The Story of Three PB’s in Four Weeks

It’s been a long time since I posted on this blog – 2017 was last time I wrote something on here. A lot has changed during that time in more ways than one.

I’m not going to go into detail about what has changed or how I’ve changed as a runner but there was a period of time where I really wasn’t in love with it. This year all that has changed. Feeling more inspired and much more motivated.

Apologies in advance as this is a long one. Grab a cuppa and take a pew.

The story I’m about to tell starts in January 2023. I had signed up to the Centurion Running One Slam virtual event. The event ran from 1st January 2023 to 11th March 2023. Entrants could choose a distance between 50 and 1,000 miles with the option to move up or down to make the challenge achievable for each individual. I signed up to this with the intention to use it to kick-start training for South Downs Way 50 which took place on 8th April 2023. We’ll circle back to this later.

January 1st and my One Slam started with New Year’s Day parkrun, something I had not done since January 2020. Life events and a global pandemic put a halt to that tradition. The following day was a bank holiday so I took myself on a little adventure on the South Downs Way. Before I knew it I had clocked up 90+ miles and it was only the middle of the month. My target was 100 miles for the virtual event, so adjusted up to 200 miles.

It had been a long time since I’d ran 100 miles in a month. Each weekend involved a long run of some description and on the odd occasion back-to-back long runs. One of these long runs was a recce between Windsor and Marlow on the Thames Path with my friend Maria.

Flooded and frozen field Maria and I had to wade through.

I was building a good fitness base, spurred on by the fact that I found myself in the top 3 on the virtual leader board.

February 2023

After clocking up 170 miles in January, a number which to this day boggles my mind, the focus switched to elevation. The plan for February was to run less miles and add more vert. There were a couple of trips to the South Downs Way, one solo and one with my friend Emma. A trip to the Chilterns followed with Jon to recce part of the course for the Centurion Running Hundred Hills 50k – which was a new event for 2023. To cut a long story short, February’s mileage ended up being somewhere between 90 – 100 miles with somewhere around 9,000ft of elevation gain. During this month I had decided that I wouldn’t be stepping up to 300 miles for the One Slam. I didn’t want to put myself under any unnecessary pressure as my first international race since 2019 was on the horizon.

March 2023

March started with back-to-back long runs. On the Saturday I took on the long course at the Maverick Race Hampshire Original. On the Sunday a few miles along the Grand Union canal was had. The Grand Union canal has featured a lot in my running since around June 2022 and was a location for many a long run during the One Slam. In the autumn I had signed up to the Around the Bay 30k which is a race I had known about since 2015 and had planned to run this in 2016 but ended up running Toronto Marathon six months earlier. Not only did I sign up to the in-person race, I had also signed up to run four virtual races which made up the Hammer Hybrid. The virtual distances were 2km, 5km, 10km and 15km.

All four virtual distances were run in Vancouver mostly along the sea wall which is a stunning place to run. Whilst in Vancouver I met up with one of the local running groups, Ice Cream and Donuts Run Club who were so welcoming.

With the Ice Cream and Donuts Run Club.

After a couple of days in Vancouver, I was off to Calgary. From spring-like weather in Van City, I’d arrived back in winter. I knew it was going to be cold in Calgary, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. I originally planned not to run, but the lure of experiencing running in minus stupid degrees at 7am one morning got the better of me. Two early morning runs and Garmin notifies me that I was now acclimatised to 3,000 ft. Accidental altitude training as I had no idea Calgary was that high above sea level.

Race day in Hamilton, Ontario. A beautiful sunny morning if a little bit breezy. The 30km course is in effect a lap of Hamilton Harbour with stunning views out to Lake Ontario. I went into this race with no expectations. I was using this as a final tune up for SDW50 which was this years A race. The first 10k of the race were fairly flat and I was moving surprisingly well. The second 10km felt like we were running into a head wind. The lift bridge, from which you can see out to Lake Ontario marked the half way point. The course enters the town of Burlington and I had been well warned about the hills around here. The hills didn’t feel too bad. The undulations made this section of the course more interesting. The real kicker was the hill going to the 26km point. Once up that one, it was pretty much downhill to the First Ontario centre. A short steep ramp down and a right hand turn into the stadium and there’s the finish line. By taking all the pressure off and running for pure enjoyment of being part of an overseas event, I’d run a new 30k PB.

Around the Bay was first run in 1894 which makes it the oldest established road race in North America, although there is an argument to say that the Buffalo Turkey Trot is the oldest consistently run road race. That may well be the case as far the US is concerned as the Buffalo Turkey Trot is six months older than Boston Marathon.

Hammer hybrid medals.

April 2023

Here we are then the month of my A race. Not only did I have SDW50 over the Easter weekend, I also had Manchester Marathon in the diary for the week after. That was not the intention, but that was how the stars aligned.

The night before SDW50 was not ideal. I don’t know if it was race nerves or I ate too much or if it was simply something I ate which did not agree with me. I’ll never know. Whichever it was I don’t recommend hugging a porcelain pan in the early hours of race day morning. I shared a cab up to the start with a fellow ultra runner who I’d met in the hotel reception on the Friday afternoon. Over the last couple of years I’ve volunteered at a number of Centurion events so it’s nice turning up to these long distance races and seeing familiar faces.

I made note of all the aid station cut-off times, though experience from the previous years attempt told me that I would be through the first two aid stations with a good chunk of time in hand. It was so nice seeing some Maverick Run Project friends at CP2. This is the aid station I dropped out at last year. Not this time. I was on my way to CP3, 10 miles away. En-route to CP3 somewhere near Ditchling Beacon I saw Jules and Maria. They decided to drive out to surprise me and surprise me they did. It was so nice seeing friendly faces. I’ve known Jules for a few years through one of the running crews we ran with. I met Maria at Autumn 100 due to Jules pacing her on the fourth spur of that race and I happened to be volunteering at Pangbourne aid station.

I arrived at CP3 and here a few more familiar faces were to be found. Helen topped up my bottles and effectively kicked me out of the aid station. Due to events of the early hours I could not face much in the way of food. Grabbed a cheese sandwich and some banana. I was on my way to CP4 – still with about 30 minutes in hand. It was during this section of the course that I started to have doubts on whether I could get this done and was convinced I wouldn’t make it to CP4 within the cut-off. As it happens I arrived at CP4 with about 20-25 minutes to spare. There wasn’t anything I fancied at the aid station until I spotted a packet of marmite flavour crisps. Don’t judge me! Tailwind and Orange flavour shotbloks which I brought back from Canada were the two main sources of nutrition which were getting me round. I left CP4 and on the climb up Jules & Maria popped up for a second time with some sort of banner. I don’t recall what the banner said. I really should have taken a picture.

Since leaving CP3 I had been craving coffee and thankfully CP5 was an indoor aid station with access to hot water. I was able to get some coffee (thanks jayzruns) and another cheese sarnie or two was had here. Only 8 miles or so to go from this point and just two more bastard hills to climb. Didn’t stop at Jevington aid station. I had enough fuel to get me to the finish and enough time to reach the end inside the cut-off. It was only upon reaching CP5 that my mind had settled and I knew this was a done deal. The gully of doom coming off the South Downs Way into Eastbourne almost had other ideas. It was dark, evening dew was on the ground making it slippery as fuck. I almost went down four or five times. Once off the trail and on the streets of Eastbourne, it was a case of run walk to the track where the finish line was. Crossed the finish line in 12:42:32

Upon syncing my Garmin to Strava, the latter tells me I’d recorded a PB for 50km.

This was my 2nd attempt at SDW50 and my fourth attempt at the 50 mile distance. It took a few days to realise what I’d done. 50 miles on foot is a long way. I was bouncing around on cloud nine knowing I’d finally conquered the distance. A few days later I received a lovely message from one of the volunteers from CP2 – seriously Centurion Running have some of the best volunteers in the land.

Finishers pic in Eastbourne.

So, onto Manchester Marathon. I booked this race as an excuse to go to Manchester for the weekend and celebrate my 47th birthday which was the day after the race.

My A race was done so I took all the pressure off myself. I’d be stupid to go out looking for a time given the exploits of the previous weekend. My mindset was to go out and enjoy myself. There was a bit of waiting around as I probably got to the start too early as my wave wasn’t setting off until 10:30am. Within the first 5km, I needed a pit stop so lost a few minutes here. Put it down to the coffee I had in the race village. The 4hr30 pacer passed me at this point, but that was fine. The 4hr45 pacer was in the next wave and secretly I wanted keep this pacer behind me.

I was moving surprisingly well, hitting each 10km split in around 65 minutes moving time. I’d gone through halfway in around 2hrs15 and at that rate was on for something special by my standards. I hit 30km in around 3hrs20. I began to feel the previous weeks 50 miler in the legs at this point and started to slow a little. I was fuelling and hydrating well and didn’t feel I was lacking in energy. In fact I felt as though I was in control the whole way round.

I knew 4hrs30 wasn’t going to happen though at one point a huge PB was one the cards but that slowly started slipping away. The closer the got to the finish a PB of some description was definitely on. Crossed the finish line with a chip time of 4:46:22 taking nine minutes off my previous PB which had stood since I ran London Marathon in 2014.

Woohoo – New PB

Going into this event with no expectations allowed me to run freely. I had waited a long time for a marathon to go as well as this one did.

An incredible four weeks with three incredible results. Being consistent and staying motivated played it’s part in achieving these successes.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Happy running.

Salomon Sunset Series – Box Hill

Stepping outside my comfort zone I guess is what you call this one.

On Saturday 24th June 2017 I travelled down to Box Hill with my friend Mollie as she and a bunch of other friends of mine were taking part in the Salomon Sunset Series race.  This is a 10km trail race which starts at the bottom of Box Hill and finishes pretty much at the top.

We arrived on site about 6:45pm. I said hello to a few friends who where already there.  My original plan was to support those I knew running this thing.  I don’t know what came over me but after a few minutes or so I felt like giving this a crack.  I traveled down in my running kit anyway just in case I decided to run and my decision to do so was very much a last minute thing.

 

The start

 
I had not fuelled to run 10km uphill or otherwise and the only thing light enough to stomach with 30 minutes or so before the start was a sausage roll and a couple of shot bloks.  Not the ideal pre race fuelling strategy but hey.

It was almost time to start but not before Mollie led the warm up from the stage.

 

PT Mollie mid way through the warm up

 
So onto the race. We set off shortly after 8pm. The first couple of kilometres were relatively flat. Then came the first of the climbs.  This was the first of two climbs which involved stairs. Now, I’m no mountain goat and this climb really did put my lower back to the test. It felt like it was going on and on and on. I’m not gonna lie, my back really did start to hurt.

Thankfully a downhill section emerged and I could relax into my running again trying to keep a controlled descent as I was keen on staying upright as it was a little bit dark through the woods and also wanted to get my breathing under control. Mission accomplished!  The water station soon became visible.  I took a couple of minutes here to take some liquid onboard before the second climb.  The other climb which involved stairs.

 

Smiling because I made it to halfway point

 
This climb didn’t feel as bad as the first.  I think because I learnt some lessons during the first climb.  Once at the top I seem to recall the trail levelling out a little bit and I could get back to running again.  I recall seeing a marshal and saying ‘surely there’s a downhill bit soon’.  Sure enough there was.  With the light continuing to fade I was once again trying to make a controlled descent as not wanting to stack it anywhere.  I felt much more comfortable on the section than I did on the first descent.

The final climb with about 2km to go was definitely the worst one for me.  The weather was turning for the worse at this point and the rain was making the ground a bit slippy in places.  Somehow I managed to catch and overtake a few people who had gone past me earlier in the race.  I powered my way up the hill. I was getting wet and this was giving me the incentive to get this thing done as soon as.  I was beginning to slip where the ground had gotten wet.  A fellow runner came past me just after the 9km and said ‘just a kilometre to go’ which gave me the extra push to get going again. He was wearing a head torch so I decided to latch on to him which made a world of difference in those final stages.

I crossed the line with around 1hr23 on the clock.  Given the amount of climbing involved I was pretty happy with this and happy to finish without falling over.

 

Finishers momento

 
Normally I wouldn’t have even entertained the idea of entering a trail race on a whim.  I guess I put this down to the confidence I have in my running.  I’m certainly no expert at trail running but this experience has definitely sparked something.  I may have walked about 95% of the uphill sections but I made it to the finish line.  I’ve done trail events before but this was by far the toughest trail course I have completed to date.

Happy running!

Endure 24 2017

What a weekend that was! After taking part in 2015 I decided to go back this year after a place became available.  After a mad recruiting drive to find three other people literally 5 days before, the team was back up to six. Apart from my good self, the other team members had not done anything like this before.  For some reason, it was I who was made team captain.

The team met at Paddington station on the Saturday morning and off we went to the race site.

 

The team: Reka Horvath, Abbi Hau, Michael Law, Bec Lam, Vanna Chhay, Me

 
We arrived on site with plenty of time to collect race numbers and find a spot to pitch our tents then head down to the race village for a look around before the start…oh and some star jumps.

  
Michael led the team off at 12 noon followed by Bec, Vanna, Abbi, Reka then myself. All of the team (including me) ran pretty quick laps.  For me to run 5 miles in well under 50 minutes was a bit of a surprise and was a big improvement from my lap times in 2015.  

During the downtime between laps I did little bit of socialising, catching up with friends I haven’t seen in a while and also seeing some of my former team mates from 2015, who have been back every year since.  I call that a little bit of success.

 

Here I am with good friends Sarah (Windle Valley) and James (Frimley Flyers)

It was a bit of warm one on the Saturday, sleep was at a premium when an opportunity arose to catch some zeds. I don’t think I slept all that much between my 2nd lap and my double lap during the night. The night laps, well what can I say about them? The whole did a double lap during the night into the early morning. Some of the team less fortunate than others when it came to the weather.  The weather had turned during the night.  A little light drizzle to start with and by the time I took the baton from Reka to head off, the rain was gradually turning heavier.

It didn’t take long before some of the course became pretty slippery, especially the hills ‘a little steep’ and ‘heartbreak hill’. The conditions worsened on the second lap but somehow this was quicker than my first night lap.  Perhaps I was being extra cautious on the first and less so on the second as I knew what to expect.  I had not run the Endure course in the dark before and even though I was soaked, I kinda enjoyed it.  My favourite part of the course was definitely the wooded sections. It was like playtime.

 

During my first lap

 

After about 2 or 3 hours broken sleep I emerged from the tent around 7am to head down for breakfast.  The sun was out and it was already warm by this time.  The good thing about this is the course was starting to dry out.  Vanna was out on the course finishing off his double lap before Abbi, Reka, Me and Michael put in one more lap each.  On the last lap for the team Bec had the timing chip on her ankle and she was accompanied by Reka, Vanna and Abbi.  Michael and I joined with them on the home stretch and we crossed the line as a team.

  
For a team of six I am proud of what we achieved. 32 laps, 160 miles. Finished 47th from 202 teams in our category.  I was/am immensely proud of this result.  For me it was my best performance at a 24 hour team relay event.  5 laps, 25 miles and a course PB.  I can honestly say this was the most fun weekend I’ve had to date as a runner.

That’s not all! There is another team who deserves a mention.  A team of 5 ladies whom I run with regularly were also in action at Endure24.  These ladies were absolutely awesome. They came along to have a little bit of fun and they ended up winning their group category. These ladies truly are a BadAssLadyGang.

 

Jessica, Coren, Julia, Sophie and Sarah

 
It is amazing how quick 24 hours goes by when you are running, sleeping, eating and catching up with friends.

Sadly I cannot make Endure24 in 2018 but I will be going back in 2019 all being well.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings.

Happy Running!

Westminster Mile & London 10000

Where do I start with this one. On Sunday 28th May I took on the Westminster mile again.  It’s the third time I’ve run this race and this year I wanted to go and and run a sub seven minute mile.  Sadly this did not happen on the day but made up by ending up with a PB of 7:21 for a mile on the road.  Not bad for a 41 year old, slightly overweight chap.  The first 800m went to plan hitting half way at 3:30 and I’m not sure what happened after that.  I guess where I lost time was between 800 and 1200 metres. One day I’ll  get right.

 

First medal of the Bank Holiday weekend earned

 
The next day it was back to Green Park for the London 10000.  This race was the first race I ran in London back in 2010 and is years was the third year I had run it.  I did not know what to expect with this run. The previous time I ran the mile and 10k back-to-back was back in 2015 and I had an awful 10k run that year.

This year I went into the race with zero expectations, wasn’t going for a PB or anything, I was just out there to enjoy myself.  The day started with a quick pre race meet up with the other adidas Runners who were running for a cheeky pre race picture.  Then I went over to the Dogs Trust to pick up a race vest as I was running as part of their team.

I started the race with fellow adidas Runner, Devon, who was also representing the Dogs Trust.  The klaxon goes and we were off.  The start was fairly congested as always. I soon found my groove and I have to say I had never felt so comfortable than I did during this race.  I was a working hard but it didn’t feel like I was working hard.  My running felt effortless and this is something I don’t recall ever happening in a race before.  For once, everything seemed to click into place. My legs knew what to do, my heads was chilled out and not a single negative thought crept in.  I felt like I was in total control.

I almost ran this race in negative splits, the exception being mile four.  The first and fourth miles were both greater than sub nine minute miles.  The longer the run, the faster is was running.  That has always been a rare thing.  It was hot and humid, not the best conditions to run in but I quite enjoy them.  So glad I ran in a vest rather than a t-shirt, I think this helped a lot.

I knew I had a good run.  OK, so what with all the weaving in and out of other runners on the course I measured 10.44km and crossed the line in 57:54. OK, so it wasn’t a 10km PB on the day, but it was a course PB and I am very happy with that.  Strava awarded me with a 10km PB badge and 14 segment PB’s. I was over the moon with that run.  A run which gave me an abundance of confidence.

 

Second medal of the Bank Holiday weekend earned

 

 

Both weekend medals

 

What a great weekend of running that was!

There is a saying which says ‘to run fast you have to learn to run slow’. I’m becoming a firm believer in that. Running slow is starting to reap rewards.

Happy running!

I Would Run 500 Miles

On Monday 15th May 2017 I hit a milestone.  I reached 500 miles for the very first time in the history of my running adventures.  For those who have read my previous blog posts would know I had a torrid year with my running during 2016. To come back this year and run better than I have ever run is something I am quite pleased with.  Mixing up my running with intervals, fartlek, hill sessions and long slow runs over the past four and a half months or so have done and are making me a better runner.  Learning to run smart along with running without pressure is definitely paying off.

Yes, my legs, head and heart have done the hard part, but I can honestly say I have found an amazing group of people who have taken me to where I am now.  I definitely wouldn’t have reached 500 miles if I did what I always did and carried on running mostly on my own.  A couple of things I have found easier this year is finding consistency, being happy with my running has help me stay consistent. Since the start of the year my weekly average according to Strava has been around 24-26 miles week in, week out.  Staying motivated. I have had issues with motivation in previous years and touch wood, so far this year my motivation has not gone AWOL.  I give credit to the people I now run with.  They help keep me motivated more than they will ever know.

I’m doing things I’ve never done before like getting up at stupid o’clock (5am) on Friday mornings to go running with one of the best group of runners I’ve ever met.  After today, I think Thursday mornings might be a thing too.  The friends I have made this year through the groups I run with and the support they give, I am truly thankful for.

The best bit about reaching 500 miles for the first time is that I hit that number wearing the brand new adidas PureBoost DPR shoe which I absolutely loved.  I did a trial run in them on Monday as part of a pre-launch event and found them to be really light, comfortable, bouncy and had great grip in the wet conditions.  I went as far as saying I felt these were best adidas shoe I had run in so far.

Putting the DPR’s through their paces

 

Enjoying a Kenyan Hills session a bit too much?

 
 

Post Green Park hill session

 
I have truly fallen back in love with running again and I guess it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t say ‘thank you’ to the adidas Runners London team captains.  So,  James P, Claudia, James H, Noel and Olivia thank you so much for putting on these weekly sessions.  I for one have benefitted hugely from them.

If my 2017 running story is helping to motivate and inspire other people then I would love to hear from them.  In the meantime….

Happy running!

 

Brighton Marathon 2017

This was not in my plans for 2017 but a last minute charity place became available and I knew I had unfinished business with this event so I decided to take it on.  So let’s begin.  The weekend started on the Friday with an early finish from work so I could hit the coast to pick up my race number. What a glorious day and immediately this took away all the stresses from work. Sun and sea on a Friday afternoon, yes please.

Race day itself: Well this started with a 4am alarm and out of the house by 4:30am to meet my friend Emma in Victoria at 5:30am for a stupid early train ride down to Brighton.

 
📸 credit: Emma Jane Finch

We arrived in Brighton around 7:20am so we had bags of time to make our way to the start at Preston Park.  By this time I hadn’t eaten so to avoid going into the town centre I dived into a local shop to try and grab something for breakfast. Needless to say they didn’t have what I wanted so grabbed a couple bananas and a couple of nutri grain bars. Saved a banana and nutri grain bar for during the run.  I’ll come on to that.

Shameless selfie before going into the start pen.

  
With the sun beating down I made my way to the start pen.  The first runners were away at 9:15am and it was another 40 minutes before I would cross the start. I forgot my GPS watch so used my phone to record the run on Strava.  The first mile marker I saw was at three miles and that seemed to have come up a bit quicker than I expected it to. During those first three miles I had lost the banana I had saved for during the run.  All I had for energy was a breakfast bar and a few gels.  I was making use of every piece of shade I could find as shortly after mile 5 shade was at a premium. Given my left calf was pretty well taped up and hidden by the use of calf guards I surprisingly didn’t have any issues around the hillier sections of the course. As we approached the 8 mile marker I had found myself in front of the 5 hour pacer. That all changed after needing a pit stop just before mile 9.

Between miles 9 and 10 Melissa (@lisspeacock) rang along side me and she and I had a little chat before she carried on off into the distance. I recall saying to her “if I can catch the 5 hour pacer again and keep in front, I’ll be on for a good time”.  As if by magic this is roughly where the heat from the sun started to take an effect as well as effects from not eating a decent breakfast.  With energy levels running a little low, I was now listening to my body because running for a time was never the aim, finishing was.  If I had to walk a bit, I did and made sure I was taking on liquid regularly and energy gels roughly every 5 miles or so.

I made it to halfway in 2:30:38 which is the slowest time I’ve hit the halfway point at in all the marathons I’ve completed.  I even managed to have my name mentioned over the PA provided by the local BBC radio station.  Not having my GPS watch meant I had no clue of time or pace, just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.  After mile 14 the course takes you into a more residential part of town where the support was fantastic.  Between miles 16 and 17 I spotted James (@DiamondLitefoot) (I think he spotted me first) with some of his running club who were providing some welcome relief from the heat by way of sponges.  I took advantage of one of these sponges which felt like a cold shower.  Also around these two miles I had spotted a runner who was also running for the same charity as I.  We had a brief chat.  Given there were only 6 people running for Trekstock, to spot another on the course was a bit of a surprise. I thought the other 5 were way in front.

I don’t remember much about miles 18 to 20, they couldn’t have been that exciting.  Mile 20 is where the course starts to take you into an industrial area.  I’ve heard some negative talk about miles 20 to 22 but I didn’t find them all that bad.  The only down side is the water stations at this point running out of water. In my view that’s a side effect of the conditions.  I spotted Tess (@fitbits_) going in the direction, which I think was between miles 21 & 22 for her. 

Mile 23 is where the course takes you onto the promenade, alongside the beach huts.   This for me was the worst part of the course, despite the support being fantastic.  The two miles along the promenade just didn’t seem to end.  Brighton Pier in the distance looked at a lot further away than it was and didn’t seem to be getting any closer. I was so glad to get back onto the road surface at mile 25.  This is where I spotted Michael (@WhippetRC), a who kindly took some action shots. I saw the 9km marker for the BM10k race and new I was inside the final 1,000 metres. Seeing a finish line has never felt so good.

  
Normally I would sprint for the line but not this time.  I don’t know why I didn’t. Crossing the finish line was special. It’s what I wanted to do on my 40th birthday but injury last year put paid to that.  Because of the weekend this years race fell on it meant I still crossed the line aged 40. That’s good enough for me.

I completed this marathon in 5:33:49 which is slightly faster than my previous two so I’m happy with that.  Given the conditions, how my legs were feeling prior to starting and the lack of food I cannot complain with how it went.  I probably enjoyed this one more than all the others I’ve done. Had I had a decent breakfast and had more fuel in the tank maybe I could’ve gone quicker for longer.  As I mentioned earlier, time wasn’t the motivator, finishing was.

  
I am so glad to have been given the opportunity to take on Brighton to finish what I started in 2016 and come back and beat it.  I can now go back to running for fun for the rest of the year.

Happy running!

  

North London Half

So, today was all about the Vitality North London half marathon. An event I only signed up the day before entires closed. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute.

  
This year I was determined to beat this course after my DNF in 2016. I pulled out of that one at just past the three mile mark.  Going into this year my running (not training) had been fairly consistent and had been injury free.  That was until last weekend.  After 20km run on the Saturday I (with the benefit of hindsight) foolishly went to the gym to spin my legs out. Turns out I may have aggravated either tendons or the calf muscle in my left leg.  It was so painful I had to cut a 5 mile run short on Tuesday. After that I hadn’t run until today, giving time to heal and the best chance of getting round.

I arrived at Wembley around 7:30am giving plenty of time to do the usual things likes bag drop and a last minute visit to the loo. 8:30am and the race was underway.  The start is uphill and before you know it you’re on another hill.  The first three miles are quite undulating and I could immediately feel the pull on my left leg. I was thinking uh-oh, and wondered if a second DNF was on the cards.  I got past the point where I pulled out last year and the course seemed to flatten out a bit so decided I was going to grin a bear it.  I knew a PB wasn’t on the table so it was a case of just get round.

After 5 miles or so I experienced pins and needles in my right foot.  I had not experienced this for ages. Either my choice of socks or choice of running shoes where to blame. Maybe both. I stopped to loosen the laces in order for the sensation to subside.

The halfway point was at Saracens rugby ground where you run into the ground, past the stands then out the other side.  Homeward bound and I wanted to try and pick up the pace a bit as I was feeling a bit more comfortable in my running.  It was at this point my Aftershokz headphones decided to play up. Shortly after seven miles I had to stop again to tighten up the shoe I had previously loosened.

All was going good until past the nine mile mark, then it was back onto the hills. The hills between miles 10 and 12 pretty much had me at walking pace. Even trying to do short strides wasn’t getting me up.  If I’m honest, I don’t think I had anything in my legs from the start.

Past mile 12 and onto the home stretch. Running down Wembley was pretty good. Lots of music being played and hearing ‘Feel Good’ by Phats & Small (late 90’s club classic) in the last few hundred metres seemed to give me a little boost and could feel my legs turning a little faster.  We then headed around the outside of the stadium to the left and then under the tunnel and into the stadium itself.  I went for a big finish and let my legs go and there it was, the finish line.

  
I’m not going to say I loved it and I’m not going to say I hated it. I will say my head wasn’t in it all the way and there where sections of the course I didn’t enjoy so much.  The jury is out on whether I’d go back and run it again.  For now I’m just happy I managed to dig deep, carry on and get the job done.  My official time was 2:21:00.

Next up Brighton marathon, another course where I have unfinished business.

Happy running!

Frankie

The Last Three Months

So here we are on 1st March 2017.  Today I have taken a complete rest from running to let my legs recover from a ridiculous week of running. Clocked up my first ever 50 mile week in the week to Sunday 26th February.  I’m not sure what came over me that week, but hey.

As we are now rapidly approaching Spring I thought I’d reflect on what has been the last three months in the world of me being a runner.

As mentioned in my previous musings, my running is in the best place it has ever been.  A lot of this is down to the @adventrunning and the adidas Runners London running groups. I have loved all 249 miles I have clocked up in my running shoes so far this year.  Whether those miles have been slow and steady or fast and furious on the track I’ve loved them all. OK, I might have bitched about a couple last week.  Track sessions with Advent Running are making a huge difference as are the different sessions with adidas runners.  Mixing up my running with intervals, hills, and fartlek sessions are also making a huge difference.

I never would have thought I would be 249 miles in by the end of February.  I am not going to use the term ‘winter training’ because I haven’t been in training mode.  That said the winter months have gone much better than I could have anticipated.  There have been some pleasant surprises along the way.  New PB’s over 1km, 3km and 10km which I didn’t see coming.  I finally clocked a sub 55 min 10km and I definitely did not see that one coming.

I feel I am in the best shape I have ever been in and I feel faster than I have ever been.  This for a slightly-out-of-shape-soon-to-be 41 year old is pretty amazing in my book.  As a result I have decided to run a half marathon on 12th March and should I complete it, it will be first half marathon I would have finished since September 2015.  I have also decided to take on a last minute charity place for Brighton marathon on 9th April.  I have not set any time goals for these two events as I want to enjoy them and let my legs do the talking on the respective days.

I still feel like I am not in training mode simply because I don’t want to put pressure on my running.  This mindset definitely helped last Sunday when I covered 16 miles over two separate runs.  The second of which, turned out to be longer than I had originally planned.  I think this was down to there not being any pressure to go out and do it.

Here’s to the next three months and let’s see what those have in store.

Happy running!
Frankie

Finding My Love for Running Again

I’ve been umming and ahhing about writing about running again for a while, so I guess this is the answer to my dilemma.

Compared to 2015, 2016 was a rotten year for my running and didn’t we know about it.  At the beginning of the year I came down with a foot injury, which turned out to be Plantar Fasciitis.  I probably caused it from over use from doing an event on average every other week through 2015.  For those who have had it will know how painful PF can be and how frustrating it can be to get rid of it.  I had three marathons in the calendar for 2016, Paris, Brighton and Berlin. Paris was the first one to suffer as I completely dropped out of that event, I didn’t even bother going across the water.  Two weeks later it was the turn of Brighton.  I was determined to start.  I knew I hadn’t trained as much as I would’ve liked to, but I was hoping my head and legs would know what to do after running in Tornoto six month previous.

Brighton marathon last year fell on my 40th birthday and I so wanted something to mark that occasion with.  I made it to the start line with my left foot heavily strapped giving it the best opportunity to make it round.  By mile 11 I was in so much pain I could barely put one foot in front of the other and as the race village was down to my left I called it a day.  Disappointed? Yes. Was it the right thing to do? Absolutely.  We have to learn to listen to our bodies and on that day I did exactly that.  What I can say is I had the best 40th birthday party for 11 miles and I wouldn’t change it for anything.  My mentality changed and I just treated it as a long run in preparation for Berlin marathon.

In the run up to Berlin, I initially decided that I was not going to run it.  My foot was not allowing me to run any kind of long distance training.  It wasn’t all that happy with parkrun to be honest.  The only form of distance training I was getting in was cycling to/from work (10 miles each way) and regular sessions on the spin bike in the gym.

I had booked my accommodation so at the very least I had somewhere to stay.  I booked my flights three weeks before the marathon, tagged on an extra nights stay and my mindset was that at least I’d have a mini holiday.
I arrived in Berlin on the Thursday before race day and even though I wasn’t sure I would run I went and picked up my race number. 

  
I spent the rest of the Thursday and Friday playing tourist and when I came across the start straight whilst on a walkabout that was when I started to get goosebumps.

  
On the Saturday morning I decided to go for a run.  I put my running kit on and preceded to run what turned out to be a 5 miler.  It wasn’t until after that run I decided to run on the Sunday.  Some will think I made the wrong decision bearing in mind the furthest I had run up until that point was 11 miles back in Brighton.

On the morning of the race I felt good. No tape or strapping required on my foot if I recall correctly.  My kit for the day was a pair of Under Armour shorts, my Berlin Marathon t-shirt I had bought at the expo and my Mizuno Wave Ultima 7 runners. Not forgetting my Sunwise eyewear and 2XU compression sleeves.  I was comfortable in my choice of kit and we all know being comfortable for 26.2 miles is a must.

Shameless selfie before heading to the start.

  
I don’t think I’ve been more relaxed in the start pen waiting for things to start. I was feeling good.  I also had the memories from Tornoto to call on should things get tough.  You know what, I didn’t need them.  As we were running, I recall the kilometres going past so quickly and kept thinking I needed to slow down.  As you can see from my splits, I did slow down eventually and the second half was considerably slower than the first.  I wasn’t worried about time, all I wanted to do was finish.

  

I finished by doing what I needed to do to get the job done.  Listening to my body the whole way round was the key to my success that day.  If I’m honest I did get a little bit emotional at the end because I had done what I could not do five months prior.  A thing I remembered about my chip time after I finished is 5hrs 37 rang a bell.  I had to look up my time from Toronto and that was also 5hrs 37 – Berlin was slower by 15 seconds.  Who cares about fifteen seconds?!  All I remember thinking was how the hell did I do that?  Hardly any training and yet I score an almost identical time to my previous marathon. I was pretty pleased so it was just as well I bought the finishers tee.

  

What does all that that have to do with finding my love for running again? Well, I so nearly gave up running after Berlin.  At the end of October I did a series of weekly runs with @runningworks @pumarunning and @therunningbug.  I was enjoying them and I was pretty much pain free.  These runs took me up to December and the start of the annual challenge of Advent Running.  On the 1st December I decided to run to work.  The route to work from where I was living was around 8 miles.  It was a challenge to myself.  Anyways I made it to 5 miles and then jumped on the tube.  

This is where my love for running started to re-ignite itself.  I started going back to track sessions with the @adventrunning collective on Tuesdays and gently eased my way back in.  I came across a social run via Twitter which was on Wednesdays organised by Camden Brewery and Advent Running.  Shortly after that I discovered the Adidas Runners London group. From the start of the year I have been running with these groups at least three times a week. Certainly since the start of the year I haven’t looked back. My running is in a place I’ve never seen it before. I’ll be well over 200 miles for the year by the end of February and that has never happened before. I feel I’m getting faster every week and for someone who staring down the barrel of turning 41 in April I’m not in bad shape for a slightly out of shape bloke.  I am so glad I talked myself out of giving up running.

 Here I am (at the back on the right) with the Adidas Runners London crew – 13/02/2017 

Hopefully someone will take some encouragement and inspiration from this, I know I am just by writing it.

Happy running,

Frankie

Overcoming Lack of Motivation….or at Least Trying To.

28^th February and I find myself in a really low place with regards to my running.  I can’t quite put my finger on the cause of this lull in motivation but I think I can identify some contributing factors.

Back in April 2015 I had already signed up to Paris and Brighton Marathons and also wanted a place in London as I had set myself a challenge to complete three marathons in April 2016.  By late December early January it was clear that no matter how many competitions I entered I was not going to get that elusive place in London.  As a result my challenge was off and I decided to pull out of both Paris and Brighton.  I also decided not to race in 2016 at all.  I just wanted to run for fun.  In hindsight, this was a bad decision, as I tend to run better when having a goal to aim for.  Having being barred from a running club who are based in the Bermondsey/Southwark area in April 2015 (who are my nearest running club) for being too vocal and too honest about my experiences with them I felt like maybe running clubs were not for me.  As a result of that experience I felt I had limited choices when for running with groups.  I soon found myself becoming more and more deflated and was finding it harder and harder to lace up and run.  I took an almost total break from running and hit the gym during December and January.  I have barely found the motivation to go during February.

Ever since I started training for my first marathon, I had done LSR’s on my own with the exception of at least one.  I’m bored with doing LSR’s on my own and I am reluctant to do them unless I am in a race environment.  This stemmed from having a nasty running accident in Central London back in February 2015.  This accident contributed to the number of races I did during 2015, in attempt to gain my confidence back.

I had high hopes for Brighton Marathon, not only is that day my 40^th birthday, there are people I know who are doing their first marathons at Brighton and other people I know running it because they wanted to be a part of my birthday.  I found myself sitting on the sofa on Sunday 21^st February, knowing I needed to go out for a run but I didn’t want to run on my own.  So I decided to enter a race on the day and did 10km. I wasn’t in PB shape but I was happy with 63 minutes given I hadn’t run that distance since 3^rd Jan.  After that I decided to enter a half marathon in Kingston for the following week (today 28^th Feb) to see what shape I was in.  I think I got it totally wrong.  I forgot my music, opted for the wrong kit.  Went with full length compression tights and a double layer on top.  Should have opted for shorts, calf sleeves and a t-shirt.  Before I had even reached 2km, my head wasn’t in it and I was hating every stride.  I decided to pull out after 5km.  I think if I had music in my ears, this would have been enough motivation to keep going and would have buried any doubts.  I didn’t put myself under pressure, the plan was to finish inside the 2hr45 cut-off time.  I just wanted to see if I could still do the distance.  I had not run further than 10km since I returned from Toronto marathon.

As I write this I find myself in the lowest point I have been with my running.  I don’t feel like I have a reason to run and I’m struggling to find ways to motivate myself.  I feel like I have nowhere or no-one to turn to in order to get myself back to feeling like the person I was last year when I was the best version of myself I had ever been.  I’m a shadow of that person now.  Now I’m questioning whether I can be ready for Berlin in time.  I’m not seeing a light at the end of this dark tunnel right now and I am lacking in confidence once again and feeling extremely frustrated with myself, because I only have my stupid decisions to blame.