As hard as it gets

I wandered what the difference would be between training for a marathon through the summer and training in winter. After the first week I think I know.

This week I have run 5 times, 7.25km, 11.25km, 10.4km, 6.48km, and 20.82km all in Cornwall where the hills keep coming, the wind drives across the ladscape at 30 knots and the rain comes down sideways. So whilst trying to run uphill into the driving wind and rain, and splashing in the stream of runoff water coming down the road, I did wander if it was a good idea to train for a spring marathon!

By the time I stopped today all of my breathable, wicking, lightweight, waterproof clothing was waterlogged. Heres my tip of the day. Waterproof does not mean waterproof.

And the last woe of the day is that wet wicking materials are just as bad as cotton for 'chafing', maybe I won't go into too much detail.

Happy New Year ....

Christmas Toys

Christmas is about new toys and heres mine. Shimano 105 groupset, Mavic wheels, FSA cranks, carbon back end, carbon forks, Look pedals. Got it from the local bike shop http://www.cyclesdauphin.com an excellent shop in Boxhill, Surrey. They do the full deal and spend time fitting the bike. So if your after a road bike they sell a range of european bikes, Pinarello, Isaac, Orbea.

Into the 3rd day of training today and I went off for another 10km this morning. Cornish hills, mist, wind and rain. Very bracing! Heartrate was down to the 150bpm range, so I'm pleased about that.

The training starts here

Christmas day starts early. 6:30am opening Santa's presents for the kids. Today is my first training run though and I sneak out at 11:30am. We are in Cornwall for Christmas and I have a few routes across fields, tracks and country roads. Thank you to Rob & Mark Body for the use of their fields! Not too muddy and no herds of cows today. Fantastic views out over the countyside and across St Ives bay.

I started with a 7.25km run, not fast, just need to get the muscles and joints back into the idea of distance running. My heartrate is higher than I would like(155-165), possibly my being out of condition or maybe a sign I'm a little ill, lets see how it goes in the next few days.

Also got a Lance Armstrong DVD for Christmas. I read one of his books in the summer and was amazed by his story. I am hoping the DVD will be motivational, of course I have not got to watch the DVD as the kids got a Nintendo Wii and have hogged the TV all day.

Good news

I was extremely lucky to get a Flora London Marathon entry from the running club DMVAC. So I'm in and the training focus for the next 4 months is set. Now I need to dust off my marathon training plan and set to work.

The idea of running a marathon does not seem so impossible when you have done 1 already, but its still a big goal. The only way to get there is to have a plan and mine is 4 months long building to a 22 mile training run before the 26.2 miles to be done on the day. The plan allows you to focus on 1 week at a time and as you go through it you look back to see what you have achieved so far, and forward the goal does not seem so unobtainable.

I will be aiming for a 3:30 time. Bit worried about crowds and not being able to get the right pace, bit worried about the toe joint, but looking forward to doing some long trail runs around Boxhill, and Ranmore.

I have a new goal, that is a stepping stone to the larger goal of an Ironman.

Excuses, excuses

I am doing an amazing job at not 'leaving my mark' at the moment and I am starting to feel that my running is getting worse. Work has been getting in the way and I have not been to the gym at lunchtime in 2 weeks. The thought of running in the rain puts me off that and its too dark to cycle in the evenings.

I have been swimming 3 times, last time on Sat morning 6:45am (Sarah thinks I'm mad). I really need to do swimming to practice technique and breathing.

Running is getting a back seat at the moment and I feel a yearning to do some long trail runs again.

But its Christmas, give yourself a break!

Got my entry for the Tadworth 10 on 7th Jan. So got to focus, last time I did this in 1hr 20min, I am hoping to do better this time.

Swimming

From flounder to dolphin (well cod then)

Until now my swimming experience has been swimming to the edge after sliding down a tube before the next person down lands on top of me. Could this be speedwork? Triathlons come in lots of distances, all of which have a swim of further than I thought possible for me to swim. A plan was needed, and a cunning plan came about when I went to pick Oliver up from swimming class. 'Masters Swim Session, all abilities welcome', said the noticeboard and after a quick email I found myself at a Masters Swim Session talking to a real live swim coach.

I estimated I could do about 15 x 25m but this estimate was far exceeded at that first session. I am not good at counting lengths but I must have done 30-40 lengths that night. All of them slow, and the coach giving me frequent tips, 'S' shaped stroke, finger and thumb first into the water, reach forward, high elbows. I had trouble breathing and after an hour had to leave after a massive cramp in my leg.

But I came back again, and again, and again and on Wednesday night I felt like a swimmer. I could feel a surge as I stroked through the water, I actually caught someone up with my breaststroke and the class regularly does over 1500m. (My goal for an Olympic triathlon). Just need to do it without stopping and hanging on the pool edge every 25m.

Practice, practice, practice.

My First Mark

My New Forest Marathon, 17th Sept 2006

This was my first attempt at a marathon and I thought the New Forest would be nice and flat. It was only after I had entered that I discovered a Runners World forum where the discussion turned to the number of hills in the second half of the run. Too late now, I am entered and will have to see what happens when I come to them.

My preparation started at 18 weeks before. I picked up a training plan from the New York marathon website that built up from a base of 50km/week to a peak of 80km/week. I followed the plan as best I could through the summer, but when it came to my 2 week family holiday the plan stayed at home and I did not run at all. When I returned I needed to get my longest run done. This was a 35.2km training run that took me around Boxhill, Headley, Mickleham, Bocketts Farm, Polesden Lacy, Ranmore, Abinger, Westcott, and Dorking. I was pleased that was over and ticked it off the plan. In all I did 3 long runs.

The day arrived and I felt ready for it. Arriving at the event was well marshalled, there was plenty of parking and toilets, quite a long walk to the start and a recreation field with playground to entertain my kids whilst I warmed up.

I set off at a good pace and my heartrate monitor started giving me a too high alert. I have it set to what I believe is my Anaerobic Threshold, and the alert continued for about 5km. There was litle wind and the sky was clear, luckily there was quite abit of tree cover on the course as it went out of New Milton and into the New Forest. The route takes you through forest and heathland along the tarmaced roads. The field of 630 entries thins out quite quickly and I never had any trouble finding space to run in. The route is great and shortly after 13 miles goes through the oldest part of the New Forest known as the Ornamental Drive. The trees are extremely tall here and provide excellent shade but play havoc with GPS and my Garmin lost its signal in this area.

The second half lived upto its reputation, it felt like hill after hill, and there were quite a few people stopping at drinks stations, (water or sponges), or walking up the hills. I managed to keep going and actually sped up for the final mile, sprinting the last 400 yards. Must say sorry to the chap in the Orange top who I caught and passed. I carried 6 SIS GO Gels with me and slurped one every 6km, I believe it was this that kept me going.

For a run through the country I thought there was a lot of crowd support gathered at a number of sites around the route, I remember seeing the same people a number of times, and was surprised to see people in the middle of the forest section. The marshalling was excellent as well with the police stopping traffic. The final mile felt like a lonely bleak place as it started to drizzle and nobody around until the last 400 yds. I could hear the tannoy in the distance and as I closed the finish line the crowds returned.

Number of finishers 367 My position 85

In summary I had a great run, thoroughly enjoyed it and if anyone wants to do it with me next year, let me know.

I run with a Garmin and it gave me the following statistics:
Time Distance
00:22:50 5 km
00:47:05 10 km
01:14:57 10 miles
01:39:29 1/2 marathon
02:15:13 16 miles
03:42:06 full

Heartrate
165 0-22km
155 22-42km (These are about 10bpm higher than when I train)

Elevation
Total Ascent 461m
Total Descent 495m

Avg Speed 11.2km/h
Calories burned 2235cal

Making my mark

"Making my Mark, whats with the name Andrew?" A good question and I'm glad you asked, it came to me in a flash. I was writing one of those long emails to a good friend. I was telling him about my year and how the family was, I ended it:

• 'we all do our little bit to make our marks and you know, those marks may not be big, dynamic earth shattering marks, but they are ours and we should be able to look at them with pleasure.'

I thought a bit more about this comment and it struck me. I want to leave good marks that will motivate and encourage for generations to come. I'm unlikely to leave super rich tycoon marks, but hopefully I can leave some reasonable endurance sports ones like:

• Run marathons
• Be an Ironman

So, for me, the motivation for doing all this training/racing is to leave my mark, to encourage my children to have goals and to put in the effort to achieve their goals. And of course to beat the person just ahead of me!

In the Beginning

In the beginning they called him 'Potness', but not now. In the beginning he could run for 3 minutes, but not now. In the beginning he stood and watched, but not now.

In the last 2.5 years I have gone from zero to runner. Not fantastically fast, but not bad either, and I am so pleased that I did this. I am fitter than ever before and hopefully (so hopefully), I will inspire my children, to focus, set goals and surprise themselves in their lives. I just wish I had done it when I was younger.

Looking forward I have a new goal ..... Ironman. This blog will be about my journey to this goal.