We recently went shopping for a new sofa for the family room, to aid getting one the fitted I did a floor plan of the room in Visio.

I felt compelled to then do a plan of the whole house and garden!

I resisted!

I get annoyed by really trivial things:

I quite like (as an occasional treat) a Twix from the vending machine. It’s great because it’s chilled. But because it’s chilled it quite often breaks when it falls from the machine.

This really annoys me, even though I’m just going to bite it and chew it!

photo credit: laffy4k

If you look at the left hand menu you will see the items:

• Mail
• Calendar
• Contacts
• Tasks
• etc

These can be quickly accessed by using the following shortcut keys:

• (Ctrl+1) – Mail
• (Ctrl+2) – Calendar
• (Ctrl+3) – Contacts
• (Ctrl+4) – Tasks

In addition, when you use Ctrl+1 to access mail, this takes you to the folder that you were last using, if you would rather jump straight into your In-Box – use (Ctrl+Shift+I).

Most would have said the weather was good, I beg to differ it was waaay too hot!
On the plus side I’m sure that helped bring out more spectators who really helped spur me on and yes the garden hoses and sprinklers WERE appreciated!

The Bad

The golden rule is to have practiced everything and have no new kit on race day.
Due to the heat in the days leading up and the forecast I decided to treat myself to a new belt with a bottle holder built in. Unfortunately this was not really up to the job and my bottle jumped out the holder in the first few yards after crossing the start line.
Due to the excitement of the start I even forgot to start the timer on my watch so it was a few minutes after crossing the start line before my watch started. My watch gave me a time of 6:23:24 and my official time was 6:34:05. I had also made sure that my watch had a new battery but I had not double checked the settings and I ended up having to fiddle with it during the run to get it set properly. My Garmin FR50 was complaining over the last few miles of low memory, I’ll either have to buy a new watch or speed up: I’m “cheap” so I’ll have to keep up the training !

The Ugly

No real injuries to speak of, the plasters on my nipples fell off so I had to get some emergency vaseline from the first aiders at mile 8. I finished with a small blister on each heel, but this was due to the fact I did more walking than running in the latter stages.
Obviously I’m stiff and sore today but I’m keeping moving to prevent complete seizure.

Results

The web site has the following timings.
10k – 01:13:11
Half – 00:00:00
30k – 04:21:43
Finish – 06:34:05
The time from my watch for the half was ~2:45 which was exactly the pace I was aiming to maintain.

Race Report

Unfortunately it was just after mile 14, just before 13:00 that the heat really started to hit home: I started to take dizzy spells, tunnel vision and felt nausious. I gave myself a good long walking break and doubled up on the water: one for drinking and one over my head and down the back of my neck.
This really was the beginning of the end, I started to get twinges in my legs due to walking and any time I started to jog my calf screamed almost as loud as my head. I was still determined to finish even if I had to walk.
My mind “broke” at mile 17, just prior to the furthest point when two chaps towing car tires behind them jogged past. I almost wept. I resigned myself to not finishing. This point in the course really is in the middle of nowhere so I decided I had to walk the course until I got back onto the main road. Even though this was the hottest point of the course I decided to just go one more mile. I was the one with my head down, blinded by sweat and factor 50 staggering all over the road. Somehow I managed two miles in this state until I got to mile 20.
At mile twenty I realised that it’s against the rules to drop out once you get to mile 20 as it’s only 10k from the end and 10k is “easy”. My mind trick worked and I picked up the pace from a stagger to a brisk walk, even managing to break back into a jog for the final part of the finishing straight.

Thanks

Angus (10k: 00:49:49, Half: 01:46:09, 30k: 02:35:11, Marathon: 03:42:32) for motivation and Paul for getting me to the race on time!
Thanks to all the supporters and volunteers on the day for enduring the heat, cheering us on and providing the cool showers from garden hoses and copius bottles of water!
Sophie Wells from Parkrun, it was your cheering on the finish straight that spurred me back into a jog!
Moira and John (driving the sweepbus), also from Parkrun, pleased to have seen you when passing the racecourse but more pleased to have NOT seen you again.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who was so kind and generous in leaving a donation or kind words of support at http://www.justgiving.com/26miles4chas. The page will be staying active as Paul intends to run 26 competitive miles over the coming year, he was injured so could not compete in the marathon.

photo credit: therefromhere

Data Entry

All data should be entered in the sheet entitled “Logger”, simply copy the last row with data, paste it on the row below and then enter your values. The cells in grey contain formula so should not be changed.
All data should be entered in KM, I also have a miles to KM converter on the page if you prefer imperial measures. Once you have logged your runs, you will want to see how they are summarised over the day, week, month or year.

Using SQL

When I was trying to get this to work I could not find an example that worked that’s why I’m writing this.
The basic syntax of a SQL statement is:

SELECT “the columns you want to see”
FROM “wherever the data is stored”
WHERE “you filter the rows of data to show”
GROUP BY “if you want to summarise the data”
ORDER BY “if you want your results sorted”

There are a couple of differences when you are using the Google Query syntax:
You don’t need the “FROM” clause in the query it’s self, it’s passed into the function as a parameter.
There’s an additional “LABEL” clause that allows you to change the column headings in your output.

Using The Query Function

A simple example would be:

=Query(Logger!A1:P999, “select C, sum(E) group by C order by C label sum(E) ‘Distance KM’”)

The first parameter defines the data that you will be querying (the from clause).
The second parameter defines the query, in this case, showing the week and the total KM run in that week.
Note you must always refer to the column letters, even if you have put titles in row 1.
These query statements can get quite long and hard to read. What I like to do is to store the queries in a separate workbook “Queries” and then refer to them:

=QUERY(Logger!A1:P999,Queries!B2)

Feel free to take a copy of my spreadsheet and put it to good use!

photo credit: damianromero

Parkrun

Last Saturday (10th April) saw the the launch of the Strathclyde Park Parkrun.
After recieving so much encouragement from the folks at the Glasgow Parkrun I decided to give something back and volunteer to help. This is a win-win situation as I can run the ~4 miles from home to the park run, help out then run home so I’m doing my good deed for the day AND getting a run in !

Injury

Unfortunately on my run home after just 2 miles I got to experience just how bad “shin splints” are!
My other half was working so I had to hobble the last two miles home where the kids were great keeping me supplied with frozen peas.
To try and speed my recovery: 5 weeks until Edinburgh marathon (donate here: http://www.JustGiving.com/26Miles4CHAS) I did not do any running at all.

I’m Back!

It’s only a tiny niggle now so I thought I would brave a wee short run: 3 miles, Chatelherault and back. My time was “down” but no new or reoccurrence of any injuries. Despite having wun ~25 miles in my new shoes I have swapped back to my old ones “just in case”, and I’ll stick with them until post Edinburgh.
Hopefully a week of short runs will set me up for a longer run at the weekend then I’ll get back on track.

I kept forgetting to start Google Calendar Sync when I started Outlook. I don’t always start Outlook when I start my laptop and I’m not always online when I run Outlook so puting it in my Startup folder is not really an option.
My solution, a macro that runs when Outlook starts that gives me the option of running Google Calendar Sync if I feel it’s appropriate.

Private Sub Application_Startup()
Dim response As Integer
Dim RetVal

response = MsgBox(prompt:=”Do you want to run Google Calendar Sync?”, buttons:=vbYesNo)

If response = vbYes Then
RetVal = Shell(“C:\Program Files\Google\Google Calendar Sync\GoogleCalendarSync.exe”, vbMinimizedNoFocus)
End If

End Sub

photo credit: darkmatter

Marathon Team Update

Start with the good news: as of today the fundraising total hit £300 which is great but the marathon is no sprint, so lots more time (6 weeks gulp) to go. http://www.justgiving.com/26miles4chas
The not so good news: unfortunately Paul has had to pull out of the Edinburgh Marathon due to an injury he has picked up during training.
The better news: Paul has agreed to competitively run the distance of the marathon before the end of the year. Due to this, we will be keeping the fundraising page open until the end of the year so you can show your support.

Things I Never Thought I Would Hear Myself Say

At 23:30 tonight I actually said:

I’m tired, and it’s late. I think I’ll just do 10k tonight.

And then did 11k in one of my fastest average speeds yet, oh how things have changed since January!

My Running Mantra

The other thing that has changed since the start of the year has been the mantra, or chant that I say to myself in my head when running. I used to say:

Slow Down
Head Up
Smile
And Breath

but over time this has subconciously changed to:

I’m a Runner – THIS is what I do!

and even then, this is only used when I’m struggling.

My Running Philosophy

When I started running, rather than follow a formal plan, as my route was beside a road I used the streetlights: run for 2, walk for 2 and variations thereof. This I found disheartening after a while. What I have found works better now is:

• Start with a smile and know you will win.
• Run through your tiredness but not into your exhaustion; then walk.
• Walk faster then you would but not as fast as you can.
• Walk farther than you need to but not as far as you want to.
• Start again !

Using this method every leg of your run can be classed as a victory and we all know how success breeds success!

My Training Totals This Year

Being the Business Intelligence geek that I am, I know the best way to present the running stats that I have captured ……. but it’s not quite working yet!
Jan - 21miles avg 4.42mph
Feb - 22miles avg 5.40mph
Mar - 58miles avg 5.20mph
Apr - 23miles avg 5.26mph (so far)
Highlights
On Sunday 14th March Angus and I competed in the Balloch Half Marathon.
Angus did it in an amazing 1:42 and put my 2:46 to shame!
It was a new personal best for me!
To top it all off, Angus then came back along the course and re-ran the last three miles with me!
Future Runs
In addition to the Edinburgh Marathon on Sun 26th May I have also signed up for:
MND Scotland 10k Fun Run on Sun 16th May (the week before the marathon)
Mens Health Forum Scotland 10k on Sun 20th June
Great Scottish Run Half Marathon on Sun 5th September
If you know of any other interesting runs let me know!

Big Thanks

As my distances have started to creep up my time out of the house has started to increase but it’s all in a good cause. Helping me keep my motivation up have been:
Parkrun Glasgow : I cannot sing the praises of these folks highly enough. A free timed 5k thought the lovely Pollok Park in Glasgow every Saturday, try it once, you’ll be hooked. I may “skip” an evening training run but never miss a ParkRun !
Sweatshop Glasgow : I was introduced to this shop through their sponsorship of ParkRun. Iain the manager helped fit me with a new pair of shoes last week. This week I have done my 5k ParkRun, a half marathon (and a bit) and a 10k (and a bit). The shoes are fantastic!
Last but not least : friends, family, colleagues : thanks for all the kind words and encouragement!

Monday – Radio Scotland

The excellent Radio Scotland program Get It On is a theme based program where you can suggest songs that match the theme. On Monday, not only did Brian Burnett play a song for me, the whole program was based around a theme that I had suggested: Happy Then Sad.
Then, to top it all off, my song suggestion on his blog prompted some great donations to my fundraising page http://www.JustGiving.com/26Miles4CHAS for CHAS – Childrens Hospice Association Scotland.
A HUGE thank you to Bryan and all the listeners !

Tuesday – Instant Karma

I managed to finish work a little early on Tuesday so I headed home to avoid the usual M8 congestion.
I pulled off at Junction 5 – Harthill to phone home. Pulling into a little side street to use the phone safely, I realised too late that the road was thick with ice and muddy puddles and I got stuck fast.
A HUGE thank you to the kind gentleman who took the time to help me get my free.
Less than one minute after freeing my car and continuing my journey, a car was coming towards me with flames coming from under and around his engine compartment. I managed to flag him down, he had not realised that his car was on fire.
Neither of us had a fire extinguisher! As I had just been stuck I had my shovel handy. A few shovelfulls of snow and the fire was out.
I dread to think what the consequences would have been if my altered journey times and kind samaritan had not happend just as it did.

Thursday – Winner !

Since restarting my jogging at the start of the year I have been a huge fan of the ParkRun concept, a weekly free 5k timed run, especially my local Glasgow ParkRun in Pollok Park.
I found out on Thursday that I had been selected as February’s SweatShop monthly prize winner. SweatShop are one of the fantastic sponsors of ParkRun that help make this fantastic free event possible!
The weird thing was, on Monday I was considering buying a new pair of running shoes so that I could get them broken in in time for the Edinburgh Marathon on 23rd May!
Karma strikes again!

Friday – Bandwidth Issues

Walking to work on Friday morning I got an E-Mail on my Blackberry from PlusNet, my ISP and website host.
Due to my website using considerably more than my allowed bandwidth my website had been taken down.
I had no idea as to why this was, I expected a spike on Monday following the publicity on Radio Scotland but had no idea why the spike happened on Thursday or Friday.
It turns out that Real Radio were running their Bring £1 To Work Day campaign. Part of this included them spending the day at Rachel and Robin House and soing a broadcast from there.
Some intrepid Googling turned up an mp3 that I had on this site of when Emma went to Real Radio with her friends from Rachel House. I have removed the file from my site and this is what casued the bandwidth problems. If you would like a copy, email me and I’ll find an alternative file host.

A fantastic show (as always)

I’m a happy man!
http://www.JustGiving.com/26Miles4CHAS

I’m glad to see that the Dell quality processes have finally kicked in and they are confirming that they are actually repairing the laptop that they have collected and that they have not mistaken my laptop with someone else’s that has the same service tag and the same fault.

Update

The laptop was returned all fixed today !