698.64 - 708.64KM: The Lone Runner (Solo Run)

Today a run of 11 consecutive races, dating back July 14th, was ended as I ran a solo run to break the 700km mark. It wasn't my intention not to run a race this weekend, there were two I could have entered on the day, but after spending most of Saturday either asleep or in bed it felt like my body was trying to tell me something. After not getting to sleep till gone 2am last night because I couldn't breathe, the decision was made for me.

So instead at 11am I left my house to run a solo 10k. The night before I knew that I was stubborn enough to run my 35th race of the year today, but having already spent the past couple of days flirting with a cold, doing so on 4 hours sleep would have been a terrible idea. With a big few months of races coming up, it made sense to just sit today out and run at my own pace and adapt if need be. It could be argued, mainly by Jenny, that I shouldn't have even be going for the gentle run I did, but I vowed at the beginning of the year to run every weekend, rain, shine, illness or injury.

No other runners in sight...

Next year, after I have recovered from the physical toll of this one, I intend to take my up running up a level or two, focussing on the marathon distance. It is no secret that the incredible exploits of Julie Weiss, Eddie Izzard and Richard Whitehead have inspired me this year, and will continue to in the future. I always thought that the 1000km challenge this year had the potential to be the start of something and I'm more than interested in the idea of doing something massive, such as the 52 marathons in 52 weeks or Lands End to John o'Groats run. Not next year though, next year I imagine I'll be sleeping a lot more and enjoying spending my weekends with Jenny.

Today's run was all about exploring, if the intended serious marathon training and the aforementioned challenges are to be anything other than crazy dreams, a lot of running will need to take place. So I thought it was time to start finding new running routes, so to keep things fresh I headed South, rather than North, and through some nearby villages. I've always felt that the best way to explore somewhere is in a pair of running trainers, today I got a head start on next year, when I intend to cover most of Lincolnshire in my trusty Asics.

It always frustrates me when I miss a race, regardless of the reason why, as ideally I would run every single km of this 1000km challenge in a race as I feel it legitimises the challenge, but sometimes I'm forced on a solo run instead. Today I added another 10km to my target, to make up for not making it to the East Coast Classic 10k in Mablethorpe this morning. With the 'World's Biggest (and Greatest)' Half Marathon, the Great North Run, next Sunday I knew I couldn't push things too hard as I was still suffering from whatever bug had affected me for the past couple of days. The longer the run went on, the better I began to feel, after I finished the 6.2 miles I carried on and ran another 4, taking the long way home. Turns out running can cure anything.

There was also one other reason as to why it made sense to sit out this weekend's race and that was financial. Whilst truthfully there is little money can do to directly improve Jenny's condition, I still view this year as an investment into Jenny's health. There has been a couple of times this year where I have had to make a decision on which race to enter based on the cost of entry (and travel etc.) rather than my own personal preference.

With Jenny unable to work a full time job because of her health and more often than not even unable to work her part time one, the financial onus is very much on me. So sometimes, such as this week, I have to make the tough decision not to enter a race, when it means saving for another one later in the year. I was reminded of this after booking accommodation yesterday for the Great South Run in Portsmouth, a race that will involve 400+ mile round trip.

Without going into too much detail this year I'm guaranteed to enter a minimum of 40 races, likely to be somewhere between 40 and 50, and whilst entry into some of these have been subsidised by the charity, the vast majority of these have been paid for by myself. If you then factor in travel costs and occasional accommodation, it's easy to see how a lot of my spare money each month goes into this challenge. That is why I set myself the fundraising target of £6,000 this year, a figure I felt was significant but also achievable. Many people said that I was being optimistic with this target, but given the effort I would be putting in, I felt that such a figure matched it.

There is also one other financial reason behind missing the race today, the small matter of Jenny's birthday on Thursday. After the year(s) that she's had, she deserves to be spoilt a little, so if not entering the race means an extra present for her, then good. It goes without saying that top of Jenny's list would be better health (I'm certainly doing what I can to help that), quickly followed I'm sure by kittens and cake, and yes that was a non-too subtle a hint to take a visit to my JustGiving page.

Finally, next week is the start of National Eczema Week (14th - 22nd September) and I plan to be very busy, so keep your eyes peeled for some special posts. The big feature of this week though will be the Bake Sale I'm hosting on the 21st at ASDA Living in Lincoln, where I plan to have dairy and gluten free bakes, alongside what people would consider the 'normal' stuff. So if you're in and around Lincoln in a couple of Saturday's time, please pay us a visit.

As always, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/shanes1000km and donate what you can and please share news of what I am doing with others.

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Distance: 10.00km | 6.21 miles
Time: 00:48:21
Official Time: N/A
Average Pace: 04:50 min/km | 7:47 min/mi

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August Review (616.32 - 698.64KM)

I'll be honest, these monthly reviews are all starting to fall into a similar pattern now; I give a quick recap on each race I ran in the month, before talking about how Jenny's health took another unexpected turn for the worse and then rounding it off talking about how physically, mentally and emotionally it is taking it's toll on me. With 7 races, including two in one day, August was a very eventful month and that's not even including a Charity Raffle, a festival and a midnight ride to A&E in an ambulance.

The month would get off to a rolling start on the 4th with the York 10K. I'm still unsure why, but the week leading up to the Sunday was a massive drain on me physically and emotionally. Nothing in particular happened, but in hindsight it was probably because of this and the fact that I was able to just soak what had happened so far this year with Jenny that it took it's toll. The race itself was a struggle. I've set myself the target of running a sub 40 minute 10K this year, but at times I felt far closer to collapsing than finishing. I eventually crossed the line just under 44 minutes and was forced to reassess my approach to races in order to make it through the year.

We made it....just!

Every year in August Jenny and myself (along with 1000s of other metalheads) head to a field in Derbyshire for the weekend for Bloodstock Open Air Festival. We've both been every year for the past 6/7 years, but this year our attendance was put in doubt as the week before Jenny had been suffering with a very stubborn suspected eighth case of Eczema Herpeticum. As if by some miracle Jenny's health had cleared up enough that on Thursday we were both happy enough for her to be leaving the house and head to the festival. 

On the Sunday I ran my 29th race of the year, the Hermitage 10K, missing one of my favourite bands at the festival in the process, much to many people's bemusement. As I explained at the time though, this year is about doing what I can to raise awareness of the suffering that Jenny has to go through on a daily basis and the sacrifices that she regularly makes, so anything I have to give up along the way is insignificant. 

It wasn't all good news though, as when we returned back from the festival we learnt that Jenny wasn't suffering from Eczema Herpeticum, but rather MRSA.

Next up was the Sleaford Summer 10K, which had the honour of being my 30th race of the year. Despite doing my best to have to cancel my attendance at the race due to injury, I lined up at 7pm ready to enjoy a race for the first time in a while. After the relatively disastrous York 10K, I approached the Sleaford Summer 10K with a fresh approach of enjoyment first, performance second. There has been too many races so far this year where I have become focussed on running it in the fastest time possible, that I stopped enjoying them and plunged myself towards physical and emotional failure. The change of approach was needed ahead of a challenging rest of the month and year to come.

All smiles...for now

Just four days later, on Tuesday 20th, I would have my next race, the Bolingbroke Breaker. Little did we know as I was lining up for my 31st race that later that night we would find ourselves in the back of an ambulance waiting to be taken to hospital after Jenny suffered a mini stroke. It was one of the most terrifying thing either of us have had to deal with, as at times in my mind there was no distinction between whether this was the real thing or not. The first signs began at 10pm, and it wouldn't be until 5am that we would be on our way home in the taxi. Despite only getting about half an hours sleep, I made the poor decision to go to work, but I was soon sent home the emotional and physical stress of the past 12 hours was there for all to see. 

I would have to wait until Bank Holiday Monday for my next race, the Grimsthorpe Castle 10K. The events of the previous Tuesday were still very much playing on me and it could be argued as to whether or not I was in the right frame of mind for another race. The challenging, mostly offroad, undulating course didn't help matters but it some ways I guess it was therapeutic as for a brief 50 or so minutes it allowed me to forget about everything else that has happened this year and just focus on the race. The course didn't allow for a fast time, nor did my cautious approach to it, but I was still happy enough with the time I crossed the line in. After the race I overhead another runner say "There's a Grimsthorpe PB, and then your normal PB." and that sums it up better than I could.

Race #1, the 'tough' one

After one of the most eventful and toughest months of the year how else would I finish it off other than two 10 mile races on the last day off the month? Despite running almost every day, with three marathons coming up in less than two months I knew I had to run 20 miles between now and then. I also knew that with races almost every weekend and little time or energy to run that distance during the week I would have to come up with a tricky solution, one which meant running two 10 mile races in one day in two different counties.

The strategy for these races would be interesting, as I would have to save enough energy for the second race but also try and treat them as one complete run at marathon pace. So, at 11am on Saturday 31st I was in Lincolnshire for the Wold's Tough 10 mile race knowing that I should be aiming to keep my pace around 7:30 minute miles and try not to get carried away with the race. Fortunately the race was easier than I expected, given that it called itself 'tough', there were a few significant hills but nothing too troubling and I came in a little over target at 7:36 minute miles, but after stretching thoroughly I felt fresh enough to do it all again.

Race #2, the 'tougher' one

For the second race I would be travelling across to Derbyshire, for the Double or Quit (10 mile) race, which started at 5pm. Due to a fair bit of travelling, drawing my raffle and generally being me I wasn't organised enough to refuel sufficiently before the second race and lining up at the start I knew it would be a lot tougher than it ought to have been. Being mostly off road and undulating, the course for my second race also felt tougher, maybe because it was my second race of the day or maybe it just simply was. Somehow though I was able to keep my pace at a reasonable level, crossing the line just 6 minutes slower than the morning's race, and a little outside my 8:00 minute mile average target. 

...and done!

Finally as I briefly mentioned in the previous section this month I drew my the prizes for my charity raffle. If you're a fan of awkward videos be sure to check out the recording of the draw below.

Next month (September) promises to be a big one as marathon season starts up again with the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham at the end of the month as well as the small matter of the 'world's biggest half marathon', the Great North Run. September is also host to National Eczema Week (14th - 22nd) where I plan to be very busy making a nuisance of myself and generally trying to get people's attention. If you're in Lincoln and like cake, or know someone that does, please check out the Bake Sale on the 21st at ASDA Living on Tritton Road. The one we hosted earlier in the year was a big success and we want this one to be an even bigger one. 

As always, please visit my JustGiving page and donate what you can. If you can't donate then please share my JustGiving page and news of what I'm doing with others, in case they can. The only way we can end the suffering that Jenny and millions of others go through on a daily basis is with your help.

August Stats:

1000KM Challenge Distance: 82.41KM
Time Running Total: 06:29:26
Total Running Distance: 187.59KM
Bananas Eaten: 34
Races: 7
T-Shirts: 4
Medals: 2
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1000km Challenge Stats:

1000KM Challenge Distance: 698.64KM
Time Running Total: 59:25:20
Total Running Distance: 1500.33KM
Bananas Eaten: 346
Races: 34
T-Shirts: 14
Medals: 13

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A look ahead to September

Confirmed Races
15/09 - Great North Run
29/09 - Robin Hood Marathon

Unconfirmed Races
22/09 - Sandringham 10K
22/09 - Hunstanton Beach Run 10K

666.36 - 698.64KM: 1 Day, 2 Races, 20 Miles and 2 Counties (Wolds Tough 10 Mile & Double or Quit)

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to run two races in one day, with the Rother Valley 10K in the morning followed by the Man of Steel 10K in the afternoon. At the time it seemed like a one-off, but yesterday the same opportunity arose and with three Marathons lurking around the corner some desperate steps needed to be taken to get my body ready. Two races in one day, across two counties....it seemed like a good idea at the time.

666.36 - 682.45KM: Wold's Tough 10 Mile Race (11am)

I have mentioned for a few weeks now that with three Marathons in the next two months that my training would need a serious boost to make it through them. With races every weekend and 8 months of solid running behind me, it meant that I wouldn't have the energy to get up at 4am to go for a 20 mile run before work, again. So I had to compromise and when I saw that there were two 10 Mile races roughly within an hours drive from me, well I wouldn't say I jumped at the chance, but I foolishly signed up to both races.

First up was the Lincolnshire Wolds 10 Mile Road Race, a race I had tentatively pencilled in on my calendar early on this year. Because I like to make life difficult for myself, and can occasionally be absolutely crap when it comes to organisation, when putting the post code into the SatNav for the race (it only accepts 4-5 characters) I selected the first result without checking. 

The result was me arriving at a village at Half 10 and wondering where the race was, only to realise it was about 8 miles way. I arrived at the start with about 10 minutes to spare, giving me just enough time to run to the Race HQ, get changed and go for a speedy pee, just. 

Definitely not taking it steady

At the start of the year I set myself a target of running a 3 hour 30 minute marathon meaning I would be running about an 8 minute mile pace. I came close in London, but after I went past the 20th mile and entered uncharted territory things happened and I crawled across the line around 3 hours 47 minutes.

Whilst it is unlikely I will run a 3 hour 30 marathon this year, as I have 3 in the space of 4 weeks, I decided to ignore common sense again and try to average my pace across both races at around 8 minute miles. As my pace would drop significantly in the second race I aimed to keep my pace within 7 and a half minutes, allowing me to feel comfortable whilst still pushing hard.

For a race that has 'Tough' in the title I expected more of an undulating course, not that I'm complaining mind. There was a significant climb between the second and third mile, and another towards the end of the race but it didn't feel worse than many of the other races I have ran already this year.

One down, one to go!

After the race I had enough time for a cup of tea and to take the above photo before then recording the below video for the draw of my Charity Raffle. If you bought tickets be sure to give it a watch to see if you won.

 

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Distance: 16.09km | 10.00 miles
Time: 01:16:03
Official Time: 01:16:25
Average Pace: 04:44 min/km | 07:36 min/mi
Playlist: N/A
Goody Bag: T-Shirt & Bottle of Water

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672.45 - 698.64KM: Double or Quit (5pm)

After only just making my first race of the day, you'd think that I would make sure I left in plenty of time for my second race. Not quite, in fact I was even later, giving myself only 5 minutes to collect my number and go for my ritual pre-race pee.

Fortunately I remembered to stretch thoroughly after finishing the first race, so whilst I felt tired lining up at the start it could have been much worse. With just under 5 hours between the end of my first race and start of my second I had plenty of opportunity to refuel, but failed to, and as I began running I soon realised how big a mistake this was.

Lining up at the start for Race #2

If the morning's race was described as 'tough' then I'm not sure what adjectives they would have used for my second race. Maybe it had a lot to do with the 10 miles I had already ran in the morning, but the Double or Quit won the rare accolade of starting and finishing in the same place but feeling like it was 80% uphill.

The theme of 'Double or Quit' translated to a 5 mile lap that allowed runners to opt between 'quitting' at 5 miles, or going around for another lap. The race was 'multi-terrain' which also added to the difficulty, it was a race that I'd have liked to have gone in to fresh but the added 'difficulty' of the course would only help my training.

Looking far better than I felt

The failure to eat anything substantial began to really take it's toll on the second lap and it really became a case of counting down the miles until I finished. My earlier plans for trying to balance the average pace out at 8 minutes miles seemed unlikely, but I still pushed on anyway. As it turns out when I crossed the line my time for the second race was only 6 minutes slower than my first, which I was fairly impressed by given the 5 hour break and tougher course. I ended up a little outside my 8 minute mile target pace across the two races, but ultimately it didn't matter, I had completed the 20 mile run I needed to before the 3 marathons, even if by unorthodox means and I could now take it (relatively) steady until the Nottingham Marathon at the end of September.

Absolutely spent

After I returned home the failure to eat and drink sufficiently, really took its toll as eating dinner seemed to turn into a battle between not throwing up and eating the food I desperately needed. I'm ashamed to say that the chippy dinner didn't go to waste though as I re-heated it and had it for breakfast the following morning. I realised on Sunday that I could have entered a third race this weekend with Wilne 10k taking place on Sunday morning, a few miles away from the 'Double or Quit' race. It would have helped go a long way to helping me reach my 1000km target as it would have essentially counted as another marathon, albeit spread across three races. Given how I was feeling on Saturday evening it's probably better that I didn't though.

Jenny had made the decision early on Saturday that she wanted to come along with me for my second race of the day. About 5 minutes before leaving for the race Jenny became covered in a head-to-toe pimply rash that came out of nowhere. You can see for yourself that Jenny's skin was reasonably clear in the video we recorded only half an hour before leaving. On the drive to the race Jenny's health was declining and it was clear that she would be returning to hospital as soon as possible. When I returned to the car we were both convinced that it was a case of the MRSA returning, rather than anything else. Having since been to the hospital this morning Jenny's been armed with a months supply of antibiotics that should hopefully help see the back of this once and for all.

It seems we're never far away from a reminder as to the motivation behind my fundraising this year.

As always, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/shanes1000km and donate what you can and please share news of what I am doing with others.

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Distance: 16.09km | 10.00 miles
Time: 01:22:40
Official Time: 01:22:36
Average Pace: 05:21 min/km | 08:36 min/mi
Playlist: N/A
Goody Bag: Bootbag, bag, chocolate bar & banana.