My time was 4.06 despite being perfectly on track to break 4 hours right up until about the 17 mile mark.  But I am not too disappointed.  It was an incredible day.  Everything that you see on the telly, the thousands of runners, the people lining the course, the bands etc is really something to be a part of, and then for me the added joy of passing Peter Andre and beating Ronan Keating, but being overtaken by an Elvis and a caveman! 

Any students reading this considering taking on this challenge in a few years time, my advice is go for it.  Yes it is painful afterwards for a couple of days, but you will never forget being part of such a phenomenal event.  But you do have to prepare.  I trained really hard and still found it very tough.  Respect the distance.  My T-shirt says ‘There will be times when you don’t think you can complete the marathon, but a lifetime knowing you did’.  I have done it twice now.  Never again.  The baton is being passed on to the younger generation!

I met up with some people from the charity I reaised money for after and that brought home to me the reason for doing it.  We’ve raised about £2000 that will help both charities, so thank you for your generosity.  People you will never meet are very grateful.

3 hours and 8 minutes (the winner finished in 2 hours 1 minute!) with an average heart rate of 156 bpm reflects the effort that is required to complete such a run.  My training has certainly helped though.  Last week I ran for 2 hours 45  minutes including a couple of big hills, so  my cardiovascular endurance should not have been a problem.  The question was whether my legs would hold up, both in terms of local muscular endurance and injury.  Apart from a couple of miles where my right knee felt sore and weak, injury-wise it was as good as I could have hoped for.  Clearly, though, they felt tired especially around the 16-18 mile region.  Once past that phase, the end was in sight and it is amazing what a lift that gives. 

Despite lots of post-race stretching the legs are sore and stiff today.  The muscles and joints do take a real hammering, and the constant pounding on tarmac has left me with a bit of a headache too.  Otherwise, no lasting side-effects  or blisters so I cannot complain.  And now begins the phase of training known as ‘tapering’, when the quantity begins to drop (next week’s long run is ‘only’ 16 miles).  Your body needs to have its stores full to the max come April 26th, so the next 4 weeks are focussed more on quality, cross-training, rest and stretching.  The hardest part of the 6 month preparations are over.  Still some hard work to do, but in shorter bursts.  Thank goodness!

An event of this scale takes some organisation.  There was already an army of volunteers, officials and medical staff  getting sorted when I arrived at about 9am.  Lucozade had a tented stand giving free drinks and race pace bands that tell you where you shold be at each mile if you are aiming for a specific time. Adidas had a big sales tent and there were food stalls in addition to the breakfast cafe where I based myself for my pre-run fuelling.  Having got changed etc and left our bags in the appropriate garages, we were called to the track.  The course involved 3 laps of various parts of the course, including the main track, service roads and the perimeter road.  With a start time of 12 we began to line up about 11.20.  Although a sunny morning there was a brisk wind, so runners’ attire varied from shorts and vests to long-sleeved thermal tops and hats. 

They announced at 11.50 that due to traffic problems the race was being delayed by 20 minutes.  In my head I knew that had I stayed at home I could have run further and been back home already.  I questionned whether I had made the rigth decision in bothering to drive 2 hours up to the Midlands.  As the start was so delayed, and everyone had been taking in fluid all morning, there was a sudden exodus of men leaping over the barrier to relieve themselves of some of this fluid against the perimeter fencing!  For the rest of the runners the sight of about 500 men all in the same pose but in a bright array of running wear was comical, but for the thousands of spectators in the grandstand it must have beeen even funnier.  A great cheer went up, as although they couldn’t see anything below the neck, the sight of so many men standing with head slightly bowed could only mean one thing.  And just as the initial rush of men was dying out, two brave women joined the line up, gallantly protected by 4 or 5 blokes who stood around them.  They still got the biggest cheer of the day!

The run itself was flat and fast, despite avoiding the bits of tyre tread that littered the track.  As a race circuit, they have a tannay system for commentary so they kindly pumped soem music through it to keep us entertained as we plodded along.  It did seem to be mainly S Club 7 and Michael Jackson, but nonetheless it helped pass the boredom.  However, they did also keep giving updates on the race itself at the head of the field.  I know this because exactly as I crossed the 8 mile marker they announced the winner crossing the line.  He had beaten me by exactly 5.1 miles!!  Incredible.  It is a really loopy course so at times you could see virtually the entire 10,000 people seemingly running in different directions.  Nearer the start the eilte runners were making their way past us and the speed they were going was amazing.  I’m not sure if I could run that fast in a sprint let alone for 13.1 miles.  But to prove that it an event for all people, as I moved through the 12 mile marker off to our right streamed loads of people just moving through the 8 mile marker where I have been about 1/2 an hour earlier. 

The vast majority of runners were there preparing for London.  There was a vast array of charity t-shirts and you know that behind every t-shirt lies a story somewhere.  So I’m glad I went.  Glad I got my pacing right and set a new PB.  Glad I ran with the crowd.  And glad I got some reminders of why we are taking on this crazy challenge.  Not so pleased with the blisters on each foot – got to get that sorted.  Also pleased that the money is coming in on my justgiving site (www.justgiving.com/shaundowling) making the effort all the more worthwhile.

Last Sunday I found a new route through to Chichester and down the tow path.  A round trip of about 17 miles and flat all the way.  On the return trip, having felt quite comfortable to that point, all of a sudden a shooting pain went through the top of my left foot.  Having had my fair share of ankle injuries in the past, this was a new one for me.  As usual in these situations the ‘run it off’ macho syndrome took over and so I kept going for the next 50 minutes.  Despite the occasional yelp when the foot planted in a certain position, I got home OK.  It was only later when my left foot couldn’t take my weight in getting downstairs that the extent of the problem became apparent.

So, two nights of ice compression packs and a week of rest were required.  Luckilly, that seems to have worked, and there was certainly no repeat during my 18 mile run this week.  My left calf did pull up tight at one point but a quick stretch and it has been fine since.  If this is as bad as the injury part goes then I won’t be complaining at all.  The 18 miler certainly took it out of me and there was a general leg soreness for a couple of days afterwards but that is, to a degree, to be expected. 

Next week sees me trying to complete the Silverstone Adidas 1/2 Marathon in a time comparable to what I am expecting to do on the big day.  Although I could run 13.1 miles on my own, the benefit of this race in particular is that Runners’ World magazine have pace-setters.   This is a really helpful way of making sure that you don’t go off too fast or too slow and maintain a steady pace throughout.  My pace is somewhere between the 8 minute and 8.5 minute mile pace so I think I’ll go with the latter pace-setter as that is the more realistic full marathon pace for me.  If there’s energy left in the last mile or two then I can always speed up.

Thanks to the students who have seen me out running and have spoken to me since – and thanks for not yelling abuse at the time!!  Thanks, too, for those of you who have contributed to the fundraising effort. 

Four more weeks of hard work to go before the taper!

But I shouldn’t complain.  The training runs around the hills of Goodwood had had the desired effect enabling me to run a personal best for the 13.1 miles of 1hr 49 mins.  Considering the conditions (fairly cold) and hills I was really pleased with the result and with how I felt afterwards.  So as far as preparing for the marathon is concerned, the first staging post was a good one.

Half term then gave some time for further training, mainly intervals and gym work, with another long run today of about 2 hours.  I forgot to take my Lucozade drink bottle with me though, which meant that not only was I beginning to dehydrate after an hour but that I wasn’t taking in any more carbohydrate to fuel me for the rest of the run.  Hence I took the decision to cut my intended run down by half an hour.  Although it was interesting to experience how the body responds without this essential refuelling during a long run, it is not a mistake that I hope to make again.

So the next staging post is the Silverstone 1/2 Marathon in 3 weeks time, followed by a 21 miler in Cranleigh 2 weeks later.  Then it is the Kingston 16 mile ‘breakfast run’ which kicks of 3 weeks of ‘tapering’.  9 weeks to go.  Lighter nights ahead.  Fingers crossed! 

As crazy as it sounds, though, the extreme cold and the knowledge that I was attempting a hill that I’d not tried before made it an exciting challenge.  Watching the first set of the Austalian Open tennis final as I had breakfast did not help, as it was both a great match and played in really hot conditions.  Nonetheless, in some ways I couldn’t wait to get out and face the inevitable hardship.  For the cold becomes an enemy; the hill becomes an oponent.  This helps to overcome the boredom and gives you an incentive to continue.  Knowing that I can get through this will give me that all important confidence on the morning of the London Marathon.  I will know that training runs such as this will have been completed and when I cross the finish line I will know that it will all have been worthwhile.

Having said that, it was not an entirely pleasurable experience.  At times the freezing wind really took the breath from me and the new hill was every bit as hard as I’d imagined.  Luckilly my clothing etc withstood the challenge from the elements and my core body temperature was fine…just the cheeks and nose that got the brunt of the icy chill.  It looks like the weather is set for the week, so another one to look forward to next weekend, just one week before the Tunbridge Wells 1/2 Marathon.  An important staging post to measure how well the training is going.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Knowing that the conditions were much the same this week I decided to my ‘long run’ at the gym.  Avoiding roadside puddles makes it dangerous for me and can make me a hazard for drivers, so the sensible option for one session was to use the treadmill.  The other benefits of using the treadmill from time to time are that there is less impact on your joints and you can set programmes/speeds according to need.  Again, though, mid-week sessions are almost impossible to schedule due to evening events at school, but the lighter nights are coming and with a good 2 hour run under my belt I feel on track with my training plan.

Fingers crossed!

Not a great week for the training plan with a busy start back to work, but at least I managed to get out and complete a 90 minute run today (about 11 miles).  The weather was slightly warmer too which was a bonus.  The weekend long run is about getting the miles under the belt, teaching the body systems to burn fat and practising all of the pre-, mid- and post-run strategies.  For me this includes:

·         Preparing pre-run drink

·         Eating slow-burning breakfast at least an hour and a half before starting

·         Vaseline on key areas to prevent chaffing

·         Anti-blister stuff on feet

·         Heart rate monitor around chest and watch on wrist

·         Parkinson’s wrist band on (to remind me of why I’m doing the run when it gets painful)

Clothing

·         Lycra shorts and leggings

·         Running socks

·         Long-sleeved Helly Hanson ‘wickable’ base layer

·         T-shirt (‘wickable’)

·         Breathable and wind-proof top

·         Running trainers bought at a specialist shop that are best suited to my running style and pronating foot action

·         Hat and gloves

Then it is on with the i-pod, usually set to Ministry of Sound Anthems as it has a good tempo to keep me going.  I take a drink bottle with me if I’m doing over an hour and a sports gel if running for 90 minutes or more.  The latter attaches to a running belt which can also carry my key and an inhaler.

Once home it is a case of replacing stores that have been depleted during the run.  I have a post-race drink mix (different from the pre-race one) and usually some malt loaf.  For me it is important to eat within an hour but nothing more substantial than a sandwich.

What a palaver!   But many of these preparations will be required on the day so it is better to get accustomed to as many of them as I can. 

Thanks for your support thus far.

With all of the tiredness and disruption of the end of term, as well as the impending calorie overload of the Christmas period, it was really important to get a decent run in today.  I’d had a gym session yesterday and plan another one for tomorrow, but nothing can replace time spent on the road. 

I decided to do a ‘no tech’ 6 miles (10K).  There’s a route from my house that I know is 6 miles out and back and I wanted to do it without ipod, heart rate monitor or stopwatch.  I wanted to hear my breathing, hear my cadence (stride rate) and take in the sights and sounds of the countryside without worrying about times and intensity of the training.  There will be plenty of time for that as the training increases, so today was about enjoyment, relaxation and running for the joy of being able to. 

And it felt good!  Hardly any cars on the road either which helped as this run follows quite a winding route.  Still quite chilly but nothing like the extreme cold that is sure to come later.  Having said that, I read an article yesterday about James Cracknell and his team’s forthcoming attempt to win a 430 nautical mile race to the South Pole.  “They will have to haul 70kg sledges over the ice in temperatures of -40C somewhere in the middle of Antarctica”.  For 30 days!  So whatever weather or hardships come my way over the next month or so it will be nothing compared to what those guys will be going though.  Those thoughts cheered me up along the way today.

I would just like to thank Mr Betts for putting the photo up on the plasma screens for me and for all of you at BRCC who have already spoken to me about the marathon.  Some of you have said that you have parents who have done it before, or that you want to run it yourself one day.  Obviously a few of you have also given me some stick for the hat I’m wearing in the photo, but I was glad of that hat again today.  As this blog develops I’ll add in some links for those of you who want to add some running into your lives.  There’s plenty of events and challenges out there that just give that extra bit of motivation to training etc. 

Thanks for your support thus far.