It is done!

So, yesterday I did it, a full 26.2 miles in an overcast (and occasionally sunny) Brighton, in 5 hours and 40 minutes (chip time), around the eight thousandth runner to come in (so another thousand came in after me). Slower than I had hoped, largely because a mixture of tendon pain in my feet and stiffness in my legs began to slow me progressively from about 25k onwards.  I think I am naturally a half marathoner, because up to the thirteen mile mark I was running strong (a slow but steady mile every 10 mins 50 seconds), but by the 15 mile mark the strength and pace were noticeably tailing off, and by the end I was at a pace of over twelve minutes to a mile.

But a great day, huge energy from the crowds, great camaraderie amongst the runners, brilliant support from the volunteers. Just generally a great day.

And thanks to all those who sponsored me (raising money for Cancer Research - there's still time to give - just click the button at the top of the page or by following this link - http://www.justgiving.com/Steven-Fouch) and all who followed the run online and sent messages of support. Incredible to know I was being followed round the route by friends and family all around the world. But above all a big thank you to Debbi, Hannah, Sam and Aimie who came down to support me on the day. It was a huge lift to see them as they cheered me on from four points along the route!

Last days..

Well, here it is - my last run before the marathon was on Wednesday.

So, now just a few days of rest apart from core exercises, and then Sunday is the big deal. It's scary, but I have trained hard and I know I should be able to do it. It's the mental strength you need to get through nearly five hours of continuous exercise - that is going to be the interesting challenge!

Hastings Half Marathon

Today was my last long run before Brighton, and  chose to do it as a race with several thousand others at the Hastings Half Marathon!   It was a gorgeous, sunny spring morning when we set off (mercifully, the heavy hail showers only hit after most of the runners had got in).

A couple of the runners claimed this was the toughest half marathon in the country.  It certainly has several tough hills in the first three miles, then a long climb from mile 3 to mile 6 which was forcing a lot of the runners to a walk. Glad long, steep hills are an inescapable feature of my runs, usually at the end, so it was quite enjoyable having them at the start of the run when I had the energy to take them on!

But this is it now. A taper over the next two weeks and then the real McCoy! It is encouraging to know I can take on a half marathon comfortably (in 2 hours 17 minutes according to the official timings) - just need to have the stamina to run the full Brighton course at a similar pace (or slightly slower).

Running madness

Why get up at 5 in the morning to go running in the cold, wet and dark? Why run so much that some mornings you can barely walk downstairs because your muscles are so knackered and your joints are so stiff and painful? Why give up hours of your weekend to get in your long runs? All you can think about is when you can get your next training run in, how you can reorganise your week around your training schedule...

Yep, marathon training takes a certain type of insanity. And no, I don't always enjoy it - some mornings I would rather stay in bed (OK, most of them!). No, as I've blogged before, I am doing this for several reasons bigger than myself - firstly as a challenge to what I can push my body and mind to achieve, and secondly as a way to raise money for Cancer Research.

My aim is to finish - if you fancy sponsoring me to just get round and be alive at the end, then click the button at the top of the page.

I would like to finish in under 5 hours. I would really like to finish in under 4.5 hours.  If you fancy sponsoring me to hit these targets, then send me a message via blog comments or Facebook.

And if you want some evidence that I am doing what I say, look at my training history on Tribesports

Will I get there?

Six weeks until the Brighton Marathon, and I am asking myself this morning, can I actually do it? An 18km run first thing this morning (see http://tribesports.com/users/stevef1/training_sessions/165368) was good, apart from the last 5-6km uphill slog.  And I had hoped to do over 20km, but knew by the 15km mark that this was a pipe dream. It was in part down to that last 5km almost all uphill, and a fast middle 4km when meeting up with some running friends we did a short-ish circuit at faster than my usual pace, so I did wear myself out.

Nevertheless here I am at six weeks out from the big day, and I can manage a half  marathon, but not much more before my legs start to give out. Six weeks to get my body up to hacking it all the way around a full 26.2 miles. At this stage, I know I would struggle to complete that distance, and I have been training hard, 

But a lot can change in six weeks. And it is now that I begin to understand what so many marathon runners that have gone before me have discovered.  90% of the struggle is mental. If you don't believe you can do it, you never will. If you believe, with work, with effort, with pain, that you will make it then you have a more than fighting chance of finishing. Finishing well, that's down to the training and how your body is coping on the day, but finishing at all is mostly in the mind. 

Time for some mental calisthenics! 

Long Run

Finally got in the first real long run I've been needing to do for the last couple of weeks. Just under 25k, although the timing  was not great - probably due to a long uphill section for the last 5-6km, and the freezing rain and hail that nearly caused me to go hypothermic in the first 8km!

So the challenge of the next few weeks is to work on that pace and start doing longer runs (next one is aimed at 30k).

And pray for dryer, warmer weather!

Still fighting on

This has been a difficult couple of weeks. One day I am running strong and fast, the next I am hobbling along with foot pain or a trapped nerve in my shoulder, or gut rot. I am keeping up the speed and recovery runs, and increasing overall distance, but have fallen by the wayside on the long runs, which have, for the last couple of weeks at least, coincided with the other problems. Which, for marathon training is not great, because it is the long runs that build the endurance - the other runs just help with pace and strength.

You can see the last week's runs here

Back in the saddle

the new year has got off to a slow start, mainly because of the ongoing foot injuries. They are improving, but I took a slow week in my training schedule last week to rest up the joints.

I am also trying out a new training app from Tribe Sports. Not so good at letting me embed the run in the body of the blog, but it does give a good breakdown of my training runs, the latest of which was a shorter long run this morning at http://tribesports.com/users/stevef1/training_logs/790587.

This week I get back in the saddle with some more serious training runs again, and just hope and pray that these foot injuries do not flare up again!

New Shoes!

After a few weeks of excruciating foot pain for up to 24 hours after a run, tight calves and sore muscles, the signs were all there that I needed new running shoes!  I was missing training runs just to get the soreness and inflammation down before my next run - signs I needed to sort something out! Daft to have left it for so long, but I finally realised that my shoes were the problem - I had probably done a good eight hundred miles on them - twice the reccomended distance before a change.

So, here they are - Brookes (as all my running shoes have been over the last few years), Glycerins - a mid weight shoe, with a touch more arch support than my previous Brookes Ghosts. I am preferring a more minimal, less structured shoe, as it makes me run on the midfoot, which has strengthened my running technique and put less strain on my hips and knees.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating though, so (in yet another storm, with driving rain and gales) I took them out for my long run of the week, and can say that not only was it a good run, but in the 36 hours since, I have had no more than a normal level of stiffness and muscles soreness.  A salient reminder that the only bit of running kit you need to really spend time and money choosing is your running shoes!

Embankment full of runners

It's been difficult keeping up the training with Christmas and New Year festivities, but I have got in a few substantial runs - see http://www.sportypal.com/Results?user_id=40244 for a rundown if you're interested.

Today was one of the rare sunny dry ones at the moment, so a good day for a threshold run along a runner crowded Embankment.  Seems everyone was running today - for many the first day back at work after the holidays. Perhaps it's part of the January get fit kick that so many succumb to after the excesses of Christmas and New Year.  Or maybe its all the others, like me who are training for marathons and are trying to get their head back into their training schedule.  Either way, good to see fellow pavement-pounders out there by the Thames.