Wednesday 8 April 2015

3% there

A couple of weeks in and I'm 3% of the way to my goal.

This might disappoint, but given that I've had a brief stay in hospital and that I'm running shorter distances note than I will be at the end (my last run being over 2% by itself) I'm probably doing OK.

Last Saturday I did my first park run at Haywards Heath (Clair Park). It was Easter Saturday and there were lots of other first timers, which meant I could at least hide a bit. I finished a bit below average but with an OK time for someone who's just starting. Probably did quite well considering the weight/body fat handicap. Give a park run a go... they're quite manageable.

At the moment my stamina and strength are better than my aerobic capacity - my legs are not feeling particularly tired on my runs (up to about 6k so far). But if I push the piece any faster I run out of puff.

The good news is that I'm pretty sure I could run 10k quicker than an hour, so my original aim of running the half marathon in February quicker than 2 hours looks very achievable. But I've been told I really ought to be aiming for 1:45 which will require some aerobic improvement.

Hopefully if I keep running and try to at least limit the number of Easter eggs I eat each day, I'll lose a little bit of blubber which will help.

Dream Theater makes me run fast. Flying Colors makes me run at about the right pace. Bands that Mike Portnoy has helped name often have words that Americans spell differently to Brits.

OK, enough rambling for now.

Go and sponsor me. Go on.

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Hux will run 500 miles

I've become one of those annoying people who run. Or, rather, I am becoming one. 3km probably doesn't qualify me.

Let me fill you in. A few years ago I ran 10km for Kidscape. Although I enjoyed it, I didn't train a huge amount and still made it round. One friend who sponsored me suggested that I run the Brighton Half Marathon for Off the Fence.

So that's what I'm going to do, several years on. It's a great charity and the added challenge means that I have no option but to train this time. And I've decided to set myself the challenge of running 500 miles culminating in the Brighton Half Marathon next February.

That's simultaneously absurd and achievable. I genuinely hate running, I am awful at following through with plans and this will require a lot of stamina (figuratively as well as physically).

But on the other hand, any serious runner would say this is quite manageable. A bit over 10 miles a week. Even starting slowly and building up, this is possible.

But for me, daunting.

If I write progress updates they'll probably be here. In the mean time, give me some support by sending a bit of cash to Off the Fence. Here's my JustGiving page.