The Big 2-0....

Tomorrow is a big day... I turn 2-0 (unfortunately not my age!) but the first time my runing distance will have started with a 2, as I tackle the Bramley 20. 

Here are some of my thoughts/feelings:

Excited

Nervous

Will I finish?

Will I fuel right?

Will I find the carpark?

Will it be flooded?

How will I feel afterwards? (Wrank I am betting)

Will I get home for the Liverpool/Arsenal Game? 

Luckily I will have the support from my fellow Allstars as around 30 of us are making the trip to the run. 

Shorty's lunchbox....

My running continues to progress well and I am still enjoying the challenege of the training plan. 

Alongside the running I have also looked at what I am eating during the day. This post looks at a couple of additions to my diet. 

First up - lunch (well after breakfast)

In my job I am out on the road a fair amount and was getting increasing fed-up of service station sandwiches which are expensive and high in salt/fat/sugar. 

I have begun making my own quinoa salads. They consist of quinoa (cooked in stock) with spring onions, chilli, peanuts, cold roast chicken, homemade pickled red onions, pepper, spinach and lime juice. Delicious! I recommend highly. I make a batch and take a portion each day. Usually lasts about 4 days. 

The second addition to my daily diet is down to two work colleagues Emily and Maddy. Both have been raving about the benefits of green tea. So I gave it a go, m now hooked!! (although I did turn down two bags in one cup at Starbucks earlier - that seemed excessive). The health benefits are widely reported but I actually enjoy the flavour aswell!! I am told that is crazy. If you haven't it is definitely worth a cup. 

Have a hill rep session to do.... 

First Time Marathon training - Progress to date!

Evening All,

This blog is just a quick over-view of how my training has gone so far... be interested to see how it compares with other first time marathon runners??

the below is a screen grab of my actual runs against those that I planned to do.

You can see that I have gone further on my long runs than planned, this is done on to fit with the marathon training bus I am following as I have been careful and measured in not pushing it too far.

Week beginning 13th Jan was a tough week, I took the advice of 'listen to your body' and missed a couple of runs in favour of a rest day!

Sunday 19/1 was my longest run so far, I learnt two lessons that day - 1. read the map before going out and 2. don't go off too fast! 

So far I am really pleased with progress and am still really enjoying it!

For more detail on splits etc then visit my Garmin Page at: http://connect.garmin.com/activities

Shorty Reviews - Natural Hero

During the first few weeks of my marathon training I have been struggling with some muscle fatigue - Expected of course. In particular I have found my lower legs to be very sore in the days after my long runs. 

With that in mind I have been exploring ways to aid my recovery. My search led me to Natural Hero - Hot Ginger Muscle Soak and Hot Ginger Muscle Rub.

I have now been using both of these for a few weeks so felt it was time for a review. 

Firstly, the Muscle soak - it has no bubbles - so no need for candles and Lionel Richie (although what ever floats your boat!) It is a mixture of natural oils. (100% natural ingredients.) it comes in 6 18ml bottles £9.99

I have used it following my long runs and following my ice bath. 

You can really feel the warming effects on your muscles and the smell is a pleasent one. However you do need to have a shower after using the product to ensure you are not left with an oily residue on the skin.

One change to the product I would make is to sell a 'marathon Kit' so you have a bottle for each long run in the traditional 16 week training programme.

Overall I think the product is great and really works to aid recovery. 

Shorty says - 4 Stars! 

Secondly the Hot Ginger Rub. 100ml bottle £9.99 

The rub comes in at 98% natural ingredients. 

This rub has been my most used product in marathon training. I use it on my Lower legs before and after my rubs. You can again really feel the heat it generates. Even more so than the soak. It is not greasey and is easily absorbed. 

It works best if you let the applied area to breath. I.e. wear a pair if shorts if applied to legs. 

My only issue with it is the bottle isn't big enough!!! 

Shorty Says - 5 stars! 

It could be said that these products are expensive and I would say that they are not cheap, but given the level of natural ingredients and the effect that they have had on my recover have certainly been worth it. 

Give them a try!! 

Long Run Sunday - 14 miler

This morning was again an early start for the Slinn Allstars marathon training bus, 8am behind Asda - on a sunday!! It was another brilliant morning, although a bit nippy with plenty of frost. At times I felt like I should be in Sochi with the Speed Skaters - OK OK figure Skaters (you were all thinking it)

I was going prepared to tackle the 12mile route that had been emailed around on Friday,  however upon arrival it appeared no-one else was doing 12 miles so I decided to join the 14 mile route. It would turn out to be the furthest I have ever run!! Inspired or stupidity - guess I would find out. 

The route started leisurely with a lot of chat before we tackled lady-lane, a joyous hill so early in the route. I found the route to be a really enjoyable one, taking in parts of swindon that I had not seen before. A nice group of 5 was developed and we went along fairly consistently, only felt a slight IT band twinge at about 13m but apart from that felt great!! No Stupidity here! 

My splits were as follows:

With a gradient split of:

To see more data from the run please see the link to my Garmin site: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/428796758 

It was also the first outing for my new camelbak, check back for the first Shorty's Product review on here later... 

A great mornings run that was followed by a second breakfast of Scrambled eggs on top of my new obsession - Chilli, Bacon Jam. (A top Crimbo Present from my mates Ross and Katy). 

Had to add a #foodpic for my colleague Neil - he loves them.

Rest day tomorrow...

Keep Running! 

Welcome to my new blog...

I am currently training to complete my first marathon or in my world 52.4 miles -  so thought I would share my thoughts. 

4 weeks into training and so far I have found:

I actually enjoy running

Running 5 days a week hurts

Ice-baths are cold.... Duhhhhhh 

Free shoes feel more comfortable (see picture) 

My wife is a saint for putting up with my training

People at work aren't yet bored of running talk, I give it another week maximum. 

Be sure to check back for updates and training posts!