Gloves - An Essential Bit Of Kit

By Robert Weatherall on Mar 10, 09 10:44 AM

IT has been a while since my last blog and for that I apologise. I have no excuse other than just generally being neglectful of my writing duties. I haven't been quite as bad when it comes to my training though and I am actually starting to feel confident that come April 26th I will be able to drag myself 26.2 miles around the streets of London.....

My training for the Flora London Marathon has so far involved a lot of short runs - no more than say about six miles. These were intended to improve my general fitness and actually get me used to running.

However last week it occurred to me that doing all the short runs in the world will do me no good if I don't actually have the stamina to complete a longer run. With this in mind I decided to run home from work one night. I work in Newcastle and live in Durham and according to Google maps the route (going straight through Low Fell, Birtley, Chester-Le-Street and along the A167) was 16.2 miles door to door.

So last Friday I pulled on my running kit after finishing work at 4.30pm and hit the streets.
It was a glorious day and as I ran over the re-opened High Level Bridge I had a spring in my step - this I thought to myself is what running is meant to be all about the joy of propelling yourself along taking in the scenery around you.

The run was good and genuinely enjoyable as I passed the Angel of the North I instinctively looked to my right to admire the great artwork and I noticed that the sun was setting.

Running in the dark has never been a problem for me but I did notice it starting to become a little bit colder. I continued on through Birtley and Chester-Le-Street town centre (where I passed a fish a chip shop resisting temptation to stop there for a bite to eat and then get the train home).

A few miles after Chester-le-Street I saw a big sign marking the boundary of Durham City. I felt a sense of achievement that I had managed to run from Newcastle to Durham.

What I was also starting to feel was immense cold in my hands. I had set off in glorious sunshine without thinking about how I would keep warm when the sun disappeared.

Generally my body was warm but I couldn't feel or flex my fingers. I gave up three miles from home and managed (using my knuckles to punch in the numbers) to use my mobile to call for help.

I may not have completed the full 16.2 miles but on the positive side I managed 13 and importantly my legs still felt strong enough to carry me for many more miles and I wasn't even out of breath. I am planning on repeating the run sometime in the next week but this time I will be bringing along a pair of gloves.