And a little bit longer...

http://runkeeper.com/user/Carolino/activity/58754393

It's the morning after Mischief night, the day of Bonfire Night. Typically, for this time of year in Leeds, I was woken up by the rain falling on the roof above where my bed is in the loft. I know I have changed the way I think about running because, seriously, I actually thought "Perfect day for a good long run." This is only the second time this year that I've been out for a run in the rain, the other time being for the Jane Tomlinson 10k, because generally, I can find an excuse not to go. This morning however, I checked outside and it had blown over for a bit - still damp on the ground, but not actually raining, and if I didn't go today, I would have to wait until Wednesday, and that is now unthinkable.

I took my time in getting out, making sure my new trainers were laced properly so my foot didn't get too tight like last week, and having an extra drink of water (I am not fond of the idea of carrying anything with me when I run - what if I fall over and my hands are full?). Being as how it was past 9am, I opened the living room curtains and I suspect some of the neighbours may have seen for the first time my not very elegant warm up routine. Then, most excitingly of all, I set up the Runkeeper app on my new phone. I am very new to smart phones, and I don't really care about flash features or anything. As I mentioned before, my new phone's great, but the stopwatch isn't, so all I needed was something that would time my run, but if it could tell me how far I've gone, and save me half an hour of tedious maths by telling me what my pace and speed were then so much the better. There's a few apps out there, but I thought I'd try Runkeeper.

And off I went, and to be honest it was not a very remarkable run. Wet underfoot, wet leaves on the ground, people with wet dogs, other wet runners. Straight down to the canal basin and back up again. I'm pleased to be able to say that 90% of the other runners I met smiled or nodded at me.

I couldn't check my time at Lock #1 at the basin, because I couldn't unlock my phone while I was running (clumsy fingers) and the app doesn't show on the locked screen, so I decided to just power on. I did check my rough time when I got to the 10k mark and was amazed to find I'd equalled my time last week, roughly 65mins, and so I kept on. I remember the first time I'd had an inkling that one day I'd run the whole 9mile route, back in summer, but I don't think I really thought I'd do it this year.

The only really tough bit was knowing THAT HILL was waiting for me at the end of it all, and there have been days where that would be enough and I'd slow to a walk at the bottom having given in again, but not today. I'd like to say I came striding comfortably up the last 200m, but that would be a lie. I was virtually crawling on 2 legs, but I did it. My new hero is the last runner from Scarborough. She's an inspiration.

As I collapsed onto the wall, I stopped the app, and couldn't believe the numbers. 1.39mins, 10.54min/mile. 9.2 miles.

Whoo-hoo!

New Trainers!

On Sunday, when I'd sort of calmed down a bit from my triumphant and smug mood after my Big Long Run (8.3 miles) on Saturday, it finally occurred to me that I should go do something about my trainers.

I was in Harrogate to see Jem, and she was ready to test out her injured knee with a gentle walk, so we went for a wander around the town centre. After a surprising visit to the fantastic library, where Jem ended up getting a henna pattern on her hand to celebrate Diwali, we made our way to the shops, and found ourselves actually passing our favourite cookware shop with only a brief but longing glance at the mini Le Creuset dishes in the window. These places sell the paraphernalia that cookware fetishists like us crave (she's worse than me - she uses every utensil within reach even if she's making a bacon buttie - egg whisk, garlic press, at least 2 spatulas and a spud masher...), and even if we weren't buying, we would go for a quick perv, focussing on specialist equipment and fantasising about making rude, fabulous tasty stuff. We still both love cooking, but at least we're running off the results these days, so we hurried past and went straight to Up & Running.

I finally got my gait analysed, and in the process found that I am completely unable to run on a treadmill. Out there on the early morning roads, after a few miles I might be making weird noises and doing something that barely resembles running, but on a treadmill, I run like Phoebe, feet out to the sides, arms doing flapping movements to try and balance. How this could lead to an accurate view of my gait, I was very unsure, but apparently it's not where your feet go on the way down that matters, it's how they hit the ground, and it turns out I am a neutral runner. The very helpful assistant made recommendations for the type of support I might need for my heel pain, and listened to me telling him all about my Big Long Run the day before and how I'd practically killed my NB trainers since starting to run in them in February, having shrunk from 15stone to 12and a half. He looked at them and agreed they're dead. Then he brought me 3 pairs of suitable trainers and let me try them on. And these are the ones I chose:

Today I went out for the first time in my new trainers to get them warmed up for Sunday's 10k race in Scarborough . I only intended to do 10k, but once I had set off, I found it was such a gorgeous, cold and bright Autumn morning that I just wanted to keep going. Along the canal, despite feeling fine and enjoying the run, I found myself wishing that instead of running, that I'd gone up there with my camera to capture the golden misty light, the lances of sun striking into the mist through the orange leaves, the ducks and moorhens splashing in the misty patches on the water. There are some occasions when the 2 things I love so much cross over, and unfortunately they're incompatible. You can't take photos like that whilst actually running, and I had to remind myself that sights like that are also a reason why I love running, especially in the mornings. A good run or walk always throws up something beautiful and surprising. Yesterday, I saw a bloke carrying what I thought was his lunch in a bread bag, but I was proved wrong when he dipped into the bag and threw the contents in handfuls to the greedy ducks at Lock 6. Something about it made me smile, I'm not the only one who still loves to feed the ducks.

Just before the Kirkstall Marina, I asked myself what I wanted to do. Was I going to run straight down to Lock 1 at the canal basin, which would have been about 6.5miles, possibly run back up as far as I could? Was I going to run to the viaduct and run back up Kirkstall Road and get a bit of route practice for the Abbey Dash? What I heard coming out of my mouth as a reply (yes, I do talk out loud to myself when I'm running and there's no-one there to hear) was "I'm going to do what I did on Saturday," and that was my answer.

As I came toiling over the peak of the hill where Kirkstall Lane turns onto Morris Lane, a man getting out of a van saw me and asked if it was really worth it? I answered "2 stone off says it is!" and then I spent the remaining 30 minutes of the run kicking myself that I'd got my weight-loss wrong. It's 2 and a half stone at the moment, hopefully 3 by the end of November. Probably because I was thinking so much about this, I barely noticed the rest of the run, which means it was much easier than Saturday. I even made it back to the garden wall 7 seconds faster than last time.

My feet feel great, the trainers were really comfy and I can appreciate the difference good cushioning makes. I'm now set for the final 2 10ks of my 5 race challenge, and should be ok to get through the first few runs of the 200 Mile Macmillan Madness next year.

The longest I have run... yet! Prepare for 2012!

#Rocky Theme Tune#

8.3 miles. 93mins, 32 secs. Average 5.38mph

Yes. I. Did.

I feel AWESOME!

And now I know I can do that, I'm well up for getting to 10miles by the end of November, weather and attacks of the snot lurgy permitting.

And that would be a cracking end to a year in which my life has changed completely. At the end of my run, as I speed-staggered back to my garden wall, grinning massively, my neighbours were out on the back street. I had to go pull the bins back in from the road, and as I did so dripping with sweat and probably steaming gently, my 2-doors-down neighbour asked if it was really worth all that extra effort.

"Two and a half stone off since February says it is," I said. When she congratulated me and asked how I'd done it, I went on briefly to tell her about my walking, as she said she and her daughter see me setting off every morning, and I told her how losing the weight, and the act of running, have made every aspect of my life better. I explained about my motivation and the fundraising for Macmillan and other cancer charities. As it happens, her Dad is ill and being treated for cancer right now, and she's receiving loads of great advice and friendly help from Macmillan, and her Dad is finding their services invaluable.

It's everywhere. You really don't have to look far to find someone who is dealing with cancer, or relatives who are helping them fight and worrying every day and night. The work Cancer Research UK does is vital, and the Race for Life series is a brilliant opportunity for people to say thank you, and do something for themselves and their loved ones to help battle the illness. Macmillan pick up where the scientists leave off - they are there for the emotional and practical side, providing the essential support that people need to get from one day to the next to get through the illness, or deal with the grief.

This year, I set myself the goal of running 5 races. 5 is loads to a 15stone, 35 year old woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders. 5 is a lot, especially to someone who used to prefer to do absolutely nothing at any given opportunity rather than exert myself. 5 seemed like a long shot to that person I was in February. Behind all that was also the knowledge that this time I wanted to keep up the running for as long as I could whilst the weather was good. This time I wanted to make running a permanent part of my life, not just something that drops in every few years, stays for a few months until I've done a quick fun-run, then drops away leaving only a medal or t-shirt behind, as the pounds start to creep back on.

The result is that I'm now planning the maddest, most exciting challenge for 2012. Jem, a fresh convert to running, who has sustained a really cruel and nasty injury just as she was realising that the bug had not just bitten, but completely savaged her, came up with a wild and dangerous idea for her to run 100miles of races next year, when her knee heals. My honest first reaction was "If she can, I can," and so I said I'd do it with her.

In the next few weeks we'll be planning 5 and 10k runs all over the country between February and the end of November 2012. We'll each complete 100 official miles of races, some together, some separately. Jem will be starting from zero again, as an absolute beginner, as she was only a few weeks into the 0-5k plan before falling and injuring the bursar pad under her left knee. It's incredibly painful and virtually invisible, unless you count the horrible yellow colour all around it even now, 4 weeks on. I will hopefully be starting training again from 5k after a 2month break. We'll each start with the early 5k runs, and then get stuck into the 10ks and longer until we reach a total of 100miles each. There'll be plenty of geeky stats and a little competition between us: fastest average running speed over the year; most improved; furthest travelled to get to the runs, anything that can be logged and compared will be food for the competition. And, as a great big massive ending, we're trying to get ourselves into a half Marathon by the end of the season.

We're having an initial look at what we might do tonight, and Jem's setting up a dedicated blog for the challenge, so I'll publish more details when they're available. It's all ridiculously exciting.

I can already see where this might take me. I'm beginning to think 2013 might be my marathon year.