The last 12 months have made for some interesting times, mostly positive, but with the expected downs too. Along the way, I have crossed paths with so many people expressing their support, many I already knew from years back or more recently at my running club. Then there are others I have met during the year, maybe at the Tuesday night club runs or Thursday night track sessions, or others through marathon training. The one thing they all have in common is the support they have afforded to me through this journey. Committing to this challenge is tough in itself, but would be considerably harder without that support, especially at the low points when you feel you haven't achieved.
It’s now a week on from the part elation, part deflation of last week’s London Marathon and there has been time to reflect on how things went, and talk to many others about how they saw the day, both runners and volunteers turned spectators. I can answer one of my questions which I had posted on Facebook immediately after finishing, and before I had left the finish area – why? The answer is very simple, and applies to each of the three places where I have taken part in these events – London (3), Brighton (2) and Dublin. The atmosphere and emotions that go with it simply cannot be beaten. I was lucky last week that there were so many people I knew out on the course at various locations, starting with the amazing Petts Wood Runners water station at mile 4, more PWRs on Tower Bridge, Bromley Vets (BVAC) around mile 17, and family, friends and work colleagues (past and present) at various locations. The support wasn’t just on the course though. Every person who has donated to my charity, liked a Facebook post, asked how the training was going and so on, has had a positive impact. There were even a few messages from overseas too. Probably the biggest surprise was what was waiting for me when I arrived home from work last Friday - a selection of cards from Charlton Park Academy which had been made by the children and staff at the school. The staff there have gone way beyond the level of support I could have wished for when I first started out. Their support has been amazing. One of the biggest differences which is more noticeable this time, mainly because I have trained harder than ever before, is the ongoing support that exists from so many at PWR, BVAC and parkrun. The last time I participated at London was through a public ballot place. My primary hobby was still as a football referee and so come the end of the event, that was it really. It’s very different these days, and not just in London. At Brighton and Dublin, there was the support mentioned above, but that extended way beyond race day, starting in the months before, and ultimately being shared after with so many asking how it went. As for last week, the initial deflation at the finish has been replaced with much more positive reflection. The second half felt quite hot at times in the sun, and possibly contributed to the end result. There will be other factors of course which need to be worked out before the next attempt at breaking 4 hours 30 minutes, but after much discussion with many people, and having realised the distance covered was a shade over 27 miles, I can argue to a degree that I did at least beat my best official time over 26.2 miles – my watch recorded a time of 4:46:58 for the precise distance. It’s just a shame the official result is different. Damn that extra distance! And so to Dublin in 2018. There was much discussion at last Tuesday’s PWR post marathon gathering, much of it around the experiences of London and Brighton, and towards the end, the subject of Dublin came up. It seems to be a popular choice for a weekend away in 2018, at least right now. I hope that remains through to next year – the memories of my participation in 2015 are still fresh and I’m looking forward to returning there to put my target to bed, and celebrate in style. The next challenge for me is a new one – my first triathlon in early June.
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With the day finally here, I was up early to get to Blackheath on good time for the start. I wanted to be there some time around 8:00am to find my start area and get to the toilet before the queues got too long. Also, I like to be settled and don’t like to be rushing last minute for a race. There were no problems with the trains and I duly arrived around the planned time. The next hour or so seemed to fly by, even though there wasn’t a feel of much note going on. A few random pictures were taken, and a brief chat with a handful of other runners I have come to know in recent years, all with their own aspirations for the day. My target was to go under 4 hours 30 minutes. Everything in my training suggested it would probably be close but I certainly had a chance. Just before 9:30am, I left my wife and daughter and headed into the restricted area to deposit my bag onto the lorry and locate my start pen. My bib said pen 9 and when I found it, I noticed the pacers were for 5 hours. A look forward and I found pen 7 to be more aligned to my target and snuck in, against the wishes of one of the marshals it would seem who was preventing another runner from entering the wrong pen. If the 90 minutes after arriving flew by, the next 30 were anything but. Nevertheless, 10:00am eventually came around and the crawl to the start line commenced. For me, it was a further 11 minutes and 57 seconds before I crossed it. The first couple of miles were uneventful as we headed towards Woolwich. A nice downhill towards the ferry was also the point at which the sun began to show itself. Before I knew it, we had reached 5K and runners from the three starts were beginning to merge. All of a sudden, the road became incredibly busy. In one respect, it was helpful because it prevented me from going too fast. On the other hand, there were slower runners than me, at least at this point anyway, who were slower than the pace I was looking to maintain of 10 minutes per mile. I managed to avoid the temptation of overtaking. Around 3 1/2 miles, I saw fellow Petts Wood Runner Mike the Mod with his fancy dress Lambretta - modified since his appearance at Brighton, it was now strapped over his shoulders. I passed Mike and headed towards the mile 4 water station. This is where I decided to enter the ballot last year and it was nice this year to run through around 80 PWRs manning the station. The encouragement they gave me was simply amazing, and would have been invaluable later in the race, but was still extremely welcome at this early stage. I headed on and it wasn’t long before I arrived at Cutty Sark. As expected, this was fairly congested. I had been keeping an eye out for friends Philip and Allison in the first few miles but hadn’t seen them, so when I got to mile 7, I thought I would send a text to them and my wife so they could hopefully work out when I might reach Docklands. When I looked down, I noticed my watch didn’t say 7 miles but instead 7.3 miles. Already, I seemed to be doing too much, even though I couldn’t recall anything to suggest I had already done so much more. I headed on through Deptford, Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe and eventually came to one of the iconic points of this event – Tower Bridge. I knew there was a group of PWRs on the left hand side of the bridge and so I went wider than I should here so I could see them on my way across. As with the water station, they were so encouraging with their support and I headed on for the half way point and a right turn towards Docklands. As I turned the corner, things started to take a turn for the worse. I had been keeping myself cool by pouring water on my head but this seemed to be having the opposite effect when the sun disappeared and I became cold. I was also conscious of not drinking too much. My pace to this point had been fine, pretty much as planned, but something wasn’t working and fatigue began to kick in much sooner than expected. As I neared Canary Wharf, I was not in good shape and so when I saw some friendly faces from Bromley Vets, I got an immediate lift and a short burst of energy. This was repeated soon afterwards when I saw Philip and Allison as I entered the busy South Quay and Canary Wharf, a very different arena to my last London Marathon in 2001 when the whole of Docklands was desolate. Eventually, I headed out of Docklands and back towards Tower Bridge. The only people left to see that I knew of was another group of PWRs who had now finished their duties on the water station and moved to a position under the bridge at Cannon Street. In between, and unknown to me at the time, were other PWRs and work colleague. Unfortunately, a combination of noise and fatigue meant I didn’t hear their screams and shouts. I dragged myself towards Cannon Street thinking I needed to look as good as I could when I reached Cannon Street bridge. In my own mind, I made a good job of it but I was so physically drained by this point, it must have looked the complete opposite. The encouragement they gave me as I went through once again gave me a brief lift. I left them behind and headed into the last stretch. I could see Big Ben in the distance. It was only around 2 miles away, but at this point that was a marathon in itself. As I neared, I heard a shout from my right and turned to see a couple of former work colleagues trying to give me a boost. Again, it worked briefly. By this stage, any hope of finishing under 4:30 was long gone. The new focus now was a personal best, but even that was touch and go now. I was physically and mentally drained and couldn’t get my head around pushing hard enough to achieve the PB. By the time I reached Big Ben, I knew there was no hope of achieving it and so I simply focussed on getting myself to the finish. As I turned the bend at Buckingham Palace, I felt a huge sense of relief to see the finish line. I crossed it but instead of feeling elated, there was a sense of deflation at what had just happened. I continued walking through the finish area and collected my not insignificant finisher’s medal. The walk to the baggage reclaim seemed to go on forever but when I had finally collected my bag, I found somewhere to sit down and reflect for a short while, and to have a quick look at social media to see how others had got on. The feeling of complete demoralisation had taken over and so I wasn’t really taking anything in that I was reading. How could all the training I had done not even produce a PB? That remains a question for another day. Most important at this stage was to compose myself for the likely greetings of well done that I really didn’t want to hear at this point in time, and those greetings came.
I met my wife, daughter, friends and other PWRs, including Mike the Mod who appeared soon after me. After having some brief chats, we left to head off to a pre-arranged pub. On the way was probably the first help to fully understanding the day. Two other PWRs both told me they were 20-30 minutes off their target, All of a sudden, it seemed I wasn’t alone. I had a couple of drinks with my entourage before moving on to meet other PWRs who had run or volunteered. As I chatted with more runners, it seemed like the day was very much hit or miss. There didn’t appear to be any middle ground. To sum up the day overall, despite the result, it was still a day to remember. The atmosphere around this event is second to none. The volunteers who make the event tick over are exceptional, baggage at the start and finish, water stations on the course, and the marshals at the finish. The buzz remains well into the evening. One question I posted on social media immediately after I finished was “Why?” I’m not sure I will ever be able to fully answer that question but suffice to say, there is something special about these events that makes the pain worthwhile. So it goes without saying, anyone who hasn’t done one of these and wants to, my opinion is to sign up. As for this marathon, I’ll let the dust settle properly before I try to work out what happened and what I may be able to do next time to improve. Dublin 2018 is the next marathon I have in mind. Right now, it isn’t appealing at all but I know as time goes by, the urge to sign up will return. In the meantime, it’s time to put my feet up for a couple of weeks and work out what the next target will be. Something which began on 24 April 2016 when I volunteered on the mile 4 water station and remembered why this event is so wonderful, all became real when I won a place through my club’s ballot on 22 November 2016. Tomorrow, the hard work of the last 10 months or so reaches the beginning of its climax at 10:00am on Blackheath finishing in front of Buckingham Palace, hopefully some time around 2:30pm. I had already started to work harder in the hope I might somehow get a place. I can remember feeling so happy on hearing my name called out, and the buzz which went around the place as others joined me. There were no thoughts of the cold and dark mornings and evenings ahead, only the exhilaration and emotions that sweep through you at the finish line. That exhilaration was short lived as January soon crept up and the long and sometimes lonely runs began. I remained positive though, remembering how quickly time had passed in each of the last two years, as I (under) prepared for the Brighton Marathon. This time, the training was to be very different. Out with the unorthodox, in with a plan, and although there has been the odd time when I have not been able to follow it exactly, it been broadly followed in the main. There has been pain along the way, aches and pains as my body has adjusted to the increased load, nipple chaffing from the inside of my vest more in line with a sheet of industrial sandpaper, and the early loss of toenails. At least the last bit should save me a little of the pain that goes with that delight tomorrow. There has also been much success, including going under 2 hours for a half marathon not just once, but twice, and who knows, it could have been three but for the howling gale at Hastings. The perseverance through probably the worst weather I have ever experienced in any sport at the Thanet 20 mile race in early March is one morning which will return to the memory during March in years to come. The strangest thing, which I also remember from my first London Marathon in 1999, was realising every single person is supporting you. That was a very strange feeling all those years ago when, as a football referee, I was more used to being the subject of ongoing barracking and only supported by those on the positive side of my decision making. The complete support is still a feeling I struggle to fully appreciate today, but it sums up the running environment I’ve come to know. There is so much encouragement and support around, and it comes from all abilities, fast, slow and non-runners. Whatever happens tomorrow, I know I will be able to look back having given this my best shot. Hopefully that will mean finishing in under 4 hours and 30 minutes. My previous best was 4:54:41 at Brighton in 2015. I have thanked people along the way following some of the successes mentioned above, and each time been told that I am the one who has done the work. That, of course, is true, but without so much support from so many, it is unlikely it would have worked out as well as I hope it will today, and even more likely I wouldn’t have worked so hard. There are too many to name individually but to the small group who knew what I was setting out to do last summer when I decided to change my approach – not aiming for a marathon specifically at that point but speed and stamina improvement, to the many runners I have come to know at my club, Petts Wood Runners, not forgetting the many at Bromley Vets and the parkrun community, to family and friends not involved in running, to work colleagues. Every little comment counts for something, and however small it may seem, collectively, those comments are huge. To everyone who has kindly donated to my chosen charity, Charlton Park Academy, one of many worthy causes which will benefit from fundraising at this year’s London Marathon.
Finally, special thanks must go to Petts Wood Runners for the affording me the privilege of taking a club place, to Philip and Allsion for allowing me to run in their son William’s name, and to Charlton Park Academy for the support of all the staff and children there. It was a privilege to meet some of them a few weeks ago, and to see close up some of work they do. They are truly amazing people who do so much for the children and families they support, something many of us will never need to experience first hand. They deserve every bit of the support they receive. Finally, to my wife and children for their support. They have put up with my frequent disappearing acts without complaint, probably wondering why I want to be out in the cold on wet winter’s nights and no doubt sat in the warm thinking I have a screw loose – well, as an ex-football referee and a goalkeeper before that, they’re probably not wrong. And that is it, almost! Just the small matter of 26.2 miles now. I hope to see some of you on my way around. I’m sure I’ll be all smiles early on around Charlton, as well as at the water station around 4 miles being manned by Petts Wood Runners. Those smiles may become a little more drained as I progress towards Big Ben and Buckingham Palace but I can assure you every call out will be heard and will help, as will any kind of brewery smell near the finish! I'm not quite sure what to think right now. The Brighton Marathon last Sunday was a great day out both weather wise but more importantly, cheering on my fellow club runners, and many others, to the finish line. It also emits fond memories of taking part in this event in each of the last two years. Most of all, it signalled the real countdown to London, I suppose like advent signals the countdown to Christmas. At the same time, it means this short journey is nearing its end. Easter fell between Brighton and London this year and on the plan for Easter weekend was 10 miles. I was away with my family near Bridport in Dorset. We've been to Norfolk over Easter for the last two years and strangely I found the Trowse 10K happened to be on the same weekend. This year was also strange as I found the East Cliff Quarter Marathon was taking place on Easter Saturday. Fancy that! Add Bournemouth parkrun on the same day and I'm as good as at the planned 10 miles. Trouble was, I must have made a mistake in my planning of the journey time to Bournemouth parkrun. When I rechecked the time I needed to leave for parkrun, I found that it was a 75 minute drive. Add on a little extra just in case and it was hard to really expect my family to have to be up so early, or for me to have the car and not be back until late afternoon. After a quick check, Weymouth parkrun seemed the best solution, and an extra 30 minutes or so in bed. The drive afterwards to Bournemouth was approximately 60 minutes so the second leg was in the lap of the gods. We found Weymouth parkrun in good time. A bang of a drum and a shout out for first timers meant it was time to go and listen for anything important about this course. Added to that was a tongue in cheek who's come the farthest today. Any thoughts of the biggest cheer were soon dashed by Brisbane and Durban. Pfft! Time to start. I arrived at the start pen and noticed time bands. Quite useful in the hope of not being held up through the start, and also not holding up faster runners. All of a sudden, one of the volunteers stood on a crate and blew a horn to gain everyone's attention. There soon followed some jovial song from the same gentleman as I struggled to get my phone out to record a little. He finished his song and talk and the crate disappeared, but only to be used at the front of the pack for, what turned out to be, the Weymouth haka, luckily though, nowhere near as scary as the New Zealand version. Sadly, I was enjoying it so much, I forgot to record any of it on my phone! With the formalities done, we were on our way, one short loop through partially wooded trail followed by a longer stretch out and back before finishing on the second part of the first loop. As I headed out towards the turn point, and probably at just over 1 mile (of 3.1), I saw the lead bike and the leader.......on their way back! The leader was flying and the lead bike working hard to stay ahead. I wasn't the only one to notice the impressive performance about to be recorded - others around me made comment at where they usually cross paths with the leader - much sooner than normal. I headed back towards the finish and decided to push on harder than planned, eventually finishing in 25:24. On reaching the finish area, I discovered a new course record had been set - 14:47. With parkrun done, it was time to attempt the second leg. I didn't know at this point whether there was a cut off for collecting my number before starting and so there was some doubt as to whether or not I would make it in time. At one point on the way, Is had given up any hope of making the start, but with luck on my side, I was dropped off by Bournemouth pier and then ran the 200 yards or so to the registration area. Two helpful ladies found my number and took my bag, one of them pinning the number to my vest while I handed over my hoodie. Never mind the PWR sandpaper vest that had done me damage in recent weeks, I was briefly concerned I might end up with a couple of unwanted nipple piercings! I got away unscathed. To be fair, the two ladies were incredibly helpful and placed the pins safely away from the danger zones. I rushed to the start line, well the very back, and within 60 seconds we were on our way, running along the seafront. I hadn't really looked at the route, nor thought about it on the way. As I settled, I started wondering. Was this an out and back course, all along the seafront, or was the cliff to my left something to be concerned with? About 2 miles in, and with the cliff face becoming ever higher, I decided to ask. My worst fear was confirmed. As it turned out, the incline worked out naturally leniently, with shallow inclines broken up with short flat sections, even a downhill thrown in. The last couple of miles were largely uphill but fairly shallow and long. The bigger danger was cars being parked and occupants getting out apparently unaware there was a race on. I wasn't far off crashing into one - she moved with about 5 yards to spare after I called out. The last half a mile was mainly downhill. I reached this point having not been overtaken once throughout, clearly a benefit of starting right at the back. I was sure I had never finished a race without being over taken before..........and sadly that was to remain. I was passed by 4 others in the last 200-300 yards. Oh well. Small chocolate eggs awaited finishers followed by the bag drop. The queue to reclaim bags seemed slow and when I reached the van, I realised why. None of the bags had been placed in any sort of order in the van. Near the front I saw a white plastic bag labelled 108. Why couldn't those numbers be 180? I waited, was asked a couple of times what my bag looked like, I even heard that my bag had been given to someone else until that person said it wasn't hers. Eventually, the chap in the van, unable to find 180, showed me the contents of 108 and asked if it was mine. Yes, that looks like the one, confirmed when I found my PWR hoodie inside.
All in all, a successful morning on many levels, and different in many ways too, from the pre-parkrun ritual, the sub 15 minute course record set at Weymouth, the last minute check in at Bournemouth and the complicated bag storage at the same event, the importance of time was very much on display in very different ways. Next week won't be quite as low key, or have quite the same baggage retrieval process. In the meantime, there is the final gentle run on Tuesday plus the visit to the London Marathon exhibition to collect my number. Oh, and a little bit of nervous excitement too. I hadn’t planned to write anything about the Brighton Marathon. Up until now, one of the purposes of this blog is a sort of record of my own training experiences. However, looking back at Sunday, it impossible for the day not to be important in this whole experience. It was also a reminder that preparation also takes place when not running, being aware of the variables which none of us have any control over. I have taken part in this event in each of the last two years and on each occasion, I have been lucky with the weather – both were sunny but fairly cool. This year was to be very different and served as a stark reminder that London falls later in the month. In other words, slightly closer to the summer and therefore potentially warmer. It was my turn to support this year. The last two years were amazing with the support from Petts Wood Runners around the course and I wanted to do my bit to hopefully help our runners along the way, especially those who were taking part in a marathon for the first time. Whatever training has been done cannot quite prepare you for the experience ahead, in my opinion of course. I had planned to go to the start in the hope of seeing a few of them and arrived at East Croydon in time for the 06:55 train the Brighton. I duly arrived at 08:00 and as I walked the mile or two up the Preston Park, I could feel the heat already starting to build up. I brought a jumper with me thinking I would need it early on, and maybe later in the day, but never expected I would need to remove it before I’d even made my way to the start. Shortly before I reached the park, I noticed a series of mopeds parked up and immediately thought of our own coach Mike the Mod who has helped so many of us with his track sessions each Thursday. Barely another 50 yards or so further on, and there was the man himself, pushing his Lambretta which he would be running with – the only engine being Mike himself. The park was already extremely busy and time seemed to be passing fast. The queues for the toilets were unbelievably long very early on, certainly not what I recalled from the previous two years. At least this year, I didn’t have to concern myself with any of that, but a reminder to join the toilet queue as early s possible and even re-join it as soon as you’ve been, just in case. With time passing, I decided to head off towards the sea front. I stopped around the 1 mile mark to see who I might spot. With the race starting in waves, it was difficult to know exactly who would come by at what time. Steve, Matt, and Gillian came by early on although I almost missed Gillian. It became increasingly difficult to spot as the number of runners increased significantly and so I decided to continue my walk further on, eventually stopping somewhere near the 3 mile mark. I found a good spot with a clear view and waited. It was worth it and I was to see a number of PWRs pass – Karen, Wendy, Janine, Chris and Laura. Also some humorous fancy dress runners! The temperature had also risen by this point and it was clearly showing in the faces of some runners as they passed the drinks station soon after. I continued my walk to the sea front looking for a spot to see runners pass towards half way. However, it was so busy and I soon gave up and headed across the road to a spot around 25½ miles where there were some gaps. The only way to cross was over a temporary footbridge and with the large crowds, this must have taken around 20 minutes. Eventually, I made it to the other side, and found a spot. There seemed to be problems with internet service and so it was difficult to know exactly where everyone was on the course. By the time I arrived at my new spot, it wasn’t going to be too long before the leaders came past towards their finish, and on the other side of the road the masses would be approaching halfway. As time went by, and the leaders having finished, I kept my eyes peeled to the other side of the road for more PWRs, as well as Bromley Vets also running. At the same time, I was conscious that there were some fast PWRs who I had probably missed at halfway and were soon to be reaching the last mile. As the numbers increased at halfway, it became increasing difficult to pick anyone out. I didn’t do too badly though, seeing Gillian again as she neared the finish. She looked incredibly comfortable on her way to an outstanding finish time. On the other side of the road, I managed to spot Karen, Matt and Mike, for a second time, as well as Betty (BVAC), Emma, Janice and Nathalie. My phone battery also become critically low by now and I needed to find out the meeting point for after the race. Luckily, I received the message that the West Pier Café was the spot to start with and so I headed off there for a refreshing beer, seeing BVAC runner John along the way. To say it was hot now was a huge understatement. This could be a midsummer’s day. After a short refreshment break, our small group headed back out in the knowledge Mike the Mod was soon due to pass. He duly obliged, along with PWRs Karen, Wendy and Kumiko. I can remember how I felt around this point the last two years and I’m sure it can’t have been as good as any of the PWRs I saw looked this year. There were some other runners passing who were clearly struggling, not just because of the distance, but probably due to the heat. Temperatures must have been in the early 20s by now. As Wendy passed, we moved on to the final meeting point – All Bar One. It wasn’t too long before our runners be/gan to arrive, all looking incredibly good considering the hot weather. Some times were slightly slower than targeted but any attempt at going faster could well have resulted in a much slower time.
Looking back at the day, there is a reminder that there are so many things out of my control, the weather being one of them. All training takes place through cold and wet winter months. Only three weeks ago, I was working my way through howling winds at Hastings. It was also a reminder to plan for the day, but to have a plan B in mind in the days leading up to the race, just in case something needs to be changed. I’ll certainly be hoping for a cool day on 23 April, maybe even a drizzle to help keep cool. Whatever comes though, if I can finish with the strength our runners showed today, I will be a very happy Petts Wood Runner. What felt like a long week was about to finish with a milestone parkrun. Fellow PWR Éadaoin was reaching her 50th parkrun. She is the baker of some very tasty cakes and so there was an added incentive to be there for her milestone run. She was also one part of two ladies who had helped inspire my daughter Demi on her way to the junior milestone of 10, Anna (aka Ponytail Queen) being the other, although she has since moved to Islamabad. Oh well, one more slice of cake for me, as it indeed did turn out! I had looked at a route to Orpington a couple of months back and so knowing that, and being tired after Swimathon, I didn’t sit down properly and plan anything on Friday night. That was a mistake as it turned out as I had no sensible idea of how long it would take me to get there. I had assumed a time, but not actually planned it properly. I set off shortly after 7:45am with the same first couple of miles I had followed last Tuesday for the BVAC Handicap. I felt tired fairly quickly but as I often feel that way until I’m warmed up properly, I didn’t think too much about it. A downhill shortly after I started help too. As I progressed towards mile 3 though, I could feel a distinct lack of energy, and thoughts soon turned to a phone call for a lift to parkrun, or a bus ride. I persevered through Norman Park and past the Bromley parkrun start, passing Matt and Karen, both running Brighton tomorrow, on the way through. The next couple of miles were tough. There was no sense of any energy returning and thoughts of a phone call remained. I set myself shorter targets to get through to Goddington Park but it didn’t seem to be helping. Then I got lucky! As I approached Petts Wood, I noticed a car pull over and wait - the same car that my wife and I have. I wondered if my wife and children, joining me today, had picked the same route until I noticed it wasn’t our registration plate. Instead, I was greeted by a young man looking out of the window who I have come to know as an pleasant young chap with much potential. At the wheel was his Dad, Commander Pond, himself a very talented runner. “Would you like to jump in?” I asked myself whether or not the Pope is catholic! There was no way I could resist the offer and I quickly settled myself into the back seat. To sum up my physical and mental state, Commander Pond’s 9 year old daughter had to point out where the seat belt should be clipped! We arrived at parkrun soon after and I felt slightly fresher. Soon after, a number of other PWRs arrived, including Éadaoin and the most important thing for the day – her cakes, renowned for being very tasty! Today it was carrot cake and chocolate brownies. Soon after, I was almost grappled to the ground when my daughter unexpectedly rushed for a cuddle. I survived and as a bonus, I was asked by my son if he could run with me for his 2nd parkrun. I was in no mood to decline such a welcome offer, both for me and also to help him make progress. Although the run itself was fairly slow – a five year old can’t be expected to complete 5K too quickly, although there was a risk of the cakes being eaten before we finished – we set off from the back at a reasonable pace. This continued for much of the first lap of three. Eventually, he needed to walk briefly and so one or two we had passed then moved past us. This was short lived however as we soon moved back ahead once we were running again. As we finished lap 1, the leader passed us, heading into his last lap. Commander Pond soon followed. I was willing him to catch the leader although it was not to be. Fine margins count at the sharper end of things and a few yards to me is a huge gap further up the field. It was inspiring to watch though, as a handful of others followed, including Commander Pond Junior. We soon reached our last lap, and I tried to impart my own mentality on my son by informing him the last lap is shorter than the first two. He politely said goodbye to the rugby field, saying he would see it again soon. The icing in the cake was at the bottom of the last hill, just as we commenced the last uphill, he told me it was easy! I’ll have to find him a tougher challenge, and someone else to run with him! Seems like he may need another Éadaoin or Ponytail Queen!
I persuaded him to finish strong to achieve under 40 minutes, a huge improvement on his first parkrun. He was quite keen on this and although not really recognising the time concept, he knew there was a milestone of his own to achieve and he finished with a huge increase in speed which I struggled to keep up with! The carrot cake which followed was absolutely delicious, PWR has some bakers who produce the most amazing cakes. Roll on the next milestone. When I first signed up for this, I opted for the 5K distance, having completed 2.5K last year. This year I got cold feet and a couple of weeks before the event requested a change to 2.5K. There were two main reasons for this. First, I had done very little swimming during the last three months to build up to 5K, but also, I had planned a long run on Saturday due to going to watch the Brighton Marathon on Sunday. I arrived in good time and checked in. Fellow PWR Jo had come along to count lengths and we had a quick chat before I headed off to get changed. The environment in the changing room was very different to a running race environment. I’m sure I was not the only one there doing something slightly out of my normal routine but it felt like everyone there was simply turning up to do something quite normal. I suppose I was in so far as I had done the same last year, and I was fitter this time around, but still, there was still a degree of self imposed pressure on achieving the goal. There were two of us in my lane. Not being exceptionally quick, and not able to sustain a front crawl over a minor distance, I was breast stroking all the way. The other swimmer in my lane was young, and as it turned out, an extremely efficient and quick swimmer, and able to vary stroke throughout. Her youth was evident every time I sensed her behind me because rather than overtake, she stuck to the rules se out and swan in a clockwise direction, only overtaking at the end of a length.
The swim itself was generally non eventful until the last few lengths when I developed cramp in the instep of my right foot, and mid length! I managed to stave it off and it was gone by the time I reached the next turn. However, it soon returned. Once again, I was able to somehow stave it off. Then at the final turn and two lengths to go, it came a third time, except this time it was in my left foot. Once again, I was able to stave it off before it really set in, and soon after I competed my 2.5K. I briefly rested before getting out of the pool, but quickly noticed my upper arms felt extremely tired, obviously I suppose. As soon as I felt mildly confident enough to lift myself out of the pool, I moved to the edge, positioned my hands and pushed myself upwards, half expecting to have to drop myself back into the pool. Instead of that, my right calf went into the most severe cramping I think I have ever experienced, It was probably all over in less than a minute but it felt like and age. Even getting to the position is stretching my calf seemed to take forever. I managed it eventually and chose to exit the pool via the steps, carefully avoiding faster swimmers in other lanes as I did so. I decided to roll my calf muscles when I got home and they did feel improved after doing so. It felt like a good move at the time, and having finished, it felt like the roller had removed some of the tiredness from my legs. Irrespective, I was happy with tonight’s achievement and there was an added bonus of an improvement on last year’s time………by one second! Perfect pacing! The first Assembly League race of the season seems to have come around quickly. The last was also at Beckenham in September, which on the face of it is ages ago. Time flies. The competition comprises of 6 races of around 5K. I have no idea how the scoring works, mainly because I don’t usually trouble the scorers, but the nature of these events is very friendly and often quite social afterwards. An early finish at work meant no rushing when I got home. Added to that Mr. E. (husband of my daughter’s favourite dinner lady at school) had offered to pick me up. He duly arrived with new PWR Sarah, another regular parkrunner, BVAC and school Mum. We arrived in plenty of time to register and collect our numbers and then I noticed something different. A change to the route we had previously run. The new route was to be entirely in the park following the closure of the golf course. This was great for runners, but a shame at the same time having played the course many times in my youth. My equal lowest score of 83 was achieved here. Not likely I would get anywhere near that now. The clock soon ticked around and we soon headed off to the start, this time turning right out of the club and heading towards what used to be the 7th tee. I must have been slow already as we’d barely got there when the starter whistled for the race to commence. An uphill start isn’t pleasant at the best of times, but even worse when you start alongside PWR John G who, having just returned from injury, claimed to be running slow. His slow is more aligned to my fast! I did mention to him that should he wish to run ahead to do so, but he seemed to take an age to take up my polite offer. The route was a pleasant one, much of it on grass with a few inclines, the one around halfway (pictured) being quite harsh. Always hanging at the back of my mind though was the finish, a gentle but long uphill climb towards the Mansion House in the park which feels like it goes on forever. I had two other PWRs n my sights, plus one or two from other clubs. The tricky bit was picking the right moment to move, and then hope they had nothing left to give. If they did, I was finished. Luckily, I was able to push on although one of the PWRs kept me at bay. I finished in 24:23 (4.75Km) which I was pleased with, especially after the BVAC race two days earlier, and the Paddock Wood Half Marathon the previous Sunday. It certainly made for an interesting couple of days ahead with Swimathon 2017 on Friday evening, plus an early long run planned for this weekend because of attending the Brighton Marathon on Sunday.
With less than three weeks to go now, the experts say it’s time to taper. Looking at my plan, there is certainly a reduction in longer runs, and even the shorter runs seem to be relaxing a little on effort. For Tuesday, my plan was saying a 5 mile run was due at what it describes as a mid tempo pace. Working from the 24:30 5K time I used back at the start of this period meant the pace should be 8:25 per mile. The Spring and Summer months bring a change of focus to running events. There are the usual races of course, over shorter distances following the Spring marathons. There also the Assembly League, which is a series of monthly 5K races around London which I take part in through my club Petts Wood Runners. A new event for me this year is the Bromley Vets AC Summer Handicap. This is a series of races over a distance of just under 2 miles. The idea is that all runners should finish at the same time with the slower runners starting first and each faster runner following on after being held at the start for a set time. Being only a couple of miles from Norman Park, this was ideal to run to the start, have a breather, and then tear around the course – I can dream of being fast anyway. The route to the start gives me two options. A fairly steep uphill followed by the same down, or a flatter but slightly longer route. I opted for the second on the basis of wanting a faster pace. The run to the park felt a little hard, even though the first part was mainly downhill. Although my legs hard largely recovered from Paddock Wood, there was still a lack of energy in them. At times, it felt like hard work, especially on any gentle incline. Of course, when I arrived at the park, I realised a little more why it had felt hard – I had averaged under 8 minutes per mile. That wasn’t the plan. Oh well. There were already quite a few BVACs at the meeting point when I arrived. I found Bandana Mike, chief handicap setter and he pointed me to the numbers and pins, and to then inform the real chief of proceedings Jan of my number. A brief chat with one or two of the regulars and it was soon time for Jan to give the briefing, particularly important this time as there were a number of first timers, including me. The start time, at least for this month, coincided with a coach drop off of a number of students in the car park. We listened to the instructions being given to us. This gave us an outline of the format, the course and finally a reminder that we were all responsible for our own health and safety. This was a particularly timely reminder as behind Jan, the coach which had just dropped off its load of students, began to reverse directly at us, luckily stopping short before heading out of the car park.
With the coach out of the way, it was time to get started. The idea is that the slower runners start first, progressively moving through the field with the faster runners starting last. In theory, everyone should finish together. The first batch of runners were called to the start and off they went. I decided to pop back to the jar to pick up another pin – I had only attached one to start with. Then out of nowhere, I thought I heard my name called. A quick check, and I was right! Off I went. The challenge here is not only to catch the person front, but to keep those behind from catching me. Luckily, being a first timer, Bandana Mike had been kind to me on the handicapping so not only did I ultimately benefit from not being overtaken, I also was able to pass a few other BVACs too. The legs were telling me they were tired towards the end, and a car pulling out backwards from its drive causing me to slow down didn’t help, but I was soon back through the other entrance to the park and over the line. Having pushed harder than I should have, I decided a walk home was best to keep my legs ticking over. Overall though, a very enjoyable evening with a really friendly bunch. Looking forward to next month I think. Depends how kind the bandana man is to me! The Paddock Wood Half Marathon has mixed memories for me. My first visit in 2004 was supposed to be part of my build up to that year’s London Marathon but served only as a confirmation that I would have to withdraw – illness had got the better of me and hampered any prospect of training. I struggled around in 2:36:31! My second visit saw an improvement to 2:03:29 but then last year, when all seemed well set for an attempt a sub 2 hour half marathon for the first time, I struggled in the heat and finished in 2:07:02. As I came to this year’s event, I had already conquered the sub 2 hour time by the finest of margins at Dartford (1:59:52). This left me the choice of attempting to improve on that, or attempting some pace discipline and going with my intended London Marathon target of 10 minute miles. The former got the better and I had already decided to target a new PB by the time I arrived. Weather wise, it was not too dissimilar to last year with bright sunshine, albeit it seemed a little fresher than I recalled from last year. A new vest last week at Cranleigh, but no change to the damage meant I ditched the tape this week and went for Vaseline instead. New running shoes too. My old pair had been feeling a little flat in cushioning so I had to get a new pair to wear in before London. New shorts too! It seemed luck was on my side when we arrived. I had dropped off my fellow runners near the start and headed off to park up, finding a car park only a couple of hundred yards further on. I then heard of heavy congestion on the route I should have taken on the way down, only missing it through not paying attention to my satnav and turning off at the wrong exit on the motorway! The toilet queue was ridiculously long but luckily PWR Tim discovered the a men’s loo hidden away with no queue. All falling nicely into place so far. There was a handful of other PWRs taking part in their first half marathon today so it was good to have a chat with a couple before the start. There were also some seasoned campaigners and Roger from Bromley Vets suggested I might achieve around 1:50 today! Not likely was my response, especially if it warmed up later in the race. Finally, 9:30am arrived and we were off. This is a popular race and so can be quite helpful at the start where it’s difficult to head off too fast because of the number of other runners around. At the same time, there is just about enough space to make progress if others have set off too slow. Luckily, I didn’t really have any runners slower than my pace to contend with and I managed to establish my goal pace fairly quickly and settle. There was a hill at around one mile, but after that, the course is flat except for a small handful of humped back bridges later on. I progressed through the first 4 miles without issue, I could feel the temperature beginning to rise by this point and the first drinks station was welcome. One useful piece of advice I was given last summer is to use water to keep cool, so not just drinking but pouring it over my head to help cool down. Luckily, the drinks stations were only water this week, and no squash, so I was able to take this approach all the way around. Around 7 miles, I began to recall last year. This was the point a which it all fell apart. This year though, I still felt in good shape. The question in my mind though was whether or not I could sustain the pace all the way. I persuaded myself to think just 2 miles ahead and get to that point before reassessing. Somewhere in between, we came across a cold wet sponge station. As I collected mine, one of the marshals was shouting to “save it for the stocks”, and there at the end of the buckets was some poor chap waiting to be pelted by wet sponges. Not likely today though, it was far too warm to waste anything which helped stop overheating. Also during that period, I was passed by a couple of others in the same M40 category as me, one stating he was pacing himself for “an inch and a half inside 1:55”. That was a bit of a shock to hear at this stage. I knew I was ahead of my intended pace, but that sounded like I was significantly ahead. At 10 miles, we were greeted by a spectator shouting the now well known phrase “only a parkrun to go”. Of course, in any normal scenario, 3.1 miles would be straightforward. However, on legs which were now tiring, it felt like a long way to go. 11 miles was my next target. At that point, I knew I would have less than 20 minutes to go. I felt like I was slowing down and a look at my watch throughout mile 11 showed paces at just over 9 minutes per mile. I still felt like I had a rhythm though and so I turned my attentions away from my watch and simply focussed on the road ahead. The last 2 miles signalled a time to really dig in - not far to go, but that last 20 minutes already felt like a lifetime. The crowds which had been absent in the country lanes had now returned. The lift I got was incredibly helpful, a real boost to get me to the top of the final bridge and as I got there, I glanced to my left and was able to see the finishing line. Ahead of me, I could see the 13 mile sign and a nice gentle downslope off the bridge towards it. I reached 13 miles and turning a sharp left back towards the finish line meant it was time to stretch my legs and break into a “sprint” finish. As I approached the line, I could see the time was well under 2 hours. I stopped my watch but before I was able to look and take in the time, I had to pause to briefly to get that initial finish line recovery before heading away from the finish area. A look at my watch as I walked back to the baggage store showed me a time of 1:56:20, a new PB which was later reduced by 1 second on the official results. On another positive note, the Vaseline did the trick! No war wounds this week! One of the pleasing things about this performance, apart from the finish time, was dealing with the bad memories of last year. In times gone by, those memories would have haunted me and without a doubt, I would have given up and walked. Today, my mind was strong and determined, and there was no way I was going to allow anything from last year to get in the way of a decent time. All in all, everything seemed to fall into place today, either through luck, or the hard work of the last year paying dividends. All good then! |
ABOUT MEHaving completed 5 marathons between 1999 and 2016, I decided this year, I would try to do it properly and plan my training! Alongside, I wanted to keep a blog as it went along, partly to look back on, and partly to help anyone else who may benefit from my own experiences. Archives
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