RUN 128 - Streatham Hill & Hillside Gardens Park

Legs are feeling much more flexible and stronger today, went out for another short steady run including a slight hill up to this small park and then back again, the weather is starting to get a little milder, 35/40+ degrees, which I'm looking forward to, although this winter has been much better than recent ones living in Chicago. My next trail coastal marathon is in Cornwall in April so i have a couple of months to prepare. Having done two already since December i have a much better idea of what to expect, my difficulty is going to be hill work in London. I might have to plan some train journeys outside the city for my long runs. [1.8m - 16:00 - 08:53/m]

[Hillside Gardens Park]

RUN 127 - Happy speed signs & a ultra fit Santa look-a-like

Cleaned off my trail shoes from Saturday's marathon and ventured out for a short jog today to loosen up a little, the muscles felt strong but still a little tight so just a quick loop around the common today. You never know what you're going to see when you step outside the door, i made this speed sign happy as it clocked me at 6mph as i approached it, its smile back encouraged me on to wish an ultra fit santa look-a-like good morning as he changed past me at a steady pace. Getting out into the world whether walking, hiking, cycling or running exposes you to the infinite potential this world has to offer; and the more you get out there the more potentially enriched your will be. [1.5m - 14:20 - 13:00/m]

[not that i stood a chance of breaking the 30mph speed limit,

this speed sign was happy with my run today]

RUN 126 - CTS Stage 3; Portland

Today I completed the 3rd Stage of the 2009/2010 Endurance life Coastal Trail Series, in Portland! I finished in 5hrs 27mins, about 40 minutes faster than The Gower, although that doesn't properly reflect the intensity of the pain this race required me to push through, once again. The course lapped the Island of Portland twice, navigating our way from the Sailing Academy, Naval base, rising the first 400ft to the top of the island and around the prison before hitting the east coast, through ankle twisting rock strewn paths, cliff edges, through abandoned quarries, leg scratching brush and across miles of punishing pebble beaches... my ever loyal wife was joined by my parents, sister and her boyfriend forming a truly awesome support crew who navigated back and forth across the island to cheer encouragement, louder and more positively the more pain I put myself through. And there certainly was pain! ... the first lap was actually pretty good, i paced myself and felt good at the first quarter, which was the toughest... except for the pebble beach at the halfway point... first time round I ran across at a steady pace, second time around, after 23 miles and more than 1,600ft in total assent, plus decent... the beach beat me, and I, like everyone around me put my head down, and walked! Just as my race in The Gower, miles 20-23 were the most intensely painful... lack of salts this time caused massive muscle cramps through my thighs, quads and hamstrings cramped up so tightly i could not bend either leg at all. I took my time and squatted slowly to stretch out the muscles enough to be able start running again, i had hoped to finish in 5hrs, it seems each of these races will teach me something about setting expectations, and like always i learn a lot about myself too... about what I'm capable of, and how strong my resolve is to finish what i begin. While my finish times will never likely compare to those of the winners, that doesn't concern me, completing even one event such as this in a lifetime would be a major achievement for most people, each new challenge I set and complete makes me feel more complete, a periodic test of my mental and physical strength, which I come away from with renewed confidence. I'd recommend it to anyone, find something that makes you think "i could never do that" then commit to it, train, practise, rehearse, study and you WILL surprise yourself... my next "i could never do that" moment is April 23rd... come back and see how i got on. [26.2m - 05:27:00 - 12:28/m]

[West Coast of the Island, muddy paths and vertical cliffs]

[The decent to Chesil Beach, the easiest footing
followed by the most challenging]

[The awe inspriing view ahead]

[part of the reason for debilitating muscle cramps]

[Rock strewn paths just waiting to brake my ankles]

[So often no other runners or supporters in sight,
time to focus and push through ]

[The infamous Chesil beach I hated so much, which i finally beat]

RUN 125 - Tapering & motivation

The recent beautiful snow has thawed to muddy trails for great cross country running. Tapering these last 10 days before Saturday's marathon is always difficult, reducing mileage i always have excess energy and frustrated not to run it off. The part of London were staying in currently is great for longer runs to more interesting areas, shorter runs like today are less stimulating, basically running around the block is difficult, so as soon as i saw it start raining this morning i ran straight out! ... the weather is great at motivating my runs, not necessarily by 'good' weather, running in a variety of conditions is most interesting to me. [3.0m - 24:31 - 08:11/m]

[Beautiful snow becomes beautiful mud]

RUN 124 - The Crystal Palace

Took my run today towards Crystal Palace, football stadium, park and 2nd site of the Crystal Palace of the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London, relocated here it burnt down in 1936. 6 days until my trail marathon on the island of Portland near Weymouth. I feel confident about this race, my first trail marathon a month ago in The Gower, Wales was brutal, i think the footing will be better here, im still not placing any expectations on time. My strength feels good, although my stomach hasn't been 100% the last few days, it shouldn't be a problem tapering this week and should be fine by Saturday. I'm better prepared for this race, and know how i need to pace myself. Running teaches me the power of confidence and its ability to make the seemingly impossible possible. [8.59m - 01:12:13 - 08:24/m]

[2nd Site of The Crystal Palace 1854-1936]

RUN 123 - More snow on Tooting Common!

I spoke too soon... more snow in London today! falling quite heavily when i walked out the door to run today, but not really cold. I used the opportunity today to run randomly through the trees and across fields, sometimes i love planning routes other times its great to just run, like today. And it felt great, finishing today's 6m run i felt strong and fit, my next race is in under two weeks and i haven't drunk any alcohol in 2 weeks too which definitely helps my preparation. [6.14m - 52:27 - 08:32/m]

[Worst British winter in 30yrs continues]

RUN 122 - Melting snow on Tooting Common

A little warmer today, perfect for a gentle 4m jog, the snow is turning to slush and i forgot to put gloves on which while running i definitely needed, that gave me more motivation to push through my scheduled run to get back and a warm apartment. [3.0m - 23:32 - 07:50/m]

[Melting snow/ice on Tooting Common?]

RUN 121 - Chelsea & Knightbridge; Gordon Ramsay & a helpful Kiwi

Had a really satisfying run today, i was annoyed the night before as i misplaced my London A-Z which is critical for me to figure out where the bloody hell im running sometimes, but i winged it and with the help of a lovely Kiwi lady was able to get back on track and over the Thames River into Chelsea to continue my run. Saw Gordon Ramsay (i think) coming out of Starbucks wearing shorts and wellies, and i ran up through Chelsea and into posh Knightsbridge past the fancy English shoe shop pictured below and up to Harrods. I was also testing out our digital camera recording my run which i'd hooked to my camel bak using an ipod case (realised later that the camera was still running while i was talking to the Kiwi girl... she didnt seem perturbed. Its easy to start stop the video and not think about it but with my running motion it swings left/right too much, also the battery ran out in 1.5hrs. I'm testing it now as my next Trail run in Portland (where all the stone for fancy old buildings in London came from) is in a couple of weeks. I felt a little tired approaching the 16th mile, running on some ice covered streets made he going a little difficult but im always up for a challenge, didn't slip once and i didn't even have trail shoes on. As it often does, my tiredness faded fast and completing another longish run fills me with confidence, im starting to think about what time/pace i might place in the next trail marathon, but i have to not do that and focus on the challenge, each of these races are very individual and i know that so long as im able to give my all i'll be happy with completing the challenge. Seems like a good mantra to live by! [16.24m - 02:29:26 - 09:29/m]

[Some fancy shoes in a fancy shop window]

RUN 120 - Biggest UK snow storm in 30 years!

In the same day I'm cursing the weather for adding 90 minutes to my drive due to a closed motorway, and within hours I'm free of the constraints of cars and traffic and loving the same weather as i take it on and run across the snow covered countryside. I suppose that's what the saying "if life give you lemons, make lemonade" means. Set your expectations too high or be unwilling to adapt to life's curve balls and you're destined to fail. [5.57m - 49:36 - 08:54/m]

[England, the river Severn and Wales beyond]

RUN 119 - Clapham Common, London

I've been feeling really tired lately, I'm not quite sure why... i spend a lot of time staring at this tiny computer screen which might be it, but by the evening my head and eyes seem to be exhausted. It makes having confidence in running a little more challenging, but my strength and fitness seem good. Although i have been wondering lately if I should look into finding a personal trainer, I feel like my fitness has plateaued as my body is used to the routine i have, i suppose i could shake up the routine myself too, i just wonder how many running days to sacrifice for lights weights or bike riding. Something to think more about later in the year after my trail run schedule is complete. Felt strong today, had a good run on pace. [4:45m - 36:44 - 08:14/m]

[Frosty ground of Clapham Common]

RUN 118 - Wimbledon Common, London

Back in London again, had a busy morning getting ready for the week ahead, and didn't get out to start today's run until the middle of the afternoon. I think like most runners at that point the thought crossed my mind that perhaps i would skip running today, it was late, going to be harder to run the route i wanted to, possibly les satisfying since it was getting dark, but i knew i'd feel a sense of calm and contentment after running, that i'd acheived todays goal, and if i didnt go, i'd have to live with the sense of 'failure' for the rest of the evening, so i ran. I'd planned to make my way over to Wimbledon Common, at which point i'd have a couple more miles to run before turning back. I'd imagined it to be a great photo opportunity too... but it was pitch black by the time i got there as you can see. Although i did learn today of an organisation which plans free timed running events in Parks across London (and the country) www.parkrun.org.uk which i'm really excited about and plan to work into my weekend runs. [11.57m - 01:40:25 - 08:40/m]

[A War Memorial at the edge of Wimbledon Common]

RUN 117 - Hortham Lane, Almondsbury

A cool icy morning today, i encountered several other runners including a local football team out on a training run. So often people think I'm crazy for the times, weather and distances i run, its always nice to see other people out doing the same thing i love to do, especially on such a beautiful sunny cool day as today. The photo below is typical of many of the roads in this area, you need to be alert and keep an ear out for oncoming traffic, the reward is a beautiful calm running track, often rewarded with public footpaths which are easily explored across private land. So often, when i have a set schedule of running distances, each run has the danger of feeling contrived or mundane, when your starting point is so often the same the first few miles can be that way, until you have a chance to change direction at which point every changes and a completely new experience begins. [5.94m - 46:29 - 07:50/m]

[Typical local road]