|
 |
|
Day 1
First day of the 7 day treadmill world record attempt,
I have estimated that 41 miles a day everyday will
break this record by 11 miles, so a steady pace will
be the order of the day . But for the first three
hours I was running at 7.5 miles an hour -a lot faster
than needed. Treadmill running is boring and tedious,
but the support I was getting from shoppers in
Birmingham's Pavilions mall was "tremendous", and the
hours seemed to pass by quite quickly. I
finished the day on 52 miles ( 11 miles more than I
needed to run), so Sunday -day 2 , will be a lot
steady -remembering that I have 6 days to go and the
Asics sponsored Blackpool marathon at the end of this
challenge.
Day 2
Sunday morning the pavilions centre-Birmingham. After
a highly successful 1st day on Saturday, Sunday was
meant to be a steadier paced run-however, I ran at a
rather effective paced but not too taxing on the legs.
I have a slight swelling on the right knee, probably
from running the treadmill attempt too soon after
running the 145 mile canal race. The Birmingham public
have been
very supportive in both cheering me on and donating
cash- we are on target for raising over £2,000, as for
myself- I'm on target for breaking the record by
Thursday afternoon ( 24 hours early). |
|
Day 3
Today
started with stiff pair of legs, and the niggle in my
right knee ( I have prepared myself for the
possibility of having to wear some kind of support in
the next few days). Decided to have a shorter day of
running to help kick in the recovery process of any
strains and stress that my legs maybe feeling today.
However Tuesday and Wednesday will be two very long
days of running to take me nearer the record- I do
have until 09.30 on Saturday to break this record, but
I will be in Blackpool by then preparing myself for
the Asics sponsored Blackpool marathon, so I have set
myself the more difficult task of breaking the record
by Friday afternoon, but hey it looks like the record
could be mine by the end of Thursday. Monday was a
wonderful day, a young lady gave me her last "rolo",
she felt I deserved it ( my own wife wouldn't give me
her last Rolo- she wouldn't give me her first
either!!). On well wisher couldn't believe that I have
ran the same distance as the London to Brighton on
Saturday, then onto the 118 miles that I have reached
today, shoppers have been very generous to the Rainbow
house children's charity by donating cash to the
cause. Asics have yet again shown their great support
for me- the Nimbus shoes that they sent me are the
ones I'm wearing for this challenge- I have taken
them straight out of the box, and ran the 118 miles
so far ( not many running shoes can be worn from new
without having to be broken in- a great testament to
Asics ). It is great to have the public shaking my
hand, and telling me how great I look even after
running for 3 days-needless to say that I still feel
good, and confident of not just breaking this record,
but running the whole 26.2 miles in Blackpool on
Sunday.
Day 4
Pavilions shopping mall, Birmingham. Since starting
this run on Saturday 12th June, I have made loads of
friends and admirers, Day 4 has seen the swelling of
the right knee needing attention. So with my knee
wrapped in a support I carry on "regardless"- the good
thing is that I can still maintain the same pace that
I have been running at. The bad news - because the
Pavilions centre goes a little quite at around 5 pm- I
was asked to take the challenge to a local gym (of
whom have loaned us the treadmills). So when I get
there ( after a little walk) I find that there no air
condition, and the treadmills are on a slight upward
slope ! The plan was to run for two hours at the gym,
but in those conditions I managed to gasp my way to
running a full hour, then calling it a day- losing the
potential of reaching 180 miles. So now, as I had
predicted to break the record on Thursday afternoon,
it now looks like I will take the record on Friday
morning ( a full 24 hours before my official time is
up). I did have two women police officers come up to
me to offer their best wishes ( my pace did increase,
as did my heart rate), it reminds of the time that I
told the wife that women in uniform does things for
me- so she got herself a job at Asda !!
Day 5
A gruelling day, started of good, finished slow- still
on course for the record ( which should be mine by
11.00 Friday morning). The Birmingham public have now
fuelled my enthusiasm- when they have been told that
an Australian currently holds this record- they are
encouraging me by willing me to take this record and
bring it back to Britain- everyone's calling it the
"Treadmill version of the Ashes"- with that kind of
encouragement, I can't fail. It is great when staff at
the Pavilions see me running as they start work, then
they cannot believe that I'm "still at it" when they
are going home. Support is still great, I feel -not
too bad at the moment, as this challenge has now
become a test of mental strength, it's not just
about stamina and endurance at the moment, but I do
predict at 11.00 Friday 18th, I will have ran through
the record ( I will carry on for quite a few hours
after to put a bigger margin on my record bid).
Day 6
Today went well, more than hit my intended target for
the day-but because I will be wrapping up this
challenge a few hours earlier than I need to, there is
pressure on me to put in more effort. My knee has
eased, but still needs the support- but now my ankles
are severely swollen ( and I mean swollen), I look
like I have the legs of an elephant at the moment!!
Support has been great again, shoppers have been
bringing me sweets and drinks to keep me going ( even
though I have my own supplies). The encouragement has
been great, even from two Australian girls, whom when
told that I could be stealing this record from
Australia, still cheered me on.
Day 7
As you may be aware, I was due to run from "Tower to
Tower" over the last two weeks, with the Blackpool
marathon at the end-but due to unforeseen
circumstances, I was forced to postpone this run (
with deep regret too, as actress Vicki Michelle had
sent her personal best wishes for me on the run).
Well, the 7 day treadmill record is my way of
fulfilling my fund raising pledge- and I think the
money raised will be equally as good as the cash that
may have been raised from the tower to tower ( The
tower to tower run will go ahead, but in true Glyn
Marston style- I will add an extra twist to make the
challenge a tad more interesting) |
