It's nearly here: Race no. 1

So we are nearly there; race number 1 of our 203 mile journey starts tomorrow! It has been a challenging and exciting month of training and perhaps a little on the short side but I feel ready for my first race; ready for my first ever half marathon! I am not expecting a fast time, I will be taking it nice and steady and I will try to enjoy the experience with it being my first race. 

This weeks preparation has consisted of more carbohydrates in my diet to fuel me up for the race, a few light runs of 4 and 2 miles and hydrating myself with plenty of water in past 48hours. Today's plan of a short 3 mile run to stretch out the legs has gone out the window instead I have had a afternoon nap. Must have needed it, it has been a busy week and with all my cycling I have felt very tired this week. To be honest I have had a slight panic this morning as my legs have felt like lead, so I have rested instead and hopefully I be feeling great in the morning! 

We picked up our Harry's Helping Sands t-shirts today from the Runners Hub, they are fabulous, thank you! 

So with over a months planning...and race day 1 just around the corner we are really excited to start this journey with our family and friends who are right behind us in memory of our beautiful little boy Harry, for Arrowe Park bereavement suite, for Sands, for all those parents and families who left hospital without their little one, this journey we are taking is for you. 

Let's raise awareness, talk about stillbirth and break the silence. 

Please come down and support us if you can.

Clarke 

Race no. 1: Wirral Half Marathon....Good Luck everyone!

Harry and his army!

Not a post about us today, but a post to celebrate all the wonderful people behind our fundraising and cause. There are a few people we would like to thank who behind the scenes have supported us immensely.  

We will start from the beginning of our journey so firstly a huge thanks to Rachel our midwife who delivered Harry...we couldn't have asked for a better midwife to help us through this difficult time, Thank you. 

Thanks to Kate, Heather, Ruth, Donna and the rest of the team at Arrowe Park Hospital for all your care and support. 

Thanks to Kim, who without you we wouldn't have such beautiful photographs of our little boy to cherish.

Thanks to Les who gave Harry a lovely service. To Carol who provided the order of service booklet and blanket and those beautiful memory cards, you went above and beyond what we expected, thank you. 

Thanks to the lovely team at the Co-operative funeral care, Carol, Tom and Adrian for showing sensitivity, care and compassion.

Thanks to the 4Louis charity for supplying our lovely memory box for Harry.

Thanks to Sarah and James who at the early stages of our sad news were there to keep us going with some sort of normality, thanks for showing us some light. Another thanks to James who has helped us set up our blog, website (under construction) and our Harry's logo.

Thanks to Tracy for being there with a friendly face and ear, it means a lot (thanks for the eggs too!).

Thanks to Georgina for the most wonderful necklace and to the Gin Club, a lovely gift!

Thanks to Sandra, Anne and Shirley for making lovely knitted hats for Arrowe Park Maternity Unit. The hats will help premature babies and parents who find themselves in a similar position to ours. 

Thank you to the lovely person who made Harry's blue knitted hat...we are so grateful x

Thanks to Nigel and the team at the Runners Hub, for supporting us with our running challenge. New running shoes, advice, delicious fruit juices and getting our Harry's Helping Sands t-shirts and vests made. Thank you. 

Thanks to Garth at MBF Pace who has helped us with promoting Harry's Helping Sands with banners and cards.

Thanks to all our senior management and colleagues at work for their understanding, compassion and care during this difficult time. 

Thanks to both our families for helping us through this difficult time, giving us space when needed but also knowing you are all there right behind us. Thank you.

Thank you to all our supporters who have donated and supported us through sharing our story. 

And finally a thanks to everyone who is supporting us by joining in with our 203 mile running challenge!

Thanks to...
Jane and Michael: 203 miles
Amie, Danny and Michelle: Abu Dhabi Half and Marathon
Rita: Wirral Half and Liverpool Marathon
Matt: Tatton Park Half
Frank: Warrington, Tatton Park, Chester Half and Liverpool Marathon
Team Guisborough; Glynis, Geoff, Sarah, Alicia, Natalie, Danny, Nicola, Adam, Adam and Cara: Liverpool Half
Rachel: Liverpool Half

Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in joining us, or will be taking part in their own personal challenges or organising their own fundraising in memory of Harry and for Harry's Helping Sands...Thanks Katrina and team, we are looking forward to the cake sale!

To Jane and Michael, we just wanted to say a big thank you to you both for your amazing support throughout this journey... we couldn't have done this without you. We appreciate all your support and think you are both fantastic for completing the the whole 203 miles of running with us ...(although I'm not sure you know what you've let yourselves in for!!) Jane, you have been an absolute rock for us, we cannot thank you enough. We are looking forward to completing this exciting and challenging journey with you both!

If we have missed anyone out.... sorry...and.... Thank you! 

Good luck to everyone training for their races, please keep us updated with how you are getting on. We can't wait for the first race on Sunday, the Wirral Half Marathon. Please come down and support us!  

We will end this post (which we thought would be a quick one..just goes to show how much support we have had) with a ...

Thank you!

Clarke and Julie x

Thank you to the lovely person who knitted Harry's hat. It fitted perfectly, he looked beautiful in it!

One week to go until race number 1

With just one week to go until our first race for Harry's Helping Sands 203 mile running challenge, I thought I would give a quick update on my training and final preparations. 

This week I have felt great. I have found the cycling to work is complementing my runs and general fitness. My legs feel stronger and I feel that I am able to pick up my pace at times throughout the run. I have noticed that my CV is getting stronger, I am using some of my runs as fartlek training which is giving me a stronger aerobic threshold. I am lucky enough to have some challenging hills on my cycle route to work. The hills give me the opportunity to work on my power and speed. This will only serve to help me in building up my speed and endurance to help me through my races. 

I am really enjoying cycling to work. Being out in the fresh air not only wakes you up but also puts me in a great positive mood ready for a days work, everyone should try it! Being able to get on a ferry every morning and see the Liverpool skyline of course is a treat and helps make this journey to work a very pleasant one. There is a little community on the ferry mostly made up of cyclists going to work. You will always get a hello and smile which is nice and sometimes time for a quick chat with fellow passengers with a free coffee before boarding. As a newbie to cycling, I am enjoying learning all about the do's and dont's...I have just ordered my first ass saver! (and no this is not something rude!)

Like I mentioned before, this is a great way to start the day seeing as I would usually be sat in the car on my own in a queue. I get to see the countryside, whilst getting fit and saving money and the environment all at the same time, it's a win win! So anyone who has ever thought about cycling, running or walking to work, I say DO IT!!

1 week to go and our preparations are in full flow. Our Harry's Helping Sands t-shirts are in the making thanks to James for helping with the logo and Nigel from the Runners Hub for printing them. Looking forward to seeing them! Some light training next week...excited for our first race. 

Here's a video of my ferry ride to work.

Clarke. 

Training Plan

Just wanted to share my training plan, in case anyone was slightly interested! I have used the Nike plus training app as a basic plan and then I have adapted parts of it myself. The Nike app gives you a 14 week training plan for a half marathon so I had to obviously adapt it to suit with only 6 weeks to go until our first half marathon. Previous to week 1 I had been on a couple of short 2 mile runs to blow off the cobwebs! 

This plan is only a guide for me and I am sure I won't be sticking to it rigidly as I know things come up and I may not have time to fit in a longer run or I may feel like doing my longer run on a different day. So there will be some chopping and changing throughout but I will try and stick to this as best I can. Already I have changed over a few rest days to suit and not to mention a few longer runs than anticipated...so it is definitely a working document!

I have found the first 3 weeks relatively easy to stick to, but since going back to work it has been definitely harder to stick to. I guess after a long and busy day at work your energy levels and motivation can waiver and you end up having to really talk yourself into dragging yourself out! 

I found last week the hardest and it may be because (1) Starting back at work= busy, stress and a long day (2) I am now cycling to work every day which works out at a 24 mile round trip which will also help my general fitness and training= bonus (3) Missing lunch is probably not a good idea! As time goes on though, I am sure I will get used to getting myself into a routine, where the training becomes a normal part of my day. 

The fact that I missed my lunch the other day isn't anything unusual as I can be so busy in work,  the time runs away with me. I would usually get home and eat some of it (after getting a telling off Julie for wasting her quality M&S fruit!) and then wind down for the evening in front of the TV. However, missing lunch is no longer an option, after my disastrous running attempt the other day. 

This leads me onto nutrition, it actually is really important  and I know that I will need to fuel my body correctly if I am to get through this 203 mile running challenge unscathed! I have increased my lunchtime meal to something more nutritious and substantial (chicken and carbs) to help me get through my training after work. Better start practising what I preach...no more missing meals! 

I would welcome any advice on the training plan or nutrition from any experts out there...or anyone who would like to share some healthy, tasty and interesting meals with chicken!  

Cluck Clarke 

Helps if you know where you are going!

So, the new trainers are fantastic, feel light, fit well and definitely feel more supportive. Thanks again to the lovely team at the Runners Hub. I have been on a couple of runs since getting the new trainers and I have to say that I am glad I had the gait assessment. I have new trainers which are great but also it has made me more aware of my running technique and how I can make myself more efficient and effective...basically fell less knackered during and after a run. 

I mentioned in my previous post that I needed to improve my cadence so on the past couple of runs I have made a conscious effort to increase my stride rate and shorten my steps. I made sure that when going up and down a hill that my cadence remained the same. I do feel that I have become more of an economical runner and that it has helped reduce my leg fatigue which I usually get after a run. On occasions I did find myself forgetting to increase my cadence during my run but I guess it will take a bit of getting use to. I will definitely persevere with it though as I am already seeing the benefits. 

My runs so far have been pretty local routes which I have  previously used before. They have included 2,3,5,8 mile routes, however I was now needing a 10 mile route for the next phase of my training programme (I 'll post this up at a later date) . I planned the route using google maps and wrote it all down for Julie, so she knew were I was going just in case. We have an emergency procedure whereby if I am not back by a certain time Julie is to come and rescue me. As a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Assessor I pride myself on being able to navigate around the countryside and all types of terrain. However, the Wirral pennisula turned into the Bermuda triangle...I was lost! I think this was more to do with my tiredness (things tend to go missing when I am tired..another story!)
So I ended up doing an extra 3 miles of running, not just any running but up a huge West Kirby hill all the way home! What was amusing was that my new headphones weren't working for some reason or another so I had no music and then my phone run out of battery with 2 miles to go. Even more amusing was that my arrangement with Julie was to call me if I hadn't come back by 12.30pm, so I get back to find Julie asleep on the sofa!

I would say an eventful run, but at least I know I have the legs to last a half marathon. This has made me think that I will need to research my routes a little better. If anyone has any advice on the best way to plan or any good apps which may help, fire them my way please.

Clarke

New running shoes- The Runners Hub

It has always been my intention to eventually get some decent running trainers for this challenge but I wanted to see how I would get on with my current ones and then perhaps upgrade later on in the year. Now I don't know much about trainers but thought my Nike dual fusions were pretty spot on. Well I have to say that If you have ever thought about getting your running gait analysed and getting professional advice on the best type of trainers then I would highly recommend it. After a bit of encouragement from Julie I decided to upgrade sooner rather than later and I am glad I did!

I made an appointment with our new local running shop; The Runners Hub. I was asked to bring my current trainers for analysis and to make sure I was wearing appropriate clothing for a little running on the treadmill. For me that meant put some sports shorts on for Julie it meant wear socks with no holes in! 

When we arrived Nigel, Julie and Chris were very welcoming. We told the team about our background  to our 203 mile running challenge who were very supportive and were glad to help us on our running journey.

During the gait analysis my running gait was recorded and assessed in my current trainers by Nigel. I was able to watch my running gait back as Nigel discussed my running style with me. My technique was generally fine but it was pointed out that my right foot turned inwards making my running less efficient and also prone to injury. It was really interesting to watch my running back, it was played in slow motion so that I could see the position of my feet on each step, and I could clearly see that my right foot collapsing inwards. I have always known that I had a weakness with injuries on my right leg; be it ankle, calf, knee or hamstring! So it was important that I reduced the potential of injury as I have a fair few miles to run for this challenge. Nigel also looked at the tread of my trainers and had me running in my socks (which were hole free!) too...a fully comprehensive analysis. 

So from this I was advised that a more supportive stability trainer was needed to prevent my foot rolling inwards. I was able to try a range of trainers on and have a run in them on the treadmill to see which were most comfortable. Nigel works with you and again assesses and records your running gait. What really impressed me is that not only do you get advice on the best type of trainers to wear but advice on your running technique. I learnt that my stride pattern or what is also known as cadence was lower than it should be at around 165. Apparently an effective cadence (around 170-180) can really improve your running efficiency. 

It was definitely a worthwhile experience and I would highly recommend getting an analysis done if you are a regular runner or have a marathon ahead of you! If you are local I would recommend visiting the Runners Hub in Heswall. Nigel and the team are friendly and welcoming and full of knowledge and advice. Visit their website or facebook page to find out more.

So for me the winners were Asics Gel-Kayano 22!

Thank you to all the team at the Runners Hub for getting me and our Harry's Helping Sands 203 mile Running Challenge up and running!!

Now...to work on my cadence in my new running shoes!

Clarke

Gait analysis in hole-less socks!

Fits like a glove

A smooth ride!

The team, Nigel, Chris and Julie

Where will we be running?

So for the past couple of days we have been searching for half marathon runs and a marathon which we will complete for Harry's Helping Sands 203 mile running challenge. We will re-phrase that to Clarke will complete. Now as much as Julie would love to join in with this marathon journey, we both thought it was best that she had the time to recover and get back to her full fitness rather than rush into training for this. I know Julie will be putting her energies into organising me on these running events and tidying up by bad grammar on this blog! and also organising the family fun day later next year. 

It took a little while to plan the provisional itinerary as we had to make sure that the runs were evenly spaced so that I have time to recover. Our starting point is the Wirral half marathon, thanks to Jane and Michael for signing me up and getting the ball rolling. No chance to back out now...not that I would but considering I have never completed a half marathon run before it is going to be a challenge. 

We looked at a number of different marathons to finish the 203 mile challenge with and decided to go with the Liverpool marathon as not only is it our local marathon but it also ties in nicely with an early summer finishing date. This will give us both time to challenge our energies into finalising Harry's fun day. 

Here is the provisional itinerary: 

If anyone has any suggestions of any other exciting and challenging races, feel free to signpost me to them as this is only provisional. 

I guess it is time to start training then...

Clarke