The t-shirts are printed, the trainers are laced and the ChampionChip is strapped on.  So tomorrow's the big day, and together we've raised so much cash already, but there's still time if you haven't donated yet.  Let's give it one last great push!

Here's a sneak peak at the TeamJP3 badge for your troubles:

Just a quick update to let you know a few things.

Firstly we've increased our fundraising target to £160 for each charity to try and bring the Beatson and the Accord level with Macmillan.  I have to say thank you so much to everyone who has already donated because the generosity has been overwhelming.  If you haven't done so yet then just click here or come see one of TeamJP3 if you'd like to sponsor by cash rather than card.

Secondly the race packs have come through the letterbox this morning complete with race numbers, ChampionChips and GSR t-shirts.  Only 15 days to go and we're all getting excited!

Lastly, for anyone interested, my exams are going fairly well with 3/4 done so far and the last on Monday.  Lisa had hers today as well and she thinks it's gone well.

Until next time, if you'd like to pass on the word to friends/family/strangers then please don't hesitate!

Stay free,
Joe x

The clock is showing just 21 days until raceday and we're not far off our fundraising target.  Thanks to the awesome generosity of friends, family, co-workers, employers and even lecturers we've so far raised a brilliant £323.  Unfortunately, as was bound to happen using the JustGiving method, we haven't quite achieved an equal split between our 3 charities.  So this post is a call to alms: please dig as deep as you can and help us reach our targets for the Beatson and the Accord Hospice. 

Not far to go now with just £11 for the Beatson and £26 for the Accord.  If possible we'd like to raise even more but we really need a minimum of £100 for each charity.  Please take a minute to have a look at The Cause and read about what these charities get up to.  It's said so often that it's almost a cliche but they really do provide strength when you are at your weakest.

On the running side of things I have fallen behind a little with only 1 run in the last week and only 2 the week before.  However I do have an excuse: I've been studying almost non-stop for my exams that I missed in January and have found timing runs difficult.  In just over a week they'll be over with and I should be able to get back to 3 or 4 runs a week.  And in case your interested, my first exam went very well yesterday.  I can only hope the rest are as favourable.

In closing, let me just plead with those of you who have not yet donated to the cause and say another massive thanks to everyone who has already.

Stay free,
Joe x

Just a quick update on the past week (Week 7) for those of you interested.

After my birthday week off, normal service was resumed this week and unfortunately the gap was somewhat of a set back.  Sunday was a good run with Lisa who seems to be coming on a fair bit, but Tuesday brought with it a struggle on the treadmill and I was close to collapsing after only 1km.  That's what i get for taking time off to indulge in chocolate and the like.

With only 41 days to go now, we are almost in the home stretch.  This week will see me return to studying practically 24/7 for my exams in August, the ones I missed in January.  Since I'll have to get up early-ish to study I should have no problem sticking to a running schedule - I hope.

Finally I'd like to say a huge thanks to everyone who has already donated to the cause, your help is very much appreciated.  We still have a fair bit to go though so please dig as deep as you can!

Stay free,
Joe x

We've finally had word from all the charities with regards to the donation site.  Unfortunately Macmillan aren't registered with the one we were hoping to use so it looks like we'll be going with JustGiving.com after all. 

The bad news is that JustGiving doesn't allow you to split sponsorship between multiple charities so we've had to make three separate pages.  The good news is that they're all pulled together on our Donate page.  If you are going to contribute to our cause please use the page that needs most help reaching its target so we can try and keep things even.

In training news, I've had a cracking week off on account of my birthday and I should be ready to go full tilt next week!

Stay free,
Joe.

So sang Matt Bellamy, and he was right but maybe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, still three months to go.  But with the past two week's performances I'm getting worried that I won't be able to keep up a good level of training.  You might have noticed that I'm a run short for each of the past two weeks.  Last week's I've already explained but this week's is a combination of things.

Firstly I was at a party on Saturday that left me worse for wear (to say the least) on Sunday and so I was catching up on the weekend's sleep on Monday morning.  Miss one run.  Making up for this on Tuesday was good but I was disappointed with the outcome. [For details check out The Log which is now annotated]  I did however achieve my first Goal!

The plan was to then head out on Wednesday as per usual but I realised that knowing I'm getting up to run in the morning makes it harder to sleep.  So Wednesday at 07:00 I'd had barely any rest and stayed in bed determined to find some.  Miss two runs.  Same thing Thursday and again on Friday.  On Friday I tried to make up for this by hitting the treadmill which knackered me out more than ever.  Then Saturday provided my weekly run with Lisa which was fine.  I can only hope that I'm more focussed next week, although with a party tonight who knows what will happen?

On the charity side, both Accord and the Beatson have set up accounts with CharityGiving and we're only waiting on word from Macmillan which shouldn't be long now.  We're not expecting any problems but if any should arise we'll sort something out.

Over in The Tunes we've got a new feature: Top Track.  We'll be giving some space to the tune that has given us the best push this week, so head over now and see what done it for Week 4.

Stay free,
Joe.

 

Em, I mean Weekly Roundup; getting a bit preoccupied with Toy Story 3 there I think!  So Week 3 has been a low point in training so far because I didn't go my usual Friday run because I felt sick in the morning and just didn't get round to it later in the day.  Laziness had set in and there was no shifting it. 

Today's might look a bit slower than normal and have an extra dip because Saturday's are back to being my Weekend run with Lisa.  Lisa just gave up smoking last October after about 7 years or thereabouts, so she is finding that she gets out of breath easier but we're trying to combat that with weekly improvements.  Also with her job she can't have as much time as me to get out for a run.  Anyway with 10 weeks to go we should be able to manage our target time and hopefully improve upon that a fair bit.  Check out today's stats: Week 3 Run 3

This instalment is just a quick one because I've written about the majority of this week's runs already, but the next roundup should be a bit more meaty!  Until then just remember the inspirational words of Buzz Lightyear, you know the ones!

Stay free,
Joe.

Today's post will be the last run by run update because this has to be a bit tiring to read for you guys.  Instead we'll have a weekly roundup with some breakdown blurb and sponsorship and event updates.  For now here's Week 3 Run 2.

The big step this time was holding off the walk for a bit longer than normal, by an extra 70m I'd guess.  Other than that there's not much to report: no PB, slightly slower pace than Monday (5'19"/km compared with 5'17"/km) and apparently a shorter run with only 1.97km recorded this time.  But it's not all doom and gloom, I did find it more enjoyable overall and feel like I'm definitely improving so I might be extending the distance soon.

Lisa and Sean are finally home, but apparently used their holiday simply for relaxation!  Imagine that, not an early morning run in sight!  Lisa will be picking up where she left off this Saturday though with our regular weekend run.  Also, in bigger news, the route has just been announced!  Go and check it out now!

Stay free,
Joe.

Could be because I've had to give up my long lie for a run.  But then I'm probably just being cranky because I'm tired.  Another day another graph as they say.  Who say that?  Probably mathematicians or statisticians or the like.  So here's your dose of orange-yellow graphiness: Week 3 Run 1

Nothing to complain about this time and even a new PB to report of 8'06" for the mile.  Quickest pace so far at 5'17"/km and as a result my fastest 2km yet at 10'32" so a definite improvement on display.  I'm still using the same playlist because it seems to be a fair motivator but any suggestions would be appreciated!

On the organisation side, I'm working on a few t-shirt designs but I'll have to find somewhere that prints onto a wicking fabric because I've only seen printing on cotton so far so I'd be grateful for any help you can offer here too!

Stay free,
Joe.

I'm not so sure I was Bruce.  Hit the treadmill today instead of getting up early for my usual route and the stats can be found here.  And may I say, hot days are hard work!  I think my nose done more running than me today anyway thanks to my hayfever.

Anyway, let's get down to the nuts and bolts.  The first thing I was shocked to see was the dip.  I didn't stop or walk once and yet there it is right in the middle of the graph like a big grin, laughing at me.  I just can't explain it.  The treadmill was set at 4.5mph for a bit then I upped it to 5mph for the majority of the run so I don't know how I managed to slow down.  Maybe I did it subconsciously while I was increasing the setting.

Much slower pace, slower even than the time I forgot to hit "End" and was recording my movements in the house.  I guess that's the thing with the treadmill, I can't judge my pace by the number on the screen, I like to judge by my surroundings.  And no PB this time obviously.  I suppose it's still a workout even if it didn't achieve much.

On the charity end of things, I have a few ideas that could make fundraising more interesting but you'll hear about those when the time is right.  For now why not just sponsor us?

Stay free,
Joe.