Day 382: Run 5k, volunteer

Thank you, Penny:



The GPS got a bit confused as to distance because we were running through built-up streets and it kept losing signal, but I did the route (3 miles) in 36:48 with an average HR of 161. The first mile took 11 mins, the second took about 14 and I tried to run for more of the last mile than the second, but still took 12 minutes. Stitch, although not as bad as the last time, and I had to walk in a couple of places, but all in all I'm quite pleased by it. Emil beat me hollow, obv.

Seen on the route: two people in gimp suits (how the hell do you run in those things?), a bunch of firemen, a whole load of people juggling, hula-ing, some people walking their dogs, far too many people just wearing pants and a whole load of red paint, some bloke in a spangly thong (my eyes!), and loads of corporate teams.

I got a medal, which was nice. And a prune. But the queue for tea was far too long.

Right, I now have a PB; time to start training properly for 5ks.

And, thank you for sponsoring me. You're all good bunnies. I raised £145 and counting! Not bad, not bad at all :)

Just for the record, though: I'm not considering 44 & 45 to be done yet. I have to do much more training and my aim for the summer is to get a sub-30 min on the 5k route. On the other hand, I am considering task #20, volunteer for something, to be COMPLETED. So far in this 101things I've helped raise well over £200 for charity and I'm not intending to stop, but I think I can tick #20 off.

Ask me next week and I'll probably change my mind :)

Bad Mike, no biscuit.

I've been very, very poor at keeping this updated. More details for the below will come along in the next couple of days (I hope!) but this is a quick state of the blog, a couple of days past one year into the experiment.

1. Training and running the 5k is still going ahead (tasks 20, 44 and 45). That's happening on Sunday 21st at 9:30, starting at Victoria Gardens in Leeds - cheerleaders welcome, as is anybody who would like to sponsor me.

2. I've not been visiting different swimming pools (task 38), but I have been consistently going to the same one twice a week before work. As this task was primarily an exercise one I think I'm doing quite well here.

3. I discovered that Open Street Map doesn't have my area particularly well covered. So I'm going to fill in the blanks as part of the "explore my grid square" tasks (5 & 6).

4. Thanks to some interesting pointers and online documents I've learned more about planning regs (task 75) than I ever wanted to. And I've discovered just how much commercial rents in nice areas go for (task 74). A lot, is the answer.

5. Walking isn't happening as much as I'd like - 30 miles in any given week is a lot. I can do 20-mile weeks reasonably frequently - I've done eleven so far - so task 4 is getting modified downwards, I'm afraid.

6. New lightbulbs don't get hot enough to make a proper lava lamp (task 84), so I'm having to rethink the original plan. Thankfully I came across this, which has given me ideas.

7. Wordle-ing the blog posts has dropped off. I think I'm more cross about this than anything else; they're there as a prompter for me to actually update the blog, and didn't work. I shall have to kick myself into writing proper updates to this, and expand on the things I've written about in this entry.

So: bad Mike, no biscuit.

Day 333, 310110

I'm a third of the way through the time allowed for my 101things, and I'm nowhere near a third of the way through my list. This is not good. Time for drastic action.

Sport Relief is the activity wing of Comic Relief. You do sports for charity, and so far, so good. It came to my attention yesterday morning eating Crunchy Nut Cornflakes in front of the telly in my dressing gown - about as slobby as I can get - and Gary Lineker's earnest appeals touched me. And, as I thought about it, I can knock off three goals from my list as one thing. I've resisted double-dipping in the past, and this is sort-of treble-dipping, but if it all goes to plan I'll be repeating the experience later in the year in the Tree-athlon (but more of that later).

The three goals are: volunteer for something (task 20), run 5k (#44) and train for the 5k (#45).

The way it works is that there are a series of events held in your local area on Sunday 21st March; some 1 mile races, a couple of 3-milers and one or two six-milers. After thinking about it for a bit I decided I could do the 1 miler without too much trouble, so I should really enter the three-mile version in order to push myself. 3 miles is a bit less than 5k, but that's fine by me and when I was signing up through the website they have a three-week training plan that might just cover me.

So, yes, I signed up. I have a sponsorship page now (so please, sponsor me!) and will be getting paperwork and sponsorship forms and stuff through the post in the next couple of days. If anybody else in Leeds wants to run that would be pretty nifty also - we could start a team :)

I'm not exactly at a standing start for my training but it's not going to be easy. I have six weeks to get up to scratch, and that will be seriously hard work. But I like a challenge, and will begin my training on day 334, 010210.

I have a target for sponsorship, too; it's only £100, and if I get that I'll think of something T&C-related to do on the run - like handing out cups of tea or gingerbread men or something fun like that. So please, think about sponsoring me and if you're local join in, or show your support by cheering me on during the race! And if anybody wants to put together a cheerleading squad I'm not going to complain :)

Running

With regards to #44, I was looking for 5K races in Leeds and discovered Parkrun, and their Saturday mornings running around Hyde Park (the one in Leeds, ob).

Excellent stuff. I think I shall start my training schedule sooner than originally thought. Finding this has given me enough of a shove to get my backside in gear about training. I don't expect to get sub 30 minutes for a while, but I'm keen to get trying.

#45

Task: In order to carry out 44: engage in a relatively sensible training schedule.

What my spreadsheet says: Habit-forming. I because I don't want to die or, if I enter a race, look like a complete arse, I need to practice.

More Details: This is a (hopefully) habit forming task. The ever-helpful Whizzer pointed me at a fairly straightforward training schedule that I'll try sticking to for a while.

One off task? Nope. This is one of those ones I hope to keep rolling way past the next 1001 days.

Measurable? Yes, by doing it and blogging about the results.

#44

Task: Run 5K.

What my spreadsheet says: I'm not sure if I can enter a 5K race, but I want to be able to complete a 5K course without dying.

More Details: I might well enter a 5K race if I feel I can do it, but really I want to know that if I have to, running 5K without stopping is a skill I have in my arsenal.

One off task? Yes, but possibly with a commitment weighting.

Measurable? Yes, by doing it and blogging about the results.