Two days to go !

Did my final training run today -  a 3 mile circuit at lunchtime along the Thames from Blackfriars Bridge to Westminster, following some intervals last night at Dulwich and another lunchtime run earlier in the week.

So, Monday is race day, and time for some targets / hopes:

1. Finish, run all the way, smile and have fun !
2. Beat last year's time in this race: 54:19 (8:46 minute miles)
3. Beat my 10k PB: 53:33 (8:38 minute miles)
4. Beat 52minutes (8:23 minute miles)
5. My brother to have a good run and beat his PB

I'm looking forward to the race - not feeling as fit as I'd like to be but I'll do my best and try to make up for my disappointing marathon time.

This week's runs bring my mileage for May to 76.2 and my total for the year to 453.06.

Running the course

I've started a new assignment at work in central London and managed to get out for a lunchtime run this week for the first time - a nice chance to run along Embankment to Tower Bridge and back, including some of the route of the BUPA London 10000 which is only 2 weeks away now.

I've also been out running at Dulwich in the evenings a couple of times lately, now that the days are longer and the park is open until 8:30pm. It's a nice way to wind down after work. This week I did ten 400metre intervals with 400 metre jogs in between. I ran the intervals at an average of around 7:50 minutes/mile pace, which if I could manage it for the whole 10k would get me around in  48minutes 34seconds. I think aiming for 52 minutes, or 8:23 minutes/mile is probably more realistic.

My training for the 10k has been going pretty well. I guess non-runners might think that having run a marathon I should be in tip-top shape to run a quarter of the distance, but it's not that simple. Marathon training is more about long slow runs and building up strength and stamina rather than speed, and I think I was probably in better shape for a 10k this time last year. However I had a good run at Greenwich today when I ran up the hill three times, for the first time in ages, and the interval training has been going well, so hopefully by race day I'll be in with a good chance of running a PB.

This week I was the happy recipient of a couple of new running shirts from CLIC Sargent and Practical Action - thanks Ceris and Michaela !

A total of 22 miles run this week, bringing my total for May to 43 miles, and for the year to 420 miles.

Intervals

Back from a very nice holiday in the Alps where we didn't do any running but did a fair amount of walking, eating and drinking.

And back to a new training plan for the BUPA London 10000 which is less than four weeks away now. Very strange to be thinking about running a short fast race, after spending the last six months thinking about running a slow long one, but that's the nature of the next challenge.

On Bank Holiday Monday I got back into the swing of things with five laps of Dulwich, followed on Thursday evening by a bit of interval training consisting of 9x400 metre "sprints" separated by slow jogging.

Intervals are a great way to improve your speed for shorter races but the attraction starts to wear off a bit as fatigue sets in towards the end. However I managed all 9 intervals at a decent pace (around 8:15 mile pace for each one) so I was quite pleased with my progress after 3 weeks off.

Today wasn't quite so satisfactory - I planned to do 6 miles in Greenwich but after about a lap and a half I felt bloated and sluggish and ground to a halt. I started running again and managed a short lap of just over a mile on the top level for a total of 4.5 miles for the two runs. Not sure why I felt so sluggish - maybe the 3 weeks off were something to do with it, or maybe I set off a little too fast, or maybe I'm just not used to running up that hill in Greenwich any more. Anyway, I'll have another go at 6 miles in Dulwich tomorrow, hopefully that will work out better.

In preparation for the BUPA 10k I wore my CLIC Sargent T-shirt for the first time. Nice to be able to show my support for the other charity I'm fundraising for this year, as I will be on race day.

My total for the year is approaching 400 miles now: 391.67 miles gone. In spite of my post-marathon holiday I'm still on schedule with the challenge.

First day back...

I did say I wasn't going to start running again until after Easter but a very sunny Good Friday was too tempting to resist and I went for a sneaky wee jog around Dulwich. I'd intended to do 6 laps but wasn't feeling too great so called it a day after 4.5 miles.

Not the most inspiring return after the marathon but it was good to get the legs moving again and I'm sure when I get back running regularly everything will fall into place.

After a week's holiday (and I won't be taking my shoes, to avoid temptation) I'll be focusing on the BUPA London 10000 at the end of May. One of the nice things about having run a marathon recently is that 10km is going to feel like a short sprint in comparison. Or at least that's the theory.

So, next run will be on Monday 2nd May: 5 miles according to my new training plan...

Virgin London Marathon

Still no running for me since Brighton, but today we were in London supporting my brother-in-law as he also became a marathoner, completing the race in 4h15, a fantastic run in hot conditions.

We watched in Surrey Quays / Rotherhithe and Shadwell at the 9,11 and 13/22 mile marks and managed to spot him all three times (mainly thanks to his orange cap !). The London Marathon is such a fantastic occasion - enormous support from the crowds, great atmosphere and everyone joins in the spirit of the day - for example the church in Rotherhithe which throws open its doors to marathon spectators serving tea and drinks and offering free toilets.

While I was glad not to be running today I've not been entirely idle on the 1000 mile challenge front, and have signed up for the New Forest Half in September. I did this run last year and thoroughly enjoyed it so we are all heading back there for a second round. And if Practical Action still have some places, I'm hoping to do the Royal Parks Half a couple of weeks later to round off my races for the year.

Having been a bit disappointed with my showing in Brighton, I'm hoping to post some faster times in the other races to make up for it.

I'm a marathoner !

Well, sometime around 2pm on Sunday I crossed the finish line of the 2011 Brighton marathon. My race really didn't go to plan at all, and my time was at least 20 minutes slower than I hoped but since the weather was unseasonably hot - 20 degrees is pretty unusual for early April in England - overall, I'm very happy with the outcome, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

We travelled down to Brighton on Saturday afternoon, arriving around 4pm, giving us time to settle into our hotel which was nicely located midway between the start in Preston Park and the finish on the seafront. An early dinner - more pasta - in the Lanes and then back to the hotel for a few final preparations before an early night.

Up at 7am for breakfast in the room - rice krispies, fruit yoghurt, orange juice and tea for me, porridge for Sophie - a last check we had all our stuff and off to the start which was a 20 minute walk away along London Road, the barriers already in place for the race. Into the park at about 8:10 and noting the queues for the toilets we made our way up to the baggage trailers to drop off our bags.

A common complaint about the 2010 race was the lack of toilets and I understand more were provided this time but there were still long queues at 08:45 as we made our way down to the start, so maybe the organisers need to up the numbers again next year.

After a bit of a communications breakdown with phone numbers I bumped into Ben, the other Practical Action fundraiser running at Brighton, and it was nice to have a quick chat and grab a photo before he headed off to run with his friends.

Sophie and I were in a starting corral close to the back (even though I had entered an expected time of 4:30 the 5:00 pacer was some way in front of us, so I guess a lot of people were over-optimistic about their times) so it took us more than 10 minutes to reach the start after Steve Cram had fired the gun to get the race underway. But finally, we were off ! I wished Sophie luck and we headed off into the early Brighton sun.

The course initially took us on a lap of the park, up a hill almost immediately which took many runners by surprise although having done my research I knew it was coming and took it steadily. On the downhill stretch I tried to just let go and gather some speed to gain a few easy early seconds but the route was still a little too crowded and I ended up dodging quite a few people and getting baulked several times so in the end I decided to just slow down and pick my way around people as I could.

The first few miles took us down London Road and around The Levels close to Brighton Pavilion. I had already decided that given the weather forecast I wasn't going to fall victim to dehydration, and drank a full 300ml bottle at the first water station at the 3 mile mark, (and repeated this every 3 miles until around 22 miles). Turning onto St James Street and climbing up through Kemptown towards the clifftop road out of Brighton, I was averaging 10 minute miles and, in spite of the constant gradual incline I felt pretty comfortable.

Having seen the 2010 course profile, I was prepared for the steep hill at around the 8 mile mark climbing up into Ovingdean and, although my left Achilles was twinging a bit, I still felt good and looked on target for a 4:30 finish. From 9 miles I knew the remainder of the course was downhill or level and, although I knew the last 10km would be a struggle, I felt I could probably gain a few minutes on the downhill stretch back into Brighton.

But I don't know if the wind dropped, or if the temperature rose as the time moved towards midday, or I wasn't as prepared for the gentle hills as I should have been but in spite of sticking pretty rigidly to my water and fuel regime, I was starting to find it quite hard going and as I passed the half-way mark on the Brighton seafront in 2h13 I didn't feel nearly as comfortable.

Turning off the seafront onto Grand Avenue and round the corner into Hove, my calves really started to tighten up and as I approached 15 miles I decided to stop and walk through the water station. While this helped me down the water more comfortably, as several marathon runners told me before the race -" whatever you do don't stop running - it's really hard to get going again !", and each time I started running again my legs would be ok for a while but then they would really start to stiffen up - first my calves, then my hamstrings, then the muscles on the inside of the thighs (abductors?) to the point where they felt like they might cramp.

So before too long I realised that I was probably not going to be able to run all of the rest of the race and that if I was going to walk at times I should at least try to do it according to a plan (perhaps I "gave in" too early in retrospect, but that's easy to say in retrospect). So from about 17 miles I aimed to run to the next mile marker or water station, walk for a couple of minutes, then run to the next mile marker etc. And I did that pretty much all the way along the seafront to the port at Shoreham and back towards Hove where, with around 3 miles to go, I decided I should try to run as much of the rest of the finishing straight as I could.

Fortunately the atmosphere on the finishing straight was FANTASTIC. Crowds lining both sides of the road, cheering everyone on and shouting the names on people's charity t-shirts and vests (in retrospect I wish I'd put my name on mine). And the crowds stayed well into the afternoon even as the runners started to thin out. It made for a real grandstand finish as I gritted my teeth and managed to run what I thought was the last couple of miles but my Garmin tells me was the last 0.8 miles to the finish.

I crossed the line just as the clock ticked past 5 hours since the starting gun, although my Garmin gave my time as 4:48:34, later confirmed by the chip timing system as 4:48:32. So, the second half of the race took 2:35, almost 12 minutes per mile, making my average pace almost exactly 11 minutes per mile.

So... my first marathon. What an experience ! My initial reaction was of disappointment, that I'd missed most of my pre-race targets, and regret that I'd perhaps given up running a little too early.

 Also puzzlement that in spite of following my training plan pretty closely, and doing all the right things during the race, as far as I could tell, my legs simply couldn't handle the distance.

Frustration that the rest of my body was in good shape. Perhaps I should have pushed myself harder. Perhaps I wanted to run a comfortable marathon and wasn't prepared for a struggle. Perhaps I should have done more hill training.

But on further reflection most of these thoughts have been replaced with quiet satisfaction: I've run a marathon, in a respectable time for a novice, on a day when many runners, fitter and better-equipped than me, struggled with the heat and either pulled out, didn't start, or under-performed. And, most importantly, thanks to the generosity of my friends, family and colleagues, I've raised a tidy sum for Practical Action and CLIC Sargent.

While I don't plan to do another marathon this year, I think I will tackle another one in future, hopefully on a cooler day and next time, I'll train better, prepare better, and not give up to "the voices" quite so quickly.

Sophie, once again, showed real determination in her run - she had had a niggling calf injury in the last three weeks and hadn't been able to run, and was seriously considering pulling out. But she decided to give it a go and as I descended the hill at Ovingdean at around 8.5 miles I was delighted to see her running past on the ascent, looking cheerful and running well. And I continued to see her on the other "out and backs" along the course. making slow and steady progress around the course to finish in around 5 hours 20.

Not a personal best for her in time terms but given the heat and her injury, a fantastic performance. And she was the only one of the three of us who ran the whole route.

Sally was also disappointed with her time but without justfication: 4:15 in those conditions was a really great run - better than her faster run at the New Forest last September.

So, now that the marathon's over, a break from running for me until after Easter, when I start training for the BUPA London 10000 coming up at the end of May. And I'll be running that race wearing a CLIC Sargent t-shirt.

Unfortunately as I walked for a fair proportion of the last 9 miles of the marathon, I can't count the whole race towards my 1000 mile target for the year, but the first 17 miles count, and I've added those to the total.

Come on Come on!

I run in Greenwich park pretty much every week and so tend to see the same faces regularly - other runners, dog-walkers, and just locals going for a Saturday morning stroll in the park. There's one elderly lady who is there every week, hunched over a trolley as she hand feeds the squirrels and tries to shoo the pigeons away. She shouts out "come on come on!" to encourage the squirrels as she makes her way around the park - and it's become a bit of a mantra which the four of us who run laps there regularly use to spur each other on.

Perhaps the "Come on Come on" lady will unwittingly help me keep going during this Sunday's marathon. When you're running for four hours there's plenty of time for your mind to wander, and anything which  makes you smile, raises your morale or just stops "the voices" telling you to stop can be pretty helpful.

Having spent much of last week working in Aberdeen, eating a little unhealthily and not running, my eight miles around Greenwich at the weekend was more of a struggle than usual - but I've had a couple of good shorter runs since then and, best of all, my long-standing sore knee seems to be finally healing (or maybe the "taper" in my training is having its effect).

Anyway, with only one more training run to go before the race (I'll probably do a couple of miles around Dulwich tomorrow lunchtime)  I'm feeling in pretty good shape, and all things considered I've followed my training plan pretty well. Just need to avoid any last minute ankle twists and make sure I remember all of the bits and pieces of clothing, food and gear I'll need to make it to the start line on Sunday. (Fingers crossed Sophie will be able to join me on the start line as she has been struggling with a calf problem these last couple of weeks).

Quite a few more people have sponsored me in the last week - thank you very much for your support and generosity - I appreciate it very much, especially those of you who I regularly pester for sponsorship.