Halstead Marathon & my poor battered feet

The Halstead and Essex Marathon is a fantastic event and I really enjoyed my second run of it yesterday.  It's a race I'd recommend to everyone, and although I'd hate to see it grow much from the current numbers (it turns out from the results that 610 people ran yesterday) it's such a great day that I want everyone to experience it.

When I got home from the marathon yesterday, I added my mileage to the dailymile.com site and wrote this review:

Absolutely great race today. It's a hilly course (so lots of fast downhill bits that I love, although obviously an equal number of climbs), and although it got pretty warm, I can't complain about the sun being out - we were running around beautiful countryside, in lovely weather, and everyone was really friendly. I chatted to so many other runners as we went round which always makes my day. It's only a small event (about 800 entrants I think) but I enjoy it so much more than the really big marathons. Can't praise the organisation, marshals and local supporters enough. I think everyone should run Halstead at least once - it's a damn near perfect race :) I didn't really run the race I'd planned on - wanted to take it slow and practise a run/walk strategy for the ultra but it didn't happen, other than walking through some of the water stations - I just got a bit caught up in at all. Nice to head into a race though not thinking about trying to run for a time, and just running to enjoy it!

So, all very positive, and a fab day - I finished in 3:57:52 so although that was faster than I'd planned, it's reassuring to know that my time at Brighton wasn't a fluke - and we got an unusual and lovely medal which (for me) always makes a difference :)

However, my race wasn't all perfect...

I've been struggling with pretty bad shin pain since I started running again after the last marathon, and in the middle of last week, after trying everything else to resolve it, realised that the problem must lie with my newest trainers, the Asics Gel 1170s which I'd only really been using regularly since Brighton, having worn my old reliable trainers (my Asics Kayano 17s) for the big goal race.  I don't know why the new ones are causing pain, but it's the only explanation.  I realised that I wouldn't be able to get through the Halstead marathon wearing the 1170s but nor did I have the time to buy and break in new shoes in a few days.  I didn't want to revert back to my Kayanos because I got such bad blisters from Brighton that still haven't healed, so, I went through my trainer collection (I don't think I've thrown away any trainers since I started running!) and picked an Adidas pair that seemed to have decent wear left in them and decided to wear those. Stupid.

Fast forward to yesterday morning, wearing shoes that I'd never worn for further than a 10km run, remembering that I'd retired them as they were too narrow for me, as I started to get real pain from new blisters that had developed on the sides of my feet.  For the rest of the race, I frequently found my inner voice reminding me that "pain is just information", "I don't have to act on that information", "it's just a message and I can do what I like with that message" because what was I going to do...take my shoes off? No, I had to run through it and be thankful that at least I didn't have any shin pain ;)

Yesterday certainly wasn't the first time I've had blisters - as I said, I got a terrible blood blister on the side of my foot from Brighton, and every marathon I've ever run has resulted in bad blisters on the end of my toes and losing toe nails - but I don't remember the last time I was aware of any pain from them during the race.  I always tape my feet around what I know are the problem areas with plasters, and I wear running socks with extra padding on the toes and the sides of the feet, and although I always still seem to get damage, I don't usually feel it until afterwards. 

I'm concerned that not only have my wounds not fully healed since Brighton, I've now compounded them and I have another marathon on Monday which I can only imagine is going to be more painful that yesterday.  Although I'm really pleased that my legs feel fine today, I am getting pretty worried about my feet, and how I'm going to protect them enough to get through the next race when it's so soon.  I suppose more to the point, I'm starting to panic a bit about whether my poor feet are going to survive the pounding from my 50 mile race in July!

I have to get some new shoes (again!) and so this time, when I go to buy them, I'll explain exactly what problems I've been having and see what they suggest - maybe it's the size of the shoe, or the shape...or maybe I just need to tape my feet more thoroughly or start using duct tape?!  

Who knows, but, as I said on Twitter earlier, my feet are starting to look like they belong in a monster movie!

A no-nerves marathon

This time, four weeks ago, I was feeling downright ill with nerves for the Brighton marathon I had to run the next day.  This evening, the night before my next marathon, I couldn't be more relaxed as I lounge on the sofa - what a difference lowering my expectations has made! ;)

Brighton was a very important goal race for me - we'd travelled down there for the weekend, lots of people knew I was running, I desperately wanted to get a great time, and I was really feeling the pressure.  The Halstead Marathon tomorrow is completely different. It's just a race that I signed up for as part of my training for the ultra, it's around a truly beautiful course which is enjoyable and well supported, I'm planning on taking it very slowly and practising the run/walk method that I'll need to use over 50 miles, and I'm expecting to finish in about 4hrs 30mins. It's a really hilly route too so I'll take my time and just enjoy a morning of running.  It's lovely to feel so relaxed about it, and I'm looking forward to it!

Of course, this might back-fire terribly.  The awful nerves before Brighton led to a fantastic race performance, and there's a little part of me that is thinking I'm far too laid-back about what I'm going to have to do - I'm probably underestimating the effort that tomorrow is going to be, and half way round my legs will suddenly start screaming at me that they aren't ready for another marathon so soon.  But we will see...

So, for the rest of the evening, I'm going to carry on tracking  http://www.relaygb.org/  as I have been obsessively since they set off from London 8 days ago (they're in Scotland now!), have a decent pasta dinner, drinks lots of water, and against my better judgement, will also watch Britain's Got Talent before getting an early night.  Oh the exciting life of a marathon runner ;)

So many marathons...all the way around Britain!

My training is generally going well and I'm feeling pretty good about it, including prep for next weekend's marathon - I'll not be tapering as such as I'm still trying to build my fitness, and the race is just part of my training and an event where I'll be using the run/walk method to try and get used to it, as that's what I'm going to have to do for my ultra.  This is also the plan with the other marathon I've got booked in June, and with the 30 miler in July.

However...I've signed up for another imminent marathon, although this one is a bit more exciting than the others I've got scheduled, and it's one that I need to finish in 4 hours.

I'm going to be running a leg in the Marathon Relay of Great Britain, on 21st May, from Cheltenham to Dagenham.  I'm very, very excited! :D  The relay started today and you can follow the team's progress online: http://www.relaygb.org/

         

Welcome to the Marathon Relay of Great Britain

This is a unique challenge that will aim to run a relay of marathons around Great Britain in May 2012. Not only will there be the physical challenge to runners of all abilities but the event will also raise funds and awareness for brain tumour research. It is surprising how many of us have been touched by this disease either directly or through someone we know.

This is a challenge but not a race. Therefore, runners will be running on their own or in small groups, at night or during the heat of the day. All the while, the runner will be notching up the miles that will try to break the current world record for distance relay running which currently stands at 1,923 miles set by the ‘Gillette Phenomenal Tour’ in Romania in 2009 over the course of 13 days.

You can now donate using your phone! Simply text 'BTUK12' followed by '£' and the amount you wish to donate to 70070. Thank you for your generosity.

Refocusing, two weeks on...

It's been a funny two weeks since my wonderful weekend at the Brighton Marathon, and I'm afraid this is a long essay of a post to cover it all ;)

Last week, amongst other races, we had the excitement of the London Marathon.  On one hand, it really annoys me that so many people think it's the only marathon there is...but on the other hand, I recognise just how special it is.  As I wasn't running it this year, I decide to go down and support everyone who was, and headed to about mile 20 to cheer them on - as soon as I got to the roadside, the tears came and I was overwhelmed by it all.  Watching the London Marathon in 2007 inspired me to start running in the first place, and it's the first time since then that I've been back as a spectator (rather than taking part) and I found being there quite emotional.  Lots of runners I follow on Twitter, and people I know in real life, ran at London, and so many finished in great times - but watching all the strangers go past and being able to cheer them on and hopefully encourage them was fantastic too.  The high of the race was then followed by the tragic news of the death of Claire Squires - the third runner who has died at a race I've been at in the last 12 months :( There was an international sympathy that accompanied Claire's death and nearly £1million has been donated to the Samaritans, the charity she was running for, which obviously means that she has left a fantastic legacy. Absolutely harrowing though; "there but for the grace of God, go I" is the quote that springs to mind....

The following Wednesday, after work, I ran the 5km Baton of Life race in Hyde Park, which was a charity race held in memory of Andrew Corbett - the runner who died at last year's Brentwood Half Marathon (shown in the photo with his children).  It was very weird to be running such a short race, but I'm really glad I went.  His children (both under 10) were handing out the medals at the end of the course, and it was both heart-warming to see them so confident, while also being absolutely horrendous to think that they have lost their dad so young.

This weekend just gone, we had the Milton Keynes and Manchester marathons, where although I was only following people online rather than being there in person, I still got quite excited about the whole thing, and was so very pleased for the runners who managed to complete their races in some of the worst weather imaginable...and some, again, in exceptionally impressive times!

And that brings us to today.

The excitement of the big spring marathons seems to have passed, although there are still loads of smaller marathons being run and Edinburgh is later this month. So, after a couple of odd weeks, today I realise that my training for my Ultra has to really kick in this week!  I have been running since Brighton (just 5 miles the first week, and 30 miles last week) but now I have just 12 weeks left until I will be running my 52.4 mile goal race...and that's all at once, in one go, on one day.....I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared! ;)

Although I created a training schedule months ago for this period between Brighton and the 50 miler, I've been panicking and reviewing it, scouring Google for alternative ultra training plans, and generally altering every element of what I started with.  I think I'm pretty much set with what I now have, but as with all of my training schedules, I know that as the days go past it will be fluid and I'll swap days around as I need to depending on what life throws at me.  The only definites are that my weekends will now see me completing double long runs on Saturday and Sunday (although my first attempt at this doubling up yesterday wasn't a great success!), I'll make sure I include a day of speedwork, I'll run at least four days a week (although usually 5) and of course, my race dates are set:

 * Halstead Marathon on 13th May, just two weeks away.  I ran this last year and it's a fabulous race around a beautiful countryside course (if not a bit hilly!) and I hope to improve on last year's time of 4:47 although I'm treating this just as a training run so I'll not get close to my Brighton time.  Really looking forward to it though :)

* Kent Roadrunner Marathon on 4th June.  This in the inaugural Kent Roadrunner and to be honest I 'm not convinced at all - it's a mind-boggling 17 laps of a tarmac cycling track, and I don't know how I'll cope with that, but I'll give it a go - it's just a training run!

* Enigma Running Festival - 30 miles on 7th July.  My first ultra!! Still only part of my training, and not a goal race, but I'm very excited about it, and seeing how I get on at this distance.  It's also put on by what seems to be a pretty awesome group of people, and I get the feeling that this ultra will be a really great experience. Here's hoping ;)

Then the big one...the Challenge Hub 50 miler on July 22nd.

All this means that I have to start focussing on my training and concentrating on the mammoth task ahead of me. But if that wasn't enough, this morning I tried on the dress I want to wear to a friend's wedding in 6 weeks time, to check it was ok.  It fit me last autumn, but I couldn't even do the zip up today! Aaargh! :(

So, today starts the training, today starts the diet!

Forget the nerves & just run (aka Brighton Marathon race report)

Despite the fact that I was more prepared and better trained for the Brighton Marathon than I have been for the other five marathons I've run before, I have never been more nervous about a race than I was for this one.

Francis and I went down to Brighton on Saturday, and after checking into the hotel had a lovely afternoon strolling along the pier, and then along the beach and up to the marathon finish line which had already been put up, onto the ice-cream shop (obligatory because we were at the seaside!) and to the pub (although just a shandy for me!).  A few stag and hen parties were already out in full fancy dress but it was all very chilled - I absolutely love the vibe in Brighton! 

However, by the time we got to dinner, I wasn't feeling the relaxed atmosphere, was getting pretty stressed about the whole thing, and wasn't looking forward to the race at all.  In fact, I think I could quite easily have jumped in the car and come home!

When we got back to the hotel after dinner, I checked out twitter.  WOW! The support from so many people was absolutely overwhelming, wishing me luck, saying they were going to follow my progress on the course through the tracking app, and hoping I was ok.  It was just unbelievable and I'll take this opportunity to say a massive thank-you to my wonderful twitter friends :D

I was still feeling jittery, but knew that I had to go out there and have a good race, not just for me, but for everyone who was supporting me.  I had pretty much lost all confidence that I was going to get my time, and was half expecting to run slower than my PB from last year, but nevertheless, I had to give it my best shot!

--

In hindsight I think I know why I was feeling so nervous.  In the past, I have scrimped on my training plan in the run up to the marathon, and so have known that I couldn't really expect to do well, so there's less pressure.  I've always lived like that - don't try too hard, because if you fail, it's just because you didn't try, not because you can't do it, not because you've failed.  I know it all sounds a bit twisted and is very negative but there you go.... But this time, it was different, this time I had tried.  I had trained hard, put in the effort, and told everyone I was going to run sub 4hrs and I was in the best running form I've ever been in. If I didn't get my time (excepting picking up an injury on the way round) it would be because I just wasn't good enough to do it, and I think that's what was scaring me.

--

Anyway, on Saturday night, I laid all my kit out, set the alarm, and settled down to sleep...before then waking up every 2 hours in anticipation that the alarm wasn't going to go off.  

Nevertheless, after my disturbed night's sleep, the alarm did ring out and I jumped out of bed and got ready, jealously leaving Francis at the hotel watching the grand prix. I was still a bag of nerves, and although I was pleased to see that the weather looked pretty perfect for distance running, I was keen to just get the whole thing over with ;) Another check of twitter reminded me that there were lots of people rooting for me, and I headed off for the half hour walk from the hotel to the start, along with streams of other runners leaving their hotels.

After getting to the race, I dropped off my bag (keeping on my charity shop sweatshirt that I would later throw off), gave up on going to the toilet because the queues were so long, and headed to the start corrals.  As I looked around me, I realised that I was stood near the pacer for the sub 4:45 finish time...NOT GOOD! I panicked a little bit and tried to make my way through the crowds of runners to a bit further up towards the start line but it was so busy it was impossible.  I waited until the gun went off and (11 minutes later having crossed the line) started to run my way through the slower paced runners around me.  It wasn't great, dodging between and around people, and I know I must have annoyed lots of runners who were trying to find their pace, and for that I'm really sorry!  At the time though, with my first mile at over 9min/mile pace, I was absolutely cursing the narrow course, the organisers, everything and I'm afraid, everybody...

However, as always happens, after a while it all thinned out, and with a few slower miles under my belt I settled into my stride and started to realise how much more comfortable I felt than I had expected.  As I ran, I realised that my nerves had evaporated, and I remembered just how much I love running, and love marathons, with the amazing crowds, the support, the music, and the joint effort - in Brighton, we even got a cavalcade of vintage cars and mod scooters. Wonderful :)

To get my target time I knew I needed to stay just under 9min/miles, so it came as quite a surprise when my average settled at about 8.40, quicker than I'd planned to run. I was worried that I was pushing too hard and I'd be worn out by mile 20, but I made a decision to just go with how I felt and see what happened - at this stage I was much more comfortable running at 8.40 than going slower, and so just stuck to the pace. My splits and details are on my Garmin page if you're interested: Brighton Marathon by naominf at Garmin Connect - Details

As it turned out the last four miles were hard, but not so bad that I couldn't keep going - I felt pretty strong, I didn't walk or stop once, and although those last four were definitely much slower, by the time I got to the last 600m, with the roars of the tremendous crowds in my ears, I still had enough left for a "sprint" to the finish line!

It meant I'd done enough to finish the Brighton Marathon in a staggering 

3 hours 49 minutes and 55 seconds!

This is a PB for me of just under 20 minutes, and nearly an hour faster than I ran the London Marathon, this time last year! I'm still astonished, and so, so happy with it! It was a great day and just goes to show what I can do if I put in the effort - I've had a smile on my face all week, despite the blisters, DOMS and the toenail that I've lost! However, with a couple of out and back loops around cones, the very busy start and running most of the last section around the deserted and dull power station/port/industrial area, there were enough negatives to the race that I wouldn't do it again...although the crowds, running along the sea front and the good organisation (and amazing medal) were all positives great enough that I understand why other people will run the Brighton Marathon year on year.