Marathons
The Story so far
Training is underway. By my calculations I have just under 42 weeks to prepare for Edinburgh marathon 2018. I am yet to hear whether I will be running London as well, but I thought I’d share a bit of background of my running to date.
My on-off relationship with running began some 8 years ago. I started with the occasional run around the block of an evening to get going. Once I got a bit more confident, I started to increase the distance from time to time. When I moved house away from my usual route, I stopped for a while.
I don’t remember exactly when I restarted, but after moving house again, I recall Sport Relief had a “Sport Relief Mile” challenge. Having missed the opportunity to get involved first time, I vowed to enter the next time. With a bit of research, there were 3 options.
1 mile, 3 miles or 6 miles
I felt if I was going to do it, I would have to give myself a challenge. With a month before the event, I went straight in for 6 miles.
Not having done anything like it before, I got myself a training app which tracked my progress mile by mile. I built up my distance by 1.5 miles per week until crunch time.
Hoping to sneak in under an hour, I finished my first race in 55 mins. Although pleased, I felt I could do better.
It was around this time that the London Marathon was on. I watched a bit of it and though. I wondered “Could I do that?”. I had always wondered how someone would get into the mindset of
“I know – I’m going to run a marathon”. I was beginning to understand. I did some research and put my name in the hat for next year.
`the waiting game’
While waiting for the results of my first entry into the infamous London Marathon Ballot, I thought I needed up the ante so to speak. I looked into other running events.
September 2013, I entered my first major official running event. The Cheltenham Half Marathon.
Genuinely, I felt this would not only be a real challenge, but a chance to really see what distance running was all about. Training through the summer months was not without its trials. I read a few training plans, but mostly stuck to my own instincts and built up to about 11 miles before the race. I wanted my first effort at full 13.1 miles to be the event itself. I set myself the goal of under 2 hours. Supported by my family, and friends dotted along the route, I finished my first half marathon in 1hr 42mins. I was very happy with that.
As with all things, I will usually reflect and wonder if I could do better. So the next year, I entered both the Cheltenham Half and Cardiff Half Marathons. 4 weeks apart. With the experience of last year’s event behind me, I set about beating my previous record.
Cheltenham Half marathon 2014, after a cautious race, I realised I needed to pick up the pace towards the end to finish within my target. With a strong finish, I crossed the line in 1:41. I cut it close.
With a few weeks and a holiday in between, races, it was then time to run the Cardiff Half marathon. A course I was not familiar with, I finished this one in a personal best time of 1:34.36. I was delighted.
The London Marathon 2016
Without any success in the London Marathon Ballot for 4 consecutive years, I was beginning to think this was never going to happen. A long term goal was not looking likely. I took to social media and ended up securing a bond place for Leonard Cheshire Disability.
Cue a 6 month training plan, a variety of fundraising events and more sweat and tears than I care to recall, in April 2016 I completed the London Marathon in 3:58:36. An achievement I was incredibly proud of.
At the end of the race, after I reunited with family, I was thinking “I don’t know if I feel the need to do this again”. After re watching the coverage on the TV, a week later, the next year’s ballot opened. I put my name in the hat again.
This year was another year of no marathon running. I guess this has turned out to be a blessing. With our own little boy being born last year, really my focus was about family. I don’t think in all honesty I would have had time to dedicate to training enough to do a good job of it.
What I know now about Marathon running
It is only when I reflect, that I am able to decide whether there a things I could have done differently. So the important lessons I learned from London 2016.
- Marathons are hard.26.2 Miles is a long way. To get to the end, irrespective of your target/finish time, is a big effort. It hurts to run that far (possibly more than I expected).
- Training should not be underestimatedThrough fear of over training resulting in injury, I always allowed a rest day between runs.looking back, though, perhaps if I had worked a little harder in training, I may have been able to finish quicker)
- Determination gets you through.The last 6 mles of the marathon were excruciating. I remember battling the thoughts of”This sucks”
“I hate this”
“I want this to be over”And turning this to”Come on”
“You can do this”
“Nearly there”The determination to finish within my target time and not let my sponsors, fans and family down spurred me on to work harder, to push through the pain and keep going. - Crowd support makes a huge difference.The support from the spectators the whole way round the marathon course is something I will never forget. The atmosphere was incredible and the noise from the crows was immense. The lift that someone shouting your name as you drag your weary legs towards the finish is immeasurable
- There is always room for improvement.Looking back, there are things I could have done in training and on the day which would have improved my finish time. These I vow to put right this time.
Personal bests
Here’s a list of my current personal best times.
1 km – 3:48
1 Mile – 6:21
3 km – 12:21
5 km – 20:13
10 Km – 43:54
1/2 Marathon – 1:34:20
Marathon 3:58:32
With more effort on speed work and a higher base fitness, I can beat these records. I am hoping to crack at least one of these by the end of the year.
Don’t Forget
The #TEDicated campaign is all about raising money for Ashford and St Peter’s hospital Neonatal Fund.
You can sponsor the Edinburgh Marathon 2018 challenge by visiting my justgiving page;
http://justgiving.com/tedicated
You can visit the NHS trust website below
http://www.ashfordstpeters.nhs.uk/littleroo
This is all possible with the blessing and inspiration of Elle Wright at featheringtheemptynest.
Read her heartbreaking story on her website https://featheringtheemptynest.blog/
I will be undertaking additional fundraising exercises and naturally I will keep you all updated as we go.
Thank you all.
More to follow