 4 inches of mud! Seriously though, I doubt even off-road, trail running shoes would either. All in all they were great. Running off road just feels brilliant. I mean, previously it was fun but now my feet seem to enjoy the sensation of it. It makes the whole thing less of an effort somehow.

Fitness wise, I’m sure I’m getting fitter – well, I hope I am – but I do think my FiveFingers make it easier. The blisters on my toes from my old shoes have gone now as the FiveFingers don’t rub. But I do have a blister from today’s run on the ball of my left foot. I actually think this is from a stone or something that may have got into my shoe rather than the shoe itself. I think this because the blister is tiny, only about 2mm in diameter. Usually rubbing blisters are much bigger than that.

My calves are a bit sore now I’ve stopped running but they were fine while I was out. I say that it’s my calves but it may be my tendons, I’m not sure. Either way, the bottom bits of my leg, at the back, near my foot, is sore!

Apart from that though my legs feel great. It’s a couple of hours since my run and I have no pain, aches or stiffness elsewhere in my legs or feet at all.

When I got back from my run I was pretty filthy, so today saw the first attempt at a machine wash for the FiveFingers.

One final thing, I’ve realised that people don’t really look at your feet when you’re out and about! I was really conscious of wearing my shoes at first but now after only a week I’ve come to realise that perhaps less than 10% of people seem to notice when you walk past them.

That’s it for now, I’ll let you know how my calves feel after a good rest, in the morning.

Sayonara.