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! 

Things I've learnt this weekend...

London Marathon weekend is always a special one, I've watched the race a couple of times in person and pretty regularly on the TV. But I've never watched it before as a runner. And a runner surrounded by other runners. But that's not where my learning this weekend started, I need to go back to Friday night. 

Friday night is Sweatshop Running Community 10k night and this Friday it was my turn to bring cake. I'd stayed up late on Thursday frantically watching the oven hoping my peanut butter cookies would come out okay, but safely knowing the rocky road in the fridge would prevent a disaster if they didn't. As it was they all turned out well and I'm reliably informed tasted great. 

But Friday didn't teach me I can cook - no, it reminded me of what I never expected to discover when I first went to SRC - a community. This Friday my usual running buddy was injured so I ran mostly on my own, it didn't matter and I still got to within 5 seconds of my 10k personal best. I was cheered as I finished and that wasn't just because they were all eating my offerings. The support you get from being part of something like SRC is amazing. We compare times, we talk about how it felt to run and we laugh - a lot. When I first went I thought I'd turn up run and go home. Now when I run 5k the runs are shorter in length than the time spent chatting at the end! 

The same is also true of parkrun - I resisted joining the parkrun movement for sometime. Saturday's were gym day. I had no time for this 5k run, thinking it was competitive, serious and super scary. As I'm learning I've got this running thing all wrong as it is none of those things. And yesterday was Maidstone Parkrun's 1st birthday and a fancy dress run. What made it super special was my wife decided to run as well and for the first time was happy for me to run with her. So I took a gentle run along the riverbank, tweeting and taking photos as I went dressed in a jesters hat (NOT an ice-cream hat....more of that in a future blog!). I didn't get a personal best (that stays at 27:03) - what I got was a reminder that running is about different experiences and what you want to make of it. One run can be about times, or distance or personal bests and this is important and fun but equally the runs about friendship, support and having a laugh can give as much in return. 

So today - Sunday 13 April 2014, London marathon day - but also a calendar year until the 9am start of Brighton Marathon 2015. I've got a 10 mile race on Good Friday and knew I needed one last longish run (for me!) to give me confidence. So as the BBC coverage started with that amazing music I was pulling on my running gear. Certainly something that has never happened before. I managed an 8 mile run along the river bank, felt good and am sure race day will be okay. Bit scared of that unknown 2 miles but I'm sure the fact I'm racing and a medal waits at the end will spur me on. 

As I was running today though I learnt some pretty important things - the first was when attempting to take a sports gel for the first time do not open it with your teeth. I have very weak hands (can't even get tampon wrappers off easily) and the bloody thing wouldn't open. So aha, use my teeth thought I? Quite glad no one was around to see said pack jet squirt into my eye and all down my face. Damn that stuff is sticky! But I learnt I can laugh and run pretty well!!

And I LOVED my run today - I know I've got a long way to go to be ready for my October Half, never mind Brighton in a year. But I feel ready. I feel strong. I feel fit. I've never felt fit. I used to feel fat, tired, unhappy. But today as I ran I thought how far I've come and how great running makes you feel. It hurts (a lot) but when it's going well it just feels great. And then I get to share that feeling with others who can relate and don't think you're crazy - be they SRC'rs, parkrunners or UKRunChat Tweeters! 

So as I watched the highlights of the London Marathon for the first time I realistically thought - "I could do that", then realised "I will do that!" - but best practise opening those gels a bit more first....

The day it all changed...

Well I think that's today and what a day it's been! Who knew that the 8 April 2014 would become one of those days I may never forget?

After all I've had some pretty big days in my life, the day I left for university, the day I graduated, the day I got my first "proper" job, the day I met my future wife and the date of our civil partnership, the day I got Cagney and Lacey my cats, the day I realised I needed to lose weight and the day I hit losing 7 stone. 

Oh and there is 9 May 2013 - the day I first ever ran outside (unless you count school), it was 6.08am as I was terrified someone may see me. I'd run on a treadmill but everyone had said "do it outside, it's so different and so much better". Was it? Not really. I was convinced I would die as the air burned into my lungs. But I didn't let that stop me and just a few days I later I had another big day, turning 40 and my wife gave me a fabulous Garmin watch so running outside now had a gadget to entice me. 

By September I had discovered the Sweatshop Running Community, joining my local Maidstone group and getting that all important Yellow Army t-shirt. And by November I was finally convinced that a parkrun instead of the Saturday morning trip to the gym would be a good thing. (I no longer have my gym membership - not needed!)

A big day in December as I ran my first race - 5 miles in the Kent Christmas Cracker, I've done a 10k now and am entered in to several more - including a terrifying Royal Parks Half in October. 

Then in December, or was it January, not sure but it doesn't really matter I came across UKrunchat on Twitter. A fabulous, crazy, supportive, funny, fast and friendly running community. 

And those are the pieces of the jigsaw which has brought me right up to today and finding myself entered into the Brighton Marathon on 12 April 2015.

It's beyond anything I ever imagined being able to do or even contemplate doing. What I've learnt through running is there really is no such thing as never. Barriers I put up have been knocked down, preconceptions I had have been overturned and now I'm going to train for and run a marathon. 

So things have changed for me - I can't go back and share the journey to here, but I can and will share with you the journey to come!