Let the training commence!

I wanted to blog last weekend but life got in the way, which means I've had two weeks of mixed fortunes but ultimately ending on a high. 

Week One
Monday 28 April Sweatshop Community Run turned out to be a crucial day in my preparation for Brighton Marathon 2015. First I met a running legend - Wendy Sly who won silver in the women's 3000 meters in LA 1984. It was the race made famous by Zola Budd and Mary Decker. Wendy was lovely and shared running stories as well as letting a bunch of sweaty, post 5k runners manhandle her medal. 

But it was who she was with that made the biggest impact that night - I met my first running coach (in the flesh, there are loads of you on Twitter) from RunFit a local outfit that provide advice, courses and general good stuff to runners across Kent and elsewhere. I was chatting about my running and that I had entered Brighton (did I mention yet I'm running a marathon?!) and he said quite simply "start training now". Clearly I looked slightly bemused and he explained that most people leave it till the usual 18 week plan but that actually if I just start increasing my miles from now to 12/15 in my long run then it will make all the difference. He went on to say that then all I'd need to do is work on my speed (ha ha how I laughed at that) but his words stuck in my mind. Don't leave it too late, it will be harder in winter and post-Christmas so get the miles going now. 

So, last Sunday with Ian's words ringing in my ears I set about my long run along the tow path. I had a target in mind - I wanted to run 10 miles again (something I hadn't done since my first 10 mile race on Good Friday). I wasn't worried about time and I had my new water bottle belt to make sure I didn't let thirst get between me and the distance. I even had tissue, to either wipe the SIS gel from my face or use for any emergency stops. 

This time I didn't get the weather wrong and wore the right clothing, had my headphones as fancied music and was going without my Garmin as it was still at the UPS office having been thrown across the kitchen by my wife and sent away for repair. 

All that led to a pretty epic run - everything worked a treat, I even paused to do my first ever UKrunchat moment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I3JhlDvWMQ) and I didn't get thrown when my Nike+ app had a complete mental breakdown and stopped working. (The kind of thing that would have thrown me completely a few weeks ago). But more importantly I just kept running. The legs felt strong, I felt wonderful and although it wasn't fast I smashed out 11 miles in 1hr 48 minutes. Best thing was I felt like I could have run on and my Royal Parks Half in October holds little fear. What a way to end the week and start my road to Brighton....

Week Two
After such an epic week I had wonderful words of advice for my blog all prepared, I was a week away from my next race and it was a bank holiday weekend. Life was great. Running life was better. Then on Monday I felt absolutely awful, sick to my stomach - was it the long run or was it something else? Who knows, but it signalled the start to a week I'd rather forget. 

Long working hours, high stress, intense food and chocolate consumption and dare I say terrible PMT (sorry anyone who likes poo blogs but not period blogs!) So as soon as my high hit I was in a real running slump. I did get my Garmin back like a long lost friend but I didn't run all week, no SRC - nothing to give me my mojo back. Till Friday when I realised that the 9 May was exactly one year since I'd ventured outside to run for the very first time! 

I remember it so clearly, I'd run on the treadmill at the gym a few times and people had started to say "try outside it's so different". So at 6.06am I set off on my normal morning walk around the park with a plan to run in the middle. I had my old walking app going and when I got to the part of the park that is fairly flat off I set. I did a 2.18 mile route in 30:09. So in celebration on Friday I got up early for a change, put my running gear on and this time ran from my front door as I always do now. Same route with happy memories of my burning lungs, the struggle up the small hills, the fact I carried a water bottle back then. I did the 2.18 mile route in 19:28 with my fastest ever kilometre and mile at the beginning! Woohoo I was back!

And to today - the latest race in my desire to collect medals (if only someone had told me this happened I'd have started running years ago) - Larkfield 10k. Not the best prep as I had an unfortunate incident with a red-hot-straight-out-the-oven mini-sausage roll yesterday afternoon which has left me slightly scarred but I figured I'd set off and see how I felt. 

Fact is turns out I felt GREAT! Running without my Garmin for a couple of weeks has helped my pacing but with her back on my wrist and with the knowledge that if I stuck on Tim Carr's heals I'd set a good time (thanks Tim).  The fact at 5k I was still with him and had run it in 28 minutes and felt good I knew that beating my personal best of 56:06 was on. As the finish came in sight and I saw the clock ticking through 56:02, 03, I started to panic - set off my now obligatory sprint finish - crossed the line with a look of huge disappointment (won't be posting those photos) and then remembered GUN TIME! Finish time on my chip 55:48 - I'm in the 55s?!!!

Which all adds up to a few simple lessons:
Whether I like it or not I'm now officially training for a marathon. 
There are good weeks and bad weeks. 
The bad weeks really aren't that bad. 
I'm never going to be able to give up chocolate!

Oh and best news of all - seems my wife is picking up the running bug and knocking parkrun PBs off to boot!