Tag Archives: Southsea

Training Update – Valuable Lessons learned….

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
Reply

So I thought it was about time I gave you an update on my training exploits.

As the title suggests, I have learned some valuable lessons as I start to push myself a bit further. Interestingly, I have already come a long way. The last time I wrote about my running, I was struggling over a couple of miles. Now, I am pretty comfortable at that distance and am regularly running around the four mile mark.

I am still struggling with the dreaded stitch, anyone got a good preparation suggestion to prevent these? They always seem to strike when I am at my most comfortable.

Anyway the things I have learned that I have well and truly taken onboard are the following.

1. Don’t run past Eegons on a Saturday Morning. The smell of a big, greasy fry up is not the best motivational idea. I wonder if I tied a sausage to some sort of headpiece….

2. Don’t when approaching a friend(who is a seasoned long distance runner) coming the other way, speed up in some shameful show of male bravado. Yes, everybody likes a Top Gun style, mid run High Five, but you will pay for it, for the rest of your run.

3. Do play Basketball for the works team on a Tuesday night. Sweating, doesn’t even do it justice. Dripping. My feeble attempts to even get close to the monster on the other team counted for three days workout in one.

4. Don’t run in front of early morning seafront photographers. Thankfully I had the dulcet tones of Gary Numan and “Cars” in my ears, so I had to rely on my lipreading skills to let you know what he said. “Muddy Lick”, not sure what he was getting at….

5. Do go running after Saints drop points. You will look like a lunatic to other people you encounter with your angry grumblings, but your pace will considerably improve!

6. Do get your arse into gear. Finally I have setup my fund-raising page. I cannot reiterate enough how good a cause the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust is, so if you have anything spare to sponsor me, we would be extremely grateful. Go to:- http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ChrisRann

Me(No. 12) The last time I ran 10 miles - The Banja Luka Tough Ten

My weight has started to steadily drop too, the aim will be to get back to the size and fitness level I was in the above photo(circa 2006). Long way to go, but getting there steadily….

 

Chris

Ranning away with it….

Posted on by georgeweahscousin
Reply

So, why does a man who rarely does any exercise, traditionally hates running, and now after a pretty inactive post army life weighs 15 stone want to do the Great South Run?

Well, firstly I have a clear need to be fitter, I would like to play more sport and most importantly lose some weight. Having done nothing for two and a half years, entering a ten mile road race, may seem a bit drastic, but I have always been somebody that needs a target and motivation. Running for the sake of it, is not my style at all.

The last time I did a ten mile run was in 2007 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, while serving there in the British Army. I don’t remember my exact time, but I think it was around the 1:25 -1:35 mark, being that it was mountainous terrain, I think that this time area is a reasonable target for the flat surface of Southsea. The only problem is, that was achieved when I was at my peak of physical fitness. I was never the fittest squaddie, in fact I wasn’t even close, but my seven months in the former Yugoslavia provided me with enough time and opportunities to do more exercise than ever before(after the kick up the arse of failing a physical fitness test) and dare I say it, I actually began to enjoy it!

So I have set my targets, 10 miles, 1:25-1:35 time, Raise some money for the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust, Lose weight, and hopefully enjoy it. All this in 8 months? Should be achievable.

How does somebody go about suddenly becoming a runner again? That bit is easy. Dig out the old army PT trainers? Check. Get a treadmill? Check. Download Runkeeper App for my iPhone? Check. Bought Muesli? Check. Make a motivational itunes playlist to include the theme from Rocky? Check.

There is an old army saying, “All the gear, no idea” which is pretty apt, but after a week into my training plan, I already feel like a “runner”, I’ve discussed it at work, I’ve shared my run information with my facebook friends and subscribed to “Runner’s World” magazine. Ok, that last one is a lie, I mean what would there be to actually read about? One foot after the other as fast as you can right?

Wrong. There is so much more to it than that, and even though I was aware how unfit I had become, I was still surprised by how much I struggled on that treadmill for the first time. Red faced and sweating like a racehorse after two miles, the dry retching started. Two miles? This wasn’t looking good. If the first treadmill run was a “back to earth with a bump” moment, the first road run went beyond the bump and full on choke slammed me back to earth.

Out I went, confident that “Gonna Fly Now(theme from Rocky)” and “Lose Yourself” by Eminem would get me through a nice jaunt along Cowes seafront. By the time I actually got to the seafront, I was yet again a sweaty mess. Realistically I was going quite well, and started to feel more comfortable, only for a silver fox in a 70′s tracksuit who was probably my age when I was born to overtake me at Egypt Point. Confidence Knocked. Eminem had kicked in, but he could stuff his 8 mile. I carried on for as long as I could, conscious of the fact that this was my first road run in over two years and finished a 2.2 mile route in 24 minutes. A pace of just under 11 minutes per mile. I was disappointed. I have since been reassured by people that this isn’t too bad, but patience has never been a quality of mine, and I couldn’t help being deflated.

Long way to go yet, and am sure I will improve. Now to the truly important part. The fund raising. I am not someone who does a lot for charity, so to be able to raise some money for the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust makes me feel warm inside! I want to raise the most that I can, so have been trying to come up with some ideas to encourage people to part with their hard earned cash. Seeing as the event is run round the streets of Southsea and Portsmouth, my initial thought was, that if I could raise £2k I would run it in a Saints shirt with the name “Scummer” on the back. This could serve a double purpose, as I am pretty sure my pace would be significantly upped! Somebody else came up with the idea of having everybody who sponsors me could declare that they back Saints or Pompey, and whichever side donates the most money dictates which teams shirt I will wear during the race! The thought of wearing a Pompey shirt does not sit well with me at all, but in the name of charity I might take the risk. Thoughts?

Chris