Week 34

Week 34.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
19th Aug	Rest Day
20th Aug	Rest Day
21st Aug	Rest Day
22nd Aug	Rest Day
23rd Aug	Rest Day
24th Aug	Rest Day
25th Aug	Rest Day
Week 34	0.00	0.00	--:--:--			0	0	0
Week 33	34.50	55.52	06:16:57			478	469	4,116
Week 32	38.50	61.96	07:05:30			1,206	1,138	4,238
Week 31	26.10	42.00	04:51:20			900	957	2,593
Week 30	34.00	54.72	06:18:57			1234	1166	3,771
Week 29	46.50	74.83	08:41:00			1756	1625	4,951
Week 28	37.81	60.86	06:59:57			902	809	4,705
Week 27	8.00	12.87	01:30:27			301	302	1,020
Week 26	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 25	85.00	136.79	17:49:35			1671	1629	10,643
Week 24	19.20	30.90	03:43:53			584	559	2,085
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	1010.67	1626.48	8 days 00:17:56			25,006	24,707	112,305
To go	242.02	389.52

After 6 solid weeks training, concluding with a Marathon in the final week, I took the opportunity to have a complete week off while I am working in Dubai.

My wife joined me out here for the first week, so while I was at work she was busy checking out the shopping malls.

The Dubai mall is the largest in the world, by square foot, at a pretty impressive 12.1 million square foot consisting of around 1,200 shops. 

I'm no football fan so I just Googled how big a football pitch is and was surprised to learn there is no official size, with FIFA saying the optimal size is 110-120 yards long by 70-80 yards wide, or 69,000 to 86,000 square foot. 

If we use an average of 80,000 square foot you could fit 151 football pitches inside the Dubai Mall, so it's no wonder that, according to my phone, we covered 9 miles during our first trip there! 

The choice of places to eat, and the quality of the food, is just insane so we went back there again on Monday after I finished work, and this time my phone recorded just under 6 miles, so despite having a week off training I still got some good miles in!

It must be at least a 1 mile walk along air conditioned corridors from the metro (train) stop to the mall itself.  As with most things in Dubai even the Metro is a record holder, holding the record for the longest fully automated metro network at 47 miles!

There isn't even a driver or conductor on board 'just in case'.  Every journey is 100% computer controlled.

My biggest challenge last week was trying not to eat and drink too much and I can quite safely (happily?) say I failed miserably.

In exactly 4 weeks time the US Centurion event will have just finished so the last thing I need to do now is ruin 8 months of good training by piling on the pounds.

In fact being here in Dubai is a perfect opportunity to show a picture of my first visit to Dubai in 2008 when I was almost 5 stone heavier than I am now, along with a picture from today.

It was during this first work trip, which was for 9 months, that I started going to the hotel gym and started walking and jogging on a treadmill for the first time.

2008 weighing in at just under 17 stone (the photo doesn't really do it justice):

And today... not sure on the weight... but I was just over 12 when I left the IOM a week ago!

I was actually in the hotel for 3 months before I finally plucked up the courage to go to the gym wearing an old pair of trainers, some heavy 'jog' pants (which I had bought for lounging around the apartment) and a heavy cotton T-Shirt.

I felt great after my first session, which only lasted about 20 minutes, and over the next few weeks I slowly built up fitness and was amazed at how quickly I was improving.

I started to follow a 'couch to 5k' walk/run plan that I found on the internet (they weren't as popular as they are now) and about 2 months later I completed my first 5k run/walk on a treadmill in just over 40 minutes if I remember rightly.

About 3 months later I completed my first 10k run/walk in about 80 minutes.

I returned to the Isle of Man in July 2009 determined to keep up the excercise but I found it difficult running outdoors after spending the last 6 months on a treadmill. 

It wasn't just the transition from treadmill to road that was difficult but I lost a lot of confidence too - what if someone I knew saw me! 

Even in Dubai, where I knew nobody would see me in the gym, I still hadn't plucked up the courage to bare my pasty white legs to the other innocent gym goers so I hadn't yet moved away from jog pants to shorts.  I had ditched the cotton T-Shirt though.

I started with some flat 5k jogs along Douglas promenade wearing jog pants and, just in case anyone saw me, a hoody over my T-Shirt, with the hood up at all times so in my head I looked like Rocky Balboa.

This didn't last long as it was far too hot so gradually I stopped jogging and the weight started to go back on again.

It was about 9 months later that I got the bug again on the day of the 2010 Parish Walk.

A friend of ours, Anne, was walking to Peel and she often said I should have a go but I have to admit I was 'one of those people' who thought walking was easy so what's the point.

It was on Parish Walk day that I decided to take our dog out for a longer than usual walk which took me from Onchan up around Little Mill and the Clypse and Kerrowdhoo reservoirs.

I was gone for about 2.5 hours and when I got back I was absolutely knackered so I went online to figure out how far I had walked.  It turned out to be just under 8 miles, so not even 4mph average (I blamed the dog for stopping to sniff everything).

With the Parish Walk in full swing I decided to checkout the website and when I saw the various cut off times I realised I would barely have made the Santon cutoff. 

Hmm, okay, maybe this isn't as easy as I thought.

I then checked out the End to End website and when I realised I would not have made the time to progress beyond Peel at 22 miles I started to get interested.  Not only would I have to walk quicker than my long dog walk but I would have to maintain it for over 5 hours to get through the first checkpoint, and up to 10 hours to qualify as a finisher at 39.5 miles. 

That was it.  The challenge was on.  My first Garmin GPS watch was purchased and the training began.  I had about 10 weeks. 

One of the first purchases after the watch was a pair of lycra 'anti chafe' shorts.  I had been lucky to avoid this during my 5/10k jogs 9 months earlier but as the training miles increased I wasn't so lucky. 

I still wasn't brave enough to bare my legs and frighten the public but I did upgrade from jog pants to some proper walking trousers.

I remember trying as hard as I could to break the 12 minute mile / 5mph barrier and it was about 5 weeks into my training that I eventually did it, just, along Marine Drive.  I had to stop and text my wife, Maeve, to give her the exciting news!

After 10 weeks training I completed the End to End in 08:37:52, averaging 4.544 mph.

I learnt a lot from that, the three main things being:

1) Don't wear trousers - they can chafe the knees;

2) Don't wear too many clothes at the start.  It may be cool, but you will warm up pretty quickly;

3) Don't carry a water bottle all day, not even one with a hand grip.   Get a decent water belt.

I had already booked the Monday off work to recover but had to take the Tuesday too as I still couldn't walk properly.

I haven't looked back since.  I no longer cared what people thought.  Shorts were purchased and I was out on the road.  Parish Walk 2011 was only 8 months away.....

Nearly 6 years later I have 5 Parish Walk finishes, 4 End to End Finishes, UK Centurion c.1123, 2014 UK 24 Hour Champion (technically still reigning champion as the 24 hour event was not held in the UK in 2015 or 2016), 2016 Continental 50 mile winner, numerous 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon, 20k, 10k, and 5k finishes and over 1000 miles walked in 33 weeks.

All this from a guy who took 3 months to get enough confidence to go to a hotel gym (3,500 miles from home) and who wouldn't wear shorts in public for another 18 months.......

If I can do it, anyone can do it.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 33

Week 33.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
12th Aug	Rest Day
13th Aug	Rest Day
14th Aug	26.20	42.16	04:42:27	10:46	5.6	261	260	3,019	3	156
15th Aug	Rest Day
16th Aug	Rest Day
17th Aug	8.30	13.36	01:34:30	11:23	5.3	217	209	1,097	-	-
18th Aug	Rest Day
Week 33	34.50	55.52	06:16:57			478	469	4,116
Week 32	38.50	61.96	07:05:30			1,206	1,138	4,238
Week 31	26.10	42.00	04:51:20			900	957	2,593
Week 30	34.00	54.72	06:18:57			1234	1166	3,771
Week 29	46.50	74.83	08:41:00			1756	1625	4,951
Week 28	37.81	60.86	06:59:57			902	809	4,705
Week 27	8.00	12.87	01:30:27			301	302	1,020
Week 26	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 25	85.00	136.79	17:49:35			1671	1629	10,643
Week 24	19.20	30.90	03:43:53			584	559	2,085
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	1010.67	1626.48	8 days 00:17:56			25,006	24,707	112,305
To go	242.02	389.52

1000 training/racing miles complete!  A great milestone for my challenge.

Sunday was the Ramsey Marathon and my plan had been to walk at my target 100 mile pace for two reasons, firstly so I could assess how I felt at the end and then decide if another 75 at that pace was remotely possible and secondly I didn't want to stress my foot too much.

There were about 100 runners and walkers in the event and, knowing I would be walking, I took my position towards the back of the field.

When the gun went off I got carried along with the quicker pace of the runners as I didn't want to hold people up behind me, and the plan was to slow down once the initial jostling for space on the road settled down.

As part of the jostling Matt Haddock, who was also walking the full distance, had worked his way through to me from the very back.  After just a few minutes everything settled down and I glanced at my watch which had me going much quicker than the plan.

This is when I had a quick decision to make.

I had spoken with Matt earlier in the week and I knew he was hoping to do around 4:40 or thereabouts, about 20 minutes quicker than my planned pace. 

Michael George had also commented on my previous blog asking me what benefit I hoped to achieve walking at my 100 mile pace and I knew he was right. 

The benefit I was hoping for was more mental than physical, i.e. being able to assess how I felt at the end, but the truth is after walking 26.2 miles at any pace I would be knackered so would that really tell me anything I didn't already know? 

I also knew my foot was generally okay on the flat, and even if it did flare up I would have 3 weeks while working in Dubai for it to settle down again.

As mile one clocked over in 10:42, about a minute quicker than plan, the decision was made.  I would walk with Matt and see how close I could get to 04:40.

We walked together the entire distance to record 04:42, a walking PB over the Marathon distance for me of 26 minutes, and just 18 minutes slower than my running PB!

My foot was absolutely fine and I only started to notice it during the last couple of miles so all in all it was a great result.

Two large 13.1 mile laps is mentally pretty tough but chatting the whole way around made it feel so much easier and it certainly didn't feel like we had been out there for nearly 5 hours, so thanks for the company Matt, and thanks to Michael for questioning my plan.

Also a big thanks to all the organisers and helpers for putting on such a great event. 

One of the things Matt and I were chatting about was how it's a shame the walkers aren't classified separately to runners as there were some great times from the regular walkers in both the full and half marathon. 

Of course if they did this then technically it would need to be judged, even if it was a category B walk, but even an 'unofficial' nod to the efforts of the walkers would be a nice touch and may even encourage more walkers to take part. 

Just like the Fireman's 50k walk is great preparation for the Parish Walk, a half or full marathon is great preparation for the End to End.

On Wednesday I did a steady walk out towards Baldwin and back.  I purposely didn't wear my heart rate monitor as I just wanted to walk at a relaxed/comfortable pace but it turned out to be a pretty hard 8.3 miles.

The route is quite hilly and mile 2 is a long descent down Skollag road so my foot was hurting quite a bit at the bottom, and on the steep climb just after the bridge my hamstrings started complaining too. 

It was only 2 days since the Marathon so my hamstrings came as no surprise, but my foot was annoying and I should have just called it a day and turned around for about 4 miles, but I didn't.  No surprise there really.

I am off to Dubai for 3 weeks on Saturday for work and while I was originally thinking it's an inconvenient time so close to the 100 I'm now thinking it's the perfect time. 

Looking back at my weekly mileage this is the end of a good 6 week block of training so I will take next week off completely and then just do some easy treadmill sessions in the gym in weeks 2 and 3 just to keep moving. 

It's also a good opportunity to use some of the other gym equipment for some targeting strength training, particularly my hamstrings which are usually the first to suffer in the ultra walks.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 32

Week 32.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
5th Aug	Rest Day
6th Aug	20.00	32.19	03:37:51	10:53	5.5	602	611	2,195	3	152
7th Aug	Rest Day
8th Aug	Rest Day
9th Aug	8.50	13.68	01:37:52	11:30	5.2	227	142	911	2	142
10th Aug	Rest Day
11th Aug	10.00	16.09	01:49:47	10:58	5.5	377	385	1,132	3	150
Week 32	38.50	61.96	07:05:30			1,206	1,138	4,238
Week 31	26.10	42.00	04:51:20			900	957	2,593
Week 30	34.00	54.72	06:18:57			1234	1166	3,771
Week 29	46.50	74.83	08:41:00			1756	1625	4,951
Week 28	37.81	60.86	06:59:57			902	809	4,705
Week 27	8.00	12.87	01:30:27			301	302	1,020
Week 26	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 25	85.00	136.79	17:49:35			1671	1629	10,643
Week 24	19.20	30.90	03:43:53			584	559	2,085
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	976.17	1570.96	7 days 18:00:59			24,528	24,238	108,189
To go	276.52	445.04

Another solid week's training.

Just a quick blog update as there aren't enough hours in the day this weekend!

Next Saturday (20th) I will be heading to Dubai to work for 3 weeks which is a pretty inconvenient time with the USA Centurion fast approaching.  I will have just 10 days back on the Island before heading to the US.

It's currently peak summer in Dubai with temperatures (unofficially) tipping over 50c.  You will never see an official confirmation that temperatures exceed 50 because otherwise companies are obliged to send everyone home from work.

These temperatures will make training a non starter as I won't last more than 10 minutes outside.  I have been to Dubai several times and the hotel gyms aren't that much better even with the AC turned to max. 

I'm not a particular fan of treadmills either so I'm unlikely to get many miles in while I am there.

On the flip side this might be exactly what I need as it will force me to rest my foot for 3 weeks.

My foot was a bit dodgy on Saturday from about mile 10, and Tuesday more or less from the start but on Thursday it was absolutely fine.  It's aching a little now though while I think about it.

It's the Isle of Man marathon tomorrow so this will now be my last longest walk before the US by some margin.  I hope to get a couple of 'recovery' walks in next week but then I'll be limited to the treadmill for 3 weeks (which is great mental training for the 100!), and it will be too close to US to go for any big walks when I get back.

My plan for the marathon is to walk at my 'plan A' 100 mile pace and see how I feel.  If I'm struggling at the end then I'll know I'm not ready for plan A and will reconsider my strategy.

The last (and only) time I walked this Marathon was 4 years ago and my time was 05:08:33 and, while I'm not specifically looking to record a PB tomorrow, if I can stick to my planed 100 mile pace it should give me a time just under this which would be an added bonus.

My best unofficial walking Marathon time was in this years 50k Fireman's walk where my Garmin clocked the 26.2 mile mark in 04:36, only 12 minutes slower than when I 'jogged' London in 2015!

It is very tempting to try to officially record 04:36, or thereabouts, but I have to resist and just treat the race as a training walk for the US.

Another bonus tomorrow, if I complete the distance, is I will break the 1000 mile mark with a total distance walked so far this year of 1002 miles.

Good luck to all the other walkers (and runners) taking part in either the half or full marathon tomorrow.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 31

Week 31.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
29th Jul	Rest Day
30th Jul	18.40	29.61	03:30:33	11:25	5.2	612	679	1,661	2	143
31st Jul	Rest Day
1st Aug	Rest Day
2nd Aug	7.70	12.39	01:02:47	10:29	5.7	288	278	932	3	152
3rd Aug	Rest Day
4th Aug	Rest Day
Week 31	26.10	42.00	04:51:20			900	957	2,593
Week 30	34.00	54.72	06:18:57			1234	1166	3,771
Week 29	46.50	74.83	08:41:00			1756	1625	4,951
Week 28	37.81	60.86	06:59:57			902	809	4,705
Week 27	8.00	12.87	01:30:27			301	302	1,020
Week 26	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 25	85.00	136.79	17:49:35			1671	1629	10,643
Week 24	19.20	30.90	03:43:53			584	559	2,085
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	937.67	1509.00	7 days 10:55:29			23,322	23,100	103,951
To go	315.02	507.00

Just managed 2 sessions last week.

On the Saturday I again joined Richard, James, Ray and Vinny for what turned out to be a longer walk than we originally planned.  We started at the NSC and headed up towards the Strang and out over Eyreton road which drops down into Crosby, before crossing the A1 and going up Old Church Road (passed the school).

The start of Old Church Road (often called School Hill) is incredibly steep and it was easy to see why Richard is a multiple Parish Walk winner as he glided to the top with ease while I was left some way behind. 

After reaching the top we continued all the way through to St Marks where we carried on straight through towards Ballasalla.  However, shortly after St Marks we turned left up a road I had never been before, and after checking Google Maps I found it was Mullinaraghar Road which takes you up towards Santon and comes out on the A5 Douglas to Castletown road.

As we hit the A5 we turned right to follow the Parish walk route for about a mile but turned left when we joined the old Castletown road (rather than the Parish route which turns right towards the church).

Up until this point my left foot had been okay with just an odd twinge, but during the steep descent down towards Crogga Mill it flared up again so I just had to ease off a bit over the final 6 miles through Port Soderick and over Marine Drive to our well earned reward at The Caff.

My foot wasn't too bad on the flat and up hill, but it certainly isn't something I would like to carry for 100 miles in New York. 

I gave my foot a couple of days rest and went out for a quicker paced session on Tuesday.  It was one of my regular loops from Onchan down to Port Jack, back out towards Groudle and then left at the Liverpool Arms back to Onchan. 

My foot was great for the first 6 miles but as I descended Whitebridge coming into Onchan it flared up again.  I know it's worse downhill and I should have eased off but I wanted to keep a strong pace for the entire session so just tried to ignore it.

I decided to give it another 2 days rest rather than go out again on the Thursday which is why I only managed 2 sessions.

Of course I know the only way to really get over this is to rest my foot for a lot longer but with New York now only 7 weeks away I'm worried about taking more than a few days off, plus I still have my 2016 challenge target to hit.

Next Sunday I will be walking the Isle of Man Marathon up at Ramsey which consists of 2 large laps that are pretty flat.  There are a couple of short climbs around mile 4 (and again at mile 17) near Bride but there are no steep down hill sections so I'm confident my foot will be okay.

If it can get through these 26.2 "flat" miles with no problems it will give me a lot of confidence that it will be okay for New York which will then just be 6 weeks later! 

Finally, I meant to point out in last weeks blog that I had just passed 100,000 calories burned!  Of course this is just an estimate from my Garmin, but is slightly more accurate than other methods of estimating calorie burn due to me also wearing a HR monitor for nearly every mile.

Apparently you need to burn 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat so 100,000 calories is 28.5 pounds, or 2 stone!  Of course not all 'exercise calories' come from burning fat, especially the faster paced training sessions where most of the energy comes from glycogen stores, but a good percentage will come from fat over the longer and slower sessions.

I weigh myself every week and I am just over 1 stone lighter than I was in January which suggests around 50% of my 'exercise calories' have been from fat burning. 

I have no idea how accurate any of this is, but it's certainly good motivation to keep on walking rather than keep on sitting.  

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 30

Week 30.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
22nd Jul	Rest Day
23rd Jul	14.70	23.66	02:42:54	11:05	5.4	421	428	1,451	2	141
24th Jul	Rest Day
25th Jul	7.30	11.75	01:23:26	11:26	5.2	258	264	748	1	132
26th Jul	12.00	19.31	02:12:37	11:03	5.4	555	474	1572	-	-
27th Jul	Rest Day
28th Jul	Rest Day
Week 30	34.00	54.72	06:18:57			1234	1166	3,771
Week 29	46.50	74.83	08:41:00			1756	1625	4,951
Week 28	37.81	60.86	06:59:57			902	809	4,705
Week 27	8.00	12.87	01:30:27			301	302	1,020
Week 26	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 25	85.00	136.79	17:49:35			1671	1629	10,643
Week 24	19.20	30.90	03:43:53			584	559	2,085
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	911.57	1466.99	7 days 06:04:09			22,422	22,143	101,358
To go	341.12	549.01

Another solid week, but not a huge amount to blog about.

On Saturday I joined Richard, Andrew, James, Ray and Vinny for what was the longest walk for all of us since the Parish. The first half was a nice steady pace but it quickened a bit in the second half.

On Monday I went out for a zone 1 recovery walk, and on Tuesday I once again joined the other guys for quite a fast paced 12 mile session.

My left foot has been giving me hassle on and off since the Parish and I could really feel it on Tuesday due to the quicker pace so I decided to take a couple of rest days to let it settle down a bit.

I have recently changed from the Saucony fasttwitch to the Asics DS Racers which are another very lightweight trainer but a little more 'solid' so hopefully they are providing a little more support to my foot. 

I know the real answer is to ease off on the training and let the foot recover but I'd much rather be out walking! 

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 29

Week 29.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
15th Jul	Rest Day
16th Jul	12.10	19.47	02:03:47	10:14	5.9	503	509	1,403	3	160
17th Jul	Rest Day
18th Jul	14.25	22.93	02:45:59	11:39	5.2	605	538	1,359	1	140
19th Jul	10.15	16.33	01:55:53	11:25	5.3	264	191	1247	3	154
20th Jul	Rest Day
21st Jul	10.00	16.09	01:55:21	11:32	5.2	384	387	942	2	145
Week 29	46.50	74.83	08:41:00			1756	1625	4,951
Week 28	37.81	60.86	06:59:57			902	809	4,705
Week 27	8.00	12.87	01:30:27			301	302	1,020
Week 26	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 25	85.00	136.79	17:49:35			1671	1629	10,643
Week 24	19.20	30.90	03:43:53			584	559	2,085
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	877.57	1412.28	6 days 23:45:12			21,188	20,977	97,587
To go	375.12	603.72

Another great week of training, and as you can see I have just past 20,000 metres of vertical ascent so far this year.  12.4 miles straight up!

On Saturday 16th I joined Mike Bonney, Andrew Dawson, KC and Robert Currey for what I was hoping would be a steady paced walk, but I hadn't been out with Mike for a while and forgot he doesn't really ease into a long walk. 

We started at Port Soderick car park and headed along Marine Drive so the first few miles were uphill.  As soon as we started our watches we were straight into a quick pace and covered the first 5k in 31 minutes and had it not been quite so hilly I'm sure it would have been under 30, a pace I would have been happy with in a 5k race let alone the start of a 12 mile training walk!

It was a roasting hot morning too, and with the same pace continuing pretty much for the full 2 hours I can safely say we were all pretty much 'Bonney'd' at the end.  It was a great session though, and I wouldn't push myself that hard for that long on my own.

I was off work on Monday and after dropping my car down for it's annual service I took the opportunity to walk back home the long way round.  The direct walk home would have been about 3 miles back into Onchan so I should probably say 'very' long way around as I covered just over 14 miles instead.

I headed out from Douglas and up Richmond Hill towards Santon where I briefly joined the Parish Walk route onto the old Castletown road but took a left back towards Marine Drive rather than a right towards Santon church.

This was meant to be an 'easy' zone 1 heart rate session using my new, higher, zones after discovering my max was 187 a few weeks ago, with my average of 140 being at the top of my zone 1 range. 

One I thing I can say is it was far from easy!  I really didn't enjoy the session at all.  My legs were tight and heavy, my foot was giving me grief and it was just unenjoyable all round.  I tend to give any training session at least 2-3 miles before throwing the towel in, however by this time I was half way up Richmond Hill so I just pushed on thinking it might get easier when it flattened out a bit, but it didn't and my only option was to suck it up and walk home.

I don't think I was fully over being Bonney'd on Saturday!

On Tuesday I met up with Richard Gerrard, James Quirk, Ray Beattie and Vinny Lynch on what was probably one of the hottest evenings we have had so far this year.  In the morning I was running a little late while I was packing my stuff together (we meet straight from work) and I was convinced I had forgotten something but I wasn't sure what. 

It was only around 4pm when I realised it was my water belt and bottle.  Not the best of days to forget it!  Despite the hot conditions and the tough 14 miles the previous day I just about managed to hang onto the back of them.

As with the session on Saturday I wouldn't have pushed myself that hard in the heat and with my legs heavy and sluggish so it was a really good walk.

On Thursday I headed out on my own so I could maintain a steady zone 2 heart rate, and once again I was using my higher range of 140-155.  The 10 mile loop took me out towards Baldrine hill which is where I recorded the 187 max heart rate a few weeks ago so I decided I would push it hard again to see where my heart rate went.

I'm really not sure what happened because despite giving it everything and breathing exceptionally heavy I only managed to hit 174, still 5 below what I thought my previous max was anyway!

I thought my legs must be too tired after a long week of training and I must be going up the hill slower than last time so I was very surprised to see I knocked another 30 seconds off that mile and climbed it in 11:30.  I didn't get pins and needles in my hands this time, but I did get some little black dots/floaters in my eyes so I really was trying hard!

Anyway I reached the conclusion that I should stick with my max of 179 as it brings my easy/endurance zones back down a little which is fine with me!

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.

Week 28

Week 28.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
8th Jul	10.00	16.09	01:57:06	11:42	5.1	339	349	1,238	2	146
9th Jul	Rest Day
10th Jul	13.10	21.08	02:28:39	11:21	5.3	363	345	1,676	3	157
11th Jul	Rest Day
12th Jul	8.50	13.68	01:35:24	11:13	5.3	195	110	936	3	155
13th Jul	Rest Day
14th Jul	6.20	10.00	00:58:48	09:25	6.4	5	5	855	-	-
Week 28	37.81	60.86	06:59:57			902	809	4,705
Week 27	8.00	12.87	01:30:27			301	302	1,020
Week 26	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 25	85.00	136.79	17:49:35			1671	1629	10,643
Week 24	19.20	30.90	03:43:53			584	559	2,085
Week 23	30.70	49.41	05:54:07			1453	1574	3,199
Week 22	24.10	38.79	04:44:25			804	813	2,544
Week 21	28.00	45.06	05:20:25			947	966	3,305
Week 20	50.00	80.47	09:47:18			-	-	-
Week 19	19.50	31.38	03:45:04			528	655	2,220
Week 18	28.44	45.77	05:26:59			858	901	3,306
Week 17	48.10	77.36	09:05:52			1023	1082	5,723
Week 16	32.00	51.50	05:43:26			800	837	3,850
Week 15	18.00	28.97	03:24:26			571	582	2,333
Week 14	0.00	0.00	00:00:00			0	0	0
Week 13	21.72	34.95	04:03:13			229	249	2,505
Week 12	21.21	34.14	03:40:53			578	481	2,499
Week 11	53.27	85.72	09:59:05			1501	1296	6,240
Week 10	41.50	66.79	07:46:54			882	773	4,872
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	831.07	1337.44	6 days 15:04:12			19,432	19,352	92,636
To go	421.62	678.56

A great return to training after almost 3 weeks off recovering from the Parish, a touch of man flu and a dodgy foot and shin!

My 10 mile walk on Friday was out along Onchan head and past the old Groudle pub towards the Liverpool arms, right towards Baldrine and then left up Baldrine road which is a very steep 1 mile climb onto the Creg-Ny-Baa back road where I took a left back down towards Onchan.

I wasn't sure how my foot/shin were going to behave so just took it steady to start with and luckily  they really gave me no bother which was fantastic. 

I stuck pretty close to my zone 2 heart rate but when I got to the bottom of Baldrine hill I decided to really test the legs, and lungs, and just went for it.

About half way up I was breathing pretty hard and was avoiding looking at my watch as I didn't want to see the pace, but all of a sudden I started getting pins and needles in my hands so I quickly glanced down to check my heart rate.  It was 187 !!

For the past 6 months I have been working with a max heart rate of 179 which is the max I reached during a hill repeat session near Port Jack.  My running max from last year was 183, although I haven't tested that again this year because I haven't done any running.

I had no real reason to doubt the heart rate monitor as it was a really tough effort, legs were turning to jelly, breathing getting tough and of course the pins and needles in my hands.  I pushed on to the top of the hill and recorded exactly 12m:00s, a PB for that mile by over 1 minute.  The elevation gain over that mile is 115 metres.

Despite being absolutely knackered it felt amazing.  That really was the first time since I picked up a chest infection at Easter that I have been able to push so hard, and it felt great.

My 13.1 mile walk on Sunday was just my usual Baldwin loop.  I was still feeling great from Friday's effort and just wanted to ignore the heart rate and just kept pushing 'comfortably hard' for the duration. 

There are 2 particularly steep hills on that route, both leading up to St Lukes church, and once again on both of these my watch recorded a max HR of 187.  I didn't get the pins and needles this time as they are quite short climbs so my HR was not maxed for more than a 2-3 minutes unlike Friday when it was nearly 12 minutes.

At first I thought maybe the touch of man flu I had was the reason for the increased heart rate but then I remembered that illness / over training doesn't increase your maximum.  It is what it is and just declines naturally with age.  Illness / over training does increase your resting and working heart rate, but it still caps at the max.

Discovering my max is quite a bit higher than I thought is both a good and bad thing.  On the good side it means I can push a little quicker on my easy zone 1 recovery walks and endurance zone 2 walks, resulting in the bad side.  They are going to be tougher from now on!

It may not seem much, but my 'core' zone 2 range (where I spend most of my time) has now moved from 135-145 to 140-155.  This means most of my zone 2 training has been at the lower end of my zone 2 range, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that (remember, train slower to race faster), but now I have an extra 10bpm I can push into so hopefully this will help me build a little bit of 'endurance speed'.

I'll be keeping my eye on my max heart rate and testing it again a few times just to make sure.

On Tuesday I met up with Richard Gerrard, James Quirk and Vinny Lynch.  Luckily Richard and James were still easing back into things after the Parish so it was a nice steady pace.

Finally I rounded off the week with the Manx Harriers summer 10k up at Andreas and was absolutely delighted to get under 60 minutes.  One of the reasons I started this challenge was to make sure I walked continuously throughout the year. 

What usually happens after the Parish is I do very little, lose fitness, pile on too many pounds and then wonder why I can't do a sub 60m 10k when the winter league starts in October.

Not only did I beat 60 minutes but I also did a negative split, something I don't think I have ever done before!  My first 5k was 29:30 and my second was 29:18.  Not much of a negative, but a negative nonetheless.

This weeks training has been a great return to where I was back at Easter (chest infection) and is the motivational boost I have been looking for.  If I can keep ticking over like this for another 10 weeks until New York it will put me in a really strong position, both mentally and physically, to hopefully be successful and qualify as a US Centurion.

And don't forget, the second part of my challenge is to try and raise £2,016 for Finley's Tracks and all donations are welcome here.  A big thank you to everyone who has already sponsored me online or offline, and to those who have pledged to donate later.