29.2 Miles (1,011.8 Total)
I have re-opened my Just Giving site, should you wish to make a donation please click here..... There are more challenges to come in 2012, watch this space! Thanks
Well job done. Despite thinking on a number of occasions that I would not be able to get there, I ran 2.3 miles on Christmas Eve with Sam to finish up the 1,000 miles. Without dwelling too much on the whole year it is worth noting that in November I ran 126 miles and in December (so far) I am up to 141. These are my biggest months, with injuries meaning in July I ran 0 miles and in the spring having to manage an injury before the marathon.
Dec 20th - 4.1
Dec 21st - 11.1
Dec 24th - 2.3
Dec 26th - 5.5
Dec 29th - 6.2 (Fastest 10K ever)
Since Christmas I have been out on Boxing Day for a trot and this morning for a 10K run. Already I can feel the benefit of not having to run ridiculous miles every day. My pace is well up on previous efforts. This morning despite a hangover and a touch of manflu I ran my quickest ever 10K (50mins 52sec), running 4 miles into a headwind. This makes me think that the plans for next year could well be achievable. This brings me nicely onto 2012....
MAGIC MILE
I plan to launch a Magic Mile competition open to all. All you need is to run at least 1 mile in January and tell me how fast you ran it. I will then log it, each month thereafter I need your fastest mile sent to me, I will then update a vast spreadsheet to keep tabs on who has improved the most.
Clearly I hope that you will all run more than 1 mile but all I need is the fasted mile in January and then we can take it from there. So please send in those times throughout January and feel free to send me updates and I will send out a blog on January 31st with a list of times and people. Let's see if we can get at least 100 people competing for prizes to be decided and supplied by LB. I will get my thinking cap on. I am sure I can rely on you all to be honest with me, no cheating please!
PLANK-ATHON
From January 1st I will be doing a plank every day, each one at least a minute long trying to see how long I can hold a plank for by the end of the year! This will hopefully help to complete the LB transition into a lean mean running machine....
10K
I will be running a few 10K races next year with a view to get my PB down to as close to 45 mins as is possible.
HALF MARATHON
Again I will run a few of these to try and get my PB down to 1hr 45mins
FUNDRAISING
People were VERY generous last year and I raised over £6k for the Cri du Chat Syndrome Support Group. Whilst I will not aggressively go after people's cash in 2012 I have re-opened the Just Giving site so if you can spare some pennies for an amazing (and under-funded cause) please do, it all is appreciated and used!
Happy New Year all, and get those Magic Mile times sent in to me over the next few weeks.
LBxx
Thursday 29 December 2011
Tuesday 20 December 2011
Nearly There....
36.1 Miles (982.6 Total)
Morning all,
Well what a week. I have kept on going despite my legs really telling me they have had enough. In addition I have picked up a sore back thanks to falling over in the mosh pit at a gig in Shepherd's Bush (god, how old am I!?). However as you will see I am a 'mere' 17 miles from the finish line. I was planning a rest day but Mrs LB fancies a run this morning so by the time you read this I will probably be down to 14. Assuming I do my planned 10 miler tomorrow @6am then I will do what's left on Christmas Eve then put my feet up for a week!
That said I have been really surprised and humbled by friends that have said they want to donate to the charity again as I am getting to the finish line. That coupled with a desire to carry on next year I have set up another Just Giving site (click here). If you would like to make another donation that would be fantastic, I will be carrying on for the same cause so if you can every penny makes a real difference so tank you very much.
I will be writing about the 2012 Challenges once I put this one finally to bed but if there is one thing I have learned this year it is that without a target I will probably let all this year's good work go to pot! More on that another time.
Dec 14th - 3.6
A little trot around Chiswick with Mrs LB, after yesterday's 15 miler I was pleased with the recovery run.
Dec 16th- 12.1
6amClub run and it was bloody freezing but great fun! This was a few miles longer than planned so the Christmas Eve run is getting shorter and shorter!
Dec 18th- 11.1
Despite falling over at a Wonder Stuff gig on Friday night (how pathetic is that) and with a dodgy back as a result this was always going to be a tough one. Because of a visit to see Santa with the kids that morning I also had to go out at 6am on a Sunday. This should be illegal in my opinion!
Dec 19th- 9.3
Again this run was longer than planned, so I was delighted although the tow-path was completely mud-bound, & very wet. Also it was pouring down, I haven't had to run much in the rain this year, and I must say it was great fun!
Anyway I have 11 days to run the rest but of course I am planning to do it over the next 4. It will feel amazing to have achieved this ahead of schedule!
I will blog again once I am there!
Morning all,
Well what a week. I have kept on going despite my legs really telling me they have had enough. In addition I have picked up a sore back thanks to falling over in the mosh pit at a gig in Shepherd's Bush (god, how old am I!?). However as you will see I am a 'mere' 17 miles from the finish line. I was planning a rest day but Mrs LB fancies a run this morning so by the time you read this I will probably be down to 14. Assuming I do my planned 10 miler tomorrow @6am then I will do what's left on Christmas Eve then put my feet up for a week!
That said I have been really surprised and humbled by friends that have said they want to donate to the charity again as I am getting to the finish line. That coupled with a desire to carry on next year I have set up another Just Giving site (click here). If you would like to make another donation that would be fantastic, I will be carrying on for the same cause so if you can every penny makes a real difference so tank you very much.
I will be writing about the 2012 Challenges once I put this one finally to bed but if there is one thing I have learned this year it is that without a target I will probably let all this year's good work go to pot! More on that another time.
Dec 14th - 3.6
A little trot around Chiswick with Mrs LB, after yesterday's 15 miler I was pleased with the recovery run.
Dec 16th- 12.1
6amClub run and it was bloody freezing but great fun! This was a few miles longer than planned so the Christmas Eve run is getting shorter and shorter!
Dec 18th- 11.1
Despite falling over at a Wonder Stuff gig on Friday night (how pathetic is that) and with a dodgy back as a result this was always going to be a tough one. Because of a visit to see Santa with the kids that morning I also had to go out at 6am on a Sunday. This should be illegal in my opinion!
Dec 19th- 9.3
Again this run was longer than planned, so I was delighted although the tow-path was completely mud-bound, & very wet. Also it was pouring down, I haven't had to run much in the rain this year, and I must say it was great fun!
Anyway I have 11 days to run the rest but of course I am planning to do it over the next 4. It will feel amazing to have achieved this ahead of schedule!
I will blog again once I am there!
Tuesday 13 December 2011
The Final Countdown - Part 2
46.4 Miles (946.5 Total)
In many ways this last week has been the hardest yet. The mileage has been brutal, my legs are really beginning to hate me and of course I have no choice but to press on. The plan remains to finish a week early on Christmas Eve. At least if I decide to run between Christmas and New Year then it will be because I want to rather than feeling I have to!
I have had a lot of great support from friends in the ether on Twitter and from the missus & family. A lot of motivation can be gained from telling a lot of people what you are planning to do so that you feel terrible if you let them down. A great example was this morning's brutal 15 miles (see below), you mention it on Twitter and it feels a bit like a contract. Despite feeling less than up for it this morning I just HAD to get the job done.
Currently I am 3 miles ahead of schedule to finish on Christmas Eve, so the planned half marathon on CE is now down to 10 miles. I hope to reduce it even more in the next few days. Of course if I get injured (everything seems alright at the mo or we get a shit load of snow) then I have an extra week in the bank, but I do not plan to use it. If I have proved anything this year it is if I say I am going to do something then I will do it! It might take bloody ages and I might do a lot of moaning about it (I am a bloke after all!) but I will do it!
Dec 8th - 8.0
Quite pleased with this run because it was the morning after an hour of footie on the Wednesday night, and I normally can't move at all on Thursdays as a result. The middle 4 miles were into a gale so pretty happy really.
Dec 9th- 6.2
Having told a friend I would run with him on Friday morning, I really wouldn't have gone if he bailed on me. As it is he didn't and another 10K was racked up anyway!
Dec 10th- 11.5
An early one at 6am on Saturday in the dark. Had to get this one done early as my brother got married last weekend. It was a gorgeous day with LB and mini LB throwing out some majestic shapes on the dance floor! The run itself was pretty good although it was a bitterly cold morning
Dec 12th- 5.7
A nice trot down to the river and back with Mrs LB. This was her longest run yet and she is doing brilliantly although she didn't look too happy at the end of it! Well done gorgeous I am very proud!
Dec 13th - 15.0
This was an absolute killer! I didn't do my usual Tuesday 6am job because little Mini-LB is 4 today, bless her. So we had a present opening session first thing. As there is not a lot of work about at the minute I had the time to go for a long effort at 8am. 6 of the last 7 miles were into a gale and on the towpath that was covered in water and mud. In short it was brutal and I must admit to being a little down at the end of it. I don't want to sound like a drama queen but I have to admit to feeling pretty broken now but I am so close!
Anyway just 53 miles to go!
Have a good one
LBX
In many ways this last week has been the hardest yet. The mileage has been brutal, my legs are really beginning to hate me and of course I have no choice but to press on. The plan remains to finish a week early on Christmas Eve. At least if I decide to run between Christmas and New Year then it will be because I want to rather than feeling I have to!
I have had a lot of great support from friends in the ether on Twitter and from the missus & family. A lot of motivation can be gained from telling a lot of people what you are planning to do so that you feel terrible if you let them down. A great example was this morning's brutal 15 miles (see below), you mention it on Twitter and it feels a bit like a contract. Despite feeling less than up for it this morning I just HAD to get the job done.
Currently I am 3 miles ahead of schedule to finish on Christmas Eve, so the planned half marathon on CE is now down to 10 miles. I hope to reduce it even more in the next few days. Of course if I get injured (everything seems alright at the mo or we get a shit load of snow) then I have an extra week in the bank, but I do not plan to use it. If I have proved anything this year it is if I say I am going to do something then I will do it! It might take bloody ages and I might do a lot of moaning about it (I am a bloke after all!) but I will do it!
Dec 8th - 8.0
Quite pleased with this run because it was the morning after an hour of footie on the Wednesday night, and I normally can't move at all on Thursdays as a result. The middle 4 miles were into a gale so pretty happy really.
Dec 9th- 6.2
Having told a friend I would run with him on Friday morning, I really wouldn't have gone if he bailed on me. As it is he didn't and another 10K was racked up anyway!
Dec 10th- 11.5
An early one at 6am on Saturday in the dark. Had to get this one done early as my brother got married last weekend. It was a gorgeous day with LB and mini LB throwing out some majestic shapes on the dance floor! The run itself was pretty good although it was a bitterly cold morning
Dec 12th- 5.7
A nice trot down to the river and back with Mrs LB. This was her longest run yet and she is doing brilliantly although she didn't look too happy at the end of it! Well done gorgeous I am very proud!
Dec 13th - 15.0
This was an absolute killer! I didn't do my usual Tuesday 6am job because little Mini-LB is 4 today, bless her. So we had a present opening session first thing. As there is not a lot of work about at the minute I had the time to go for a long effort at 8am. 6 of the last 7 miles were into a gale and on the towpath that was covered in water and mud. In short it was brutal and I must admit to being a little down at the end of it. I don't want to sound like a drama queen but I have to admit to feeling pretty broken now but I am so close!
Anyway just 53 miles to go!
Have a good one
LBX
Tuesday 6 December 2011
The Final Countdown
53.7 Miles (900.1 Total)
Nov 23rd - 3.6 (a little trot with Mrs LB)
Nov 25th - 3.0 (Another little trot around Chiswick to keep the miles ticking over)
Nov 28th- 6.3 (After my brother's stag do I was quite surprised by how spritely I was)
Nov 29th- 11.6 (6am club run down to the river at Kew, along to Hammersmith and back to Kew. Absolutely stunning morning, cold and totally still)
Dec 2nd- 8.0 (After a couple of days off it was nice to be back out there, along the river early doors)
Dec 5th - 6.2 (A nice leg stretcher with a Chiswick running buddy after not running all weekend)
Dec 6th - 15.0 (6am club long run, much better than last time. Really good pace but blimey how cold!)
Well I am now beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. A light that is still a bloody long way away but a light there is. I have been looking forward to this day for a while now, the miles to go column is now down to 2 digits, and in my little world that feels bloody good.
To focus only on today, I had my best run since the BUPA 10K race all the way back in May. Such great fun and I felt really very fresh all the way to the final mile. I set out in my very fetching tights for the first time this winter, at 6am it was ball-breakingly cold so these were mandatory! I think they make a big difference on days like this morning because I was springing along like the proverbial lamb (a fat lamb, but a lamb all the same!). I will be getting grief off my Twitter mates because a few of them are #stillinshorts but they will be there soon enough!
Anyway I have a lot on today so will keep this fairly brief but suffice it to say that the next few weeks will be a little brutal to say the least, but I have a plan to get the job done by Christmas Eve leaving a week in the bank if it is needed. I have also given a lot of thought to what the 2012 challenges will be but more on those another time! There will be running involved for sure but maybe I will mix it up a little more because the last couple of months have been brutal to say the least!
Special mention also goes to my brother who gets married this weekend, well done Bifffa!
Til next time
LBX
Nov 23rd - 3.6 (a little trot with Mrs LB)
Nov 25th - 3.0 (Another little trot around Chiswick to keep the miles ticking over)
Nov 28th- 6.3 (After my brother's stag do I was quite surprised by how spritely I was)
Nov 29th- 11.6 (6am club run down to the river at Kew, along to Hammersmith and back to Kew. Absolutely stunning morning, cold and totally still)
Dec 2nd- 8.0 (After a couple of days off it was nice to be back out there, along the river early doors)
Dec 5th - 6.2 (A nice leg stretcher with a Chiswick running buddy after not running all weekend)
Dec 6th - 15.0 (6am club long run, much better than last time. Really good pace but blimey how cold!)
Well I am now beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. A light that is still a bloody long way away but a light there is. I have been looking forward to this day for a while now, the miles to go column is now down to 2 digits, and in my little world that feels bloody good.
To focus only on today, I had my best run since the BUPA 10K race all the way back in May. Such great fun and I felt really very fresh all the way to the final mile. I set out in my very fetching tights for the first time this winter, at 6am it was ball-breakingly cold so these were mandatory! I think they make a big difference on days like this morning because I was springing along like the proverbial lamb (a fat lamb, but a lamb all the same!). I will be getting grief off my Twitter mates because a few of them are #stillinshorts but they will be there soon enough!
Anyway I have a lot on today so will keep this fairly brief but suffice it to say that the next few weeks will be a little brutal to say the least, but I have a plan to get the job done by Christmas Eve leaving a week in the bank if it is needed. I have also given a lot of thought to what the 2012 challenges will be but more on those another time! There will be running involved for sure but maybe I will mix it up a little more because the last couple of months have been brutal to say the least!
Special mention also goes to my brother who gets married this weekend, well done Bifffa!
Til next time
LBX
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