More miles at the Palace

Back to Crystal Palace today for some more exploring. I ran for an hour, clocking up 5.91 miles, my longest run this year. Definitely a nice place to run - a couple of lakes to run around, one big square at the top of the hill where the Palace used to be, and a few other meandering paths to keep it interesting.

Another nice day for running too, some sunshine but cool and breezy. Starting to feel a bit autumnal.

New venue

Some environmental campaigners have set up camp in Blackheath / Greenwich over this bank holiday weekend so rather than get stuck in traffic over there we decided to go to Crystal Palace instead. It's closer, quieter and more varied than Greenwich, and it's large enough and has some inclines which pose a big enough challenge. So very nice to go somewhere new.

I explored about 2/3rds of the park and ran for just over 50 minutes, completing 5.18 miles. And felt surprisingly comfortable - could have carried on for another mile without much trouble, which is encouraging with the 8.2 mile run in Kingston coming up in a couple of months.





My total for August has now reached the heady heights of 73.6 miles, with a couple of days still to go, and I've nearly caught up with my overall targets now, which is great. What seemed like a daunting challenge a few months ago looks thoroughly achievable now.

Evening run

On a training course in town this week so no scope for lunchtime runs. But I went out this evening - in the drizzle - for a jog around Forest Hill and Honor Oak. 3.8 miles bringing my total for August to 68 miles and overall to 311 miles.

300 miles !

Another milestone passed - 300 miles for the year. 5.4 miles at Greenwich today.

Two full laps (4 miles) and then the best part of another lap - and this time I made it up the hill for a third time - although I had to stop pretty soon afterwards !

Today I also signed up for an 8.2 mile run in Kingston in October. There's also a 16 mile run on offer but I think that's a little beyond my capabilities at the moment ! But the way I'm running at the moment 8 miles by October should be possible.

The course runs along the Thames towpath around Kingston / Hampton Court / Thames Ditton so it's flat and should be picturesque. Looking forward to it !

Hot.

26.1 degrees apparently - which is very nice for sitting in the park but not so pleasant for running round it. Anyway, in spite of the weather I did 3.7 miles around Dulwich at lunchtime today, keeping to the trees around the edge of the park in an attempt to stay cool.

Total for August is now 50.8 miles, and I'm now very close to my total mileage for the whole of 2008.

I'm also happy to say that the sponsorship on my justgiving site is mounting up - many thanks to all of you who have donated so far !

5 mile lunch-hour...

Off to Dulwich for a lunchtime run - feeling a bit ropey after a big night out last night (10 course Chinese banquet to celebrate our wedding) so I started off slowly. But after 3 laps I felt good enough for another, and then another, and I managed to carry on for a bit longer for a total of 5.4 miles.

Greenwich 4 miler

Off to Greenwich again today and this time I made it up the hill twice, completing two and a bit full laps for a total of 4.4 miles. Last time I ran further than this was on 6th June, before the honeymoon, so I must be getting back to the level of fitness I had then. I could have continued further too if I'd had time.

So we're only midway through August and I've already done nearly 40 miles this month... it's gearing up to be a bumper month.

Yesterday I got myself a new assignment at work which is in Hammersmith. So the bad news is I won't be working from home for much longer - but the good news is that there's a nice footpath along the Thames right outside the office which should be ideal for some lunchtime runs to keep the miles ticking over !

More Forest Hill miles

3 miles at Dulwich at lunchtime yesterday and 3.27 around Forest Hill & Honor Oak Park first thing this morning.

My "challengometer" tells me I've now completed 55% of the challenge (in 60% of the time).

Weekend in Leeds

Off to Leeds for the weekend to visit friends and watch the Test Match. No scope for running on Saturday, but today I went out for a jog with my friend James in an attempt to burn off the beer and whisky hangover. Had a lovely run along the lanes and minor roads near Scholes but had to make a stop after 2.5 miles (toilet) and then after another 1.5 miles (just knackered - although too much pork pie on Saturday was maybe a factor).

Walked for a while and then having got a third wind we ran back to the house in Scholes, another 1.5 miles. So a bumper total of 5.5 miles for the day, taking my total for July to 24.5 miles and my overall total to 267 miles.

Faster and further

Just over 4 miles at Dulwich at lunchtime today at a good pace - maybe due to the cooler weather, or a couple of days off, but whatever the reason I felt good and could have carried on given more time.

Got some new shoes too.... one snag about upping my mileage is increased wear and tear on the footwear. The experts say shoes should last about 300 miles and I'm probably well past that mark with all three pairs I have. So it was nice to stick on a brand new pair today - a bit more bounce and support in the soles.

19 miles run in August so far and 261 in total this year.

BUPA Great Capital Run

So... to give myself something to look forward to and break the monotony of all the Dulwich Park / Greenwich Park runs, I've signed up for the BUPA Great Capital Run on 13th September. It's a 5km run around Regents Park.

Since I'm running more than 5km every day these days, I should be able to just take it in my stride. The race also has the advantage for me of not requiring any charity fundraising - since I already am! And being in central London it's pretty convenient to travel to.

I did my usual 3 and a bit miles in Dulwich today, bringing my total for August to 14.8 miles and overall to 257.3 miles.

However... there's a cloud on the horizon... I have an interview tomorrow which could put an end to my time "working from home". Which is good for my career but will make running every day more difficult. I guess I'll just have to do longer runs at the weekend and fit in one or two short ones during the week whenever I can.

Challenge part 2

The second half of my challenge started with 3.5 miles in the sunshine at the park in Dulwich at lunchtime.

Soon I might not be working from home any more, and lunchtime runs might be more difficult, so I'm keen to make the most of the chance while I can.

250 miles complete

A very successful running weekend saw me past the 250 mile mark today. Yesterday I went to Greenwich and did one large lap (2 miles) and was well into my second lap when I ground to a halt on the hill. But that was enough to register 3 and a quarter miles, and once I'd got to the top of the hill and got my breath back a bit I started jogging again and clocked up another 1.6 miles on the level.



Today we were going out for the day but I got up early, stuck my shoes on and ran a quick circuit straight from the house. Nice and quiet on the roads and pavements, although it was already starting to warm up at 9am. I clocked 3.32 miles which was enough to take me past the 250 mile mark: 250.6 complete, 249.4 to go !