Everything's changed

My life's been turned upside down.

I've known for about 7 months that in May 2013, I'd be running the Windermere Marathon course 10 times in 10 days, to raise money for Brathay Trust. I've obviously known that it's going to be hard, and I've started trying to raise sponsorship, and I've been training more than I've ever trained before. However, I don't really think that, even after all those months, what I was going to be doing had really sunk in.

For all the time I've been telling people about it, I knew it sounded impressive or crazy, but I was a bit blase and although I liked talking about what I was working towards, explaining that it was for charity, and I have been genuinely very excited about the prospect of it, I didn't really feel that I was very emotionally invested. I'd paid my £800 entry fee, and the 10in10 was just something that was going to happen to me in May, with a minimum sponsorship target to achieve in order to take part - that was that.

But now that's all changed.

Brathay Hall
Thanks to Malcolm for the photo

This last weekend, was our 10in10 training weekend. I stayed at Brathay (which is an absolutely beautiful place), met for the first time all of my fellow 10in10 runners as well as the support team who will be getting us through it, and attended various seminars about the detail of the event, going through how it's all going to work, as well as spending time understanding what the charity actually does and learning about it all in a bit more depth.  We also had to give a video interview which was the thing I'd been really worrying about before I arrived - although it wasn't as bad as I'd expected, it was still awful, and I know I rambled on like an idiot. I'm mortified that it's available on line for people to actually see...but it's all part of the event, so once there's a link I will post it...although I doubt I'll be able to bear watching it myself!

On the Saturday, we also had the chance to run the Windermere Marathon course, and although most other people (if not all) have run it before, I haven't...Saturday was my first time.

It's fair to say that I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything we went though, but it was a great weekend.

So, now I've had a bit of time for everything from the weekend to sink in, this is what I've realised:

Me, in the white hat. Just about to start running
 the Windermere Marathon course

The Windermere Marathon course is incredibly challenging.  It's ridiculously hilly for one thing...much hillier than I had ever expected and I found running it on Saturday very hard - I very rarely run hills and I felt woefully unprepared for the course, walking much more than I would ever want to during a marathon.  It's also, partly, on main roads some of which are narrow and we'll be sharing them with fast cars and lorries.  During the first 9 days of the 10in10, the roads aren't closed at all, and without doubt, we're going to be vulnerable.  At the moment, the prospect of running that course 10 days in a row is absolutely insane and it's fair to say I'm scared...of the pain, of injury, of my body or my mind breaking down, even of being hit by a car.  That's the bad bit.

However, the Windermere Marathon course is also amazing - the views around the course alter hugely as the miles go by, and whether it's the fields filled with funny looking sheep, quaint cottages hidden in the woods, babbling brooks or sweeping views across Lake Windermere and away to the mountains, the scenery is stunning. Whether I'll be able to appreciate any of that after day 3 remains to be seen, but I thoroughly enjoyed the countryside on Saturday ;)

The really good bit though starts with the people - I think this is what's changed how I feel about the whole event. Being at Brathay was a revelation. The team there are the most sincere, lovely people you could ever hope to meet and they are so passionate about the 10in10 and even more so about the work that Brathay does, it can't fail to inspire you. Meeting the other 15 runners who will be joining me in May was awesome too - there were a few familiar faces, although some people were new to me (other what I'd read about them on their profiles) from the minute I arrived, I felt comfortable chatting with everyone and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better as they seem like a really nice, like-minded group, and I know that completing this together is going to create some life-long friendships. I can see from people who have done the 10in10 before that it really is special from that point of view, and we are all going to be integral to helping each other to cross that finish line on the 10th day!

So, I think the biggest change about how I feel, is that now I really understand that this is a team event rather than something that is just happening to me.  The support team at Brathay are giving so much of themselves to make this happen and to help us through it, and the sponsors who we also met are giving their time as well as their resources and money, and the other 10in10ers are giving their everything.  I now feel a responsibility to each and every one of them to be the best I can be over the next four months, to train as hard as possible & to be as prepared as I can, to make sure I have as much chance as is humanly possible to complete the 10in10 successfully! I also feel a responsibility to the charity itself. I can really appreciate now what Brathay can do with the money we raise, and what a difference it will make to the young people they support, and I also understand how important it is that I raise as much money as possible to ensure that the 10in10 remains cost effective as a way of raising such valuable funds for Brathay Trust.

Sunrise across Lake Windermere, from Brathay Hall on our last day
Thanks to Kaz for the photo

I just feel so totally emotionally invested in the event now. I can barely think about anything else (although I still have lots to do to finish organising our wedding in April, and will obviously keep a section of my mind free for that!).

Since coming back from the weekend, when I've been talking about the 10in10, and about Brathay, to friends and to colleagues at work, I feel so hugely enthusiastic about it and can hear the difference in my voice...someone even said to me after we'd talked about it for a while yesterday that I'd inspired him to go for a run that night!

I went out for a training run last night too.  I took a route that has a pretty keen hill in it.  Usually I'd always stop at the top of a hill to get my breath back and recover, but last night I just kept going until I got home - I had thoughts of Brathay running through my head, and it certainly motivated me to train that bit harder. I think those thoughts are going to govern everything I do during the next four months.

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If you'd like to sponsor me to run 10 marathons in 10 days, you can do so via this link www.justgiving.com/naomi-runs-10in10 Every pound is very much appreciated!

Daily Mile year-end report

I log all of my training on the Daily Mile website...miles on the bike, in the gym, and running.  At the end of each year, they send through a report to show the stats of what I've achieved over the last 12 months.

Compared to my stats from 2011, my total mileage increased by 366, my weekly average increased from 24 miles per week to 31 miles per week, and in 2012 I did an extra 39 workouts.

Not bad...not quite where I'd hoped to be...but much to be improved on for 2013!

NAOMI NEWTON-FISHER

2012 YEAR END REPORT

• 
• 

Distance (mi)

1623

Per Week (mi)

31

Workouts

189

Lbs Burned

51

1. 124
   JAN
2. 97
   FEB
3. 171
   MAR
4. 122
   APR
5. 167
   MAY
6. 160
   JUN
7. 137
   JUL
8. 138
   AUG
9. 192
   SEP
10. 137
    OCT
11. 75
    NOV
12. 103
    DEC

A surprise marathon

On Saturday, Francis and I had a day out in London...leaving home before 9am, we went to the London Aquarium (which is fantastic) where we went on a "behind the scenes" tour, and then Francis went snorkelling with the sharks which was part of his Christmas present. 

Francis is on the left

We found a restaurant for lunch, wandered along Southbank and then returned to the Aquarium, seeing everything but paying particularly attention to the adorable penguins they now have! We left with a renewed enthusiasm for going scuba diving again soon, and finally setting up our home aquarium. We got home at about 6pm - I'd spent all day on my feet but really enjoyed myself.

That evening, about 8pm, we were slumped on the sofa watching TV - I was also on the laptop, looking at Facebook.  I noticed a message posted by Foxy from Enigma Running asking if anyone wanted to run a marathon the next day as he had a spare place in the Enigma Winter Marathon in Milton Keynes.

Now I realise that any normal person, having put on half a stone over Christmas and not having exercised as much as they should have done, and generally feeling tired after a day out, would have thought running a marathon on an evening's notice wasn't the most clever thing to do. However, I appear to have become a fully fledged marathon nutcase and as we didn't really have any plans for Sunday and my schedule said I had to run 15 miles anyway, I thought that an extra 11 wouldn't be too much of a stretch. There seemed to be a fair few people I knew already running the marathon, and so without really thinking about it, gleefully took the place.

After sitting around on the sofa for a bit more, I realised that this actually meant I had to run 26.2 miles in about 12 hours time, and I should probably get ready! Last time I tried going to an Engima marathon, I forgot my trainers, and knew there would be absolutely no way of living it down if I managed that twice....

So, I pulled my stuff together, had a pint of water to try and make up for the lack of hydration during the day, and headed to bed early.

The day of the marathon dawned, I headed out into a very foggy morning, and drove over to Milton Keynes, feeling somewhat surprised at this turn of events, and wondering what on earth was I doing! By the time I got there though I was a bit more relaxed about the prospect, especially after seeing lots of familiar faces within minutes of arriving :D

 

I've run the course before, at the Enigma 30 miler I did back in July, and I think it helped to know what to expect, but I found the 7.5 laps of Caldecotte Lake hard going psychologically, although physically I wasn't too bad at all.  I just couldn't really get my head together and in the later laps, kept finding myself walking when I didn't need to. I also got incredibly hungry at about mile 14 and then later again - I was very lucky that there was food at the aid station otherwise I think I probably would have hit the wall, which is something that hasn't happened in years, but which was obviously just a result of the inevitable lack of preparation. My official time was 4:19:36, although my watch did clock 26.78 miles so it seems I travelled a bit further than I needed to which added just over 6 minutes to my final time but regardless of that, this was still my slowest marathon for over a year and a half!

It was a lovely out there though, really nice to catch up with people, and I thoroughly enjoyed the day, so am glad I took the place. Best news of all though is that my hip was pretty much fine and even this morning is feeling much better than it has in ages - I definitely just need to keep running more! :D

What a trophy!

Yesterday, I ran my 21st (and last) race of the year, the Buntingford Year End 10 Miler. It was my second time at the event, which is a relatively hilly, looped course around a bit of housing estate and then the Hertfordshire country lanes.

It's pretty well organised, and although it was a bit cold, for a December run we were really lucky with the weather. I didn't know how I was going to get on, but as it turned out, my lack of recent mileage was very obvious (as was my lack of speedwork since the spring) and I found it more challenging than expected, adding about 5 minutes to last year's time, finishing in a gun time of 1:28:14. However, my slower time wasn't just as a result of poor training - I was definitely hampered by the excruciating pain that returned in my hip for the last couple of miles! :(

The finish time recorded on my (brand new Christmas present) Garmin 610 was 1:27:57 over 10.1 miles, and I was particularly pleased with mile 7 which I ran in 8:04 but regardless of times, it was a great race to kick me back into serious training, what with the 10in10 just 19 weeks away!!

I expect I'll be back to have another go at this race at the end of 2013, not only because it's nice to have a race over Christmas, but also because of the amazing memento everyone gets for finishing..

Last year we were given a silver shoe, and the photo is of the trophy we all received this year! It does seem a bit excessive for a 10 mile race, but I'm taking it as a trophy to celebrate the whole year's achievement, and following on from my last blog post, I'm going to let myself accept it as well deserved.

Did I really do all that?!

I have a provisional training schedule written up to the end of 2014, and that makes it very easy to spend all my time looking forward and planning for my next event. I make an effort not to do that too much, and to enjoy my successes as they happen, but as we come to the end of the year, I think it's important to look back and see how the year has gone.

I've spent some time looking through old blog posts including my 2011 review and my post about setting goals for 2012, which has helped me realise how far I've come, and although I've not achieved all of the goals I set myself, I've accomplished more in other areas than I had expected.

The goals I set myself at the beginning of the year are below, with the text taken from January's blog post:

1) Run a sub 4hr marathon
"...If I can run sub4hrs, I'll feel that I've made it as a marathon runner - it might not be good enough for Boston qualifying, but for me, it's a really significant time..."

 - Tick this one off the list! I ran 3:49 at Brighton, and 3:57 at Halstead. 

2) Complete my first ultra-marathon
"....I'm taking part in the ChallengeHub [52.4 mile ultra]....My target is to finish the full distance within 12 hours.  The training for this is going to be unlike anything I've experienced before, and will take my weekly mileage higher than I would have thought I was capable of - hopefully, I'll prove that I can do it!..."

 - Achieved this too, and loved it! Also blew my target time out of the water, finishing in 10hrs 41mins, and I know I'll be able to improve on this time in 2013.

3) Cover 2012 miles in 2012
"....I will be incredibly surprised if I actually manage it...if I have a week off sick or injured, or we go on another holiday where I can't run, it'll go out of the window!  However, I am still going to make it my goal to complete the distance...."

 - As expected, I didn't manage this one and was way off target from quite early on in the year as I didn't get out on the bike half as much as I had hoped and have had various holidays and injuries (excuses, excuses!). By 31st December, my total running and cycling mileage is likely to be 1,620 miles, of which I'll have run 1,457 miles. I'm aiming for 2013 miles in 2013!

4) Weight-loss
"....there's no reason why I can't keep going - losing weight means faster times and less stress on my joints, as well as looking better in the lycra...so why wouldn't I do it?! Well, because when it comes to food I easily lose control and this is probably the hardest of all of my goals to complete...."

 - Didn't achieve this one either unfortunately. My weight has yo-yo'ed a bit this year, but I'm still back where I started. This is definitely the most challenging area for me...but I'll continue to try! 

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Even though I only achieved two of those goals, it's still been an incredible year, and I can't imagine I'll ever have another quite like it. Whatever happens over the rest of my running career, I'm certain that 2012 is going to be a highlight!

So, what made it such a good year? 

• For the first time, I'll have run pretty much every race distance in a year - a 5km, a 5 miler, a 10km, two 10 milers, three half marathons, a 20 miler, six marathons, and six ultras, and I took my trainers abroad for the first time and ran while on holiday.

• I got a PB of 1:48 at the Reading Half Marathon in April where I ran with two friends I've known since I was a teenager, with other friends cheering us on around the course, followed a couple of weeks later by my PB of 3:49 at Brighton Marathon, which was good enough (by 11 seconds) to get me a Good for Age place in the 2013 London Marathon.  

• I was offered (and accepted) a place in the 2013 Brathay 10in10 event, I ran a solo marathon leg of the RelayGB world record attempt event which was absolutely fantastic, I ran my first 30 miler ultra with the Enigma crew in July, followed by my first 52.4 mile ultra to celebrate my 30th birthday. 

• I took part in my first multi-day event at the 90 mile Toad Challenge, where I was 4th lady, and won my first race (1st lady) at the Stort 30.

I'm so proud of my achievements on that list, and thinking back to those events makes me really emotional. Being involved in RelayGB was an absolute privilege and being welcomed into the world of ultra running has been...well, I think I'm running out of superlatives! 

• Obviously, we had the most amazing "Summer of Sport" to inspire me too. The Tour de France, Wimbledon, the Olympics, The US Open, The Ryder Cup - what an indescribable time it was and I feel so lucky to have been a Games Maker at the Olympic Park and to a part of it. Absolutely unforgettable.

• Oh, and of course, while we were on holiday in Croatia in October, Francis proposed, and we got engaged! :D

I certainly couldn't have asked for anything more.  I've learnt a lot about myself over the year, about my strengths and weaknesses, and about how much my (non-running) friends and family care about what I'm doing - even if they don't quite understand the madness of distance running, they're still interested and want to help me through it. I'm also making more friends on the running circuit, which makes a world of difference - I've always enjoyed races, but not half as much as I do when I know people there, and the support I've received on Facebook and Twitter from my running friends has been overwhelming. Without all of that encouragement from everyone, I know for a fact that I could never achieved half of what I have this year.

So, 2012 has been absolutely, unbelievably, awesome! 

But now, I have to start looking forward again.  Although I'm taking a bit of a break from intense training at the moment (over the last few weeks my mileage has been minimal to say the least!) next week will see the start of making my plans for 2013 a reality, and I'm going to get serious again about my training and...this time...my nutrition too.

I have lots of races already scheduled - over the next 12 months, I'm planning to run 24 marathons or ultras, including my GFA place at London, my first marathon abroad, in Berlin, and of course, most significantly, the Brathay 10 marathons in 10 days event, which also involves me raising at least another £1,840 to add to the money I've already raised for Brathay Trust. 

I'm also planning our wedding, as we're getting married in April! :D

It's going to be very busy, very intense, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to fit everything in, along with work and normal life too, but I'm certainly relishing the challenge - here's to 2013 being my best year yet! :D