Blisters

I've got my first blister 👎  Very sloppy of me.  My feet are not the best specimens, but it's usually my little toes that get the blisters first as they are curled under, so a blister on my second toe is unusual. I've done quite a few long distance walks and have tried lots of methods to prevent blisters. My usual arrangement is to tape up my little toes, apply 2 Toms blister prevention powder, put on a thin pair of Injinji liner toe socks followed by a pair of Bridgedale Coolmax socks.  This worked well with walking boots but I'll be wearing trainers for the Firelighter so I'll have to relook at my blister prevention stategy.

For now, the training must go on though. So plaster on, toes socks on  - and I'm off to the gym for a slow 10 mile run/walk.

#Injinji  #2Toms  #Firelighter  #Blisters  # Bridgedale

Shoes

For running shoes, I always used to buy Asics then I discovered Hokas.  I don't know how or why, but I swear they make me run just a little bit faster.  However, due to the very muddy Parkruns I've had to buy some new shoes that are just for the gym and chose some Brooks.  I'd not heard of Brooks before but they are perfect for treadmill running.  I bought them from a lovely running shop, Metres to Miles tucked away in Epworth along with some long Ronhills for those long cold runs.

I'm assuming that I will run the actual Firelighter race in the Hokas but maybe they will be worn down by then.  I'm not sure how many miles a pair of shoes will last, I've certainly got a lot of miles to run before the 1st September!

Parkruns

There aren't many things that will make me get out of bed on a weekend, but I do make the effort to join our local Parkrun.  Although, sometimes I wonder why I do it when its cold and wet - and I oftern get passed by 5 year olds and 80 year olds!  The last 3 Parkruns have been very muddy which slows me down quite a lot and one week my feet got wet 😒. Thankfully the course has been altered a bit to avoid the worst bits.

I've just completed my 25th Parkrun in a time of 36:26 which is 7.29 mins/km.  My fastest time is 33:50 (assisted by the pacers) and my average (mean) is 36:03. I think these times aren't good but I did come 3rd in my age category of VW50-54.  Although this time isn't very fast it is still faster than I need to complete the Firelighter which I'm aiming for 8.48 mins/km which will give me around 50 mins spare time for checkpoints etc.  I hope that will be fast enough to complete the 57.2km challenge within the 9 hours time 😬

The Gym

The start of my training coincided with a cold spell.  There is no way I'm running on icy pavements so I've joined our local gym - JD Gyms in Doncaster.  £21.99 per month seems a reasonable fee and I can cancel anytime.

First visit to the gym: 

Learn how to get in (and out) - it's all apps, QR code and pins these days.  

Find the changing rooms and try to padlock the locker - my suitcase lock is a bit small - bigger lock required.

Learn how to use the treadmill and get it to show what I want according to my training plan.  If I use the pre-set 5k distance why does it show how many miles I've run!  I asked one of the assistants to show me how to change the distance run to km rather than miles and she tried to google it but gave up and got someone else to do it.  After a bit of a work around it got sorted out but sometimes it's easier just convert the km distance to miles.

Nice hot shower afterwards, saving on electric costs at home - win win.

Training Programme

I've been given a couple of books by relatives who have run marathons in the past.  The training programme I've chosen is taken from the book Marathon! by Jeff Galloway, its even a signed copy!  Various programmes are outlined in the book and the one I've chosen is the "To Finish" Programme which requires running 3 times per week.  For me, that means doing one 5k at the gym on the treadmill, one 5k parkrun and one long slow run each week.  I've also had to extend the programme to meet my 57.2km goal rather than a marathon goal of 42.195km.  

    Original "To Finish" Programme

My Programme: