Bracknell Half - Lemsip Special

The Bracknell Half has been running for 34 years.

I've lived in the area for 40 years.

Seems odd that I've never run it before.

Oh hang on up until a couple of years ago I wouldn't even run to the end of the road. Forgot for a second. It makes sense now.

Anyway this was the first year I'd give it a try. I'd heard it was hilly but so what? I plod round these roads all the time, I knew what to expect, and feeling confident following my first ever sub 2 at Thorpe back in February I was confidently predicting a new pb. Didn't quite go according to plan.

Initially I'd planned to run at least 5k every day for the duration of May, but by day 10 I realised I was pretty fatigued and if I wanted to enjoy the half I'd better take a couple of days off. Cue the world's shortest taper.

Day 11 and my throat is feeling a bit scratchy. But I've got tickets to see the incredible Brothers Osbourne in Camden and that's going to be a party and a half. Made the most of that.

Day 12 and I can't even drag myself out of bed. Hangover didn't help but we are talking proper manflu. Start dosing up on Lemsip and preparing myself for the disappointment of not being able to even start the race. Get my kit together but don't really believe I'll run.

Day 13 is race day. Wake up feeling not toooooo bad so I Lemsip up, leave the house at the last minute telling Serena that I'll probably take about 2 and a half hours so she won't have any rush to meet me for lunch.

I get to the start which is in Bracknell's newly redeveloped town centre known as The Lexicon. After my standard fifteen or twenty trips for a wee before the start (it's not just me right? Is it?) I shuffle my way to the back of the pack as I'm really not feeling it and definitely don't want to go off too quickly.

At 9am we set off and of course I immediately need another wee. Well stupid bladder will have to wait until I finish or run past a big enough bush.

We head from Waitrose up through the pedestrianised area in town and out through one of Bracknell's many underpasses. Start to think I was a bit cautious in opting to start so far back as the bottleneck meant we basically started walking. My Garmin told me my predicted finish time was around 2h20m but I'd mentally checked out of any targets and just decided to enjoy the run in sunny but not too hot conditions. Good job too as it's not a fully roads closed event so you have to stick to the pavement and getting past people in the first couple of miles is a chore, especially as there is a slow uphill section in the first couple of miles. I wasn't paying attention to my watch but I was playing ping-pong with the 2h15m pacers so I had a vague idea what I was on for my the time the second mile marker came around.

The course itself is nice if unremarkable, although maybe that's because I'm so familiar with the area. What does stand out though is the level of local support. The route runs close to a lot of residential areas and it's very much a locals event so people were out along almost the entire route offering support, jelly babies, and kids wanting high fives. Top tip - if energy is flagging mid race high five a child.

It's also worth mentioning the marshalls, there were apparently 250 of them making sure we didn't take any wrong turns or get hit by cars as we ran across junctions. Bracknell can feel like a bit of a maze so having them out on course pointing the way was essential. The organisers had also ensured that there were more than enough water stations dishing out paper cups of water and wet sponges. I always carry my own hydration but the sponges in the later sections as the day warmed up were very welcome.

And guess what? By mile 10 I wasn't feeling the effects of the manflu at all and I dared check my Garmin (I knew I'd dropped the 215 funbus ages ago) - couldn't believe it I was close to hitting a 2 hour finish. The final 5k would need to be solid by my standards but with Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner kicking in I figured I was up for it. Didn't figure on there being a couple of extra uphill sections to deal with though, nothing major but enough to put a drag on your pace, ah well it was worth a shot, really enjoyed the run anyway and considering the fatigue and the lurgy it was a good day's running...

...

... except ...

...

As I entered the Lexicon for the final L shaped stretch through the town centre the support from the crowd was brilliant and I found myself sprinting to the finish line. Honestly if you asked me to run 100m on fresh legs I doubt I'd be any quicker. I was flying. It was like I'd robbed Fenwicks and was making my escape while being chased down by the rozzers. I was Mo Farah, Daley Thompson, and Zola Budd rolled into one...


...Chip time 1h 59m 58 sec! I'd only gone and nailed my second ever sub 2!!

Feels good man.

And in case you're wondering I didn't even need to stop for a wee in the end, although was was tempted to nip in and use the facilities as we ran past my gym. Glad I didn't though or I'd never have seen this sweet Strava notification.

Thank you Bracknell, definitely one I'll be including in my list of regular races from now on. It starts a couple of miles from my house, rude not to.

Don't concentrate on the finger

Anyone who has seen Enter the Dragon will be familiar with this quote from Bruce Lee

It's a great metaphor for running. You can obsess about pace too much and forget the simple joy of just getting out there and exploring. I realised recently that a lot of runners seemingly concentrate on the finger all the fucking time. Strava makes it even worse. You see these fuckers on there making excuses for their "slow" pace in the run name all the time.

I was the same for a while, broke myself of that habit early though.

Yeah I'll have some finger races, really concentrated to get a sub 2 half at Thorpe this year (nailed it by 17 seconds), and if I manage to get an uninterrupted 16 week plan completed before Brighton next year I'll be setting a marathon goal but for the most part don't forget that you can make running fun and fulfilling without chasing a pb or feeling that you are training for something.

Look at me. I tend to be grinning most of the time when I'm out for a run. Especially on days like today when it's sunny weather and a long weekend. Smiley twat that I am...

So what's the secret of this running nirvana? Simple. Just switch off and run. Today I had a vague idea where I was planning to head but I set out with no goal in mind, just let the music, weather, and feel dictate my pace and direction. So load up the "Really Long Runs" playlist and off we go.

Thing about this playlist is it has everything from Disney soundtracks to Norwegian black metal. Shuffle it and you could be singing along to Tina Turner then all of a sudden some narly death metal kicks in and you choose the hilly path. Brilliant. At one point today I found myself sprinting up a really steep hill to the Rocky soundtrack and yes I punched the air and span round at the top.

Took some photos too. Can't do that if you are segment hunting.

Sunshine, woods, music. Would have been a shame if I'd just focussed on the finger.

Ran my first ultramarathon yesterday

Yesterday morning I found myself stood at the start of the Relish Running Races Two Tunnels course in Brickfields Park. Over the course of the day it would see some 1500 runners cross that line covering various distances from 5k upwards, but for now at 8.30 on a Sunday it was reserved for the 50 or so of us mad enough to tackle five laps of the 10km route ultra styley.

A post shared by Dan (@thedancoleman) on Aug 19, 2017 at 11:54pm PDT

And what a great event it was. Of the 50km route 20km was underground in converted railway tunnels. The out and back 10km laps meant that we'd cross the other ultra runners at various points, which was a great morale boost in the later laps as we offered words of encouragement and the odd high five.

Mentally it was pretty tough at times in the long tunnel as in the later stages it seemed to go on forever and the piped classical music took on a bit of a horror film edge

Imagine running a mile through a tunnel with this coming at you from the walls. Now imagine you've already run so far that you are in that nightmare feels like running through treacle scenario. And there is a kid on a rattly scooter gaining on you all the time and laughing like a sinister little demon. That was fun.

A post shared by Dan (@thedancoleman) on Aug 20, 2017 at 8:22am PDT

Although being able to break the race into 5k trots between the feed stations really helped, and oh my were they well stocked - bananas, oranges, cakes, at least 3 different drink options, gels, jelly beans, flapjacks...everything you could want to refuel and then some. The marshals were great too, offering personal encouragement as they saw you running/trotting/hobbling towards them sporting your ultra bib.

All in all such a great, friendly, well-organised event - definitely a good pick for my first ultra and one that I'd certainly consider running again in the future.

Anyway here are the stats...

Streak is over but I'm still running!

It's been almost 2 weeks since the end of the 5km every day streak and while I've allowed myself some rest days but I'm still getting out there and running. Got no choice really as I've got to keep at it to get ready for a half marathon and marathon in the new year.

So today I ran the latest in the Brutal 10 series, this one at the Spider Hill course in Aldershot. I woke up to torrential rain, and it probably tells you a lot about the type of running I like the most when I say I was pretty happy about that. I knew it was going to be a wet course anyway with a few mud and water crossings so as far as I was concerned the downpour was just another feature of the course. Turns out that not many people were put off by the weather as there were around 450 other people taking part today.

I've run about half a dozen of these events now all on different courses but all equally tough in their own way and one thing I noticed today, it being the first once since I finished the 31 day 5k streak was how strong I felt. There were a couple of people who I recognised as being usually on about the same pace as me who I breezed past. I also finished comfortably inside the top 50% which was a first for me. Guess there was something in this streak then.

These Brutal events are really well organised and great value so if you are in the area and fancy trying a tough fun trail run these events are ace.

Oh and special mention to the bloke who got headbutted by a deer. That doesn't happen at Parkrun!

I've bloody done it!!!! 31 of 31 - Lost in the woods on Halloween

Remember yesterday when I said I'd have to go for the 200km for the month goal? Bloomin' well did it too. Not quite in the way I expected though.

So I set off at a relaxed injury avoiding pace planning to do yesterday's loop in reverse which would just get me to the 200km. At some point I remember thinking "hmm these hills seem much steeper in this direction" still I was feeling good and 5k from the 200k goal I selfied it up...

That hill was loads steeper than it looks. The rather demented face is because I've just run up the other side of it. Had I realised I was about to head off on a random detour of hilly hell I would have looked even madder. Probably something like this

Anyway run challenge complete. Achievement unlocked. 204.33km run which is just shy of 5 full marathon distances.

Time now for a couple of days rest. To those who have supported my effort with a charitable donation I thank you, it really has helped to keep me going. To those who thought about it but didn't get around to it there is still time, just visit my Just Giving page, it's quick and easy to do. Click the logo below.

Although I'm not planning on running 5k every day for a while I do need to keep working on my running as I've signed up for a half marathon in February and a full marathon in April next year. I'm also wanting to see how much I can improve my local Parkrun time before the end of the year. If anything interesting happens in pursuit of these goals I'll post about it here.

And finally if anyone fancies trying something similar why not leave a comment on this blog, I'd love to hear about it.

Run 30 of 31 - One day left and a new goal

I went well beyond my 5k goal today as is generally the case when I head up into Swinley Forest for a run. I actually covered a 12.5k loop and recorded a 10k personal best in the process.

Now I've run just over 188km this month with one day left. If I do a similar loop tomorrow then I'll have hit a nice round 200km for the month. I'm going to have to do it aren't I?

29 of 31 at the spooky parkrun

Good news. Maps are working again which means it recorded my PR on the Bracknell Parkrun sprint finish hurrah! It was pretty spooky with little vampires and witches jumping around in the woods which might have had an influence on my time.

Also check out position 1 on the most miles run this week leaderboard for the Bracknell Parkrun group on Strava

That's right it's the only first place I'm ever going to see as a runner so I'm taking it. And in keeping with the halloweenie vibe look at that elevation gain.

Remember friends I'm not just doing this for the good of my health, well I suppose I am but also I'm hoping to raise a small amount of change for Cancer Research UK. If you can spare even a pound or two it all helps. Click on the Cancer Research logo below or in the sidebar to make a donation through my Just Giving page. Thank you for your support you lovely people xxx

Run 28 of 31! 3 to go!!!

Ran from Goodge Street to Shepherds bush. Garmin chucked a wobbly again though so no map and it looks like a treadmill run.

Top tip of you have a similarly afflicted Garmin device and you track a run but get no map showing in Garmin connect or Strava. Turn your watch off and on again. Good job I work in IT.

27 of 31 nearly done son

Wasn't feeling quite so fatigued today so I got to my usual run commute station at 5.2km and decided to see how far it was to the next one. Guess at that point my body just thought "oh ffs he's not going to stop I might as well shut up moaning and let him carry on" as the extra distance was a breeze.

Apparently I recorded it as a treadmill run somehow. No idea how that happened.

26 consecutive runs and everything hurts

Legs hurt. Shoulder hurts. Going to finish this bloomin' thing no matter how slow I get.

Five left. That's twenty-five more k boffins.

Day 25 - the 150th Km

Took advantage of a day off and went for a 10km run in the woods as an antidote to too many London pavement runs. Getting slower by the day now but only 6 days left and then I'll be setting myself a different type of running goal which will allow me some rest days. Can't wait! How about a donation to Cancer Research to give me a final push?

I also hit a milestone today - I've now run more than 150km this month!

On week left. Will I make it?

Run 24 of the 31 day streak and I'm feeling really tired. So pleased I've only got one week left of this stupid thing. Pace was so slow but even if you'd sent a herd of knife wielding clowns after me I'd have struggled to pick up the pace.

In fact I was so slow a single zombie (proper slow Romero one not one of those supercharged living dead from mostly rubbish films) would catch and eat me. And on that note time to see if The Walking Dead can rescue itself after pissing off the entire internet with that S6 cliffhanger. I'm betting they ruin the Negan character but let's see.

23 of 31 - less than a marathon left!

Run 23 of 31 today and it is starting to feel like the end is in sight. 8 more days, 40km remaining which is just under a marathon distance. Really starting to feel quite tired in the legs now, when I started this thing plodding through a run commute with a backpack on at the end of a working day felt like I was running through treacle yet I was still around 9m40s per mile. Today in the middle of a Sunday afternoon in which I should be well rested staying in touch with a 10min mile was hard work. Really looking forward to seeing what I run like a week or two into November when I've had a few rest days though.

Today's run was a 7km loop which is my "just get a run done and don't think about it" route so I had a couple of familiar Strava segments, even managed to PR one of them. The thing about Strava segment times though is you need to take them with a pinch of salt. I've been cynical of them since it apparently clocked me doing 35mph on a Brompton folding bicycle when in fact I was scooting it along the pavement so I don't really pay much attention to them but I decided to have a closer look at the one I PR'd today. So the all time leaderboard I'm somewhere in the middle as you'd expect but the top ten is interesting. Actually the top 1 is interesting as we have a guy who has a PR some 2 minutes faster over the 0.8 mile segment than the guy in position 2. Looking closer at the session in which the segment time was recorded this chap apparently beat the world mile record 2 or 3 times during his 8 mile run. Fortunately I'm never going to be close enough to any segment all time records to really care too much but I know a lot of people are motivated by grabbing them but it seems to me that once you get closer to the top on popular segments the whole feature loses it's value as you find yourself competing with people who at best have accidentally recorded the wrong sport (e.g. recorded a bike ride as a run), or at worst are downright cheating. That said down here in the slow section I find that a 10 second improvement will get me 10 places up the leaderboard which is a nice little push for next time!

Edit: Found out how to report dodgy data and our world record holder is no longer on the leaderboard. 

Twenty Two is Parkrun Day

So I'm into single figures left on my 5k every day challenge. Thanks to those who have supported my efforts so far with a donation to my chosen charity. It really has helped to motivate me to keep at it. If anyone else would like to donate (and I promise I'll make myself suffer for it) please click on the logo below.

So day 22 and for the first time since I started this 5km every day thing I ran at my local parkrun which gave me a nice opportunity to benchmark myself as I've run it about 15 times in the past.

What I learned was I'm pretty tired. It was all I could do to get under 30 min, well over 2 minutes slower than my best time over the summer, and sub 30 today was only made possible because I really wanted to mug some guy on the final straight. So thanks stranger for pushing me.

I also learned that 125mph by New Model Army is quite a good song for running to.

Twenty One and still not done

Today my streak of 5k runs hit 21

That's right

Twenty Times. Twenty Times I've Run 5km Or More This Month

So here we are at 20 consecutive 5km+ runs. 31 seems a long way off.
I found a song to mark 20 btw. No idea what to use for 21. This song thing may be a shortlived streak.

Congratulations on reading the boilerplate. The best content is always down here. Most people probably just skim over it thinking it's the same old stuff about how it's more difficult than you might think to run 5k+ every day for a month and that it would be nice of you to donate a few pennies to Cancer Research UK but not this time. No indeedy. I shall use this bit of the page to tell you a rubbish joke instead. So Vincent van Gogh is in the pub having a beer and waiting for his buddy. His mate comes in and says "alright Vincent, can I get you a pint?", "No thanks mate" says Vincent, "I've got one ear". Badumtsch.

Run Streak N-n-n-n-NINETEEN

N-n-n-n-nineteen, nineteen
N-nineteen, nineteen


Anyone got a song for twenty? Maybe this one?.

If you've read this blog before you'll know that this bit of boilerplate text is a reminder what this is all about. I'm an averagely fit guy in his early forties who is trying to run at least 5km every day in October. I only started running earlier this year and I work the sort of hours that people often claim leaves them with no time to do whatever it is that they think they might quite like to do "if I only had the time". Leaving the house before 6.30am and not getting home until 8.30pm and still managing to get my run in every day might even inspire someone to do whatever that thing is. Maybe reading more books or learning to bake or mastering the mouth organ could all start here. But that isn't my real reason for doing this. You see some people think that not drinking alcohol for a month is worthy of sponsorship. Well for some people it is but not from the type of sponsors you find on Just Giving. Anyway this is my response to the Go Sober campaign. Running and drinking. Yay. Oh and donating to Cancer Research UK. Superthxbai.

Eighteen Eighteen Eighteen and I like it!

Day 18 of the 31 day 5km every day challenge for Cancer Research.

Yes I like it
Oh I like it
Love it
Like it
Love it
Eighteen!
Eighteen!
Eighteen!
Eighteen and I like it

Day 17 of 31 - 5k in the rain

I'm a novice runner who went on a rant about the god awful Go Sober for October campaign and ended up pledging to run 5km every day for a month in aid of Cancer Research UK. Please consider donating to this fine cause and keep me running!

We're on day 17. Day 17 and it's the first time I've had to run in the rain on this challenge. In the UK in October I've managed 16 rain free runs. Hope it's not downhill from here.

New hazard today. Umbrellas. What sort of inconsiderate jackass thinks it's a good idea to wander down a London pavement with a sodding gold umbrella? I'd prefer it if the streets were full of killer clowns, at least their brollies are comically small.

2 run commute tips for the day. 1) Osprey backpack 2) Macbook Air

Run 16 of 31 - Halfway there!

I'm now halfway through my 31 day 5km every day October running challenge for Cancer Research and it all caught up with me a but this morning making today's run a hard work plod through the woods and deep puddles.

Mid point feels like a good time to post some stats though so here we go

• I've run for 7.6 hours
• I've covered 99 km (61.5 miles or 2.3 marathons) so far
• I've climbed almost 1000m
• I've run a km in under 4 minutes during 5 different runs and under 4m30s on 9 different days. After this challenge is over I'm going to try for a 24min 5k before the end of 2016 so it's pretty encouraging that I'm hitting this sort of pace during these runs.

Anyway job half done. Hope I can get through the next 15!