My new found love of lycra!

Well it's been an extremely busy week, with my CA2 exam coming up this Wednesday there has been a significant amount of cramming. Fingers crossed that all will go well and I'll never have to think of it again. However, with one eye on the exam and also the freezing cold temperatures earlier in the week I only managed to get out twice this week.

With the subzero temperatures, I have had to resort to something I promised myself I would never do - wearing tights. A few years ago when I bought my last pair of running shoes, the sales assistant was giving me a really hard sell on these skin tight Lycra running trousers, I told him that I would never be seen dead in a pair of tights (well at least out running anyway). I told him that I was a man and that  the cold weather would never bother me that much.

However as it has been absolutely freezing I've had to relent and embrace tights. Now it's not as bad as it sounds, these are running tights for men, also to protect my dignity I wear a loose pair of shorts on top of them, as there are just some things that Dunfermline Town is not ready to see. Also if I'm being totally honest with myself I actually find them quite comfy, so much so I went out last week and bought myself a Lycra top to complete the outfit. Also it eliminates the need for my nipple protectors. I'm a convert.

Yesterday's run coincided with Charlie getting back from his gymnastics training, we noticed that in the Anderson household wearing Lycra was a man thing...

(You wouldn't believe how hard I am sucking in for this picture! I am also keeping my lower tights well hidden)

My two runs this week went well, with a longest ever run of 18.5km yesterday afternoon which got very slow in the last few kilometres. Without complaining too much, I'm in a bit of pain today and have had the deep heat out.

The main thing for this week though is that my exam on Wednesday goes well. Maybe wearing Lycra will help me concentrate? Wish me luck!

Vital StatsTime run this week - 2 hours 50 minutes
Distance covered this week - 28.5km
Distance covered since beginning of training - 150.6km
Average pace - 5 minutes 58 seconds

Donor of the week

Well I  was extremely excited this week to get an email telling me that I had received a donation from my Granny Day with the following message:

The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but he that endures. x

Granny as always delivering a thought provoking message!

A picture of me and my glamorous granny at her recent 80th birthday bash!

Thank you Granny.

Please give generously!

If you would love the chance to be donor of the week and at the same time help a great cause that contributes to loads of different charities then please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=therunningactuary&faId=524011&isTeam=false

Milestones, making friends and magic shoes

As promised last week I managed to make it out three times in one week. This is a significant milestone for me as I've made this promise to myself at the start of each week since I started training for the marathon but hadn't managed 3 times until this week.  This has helped me, in part, cross some other significant milestones towards completing the marathon:

• This week I completed my 100th kilometre since starting to train.
• I also burned my 10,000th calorie.
• I got a few more donations which means I now have over £200 (including gift aid) towards the actuaries charitable trust.
• Lastly and probably most significantly, my belt and I have gone into uncharted territory by using the 4th hole!

Another new thing this week was a running buddy, my niece (Amy) and her boyfriend (Chris) came by to visit on Thursday. One thing led to another and within a short time Chris and I were out pounding the street. Now Chris is not fit like me, he's more fit like Arnold Schwarzenegger......in his prime.   He is extremely fit! He spends a lot of time body building and is pretty massive. He pulled me along and it was definitely the fastest run I've done.

After my Christmas present disappointment with no running related gifts (aside from the nipple protectors) and also with it being payday this week, I convinced Lynne it was a good time to get my running shoes. So yesterday afternoon we headed down to JD sports in Dunfermline to look for shoes.

Now JD sports in Dunfermline is a great place to get running shoes as they have a running machine, with a computer and camera attached to make sure you get the best shoes. They have you try on different shoe and video your feet and legs when running on the machine. The assistant first let me try on a standard pair of shoes, we then watched it together and his comment was something along the lines of "wow you really run like a penguin". Apparently I have slightly odd shaped feet with high arches and need a lot of support.

After trying 3 or 4 different pairs of running shoes and insoles with intense analysis, I found a combination that as the assistant said "almost makes you run normally".

I'm very pleased with my magic shoes which have turned me from a penguin to almost normal.

Vital Stats

Time run this week - 2 hours 36 minutes
Distance covered this week - 26.5km
Distance covered since beginning of training - 122.1km
Average pace - 5 minutes 53 seconds
Weight loss this week - still haven't replaced the batteries

Donor of the week

Well I had a couple of great donations this week, one from Pat O'Keefe the almoner of the Company of Actuaries Charitable Trust which was greatly appreciated. However having given me life (as they often reminded me growing up) my donors of the week are Keith and Elaine Anderson aka mum and dad, with the following message clearly written by dad:

Your such an inspiration to me and your mum.......yeah right! Looking forward to a long weekend in London though.

When it comes to my parents, the inspiring sporting triumph stories definitely come from Dad who was superfit as a youngster, it seems to have skipped a generation. Although these days 20 minutes exercise could put him out of action for months. Stories of hard work, patience and endurance definitely come more from mum who has put up with dad for 35 years!

Mum and dad will also be coming to London as part of the weekend and it will be great to have them there!  Thanks

Please give generously!If you would love the chance to be donor of the week and at the same time help a great cause that contributes to loads of different charities then please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=therunningactuary&faId=524011&isTeam=false

Several cases of mistaken identity!

On Monday morning I woke up to national sports headlines I have always dreamt of - "Gary Anderson is crowned champion of the world!" - Gary Anderson had won the world championships of darts.

Now unfortunately the real reason that it's taken me so long to get though the actuarial exams isn't because I have been moonlighting as a professional darts player. The truth is that there are at least two Gary Andersons (and probably many more). Despite this I have still had a fair number of folks congratulate me on winning the darts championship.

Then this morning I was very excited to receive an email from my justgiving page, saying that I have received a donation from Martin, now the only Martin I know (or that I can currently think of) is my good colleague (and friend) Martin Smith who is lucky enough to get to sit beside me for 8 hours everyday at work.  Shortly after receiving the email, I sent Martin a text to thank him for his kind donation. A few hours later he texts back to say it wasn't him! So somewhere out there I have a mystery donor, so Martin X if you are out there and you are reading this,thank you very much!

These two things reminded me of an experience a few years ago when Lynne and I were out running in Dunfermline. We were almost home and we were running past these two guys, now trying not to sound too judgemental, these two looked like total wideboys. As we ran by them, I heard one of them say to the other "check oot the legs on her", now at that moment, I wondered if I should be a brave knight and defend the honour of my fair maiden. Then just at that moment I looked down and noticed that Lynne was wearing dark trousers and they were actually talking about me. I may be a little strange but to this day I still think it's one of the best complements I've ever had.

Look at those legs! I wonder what those guys were smoking.

My runs have gone pretty well this week, I managed my longest ever run of 14.8km yesterday in extremely stormy conditions, at one point there were hail stones and it really stung. I can now feel myself getting fitter, and thankfully my 'good' suit trousers are fitting much better.

My big goal for next week is to actually make it out three times.

Vital StatsTime run this week - 2 hours 32 minutes
Distance covered this week - 24.9km
Distance covered since beginning of training - 95.6km
Average pace - 6 minutes 6 seconds
Weight loss this week - scales have stopped working

Donors of the week

Aside from my mystery man Martin, I have also had two fantastic sponsorships, one from my sister in law Katrina and the other from a friend from church Emma Hann. As these two were the best of friends growing up I have decided to make them my joint donors of the week!

The pinnacle of Katrina's running career finishing the deerstalker shortly before her 40th birthday (she started just after her 39th birthday).

Emma with some of her children sleeping rough in the streets of Dundee one night to raise money for the bethany christian trust.



Now one interesting statistic about Katrina and Emma is that despite both being just short of five foot, between them they have had a wopping 18 children (with another one on the way). I think that they would probably use the old excuse that the number of children they have has had a significant impact on their careers as Olympic Athletes. Although there is probably a thing or two they could teach me about endurance!

Katrina has estimated that I will finish the marathon in 4 hours 32 minutes - I could probably live with that!

Thank you Katrina and Emma!

Please give generously!

If you would love the chance to be donor of the week and at the same time help a great cause that contributes to loads of different charities then please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=therunningactuary&faId=524011&isTeam=false

Happy Nipple Year!

Well after one week off I am back, it was quite surprising to get a few comments this week asking where last week's blog was. So here goes, hopefully the wait will be worth it.

I hope that Christmas has been good to everyone and I wish everyone a happy and a very prosperous new year! (Remember to use some of that prosperity towards my sponsorship).

With the annual struggle that Lynne has to find me the perfect Christmas present. She will tell you that I am a real pain to buy for and shamefully I am also prone to grumble when I don't like what's in my stocking. I knew at the point at which I was accepted to take part in the marathon this would make it much simpler for her, I soon started sending out what I thought were pretty strong hints at running type gear that would help me in my preparation, some of my hints included:

• My trainers are getting a bit tattered now...
• Running without music is a bit boring, but my headphones won't stay in while running...
• My hands get really cold whilst out running...

Apparently none of the above were as clear as the following unintentional hint:

• The rubbish thing about getting old and fat is growing man boobs which can mean that you can get some pretty painful nipple chafing...

Which leads us to Christmas morning......

No trainers, headphones or gloves, but 10 sets of fluorescent nipple protectors! As she will read this, I must say it is one of the greatest gifts ever, I will keep them close to my heart!

Well over the last fortnight I have managed 3 runs, including a new longest run of 13km. I still feel ok, nothing is hurting too much although I am struggling with energy a few hours after a run is finished. This is probably evidence that crisps and chocolate are not the best refuelling foods.

Vital Stats

Time run this fortnight - 2 hours 47 minutes
Distance covered this fortnight - 28.1km
Distance covered since beginning of training - 70.7km
Average pace - 5 minutes 57 seconds
Weight loss this fortnight - 1 lb (not bad for christmas!)
Total weight loss - 5lbs

Donor of the week

Unfortunately it seems that everyone has overspent over Christmas and I didn't get any new donors, so Auntie Lesley, you are still my star!

Please give generously

If you like to be next weeks donor of the week you know what you need to do!http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=therunningactuary&faId=524011&isTeam=false

I already eat too much, I don't need more temptation!

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't moan this week.

I'm very sorry to all those who last week read my blog, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. This week has been a lot better with the festivities ramping up towards Christmas and there has been plenty of food around, and that always helps me feel better.

I started the week with the intention  of exercising 6 times this week, I only managed 3, 2 runs and I did a bodycombat video with Lynne. I'm still feeling pretty good for it with no real aches and pains. I somehow need to get a third run in at some point in the week, but to be totally honest I am still just a bit too lazy.

Friday night was our work's night out and I completely stuffed myself with massive three course dinner! There were a few points in Saturday morning's run where I thought I might get to see it again. Although this is just the start, tomorrow the actuarial team have our Christmas lunch at the Carvery, then a range of other big meals happening before Thursday, when Lynne will make her traditional meat and twenty-two veg!

When I got home from the work's night out on Friday, there was an additional fixture in the office....

 

Apparently the temperature in the garage had become so cold that the fridge stopped working, so it has now been moved right next to my desk. I would like to tell you that it's full of delicious treats, but it is actually only half full of delicious treats because I've been munching on them since Friday night,

This is going to prove to be a real difficulty over the next two months as I study for CA2 and CA3, it's already difficult enough to study, but I've never dared try studying next to a fridge.

I may set the fastest ever time for rolling around the London marathon course!

Vital Stats

Time run this week - 2 hours 4 minutes
Distance covered this week - 20.1km
Distance covered since beginning of training - 42.7km
Average pace - 6 minutes 10 seconds
Weight loss this week - 2 lbs
Total weight loss - 4lbs

Donor of the week

When I woke up on Monday morning, I was very excited to receive an email saying that I had received my first donation through my just giving account. Step forward my auntie Lesley who made a brilliant donation and also left this great message:

Let me start the ball rolling Gary. I admire your zest for a challenge in fact 26 of them. I am behind you all the way, my behind of course being on the sofa!!

So for this reason, Lesley is my donor of the week:

(Lesley and my Gran when they visited us at the British Pageant last summer)



 

A few things about Lesley:

 

Greatest running achievement - Once finished a 200 metre race in high school, she blames her shorter than average legs for coming last!

 

What time she thinks it will take me to complete the marathon - She was pretty unsure about this, she asked me what the winning time would be, I said it would be just over two hours. She said in that case I think it will take you around 6 hours! - I really hope she is wrong about that.

 

Thank you Lesley!

Please give generously!

If you are feeling full of the giving spirit  the Christmas and would like to have a chance of  following Lesley and being donor of the week next week then please donate here, http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=therunningactuary&faId=524011&isTeam=false

Merry Christmas all.

Bike falls, weather bombs and exam fails

Well it's been a pretty challenging week...

I woke up on Monday morning feeling pretty good, my legs had pretty much stopped hurting from Saturday's run. However, I bashed myself a bit after a fall off my bike on Monday morning on some black ice. My plan had always been to use the Tuesday night,to go for a run, so this put it in a little doubt, however by Tuesday evening my bruised body wasn't the main thing that was making me think twice about going for a run...

 

A weather bomb was on its way! Now I've never heard of this before and I don't quite know how it works, but it meant it was pretty windy. Actually the first half of my run was no bother, in fact I was flying and I felt pretty good too, it wasn't until I turned around to head back I realised why I was going so fast as I met the full effects of the weather bomb in the face! It took me twice as long to get back.

 

But at least I went!

 

The next planned run was Thursday, the weather had not improved much, but worse news was to arrive:

 

Now to the non-actuarial individual this may just look like a list of random names, no cause for concern. However, to me this is also a list of random names none of which are mine meaning that for a third time I had failed the CA3 exam. Now this is neither the time or the place to go on a rant against the faculty of actuaries and what I think of their CA3 exam. All I will say is I was not a happy bunny and the run did not happen.

Lynne will testify that I am no fun to be around after an exam fail (having experienced it a few times) I usually mope around for the weekend, and then just get on with the resit.

My Saturday run was great and I felt 100 times better for it, although it does make me nervous to realise how far I will have to run on the big day.

Vital stats

Distance run this week - 16.0km
Total distance run since start of training - 22.6km
Time run this week - 1 hour 38 minutes
This week's average pace - 6 minutes 8 seconds per kilometre
Total weightloss - 2lb :)

Please give generously!

I have now set up my virgin just giving account, I feel hesitant to ask for sponsors this close to Christmas, but if you feel the desire you can donate here, http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=therunningactuary&faId=524011&isTeam=false

 



Volunteer's remorse!

So it turns out I'm the chosen one!

It was around 3 or 4 weeks ago that the Trustees of the Companies of Actuaries Charitable Trust, asked me to set out reasons why from all the different volunteers that had offered to complete the marathon why I should be the one that was to do it. After sending away my application email I had half expected to hear back whether I was chosen or not fairly quickly. So after a couple of weeks of not hearing anything, I was pretty much convinced that my application had been unsuccesful. To be honest I felt a bit disappointed but also a sense of relief.

However, on Thursday morning, I received the following email from, one of the Trustees, Alan:

Dear Gary,

With apologies for the time it has taken us to decide, we would like to offer you the place in next year’s London Marathon.

If you wish to take this up please let me know and we can start putting the arrangements in place to maximise sponsorship and also let the other applicants know that the place is taken.

With best wishes

Alan

 

At this point I started to panic, I was not expecting this, my initial reaction was to write back to Alan blaming temporary insanity for my application and to politely decline. However I forwarded the email on to my wife, Lynne, and my colleagues Diane and Martin, who thought this was amazing news. Although I'm pretty sure Lynne was most excited at the prospect of a weekend of shopping and sightseeing in London. Anyway I got caught away in the excitement and attention of it all, that I convinced myself this was the best thing to have happened to me since passing CA1.

However since accepting I keep getting the occasional fleeting feeling of "volunteer's remorse", I also get the feeling that it may become worse as training needs to become intense. However I want to stay positive and make good changes.

The below text exchange with Lynne from my journey home from work on Friday night shows you how serious I'm taking this opportunity:

No real athlete would eat two Chinese in one day!

Anyway Saturday morning was my first run in a long (long, long) time, I actually felt not too bad considering, and completed a 6.6km course in 39 minutes and 2 seconds. Although my legs are feeling it a bit today (Sunday).

 

Watch out for these lovely pins in and around Dunfermline over the next 4 months!

 

 

In the next few weeks I should have my just giving page set up and will be able to profile some donors of the week.

 

Wish me luck!