2016 - The Master Plan

The Master Plan

Hello, welcome back for my first official post of 2016, there's a lot to talk about as per usual. Hopefully you will show me the same support as you did through 2015.

As you know I completed many challenges last year in aid of charity, most of it to The Christie charity which is close to my heart and always will be. 2015 was a very successful year for me on the running/fitness side of things, there is always room for improvement

though. Yes I ran every day of the year, mixing this in with cycling, boxing etc, it was a tough test to say the least, I knew I had more to offer. I had no real structure last year, my main aim was to complete at least one mile a day for the full year, which I successfully did. I found that after the first couple of months I had gained a general fitness in which one mile wasn't really too much of a challenge. I could go and do the distance in 6-7 minutes with general ease and this wasn't putting any strain on my body. The real battle was actually going out and completing the run, it took me longer to get ready for the run sometimes. The benefit to this was I was able to manage injuries/tiredness very well. If I had done a long run or a race on a Sunday, I could then have a couple of days after it just recovering and doing the lower mileage runs. I found this helpful after the Marathon in October, on the Monday I cold barely walk, I literally had to complete the one mile with straight legs, things like this were the little challenges that kept testing me.

As I awoke on New Years day 2016, it was a pretty strange feeling knowing that after 365 days straight I now didn't need to go running. I could stay in bed and not have to consider getting my trainers on, it was a good feeling in a way but there was already a sense of loss

creeping in. It hadn't crossed my mind that day to go running at all, until later on that day when my hangover really started to kick in and I wasn't willing to pay 4 euros for the can of coke in the mini bar. With it being New Years day in Barcelona and a public holiday, not many shops were open. In need of some snacks and fizzy pop, I went out running to find some of these essential items. Subconsciously I think I was just looking for a way to get myself out running. I did eventually find a shop which took me on a 2 mile round journey, I felt horrible once I got back to the hotel, hangover had properly kicked in and it was back to bed for the day to recover. On that brief run I had decided that I needed another challenge as I was now officially a runner and I loved it, what the challenge was going to be I wasn't sure, I was going to make the decision on a clear head, today wasn't the day for that at all. I needed rest and to clear my headache first of all, I really had grown to dislike hangovers in 2015, not that I ever enjoyed them.

The day after I decided to get up early to see the sunset, every place I had ever visited as far as I can remember, I had made the effort to get up at least once to see the spectacular event. No matter where you are on earth, there's something so satisfying about seeing this event. Yes it happens every day, it's the days that you actually sit and watch it rise that you really appreciate it's beauty. I was 10 floors up on one of the rooftop balconies, on my own waiting for the darkness to disappear and the suns rays to light up the streets of Barcelona. As the sun was rising, I saw it as a signal of opportunity to set myself some targets for the year ahead. The first that came to mind was another marathon. I had done pretty well in my first marathon, running a time of 3:27:28. Looking back at this I hadn't trained for the distance, with the way I work I was also disappointed the fact I had walked on several occasions throughout. With applying for the London marathon earlier in the year and not gaining entry, I had decided when I got home I would enter the Manchester Marathon scheduled for the 10th April 2016. Having previously looked at qualifying times for the London Marathon, I knew if I could run below 3:05:00 at Manchester then I could potentially qualify for the London Marathon in 2017. I had only been classed as a runner for just over 12 months but the London Marathon is one race I have always seen on the TV and had thought on many occasions how good it would be to complete the iconic race. That wasn't an option for now, the option of running and training hard for Manchester was a realistic option that I would be taking on. Even at 8 in the morning on my own I was already getting exciting at the prospect of running 26.2 miles, when did it all change?

As well as setting the short term target of the marathon which would be 14 weeks of training, I wanted to set some targets for the year ahead. I was going to aim high which meant I would have to train harder than ever. First of all I thought about the 4 main distances in running, 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon and marathon. Also the small matter of a Cuerden Valley parkrun target as this had taken over my Saturday mornings.

2014 PB's

CV parkrun - 20:55 - 6:44 /mi
5k - 20:35 - 6:38 /mi
10k - 40:11 - 6:28 /mi
1/2 Marathon - 1:42:34 - 7:50 /mi
Marathon - N/A

2015 - PB's

CV parkrun - 18:55 - 6:05 /mi - 2:00 improvement.
5k - 17:53 - 5:45 /mi - 2:42 improvement.
10k - 36:33 - 5:53 /mi - 3:38 improvement.
1/2 Marathon - 1:25:12 - 6:30 /mi - 17:22 improvement.
Marathon - 3:27:28

As you can see from the above stats, I had massively improved from when I first started running in October 2014, this was without any targeted training. 2015 was spent as a beginner, yes I was improving massively but I knew with my determination, discipline and strong mind-set I could take it to a whole new level in 2016, I needed to stay focused on what I wanted to achieve. So saying that, I have made some targets below, they will be hard to achieve but that's the whole point of it. As I don't really know my limits yet, I have no idea how this will all turn out, which is part of the fun and excitement. Considering when I first started running I struggled with a mile, I feel quite privileged that I can set these sort of goals.

2016 Targets -

CV parkrun - Sub 18:15 - 5:52 /mi
5k - Sub 17:15 - 5:32 /mi
10k - Sub 36:00 - 5:48 /mi
1/2 Marathon - Sub 1:22:00 - 6:16 /mi
Marathon - Sub 3:00 - 6:52 /mi

The times above are very fast in my eyes, if I get my head down and stick to the training then I am sure I can reach these targets. Even writing this now, I can picture myself finishing races and hitting these targets. I do like to imagine the scenarios before they go ahead and I really think this works. If I can run these speeds and distances in my mind, then I can transfer that to real life scenarios. I have done it in football, rugby and definitely in running previously and I believe it works.

I do have a couple more targets that I am setting myself for different reasons. For my competitive side, I will be taking part in the Red Rose Road Runners club Championship. The Championship is Red Rose’s premier race competition. Its pits clubs members against each other in 8 road races, which are to held on Sundays, throughout the year. The results work in a way that the 1st Red Rose male finisher 1 point, 2nd Red Rose male 2 points and so forth until the final Red Rose finisher. So higher up I can finish the smaller the amount of points gained, faster I am the higher up I finish. Since joining Red Rose, I have enjoyed every event I have been involved in, so I want to carry that on this year for sure. This competition will hopefully push me on to the next level, with the healthy competition within Red Rose it will surely be a good year. Yes the competition is very tough, there are some very good runners involved, for myself I want to try and see if I can keep up with them and put them to the test. The great thing about Red Rose is no matter the level of runner you are, the encouragement is same all round and it's great to see. At every race you are guaranteed a wave of red support which definitely spares you along during the tough moments, it gives you that little kick that gets you going again. Bring it on!! Another target I have is to finish king of the valley at Cuerden Valley parkrun. The reasoning behind this is just so I can keep myself on track and focused. 

I know that if I am getting up at 7:30am on Saturday mornings to go and enjoy the free local 5k, then my head is in the right place. If I am lying in bed hangover, feeling sorry for myself, then I know I have gone wrong somewhere for now. This is more of a test of my commitment to improving my running and fitness. Since I first started attending Cuerden at the end of 2014 I have met some great friends and my life has changed for the better, this has definitely been a big part of it. 

By 11:30am on a Saturday, I have normally been and pushed myself round the tough 5k course, cheered on other runners, had a chat and a laugh with some buddies with a brew, got home, had a bacon butty, shower, then I am ready for the day. Previous to parkrun, it was stay up until silly hours doing silly things, lie in bed until silly hours, wasting my life away. I know now which I would rather be doing, that is getting up early and venturing to the valley, it isn't going to change soon either. So the concept behind the 'king of the valley' is to accumulate points over 52 weeks. 100 points for 1st, 99 for 2nd and so on.. You can also volunteer up to 3 times and earn 100 points for each of those weeks, it doesn't stop you volunteering more than the 3 times, more time the better. So really my target here is to keep up with my healthy lifestyle and to keep improving on my times week on week, with this, I may possibly finish with the most points over the timescale... I know I have some tough competition from Pete, Chris, Andy, John, Ian, Paul, Ian, the list goes on. This is definitely not a competition by any means, I know a few of the names I have mentioned have absolutely no interest in it whatsoever. Either way, it's just an added challenge to the Saturday morning outings. Also, I have to mention it's due to some great runners at Cuerden that I have progressed the way I have so far since taking up running, so keep it up ladies and gents.

So after finishing my year in Barcelona and having an unbelievable time, it was time to move on from my achievements of 2015 and to focus on the future and 2016. I would use everything I had learned about myself in 2015 to push on and grow as a person. Having run 366 days consecutively, I had the 2nd January off. It was the day I was flying back from Barcelona, it felt strange. Getting home I still felt I needed to go out running, I didn't, so I had a nice relaxing evening and enjoyed it thoroughly. I couldn't afford to get lazy as I was now signed up to the Manchester marathon on April 10th, so it was straight back into it, my one day of rest felt enough and I was definitely fit enough to start a gruelling 15 week marathon plan. Starting it on Monday 4th January, I had 98 days to get marathon fit, plenty of time.

After searching through a lot of marathon plans, I finally decided on the Bupa plan, which was designed for advanced runners. I wasn't sure if I was classed as an advanced runner but with me aiming high I thought it would suit me best. It would be a lot of hard work, over the 15 weeks I would be covering roughly 500 miles, plus the marathon as well. The fact I only just reached over 1000 over the previous 52 weeks shows the scale of the challenge ahead, I was well up for it. The schedule was 6 nights a week with a whole mixture of training styles. However this was just a guideline, I would be able to mix it up, do less, do more, depending how I was feeling. If I could realistically stick to the plan then I knew come April I would be in good shape to run a Sub 3 hour marathon, this was the aim. I know the qualification time for the London Marathon is at 3:05:00, so it gives me a little bit of room for a bad run/bad conditions on the day. The rough plan is below, I will go into a bit more detail later.

Monday - Easy Run - 4-6 Miles
Tuesday - Mainly speed work
Wednesday - Easy/Steady Run - 4-10 Miles
Thursday - Strength/speed work
Friday - Rest day
Saturday - Built in the CV parkrun - warm/cool down - 5 Miles
Sunday - Long Run - 10-22 Miles

Moving on from the marathon training for now, it was back to parkrun which I ran a time of 19:13, which I was pleased with after a hectic new year, for the first run of 2016 I was happy, room for improvement big time. The day after on Sunday 10th January, it was completion time. The first of the 8 Red Rose Championship events was already here and it was time to get serious. Being one of my targets for the year I really wanted to run well. My last 10k race I PB'd with 36:33 in November, I had an average week of training so I didn't expect to beat that, I still had a good time in me though.

From people that had done the Garstang 10k last year I knew it was pretty hilly with an uphill finish, so needed to pace myself well. As ever there was a great turn out for Red Rose with some good runners involved that I needed to watch out for. I obviously wanted to do well myself but was always willing other Red Rose members to do well as well. With the team days out and the great showing RRRR offer, there are always chances of the team prizes - Which I know the wine goes down well for most people.

With the race starting on a tight car park, I knew it was essential to get to the front and have a good steady start to avoid the human traffic. I certainly did that, my first mile I covered in 5:35, which I knew myself was far too fast to keep it up. Was a good start and it gave me a gap to fall of on later miles. I soon settled into a good comfortable pace, the next 3 miles I ran in 6:06, 6:01 and 6:11. After the 4th mile I felt myself tiring out, I have never done it on a race before but I ended up looking behind me. I don't like doing it, as if someone in front of me turns around in my mind I think they could be starting to struggle, which I was. I got a brief look and I knew my fellow Red Rose Daniel Hughes was close behind me, also Robert Walsh was close on my heels. I panicked a little in my mind which I never do, I managed to keep my pace somehow and my 5th mile was 6:05. Shortly after with about 1 mile to go
Robert started to run next to me and I thought he was going to push on and leave me in his tracks. The quality person he is, I think he realised I was struggling and spent a good 10 seconds encouraging me to get myself going again as there was only a mile left. Now he didn't have to do that, he could have kept his head down and cracked on, so thanks for that. It definitely spared me on as we both finished really well. It all came down to the last hill and the sprint finish, I managed to just squeeze in ahead by literally a couple of seconds, finishing with a time of 37:05, Rob with 37:09 I think. Was a great finish and it was really appreciated, this was one of the reasons I enjoyed running, the people you meet are fantastic. Our final efforts were awarded as we both managed to finish in the top 10, myself 9th and Robert 10th, Robert also with a PB. Deep down I knew Robert was in training for the London Marathon himself, so he would be improving over the year, got my eye on you young man ;-).

To finish with, it was another great event to run in, well organised as per usual and the marshals fantastic as always. Even though I hadn't run as well as I would have liked, I finished with my 2nd best time for the 10k, so the signs were there that I was improving my consistency. My main aim was to be the first Red Roser back and I achieved this as well. Dan Hughes was only a few places behind and was in sight of me all the way round. So this was another person I had to look at as well, if I didn't train well and put in a lot of hard work I knew Dan would come and take me at any opportunity. I had the first place in the first race, leaving me with a total of one point and 7 Championship races left. The next race was scheduled for March, Caldervale 10, so I had plenty of time to get fit and improve my running to continue my quest. Another note for the day, I cannot remember how many awards RRRR won, it was a lot, there must have been a good 5-10 minutes of applauding/whooping for the age category prizes. For the first time as well, I was involved in winning the men's team prize, was a great effort by everyone and I hope to be able to grab a few more of these in the year.

January Training

After the Garstang 10k, the rest of January was pretty much just spent getting into my marathon routine, which I was thoroughly enjoying. It was nice for a change to have a schedule to follow with certain distances/times to achieve, in 2015 I had no structure at all. I needed to get used to what speed I could run at on my training runs, also a massive factor was to get used to pacing myself, which would be key to a great marathon run. It was going to be even harder than running every day, I was glad I had a day in there to rest. Running every day in 2015 set me up well for this marathon for sure. There isn't too much to talk about on the training side, so I have added the details of my runs for the whole of January, just to indicate the distance/speed I was doing things at. I had worked out some times I wanted to follow, easy runs, between 7:00 - 7:30 /mi. Steady runs, between 6:30 - 7:00 /mi, anything faster than this I knew I would be pushing. In my head if I could get used to running at these speeds on training runs then it would set me up nicely for April.

January

01.01.2016 - Run #1 - 1.3 Miles - 9:17 - 7:40 /mi
03.01.2016 - Run #2 - 3 Miles - 25:45 - 8:27 /mi

Week 1 - Marathon Training

04.01.2016 - Run #3 - 4 Miles - 28:59 - 7:11 /mi - Easy 4 Miles
06.01.2016 - Run #4 - 6.2 Miles - 41:59 - 6:44 /mi - Steady 10k
07.01.2016 - Run #5 - 5.5 Miles - 43:05 - 7:45 /mi - Fartlek
09.01.2016 - Run #6 - 3.1 Miles - 19:13 - 6:11 /mi - CV parkrun
10.01.2016 - Run #7 - 6.2 Miles - 37:05 - 5:58 /mi - Garstang 10k

Weekly Total - 25 Miles

Week 2 - Marathon Training

11.01.2016 - Run #8 - 4 Miles - 29:03 - 7:15 /mi - Easy 4 Miles
12.01.2016 - Run #9 - 4.6 Miles - 30:02 - 6:31 /mi - Constant Speed - 2x10 mins - 5 Mins x 2 Recovery
13.01.2016 - Run #10 - 5.1 Miles - 36:26 - 7:08 /mi - Easy 5 Miles
16.01.2016 - Run #11 - 4 Miles - 29:09 - 7:15 /mi - Easy 4 Miles
17.01.2016 - Run #12 - 10 Miles - 1:09:29 - 6:59 /mi - Easy 10 Miles

Weekly Total - 27.7 Miles

Week 3 - Marathon Training

18.01.2016 - Run #13 - 4 Miles - 29:04 - 7:16 /mi - Easy 4 Miles
19.01.2016 - Run #14 - 5 Miles - 34:12 - 6:48 /mi - Constant Speed - 10 mins, 5 mins rest - 7 mins, 4 mins rest - 5 mins, 3 mins rest
20.01.2016 - Run #15 - 6.2 Miles - 40:49 - 6:33 mi - Steady 10k
21.01.2016 - Run #16 - 3.5 Miles - 26:16 - 7:29 /mi - Hill Reps

Weekly Total - 18.7 Miles

Week 4 - Marathon Training

25.01.2016 - Run #17 - 4 Miles - 28:33 - 7:08 /mi - Easy 4 Miles
27.01.2016 - Run #18 - 7 Miles - 45:15 - 6:27 /mi - Steady 7 Miles
28.01.2016 - Run #19 - 7.5 Miles - 51:36 - 6:52 /mi - Intervals - 6x1 Miles - 400m Easy In between
29.01.2016 - Run #20 - 13.1 Miles - 1:30:20 - 6:53 /mi - Steady 1/2 Marathon
30.01.2016 - Run #21 - 3.1 Miles - 19:45 - 6:22 /mi - CV parkrun

Weekly Total - 34.7 Miles

January - Total Miles - 110.3

Anne-Marie (mum) - tall bloke on the right.

Overall, by the end of January I was pretty pleased with my progress. I had pretty much stayed with the marathon programme and  was gaining some consistency with my running times. My main problem in January was the fact I had missed 3 long runs and I knew these were key to marathon training. To be fair, one was down to the Garstang 10k so that can be excused. The next one was just out of pure laziness and not being in the right frame of mind, not wanting to get up and run wasn't like me at all. Lastly the other was for my mums 50th birthday, now how could I not have a drink and celebrate my beautiful mums birthday. It was a great night and lets say she got a little bit tipsy and couldn't stand up by the end of the night, I didn't expect anything less. She's a great women and been there for me all of my life until this day. There'll be another time to go on about you mother, this is marathon talk now, priorities and that ;-)

Even though I had missed some important runs and was really hoping it wouldn't bite me in the arse in later days, we would have to wait and see. Either way, for now January ended very well. The fact pretty much all my running buddies had got a place in the London Marathon, including Pete, it had annoyed me throughout January. This all changed very soon, a certain Mr Steve Taylor presented me with an opportunity of a charity place for The great charity of Revitalise - (Revitalise was founded in 1963 as the Winged Fellowship Trust (WFT). In 2004 WFT became Vitalise and in 2014 Vitalise became Revitalise. We currently run three accessible holiday centres in Chigwell in Essex, Southampton and Southport. Our mission is to enable disabled people in the UK to access essential breaks with care, and provide inspirational opportunities for volunteers. We firmly believe that disabled people should have the same rights, freedoms, responsibilities and quality of life as those without disabilities).

Sponsor page for this found below :)

https://www.justgiving.com/Karl-Hodgson2LONDON?newPage=True

From nowhere, I was now signed up to the Virgin London Marathon, one of the most iconic races you could ever take part in. It was a great feeling. I had been given the challenge of raising a minimum of £500 for the charity. It felt a bit strange knowing I wouldn't be raising money for The Christie, in a way it was good as I could put something back into another charity and make a difference elsewhere. So from being involved in just the one marathon in Manchester, I now had two marathons which would be in the space of 2 weeks. Manchester on the 10th April, London on the 24th, what a month April was going to be. It seemed pretty fitting as in April 2016 it would be ten years since I was diagnosed with cancer, so it was really time to get serious, no playing games and being half hearted, it was time to make life changes, not just for the marathon but for myself that would change my life forever.

With it being the start of February, my parents wanted to make a few lifestyle changes, so instead of doing the dry January, they had decided to stop drinking for the full month of February instead. Which was good to see as it would do them the world of good. Thing is, I had to get on board as well. Not drinking for me wasn't an issue at all, so that would be easy for me. The main issue I had was my smoking... quite a few people know I smoke and have smoked for a while. Such a horrible habit. I had probably smoked between 5-10 a day since the age of 19 properly. From going through all my treatment etc and having a genuine life scare, literally 18 months after finish treatment I found myself smoking. The single thing I hated the most, I genuinely did used to be disgusted by it. I remember going for chemotherapy and there would be a lot of people stood outside having a fag, on treatment, drip attached, it used to make me so mad. My opinion was they had been giving a second chance and they are pretty much throwing back in the face of the hospital, nurses and everyone involved in The Christie charity. Looking back at it now, I had become that person that I never wanted to be. I had been given a second chance, now 27, I have spent 8 years of my life going against my morals. I knew it as well, I acted like it didn't bother me, I can assure you it did. Yes I am disappointed in myself, I am more annoyed the fact that I have been writing blogs, telling people how they can change, asking for donations for a great cause, when realistically I'd be finishing the blog and going for a fag. So I want to say sorry to everyone that has supported me, sponsored me and showed me encouraged me. I feel I had lied to you especially over the past 14 months and been very deceitful. I could have been putting that money towards charity myself instead of blowing it on cigarettes. I cannot blame anyone else than myself for starting, it was down to me to smoke, buy more, smoke more, you know the process. I am a little disappointed that after all I had been through that no-one ever pulled me to one side and had a serious word with me. Yes my mum and dad had done this several times, it's different when your parents tell you not to do something though.

Recently though certain people have stepped in and had that word with me, which honestly I can't thank them enough for it. Like I have said, I cannot blame anyone for me smoking, it's my fault and was solely down to me to take action and try to give up and get my life back on track. I thought I was running well in 2015, looking back at it now, everyone scenario I wrote about, just add 5-10 fags in a long the way. Parkrun for example, I would have one before it, finish the race, then I would be straight back to my car to have another. It's pathetic, I am getting annoyed about it now. Chester marathon, I had two fags before this as well, no wonder I hit a wall with 10 miles to go. Pretty much every run last year, I would have had 3/4/5 fags before them, then the same afterwards. Surprisingly, the 10k in November in which I PB's by over 2 minutes, I had spent the 2 weeks before this cutting down massively. Who would have believed it, not smoking would make me a better runner.? Once I had PB'd I felt it was now ok to start again, was a crazy attitude.

Anyhow, I could ramble on for hours about how disappointed I am with myself over the past 8 years and the past year raising money for charity. Turning this all into a positive, in 2015 I had ran very well considering the handicap I had put on myself. Back to the deal, my parents giving up drink in February, meant I was finally going to give it a real good go at stopping smoking. I felt it was the right time and was very focused in getting over the horrible habit. Speaking to people who had given up, it was going to be one hell of a battle, I was up for it, ready for the change and to relieve myself of the disappointment and low views I had of myself and smoking. This was now the time to step up my game and get my head focused on my running, I knew without the smoking I could up my game massively. If I didn't give up, all my hard work would be going to waste and it was likely I wouldn't reach my targets, which would drive me mad.

February

Week 5 - Marathon Training

The first couple of runs in February felt very good, I was angry on them but I felt my breathing massively improving, which I knew was going to happen. On the 2nd run I had tweaked my calf a bit, so was annoyed and sulking as I didn't know how long I would be out for. The fact I was trying to better myself and 2 days in I was injured, I wasn't happy at all. For those that have given up smoking you'll know the scenario of quitting. For those that didn't, moody doesn't even start to describe how I was in the first week, embarrassing really. I hadn't smoked for the first four days, Friday night came and I went out for a few drinks and really enjoyed it. I had a couple of pints and I stayed strong, a few pints in it went completely wrong. Let's just say I went through a full 10 pack on my own and as I was tipsy I wasn't bothered, my head was telling me I was really enjoying it. Saturday morning, waking up at 8am for parkrun with a hangover and the shame of telling my parents I had broken our promise after 4 days, it wasn't good. It got worse as I had he poorest run for a long time and got spanked my Ciaron and Dan, I wasn't happy at all. I had never blown up in a run before, I had now, dehydrated and full of carbon monoxide I just wanted to go home to bed and sulk.

I did exactly that, I needed some time to properly reflect on the situation and come up with a plan of action. I spent a lot of time that Saturday looking on forums and blogs of how people had given up smoking. There was one that caught my attention and I find it a really good idea. The guy had spoken about the pressure he put himself on giving up was making him more stressed, then when it got too much he would go and buy a pack of 20, eventually getting back into smoking. This went on and on for months until he decided to change his plan. His idea was to plan a day in which he was allowed 2/3 cigarettes, in his head he could look forward to a certain day of the week. After a couple of months of doing this, he eventually gave up and realised he didn't want the cigarettes any more. Months down the line he was still clean and enjoying being smoke free. I decided this would be a good way of approaching it and to stop putting so much pressure on myself. I know it wasn't giving up straight away like I would have liked, I felt this could really work for me, just to slowly get myself off them. An 8 year habit wasn't just going to go overnight, plus I would be smoking 68 less a week, this was surely only going to benefit me big time, only time would tell. I think this was the first time I had questioned my running and not enjoyed a run, ever. I am sounding quite dramatic, there are far worse problems in the world, I just want to change my ways. I did speak to coach Pita that Saturday evening and she put me back on the straight and narrow. She told me how it was, if I didn't change what I was doing then I wouldn't achieve any of my goals. I had to work harder than I had ever done and it needed to start now. A few other things were discussed and it seemed to hit home, coming from someone that had achieved so much it was great to have advice from her. It was time to re-focus and get my head back in the game. Sunday came very quickly and it was time for the Sunday long run, 15 miles this week. I completed the 15 miles in 1:50:30, averaging 7:22 /mi, I was pleased with this. It felt very comfortable and the last mile I had it in my legs to finish strong with a 6:23 mile. Felt really good to get in a good solid distance at the end of week 5.

01.02.2016 - Run #22 - 5 Miles - 36:02 - 7:11 /mi - Easy 5 Miles
02.02.2016 - Run #23 - 5.3 Miles - 34:57 - 6:31 /mi - Constant Speed - 15 mins, 5 mins rest, 10 mins, 5 mins rest
06.02.2016 - Run #24 - 3.1 Miles - 19:54 - 6:24 /mi - CV parkrun
07.02.2016 - Run #25 - 15 Miles - 1:50:30 - 7:22 /mi - Steady 15 Miles

Weekly Total - 28.4 Miles

Week 6 - Marathon Training

6 weeks in and I was now hoping to kick on and man up. It was time to start working hard and to stick to my guns with the smoking. I had my training runs throughout the week to keep me focused, then at the weekend I had a parkrun to aim for as well as the cross country in Fleetwood. On my runs I could really tell that cutting out the cigs was already benefiting me. I was running under 7 minute miles on some of the runs with ease, I could feel the oxygen being taken into my lungs and it powering my legs. Striding felt so much easier and I felt a lot more powerful, like I could just increase my speed at any point and have control over it. From Monday to Thursday I was still very moody and agitated at little things, the improvement in my running kept me strong. I kept reminding myself of why I was giving up on the long term goals I would be achieving. Saturday morning soon came round and it was another parkrun day in the valley, it was time to see if the week of hard training was paying off. I was feeling good in the morning and after a mile warm up my legs felt fresh, the Friday rest days helped out massively. To cut a long story short, it had paid off. I managed to finish with a time of 18:37 which was a new PB. My previous best was 18:55, so taking 18 seconds off over 5k, I was buzzing. The run felt good and I felt I ran the 2nd & 3rd mile in a more controlled manor, my breathing was coming back and it was very satisfying. The 18:55 time had taken me 16 months to achieve, within 2 weeks of being good I had smashed it, next up was the cross country. The first and only time I had done cross country was in Liverpool in November, so I was looking forward to mixing it up a bit. Arriving in the afternoon, the course looked pretty tough, with some steep inclines and muddy areas.

For myself there was no real aim for the day, it was just to run well and finish in the best position possible for the team. As always it was a great showing from the might RRRR, both the men and women having a great turnout. With the race underway, the course proved a lot more difficult than I thought. Some very boggy areas in which you was ankle deep, it was a real test on the thighs and you had to push very hard through some parts. It was great, as it was harder than road running, it took your mind of running for a change. I had a pretty solid performance, being the 2nd red roser back home in a time of 42:02, 6:30 /mi. I was more than happy with this considering I had ran hard in the morning. Another wicked day out with RRRR and awesome support, the same as every event I had attended. On the smoking side of things, I did have the 2 on Saturday evening, I didn't enjoy the first one but without lying I enjoyed the 2nd one. I had stayed strong all week and had built these 2 in, so it was now going to be another week before I considered having any more. Nearly 2 weeks down and 12 smoked, it was going well for sure. Sunday was here once again, time to get in some serious distance. 19 miles was in the plan for this one and again at a steady pace. I set off on the run without keeping an eye on my pace, once again only checking the splits every mile. I was hoping just to try and stay consistent on the long runs, trying to keep the mile splits very similar. I didn't do too bad with this one, covering the 19 miles in 2:20:56, averaging 7:25 /mi. Final mile again I picked up the pace, finishing with a 6:36 mile. Another successful run, with the 2 fast runs the previous day this was great progress for myself. My breathing was superb and legs exactly the same, things were looking up. I had covered the furthest distance ever this week, totalling 54.9 miles, it was benefitting me massively.

08.02.2016 - Run #26 - 5 Miles - 36:33 - 7:17 /mi - Easy 5 Miles
09.02.2016 - Run #27 - 6.5 Miles - 45:05 - 6:50 /mi - Constant Speed, 5 mins, 15 mins, 5 mins, 15 mins, 5 mins
10.02.2016 - Run #28 - 7 Miles - 44:50 - 6:24 /mi - Steady 7 Miles
11.02.2016 - Run #29 - 7 Miles - 48:02 /mi - 6:51 /mi - Easy 7 Miles
13.02.2016 - Run #30 - 3.1 Miles - 18:37 - 6:00 /mi - CV parkrun - New PB
13.02.2016 - Run #31 - 6.5 Miles - 42:02 - 6:30 /mi - Fleetwood XC - New PB
14.02.2016 - Run #32 - 19 Miles - 2:20:56 - /mi - 7:25 /mi - Steady 19 Miles

Weekly Total - 54.9 Miles

Week 7 - Marathon Training

After a good week the previous week and some great distance work, I decided to take a different approach to this weeks training. With me now feeling the benefits on not smoking, I thought I would try pushing myself to see if I could beat my PB's in every distance except the marathon. As I hadn't entered any races for a while, especially with the 5k, I didn't think my times matched my potential at the moment. Monday night was just an east 5 mile run to recover from the 19 miles on the Sunday, legs felt a little heavy but that was expected. For the Tuesday night I had planned the 5k run, the route I had marked out was very flat with sections being downhill. After an easy one mile warm up, it was time to test my new lungs out. I set off pretty fast but stayed comfortable as I didn't want to die off later on. Saying that, the first mile I ran in 5:26 which was a nice start. The 2nd mile was nicely downhill so I knew I could push on again, 5:35 I recorded for this one. Setting a new 2 mile PB on the way with 11:01. I was starting to feel it and was pushing hard for the 3rd mile as my quads started to feel heavy. I clung on and was at 5:54 for the 3rd mile, leaving me a couple of 100 yards to finish off. Finishing time of 17:31, smashed it with an average of 5:38 /mi. Yes it was slightly downhill but I had taken 22 seconds off my 5k PB from last year, 16 days into the no smoking plan and it was going well. All I needed to do was to keep building and play the waiting game for an official 5k race. Wednesday was a rest day, it was then onto my 10k test on the Thursday evening. I won't talk you through this one, but it was another PB. 36:28, my previous best was 36:33, so a 5 second improvement, well happy. Towards the end of the run I had felt a slight tweak in my left calf, so pretty much had to hobble home once I had finished. It wasn't anything too serious but I did take 2 days off as rest, plus is give me chance to volunteer for a change at parkrun. The only annoyance was the fact I had to miss my Sunday long run which was going to be my half marathon, I settled for a 5k to get back in the swing of things, with a few days off I was feeling good and ready to go again for the week after. Once again with the smoking, I had 2 on Saturday which I didn't enjoy at all, hopefully this was a good sign I was finally getting over them.

15.02.2016 - Run #33 - 5 Miles - 37:00 - 7:23 - Easy 5 Miles
16.02.2016 - Run #34 - 3.1 Miles - 17:31 - 5:38 /mi - 5k Test - New PB
18.02.2016 - Run #35 - 6.2 Miles - 36:28 - 5:52 /mi - 10k Test - New PB
21.02.2016 - Run #36 - 3.1 Miles - 19:00 - 6:08 /mi - Steady 5k

Weekly Total - 21.8 Miles

Week 8 - Marathon Training

7 weeks down on the training and I can genuinely say it was the fittest I had been and the healthiest also. I had eaten clean, hadn't drank and was doing well with the smoking. There was a saying I had seen recently - 'if you want to perform like an athlete, you need to train like an athlete'. I was doing just that and it was helping me massively on my quest for a sub 3 marathon. With the hard work and the training I was putting it, it didn't come without sacrifice. My social life had pretty much gone as I was training 6 days a week, by the time I had run in the evening, got home, showered, changed, eaten, prepared dinner for the day after, it was 9pm most nights. As I was working hard as well I couldn't be bothered doing anything. In a way it was working well as it kept me busy and out of scenarios for the smoking. One thing I may regret is missing a stag do the weekend before for my good friend Chris. I was booked on the trip to Latvia which was for two days, selfishly though with a week to go I backed out of the trip. I knew that if I went, I would be drinking in excess and doing the same with smoking. I couldn't justify spending £100's on these 2 marathons, accommodation, trains etc, then possibly throwing it all away with a weekend away. I do feel bad for it but Mr Willetts, being the legend he is fully understood my views and wished me luck with everything I was doing. Part of me now needs to run this sub 3 hour marathon for Chris, as if I do he played a big part in my achieving my goal. He could have taken it the wrong way and even tried to peer pressure me into the trip, he didn't. So thanks for that Chris, was much appreciated as I felt horrible not going in the first place. I will make it up to you babe! So yes I am massively improving, it isn't without working my arse off and putting everything into it.

Back to the training, with a quiet weekend and being well rested I started with an easy 6 miles on Monday. It felt very easy at 7:02 /mi, everything was becoming  more controlled as the weeks went on. Tuesday was test night, it was time to complete the half marathon to see if I could break all of my PB's the space of a week. I was focused and ready to run hard, I wasn't going all out but definitely pushing myself. I certainly did that and hit another PB with a time of 1:22:54 - 6:20 /mi over the distance. My previous time was 1:25:12 in race conditions, so I had smashed this one improving on my time by 2:18. I was tired at the end but I had a lot more to offer, was another achievement and I had proved to myself what I could do in the space of a week. I decided to treat myself and have a rest night Wednesday, back to the grind with an easy 9 mile run Thursday which yet again felt really good and my confidence was growing. Friday I went out with Emma, I was making it one of my aims for the year to try and help out non-runners/beginners. The aim was to get her to running 5k and then to enter a race over the summer. As she was only on her 2nd run I was very impressed, covering 2.2 miles in 29 minutes. I didn't tell her any plans, I just wanted her to run as far as she could, then rest when need be, then back to it. I didn't really need to push her, she took my encouragement well and pushed harder when I asked. For her 2nd run it was great work and the 5k target wouldn't be far away at all, sooner than she thinks. For someone new to running I wanted to get her onto the streets as well to build up her confidence. I know some people have fear of running on the streets due to shouts/comments people may make. I have had all sorts shouted at me that I cannot repeat, you just have to laugh it off and crack on, otherwise it will spoil the experience if you let it bother you. As within 30 seconds you're half way down the road and will never see those people ever again. If you do see them again, you'll be running faster next time so the shouts won't go on for long. Just use all these little things as motivation, people have said things to me that I still use as motivation, it keeps the fire burning inside me.

Just have to quickly mention that I had the 2 cigarette allowance on Friday night, first one I enjoyed, 2nd one was pointless. It had been a week since I had last touched them and it was getting easier to avoid. The mood swings where still there, it wasn't constantly on my mind though which was good. The one thing I had noticed was nights sweats, within seconds of nearly falling asleep I could literally feel the sweat building up, it was strange, definitely my body cleansing itself and clearing out years of bad habits - I was happy I was it this stage as it meant I was sticking to my guns.

To finish off the week in was that time again, 9am on a Saturday morning only meant one thing, Cuerden Valley parkrun. Was a special week for me as it was my 50th parkrun since I had taken up running. I had run 49 times in the valley and just the solo effort at Preston. So it was 50 times I had dragged myself out of bed at 7:30am, 50 times I had showed commitment and 50 times I had pushed myself on way or another. At parkrun they like to celebrate people's 50th but I kept it quiet as I had business to take care of, plus the 50th run at Cuerden was the one that meant the most to me. For my 50th parkrun I set myself a challenge of a new PB and a first finisher, so whoever turned up that week was going to have to work for a first finish as I was very determined. Seems a bit serious for a parkrun day, I like to set goals and push myself though. It was a very fast start and over the first mile I had run the 2nd fastest mile of 5:52. Dan was on my shoulder for this first mile and he pushed me big time, I could hear him and he didn't want to let up. I knew I had to keep pushing, not to get away from him but to get close to my PB. After 2 miles I was still feeling good and I was a few seconds up on my previous time, with only the mile left I decided to pick it up and start working. Coming up the last hill at the valley I knew it was going to be
close, with a strong sprint finish I crossed the line in 18:28, taking 9 seconds off my PB and coming in first. I could tell I had worked hard for it as I was blowing big time. Still recovering Dan crossed the line in which I knew was a very good time, turned out he had set a new PB of 18:58 and broke the 19 minute barrier. Yes I am competitive but it's also great to see other people achieving and doing well at the same time. Dan had been running great for weeks and this was long overdue for him. The top 4 finishers also PB'd that day so it was also great to see people being pushed by each other. Hopefully we could take the running into some races in 2016 and push each other to more PB's and some team prizes for Red Rose. So it was a great day again and was happy with my performance, I was rapidly improving and there was no real signs of it stopping. I just had to make the most of it and keep pushing as at some point it will stop, for now I was enjoying seeing my own personal gains. 50 parkruns done, I can guarantee that will get to 100, maybe not all in the valley as I will at some point start touring and looking to challenge for a few first finishes elsewhere. For now though, this was my home and I was loving it. There a few stats below for my 50 parkruns, well the 49 at Cuerden, long may it continue.

1st parkrun - 23:12 - 25/10/2014
50th parkrun - 18:28 - 27/02/2016
20 PB's in total - 40%
First finishes - 12/49 - 24.4%
Top 5 finishes - 34/49 - 69.3%
Top 10 finishes - 46/49 - 93.8%
Fastest 500 - 21/500 - 1st - 16:57 - Me - 18:28
Volunteering - 5 times - Need to work on this stat!!!

It was back around to Sunday again and 2 months into my marathon training, was time to test out both speed and distance. I was aiming for 20 miles at roughly marathon pace, there was no real pressure to get an exact time, it was more for the pace and test the legs. If I could get between 6:50-6:55 /mi over the 20 miles I would be very happy. I set off steady, 3/4 of a mile in a realised my garmin wasn't recording the distance, so I had to stop, reset my watch, then start again, 20 miles here we go. I was feeling good, around 6 miles I felt my hamstrings tighten up but I soon forgot about it. I covered my first half marathon in 1:28:31 - which was an average of 6:45, more than happy with this pace and I was feeling good. I carried on with a similar pace, finishing at 20 miles in a time of 2:15:12, which was exactly 6:45 /mi. It was a good 7 seconds a mile under my target pace. I Still felt like a had a lot left in me and could have easily carried on. Experience of my last marathon has taught me not to be too confident. It took me pretty much 1 hour to complete the last 10k in Chester, so I knew I still had to work hard to be able to finish strong. This practice run left me with 44:48 to complete the last 10k, which was 7:12 /mi. I have been told that on some marathons you can end up doing extra distance due to overtaking and the amount of people to run through. The work I was doing was very good and I had come along way in 2016, I just needed to keep focused and carry on with what I am doing, if I do, there's no reason I won't reach my goals. Another 50 plus mile week as well, everything is looking good with 6 weeks until Manchester and 8 weeks until London, bring it on!!!

22.02.2016 - Run #37 - 6 Miles - 42:10 - 7:02 /mi - Easy 6 Miles
23.02.2016 - Run #38 - 13.1 Miles - 1:22:54 - 6:20 /mi - 1/2 Marathon Test - New PB
25.02.2016 - Run #39 - 9 Miles - 1:04:30 - 7:10 /mi - Easy 9 Miles
26.02.2016 - Run #40 - 2.2 Miles - 29:05 - 12:41 /mi - Road to 5k
27.02.2016 - Rub #41 - 3.1 - 18:28 - 5:57 /mi - New PB
28.02.2016 - Run #42 - 20 Miles - 2:15:12 - 6:45 /mi - New PB

Weekly Total - 54.4 Miles

So 2 months into my training and I as running the best I had ever run and it was a great feeling. The countdown to Manchester and London was well and truly on. I had a lot lined up over the next couple of months, which include the Liverpool half marathon, Caldervale 10, Trimpell 20 and then the Darwen half marathon. All long distance runs that would test me and hopefully put me in good stead for the 2 marathons.

Just to finish off - If you've got this far then why not sponsor me - £500 is the target, only £470 to go :-) On the sponsoring side of things, I received over £1500 last year so I cannot expect much more from you lot, you have already helped me so much and that is greatly appreciated.

I have attached the link below if you need it. If not, just give it a quick share, that is all for now - Thanks for reading and all that.

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Karl Hodgson

The final installment - 2015

Welcome back everyone - Being totally honest, I started writing this blog post in November and have only just got back to it in February. I have been busy, running, would you believe it? So if it seems a little out of sync, it is, everything will be ok, I promise. It is definitely worth a read, stay with it... it'll be well worth your time. No refunds!!!

Here we are again, the countdown is well and truly on, with only 3 months left of my running challenge it was time to up my game. With my boxing event out of the way I could now focus just on my running and start pushing myself again and getting in the miles. By the end of September I had completed 273 days of consecutive running, covering 691.2 miles in total. I now had 92 days to try and reach my goal of 1000 miles for the year. With 308.8 miles left until the new year, I had to run an average of at least 3.35 miles every day to complete my challenge. I knew that in December I would have Christmas parties and a bit more drinking going on, so I had to step it up and make sure I covered enough ground before that time came.

I didn't have to wait long to up the mileage with the small matter of the Chester marathon coming up on the Sunday. I had been running every day and was fittest I had ever been, I wasn't marathon fit though. My longest run to date was on the 9th August, covering 23 miles. With my marathon scheduled for the 4th October, I had only covered 101 miles since that long run leading up to the marathon. I knew it was nowhere near enough and I would not be able to run to my full potential.

The 3 days before my marathon I only ran 5.2 miles, completing an easy parkrun the day before in a time of 20:02. Even though I hadn't done that much running recently, I was doing my best to save the legs for the mammoth task of my first marathon. As it was my first marathon, I decided to treat myself and booked in at the Crowne Plaza in Chester. Just because it was about 5 minutes walk away from the start line, which meant I could sleep that little bit later on the morning. Also the small fact of a swimming pool and Jacuzzi I could use to relax the night before, room service came in handy as well. As I hadn't trained for the marathon or prepared a schedule, the day before I was all over the place. My meals before included chicken/steak tortillas, then burger and chips at about 9pm, I was following the protein and carb diet which I read was the way to go...or maybe not. Either way, the night before I was well fed, well hydrated and was ready to go and smash the Chester marathon.

The morning had arrived as I awoke to the 6am alarm call, I was very tired. I was up straight out of bed and down to get some breakfast. A nice choice of fresh fruit and yoghurt is what I went for first of all. After that the temptation of Bacon, eggs, beans, sausages and toast got the best of me. It was hard work such early in the morning but I managed to get it down and thoroughly enjoyed it. Quite a lonely place on your own at that time, after speaking to a few other experienced marathon runners on the way back to the room I felt better about it all and started to get myself up for it. After waiting around for another 1 or 2 is was then time to walk down towards the start line. Running shoes on, headphones on and water bottles filled up, it was time.

It was a great day for it, the sun was shining on a cold October morning and the weather was pretty much perfect. As I made my way to the race start I started to get a little excited, never thought I was say that at the prospect of running over 26 miles. There was no pressure on me for the day, except the fact a certain Allan Jolly messaged me the night before saying he was the only person at Red Rose Road Runners to run a sub 3 marathon that year. He had put it in my mind, even though deep down I knew I couldn't achieve it, I was going to set off and aim for that target... Could this turn out to be a silly mistake?

So one last toilet break then I went and mooched into the starting grid, in front of the sub 3 hour pacers, bald decision but if you don't have confidence in yourself then no one will. Headphones in and music on, the race began and I was off. 26.2 miles for the first time in my life, I was loving it. I set off really well and felt comfortable for the first half of the marathon, was really enjoying it and taking it all in. At the half way point I had covered the 13.1 miles in about 1:29:00, which was roughly about 6:48 /mi. To achieve a sub 3 hour marathon I needed to keep that pace up and run at nothing more than 6:52 /mi. As I had never raced further than a half marathon it was something completely new to myself.

Shortly after it all started to fall a part. I completed the 14th mile in 7:28 and the sub 3 hour pacers strolled past me with such ease. This definitely got into my head, even though there was no pressure half of me thought I could pull the sub 3 out of the bag. I was wrong. Then I ran the 15th in 7:00 as I tried to catch up some time but I couldn't keep it up. 16, 17 and 18 were all about 7:45 mi/m so I had dropped off the pace by a minute every mile. That's when it happened, the myth of the brick wall that everyone had spoken about, it hit me. My legs just didn't seem to want to run any more and I couldn't get it back. I was just slowing down to a pace I had never run at before. Legs started to seize up, groin, hamstrings, pretty much everything below my waste. I was up to the 20 mile mark in 2:24:00, I would need a PB in a 10k distance to get below the sub 3, it wasn't happening. I re-adjusted my targets and aimed for 3:15, it wasn't long until the pacers for this time were passing me as well. Miles 21, 22 and 23 were all above 10 mi/m and I will admit I walked on several occasions. The lack of training had bitten me right in the arse. I had never had a scenario in which I couldn't run, I didn't know what to do. My competitive side kicked in so I got my head back on it and wanted a strong last 3 miles. That didn't happen, the last 3 miles of the race took me just under 30 minutes.  
As I was coming down the last 1/2 mile stretch of the race though the crowd got me going and I started to enjoy it all again. Everyone cheering you on and the fact I only had minutes left to go. The last 400 meters from somewhere I got a nice adrenaline rush and began to sprint, getting up to the pace of 5:00 /mi and overtaking a good 20 people on the home stretch. It was a great way to end it and was nice to actually finish the race with a bit of running. Overall the marathon was harder than I expected, the last 6 miles just seemed to last forever. I will definitely learn from this and take it in my next marathon, plus a bit of training would go a long way. My final finishing time was 3:27:28 - 28 minutes less and I would have hit the sub 3 hour mark. I don't know when but I will get under 3 hours. I could tick the marathon off for the year and another run boxed off. 276 runs done, leaving me with just the 89 runs left for the year.

The rest of October I decided to relax and enjoy the my running, taking the pressure off myself. I only took part in the once race in October which was the Vernons 4 mile event, which saw me finish in a time of 23:21, working out at 5:50 /mi - I was really pleased with this as I was starting to get faster but was able to sustain it over longer distances. Over the past year, my pace wasn't the issue, it was my stamina and being able to progress past the 5k distances. I knew I had it in me, I just needed to find some real focus to what I was doing. With no other events scheduled for the month, I continued to enjoy the Saturday morning parkruns at Cuerden Valley - Completed 3 in the month in 19:13, 19:23 & 19:37. This had been my routine since the start of the year and even come the end of October I was still enjoying the Saturday morning get together with the great bunch that turn up every week. By the end of October I had covered 801.8 miles, leaving me with pretty much 25 miles a week to reach my target.

November came and I was feeling focused, something had clicked with me and I told myself I needed to take it a little more serious. I had my last 10k of the year booked in for the 22nd November and I really wanted to finish off with a PB. My previous best in this was the Wigan 10k in September, which I ran is 38:29 - I knew I had more in me than this. I also wanted to run a sub 18 5k before the end of the year as well which I hadn't managed so far, 18:01 being my best. I was eating well, sleeping well, pretty much doing everything right for myself in preparation for the 10k. After 10 days of training well in November I decided to test myself over the 5k distance after work. I ran a time of 17:57 which included crossing busy roads, dodging people/cars etc. I was chuffed to bits with this, proving to myself that with a bit of focus I could improve even further. If I'd have finished 2015 without hitting sub 18 I would have been very annoyed, didn't have to worry about that one any more though.

I kept up the hard work for the next couple of weeks until the Chorley Fire 10k arrived. I had really tried my best to behave and looked after myself as much as I could in the lead up to this. Before the race I set myself a target of breaking 37:30, which would be a full minute off my previous best. Race day was here again and I was feeling it, had a good warm up and felt confident in my abilities. I know I had run every day so far but I was still an amateur when it came to racing. My aim was to go out as hard as I could and just try and hang on, leave nothing left in the tank, I wanted to cross the finish line knowing I couldn't have done any more. There was some really good racers lined up at the start, so that motivated me even more, just wanted to prove to myself what I could do. The gun went off, the race had started and what a start it was. I set off at a very fast place, I was blowing after the first few hundred meters, I pushed through it though and settled in nicely. The first mile was the fastest I had ran in a race of any distance, 5:30 to start with and it felt good and was lying in a good position and going strong. Second mile was a little slower but covered this in 5:45, by far the quickest 2 miles I had run. Just off these first 2 miles, I knew that I was already well up on my PB with just over 4 miles left, I wanted to push on even more. Naturally my inexperience showed and I slowed a little, next two miles I ran in 6:06 and 6:05. I was still very happy with this and I was on to beat my target. I had a couple of other runners in front of me which I wanted to catch so this kept me going. I kept the pace up with my fifth mile completed in 5:58 then 6:12 for the sixth mile. This left me a 400m sprint to finish off and I knew I was on for a great PB. My finish time was 36:33, taking 1:56 of my PB of only two months prior. I couldn't believe I had ran so well, stepping up the training for just a few weeks made such a big difference. My average pace was 5:53 overall, I had never dreamt I could run so fast. Was a great day and finished 11th overall out of about 450. Me never being satisfied, I had set another target and was determined to beat this time in the future for sure.

To finish off November, I took part in my first cross-country race which was held at Sefton Park in Liverpool. This was a GB qualifier so there was a lot of quality runners there, both male and female. Watching the women run first of all, they flew round, made me realise how much of a gap there is between good amateur runners and the big boys/girls. I won't go into to much detail but it was a great day out with Red Rose and was happy with my performance. Completely different running to my usual road race, testing my XC spikes out for the first time. It was a 6 mile course and I finished in a time of 39:22 - Exactly the same as a certain Mr Daniel Hughes. It had been a tight race between the two of us and we ended up crossing the line together, was a great finish to a great day and another great outing for the mighty Red Rose Road Runners, definitely more to come. November being over, I had now taken my tally to 924.2 miles, leaving me 74.8 miles left to reach my 1000 target. 334 days into the year, I had completed 344 individual runs and was smashing it, December was surely to be a breeze.

December had arrived and I thought I was going to have an easy run in and enjoy the festivities. That was until Steve Taylor decided to create a 12 days of Christmas running challenge. The idea was to run 1-12 miles over 12 days, the option was there for a few rest days as well, I liked the idea of pushing myself for 12 straight days though. 78 miles in total for the 12 days, averaging 6.5 miles a day, was going to be tough but it was what I needed to keep me on track. Completing this would also mean that I would cross the 1000 mile mark, so it was on. It was pretty easy to start of with, once the longer distances came into it got a lot harder. The first 11 runs I did in this order, 7, 4, 2, 3, 5, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 and 1. The middle runs were very hard, 12 miles after work in the middle of winter took lot of commitment but it took me closer to my target every day. After the 11 days, it took me to 997.1 miles, leaving me day 12 and 6 miles to take me over the 1000.

On the 11th of December it was the works Christmas do, I had a very good drink, I think - Cannot really remember... I remember arriving at Cuerden Valley in the morning though, spent quite a lot of time before the run in the bushes being sick. I was questioning what I was doing with myself, it was the day I was going to reach my 1000 target and to be doing it at Cuerden Valley was a great pleasure. It was the people from here that got me into running and those that had supported me all year long as well. The time to run had arrived, don't really recall it, I was told there was a strong smell of booze coming from me. Setting off I felt pretty good considering, the running was actually taking my mind off the fact I felt horrific. I managed to get over 2 miles into the course without being sick, then I had to venture of the trail and have a few seconds to gather my head and get rid of some more of the alcohol from the night before. Back on the track I was still encouraged to stop walking and get running again, which I did. Anyhow, I finished the run in 21:12 and that took me to 1000.2 miles. For a few seconds after the run I took time to reflect on the year, before going back to the bushes to be sick again. You get the point, I was rough, as I hadn't drank that much all year, it didn't agree when I did. 1000 miles done, it was then off to bed. After recovering, I then went out and did another 3 miles later in the evening to make up the miles to 6 for the day, completing the 12 days of Christmas in 12 days. I felt much better on this run - I spent the full 3 miles smiling. I set myself a target 345 days prior to this, I had worked my arse off to achieve the distance and I had done. Just the small matter of running for another 20 days to complete the year.

Going off the topic of running for a short while, it was time to appreciate why I had started my challenge and raising money for The Christie. I had been invited to a sports awards at The Christie that week, the idea behind it was to appreciate the hard work that people had put in to raise funds for the charity. For this sort of occasion I had to take my mother a long with me as she has been through as much if not more than I had over the previous years.

Having speaking to people before the presentation itself, there was some amazing stories to listen to. People who were going through cancer, been cured of cancer, those that had even passed away and raised money until that moment came in their lives. It was quite overwhelming to hear such stories and made me realise how lucky I was to be attending this. There were many different aspects of the night, listening to specialists from The Christie and what sort of new treatments they were looking at. Identifying that new equipment could really change the way we deal with cancer. The main thing that they highlighted was the fact The Christie had spent a good few years building a new extension onto the old site, including a number of new units designed to make it a world-beating research and treatment centre. From what was said they had spent around £12 million overall on the new centre, the great figure is that £10 million of this came from fundraising, which is an unbelievable figure. Without the hard work of everyone out there, this wouldn't have been able to happen. They will now be able to treat more people and to a higher standard. There is a lot more that goes into it all with regards to hi-tech machinery and new therapy's to treat cancer patients of all sorts, Proton Beam therapy being the main one. I'm no professor so I can't begin to explain this... here's a link if you are interested. http://www.christie.nhs.uk/services/i-to-q/proton-beam-therapy/ - Either way, this will change the North-West of England and change the way cancer is treated for the better.

The Other main point they highlighted is the fact that in a number of years, the numbers will increase from 1 in 3 to 1 in 2 that will have cancer at some point during their lifetimes. Due to people living longer, unhealthy lifestyles, obesity, smoking, drinking, eating bacon... The list goes on. It's pretty much a fact that it is hard to escape from. I find this a shocking figure as pretty much anyone you love will be involved some way. I know myself over the past couple of years, in my family I have had it, my mum, auntie, grandma, when does the list stop? We've been lucky and had a great survival rate. As you grow older though, you realise it is everywhere. The amount of people that have had it, are going through it and have lost their lives to it is just ridiculous. I have had friends losing parents - It's just horrible. I understand there are many other diseases out there which are as bad, I am not trying to compare by any means, 1 in 2 people is just a joke. To put a positive swing on things, the survival rate is also going up, which is great news all round. This is where The Christie come into it big time, they are pushing technology to the next level trying to keep up with this horrible disease. This is why I choose to support them and will for the rest of my life. I want the hospital to keep growing, I want the technology to keep progressing and I want more people to survive this. I don't know enough about it, in my eyes a cure isn't going to appear over night at all so we will have to learn and progress with the disease over the next how many years. Well - mini rant over - cancer is a mean bastard and it takes no prisoners - The sooner is disappears the better. I will in 2016 go into a lot more detail of personal stories etc and carry on my story/rant that I started early last year. - ha-ha.

With cancer, comes a lot of great work - As I was saying about how much money raised went towards the extension to The Christie, it's great to see. It is all down to the people involved, who have all grafted one way or another and put in great effort and discomfort to raise vital funds. On the night there was a whole list of activities people had partaken in, running, cycling, skydiving, climbing the highest mountains in the world and so many more. Towards the end of the night, everyone was awarded with a badge from the Chief Exec of The Christie, which was a nice touch. Was really nice to meet her and was good to see she took time out of her busy schedule to appreciate the hard work of many people. It was very touching, I was awarded for raising £1500 over the year, conquering cancer and being an inspiration for those going through cancer at the moment. Also the small fact I had cycled 900+ plus from Lands End to John O'Groats, ran every day of the year so far, achieved 1000 miles, got a beating in a boxing box, completed tough mudder, completed a marathon and number of half marathons a long the way as well. The badge given to me meant a lot and will follow me wherever I go, just a symbol of what I had achieved so far in 2015 and in my life. I do have a picture of me and the mother, she had a bug and had to leave the presentation half way through to be sick, she continued to be sick as well. She didn't miss my part of the night though. I won't post the picture as she'd kill me - Love her though and she is a big part of my life and always will be. Had to throw that in there to keep her sweet.

Well briefly back to the running and to finish off 2015. After the 12 days of Christmas, I was probably the fittest I had been all year and was feeling really good. As I had booked a holiday over the New Year, I knew that the 19th December was possibly my last parkrun at Cuerden Valley in the year. With the weather taking a turn for the worse I knew I needed to perform at this event. Earlier in the year, I was running hard and on the 3rd January, I achieved my 2nd best time at parkrun in a time of 20:53. At the time I was delighted with this as I was a new runner, now I expected more from myself. 35 parkruns later I wanted another PB. Within those 35 runs, I had achieved 11 PB's and my best stood at bang on 19:00. With only the one run left at Cuerden in the 2015, I wanted this new PB and sub 19. in the valley. To confirm, parkrun isn't a race, it's a run to enjoy yourself and to get what you need out of it. For me, it was just to keep improving on my own times and to get fitter. Well it was one of those days, I turned up in the morning feeling good and focused. Setting off, after the first mile I was about 3-4 seconds up on my time, which added a bit of pressure onto myself. 2 miles in and I was pretty much the same and knew I needed a strong last mile to finish. I could feel myself slowing and was tired, I give everything up the last hill and on the final sprint. Crossing the line in 18:55 and beating my time by 5 seconds, not a lot, enough to achieve what I wanted though. Was a great way to send off 2015 in the valley and was delighted with myself. Set your goals high, keep pushing until you achieve them, I certainly did that. As ever I was shown great support by everyone involved. Being totally honest, if it wasn't for the people at Cuerden and Red Rose Running Club, I probably wouldn't have achieved what I had done in 2015. The friendly atmosphere and encouragement you receive is second to none. It's not forced either which just adds to it. Every single time I had run there in 2015, there was shouts of my name, from people I had never spoken to before. Was delighted to end 2015 in style but I would be back in 2016 to take on the course again with a new set of targets, yet to be decided. Pita - Keep it up at Cuerden, doing a great job. As you always say, it's not just yourself that's involved. There's a list of 100's of people that make the event special and continue to do so, by the looks of it that isn't changing any time soon.

The last challenge I had scheduled in the country for 2015, was the Christmas day parkrun, which was held at Preston. Some of you will think getting up early on Christmas day to go running is just madness, it is, that's why I love it. It made a nice change not to be hungover in bed from the usual Christmas eve partying. Instead me and fellow LeJog member Ste traded the sickness for some fresh air down by the river on a beautiful morning, think it was raining. Was a great turn out from the mighty Red Rose again and was great to see everyone for the last time in 2015, which had been a memorable year so far. As ever, I didn't turn up to take it easy, I was there to push myself in the last 5k for the year. With a young Joseph Monk attending, I knew it would be a fast run, which I wanted. From the start he had gained a lead that no-one was catching. I have to say since I first started running at the beginning of the year, I had been watching Joe and his improvement. For such a young lad, he has so much potential. He can go on to achieve pretty much whatever he wants. As long as he doesn't get too involved with the ladies and the lager now he's 18. It's runners like Joe though that have helped me push on and encouraged me to carry on working hard. So with Joe setting off fast, I did my best to keep up, wasn't happening. He carried on pushing on, with a few runners around me I kicked on myself. On the final lap I was up on my previous PB of 17:57, if I could finish off with beating this, it would have rounded off my year. I did, finished in 2nd position with a time of 17:52, 5:45 /mi for the 5k. Considering it wasn't the flattest of courses I was well happy with it. Great way to celebrate Christmas, it was then back home to celebrate the rest of the day with my family, was a great day as always.

As I was away in Barcelona for the new year, boxing day and the 27th December saw me complete my last two runs in this country. That took me up to 361 consecutive days of running, with 374 separate runs in that time, covering 1039.1 miles over the year. My challenge wasn't complete yet, I had to run at least one mile a day for the full year, just the small matter of arriving safely in Barcelona and completing the 4 runs. I could talk all day about Barcelona as it was a great trip and I would recommend it to anyone, Camp Nou to see FC Barcelona is a must. Las Ramblas, Magic Fountain, pretty much just everything about Barcelona is superb. The 3 days before the new year I only did 5.8 miles and didn't really cover any of the city. I was saving that for NYE, I had planned to run past as many sites and attractions as possible and finish the year off in style.

I hadn't planned how far I was actually going to run on the day, was just going to enjoy it and take it all in. Headphones in, shoes on for the last time in 2015, I set off through Barcelona. Being totally honest, the first few miles I don't really remember any of it. I was more focused on the fact I was running through the beautiful streets of Barcelona, sun shining, breathing in the cold air which nicely hit the lungs. My last run wasn't a time to push myself, it was a time to reflect, not only on the year that had just gone, years before that, also to look into the future. It started out as just a random idea on New year day earlier in the year, 365 days later I was here in the moment, completing my final run. Yes I had decided to do it for charity, of course it was for myself as well, to prove I still had commitment and desire to achieve goals if I put my mind to them. I had smashed this one massively. Thinking back to the LeJog trip... pretty much 90 miles of cycling on average over 10 days, getting up at 6am to run, or being awake until 11pm and running after a hard day on the bike. I need to give myself credit for that, not everyone would be able to motivate themselves do this after 8 hours in the saddle. Not just the once, it was for 10 days, saying that, I trained for it for 4 months or so before the event, even through training I was going through this sort of routine, supposed I was used to it.

Then I look back, this was easy compared to having to deal with months of harsh treatments, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as you already know. Having these poisonous chemicals pumped around my body, not through choice, due to the fact if I didn't I would die, simple as that really. The harsh reality was I had been on the planet just over 6000 days and I was faced with a life or death situation, there was only ever one outcome in my mind and that was survival. Throughout treatment I went through a physical and mental battle that many of you can't even start to imagine. My life was put on hold for months never really knowing what the outcome would be. Everyone at my age then was going out, playing football, enjoying life to full. I was watching from a hospital bed - (timed it well in 2006 as the world cup was on), cannula attached the my arm or embedded into my chest, pretty much getting fat and bald. I kind of excepted that when I was maybe a little older but not as a teenager. Some days after treatment I didn't have the energy to go to the toilet, make food, even play on computer games. The thing is though, I am an absolute hero, even though I was going through hell at times I didn't let it phase me. I always knew I would come out stronger on the other side and I did. Who am I to complain about having the opportunity to cycle to country, run marathons, half marathons, take part in a boxing match, to push my body to it's limits in what is was designed to do. From what I went through over the ages of 17/18, there was only one outcome to these challenges I set myself in 2015, that was to complete them and to do it in style, which I thought I did.

I just want to follow up on a few things as well whilst I am in this frame of mind. I shall keep it brief, just like all of my posts that drag on forever.. Physically I went through a lot of changes, gaining a lot of weight, yet losing pretty much all of my muscle definition. I had to work my arse off to get back to any sort of fitness a few years ago. I didn't just get fit again over night. It took me probably a good year or two to get back to full fitness and a state in which I was truly happy with myself again. Once I had finished treatment, I couldn't run. Not that I didn't want to run, I couldn't physically run. My legs didn't have the strength to physically carry my weight from stride to stride. You know what I did, I fell over, I got laughed at, I stood up and proceeded to fall over again. Eventually I was no longer falling over and I was striding the hell out of it. I was able to play football again, got back to the gym and got fit. All through hard graft, no-one else was going to do it for me, so I went out and did it. I have heard so many excuses over the years about why people cannot get out and physical improve themselves, I could write a list longer than this blog which is saying something. I am not here to preach and to tell you what to do, if you're reading this though, just have a little think to yourself... Is there anyway you can improve the way you are living?

I'm not looking at short term goals here, I'm talking about long term goals that will change your life for the better, not only your life, your families, friends, everyone around you. Let's face it and be realistic, if you haven't been through difficult times in your life, then you're lucky. Saying that, without them it's hard to appreciate the truly great things in life which are health and family in my eyes, these are the 2 things that will stay with you in your time on this planet. Over my living years, I have been through so much stuff that only certain people know about, some great, some not so great. This is the case with a lot of people. No matter what it is, just try and let go. Otherwise you will stay in the same frame of mind for years to come, wasting vital time to change your life around. I'm not going to point out anyone's problems, that's not my job (yet) - It is up to you to realise them and to target a way forward to improve the situation. On the fitness side of things, if you genuinely wanted help with anything, any advice, any fitness sessions to get you started, I'd be willing to help out for sure. Any advice on what I have been through as well, I'd be more than happy to share if it meant changing the way you live and do things.

For now I will get back onto topic, in my next blog I will go into a lot more detail on the health and fitness side of things and relate my life experiences to try and help other people out in different ways. For now, I was about 3 miles into my last run as I approached the Arenas de Barcelona which was a great view and was the venue for my NYE celebrations. For now I had to pass it and head towards the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, then up a good few hundred steps to the Museum of Barcelona, which offered great views of Barcelona overlooking the fountain as well. I wasn't stopping there, I knew I could go higher, I didn't really have a clue where I was heading at all but I wanted the highest place possible for the best views. So after passing the museum I then stumbled across the Olympic Stadium which hosted the 1992 Olympics. I didn't actually know the location of this so it was a good one to come across for sure, was well happy with this. Looking on I could see the summit I was hoping to reach, only problem was there was no direct route, so I had to go venturing off road for half a mile. Running through wooded areas, there was no one else about, really questioning myself as to what I was doing, was loving the little adventure though. I could have been running somewhere that offered no view whatsoever, that wasn't the case. I had ended up over 600ft above sea level and from nowhere appeared the Castle of Montjuic which was surrounded by tourists. I came out of this wooded area, panting, sweating not realising where I was, no idea what the people had thought when I appeared. Anyhow, I had reached my destination, what a beautiful place it was. I took 5 minutes out to just take it all in, sea view to my right, then a great view over most of Barcelona. The picture really doesn't do it justice at all. It was great though, 365 days of running, half way through my last run, I had done it. Was pretty much on the highest spot I could have been, sun shining on my face, taking it all in, I felt on top of the world. Such a great sense of achievement. Felt lucky and privileged to be having this special moment, this was one that was going to stick with me forever.

I couldn't hang around forever though, yes the sun was out but it was still slightly cold. I had to get moving again, just the small matter of another 4 miles back to the hotel and I was done. It was the best 4 miles of the year, taking in the same views on the way back just topped it off. I had always planned I would finish it in style. There's nothing wrong with good old England but it wouldn't have had the same satisfaction of running 8 miles around Preston, avoiding traffic and the youths of today hurling abuse at you. Instead I was in one of the most iconic cities in the world filled with history and great architecture, making my own little piece of history at the same time. Yes I wasn't with my family to celebrate the achievements, they understood though. It was my year and I wanted to finish it abroad in style. Finishing up now, I headed back towards the hotel, heavy legs from 7 miles of running, and no rest days since the 31st December 2014, I decided to finish with a fast mile. Well I completed it in 6:36, it was one hell of a sprint finish. I was in my lycra and Christie vest, running as fast as I could through the posh end of Barcelona, I didn't care. People walking the streets soon moved out of the way when they heard me approaching. It felt quite strange when I stopped outside the hotel, that was it, the journey for 2015 was over. I will give you some stats below soon of my achievements and all that. The day was still young though, it was soon time to go and celebrate the new year. One of my best friends Emma had made the journey with me and supported me all the way, so it was time to go and get pissed and celebrate my achievements. New years eve was spent at the Arenas de Barcelona, which gave the best views of Barcelona and the immense firework display, this is one place you need to go and experience, it was surreal, never seen so many people in my life.

It was then at midnight, when I was a bit tipsy off the wine after a great meal that it all sank in. I had run every day of the year, through illness, hangovers, wind, rain, snow, absolutely smashed it. 2015 had been one of the best years to date and had loved every moment of it. It has tested my character and personality in many ways, ways that I hadn't been tested before. I had met some incredible people through the year and made some great new life long friends along the way, you all know who you are for sure. For 2015, I am signing off, I will be back with some more challenges in 2016 and will keep you up to date with these, now I am finished with this anyway. Some quick stats and you can get back to what you was doing :)

Finish with my quote - 'All in the mind' - Put your mind to it and you can achieve anything...

Total runs - 378
Total miles run - 1052.9 miles, covering 5 countries and 2 continents.
Marathons - 1
1/2 Marathons and above - 6
10k and above - 30
5k and above - 120
2014 PB's
 

CV parkrun - 20:55

5k - 20:35

10k - 40:11

1/2 Marathon - 1:42:34

Marathon - N/A

2015 PB's   CV parkrun - 18:55 5k - 17:53 10k - 36:33 1/2 Marathon - 1:25:12 Marathon - 3:27:28   2015 PB's

CV parkrun - 18:55 5k - 17:53 10k - 36:33 1/2 Marathon - 1:25:12 Marathon - 3:27:28

Also cycled over 3900 miles for charity as well.

Money raised   £1582.75 - The Christie https://www.justgiving.com/end2endKH/   £50 - Cancer Research   £10 - Revitalise https://www.justgiving.com/Karl-Hodgson2LONDON?newPage=True   This is the charity for my next challenge which I will explain more in the next blog. Whoop.

Also, before I forget... There has been a great response to the challenge of running every day and there have been a good few people take on the challenge for 2016, please take time to follow them on facebook and strava to show them support. Only 366 days this years, timed it well :)

Steven Willetts
Jordan Dashti
Andy Morrison
Gary Parkington
Lisa Horsley
David Parkington - Gary, not your dad, another David..

Just like to say thanks to everyone who was involved in such a great year, I couldn't have achieved what I did without you all. The money raised will go towards a great cause and help change lives for the better. 2015 was awesome and hopefully 2016 will be bigger and better.

Karl Hodgson