Free tshirts were distributed on entry with the words ‘History Stands’ on them and Paula’s world record time on the back. I say world record but in the eyes of the IAFF it is no longer recognised as that, the title has been stripped years after the event citing ‘mixed race/male pacers’ as its reasoning. This is utter b@llocks. I have yet to find anyone who thinks otherwise but perhaps I move in the wrong circles…!

Anyway the Q&A was interesting, offering a personal insight into such an incredible athlete. It was a very nice touch especially given it was free. Paula came across incredibly well, answering audience questions even those by the national press who lowered the tone of the evening by asking ‘quote making’ questions. The only sad bit was her entourage being so miserable, a photo would have been nice but I did get lucky and get my Berlin Marathon number signed. I thought this appropriate, she raced the event too and qualified for London 2012 with her result out there…

After the q&a we went for a run, it was the inaugural Niketown Stratford Run club. Having racked up many miles a few years back the Oxford St equivalent its nice to see it coming closer to home. A 5km jog took us upto the olympic park and back. The routes needs a bit of tweaking to bring big numbers however as Stratford is still a large building site that will come in time I’m sure! It was a good first bash and is very promising.

I tend to be more of an Adidas man than Nike but in this instance kudos to the later.

History Stands!

Neil

As with most of my running if you were to roll back 10 years and ask me to do a XC race out of choice I’d have probably laughed at you and found a good excuse as to why I couldn’t. I hated it at school. However, there I was Sunday morning all kitted out in my Serps running top stood in a field ready to run 5 miles, and out of choice!

Given the weather has been dry here I knew the ground should still be quite hard so I opted for standard trainers. It turns out this was the correct call as the ground was solid. At 10:30 the claxon sounded and off we all went, 3 laps of a few fields. The course was far from flat and on the signup info it was branded as ‘undulating’ which after the first lap seemed fair.

I’m never going to be at the front of these races, but as a new xc’er I was desperate not to come last, turns out I needn’t have worried as I comfortably came mid pack, where I expected really. I pushed as hard as I could, I’ve never done this short a race and took the attitude of whats the worst that can happen…

Good fun, I hope to make the next one!

N

Then London happened, confidence waivered, I spent the next few months training and most importantly praying for a dreary autumnal /early winter day and possibly if last year was anything to go by, some rain. The worst thing that could happen was it be hot.

Rolling on many months, the day before the Mararathon and I’m stood in our hotel bedroom opening the curtains. Not a single cloud in the sky. Bugger. I had always planned to do the international breakfast run on the Saturday and today I would get a glimpse of what was about to come…heat.

The run was very busy, thousands crammed the 6 km of roads up to the olympic stadium, finishing on the track. It was quite good fun and on top of that I was finally able to put a face to a name with James S who I had been in contact through our mutual friend, Sean at Audiofuel.

However, when we got to the end we were presented with a problem. Whilst heading into the stadium to watch us my fiance fell down a large step, really hurting her foot. We chatted to the medics there who iced it and then bandaged it. They said it wasnt broken as she could wiggle her toes but elevate it and see how it was later. Bugger. We headed out of the Stadium and back to the hotel, somehow managing to blag us a lift in an official race car!

Leaving Laura with her foot elevated on the bed I headed to collect my number. The expo was RAMMED and unfortunately there didnt seem to be any medium Adidas kit left. Shame really, as I have a technical T shirt from all of my other marathon campaigns. It was also pretty pricey, much more than the Adidas kit I get here im sure? Nevermind. We spent the afternoon lounging around the pool and chilling and we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. All very relaxed perfect preparation really.

At 630 my alarm went off. It was race day. Time to go. Meeting James in the lobby we walked to the start. Whilst it was a little cold it was clear were heading for a hot one as once again there was not a cloud in the sky. Rubbish really…

I had expectations of a highly efficient setup, vorsprung durk technique and all that. It felt far from that. The bag drop was all over the place, nowhere near enough toilets etc. Heading to the start I saw Sean and Francis of Audiofuel. With hindsight maybe I should have run with them but I wanted to go solo. Afterall a large percentage of a marathon is what it does to the head. Running as a group relieves some of this as you have someone to bounce off at the bad times, but it also seems the easy way out.

I had decided I would make a conscious effort to take on fluid at every station. As it was cups I stopped to walk whilst drinking, I wanted to not overheat again. My race was always going to be slower. For the first time EVER mid race I had to stop for a pee, perhaps at this stage I had overdone it with the fluid!

Whilst hot I managed to hide in the shade for the first 17 or so miles. Then the sun ended up directly overhead. No escape at the hotest part of the day. I slowed right down and sadly my head got the better of me, convinced I was going to go again. My breathing got heavier, I guess I was just worried. I think in the last 6 miles I probably dropped about 10 minutes however I was not going to pass out on this day so it was my sacrifice and it paid off. 3 hours 55 mins later I crossed the finish line no medic needed!

Sadly no finishers tshirt is given for free at the end of this race however a pint of beer was readily available, which I took. I headed back to the hotel on a rickshaw (don’t ask!) and spent the afternoon in the hotel pool, jacuzzi and ice bath. As I write this blog a few days later all this helped keep my legs relatively pain free!

So there we have it marathon start number 5, marathon medal number 4. Not bad for a 27 year old…

What next? Pass!

N

Ps On return to England Laura, my fiance, went to a&e where she was x-rayed. Turns out she broke her 5th metatarsal and is now in a cast and on crutches. She managed to survive on paracetamol and ibuprofen for 2 days and even managed to get to 2 points of the race to support me. The pain must have been immense, far greater than I was enduring on thats for sure! I don’t think I could ask for a more loyal supporter of my silly running campaigns. Thank you Laura. Xx

I don’t really know how I feel about the last few months of training. I certainly am not as race fit as I was before London, but then look what happened! I have spent more time concentrating on fluid intake, especially following one long run a few weeks back where I returned heavily dehydrated (I lost almost half a stone in weight). However, I’m heavier and definitely slower than April you only have to compare my Dorney Half in Feb (1:32) to my Maidenhead Half (1:41) to see the difference! Getting the negativity out of the way, as always, I have covered the distances in training, completing a number of long runs upto 23mi and have been relatively injury free.

At this stage of the day it is mental to not have a plan. I know for a fact, that I won’t be targeting sub 3:30, i’m not confident enough in myself that I can hang on to 8min/mi for the distance. I think I’m going to head out with the intention of running 8:20s but have to asses the conditions beforehand (weather etc) – about 3hrs40. The key is getting around safely before what time I do. I also want to enjoy it, hopefully at that pace I will do.

Update to follow some point next week. Look out for me on the telly

N

Justin "windmilling"

Justin is insane and likes to run up big hills then down them as quick as possible. Forgetting, ignoring and most of the time denying the high risks involved in coming down the side of an uneven Fell. However as he reached the bottom each time his smile couldn’t have been any bigger!

A few weeks ago Justin was adamant I was going to join him for one of these Fell Races. However, having only recently finished ‘Feet in the Clouds’ which explained the perils involved in this obscure event and also due to the fact I’m only a few weeks from Berlin I had to say no to the races. That said on Sunday morning Justin took me on our own little run up to the top of a big hill…and back down again.

Me at the top of the fell behind our campsite

Once again this was another first for me, I have never been to the Lakes before, neither have I really thought I must run up a massive hill and down again. On my day to day training I usually try to avoid any sort of ascent like the plague especially on my long runs. However, today we were running straight towards that big thing just behind the campsite. It became pretty obvious the paths, routes and trails I’m used to would be few and far between and no matter how many times Justin informed me we were on a path, I knew it had only been created by the sheep that looked to us in puzzlement. The terain was uneven,  boggy, hilly and there was clearly no concept of a plan other than up and down. It was not fast due to me being completely out  of my comfort zone.  This definatly trumped the previous ‘interesting’ run, once again with Justin, and I’m sure in his eyes my reaction to what we were doing was pathetic. For those of you who havent tried Fell running but have skied just imagine being at the top of a tough off piste / black run and you come close to what it was like looking down.

Somehow after about an hour and a half and my Garmin auto pausing the run countless times (no Garmin, I hadn’t stopped, I was trying my best just very slowly), we made it down. Now I have exciting anecdote’s including how I got chased by a sheep protecting it’s lamb, how I managed to sink up to my knees in a bog. Thanks to Justin’s very helpful guidance and words of advice

“dont fall and die”

I live to tell to you, oh yeah bracken and heather is interesting too!

I may come across as negative but as with most new running experiences (thunder run, moors run, marathoning…) after a few days I realise how much I enjoyed it and also how amazing the views were. I’m far from booking myself into a race but I definitely intend on returning to explore further…

Ps

I should probably say on Monday I got out and did the longest training run I have ever done in preparation for Berlin. Whilst I haven’t got any races under my belt I dont think Berlin will be PB territory for me. I have struggled a bit in my training of late. On Mondays run I hit 23miles in 3hrs20 if I can maintain that pace for another 3m it would bring me in at 3:47, I think at the moment i’d be pretty happy with that.

Las Vegas

Two weeks ago we flew out to Vegas for a mini adventure stuffed full of cool things, as this isn’t a holiday blog I will try stick to running related stories the first of which occurred less than 24 hours into the trip. Inevitably jet lagged I woke at about 5am (1pm British Summer Time), after a while I gave up trying to get back to sleep, put my trainers on and headed for the Las Vegas strip. Given the fact Vegas is a desert even at 6am it was respectably warm. What was amazing to see was how many people were out, although many looked like they were still out from the night before…! It was a lovely run, and my first opportunity to see ‘Disneyland for Adults’ as I now like to think of it, the biggest problem is knowing what to look at! Whilst in Vegas I got out a couple of times trying to push up my tolerance to heat, and whilst here I realised how long it takes for an American traffic light to change, (Sean from.Audiofuel if your reading its over a minute…I know this as I was using Adrenaline Junkie and I missed a whole sprint session because of it!) Cars definitely rule in the states.

The Road Trip

In after what seemed like only a day in Vegas (it was actually 4) we packed the car ready for the drive to San Francisco. We had planned our route to stay off the Interstates and instead it would see us heading out of Nevada and into California over the mountains, first stop Death Valley.

We arrived in Furnace Creek in the early afternoon and it was indeed HOT. The thermometer in the resort read 115°F and we were about to go somewhere even hotter, Badwater. As a runner I know of Badwater, every year there is a 135 mile ultra marathon starting here in July (the hottest time of the year). It wasn’t until I stood stood looking out over the Salt Flats in blistering heat did I realise how hard this event would be. This event is off of my radar for a good few years!!! I did take the opportunity to go for a run in Furnace Creek, I took heed of the advice to get out early and I’m glad i did as it got hotter and hotter. The last 10mins of the run back to the Ranch saw the sun come over the mountains I’m very glad I did! A very enjoyable run in desolate land. In stark contrast to vegas, here I was very much in a world of solitude, amazing.

Angels Camp - 'Famous' for its jumping frog contest each year

I took the next day off, it seems being sat in a car for hours is tiring! This day off did mean I missed out on running in the snow (yes that’s right, in about 4 hours of driving we went from 115°F to sub zero, odd!) Next stopover was Angels Camp on Route 49 and an early morning jog to get my legs ticking over. Felt tough, heavy legs but all understandable given the last few days driving. Again the area was very quiet, it is very obviously a gold mining city which is clearly struggling to stay open… It was a cool run, but as I found in Death Valley pretty hilly. It made me worry a bit for the half mara the next day!

The San Francisco Half Marathon

At about 3.30am the alarm went off to get myself ready for the 5.30am start. With the standard ritual well versed now I was ready to run. That said I did have some other bits to sort out (more to follow). After an eventful taxi ride I was toeing the start in wave amongst other sub 2 hours and I presume sub 4 marathon’ers. This was the first combined mara and half I had done and I liked the combined setup. At 5:43, still dark- we were off and I started to try feel my legs. I hadn’t researched the run much but knew there we’re some hills to come but unsure when.

Off I trotted en route towards the golden gate, the most iconic part of the route and as we only arrived in SF the day before, somewhere I had yet to see. As I neared the two large red pillars loomed in the distanced hidden somewhat by the morning fog, normal for this time of year. However, before the bridge came the first hill and it was challenging, although the chatter around me suggested that this was not the worst “save energy for after the bridge I kept hearing”.

The run over the bridge was great, although at the time I think I was cursing the gradients as from a distance it looked pretty flat! After about 9 miles of which 4 were on the Golden Gate I exited nervously anticipating what was about to follow (on two fronts).
Oh my god the hills were immense. I was given a stark reminder of the Dartford Half course from 2010. However, this time the roads seemed to keep climbing with no signs of stooping. I hadn’t intended this to be a PB race as I wanted to see the sights, but the harshness of the course completely quashed that idea!

With just under a mile to go my mind and focus shifted to my other plan. The one I suspect most of you have come here to read. Looped through my earphone cord I had placed the ring. The ring I had hidden whilst on the road for the last week. I had removed batteries from an emergency phone charger and stored it there, the theory was it would be the last thing Laura would open. Going through customs I hid it in some clean socks in my hand luggage. I also packed a neck lanyard in my gel belt to wear with the ring near the end. At 12 miles, whilst still running I carefully removed the ring from the earphones and attached it to the lanyard.

At 13m I saw Laura at the side of the road and went over to her. She looked thoroughly perplexed and confused ‘why are you stopping, are you ok?’ She mumbled. I was and as she stood there looking for a reason to why i had stopped 100m from the finish line went down on one knee. I wish I could tell you a romantic and cheesy line but if I’m totally honest my mind went blank but I’m sure all the right words came out as I handed over the ring. I think I can safely say it came as a total surprise to Laura, perhaps she may have dreamed for more romance than stood at the side of the road at 7.30am being proposed to by a sweaty man (especially given some of the beautiful places we had just traveled through!), but for me this seemed totally fitting. I doubt for one second I’d still be running had it not been for her and her constant support. I wanted to have a lasting memory plus they do a marathon on the same day, so I have a definite excuse to come back one day – I figure it could have been worse I could have done it at Badwater

So there we have it she said yes, then told me to get on with the run and I promptly stood up as I could feel my legs cramping a bit, I headed to the finish just meters from where I was. The rest of the day was a bit of a blur, I had booked dinner on a boat in the bay that evening but proposing at 8am leaves a long day ahead with a very happy Laura

That pretty much sums up my running in America. If your still reading I figure you were here for the juicy bit because people tend not to get this far down normally! Please leave a comment below so I know you have passed by

Till next time
N

Three weeks ago Justin and Ash came down to stay and we planned for a long one. The temperature was climbing and at 9am we left the flat planning on a 15miler. The route was set, taking the tourist upto and around the Olympic Park in Stratford then heading back, from my reckoning about 15m. As I have already alluded to it was pretty toasty out and after 8m miles there was not a cloud in the sky. This felt a good test for me, I’m keen to push my body in the heat especially when running with company! The run went pretty smoothly especially as the miles creep up!

The following Saturday I was out again with company, this time with Sam. Sam is training for an October marathon and we planned an 11 miler into central London, once again it was hot (although not as hot as the previous week). I found this run tougher than I would have liked, I think it’s off the back of a tough training week where my body gets back to 4/5 days of running. That said the run was completed with an afternoon to spend in good company enjoying the sun and a picnic in Regents Park.

Finally last weekend we headed to Silverstone to watch the F1. I still had to run so shuffled my schedule and fit in a run on the Friday. Leaving the campsite I had no plan and was hoping to wing a 15ish mile route…unlike the previous two runs this time it was wet, very wet. A few passing torrential downpours drenched my kit but I found the temperature much more forgiving. My Garmin conked out of battery so threw on endomondo just to help guesstimate how far I had gone. I had charged my Garmin but for some reason whilst traveling it had gone into a spasm and discharged itself, helpful! As I said, I had no route planned so I just went for it. I found myself about 3 miles from our tent with a major A-road to cross OR a run back the 8m I had just covered. I was regretting the poor preparation somewhat! Against my desires I decided to run along the grassy verge on the side of the road, this was far from a pavement requiring me to duck under speed signs and avoid speed cameras! Fortunately I made it back to camp, drenched but content following a reasonable run, awesome.

Interspersed between the long runs I have made it down to my local running track a few times. Having not been on a track since school the experience felt weird to begin with, by the 5th lap I was experiencing a totally different feeling I quite enjoy the 45min sessions and the different drills each week create a nice variation.

I did intend on getting this post up last week but failed! I have done another long run since…on Saturday I did a WET 18miles. I found this tough, even with gels at about 13/14 miles. My energy levels were too low which i put down to poor eating the night before and an insufficient breakfast. You’d have thought by now id be sorted with regards to pre-run diet but clearly not!! Still I made it to the end somehow and it was now time for some R&R!

That’s 58 miles of long runs in one post and not even really touching on the midweek sessions! Getting busy again over here…!

SimplySweat enter the market offering respectable prices and a reasonably large range. However, the product list is still far narrower than Sweatshop. Every time I seem to look back it is growing and growing and following communication the things I found lacking from their stock were being sourced and possibly added in due course. What was missing? For me the sparse range of compression wear was an issue and something I first went looking for when I logged on. Following that I then headed over to look for the Adidas kit, I tend to prefer Adidas over other makes as the clothes fit, look nice and seem well made. Again, other than accessories, this was another gap on the SimplySweat portfolio. This may make it sound like they had nothing, however that was far from the case, trusty pair of X-socks added to my basket. I wear exclusively x-socks to run in, they just work for me, and whilst they aren’t cheap I’m happy to pay to avoid blisters! Another scout about and I had added some Gore shorts to the basket, it’s summer now and shorts are always very useful! One last thing caught my eyes the quick lock laces, I’ve seen these before but finally I bought them! Review to follow shortly…

All added to the basket in a reasonable fashion without any problems and the checkout process was simple. The only thing I disliked, and this criticism goes for most e-tailers is P&P. I think with Amazon charging nothing it’s easy to forget that another charge will crop up…The order came ultra quick, next day in fact, can’t grumble about that! Perhaps because it’s still in its infancy it was so quick but let’s hope that speed continues…!

Browsing around the active wear at Simply Sweat website it appears they also have an outlet for hiking, swimming and others. This separation of sites is an interesting and possibly detrimental feature, I wonder whether there should be an ability to buy from different sites and pay P&P once…? If the sites had been joined I may well have picked up some stuff from the Swimming site, but given that my code was just for the running kit I was unable to do that.

Will be watching the net and running mags to see whether this site takes off with the customer service I received it should do…

NB FYI for any of you that are users of Body Glide – when I checked this was cheaper than at Sweatshop, will definitely be picking up a tube of this when it comes back in stock!

Till next time!

N

See the full post here