And so to the marathon day itself

This is one of those days that will live in the memory all of my life.  It was an amazing experience and something I will never forget.

It’s my first marathon so I deliberately did not put a target time on myself. My plan was to complete the marathon, enjoy the day and get a positive experience out of the whole thing (the training as well as the race itself).

The day started early after a fitful sleep.  I felt a strange mix of excitement and nervousness.  My mind and body trying to co-ordinate and recognise where I'm at both physically and mentally.  I wasn't really that sure.  I was venturing into the unknown.  Today I'm going to run further than I have ever run before, in front of thousands of people!  Are the muscles at their prime?  Or are they past their best?  I feared the latter rather than the former but I also felt like I had enough focus and determination to get through it.

I’m interested in all of the mental work that is required to complete a marathon, as much, if not more than the actual physical stuff. I do a lot of coaching (both Life and Business coaching). As part of this I’m interested in the limits we put on ourselves and for me personally, running a marathon is an excellent ways of breaking through some of my own limits.

So I set out on marathon morning in the knowledge that my training had gone extremely well, to a point. I blazed through the early months and into March. Easter came early this year and as a result I was running 20 miles with Gade Valley a week earlier than most years. That day I ran my best run. The last 4 miles I was running between 8 and 8:30 minute miles. I was feeling strong and powerful. After that run I started to feel a little sluggish and although I knew I could complete my runs, I didn’t have quite the same pace that I had before. And then to cap it off, on my last Sunday run before the London marathon day, I got a little twinge in my left hamstring. This got into my head for most of the week as I was worried that as I got deep into the race I might get a more serious pull of my hamstring and have to pull out altogether. I knew that there’s every chance that this wouldn’t happen but I also feared that it could. So I talked to some people I know (including some experienced runners on social media) to get their views and experience and by Saturday I was okay about it.

So as I set off on the race things were ok. I was enjoying the whole experience. It is such an amazing experience! My legs were heavy (still not like a month ago) but I’d come to the conclusion that maybe I had over-trained and that my body was a little over-ripe. And as I was running the early miles, I was conscious that I could be running quicker (that’s if I could work out how to navigate around people and over bottles and pavement kerbs etc). My lungs had the capacity to move quicker but I wasn’t sure that my legs did. I could feel my hamstrings. It’s almost as if they were over-active and therefore too tight. But I ploughed on as it wasn’t too much of a big deal and I put the concerned thoughts on how they would be deep into the race to the back of my mind. Then as I got closer to 9, 10, 11 miles I could feel my thighs. They just got so tight and heavy. A Sports therapist friend of mine suggested that this was the Lactic acid kicking in and maybe it was. But surely that’s a little early in the race? I just kept going, thinking, I’m going to do this and hoping it didn’t get so tight that they wouldn’t move. Gradually the miles started to accumulate and I remember at mile 16, thinking 10 miles to go. That felt like a lot so I worked on breaking it up in my mind so that it felt more manageable.

          

The crowd was amazing. Their cheering really helped to keep me going. At times I felt myself putting my hands in the air to get the crowds going and that would give me a surge of energy and push me on. Again, my lungs could’ve moved me quicker but my legs couldn’t keep to that pace so I had to reign myself in to ensure I could get to the end. I felt like if I stopped, I wasn’t sure I could start again. I saw so many people who stopped to stretch and I just thought if I tried that it would make things worse not better. So I just kept moving. My average pace overall was 9:08 min mile. From mile 20 to 23 I dropped down to about 9:30 but then I picked it up a little as I got a sniff of the finish line.

As I crossed the line I was really happy to finish and proud of myself. As I say, I hadn’t put a time on myself but I had also suspected I could do it between 4 and 4:30 hours, and probably inside 4:15. I thought if I break 4 hours that would be the icing on the cake but at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter to me.

      

Thanks for reading my blog.  I hope you enjoyed it.

If you want to support my charity, the Outward Bound Trust, you can still do so by clicking on the link and making a financial contribution

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JonSleeper

The Taper before the big day

 
They say this is tricky time for any marathon runner, but in particular for the first marathon runner.  You cut down on your physical trainer to allow your body to recover and repair any damaged tissue.  So naturally if you're not still training physically that leads you to ponder and reflect.  It's getting me to look into my mental strategies in some more detail.

The Taper refers to a three week period between your longest run and the day you actually run the marathon.  The thinking is that the bulk of this time is spent, relaxing, stretching with some gentle 'recovery' runs.  The idea is that the body is recovering and re-establishing its strength.  This is all in preparation for the big day.

It's also important to eat carefully.  The intention here is to build up your levels of glycogen.  Glycogen is the element in your body that gives you the energy to run and endure the length of time that is required to complete the marathon.

All of that said, you are still doing as many runs as any other week of the training plan.  But the runs are much shorter.  So I went from a 22 mile run to a 11 mile run a week later. That's cutting the distance down by 50%.  But I still felt it at the time.  It was in my knees, at about mile 5, 6, 7, 8 and then to the end of the run.  There are a lot of hills on this running route so that adds to the endurance.  I managed to complete the distance okay but the fact is my pace has dropped off.

My body is tired.  It needs this recovery time.  I'm questioning whether I might have over-trained.  By that I mean run too many miles. But there's no point in going down this path.  Perhaps it's better to develop a new strategy.  This new strategy is simply to recognise the current situation and adjust my thinking and goals as a result.  This is not a massive adjustment.  It's a minor change in thinking.  I intend to go back to my thinking back in the early days of my training.

Back in February there was so much training to be done that I didn't have an expectation on the big day itself.  At that point in time my mind was focussed on the training not the actual marathon run.  I went into each training run with a very positive attitude and as a result I found each run relatively easy.  As time has gone on and the training has gone well, I've gradually increased my expectation on myself.  I've gradually started to challenge myself that I can put in an excellent time on the big day.  And yet at the outset I was quite clear that my goal is to enjoy the day, enjoy the experience and complete the marathon. 

As I write this now.  I'm now into my last week of this experience.  I had a further niggle last Sunday.  I tried taping up my knees and although the support felt good, I good a pull on my hamstring.  This is the first time this has happened in all of my training.  Pretty frustrating for this to happen 7 days before my first marathon.  I've been talking to other runners and I've also talked to my Chiropractor.  Every day I've been using hot and cold treatment, Sue's been massaging my legs and I've been stretching the Quads and the Hamstrings.  The leg is feeling better but I will be listening to my legs particularly in the early miles.

I've got faith in my training and the rational around the taper period.  I'm confident I'll be ready on Sunday for the run of my life along with thousands of other people.  So many people who have been through this before have told me this was the experience of their life!

Thanks so much to all who have supported me, by reading this blog, sending me messages of support and making a contribution to my charity.  Sincerely, it has really helped to keep me going through the training and it will genuinely keep me going this Sunday.

There's still time to sponsor my charity, the Outward Bound Trust by clicking on the link,


http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JonSleeper

The end of the long long runs is here

March has been a long long month.  With so many long runs, it has gone on and on and on.  And in that time a lot has happened.  I came into the month having run a 17 mile run with the Gade Valley running club and really wondering whether I could ever run 20 miles without having to crawl over the line.  But I found that with some good positive psychology I could finish strong.  I did this a number of times but I particularly remember the 20 mile run when I was running with a fellow runner.  She was running super fast.  And I was just trying to stay with her.  There are techniques that I have learnt to help to keep yourself going over long distances.  It's a gradual thing but it does work.

So as I journeyed through the month my confidence increased and I started to imagine a top performance on the big day in London.

And then things seemed to plateau.  Pain in my knees became more acute and consistent.  The struggles up and down the stairs.  Aches in my thighs and hips.  This started to weigh on my body.  And towards the end of the month I just started to feel tired and worn out.  My body was telling me something.  I started to worry that I had over-trained.  Perhaps I had peaked too soon and now I was going to pay the price because my body has had enough.  What could I do about this?  I spoke to my
chiropractor.  She said it's normal to feel like this.  She had worked the muscles above my knees, massaged them hard.  This breaks down the muscle so that it can come back more toned.  It can mean that you feel it some more at first.  I was certainly feeling it!  She suggested the following remedies, frequent stretching, ice packs and ice cold baths.  The last option is not for the faint hearted but worth a try if you want to make your family giggle at you (wear some shorts!).



Also talking to lots of runners who are far more experienced than me, they all say that this is perfectly normal.  After a while all the training starts to take its toll on your body and that is why the last three weeks of the training programme is called the Taper.  During the taper period you drop your mileage considerably and maintain your high-carb diet.  Basically you're preparing your body in two ways.  The reduced mileage enables your body to recover.  Lots of protein enables the muscle fibres to re-build and adjust to the strain of all the exercise.  The carbs help your body to load and prepare itself for the marathon itself.  It's like when you fill your car up for a long journey.  You need a full tank of fuel, plus a good supply of fresh oil in the engine and a check of the air pressure in the tyres.  All these things help to ensure the car can perform in the way that you want on the trip.  The human body is that same for a marathon.  And then there's the mental preparation as well.  If you can combine all these things in the right way, the day itself will be challenging but successful.

So that's the theory.  I've read about this enough times now.  I've trained for it, physically and mentally.  Now for the big day. Bring it on!
















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Thanks for reading my blog.  I’m running the London Marathon on 24th April 2016

Please sponsor my charity, the Outward Bound Trust by clicking on the link,


http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JonSleeper

Half way there!

                                                       

I'm actually 8 weeks in now and that is the half way point of the training plan. 

A hell of a lot has happened this month.  We've moved house.  So after 16 years of living in one place, seeing the birth of our children and raising them through the early years, we've now moved on.  So there's been a lot of change going on.  And somehow the one common thread has been my running.  It surprises me that I write this more than anything else.  But it is true.

So how has the running been?  Well I'm running four times a week and there is one long run every Sunday.  So at the end of January, my long run was 12 miles and my first Sunday run in February, was the Watford half marathon.  There's lots of photos here from that run.  I had a great day and I was really pleased with how the run went.  I managed to set off nice and easy and then have plenty of energy left at the half way point.  So I ran the last 6 miles at a good pace.  This enabled me to come in at 1:52:36 which (though it's not my PB) I'm very pleased, as it was really just a training run and also the terrain is pretty hilly.

Then during February (and into March also) every run gets progressively longer and longer.  This has been a little challenging mentally.  There's a heavy cloud overhanging constantly as the challenge gets incrementally stronger.  That said, when it comes to the day, I take the challenge with a smile on my face and I go out there, enjoy the outdoors and look to run in my rhythm.  I can now see how the technique of each person's run is important.  It's good to find the right pace and to keep it as constant as possible.  This requires some mental concentration.  It can become quite mindless (or perhaps mindful is a better way of looking at it) as your brain starts to switch off from the world, draw into itself and listen to the body.  Try to run from your core as this is more energy efficient.  Use your core to alternately pull each arm back to create some momentum to draw each leg forward.  As you do this I notice how I'm using less energy for each stride.  Marathon running is endurance running and energy efficiency per stride is a critical component for such a distance.

Amazing really, I never imagined that the inner technicalities of running is something that I would be writing about on a blog.  And yet it's a bit like the book, Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.  These small things in life are the things that incrementally start to explain the bigger things.  So as we all have goals and objectives, it's important to have a view of the big picture but it's also so important to be aware of the 'little things' and to be aware on how they're effecting your performance and your mental state.  So here's an awkward example.  Since moving house, I haven't been able to find my running gear.  Slightly embarrassingly, I have to confess that it's really bothered me.  I've bought all this running equipment (particularly for the cold weather) and I cannot find it anywhere.  What does it matter?  Well it helps me to feel like a runner, and to be fair, it stops me from catching something on those cold, early morning runs (and there have been plenty of them recently).

                               

By the way, my running kit has turned up.  Typically, it's been sitting right under my nose and I've been looking at it every time I walk into the room.  Somehow I had it in my head that the box was Sue's not mine so I just walked past it.  And yet it was actually a box I myself had packed!

So now I'm into March and this is the final month but it's also full of long runs.  Once we get into April the training starts to taper off before the big day arrives on the 24th!

Four weeks in

I got off to a flyer.  I mean it's not like I've started from nothing.  I've been running twice a week for some time, give or take.  So increasing to four times a week is something of a logistical challenge and ok it might have a small impact on my body, but given that the runs are generally quite short, it hasn't really been that big a deal.

And now as I get to the end of the four weeks, my long run is up to 12 miles.  This is now getting to the top of my distance running and on top it the weather has been awful.  My run last Sunday was a 10 miler in slippy slidey mud.  That hurt my knees and felt to be a real struggle.  It was horrible to be honest.

But then my last run in January was with the Gade Valley running club.  They're known locally for organising training runs for people who are training for the London marathon.  It's very well organised; marked out routes, water stops, volunteer marshalls, tea and cake at the end.  They even offer free jelly babies at one of the running stops.  Brilliant.

They're a very friendly bunch so I got to talk to a mix of people.  Experienced runners.  Less experienced runners.  Some who've run a marathon or two and some first timers like me.  They're all really friendly and keen to offer help, support and advice.  I needed a good run after last week and that's exactly what I got.  So I'm a happy bunny.

I'm taking on all the positive psychology and so far so good.  I ran hard but not too hard.  I went out slow and finished strong which is exactly the way I wanted it.  I felt good all the way around.  There were some tough hills in there but I just put my head down and thought about the view I'll get at the top.  I've had some niggly worries about my knees and I even got to discuss that with one of the fellow runners there.

So as I gently step into February I can look back on January with some pride and satisfaction.  So far so good is the message for now.  Certainly February will be a tough month.  The first run is the Watford half marathon.  So I will start the month running the longest distance I've ever run.  That gives me an idea of what I'm facing.  By the end of the month I plan to go back to Gade valley to run 17 miles.  So there's plenty of challenge in there for me.  But right now.  I look at the challenge with a lot of positivity and optimism.  I plan to listen to my body though and monitor how it takes the increasing strain that I will be putting it through over the next few weeks.

Wish me luck.  This is un-charted territory for me.  But I'm facing it with a smile on my face.
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Thanks for reading my blog.  I’m running the London Marathon on 24th April 2016

Please sponsor my charity, the Outward Bound Trust by clicking on the link,


http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JonSleeper

First Entry - I've actually gone and done it!

I've entered the London Marathon.  I've made the commitment to myself, to the Outward Bound trust, to my friends and family.  It's a little scary!  No surprise there I guess. 

People think I'm mad!  Why would you do that?  What's the point?

Whilst I've always been sporty, running was never my strong point.  I remember when I was about 11 years old.  I was in the school Football team and I was a pretty good player.  I remember it was Sports day and I was competing in the 100 metres.  I stepped up to the start line and arrogantly thought to myself, 'well I'm a good football player therefore I'm likely to be very competitive in this race.'  I had a big shock as I found myself out of breath and struggling to even get close to many of my athletic competitors.  I was well and truly trounced, finishing a lowly 7th.  That kind of put me off running for some time, like 30 years!

Instead of thinking to myself that running is another life skill that, to get good at, requires some technical competence and some practice, I just thought, oh well, why bother.  And there is some truth that, why would you bother to develop some competence in something that you don't want to develop.  That's indisputable.  But as a lover of sport, and in particular, football, I certainly would have benefited from a better running technique.  That would help me to be a better footballer.  I didn't see it like that at the time though.

Also, just because I wasn't a good 100 metre runner at the time, that didn't make me a poor runner full stop.  There are many different running distances as we all know and yet it's amazing how much I was limiting myself as a result of one race.  If I'm doing this for such a simple thing like a school sports day, where else am I limiting myself in my life?

Actually when I look back on my football playing life I had a pretty good engine.  At the time I never really appreciated that about myself.  It's only now that I go running I can see that.  I used to hate running.  I'd go running as part of my football training.  It was purely a means to an end.  I knew it was necessary to get me noticed at football.  To show my skills and stand me a better chance of getting picked for the team.  I didn't see any benefits in the running itself though.  But as I got into my thirties I started to see that instead of playing football to keep fit, I actually needed to keep fit to play football.  And then just as I was turning forty the football standard gradually got worse and worse.  The aches got harder and the day came when I decided to hang up my boots.

Like so many people I would go to the gym.  It's a ritual.  I would pound the treadmill.  Basically I found myself running to keep up rather than running at my own pace.  There were some colleagues who were marathon training and they kept pushing me to join them for a run outside.  I was working in the Docklands in London and there was a great 5 mile run along the River Thames.  I turned it down for weeks.  My competitive instinct made me refuse.  I thought of myself as a poor runner and I didn't want to go along with these guys and get left lagging miles behind.  But they kept chipping away at me and eventually I agreed to join them.

I was like the new boy at school.  The newbie runner.  I would set off quickly.  I didn't get the whole pacing thing.  And as they were training, they quite liked that, as it meant the pace was quickened when I was there.  But by the mid-point I was slacking behind and the others would over-take and then push on.  But I started to learn about running.  Things like running in groups, talking while running, and just breathing.  The techniques people use to run in the best possible way.  To run as efficiently as possible.  The differences between short distance sprinting and long distance endurance running.

And then, over time I found myself getting so much out of running.  Working in an office environment, I found it really beneficial to get outside to run.  I could breath the outside air, clear my head and fill my lungs.  It's well established that regular exercise releases endorphins.  These natural chemicals make you feel good and positive about yourself and your life.  By getting out of the office, you clear your mind from the day to day pressures and stresses.  By focussing your mind on something else (even just your breathing) you help to relieve yourself on the day to day challenges and anxieties.

After a while I even started to look forward to my runs.  I found it an excellent way of releasing tension and it would help me to feel better about myself.  Nowadays I can't do without it and it is something that is actually pretty mindful for me.

So there you go.  That is why I have now entered the London Marathon.  I'm under no illusions that this marathon is my greatest challenge so far.  And yes, it feels pretty crazy.  At certain times, even a little scary.  But it's a challenge I want to face.  There's an excellent paragraph in one of the books I've been reading about training for a marathon.

"Training for and running a marathon is not a single event; rather, it is an experience.  It is a discovery of self that will forever change your perceptions, perspectives, priorities, and possibilities.  You will meet yourself at what you thought were the boundaries of your potential and endurance and watch in awe as they evaporate to reveal only open expanse.  To know that the only boundaries in life are those that we create ourselves is a discovery which cannot be taught - it must be experienced.  For once you have seen the view from the mountain top, living a life of voluntary blindness is no longer an option." From The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer, Whitsett, Dogener and Kole.

 
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Thanks for reading my blog.  I’m running the London Marathon on 24th April 2016

Please sponsor my charity, the Outward Bound Trust by clicking on the link,


http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JonSleeper