Summary of Week 2 in the Big Blog House

Week 2	Cross-Trains	Runs	Total Miles Run	Avg Pace (min/mile)	Calories Run
Alison	2	3	28.13	10:20	3,027
Iain	0	3	21.16	8:49	2,582

And here are the status reports from our Arctic training camp:

Iain 
Generally tired after a pretty heavy 10 days of running, but feeling ok and this week cross training kicks in which will be different however I could have chosen slightly more clement weather conditions to get back on the bike after a 2-year hiatus. Still, it looks good with shiny new tyres, new bar brakes and hopefully it won't snow until tomorrow...

Alison
Is suffering from the beginnings of a cold and is fighting a rearguard action, but is still able to train although starting to worry about the long runs which kick up a gear in January.

We have received a further £240 of sponsorship, thank you all very much indeed, and the most-viewed page is still the video of me stretching, so please look at this this one instead!

A Dish Best Served Cold

In a November post (pre-Levenson) Alison used some rather underhand paparazzi methods to capture me in a moment of private agony which she then proceeded to broadcast to the world at large.

At the time I said I would wreak my revenge; I just did not realise that it would be so easy or for that matter so soon. This morning, merely a week later, Alison was the architect of her comeuppance.

It was so moving, that I felt it was right, nay my duty to share it with you all.

It has nothing to do with running, but then the best things in life seldom do.

Enjoy (mobile users click here).

x

'Carol of the Bells' Performed by Michael Chertock and August Burns Red
& Featuring Wilkin & Sons Tiptree Brown Sauce

Bonus Points For Guessing...

...where I ran to yesterday!

Correct! It's the Cutty Sark. The Cutty Sark is almost exactly 7 miles from our front door along the flattest and most picturesque route I have found so far. The Waterlink Way is one of my regular routes for long runs, going straight out and back and adding extra distance by going further before turning back. I've now done the whole Way twice, the first time accompanied by my good (if not slightly mad) friend Rebecca visiting from Ireland. We chatted the whole way which was quite a revelation for me since I didn't think I could talk and run at the same time and those 2.5 hours flew by. The second completion was yesterday and my longest run so far at 15 miles. I wasn't feeling top notch to start and only really felt good after 6 miles. The 10-mile blister kicked in as usual and the following 5 miles were a struggle, especially the loop I had to add on to make the distance. I guess that's the way it goes sometimes but finish it I did.

Before setting out I made two further Go Go Gu (GGG) formulations to test. The first was the original, heated gently to drive off some water and the second was one mashed banana plus 12g Whole Earth crunchy peanut butter. I also tried an experimental delivery system (sounds flash huh!) consisting of a disposable piping bag with a small hole snipped off the narrow end and sealed with sellotape and folded and clipped at the wide end. My findings if anyone's interested are as follows:

• GGG #1 heated almost fits in one medium GoToob, but not quite - more work needed
• GGG #1 heated requires more chewing though drawing breath whilst eating is easier and less likely to dribble over oneself
• GGG #2 is really tasty! 
• GGG #2 has greater quantity and took nearly a mile to get down
• GGG #2 needs smooth peanut butter. Chewing nuts while going along feels like a choking hazard!
• The piping bag delivery was awesome though didn't feel terribly robust

GGG #2 is really nice and at around 150 calories I think it's a good addition to my 'natural energy gel' arsenal. I may add a smidge more peanut butter and divide the mixture in half to make two 'gel' doses next time. I also realised that I ought to try shop-bought gels for at least one run to remind myself what the comparison is like. Next test: banana and jam.