Milton Keynes Half marathon 2016 - my race review

Crickey, I just found this lurking in my drafts folder. Given that Milton Keynes 2017 is not far away I thought I had better fling this out there before I end up over a year out of date...

My race review (Monday 2nd May 2016)

General impressions -
Course: 8/10 - simple, quick, well sign-posted and marshalled. Couple of sections where the footing was a bit rough moving between road and park land paths.
Marshalling: 9/10 - great, cheery and friendly team. Though not particularly evident around the start area which seemed a little odd given the congestion.
Facilities: 8/10 - The stadium facilities are great. Though I did have to play hunt the shortest bathroom queue a couple of times, which is tricky when they are spread around the perimeter of the stands.
Organisation: 9/10 - I didn't enjoy the lack of marshalling in the start zones, but the overall experience from sign up to finish line is very well done. The team clearly benefit from the experience of becoming a calendar regular.
Crowd / support: 8/10 - always an enthusiastic and supportive crowd in Milton Keynes. Even the car drivers put out by road closures were relatively jolly, or at least that was what I told myself as I smiled and waved a "thank you" to them.
My effort: 10/10 - I could not fault my effort on the day (I could fault my pre-race training), my pacing was spot on and I was realistic about my target.

Half-marathon #11

How my run went: 

"It went really well, curbed my enthusiasm at the start, enjoyed the middle, and only really entered the hurt locker for the last 2km. Time not stellar but a good improvement on four weeks ago. The half marathon course at least was definitely an improvement on past years - only two major underpasses that I remember, and no gradients that went on long enough or were steep enough to cause much discomfort."

Target180 weekly sum-up: a week of good progress

So I went and declared much of my intention in my last post around turning my fitness around in roughly six months, and now I am going about working on some of the key elements.

So this week just gone I have been busy racking up as much walking as I could without taking time out of other things. Walking into work one day, taking my lunch out to the park and walking a couple of laps, not taking the lift using the stairs, walking to a meeting across town rather than ordering a taxi - all of which have felt great and haven't left me overly tired.

The bullet-point for the week summary runs something like :-

• everyday this week I crashed through the 10,000 steps mark, topping out at 20,868 one day.
• ran on Tuesday (5km) and Thursday (8.3km)
• ran at a better pace than I have in months in both run sessions
• dropped another 1.5lb of body mass
• my trousers are definitively looser and my back is feeling much better
• generally noting that my face looks less puffy and bloated - even got a complement from Mrs.H. that I was looking better (!! heheh)
• made some great choices around food without feeling that I was depriving myself

So basically without following any of the many many regimes listed on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diets (really there is such a page and such a list), I have eaten sensibly without changing the nature of the food, and moved more. Holy-moly I think I may have hit upon a genius new diet fad system... ah no, wait... "eat less, move more" I've definitely heard that somewhere before.

Fabulous dinner earlier this week - Honey mustard chicken thighs with spinach and peas (something from a BBC Good Food recipe I think)

The next measure of 'progress', or moreover my current fitness, is the Milton Keynes half marathon on Monday. I am really looking forward to it even though my race pack was lost in the post and I have to go to the trouble of queueing for a replacement on the morning of the race (the race pack and number arrived at the eleventh hour, so I'm all kitted up and ready to go). I have a huge soft spot for the town, and the event as it where I ran my first ever marathon four years ago (time flies). We are travelling as a posse and if the weather plays ball a good time will be had by all - I don't mind rain while I run, the family stood watching tend to have a much clearer preference for the dry.

Just have to remember Monday is a half-marathon and not one of these :-)

Pacing wise I have to be careful not to let my head lead the way, and listen to my body instead. The 'plan' is to go out close to my average pace for the Cardiff Half, where I blew up in the last quarter of the course, and take this run more conservatively. The people around the course in Milton Keynes are usually fantastic so I hope to enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy the process of running a half marathon with no pressure or anxiety.

Have a good running weekend and I hope your projects and targets are going well.

Milton Keynes marathon 2014 - my race review

Prologue
My third marathon - the Milton Keynes marathon 2014 was probably my most interesting yet, it was full of the most diverse light and shade of any race of any distance that I have taken part in. Before going any further into the details I have to say that the organisation and the race team were absolutely, completely and utterly brilliant. They were fun, helpful, and just plain thoughtful... as I hope will become a little clearer through my ramblings.

So after weeks of wondering if my troublesome heel would be okay to run I toed the start line a few metres behind the 4:15 pacer with a pretty loose plan in mind, and no idea how the day would pan out. Over the preceeding weeks I had run a total of three times (two 5k runs and a 10k fitness test), I spent most of my time sat of a turbo trainer peddling for what seemed like days (utter hyperbole on my part, the longest I rode was approaching 3 hours). I essentially switched all the run training times from my training plan into bike sessions and pushed as high a gear as I felt I could for each session.

The race...
The pack started to move forward and my only semblance real plan was to follow the pacer and see how I got on. Plan B was to trickle back to the next pace group if I couldn't live with the first pacers rhythm. I imagine many people assume similar strategies. As we moved through the wide start area I saw my wife and son waving and gave them a handsome wave back, then looked around for the pacer. In the first 1km or so I already had the sense that pursuing a 'prey' was going to consume a lot of mental energy, I sat back from his pace at the start with the goal of feeling my way into it and slowly pulling up to his pace group over the first half of the race.

At 5k it was becoming abundantly clear that I was over cooking it, my Garmin was telling me pace numbers that didn't seem to fit with a 4:15 pace and so I was wondering what was going on - if anything the gap to the pacer was even bigger at this point. I decided to give it until 10k to settle down, thinking perhaps my watch was telling fibs. 10k came and I was no closer to the pacer despite having upped my pace to its race peak (!), at this stage rationalising that something was amiss I tried to settle back into a slower pace (forgetting the pacer). I tried to find a new pace that I could hold for the rest of the race.

Thus, the second 10k was slower, and brought me back to an overall pace that I felt was closer to my original plan. By this time though I knew I was COOKED, there was a dwindling sense of energy reserves and my running gait was beginning to falter as my heel began to remind me how little I had run in the last 2 months. I went through halfway in something like 2:11 and the real race started...

When the wheels fell off
At the 10mile mark the half marathoners split off and went their way to back to the stadium whilst the 26.2'ers turned off into the suburbs. The change both in course (wide road to single track cycle ways) and the density of runners at a point where my physical issues where becoming obvious led to the beginning of something of a mini-crisis. By 13.5miles (roughly 22k) I was into damage limitation, my only goal completing in one piece - a run / walk strategy seemed the only sensible thing.

My first walk was slow and laboured as I berated myself for a mix of bad planning, bad luck, and injury, when I picked up for a run (jog) section it was clear my legs weren't going to tolerate it. So back in the walk I found that I could speed walk with minimal aches and moreover minimal pains. At this point I really started to really notice the marshals and was buoyed by their encouragement. I also started to take in the race around me and others that were either struggling or on run /walk strategies for slower paces.

Quickly in the third 10k it was clear that walking fast was the best strategy for getting me back in one piece, and as the next pace group came and went (despite me trying for a couple of hundred metres to go with them) I was resigned to it. Calculations of possible finish times led me to text my wife using our run phone letting her know my likely fate. My walk pace was in fact such that run / walkers were sometimes finding it hard to distance me with me over taking them during their slower walk phases. Lots of times I re-passed people once, others became regulars over the next 15k. Smiles began to cross my face as I resigned, enjoyed the see-saws with the run / walkers, and increasing got into playful banter with marshals, volunteers, spectators and passers by.

Good out of the bad
The last 10k I found I actually enjoyed, I was steaming along at pretty much a swift marching pace (arm swinging, the whole power walk bit). I texted back and forth with my wife about my finish time and to let my family know what was happening. At one point I thought it would be my wife and son at the finish and not the rest of the crew. The heat and sun took its toll, and it was increasingly clear that the marching pace I'd set was too quick to allow me to run very far, and I wasn't about to walk slowly! The last 600-800m I picked up to a very laboured jog much to the joy of the spectators near the stadium, I got so much support towards the finish. As I entered the stadium I heard my two kids yelling and saw my wife looking frankly a little relieved (and concerned). The last 200m are around the pitch inside the MK Dons football stadium and the small crowd still there around the 5:25 mark were lovely.

I crossed the line so relieved to have completed that I could only manage a half Mo-bot gesture for the finish line camera person. As soon as I crossed I went back towards the line to congratulate two women who I had spent most of the last 15k passing and being passed by. When I finally headed for my medal I was greeted by my son and daughter sprinting towards me yelling excitedly, my son with my finishers medal in his hand :-D They had been allowed to cross the control barrier, take my medal and come to present me with my trophy. I was already full of 'love' for the organisation for the last 20k without them topping it all with a simple yet powerful act of kindness.

Post-race diagnosis
My time was my slowest (of course), at 5:25:17 but in many ways it carried more positives than the headline figure might suggest. I had persevered, I had finished, I wasn't complete broken (my heel had not worsen dramatically), I had enjoyed the warmth of the marathon family, I found a sense of fun in the 'failure', I had the most wonderful wife, kids and family supporting my madness... there was nothing bad in any of that.

I saw the physio the day after and I think he was impressed that I hadn't destroyed my legs any more than any other marathon finisher after the issues I had had pre-race. A rub down set me up for recovery, as did a 40minute swim float in the pool. Today I am considering my plans for the autumn season and what my new targets will be... the running bug hasn't gone anywhere in the face of a such poor race :-)

Race review

The organisation was close to flawless, there was plenty of provision for the warm weather. The race team were all superbly helpful, and always encouraging. The course is not the pancake flat stuff of a huge city marathon but was extremely well marked and no one can really complain about the rolling under- and over- passes in the second half (especially if you pace your effort properly). Having a stadium start and finish is just awesome in the facilities / shelter it provides runners (pre- and post- race) and the spectators during the race. The MK dons really do have quite the impressive facility. Would I do it again? Of course, though I may leave it a year in order to try a different spring race next year, I don't run many marathons after-all ;-)

Post race links:-
BBC Three Counties Radio - Milton Keynes Marathon 2014 shorts (there are six)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTytpKPrmwY

Big change of my plan - the hard choice

Well I have had to do it, I have had to pull out of running the Milton Keynes marathon. On a training run last night I 'tweaked' something in my left knee, and managed to turn my intended pre-race sports massage with the physio into a diagnostic session. Good news, nothing huge is torn or broken - bad news small ligaments or some cartilage is likely damaged and will need time to heal (or be investigated further even) over the coming weeks - the bad news making running a marathon in three days time foolish. I can walk slowly just fine, I can run just fine, but the transition causes pain as does particular changes of direction of travel. So with other runs in mind, not wanting to do any major damage, and not wanting to DNF a big organised run I've had to take the hard choice.

I really wanted (somewhere in the quieter recesses of my brain) to make Milton Keynes that thing I do every year having attended their first ever marathon last year, but that ambition didn't get much past the starters pistol. I wanted to run for the enjoyment, the challenge, the fulfilment of crossing that line at 26.2 miles. I feel pretty empty just now and can't quite believe how close I came to getting there after the ups and downs of the last few months. Training hasn't been perfect, that I admit, it has not been consistent enough or in all actuality varied enough (with respect to strength and flexibility - hence perhaps the injury).

After a good long chat with Leon the awesome physio things were in good perspective and I have already armed myself with a plan towards the biggest challenge of my running 'career' Berlin this September. That plan is alive and vital (knee injury permitting of course) but it is the loss of the Milton Keynes plan that makes me feel heavy hearted and down beat. I will now be contacting the kind folk who sponsored me or were going to, and in some cases offering refunds where they have paid already... marathons become much bigger than the long distance and much more part of your thinking than you realise. I will learn more lessons and I will roll forwards it is just that in this particular moment 42.2 km or 26.2 miles seem an awfully long way away.

If you did still want to donate to my chosen charity then please follow the link below...
http://www.justgiving.com/AndrewHollins

I'm going to have to find something else to do with my intended blog post on Tuesday (post-marathon day) and indeed something else to do with the day off I booked for a day of solid recovery (pampering)... I think I'll write that Berlin plan down make it real and bring that 42.2km a little closer.

Happy running and race well if you are going to be  in the next few days / weeks.

Marathon Monday - the run up to my second marathon

Monday looms large, and not only large but also potentially warm, the build up to my second marathon is heading towards completion. I am making lists, buying provisions for the trip, checking that my best kit is ready, and importantly that this time I don't have to go on a mad pin chase the night before the run. It is one sadness that I haven't blogged about my build up this time around in anything like the way that I did my first run, but life threw so many curve-balls over the last 3-4 months that I have simply not been able to. Between personal illness and family illness and working commitments and occasional bursts of decent training I have not had the time in the day to get to the keyboard with organised thoughts to set out.

The Milton Keynes marathon 2013 draws ever nearer and though I am not as physically prepared as I want to be I believe I am mentally much better equipped this time around.  I have decided upon a sensible pace, and opted to track a pace maker to keep any tendency to over cook the first half of the run. All bar the wheels absolutely falling off I hope to negative split and if the weather isn't kind then at the very least even pace the race. I have been listening to the Marathon Talk pod-cast since January, and though my training hasn't matched their schedules and considered advice it is my hope that all the psychology tips will come in handy when the going gets tough. My main goal is to get through 20 miles and towards 22 before really feeling that I am breaking myself.

I will do my best to blog shortly after the event with the ever present GPS data, pictures, and so on... only four more days of thinking / planning before the doing on May Bank Holiday Monday.

I am running for Cancer Research UK, and if you can spare a few moments a small amount of cash please visit my JustGiving page...

http://www.justgiving.com/AndrewHollins

So sometimes I actually go running

This weekend just gone was one of those rare weekends when I actually got my running shoes on two days in a row! It is indeed worthy of an exclamation mark because in the world of a busy Dad it always feels a little wrong to use up so much weekend time on yourself. The first run was a pacey affair with my training buddy because as it turns out whilst I have suffered various illnesses he has managed a very consistent weekly mileage 'commuting' to and from his work. It was good to both crack on at a decent pace, and better still to share a bunch of gossip. We completed 8.35 km in a couple of minutes over three quarters of an hour.

"Feet Of Runner In Evening Light" - Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid [www.freedigitalphotos.net]

Now it is here that I will reveal my latest mad-cap scheme - as you might notice I quoted my run distance in kilometres (km) just there, and so it will be for some months to come if my plan works out. My big goal for the year is the Berlin Marathon and there is no getting around the fact that they are wholly metric and use kilometres... so I am trying to give myself enough time to grasp the min/km pacing, and splits for various points on the course in the correct measures. It is a simple plan to move into kilometres, although I have rarely judged my shambling pace in anything other than min/mile. The nice thing is that 10 min/mile becomes a much smaller number in min/km, the not so nice thing of it is that the distance goes from 26.1 units (miles) to 42.2 units (kilometres)... I only hope that because the numbers will tick by quicker I'll learn to like the change.

The second run of the weekend was my long run (which I paced for the last time in min/mile), which covered 18.5 km (or 11.5 miles). I was suitably tired after an easy effort run that finished with 20 minutes at race pace at the end... I suddenly had flashbacks to some of the early pain I felt as the wheels feel off during my first marathon. Still it was a beautiful day to be flogging myself around the paths of Cardiff Bay and Cardiff city centre, some say spring is on its way, others groan and say there will be more snow yet. Whatever the weather me and my running shoes will be churning out the training kilometres in the weeks ahead - only 11 weeks now until the Milton Keynes marathon the first major stepping stone towards my Berlin run.

Diary - everything is busy though I am feeling out of sorts with things at times, which has left me even more grateful that I get to run and clear my head. My book binge continues a pace, more reviews in the pipeline I think.

First steps into my new marathon training cycle

So this week has been the first full week of the year, and already things are in full swing. I am still suffering a chest infection / cold, but have been busy getting properly 'on the move' again. With my eyes firmly fixed on the major challenge of the spring / summer, the Milton Keynes marathon, I have put a plan into action. The plan as it stands comprises to parts, firstly to just get busy (increasing daily activity by walking / cycling to work, doing some Wii fit / fitness DVDs when I have spare moments) and get healthy (eat right, eat smart, eat fresh), and the second part is to move into a 16 week training program for the marathon.

I have not felt it has been a sensible idea run, but have covered a lot of miles walking instead so that at least my body gets used to time in motion and my joints get the idea of carrying me over longer distances again. Sounds a bit melodramatic I suppose, but that is simply where I am - and really these alternatives to actually running are all about not getting sick again. For example, if I just hit the roads with the chest infection I fear to will lead me back to acute bronchitis / walking pneumonia, which would lay me up for weeks.

Essentially my 'base' phase is starting very tentatively and with as much 'protection' incorporated as possible (stretching, aerobic work, diet, & simple incremental activity increases). I hope to run for the first time in this training plan next week, week 3 of the plan, but at the moment I am relaxed about how I have moved through the first two weeks.

Diary - cold, dry, icy under foot. I have lost 5lbs in two weeks, so good progress into the New Year. Grateful that I am busy and productive already in 2013, with so much to make and do this year.

Monday Motivation - A plan? A plan? Well a series of goals at least

Do I have a plan? A plan? Well I do have a series of goals at least for the moment around which plans are beginning to crystallise.

For the time being here are my goals for the year ahead...

1. Log a total of 1000 running miles in 2013.
2. Complete 2nd marathon, and better my PB by at least ten minutes.
3. Complete 3rd marathon (and first Big City Marathon), and better my PB.
4. Find and run at least one half-marathon that I have not run before.
5. Set a 5K PB.
6. Scull far more than I did last year.
7. Set a 2k indoor rowing PB.
8. Get to my goal weight by April and stay there throughout the rest of the year.
9. Stay well and injury free.

(Okay so the last one is strictly out of my total control, but I will do all I physically can to make it happen).

I know a kind of sporting bucket list for 2013 is hardly novel, and my list was inspired by reading some of the blogs I follow. The truth is I am recognising that without goals I find it tricky to get myself out running on a cold wet British Winters day - let alone summers day, hehe!

Diary - clear, mild, dry (though still wet under foot). Went for two long walks over the weekend in lieu of a run because I have a chesty cough at the moment and didn't want to stress my lungs. Generally I am on track with all things fitness again and will be running just as soon as this cough goes. Grateful for a busy but fun family Christmas and New Years.

Busy but not - post-Olympic effects

Over the last couple of weeks I have been in my own little Olympics bubble, where there was not enough space for 'extra' things like blogging - sorry. The bubble was a lovely golden place to be as Team GB (& NI) outdid itself, although like a long holiday in foreign places I came 'back' from the bubble wondering just what real news I missed in the World. The events themselves were inspirational and I discovered today that the local rowing club is teeming with people wanting to start a new sport (or come back to it because the Games reminded them what they are missing).

For my own part I have felt ever more motivated to get properly on the move again post-illness, and so I have signed up to three races I started with the Cardiff 10k, and the Swansea Bay 10k... then things got out of hand and I applied to run the Milton Keynes... marathon! Yup, I have signed up for my second marathon - many said I would, and how all knowing they really were. Thus, although I have not strictly done the greatest amount of actual sport I have indeed been busy filling out forms that ensure that for the next few months I will be doing quite a lot.

Oh, and having had my vicarious sporting fix I should have space to get blogging again.... a training plan may follow (as I learned a lot of lessons the hard way from my first marathon).

Happy Wednesday - I hope the Olympics inspired you to go get busy :-D

My Milton Keynes marathon [3] - the aftermath

The final part of my re-living my marathon experiences - part 3 - the aftermath....

So, I finished, I was wildly pleased and so happy to have fulfilled the goal injury free. As soon as I'd finished I headed up into the stands to meet up with my wife and kids, and take advantage of the sports massage being offered by the Cancer Research UK stand (as I had run for them it was a very, very welcome 'thank you')**.  During the massage the taping on my calf was discussed at some length and I was told that actually my calf were surprisingly supple (!). That I had essentially marched miles 24 and 25 with as long and efficient pain free stride as I could had seemingly done a job of keeping my legs happy for that last phase where I ran well again.

After the race all the worries and niggles seemed worth it they had seen me prepare well and run sensibly in the face of the injury issues. I remember hearing somewhere that marathons are as mentally tough as they are physically, and I suppose that was true. Certainly all the mental effort put in adds to the immense high after the finish line.

Marathon running thoughts cartoon - bloggers own artwork (ahem, yeah I'll own up - I drew this nonsense)
and bloggers own thoughts from various parts of the route

Immediately afterwards we headed off to my sister's place for a very welcome hot shower (which reminds me, I think I owe her a fortune in fuel costs for how long I was in there!), a chance to get my now dirty taping off, and a warm bowl of soup (wow, that tasted amazin'). All the way home the feeling I got from completing kept flooding my brain, if there is only one thing I could bottle from the whole experience that feeling would be it. I run because I enjoy it, I row because I enjoy it and I keep on the move for moments like that one. I experienced a similar feeling in rowing a few years ago, it is simply the huge release of utter joy and inner exultation of a huge task successfully brought to completion.

Emotion aside (getting carried away there), I had had the foresight to book the Monday after the race as a days leave which gave me the opportunity to go get a fix up appointment with my physio and thank him hugely for everything that he had done in the month or so coming into the race. We sat and re-lived the race for quite some time before I got another restorative rub down. At this point I was walking okay, a little slow to get going, but nice and free moving. Stairs were a nuisance but nothing too troublesome. The aches were simply aches and not pains, and the memory of what I had done seemed to totally negate the effects for several days.

I got back on the cross-trainer last week to 'spin' my legs and help recover. Since that first one I have done two more determined to make this fitness / endurance stick. I did though eat a little too much over the last week as a pat on the back, over the weekend I reached the point where the extra food was making me feel awful. I remembered again why it is that I set out to lose weight.... too much food can begin to feel like poison - I could feel my system saying "thanks for the lovely food but for goodness sake that's enough already!!!".

So now back to healthy balanced eating and training. My new goal is a big PR from this autumns Cardiff Half marathon, and to get back into some serious rowing. The marathon distance? Ah, well... we'll just have to see ;-)

** the massage was provided by Carmel of The Sports Therapy Room and a mighty fine job she did too. Her advice was only surpassed by the quality of her work, my legs felt so much better for treatment - I am not sure how the recovery would have gone with out it.

My Milton Keynes marathon [2] - my race in review

The second part of three sections, a beginning, a middle, and an end - in other words the the final run up, the race, and the aftermath...

....so the race itself... I said my so longs and left the comfort of the stadium to head out to the start just outside on the main road. I was assaulted by the weather and then greeted by the warmth of the runners huddle in the start area. So off came the charity clothing (which I put onto a growing pile on the crowd control barrier), on went the Cancer Research UK charity plastic running poncho, and into my allotted start group I plunged. I originally stated on my entry form 4 to 4:15 for a projected finish, and so was in the green start group - I still had no idea if this was the right place to be after the injury hit preparations.

I had consumed my pre-race jelly beans and water and was all set. With watch primed I wondered what what come of the race. The run went and the elite runners left us for their swifter effort, the next group moved up, and soon we were called forward to cross the start line... here begun my first ever marathon run...

Mile 1 - with the physio's advice in my ear I stepped out as if I was to run all day. Running felt comfortable, I was fairly oblivious to the weather already more tuned into what my calf might be doing and how my legs were feeling. At the end of the first mile I was imagining my legs were on the cross-trainer and spinning they way they would if I was doing a crazy long session.

All stills from a video that was posted on the
Milton Keynes Citizen website
(I'm in the blue Cancer Research UK rain poncho)

Miles 2 and 3 - I was focusing on just rolling along and being within a comfortable zone. The route began to twist in through estates and parks, and at fairly regular intervals pass under road underpasses. These underpasses were great because the harboured the noisy cheering squads of kind souls who had braved the weather to come see the mad runners.

Miles 4, 5, 6 and 7  - These were it turned out the 'good' miles I really found a rhythm and was moving well (a little too well). I worked through my first pack of jelly beans, took on water and found a couple of likely looking runners to follow as pacers. I wasn't overtaking any more people than were overtaking me so I felt I wasn't going to crazy. It still felt very much like I was running within myself, even though I noticed my pace was looking a tad too healthy. My watch only shows the average pace per mile for the whole run (or lap if I was pressing the button), so I should have realised that the lowering of my average masked quite an increase in pace in these miles.

Mile 8, 9, 10 - I was still feeling good and trying to consolidated, but slowing down a fraction as I finally recognised my pace had peaked.

Mile 11 and 12 - there was a little slow down as the realisation dawned on me that I had yet to reach halfway and it was beginning to hurt.

Mile 13 - at this point I was pleased to get to half way and was a little surprised at my time, 2hr 3mins - too quick as it turned out!

Mile 14 and 15 - I worked on taking it down to take it home at 'jogging' pace. Through these miles I was so happy to start counting down the miles.

Mile 16, 17 and 18 - could really feel a fade and tiredness coming on... you can see for yourself below how the fade went...

My mile split times - printed out stuffed in my pocket and shown to anyone who was interested ;-)

Mile 19 - just after the Mile 18 marker at a drink station my slow down turned into a walk and a chat with a fellow runner.  During our chat two timed pace runners went by, both the 4:15 and the 4:30... I resolved not to let the 4:45 get by me. During this phase the rain had eased so I gave up my poncho - whoops!! - as soon as I had gone another half mile the skies opened again!

Mile 20 and 21 - back into running. I started to imagine how it would feel to cross the line, picturing myself finishing and conjuring up the emotions that might bring.

Mile 22 - mixed run / walking

Mile 23 and 24 - Power walking - I essentially opted to stride out these two miles, to stretch my legs (especially my calfs), and let them recover for a final push. I was basically marching, remembering my child hood as the son of an army nurse and how strong and tall parading soldiers present themselves. Funny what imagery can do for form and motivation.

Mile 25 - Toilet break and then the final push.

Mile 26 - Some semblance of running form returned with the adrenaline of nearing the end.

Finish - As I crossed the line I simply leaped in the air and yelled "Yesss!" at the top of my lungs. I felt a little childish but it was simply an expression of my deep joy and relief at achieving a massive challenge. I was so relieved to see my family, and happy that my sister had come down to see me finish too.

Crossing the line - I'm the tiny guy in green (honest)

Happy boy!! Clutching my finishers medal

Grateful to receive a massage from the stand
run by one of the charities I ran for

My time? Well in the end it was 4hr 43min 52sec, an obvious personal best as it was my first marathon. Not as fast as I could have gone with either better pacing or less injury hit training, but a time I am mightily proud of. At this moment I doubt I will ever run another marathon, but 'never say never again' as the phrase goes...

My Milton Keynes marathon [1] - the final run up

Without any tease intended I thought I would break my marathon attempt into three sections, a beginning, a middle, and an end over three parts. So the beginning - the final run up to the start line... 

...after the last minute 5k treadmill test I rested and did my absolute best to eat normally. I had only just realised (okay, read online) that carb loading didn't mean eating vast amounts of carb rich foods, but means that the balance of your normal calorie intake should shift to include a greater percentage of carbs relative to protein and fats.

Other preparation was advanced, my race kit bag was packed at the beginning of the week because I was concerned that it might all turn into a bit of a rush after the 5k test. Truth be told I was nervous and the packing was an early manifestation of the worry I felt about running further than I ever have in my life. I had no feeling of where my fitness was even even with all the diligent cross-training sessions. Still, with a decision made I went about organising as much as I could and double / triple checked everything. The nerves growing all the time, as was noticed by my very patient wife.

Saturday saw another trip to the physio for race day strapping, this time applied with spray glue as an extra  measure! It was a very reassuring session as I also got some sage advice for race day, (1) run as if I expected to run all day (i.e. within myself to ensure completion and hopefully an injury free run), and (2) to keep cardiovascular effort within myself so that at no point I got so out of breath that I would struggle later on. Great words that I took to heart.

The fabulously crafted red map pin on this borrowed GoogleMap
shows the location of Milton Keynes in the U.K.
- taken from a Google Map search

From there we travelled on to Milton Keynes and found our hotel for the night. I had pre-booked the hotel weeks and weeks ago on a no-refund basis in part to ensure that I had still another reason not to back out... really it meant we were going there for a weekend break running or no running. We organised ourselves then headed out to the restaurant that I had already found on the web - part of a chain so that I knew exactly what to expect and thus what to order to set me up for the following morning.

The meal was great, they I wasn't really 'in the room' my head was at this point permanently elsewhere - somewhere across town where ever that start line was. Thankfully my wife understood this face well from our rowing days, both of us react in similar ways to an impending race. Which probably says we should get hold of a sports psychology book and read the chapter on 'quelling pre-race nerves' !! Afterwards we had to go on a safety pin hunt... this was the only thing I had overlooked in my long pre-race packing. In the end we found some in the First Aid Kit in the car (to be returned immediately after the race).

Back at the hotel I tried out my kit and my charity start area clothes, and looked nervously to see if the forecast storm had changed its mind (at this point already there were stiff winds, lashing rain and huge storm clouds overhead). We settled for the night, and to ignore the kids (sorry, kids) I put in some head phones to help chill me enough to sleep.

A similar Gruffalo lunchbox to the one that I received
as a kind gift from my wife and kids :-)
 - Image borrowed from the www.truffleshuffle.co.uk website

Morning arrived, I had slept well (amazing), and we set about breakfast. I opened my Gruffalo lunchbox with it's pre-cooked toast, peanut butter, plastic knife and small thermos flask of apple juice and eat my regular pre-run fill. Looking out of the window my weather fears were realised, the foul weather was truly set in. I opted for long sleeved technical top (a favourite from rowing head races), my Lycra / cotton rowing shorts, and green running vest - figuring I was going to get wet whatever I wore while running so to go with functional and moderately thermal. Into the car we bundled and soon we were in the pre-race car park looking at the weather raging.

Me in my charity jacket, jumper and trousers
- there is running kit under there somewhere!

Happily the race was based around the Milton Keynes Dons football (aka. soccer) stadium so shelter wasn't far away. We got ourselves inside and got me ready to go run....

Forecast Friday

Well here goes some forecasts for my weekend.

(1) I will set a PR - all being well a first marathon all being well I'll get round and set one :-)

(2) The marathon itself could well be a challenge....

Ripped from the BBC Weather page
- the only part of the key you'll need to know is that blue equals rain (heavy rain!)

...the weather forecast is heavy rain, essentially from what I can see a storm! What on earth to wear...gibber!

[currently thinking wellies, fishermans oil skins, and sowester hat!]

(3) On Monday I will be setting myself a new challenge... at the moment either rowing or triathalon?

(4) I will owe my family the biggest most massive "thank you" for all their support whatever happens :-D

Systems are go for marathon attempt

So the cross-training went okay last night (though light cross-training is even duller than full on cross-training I discovered), and then this morning I stepped onto a treadmill for a running test. I got my leg taped beforehand and then set off nervously to run 5k or 30mins on the rolling road....

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

....well it seems I am going to try the Milton Keynes marathon on Sunday.

There were no strange reactions in either leg and it all felt fine. Now that I have decided a wave of nerves have hit me properly full on. The 5k test was odd as I almost never use a treadmill and so have no idea how it translates to road fitness. It felt like I was not running in an especially relaxed way, but then that could have been because I don't normally run in busy gyms on equipment that I find quite awkward (always have, I don't know why - perhaps it's because they are always set up in front of full length mirrors!!).

The training I have done leads me to believe I can complete. My injuries still present a worry, but the fact I stopped in the last half-marathon I ran tells me I know when to draw a line under a bad situation. So now I will just have to go find out...

PS. I have no target, I am even considering putting tape over the pace reading on my GPS watch so all I see is time elapsed. It's all about finishing, finishing, and finishing at this stage.

PPS. I know I use one photo source a lot on my blog, it's not because I have any association with the site - it is just the simplest quickest (free) way I've found to splash some colour and give due credit for the images. I will try to do better work with my camera - promise :-P

Wow Wednesday

Wow, it is Wednesday again already, the middle of the week before the week I attempt a marathon (not that I am obsessed at this point! - much). What is 'Wow' today? Hmm,...

The rings have landed in Cardiff, on a wet lunch time I spotted the work crews finishing up outside Cardiff City Hall

Trying to take a more artistic pic of the newly arrived Olympic rings, but frankly I was in a hurry
- plus you might note this is the back of the rings (?!?!)

•  Wow, the Olympic rings have landed in my home city thanks to the London 2012 games handing out some events to other city venues. The Millennium stadium has football (soccer) I believe - nice that we get a set of colourful ironwork out of it (the cities metal thieves will be looking on and pondering "wow, that'd fetch a fair price").
• Wow, my physio Leon is a genius (Physio4motion - I have to put the link up again simply because he's good, not cause I'm getting anything in return).
• Wow, cross-trainers are great bits of kit, but so so boring to use for long stints! If I had the space and the cash I think I would buy just two pieces of gym equipment: an ergo (rowing machine) and a full elliptical cross-trainer. Full body low impact all the way - though actually make that three bits of kit... there would have to be a huge TV too for the boredom ;-)
• Wow, I really wanna go rowing / sculling.
• Wow, I have been a good consistent little blogger over the past few weeks. 
• Wow, my son is getting faster on his feet everyday (he's been walking less than a month).

Finally, wow simply being on the move is great!