Posts Tagged ‘fitness’

Some of you may know that I ran a half-marathon in October. Here, better late than never, is my race report.

I had been training since the beginning of July, with the goal of merely being able to run the 13.1 miles. Also, so that I was targeting my training, I wanted to complete the race in less than 2 hours 30 minutes. At the outset, I struggled running 6 miles, as my first race at Brentwood proved. So just over three months to build up to a half-marathon was quite a challenge.

Those three months turned me from a reluctant runner, only running while I could stay disciplined with my fitness, to a keen runner. A keen runner that is still a beginner.

I had still been struggling with longer distances and stamina, but was a much stronger runner than I was in July, the previous week I had ran another 10k race at Southend, much faster and I finished strongly. So, full of optimism we made our way to Peterborough for the start.

Supporting Alison and I this time was my dad, with his trusty camera, and my cousin Sue from Australia who had been visiting. We knew that the entrant limit was 7000, so I was a little worried about finding a car park with spaces. I shouldn’t have worried, we found a space in the first car park I went to. The weather seemed ideal for a long run – cool, overcast, and slightly miserable with not much threat of rain. Perfect.

We arrived with about 40 minutes to spare before the start, and immediately went in search of the toilets. We found them, along with hundreds of people queueing. There was no prospect that we would get to the front before the race started, and we were just debating options when the tannoy announced that runners should go to the start line. I was getting quite uncomfortable, but after all these months I wasn’t going to allow myself to miss the start, so off we went. I’m glad we missed the hype and circus of the mass warmup though!

It was a bit sad splitting up at the start, dad and Sue went off to the car to dump our coats and bags, and Alison moved nearer to the start line. I hang back quite a way, fully aware of where I fitted. In fact, I was feeling a little out of place, surrounded by thousands of athletic looking runners. So, on my own I waited, and waited, and waited.

This race was by far the largest I had been in, and it was showing. Impossible toilet queues, forming up to start half an hour before the race. I was getting more and more nervous as time crawled on. And I felt more and more out of place.

At last! The start! It was great, I was full of energy and forcing myself to slow down. I had to run 11 minute 20 second miles to hit my self-imposed target, and I was averaging 10m47s until the first water station at around three and a half miles. The atmosphere was fantastic, my pace was keeping me with a bunch of guys and gals dressed in pink tights, wigs and tutus that were collecting money while pushing a chap in a wheelchair. They had loud horns and had a party atmosphere that helped keep me full of energy.

That water station was a relief – not for the water, but for the lone portaloo that had only one person queueing at it. Ahh! A two minute pause, much needed.

The next point of interest was the “motivation mile” around 5 miles in. Loud, motivating music played from a very effective speaker system along the mile, along with some inspirational comments from a presenter pushing us on. I was still maintaining the same pace, and felt I could go all day.

The Course

I was so wrong, and things started to fall apart around mile 9. I started to intersperse my running with some walking, and did that mile in 12m50s – if I could have maintained that pace, I would have still come in ahead of my target, but the running got less and the walking more, and the next three miles were at a consistent 14m00 pace. It was a shame to lose sight of the pink tutus around this time.

I think I would have gone even slower, had I not been rescued. A generous lady saw me struggling about a mile before the end, and stopped to talk. We chatted about running, and I must admit I can’t remember much of the conversation, but we ran and walked together to the finish. The camaraderie and distraction helped me forget my discomfort a bit, and spurred me on to the finish. I discovered her name after reading the race results, so I can say “Thank you, Mim Baczkur”.

The sight of the finish line was even more welcome than the portaloo near the beginning. Everyone was waiting, and I think I managed a strained smile.

Happy?

Going strong

I have a medal now! For a half marathon, and 160 more people followed me over that line. I was impressed by the goodie-bag too – Lucozade Hydroactive, Mars Bar, a banana, the medal, a decent tee-shirt and a bottle of water. It didn’t look impressive in the sponsors carrier bag though!

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I have been running again for a year. It was last September that I decided the only way to lose weight was to start running. With my current lifestyle, gyms were not a real option. Most gyms have lock-in contracts to take advantage of people that start with good intentions and then stop going, and then find out that they can’t get out of the contract! I’ve been there, too. But, with my planned emigration and the fact that my contracting may move me around the country, I couldn’t accept a tie in. I needed something that I could do anywhere, and all you need for running is a pair of trainers and somewhere to clean up after all the sweating!

So, one year ago, I popped on the trainers and started a couch to 5k program. So, where am I now?

Well, right now I am shirking my running and sitting typing this. I have decided that I need a week off, I even ran 3 times per week while on holiday in Australia, and recently have found it getting more difficult. A short break may help.

I am in training for my first half-marathon in October, and am running around 20 miles per week now. My pace is still low, but not as low as it was. I can do a mile in around 9 minutes, 3 miles in around 30 minutes and for longer distances I can maintain around 11:30 per mile. My stamina was my major issue at the Brentwood 10k, and that is still my main issue. Although I have built up to about 10 miles, every yard after 6 miles is torture. On the last two long runs, I floundered at around the 7 mile mark. Alison is pacing me this coming weekend to try and get back on target.

Damn! This sounds all very negative! This is what I should be saying….

• I have lost around 40 pounds in weight.
• I have gone from being able to run for 1 minute, to being able to run for 120 minutes.
• I have gone from being able to run for about 100 meters to around 16000 meters.
• I have increased my speed from 14 minute miles to 9:30 miles (over a short distance, compared from a session in November 2008, to a session in August 2009).
• When I get to my last mile of a long run, I’m thinking “You can do it, it is only 1 mile to go!”, whereas a year a go I couldn’t imagine running 1 mile non-stop again.
• I miss running when I can’t do it.

There! Much better!Share

I started trying to run again in September last year, it was absolutely insane. I was very overweight at the time. Well, not overweight, not even obese, but obese category 2! I really needed to do something, and in a fit of madness chose running.

“Running” was a very loose description of what I was doing. I started by doing a walk/run program. Walking for a couple of minutes and plodding along for a minute. Surprisingly, it was fucking hard work. After doing this for 20 minutes I would be leaning against a lamp post desperately trying to suck in a lungful of air. If my ticker was ready to give up the ghost, that would have been it. I found the program on Runner World – it seemed so easy. It wasn’t. Perhaps, they should have an even easier page titled “Going for Goals for Lard Arses” for people that are at least 5 stones overweight.

After about 6 weeks I was on Week 4 of the program and still every run was a form of medieval torture. At this point a colleague from work decided to join me. He’s considerably younger, and I was very worried that I would be lumbering on behind. In fact, we were well matched, and he’s been a great running buddy.

We completed the program by the beginning of December. Every run was still extremely difficult, and for the next couple of months the improvements were more in how I felt at the end of the run, and not at all in speed or distance. The harsh weather stopped play for a while. Stupid, stupid decision. We should have run in the snow and broken a leg, because of course it became an ongoing excuse not to run. For weeks. (Well, months).

April saw us starting again, knocked back, and pissed off that the hard work had been eroded. Within a few weeks we were back “on form”. Plodding away at the same old pace. The really odd thing is, we seemed stuck in a rut. It was easier and easier to run the distance, but our pace was stuck. I mean, 13 minutes per mile isn’t anything to crow about – it’s a slow jog.

Around the end of April we switched tack – no more increasing the distance and seeing the same old pace mile after dead mile. Now it was short runs, 2 miles. And, the first mile as quick as we could manage. Soon, this was showing benefit.

On Tuesday we did a two mile run in 20 minutes – hey, some people call that “running”, not “jogging”! Result.

Today, we ran a new route, not sure of the distance, and chose to run at talking pace. A new idea for us, running no faster than a pace at which you can carry on a conversation. Previously, if we’d tried that it would have degraded into a walk. I am stunned. Not only did we manage it, but we did it at a pace of 10:40 per mile.

Today saw us agreeing to do a half marathon in October. Bring it on…Share