There is no Finish Line

2009-03-24T02:24:00.003+01:00

Rome Marathon 2009.
Dear Supporters and Sponsors
It is with great pleasure that I can report my success in Rome. I completed the course in 4hr 22min 8 sec. I managed to complete the run without walking which was rather satisfying and ran a fairly consistent pace. If you are one of those fantastic sponsors that pledged money upon completion of the task then feel free to give via credit card from anywhere in the World simply following this link. It really is made very easy for all to give. www.justgiving.com/phillmoore All money raised will go towards the charities that Sophie wanted to support. None of the money raised goes towards the teams costs, these costs have been born by the team.
The start was at Rome’s historic Coliseum and after a ‘42km 195m’ lap of Rome we finished back at the Coliseum. There were approx 20,000 runners this year and the streets are small. We were all bunched up from the start till about half way, with the odd stretch of wider road to make some ground up. This was a bit frustrating to find myself running on top of others for so long, but once we start to spread out it was much better. Mind you by the time I had space I felt I was well and truly settled into a pace and could not manage a significantly faster pace. Maybe it was a good thing as I might have gone too fast at the beginning if I’d had the space to run, who knows.... The bad news was that I hadn’t been able to declare a time or projected time at the point of entry so when my bib number was issued I was lumped into the group that went last! I found myself in with the 5hours plus group and really wanted to be nearer to the 4hour pace runners. Fighting my way through the crowd before the race was a good move as fighting my way through once running proved very difficult.
The temperature on the day was pleasant at about 10®C and there was a breeze, it was sunny too. It started cool but soon warmed up and a good part of the run was along the river. The temperature was never uncomfortable.
On another note I found I did hit a psychological wall due to my Nike+ device losing about a mile during the run. Finally I heard those magic words – Congratulations you’ve completed a Marathon. Only thing is the Finish line was nowhere in sight! Just at that point I passed a drinks station and wondered why an earth anyone would need a drink a few hundred meters from the finish! I’d assumed that my Nike+ might be out, but not that much! I didn’t take a drink and pounded on to what I thought would be the end as I rounded the next bend. You can imagine my dismay at finding the 25mile marker around the next bend and thus just over a mile to go...!!! It was rather soul destroying to be honest.

Once again thank you so much for the support, your emails and your concerns, your prayers for my knees, which have been fully restored and so far have not given me any pain! Mostly though thanks for the financial gifts your all pledged to raise money for this fantastic organisation.

Lastly I want to quickly mention the Dentist with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen who came to offer me some advice. He said that I should fill my running shoes with Vaseline otherwise I wouldn’t get round the course because my feet would blister..... It was a good tip, maybe – but not one I followed. Some of you out there might find it more helpful than I did, hence I’m posting it here.
Phill

2009-03-20T00:10:00.002+01:00

Hello Friends and Supporters.

It’s well overdue this update and I feel very guilty that I’ve neglected this post.

I’ve been through a difficult couple of weeks on the training front as shortly after my 35km run I had severe pain in my knees. My initial thoughts were to rest and see how I felt after a couple of days. The pain wasn’t that bad when going about normal life, but excruciating when I tried to run. I gave it another day or two then ran after I took some Volterol. I didn’t feel a thing, but were they healed or was the pain being masked by the excellent Volterol? I decided to run without Volterol two days later and could only manage 1km....Houston we have a problem!

I went to the Dr who said I’d worn something out and it would heal , but over time and I should not run any more. Well until he said I could. Thing is I was now only two weeks away from the big day. I had Electro therapy and drugs and lots of prayer. Finally I went for a 5km run and after a slow start got settled in at a comfortable pace. I went out this week on Tuesday and Wednesday (the following two days) and felt good.

So on Saturday we will fly to Rome and collect my bib number – then eat some home grown pasta from the Worlds pasta capital. Sunday morning at 0600 we will eat breakfast and then prepare for the run at 0900.

Sunday 1st March 2009

2009-03-02T09:21:00.006+01:00

OK HI everyone, following this must seem a little stagnant at times, but that doesn't mean I am not training!

At 13kms my iPod froze up making me very cross, I wondered if my running data would be OK. As I clocked up another kms the iPod did call it out, but that’s all it was doing!

Yesterday was one of my long runs before the taper off period, 35kms and I have to say it was hard. at 24kms I was cruising and enjoying the fact that I had no aches or pains and felt like I could go on for ever.....at 25Kms I needed to seriously revise the feeling and started to find my legs hurting a little. I pushed on and the time seemed to elongate and those 5kms to 30kms took forever.

I had to walk a bit around this time and as I felt ready started to jog alone a bit more, but this was interrupted by the need to just walk....

Finally I made it home and completed the training distance of 35kms! My time was slower than I hoped for but I can do it again and get faster I hope.....

Sunday 15st February 2009

2009-02-16T12:07:00.002+01:00

First of all a big apology if you have been following my blog and found that nothing is happening or so it seems. I will make a bigger effort to update this daily from now on....

Yesterday I found myself running the Mörfelden half marathon only two weeks after my last half marathon. It came to my attention that Mörfelden had its own half marathon running around my training ground – the forest. I entered without thinking too much about it and then realised it was due to start at 0930hrs. Currently the temps are a bit nippy with temps below zero and today we have 4” of snow to boot.
I went to collect my number at 0830hrs and the temp was -3°C which didn’t inspire me at all to go out an hour later and spent a couple of hours running around the forest. Still I duly went at 0920hrs for the 0930hrs start and there were about 400 runners I think. I have just checked and the total numbers of finishers was 313. Maybe the others were put off by the cold..!!!!
I started well and not too fast this time having maybe learnt a lesson or two from the Watford half marathon. I soon found a pack of three to ‘attach’ myself too and happily nestled in behind them for the first hour. The run was configured as an 10.5km circuit so we had to run it twice. I found this a little hard to run under the finish line and then carry on and do it all again. My pack of three stopped for drinks and I decided to carry on as I was in a ‘groove’ so to speak. I soon found another couple of runners who were running together and at a pace that was just slightly faster than mine, but manageable. As we got to the final mile I got a stitch and had to slow, but not to a walking pace, on this run I had maintained a run and a stable one all the way round. My average pace was 5:45/km or I think that came out to 8:30/mile. Finally the stitch went and I finished – wasted but under the two hours. I was happy with this time as it had been my goal. Final official time was 1:57:23 and a position of 297.I was a bit disappointed that more runners finished in front of me than behind, but finishing is what counts....
Five more weeks training before the big one in Rome.

Sunday 1st February 2009

2009-02-01T20:36:00.000+01:00

First of all sorry if you’ve been following this blog and had felt that it had suddenly come to an end, it hasn’t...!!! It’s been hard though since Christmas as we went skiing straight afterwards and I did not manage to run whilst in the Alps. I hiked a mountain a couple of time and felt I’d done something towards training but no running.
Today I participated in a half marathon in Watford – UK. It’s like a practice at running with others, so today I ran with 1999 others instead of just me on my own. The weather was cold and blowy making it feel colder. We set off and I managed to pass a good number of runners. The weather warmed up and it felt good. After about 4 miles I started to be aware that runners were now over taking me! My pace was slowing and that old kids tale about the tortoise and the hare came to mind. Still I kept going did battles with all the hills on this run. In Frankfurt where I train in the woods there are NO hills and these would prove to be iterating. I was caught by some people I’d met earlier at the half way point and ran on with them for a mile or two before their pace was getting hard to keep up.
With only two miles to go a small pack passed me (on a hill) with the 10min/pace runner. I got determined and dug in passing the pack and making a fair bit of distance between me and them. We rounded a bend and I knew we were into the last mile with my legs getting worn out. The 10min pace runner passed me again as the road started to rise before me, I wanted to keep her in sight and pull it out of the bag in the final half mile. I just could manage that and so I ended my half marathon in 2hr 6min 57 sec. Happy enough but would like to do better in the coming weeks.

Thursday 1st January 2009

2009-01-01T15:01:00.002+01:00

I went out today for a cheeky little 7km run in the forest. It was beautiful and the sun was shinning whilst it maintained a temp of -3......yes cold. Atually it was fairly refreshin though to have a good run straight after all the festivity of Chrstmas and New Year and all that food.

Off Skiing tomorrow and have no idea if I'll manage any running there.

Wednesday 31st December 2008

2008-12-31T21:35:00.001+01:00

It’s been a while since I added an entry here as the Christmas break has been manic. I thought it best to add a final entry for 2008 before we go skiing.
I have managed to run though, at least three times and one of those run’s was a fairly long one at 14km. It’s been cold ion the UK and I noticed the difference in terrain – HILLS!!!!
Anyway I am starting to structure myself or I am being structured by friends a little and am currently considering the Watford Half-Marathon as my training run under competition conditions. This might add a bit of spice to my training schedule.....

Sunday 14th December 2008

2008-12-14T19:13:00.002+01:00

Had a good feeling today as I had decided ahead of time to go for a long run today. I started off well at 1500hrs and soon settled into my pace - I checked the Nano at 1 hour and it was bang on 10km's as is my pace. I headed into the long forest section of today's run and soon realised that by the time home loomed up it would be 1730hrs and very dark, esp in the forest.

At 1700hrs it was just as I thought - DARK and not surprisingly no one was around either...!!!
Then up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light....as I got close I found my own supporters, Nicky, Amy & Joshua. They'd hoped to rendezvous with me at a hut, but failed to find it in the dark. They were now en-route home and totally surprised at my arrival.

today I managed 22km - tomorrow is another day.

Friday 12th December 2008

2008-12-12T12:42:00.003+01:00

Today I was joined by Nicky - it was going to be a long run, but as Nicky is not in training I cut it short to 8km. We had a nice run although once again I was not inspired by the frost on the car windows - it all looked too cold outside. Once on the go though I found it pleasant and not too cold, it was also nice to have someone to chat too. Tomorrow I will have to make up and do my long run.
don't forget www.justgiving.com/phillmoore

Saturday 6th December 2008

2008-12-06T17:02:00.003+01:00

It's been raining hard here and hasn't let up for days so my training has hit a wall and I even considered joining the Gym in order to use the treadmill..!!!!
Today started out the same, until lunchtime when the weather broke. It was my chance and so I checked the schedule. Today's run should be a 3miler. Taking into consideration that I haven't run for a couple of days I just hit the road to see how I felt. within a few minutes I realised I felt good, so pushed on for a longer run, in case it's raining tomorrow! Well I managed 17km today and feel pleased with myself.

Tomorrow is another day....

Tuesday 2nd December 2008

2008-12-02T13:38:00.002+01:00

Went out in the rain today - my first run in the rain. Actually it went OK and my time was OK, it wasn't as bad as I first thought it would be. As it raining one might have guessed that it has warmed up a little bit......all of 2° - so today it felt warmer even if it wasn't that warm.

I've also started a training schedule which I hope is going to help.....so today I was to run 5miles and managed that OK.

Thursday 27th November 2008

2008-11-27T09:40:00.002+01:00

I have this odd feeling that the marathon is closing in fast now and that my training has stagnated a little. My times or distances don't appear to be improving much! Still I'm told by experts that this is normal. Managed another 16km run yesterday and currently thinking about how far I might run today!

If you haven't sponsored me yet and want to see my dedicated link http://www.justgiving.com/phillmoore or if you'd prefer to sponsor me using the team link http://www.sophieslegacy.org/ this tells you all about who we are running for and why.

Tuesday 25th November 2008

2008-11-25T02:36:00.003+01:00

I went out today in the cold - the temp hovering around freezing as we've had a lot of snow. Last night we were caught out in the snow on the autobahn and today I ventured around the forest 7km run where I found it wet n cold.

I'll run again tomorrow, but it wasn't pleasant.

Monday 17th November 2008

2008-11-17T22:22:00.003+01:00

Well it's been a good week with a few good runs - on Saturday I ran 18.5kms and felt good. In my head I could have carried on, but wanted to take a break as it had been two hours and my body was beginning to feel it. I was; I guess bored! Still I was happy about the distance and the time was OK.

Today it was very cold - just 1° above and the sky was clear blue with the sun out but not feeling very warm. It was a swift 7kms run today to keep the legs working.

Tuesday 11th November 2008

2008-11-11T23:45:00.002+01:00

Wow - where has the week gone???? I managed a few runs this week and have started to feel like it's coming together a bit more.... on average I've run more than 10kms per run and less than 16kms! A fair bit short of the 42kms required though, back to it then.
Tomorrow is a good day for a swift 15kms or so.....maybe if I am feeling really good I'll try 20kms.

Tuesday 4th November 2008

2008-11-04T18:39:00.003+01:00

Well today was beautiful and the weather was great, managed another 13kms through the forest with a low autumn sun highlighting the tracks. No more pain in the legs which is good and I think I am settling into this sort of distance now.

Monday 2nd November 2008

2008-11-03T14:41:00.002+01:00

It's been a long gap since I had added to this blog so I thought I should do something about it! Over the past month or so I have been suffering with shin splints which I can happily report has now been cured. I was advised that all was needed was a new pair of runners. Indeed this proved to be correct though I was sceptical about this advice it has cured the pain.

Yesterday as a testimony to that I ran 15kms - my best yet. Just waiting for the weight to fall off and I'll be faster as well...!!!!

Well autumn has arrived and running in the forest nice, with all the leaves changing colours and now falling off the trees. The downside is running in the cold and this week I've been plagued by rain every day..... More soon

Sunday 7th September 2008

2008-09-07T18:19:00.002+02:00

Went for my first run today after resting for a week with the Shin splints. It was also my first run with my new Nike+ and nano gadget. The gadget clocked three runs from me all of which were wildly inaccurate. The calibration seemed a little hard to master and thus I think I need to read the manual!!!
I feel OK, a little minor ache from the shins but otherwise OK....
tomorrow is another day and I'll have a crack at calibrating the Nike+ again....

Monday 1st September 2008

2008-09-01T09:27:00.002+02:00

It's pouring with rain today, so as I am resting up I am not too bothred. I went for a long ride yestrday on my bike which was good and used my new iPod Nano for the first time. Eager to get my Nike+ fixed up and working! Still have to wait till my knees don't hurt anymore. Actually my knees hurt yesterday riding my bike! I managed a 25km circuit so was happy with that.

Saturday 30th August 2008

2008-08-30T12:22:00.003+02:00

It's been a while since I added to this, and this week I enjoyed pain in my legs - shin splints I believe. Just when I was started to get into the daily grind of hammering of a 7km run before breakfast, it's all got to stop to heal the leg...!!!! Pants.
Still got my Nike+ and iPod today so keen to get back to it ASAP....

Tuesday 12th August 2008

2008-08-12T23:19:00.003+02:00

It's peeing with rain today so I never managed to get out in the morning which is my preferred time to run. Then I had to take care of the kids all afternoon so I got them onto their bikes and we went running / riding this afternoon. managed the 7km route with only a couple of stops.

Saturday 9th August 2008

2008-08-09T23:01:00.002+02:00

Went running today, managed a 7km Run. things starting to get a bit easier. I have not found run exciting yet!
Tomorrow is another day, another 7Kms......

Day 1

2008-08-01T23:04:00.002+02:00

Training started with a gentle jog, but it soon turned to shock as I only managed 200m before having to walk! This isn't the sort of start I was looking for with regards to marathon training.
I managed to walk and jog without stopping for all of my planned run, 5km.
Tomorrow is another day.