We did Sport Relief 2010
I'm glad to report that Team Thomas successfully completed the Swansea Sport Relief Mile 2010.
Thankfully the torrential rain of Saturday was long gone and was replaced by glorious spring sunshine by the time we ventured into Singleton Park - the venue for the Swansea Sport Relief Mile - in readiness for our family challenge.
With me opting to do the 6 miles at 11am and the rest of the Thomas clan doing the mile at noon, time was going to be tight, especially as I wanted to join them for their event.
I was hoping for a sub-50 minute time for the 6 miles, but the rather hilly setting put paid to any chances I had of doing that and I ended up coming home in 51 minutes 41 seconds.
The course was somewhat confusing as the 3 and 6 mile events consisted of doing 3.5 and 5 laps respectively - and shared with the 1 mile participants it all got a little confusing (in terms of keeping tabs on others and pacing yourself!).
In fairness the stewards did a grand job encouraging everyone and making sure that people went the right way - but the layout did nowt for my time keeping! Well I'm not going to blame my fitness levels am I 
Still we had lots of fun and even the kids got in on the act with DDWT Junior running off and on for his mile (with Mrs DDWT) and Baby DDWT being quite content to walk along splashing in all the muddy puddles with me (although lagging behind somewhat!).
In fact it was fantastic to see so many families (including pets!) taking part in the events and having so much fun whilst doing so. Most of the kids seemed intrigued by the 'fire' juggler and were well chuffed to see Cyril the Swan present as well (well done Cyril for running the 1 mile event). Lee Trundle was also present to start off the proceedings at the 11am event.
The kids were well chuffed with their Sport Relief goodie bags - especially the medals, which my no doubt bring back a memory or two in years to come for both of them. I'm not sure what they made of the mini box of cereal or singular prune sachets, but they were welcome running food for me 
I'd also like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has sponsored us so far. Thus far we've raised £66 - our target was £100 - but with more sponsorship pledged I'm still hopeful that we'll beat our original target.
If you'd like to donate then please feel free to do so via the Team Thomas Sport Relief page.
2009 Swansea Bay 10K
Well after several weeks preparation that's it, all done and dusted and in a time of 51 minutes 26 seconds. It's been a good day and unlike other years I actually enjoyed it and managed to sprint over the last 100 metres or so, rather than amble along it!
The weather was great - sunny but not too warm - and there was hardly a breeze, perfect running conditions really. So with a sub 52 minute time in my mind and the 1k target time splits on my inner arm (thanks for that tip coach!) I was well up for the challenge and raring to go come the 1pm start.
Being a closet statto I thought I'd share my 10k time breakdown with you below...
As you can see I got off to a slow start - which then meant I wasted valuable enrgy trying to get back on track. This was mainly due starting off too far down the field (i.e. standing around the 55 minute marker) and then subsequently getting boxed on on several occassions. I finished strongly so I was pleased with that but kind of felt that I had more gas in the tank. Next time I'll be sure to push the pace harder from the off and not stand so far back! Still my time was the quickest 10k I've done since 2002 so I'm very pleased with myself and am now on the lookout for another 10k to do. Any suggestions?
It was also great to see some familiar faces (and voices) along the route and the words of encouragement and support were a great help - so thank you all, you know who you are.
So all in all an excellent day and I even got to have my picture taken with Bertie the Bear, the winner of the Mascots race!
A big shout must also go out to Swansea Council for organising the event and for the scrumpious Warburtons Fruit Loaf with Orange that was part of the post-race freebies.
I can thoroughly recommend putting some strawberry jam on a few slices of the loaf and swilling them down with a cup of Kenco coffee.....mmmmmmmm.
Back to work
I decided to go back to work today and break myself back into work mode gently rather than face a full on onslaught on Monday morning!
Thankfully the plan seemed to work as I managed to get the usual pleasantries out of the way and clear most of my stock piled Christmas/New Year emails. So hopefully come Monday things should be more relaxed - which is always a nice thought when it's your first full week back.
No doubt I've just put the mockers on it now though.....
As I was in work it also meant back to having a lunchtime run along Swansea Bay and my word what a run I had today! Somehow I managed to set myself a new personal best time of 41 minute 6 second run for my regular 5 mile run.
I was all the more surprised by my time as despite having put the miles in over Christmas I personally felt that the intensity was missing. I was also feeling physically tired and the bitterly cold wind made for rather uncomfortable conditions. Still I'm chuffed to bits and am now more eager than ever to try and nail a sub-40 minute time!
Continuing with my recent spate of watching films, tonight was the turn of ''Ghost Town' starring Ricky Gervais. It reminded me a lot of 'Ghost' but without the gorgeous Demi Moore and was considerably more funny in a way that only Ricky G could carry off. Not great but well worth watching, especially if you like/loath dentists
My longest run
We finally got our garage back to normal after I jammed the car full with all the Christmas and New Year cardboard, plastics, cartoons, surplus clothes and headed off to the local civic amenity site.
It really is amazing how much packaging accumulates over a 2 week period and judging by the number of people at the site, I was far from being the only one who felt that way! Don't get me wrong, it's great to see so many people using the civic amenity sites across the country, but I do wonder how much fuel, etc is being used/wasted and the environmental effect by having so many people transport their own waste to such sites.
Begs the question why the manufacturers and/or supermarkets don't do something about the packaging materials they use at source - rather than pass it on to the customer. But hey, that'll cost them money and cut into profits so that ain't gonna happen is it. Cynical aren't I.
On a more positive note, I went for my first run of 2009 today and was over the moon with my 'achievement'. The run of 72 minutes 31 seconds was the longest continous run I have EVER done in my life and at the same time the distance of approximately 8 miles is the longest continous distance I've ever done.
Despite feeling leg weary at the end of it, to say I was chuffed was an undertstatement! Whilst I know it's no mean feat really for a 37 year old man - given how many OAPs run the London Marathon, etc - it still means a heck of a lot to me personally.
Maybe my dream of running a marathon one day isn't such a pie in the sky idea after all
No more turkey
Five days on from the first serving of turkey breast and we have finally (thankfully!) finished the last few strands of the big bird. Never again will I purchase such a mammoth bird - so big it almost didn't fit in the oven - as if I ate any more of the darn thing I swear I'd go down with turkey poisoning.
Apart from Christmas dinner, we had turkey sanwiches (spinach, salad, etc varities), turket toasties and turkey curry - arguably the nicest of the lot, apart from it's intended Christmas dinner usage of course.
Looking on the bright side, at least that's it for now, well until next Christmas anyway.
It's in part thanks to my over indulgence of the turkey - not to mention the trimmings - that I've found my running being somewhat hard work during the last few days - or at least that's how it feels! I felt decidedly iffy after my 56 minute 16 second workout today. Mind you if could also have been the fact that the distance of approximately six and a half miles was the most I'd done for a heck of a long time.
Keeping up
Finally got to catch up with coach today for a lunchtime run and was soon being put through my paces - as per usual! It was more a case of keeping up than catching up I can assure you.
The wind blowing in off Swansea Bay was strong to say the least and it made harder work of the 5 mile run than I'd experienced over the last couple of weeks. Couple that with what felt like an increased pace and I was certainly feeling leg weary over the last half mile or so.
My time of 44 minutes 22 seconds was a wee bit quicker than my last effort which considering the conditions I was more than pleased with, even if I did feel 'shot' at the end of it.
I did joke this afternoon that my legs felt like jelly - which in all honesty they did - but at the same time I couldn't help but feel satisfied by how taut they felt due to the recent mileage I've been putting in.
Who knows, one day I might even fulfil one of my lifetime ambitions and run a marathon!
45 minutes!
45 minutes 32 seconds - that's how long I was out running for today. I still can't believe it and I MUST make a point of finding out when last ran for that amount of time or distance (5 miles).
Perhaps most bizarrely of all was the fact that I actually phsically felt like going for longer which is rare to say the least - especially of late. No doubt if I had carried out I'd have paid for it, so I took the sensible option (probably!).
Mrs DDWT even commented on how I wasn't as red in the face as usual! It has to be noted that I've ALWAYS been like a beetroot after running even in my primary school days, as opposed to being naturally unfit
I'd now like to try and sustain this time and distance over a few training sessions over the next couple of weeks and see how things go from there.
But to say I'm chuffed with my progress to date would be a massive understatement.
How long?
Despite it being a bitterly cold day - due primarily to the strong easterly wind - I ventured out of the house for a long walk and then a long run.
The walk was an great opportunity for me to push baby DDWT in the pram for the best part of three miles, whilst Mrs DDWT and DDWT Junior maked some cakes for Halloween at home. It was lovely to be out and about on such a chilly winter morning, with the wind swirling the multi-coloured autumnal leaves around us as we made our way along the Swansea Valley canal.
After returning from the walk - which took us around an hour and twenty minutes - my inner conscience gave me the urge to go out for a run, especially as I hadn't been since Monday! So within the space of half an hour I was back out and about again - safe in the knowledge of knowing how cold it was though. No running vest this time I can tell you!
I battled my way along a 4.6 mile course in 41 minutes 23 seconds - which from what I can recall is both the furthest and longest I've been out running for what must be the best part of 10 or 12 months!!! How time has flown and oh how my standards have dropped.
Having said that I'm pleased just to be putting the effort in at the moment and am going some way to achieving the mini-goals which I have set myself pre-Christmas. All things considered, I think I'm doing pretty well to date
Focus the mind
In light of my Dad's news yesterday, I felt it was imperative that I try and focus my mind and continue to go about my/our business in order to remain both positive and strong.
With this in mind, I decided to go for an early morning run. I opted to cover the same route as my run last Sunday - albeit it a slightly slower pace. Still the 32 minute 25 second had a semi-positive effect, even if I did feel 'shot' after it.
In the afternoon Mrs DDWT thought it would be a good idea to get out and about, so we headed off to the Swansea Sea Festival.
Unfortunately by the time we got there - gone 3pm - most of the displays had finished. We were fortunate enough to catch the Newfoundland dogs lifesaving display, which was very impressive.
DDWT Junior enjoyed the mini-pirate ship and the shanty music was quite entertaining as well. Baby DDWT spent the whole time sleeping!! So if you wanted to see pirates of all ages (and sizes) - some on stilts - then it was the place to be
We also made yet another visit to the National Waterfront Museum, which in all fairness never ceases to amaze us with the amount of information and quality displays on offer. Here's a tip for you, it's a great place to take the kids especially during the summer holidays.
Whilst inevitably casting our eyes towards the sea, it was impossible to ignore the sheer height and size of the Meridian Quay development.
Looking back to a previous post I made about the development (back in April), you can see how much its come on. Quite amazing!
Projected race time
With my Swansea Bay 5k entry now posted in readiness for August 5th, curiousity got the better of me today as I wondered what my projected finish time would be - in relation to my running times of late.
Step in the Runner's World race time predictor a useful online tool for calculating just that - your race time!
Anyway, it gave me an 'estimated' time of 28 minutes 8 seconds for a 5k run. I was relatively pleased with the projected time, given that I've not really done at awful lot of running of late, apart from the last couple of weeks.
So with this in mind, I decided to push the boat out a wee bit further this lunchtime and change both the route I took and the distance I covered. The result was 3.4 miles covered in 31 minutes 5 seconds. Whilst I haven't bothered checking (yet) if that is up/down on my projected time, I was more than happy to have at least covered a 5k distance. Something which as this stage is really what I'm concerned with, my times will come later.