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All this weekend I’m going to be in fancy dress, as … yes you guessed it a gorilla. I was out on a pub crawl last night with some mates who are also raising money and we were all dressed up as Scooby Doo, Pink Panther, a giant snowman, and other characters.
Last night we went round all the pubs in town and along the sea front making absolute fools of ourselves! It was great fun 
We went round with buckets telling people about the children’s home and climbing Kilimanjaro and they were really generous. I got my photo taken as a gorilla at an art gallery and also am on many phone videos which will probably make their way on to YouTube!
It was pretty exhausting being so energetic and I’ve got another couple of days of it. Today we are all outside the main pier down on Brighton seafront and tomorrow we are at a big cricket match where we have to race their mascots, a shark and a hawk – should be loads of fun.
But yesterday I did manage to raise £100 just in my bucket, not sure what the other guys made but I think we all did pretty well. So I’m hoping I’ll be able to raise a couple of hundred this weekend which will be great.
I can’t tell you how hot it is in the gorilla suit but it is lots of fun, although apparently I look a bit scary with the mask on, I’ll put up a picture as soon as I have one and you can cast your verdict.
So here is the course for the BUPA 10K race this Sunday in London’s Hyde Park.
Looks like it’s going to be showers on the day, but I don’t think it will be a problem. I haven’t been able to do very much training for this as I’ve just been too busy. I had my birthday last Wednesday and have been busy with that – went to Barcelona for a long weekend. I’m going to be looking for a time around 50 minutes to an hour.
The course looks fairly flat so I think I’ll be able to give it a good shot. After all the running I’ve been doing, in training and in my half marathons, I realise how much dedication it takes to be able to keep your fitness at a high enough level to be able to complete some of these courses let alone achieve credible times. I can’t imagine how much training professional runners have to go through.
So I survived my first half marathon..well just!!
To put it bluntly I feel like I have been hit by a bus!!
I managed it in though in 1hr 51mins which I am happy with. There were hills for the first 10 miles which were killer – I only thought there were hills for the first 5 miles, so that came as a bit of a shock. Towards the end my sore knee was playing up badly. I was fine going down hill and on the straights, but after 8 miles it was agony going up some of the hills.
I think I could make a much better time if I there were a couple less hills. I even had enough energy to sprint over the finish line! But I’m paying for it today, hobbling round Brighton, and any stairs are a killer. 
At least now know what to expect and I think I could shave 10mins at least from my time. I will definitely do another half marathon, its a good test of stamina.
So now I’m resting up and recovering, and deciding what to do next hmm..
So I have tried to rest me knee as much as possible and in about 15 hrs I’ll be starting my first half marathon at Hastings! So the situation so far is that my knee still aches but not as bad but i havent trained on it since Wednesday, but I think I am going to have to block out any pain and just go for it. I’m not really that bothered how I feel after the race I just want to complete it and within a fairly respectable time.
So with everything crossed for good weather and my knees holding up! I think I’m ready for tomorrow morning. Will be sure to let you know how it goes
Well with less than a week to go I am hoping for fairly good weather on Sunday – at the moment its wet and windy so I think I may be disappointed Oh well, I’m off for a run this evening and hopefully it won’t be any worse than this.
I went for a 15km run on Sunday and did that in about 1hr 20 mins, so im looking alright for managing the distance – but most of my running has been on the flat and the start of the race is apparently quite hilly! So I am expecting that and the weather to bring my time down a bit. Still if I can make it within the 2hr slot I’ll be happy.
I’ve also found out that the Hastings Half Marathon is one of the hardest half marathons around so I have definitely picked a good one to do my first race. Whats the saying “It’ll either make or break me!!”
If you do feel like sponsoring for the Hastings Half-marathon and help raise money for the Amani Children’s Home then visit my secure donation page at:http://www.justgiving.com/dougplatts
Well after competing in a kickboxing tournament on Sunday at the University of Kent – and doing pretty well considering the judges gave a bad call on one of my fights, everyone else thought I’d won but hey you can’t argue with the judges (at least I gave him a bloody nose for his troubles!!) – I’m ready to start training ‘seriously’ for this half marthon.
I’m going to be going for run tonight for an hour or so – I’m training in time rather than distance. I think I will need to get more used to running for a couple of hours than the distance. I mean I know that running 13 miles isn’t going to be easy but psychologicaly running for 2 hours – and not getting bored! – will be the real test.
Its wet and windy out there tonight and I’m going to be running at about 10 p.m., so perfect training conditions!! Hopefully I’ll be able to get up and make the walk into work tomorrow…
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