Post marathon gang stuff

Day 121 Monday 30th April 3 miles : miles to date 800.4 All Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers need to take a leaf out of my wife's book on how to promote your running club, based on tonight's effort from her. My lad was taking part in an athletics event at Bedford Stadium and as she arrived there were hundreds of harriers waiting outside. Out she strode bold as brass right through them, proudly wearing one of her two bright red AFF hoodies (one for training and one for wearing). The way she tells it, a scene from the Warriors springs to mind. One lone solitary member of the red gang, striding through the massed ranks of the yellow gang, waiting for the inevitable confrontation. It seems whispers and stares were the order of the day, with her boldness vanquishing any thoughts of a stand off. Or they just didn't see her? As for the run, I have managed to pick up a calf strain in my left leg in my sleep overnight. I wouldn't normally have run, but I cant let the streak down particularly as I am one day off exactly one third of the year in. As a result I took it very easy and went at a snails pace around the forest centre, where I bumped into Katie Ruditis at the end just as she was going for a sneeky Monday run. My marathon problems have started to retreat, although it was with some satisfaction that I pointed out to Fi earlier that the jar of Sudacrem I have carried around for the last eighteen months in my bag, finally became useful. Now all I need to find a use for is that tub of brylcream. Any suggestions?

Milton Keynes marathon

Day 120 Sunday 29th April 26.2 miles : miles to date 797.4

Is it possible to have a nightmare marathon and get a 3.23 PB? Is it possible to run the first half in around 1.47 and then the second half in 1.36, picking up a half marathon Pb on the way? Mmm, yes. I had a shocking first half in today's first running of Milton Keynes marathon. The weather was truly awful. The wind had been howling all night and the rain had been incessant for the previous 24 hours. The course was flooded in many parts and we spent most of the race saturated, but none of that was the problem. What was I hear you ask? A three week out of date egg that Fi kindly stuck in a sarnie for me on Friday lunchtime.
The first warning signs appeared through the night into the early hours on Friday, with three trips to the little boys room. Saturday was an endless walk back and forth, with numerous diarrhea tablets being ingested. Race morning beckoned with a tummy that sounded like a witches cauldron brewing and nothing more than I could do than cross my fingers.
The first of my seven stops in the first half came around the four mile mark for a wee, followed by a shoe lace calamity not long after. The trots then essentially exploded at around the six mile mark and all I could do was stand still, cross my legs and hold my breath. It didn't work. Within a mile, I was decorating the side of a fir tree and hoping that wet grass wouldn't chaff. For the record, it doesn't. By the halfway mark, I had stopped seven times, two for tummy related issues, two for shoelaces and three for a wee. I decided that my race fueling strategy of chocolate covered raisins and mars bars wasn't working (honestly that was the race fuel of choice. Go figure?). I decided to not at for the second half and just drink. It worked. I did stop for a pee once, but compared with the first half no problem. I then just got quicker. I covered the second half in a little over 1.36 and for the first time ever, just did not count the miles down in a bad way from 20 on. I just ran them, kept it steady, passed hundreds of peeps as I knew I would and mullered the last three miles in particular, running them without doubt the quickest I have ever run the last three miles of a marathon.
PB by over 3 minutes and I am a bit gutted. I have never finished a marathon so strong. Without all those stops in the first half, I would have been closer to the magic stepping stone and springboard of 3.15. On a clear day without the trots, I would have had it today, so I shall take that as a positive, before the real marathon training plan starts on the 18th June. Need to rest now before next weekends 40 miler, which might be a tad slower.
Few shout outs. Well done Neale Else on a great first marathon, Carolyn O'Connor on a fab time, Fi for warming me up at the end and Francesca Hardwick for holding my bag when I was so cold I couldnt hold my hand still. Also to Paul Farmer and Kara, Liz Kirtley, Shaun Kirtley, Jody Buczynski and all the other Flyers out there in such torrid conditions. It was great to see you all, especially as I didn't see my wife once as she was supporting some other bloke. Charming.

Day 119 Saturday 28th April 3.4 miles : miles to date 771.2 Marathon or ultra number 48 lined up for tomorrow in Milton Keynes and the weather forecast is atrocious. As it is so close, there are loads of peeps from running club doing it, so will be great to see a few friendly faces, below zipped up hoodies I expect. I have to give a big shout out to two non club runners who are also joining the dark side. Neale Else has come a huge way in a very short space of time in his running career and is running his first full marathon, with only a few half's under his belt. Carolyn O'Connor is running only her second I think and has picked what could be a good one. Tremendous respect from me to both and I just hope they can enjoy the day whatever the weather. And the beer or vino that flows after. Having run so many, I just don't get nerves anymore. Its not a showing off type thing, but rather a statement of fact. In lots of ways, I miss everything they are both going through tonight and as soon as they wake up in the morning. The nerves, the excitement, the buzz, the sense of anticipation and the whole newness of the event are part and parcel of the day. The loss of some or all of that does in part detract from the event for me and I do miss it. So, my advice to both is try to hold on and remember it all before you get jaded, angry, old and pathetic like me. Mmm, ok, that was a bit harsh, but the point is I hope they soak it all in. That having been said, I am in part experiencing part of the same feelings. Without trying to be too indelicate and going back to No.2 jokes, a very dodgy egg yesterday led to 3 visits to the little boys room in the night and around six today. Unfortunately this is no joke. The big D has struck and I am not entirely sure how I will make it around tomorrow, given the lack of fields and hedge grows. I might be posting on Sunday from a cell for public order offences!

Day 118 Friday 27th April 3 miles : miles to date 771.2 Tonight's run involved lots of scouts, a lake, rain and three children wanting a McDonalds, two of whom weren't mine. It was my turn to help out with the Scouts and it happened to coincide with their fitness challenge. The other adult running was William Shippin, who is also running MK on Sunday. He told me what time he was aiming for, so I let him be the lead runner and I took the role of race sweeper. The last time I started a race at the very back was St. Albans half marathon a number of years ago, before I started using marathons as training runs. There were a few thousand in that race and it was quite weird to start at the back ( I started there to stop me running too fast ). Back there, peeps were walking from the off so I proceeded through the field. There were some similarities tonight. I was at the back, after the first third of a mile we were walking and by the end I smelt the same. The watch said 4.6 miles, but I walked a bit, ran a bit and so on with the Scouts and Scoutesses so I'm only going to claim the basic three miles in the total. After such an effort, I'm blowing out the SMC in the morning and having a lay in. I hope to get up for lunch, given I cant cut the grass in the current drought we are, which has led to the lawn being water logged. I'll save the wetness for Sundays race in the rain and no doubt hail stones. Don't you just love the UK's weather.

Cake. Yeahhhh

Day 117 Thursday 26th April 3.1 miles : miles to date 768.2 After last nights over exertion, I settled for a much slower run around my old village. I lived there for five years and never once ran any of the trails, as I wasn't a runner then. Since moving, I have run around and through the place many times although I was still able to find a section I had not been down before. The Cardington Airship hangers were on the horizon and as always, were a magnificent sight as I ran towards them. The first ship to come out of the Cardington airship facility was the R31 in around 1918 and they look pretty much the same now as they did in the old black and white pictures. They are used for things like filming scenes for Batman films and Take That rehearsals (they are apparently a boy band of some description which haven't made my i-pod long play music thingy machine. No spandex, no likey). Time to prepare for MK marathon me thinks. I am sure I spied a big cake just now in the kitchen. Carbo load? Pah, gimme short stay sugar rush anytime. Yep, my money is definitely on me blowing up at 20 miles...

Was that a marathon pace run? Mmm, no.

Day 116 Wednesday 25th April 5.1 miles : miles to date 765.1 I am a little concerned that today's news of a double dip recession has been caused by my substantial reduction in the use of vaseline which has led to a drop in sale's and by extension manufacturing. It seems I have lost a bit of weight with this running lark and my former Ernie Wise legs, are slightly less fat, albeit they are still short and hairy. As a result, I don't need quite need as much friction prevention in the nether reasons. It seems the increased water bill charges have been off set by this saving. As for tonight's run, I thought I would try to run 5 miles at marathon pace around the forest centre. I set off trying to find an 8 minute mile pace and then ran past another runner going in the opposite direction looking good. Grrrr. I cant help myself at times. I decided to pick up the pace so that when I went past him at the halfway point of the loop I was at least level and having done so, I pushed it on whilst telling myself to stop being a numpty and slow down. I ended up averaging 7 minutes 29 seconds, which at least told me I am not fit enough to run at that pace all the way on Sunday and to stick to a rough 3.30 plan, but not be too worried if I slip down to 3.45. I keep on trying to convince myself its a training run for next months ultra, so maybe a blow out at 18 miles this weekend is what I need??

Day 115 Tuesday 24th April 5.8 miles : miles to date 760 Fi phoned me at work and said she fancied a run. I told her I would be home in fifty minutes and get her kit on. I'm not sure I can recall saying that before. Be that as it may, I came rushing home to find a family meal being prepared and my planned early doors run being postponed for a few hours. We eventually headed over the fields for what turned out to be a bit of a muddy run despite the apparent drought that the UK is experiencing. I had suggested four separate routes and eventually Fi chose her own. With MK marathon coming up this weekend and the after effects of the rugby tour still in evidence, I was quite happy to give the club speed session a miss. Still, I'm not entirely sure its a good idea to go on a diet in a marathon week, but I certainly need to cut down over the next few days as I feel bloated. I dislike starting runs feeling that way and whilst I hardly ever carbo load these days, if I decide to do so this week I'll be the size of a house by the time I toe the start line on Sunday. Time to go and sniff a piece of ham...

Day 114 Monday 23rd April 3 miles : miles to date 754.2

If you can recall the marshmallow man from Ghostbuster's, you will have some idea about how I felt running around the streets tonight. After the weekends rugby tour excesses, I spent the entire day feeling very dehydrated and at the same time bloated from the total lack of anything healthy to eat whilst away. I managed to squeeze into my shorts just about and did a basic and not overly exciting lap of the village. I couldn't quite make up my mind whether it was the belly, achilles ache or wheeze that was annoying me most. I managed to take my mind off all of the niggles though, by contemplating how the weekends beverage and food intake is likely to contribute to me blowing up before the end of next weekends race. I played a fun game in my mind trying to work out if I am going to blow at 18-20 or 20-22 miles of the pending MK marathon. Luckily, that's a whole six days away and on top of the unconventional weekend's training plan, I have another six days of running as well. I'm not sure any marathon training manuals will recommend that sort of plan, followed by a forty mile race the weekend after. Time me thinks, to get my running head back on and knuckle down to a few weeks of decent training, given the John Bunyan run is not that far away now.

On tooour

Day 111 Friday 20th April 3.1 miles : miles to date 743.1 Due to a really heavy work day, I just could not run before departing for Dorset on a rugby tour. The first can's of beer were passed around before the coach had left, followed by a number of others and port. Three hours later, we arrived at our luxury (ahem) chalets in the dark, where I proceeded to drop the lads off and head into the darkness on road, with no head torch, reflective gear or map, and no idea where I was going or how to get back. I was joined by David Morley and we wound our way around the lanes and even managed to get back. We re-hydrated with some Welsh wine, before I spent the rest of the night getting to know one of the other dads very well, as we had to share a small pull out sofa bed that dipped in the middle with no duvet. Day 112 Saturday 21st April 5.2 miles: miles to date 748.2 A great run along the coast after a few beers, with my new house mate. Took it easy and just enjoyed the views. So many things happened today, impossible to know where to start. The boys played fantastic rugby, winning 89-7 which put everyone in a great mood. Day 113 Sunday 22nd April 3 miles : miles to date 751.2 Came home, fell asleep, woke up and grumpily ran three miles very slowly vowing to get back to treating the body a bit more carefully. Right, I need a cup of tea!

Ladies and Gentlemen I present walMart....

Day 110 Thursday 19th April 12.6 miles : miles to date 740 A lighter week of running in mileage terms for me this week, meant I put in an extra four miles before tonight's club cross country tempo session. The usual suspects were present on my return to the meeting point and off we shot heading for a fairly long although not too steep climb by the side of the Millbrook testing track. The first section winds its way upwards and whilst it is gradual, it does go on for a bit and the burn can be felt as we climb. Towards the end, its a sharp right and up a very steep but small section, with a slightly longer climb a tad further on. I have been known to walk this section, but tonight I felt surprising good and kept a steady pace up to the top. At that point I spied two of the chaps in front, one of whom has been mentioned twice by me this week already. I cant name him again, as he might think I am stalking him. Lets just call him walMart. Anyway, I pressed the gas a tad and slipped by the first and settled onto the shoulder of walMart, who took that as a signal to speed up. I managed to stay with him, although when we began catching the whippets (where he should have been), I was doing all I could to hang on. A half mile further on and I had to slow a touch and found myself betwix and between the two groups that had developed. I tried to stay within sight of the whippets as we climbed another hill to reach the outskirts of the new Centre Parc development, but lost them as they dived into the woods. I was later to find out that they and the group behind me turned left in the woods and I turned right, which meant a very, very muddy and quite last two miles back for me from whence we came. Another top session in the bag, albeit with half of Centre Parcs mud splattered all over me.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Mr. Beare..

Day 109 Wednesday 18th April 3 miles : miles to date 727.4 A long day at work followed by a 5pm meeting, traffic, rain, no lunch and a general lack of time tonight meant I had no option other than to bang in a limited trot around the village. Nothing major to report, which is a surprise in itself and probably a first for me, as I almost always see something that makes me glad I got out on the road or trail. Still, another one in the bag. Not sure I like this not being able to be positive about anything? Ah, hang on, I shall add to the well deserved chorus of congratulations directed towards Martin Beare who has been selected for the second year in a row to represent GB in the Triathlon World Championships in Spain. Perhaps more importantly, Martin has made it into this blog for the second time in three days, which I think is a record. Well done Mart on both honours.

Day 108 Tuesday 17th April 4.3 miles : miles to date 724.4 This running lark can hurt sometimes. I am trying to find a balance between training for around a 78-80 mile fun run next month (its not a race and I'm doing it with my mates for a laugh), with retaining some speed in the legs, speed being a relative term of course. Training for the last two hundred mile races, has seen me develop buckets loads of endurance with my miles per minute pace dropping to a dawdle. Given my sixteen week fast marathon plan starts 3 weeks after the JB run, I am trying to build in some pre training schedule speed work so that I am not starting from a point too far behind where I need to be. That's why I now find myself tagging onto the back of the fast group on Tuesday club speed sessions as I did tonight, despite the coach Richard Jones clearly wanting to point out that I was in the wrong group. Luckily for me, he asked Jeremy Lewis to lead the middle group and when he said he was going with the faster one, then asked him if he would like a map to find his way back. I tried to avoid his eye at this point for fear of a similar put down. Quite frankly, I have decided to go for more of the I am going to throw up feeling. For most ultra-teers, that is not a normal experience. Tiredness, lethargy, blisters, lost toenails and a difficulty in standing after checkpoints are the norm, not watch out its chunder time. I have had a major attitude transplant. To be able to run fast, you have to train fast, albeit I gather you tend to keep more toenails so there is a hidden benefit. Tonight's session was run hard for three minutes, 90 seconds recovery and then back again. After another brief break, repeat two more times on what was a hilly cross country course. The legs were burning by the fifth outward effort, by which time I was around the middle of the group at the final rest point. We turned and came back for the final lung burning uphill leg, where I caught and passed a few of the lads. I then found myself leading the fast group back for what seemed like an eternity but what was probably thirty seconds. The pressure was immense as I strode on knowing the whippets would soon be shooting past, having started their effort further away. I tired to ignore the gagging feeling rising from the depths of my stomach and the screams in my head to stop, telling myself I was having fun and I wanted to get faster. Sure enough, a number did go past but that's not the point. I ran as hard as I could for those final few efforts and the reality is I just would not have done that if I had not been at a running club speed session. Unless I am racing a rower or a bus, neither of which were on hand in Ampthill Park. Go figure?

Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers 10k Photo's 2012 race

 Phil Holland the winner of the race at the 3k point 

The Race